Anybody up for a game of persona letters?

[newmoonstar]

Well, rummage saleing finally over with. THAT was an ordeal. And I made a grand total of $5 dollars. *___* Mom at least made about $100, but we've still got most of our junk left. Oy. Change is a slow process...

I actually did some writing the other night, go me! And it was FUN. I can't remember the last time I actually had fun writing. I think the minute you start to say to yourself "OMG I have to write a book I can PUBLISH so I can establish my CAREER!" you lose sight of the real point of it, and you start to think of it as work, and who the heck wants to do work? It's supposed to be FUN. I do it because I love it. That's the point. I think the fact that this particular story is only for a game, and I don't have to worry if it will ever turn into anything is why I've been having so much fun with it. I feel free. I'm writing it only for the love of creating and exploring the world of imagination. I can't believe I lost sight of that.

Well, now the trick is to never lose sight of it again. Anybody else want to play persona letters with me? I still can't get any further with any of my regular stories, and I think it might help to do some more writing just for fun. Suggest any era! Any premise! Or no premise! I'm totally game! Let it be known this is a standing invitation. If ever anybody has time to kill and a burning desire for slightly insane fun, leave a comment about it or email me or whatever. I mean it. All hail the force of fun! ;-D

Comments

[solidor.livejournal.com]

Explain persona letters to me and I'll play!

[newmoonstar]

Oh, yeah, explanation. Duh.

Persona letters is the game where you choose any historical era and write letters back and forth as two people from that era. For example, I read a book recently where the authors wrote the book playing persona letters as two young ladies in Regency England; they didn't start out with any kind of plot in mind, but one evolved as they wrote it.

The great thing is that the story develops from letter to letter, without any planning, and it's much easier than other collaborative stories because out of nessecity your two characters never actually meet, so you can pretty much develop things independently. You can, of course, add a theme, by deciding up front that each of your characters will be involved in a mystery or a fantasy theme, but starting blank and letting things go where they will is more exciting, I think.

Knowing you to be an incredibly gifted writer, and that you're interested in a lot of the same historical epochs as me, I would LOVE it if you'd play! Do you have anything in mind? Imperial Russia? Belle Epoque Paris? I know you're into ancient civilizations, but I warn you that my knowledge of anything pre-medieval is shamefully elementary. But suggest away! This could turn into quite an adventure...;-D

[solidor.livejournal.com]

That is an awesome idea. It sounds a lot like RPing, actually. What book was it?

Unfortunately, I've had total writers block lately in a seriously bad way. But if you give me a few weeks, I can probably pry myself out of it...at least, I hope, because now I REALLY want to do this!

What do YOU do for a VERY bad case of writers block? I'm desperate!

[newmoonstar]

The book was Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. Frothy fun light reading.

When it comes to writer's block, I'm pretty much stuck until something comes to me, which can literally mean being stuck for months. That's one of the reasons I'm so keen on persona letters; when you have to write to someone, it kind of forces you to come up with stuff right on the spot, because you don't want to keep them waiting too long for the next letter, and because you want keep them from becoming bored!

If you want to play, but are really stuck, it might be helpful if I wrote the first letter. The first thing to do would be to figure out a time period, so I'll throw out a few ideas and you shout if anything clicks, or if it gives you some ideas of your own.

1.) circa 1924: my character is a Bright Young Thing from England and travels the world to exotic locales with her professor grandfather, who has an interest in antiquities. Who would you be?

2.) circa 1898: my character is a young Russian aristocrat in St. Petersburg with a passion for gambling and various other spurious dealings, which she desperately tries to hide from her clueless family. Who would you be?

3.) circa 1877: my character is an American heiress travelling to Paris with her family to acquire art for the museum they plan to found in their midwestern hometown. Who would you be?

[fair-terentia.livejournal.com]

I'm up for it. Regency England is my favourite. E-mail address is rosa1813 at gmail dot com :)

[newmoonstar]

I'd love to do a Regency England game! :) I was just reading a book of Jane Austen's letters a while ago, and it gave me a few ideas! I was thinking about 1806 for the year, is that okay with you?

[fair-terentia.livejournal.com]

That sounds good to me. :)