A FEW RULES | Caliginous Need

Basic FAQs

I AM HERE TO WRITE. That is my priority. With that being said, do not expect more than a simple writing partnership /friendship. If what gender I am behind the computer becomes more important than the characters and worlds I'm writing with you, then I'm not the partner for you.

I don't ask, I don't tell, I don't care-- what or who you claim to be behind your computer, as long as you can build a story with me. I am here to write, not establish a late-night coffee klatch, exchange DNA profiles to bear a super child, collect gay guys, or hook up romantically with someone I'm writing with.

Be Legal

When I write, I use adult themes and scenes that include extreme violence, foul language, and sexual situations, Therefore, I refuse to engage with anyone under the age of 18 years old. I don't care if you are "almost 18 and write beautifully." I don't want to go to jail for corrupting a minor for the rest of my life. Thank you in advance for adhering to this rule.

At Last We Meet..

My introductory and my post lengths vary greatly, depending on how much world building and character backstory I put into them. My average introductory post is about 7-10 paragraphs, sometimes longer. Subsequent posts on average are about 5-7 paragraphs.

If you contact me for a plot, be prepared to write the starter! If I contact you for a plot, then I will start with an introduction for our characters. The ONLY exception to this rule is if its a world that requires your expertise and knowledge to lay the foundations on, then I would prefer you kick off the plot.

Reply Frequency

I can't mass produce 1000 word count replies multiple times each day, same plot, same partner. If you're looking for a rapid fire style writer, then I assure you I am NOT THE PARTNER FOR YOU. I average 1-2 posts a week per plot. I have a busy life in the real world, a job, a home and family to manage.

If you want quality over quantity, it takes a lot of hard work and concentrated effort. But I promise you this, getting a well-thought out reply from me is worth the wait.

I usually give my partners 30 days, and if I don't hear a peep from you about your plot or I can't find you anywhere, I consider no communication, as NOT INTERESTED. The only exception I'll make is if you have informed me of what's going on first.

I'm Gender-friendly!

I am a woman (as if it matters) that absolutely loves playing M// pairings! If I am feeling truly inspired by my partner and am comfortable playing with them on other plots, I can play MxF pairings. F// pairings just are not my cup of tea. Sorry ladies!

OOC- Out of Character

WARNING: May induce euphoria.

When we're plotting together. I've been known to play 20 questions games with my partner's characters and my own answering the questions. I think the game is really beneficial for creating character backstories, and establishing the character's voice.

Also, I'm no artist but I'm "visually gifted" and I love making character sets on Fashmates (like the old Polyvore), I include particular songs that I feel character inspirations for, and lots of picture spam. It gets me excited and enthusiastic for a plot, as well as stimulates my creative juices, and hopefully it does the same for my partner.

Advanced Literate

I consider myself an advanced-literate, multi-paragraph, third person tense, descriptive writer that uses proper English grammar and spelling. I'm not a grammar or spelling Nazi.

I AM ALSO A WORK IN PROGRESS, SO DON'T BE AFRAID TO CONTACT ME FOR A PLOT!

Occasional mistakes happen. Spell-checking and proofreading the writing before you post, is a suggestion. Although I prefer to write with others that understand basic writing mechanics and can produce the same high quality as myself, if you are a work in progress and don't feel easily intimidated by a wall of words, feel free to contact me!

For The Love of God..

Bring me the angsty, gritty, dark versions of your Mary/Gary-Sue/Stu characters. Plain old Mary/Gary-Stus/Sues are SO lackluster and VANILLA. I prefer to write with others that think outside the box, and can create realistic, engaging characters that stand out in their own, unique way.

In the real world, no one is perfect and our characters should reflect the same. Also, please don't God-mode my characters. I control mine, you control yours. Don't make characters all powerful, all knowing. Even villains and bad boys have flaws.

Double Trouble

I often include NPC's (non-player characters) in my plots to help contour the world of our main characters. I have discovered a lot of my minor characters develop into interesting main characters over time. As far as doubling goes, I believe the more the merrier, and I welcome a partner that keeps me engaged by the use of their own colorful side characters as well as mine in order to fill our writing world, It's a real gift!

So Much For A Happy Ending..

Sometimes role-play comes to a premature end. Partners lose interest, muse, or become very busy with their real lives and it's understandable to a certain extent. Real life takes precedence over anything between us, and I think it's perfectly fine to shelve a plot that's not working, or put one on the back burner until life returns to normal as long as it is communicated. Most of the time, I ask my partners questions to gauge their interest without them actually knowing it, and when that doesn't work, I ask directly. Here are other ways to determine whether a partner is into your plot or not.

Here are some examples:

Example A. You develop a wonderful plot with a partner who came to you, but has a queue a mile long. So you opt to start a starter thread, and you were warned beforehand that a response might take a little longer than expected. You accepted the mission despite the nagging doubts in the back of your mind, and you try to be patient. A week passes, you say nothing. Two, three then a month passes and then you finally contact them. First, your partner tells you about their hectic work schedule. A huge project happened and they would get right on the reply as soon as things at work died down. In the meantime, they catch up on replies to their queue which is great, you think. Then there is an issue. The moment a reply is done, they busily shit out multiple characters (at least 2-3 additional applications) Since the admins of the forum do not have a character creation rule in place to prevent members from making new characters without establishing the ones they already have, your partner is popping new characters out like tokens on a Vegas slot machine. Problem? Your starter post is STILL NOT ANSWERED. Busy they say? NOPE! Just not interested.

For a real twist to Example A: You inform your partner that you've been waiting almost a month with no reply, and they go to the Admin and cry foul about being nagged for replies. Suddenly, you find yourself invited to a private room for a meeting about YOUR behavior towards this member. Don't you think that if their forum had a character creation rule in place this would be a non-issue?

Example B: Your writing partner adores the way you write! but their muse is going through adverse real life issues right now. There's activity on the forum for months but its not their usual amount, so you think nothing of it. You do your best to be a friend, and offer moral support during their struggle, suggest ideas on ways to help get their muse back. They DO get their muse back! Just not for your plot! Instead, they start new plots with other people, and are rapid firing replies back and forth multiple times a day-- but they've not yet written a reply to your plot. You've been waiting almost a month, and when talk to them and ask "what can we do to improve the plot we have together?" they offer no ideas at all. No muse they say? NOPE! Just not interested.

My point is: Not all writing partnerships end happily ever after, the reason is that people have a basic LACK OF ROLE PLAY COURTESY. People are rude, develop cliques on websites and make up inconsistent rules that hurt forum growth. Role-play sites like this have member lists full of people that can't admit being overwhelmed, backlogged, unable to refuse making additional plots or additional characters, and use ineffective communication skills with their partner when they've lost muse.

Look no further! There's a solution to this malady! PLEASE TELL ME. Three simple words.

I will understand, honestly I will. I take issue when you LEAD ME ON and I have to find out on my own. When writing partners gives the impression all is well, the plot is working, the characters are wonderful, the writing is impeccable and then does things like the above examples-- it pisses me off and I get jaded. Newsflash. I don't have ESP, I'm a not a mind reader. When I approach you to ask, and you tell me everything's GREAT-then you pull the rug out from under me, the plot usually comes to a tragic end. I would rather end as friends, than burn all the bridges between us because of a lack of communication with each other about our expectations.

Click right on the pic to see the F-List!