Post by The Late Mitchell Warren on Aug 21, 2009 14:07:32 GMT -5
SUBVERSIFY THEATRE
This is the newest feature of Subversify. It is an interactive workshop room for character development. Here, your fictitious characters will meet and react to each other in a chosen setting. The setting will be determined by the thread, and by the first poster. You have to use your imagination in determining what unfolds next. Think back to your writing workshop classes.
Remember first the basic rules to collaborative fiction:
You cannot manipulate the plot (such as suddenly a "train drives through the scene, killing everyone") nor can you manipulate a character that is not your own. You only have power over your character. You can do something drastic, provided it is in your character's nature, but both authors must be in agreement as to the outcome. If there is a stand still between two authors then the writing experiment ends in stalemate, which is rather anticlimactic, no?
Now let's consider some basic rules of the room.
1. Each character statement, preceded and followed by a pause, will be counted as one message post. Therefore, a conversation taking place between two or more characters will be one thread, and a collection of various posts or "statements."
2. You do not post as yourself. Rather, you create a new member for each of your characters and assign an avatar to it. Only FICTIONAL member posts will be allowed in this room. This adds to the anonymity and excitement of the experiment. Any accidental posts breaking the fourth wall will probably be deleted. Any critical reviews or commentary on what takes place must be posted in the regular Subversify rooms, not in the theatre room.
3. As much as possible, try and avoid long descriptive sentences and instead post pictures of what you are trying to show. For example, instead of writing about how beautiful a museum painting is, post a picture of something like it. Characters respond accordingly.
4. You can create as many characters as you want and they can enter the scene whenever appropriate. Just try not to use a new character as an excuse to weasel out of a conversation.
5. Threads (or story lines) will end by their own volition.
6. You can be anybody, from real life people or historical figures to characters of your own creation. Remember you are not writing messages to each other (unless that is dictated by the setting) but are speaking to each other in a scene.
7. Please change the "Display Name" to one or two words, not just an online ID. It makes it look more like a script and less like a cyber-chat.
8. Please create a new member profile for each of your characters and then upload a fitting avatar that conveys his/her physical appearance. In order to do this, adjust your member profile and post the DIRECT link in the avatar URL. (A direct link consists of the entire web address starting with HTTP: ) You can make it bigger by adjusting the size of the avatar, up to 99 x 99.
MORE TO COME IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS...