This time of the year is always a busy one for SCW, but the fact of the matter is that we all have times where real life gets us down or takes up all of our time and then we have to roleplay on top of that. But as in writing and the creative process, everyone goes through periods of writer’s block and have no ideas or they have a string of weeks where they just don’t feel like roleplaying and it becomes a chore. Sometimes you luck out and you have storyline that sparks something and you’re right back in there. Sometimes you see it in a dream and poof, all is good again. Sometimes you watch a movie and recite the entire plot in fourteen seconds for a roleplay idea…..
Please avoid the last one for my sake.
But all of us suffer through it, myself included. I’ve been writing a show in some capacity every week, whether it’s been as the main writer or as the ideas/storyline taskmaster for eight years. I’ve had bad weeks. I’ve had months where I just don’t feel anything. What I’m talking about….
BURNOUT!
And no, not the Real Speed’s finishing move.
Burnout = The feeling of tiredness or blahness towards roleplaying; a prolonged lack of ideas; the turning of what was once a fun hobby into what feels like a chore and no foreseeable way out.
Now, a lot of people would sit here and tell you ways to fix it and that’s that and then they’d go, have a pint, and relax, hoping not to melt in the summer sun.
But I’m far nicer than that. See, over eight years of running SCW, I have seen a LOT of people suffer through burnout. You’re not alone and I guarantee on any give week, someone on the roster is suffering through it. There are ways to deal with it, but I think it’s more important to realize the causes as often people just concede defeat and take time off without realizing it may just be a simpler fix, especially if they love the game or used to and just are going through a rough patch.
But first off, you need to realize something else. This is DIFFERENT from having a bad week. EVERYONE has them. This is usually something over several roleplaying periods where you just struggle to come up with anything or your know your quality is less and you just don’t know what to do. This is also different from another problem that is based off consistency which may see someone have a great run for a few months before tapering off and being more average. That’s also not burnout. More just suffering a great story and not being able to follow it up (another problem every roleplayer and writer goes through)
This is, as I’ve mentioned, a prolonged struggle to find motivation or write a roleplay over several roleplaying periods.
So that said, what may some of the causes be:
1) Overbooking yourself
In general, this is probably the most common. Some people want to be booked for every roleplaying period or in some insane cases, every show. They want to have a bunch of matches. But often, this means, especially if you like to max out, three roleplays for every match. Twelve a month. That adds up and is a lot of time spent writing and a lot of time taken up in general. You may have a busy week and then don’t get the sleep you need, the ideas don’t come out, the execution is even worse and it all falls apart and you find yourself frustrated instead of enjoying the game.
2) Too many characters
This is one a lot of people don’t consider, but it can happen. Personally, I don’t feel most roleplayers can handle more than two characters well and that’s if they have the time. Some can do more, but that’s their prerogative. Ultimately, I book all as I see fit because I can. But some people burn through a lot of ideas this way and this is exacerbated if you’re foolish enough to run two characters that are very similar. You use ideas you could use for one character on the other, you burn through the ideas even faster and you start writing how your character wants to fight crime in hot pink spandex while you drool on the keyboard hoping something else will come. This leads to repetitiveness in both of your roleplays and very limited differentiation. This is one reason that I suggest people, if they are going to bring in a second character, they either have a specific plan, or they are different enough from their other character.
3) Feedback baiting
I may tick off a few with this one, but I really think people don’t realize how damaging this can be. I have seen, THIS YEAR ALONE, at least 10 people go from being great roleplayers to being average. These people are usually the people that ask me for feedback after EVERY match, without fail and I usually can time it and place bets in Vegas and make triple my money. That’s how consistently they do it. Now, I should clarify: I am always happy to give feedback. BUT….what are you looking for? One match should not make or break what you do and a lot of people do that. Something doesn’t pan out or their promo is a bit off. They had a weak promo for one week, for whatever reason (Didn’t feel the match, the storyline or just didn’t have much ammunition against their opponent). Their first chapter of their new story fell flat. Whatever the negative reason is, whatever criticism I provide, I usually notice that’s the first thing that changes the following week. And then again the following match and so on and so forth.
This is why I always suggest to write for yourself. You have to remember, not everything is going to come easily and I’ve written segments that when I came up with the idea, it seemed great and then when I went to write it, it didn’t come out as I hoped or the segment just wasn’t as good or a promo I wrote was shorter or what have you. It happens. Also, this is why I generally dislike giving feedback on one roleplay and prefer to give feedback over a larger number. People have a tendency to panic. Instead of going “Okay, I had a weak instalment. Got to bounce back” or “No problem. I knew starting it would be rough, but it will be worth it,” they go “OH SHIT! OH SHIT! He hated it! CHANGE EVERYTHING! ALERT! ALERT!” and they panic and change everything or they mess with their story they had planned or whatever. They burn through more ideas and then when those work or don’t work, they panic further. And then usually they get burnt out because they don’t know what to do, instead of from the get go, staying the course, taking the criticism as just that, criticism. They are not rules that get you into heaven or hell. They are just my thoughts on it. You can take them or leave them. Sometimes it’s also just something simple. Allow me to remind people of another basic fact about roleplaying: IT IS RELATIVE. If I take your work, no matter what I think of it and place it up against different roleplays, my opinion will change to some extent. I will think someone did one thing better than you, while that same thing they did better, you may outdo someone else. It’s not hard and fast where if you do A + B = WIN. Your opponent could have a great week or have a fantastic idea and they executed it well or they have a phenomenal promo while you had good work and it was just overshadowed. It doesn’t mean it sucked. It just means it wasn’t good enough for the win this week. Especially if you’re in a competitive match or facing the top guys, this happens quite often. It’s not a matter of one person doing bad work and another person doing great work. Often I find both person’s roleplays good and I have to make a decision on whose is better.
Anyway….rant over.
4) Losing a big match
Nothing feels worse that pouring your heart out on a big match and coming up short. But it happens. That’s the risk with a competitive aspect to a game. But some people get quite disheartened and have trouble rebounding.
But those are the three major reasons I find people get burnt out. I’ve offered some ways to prevent it, but what happens if you are burnt out. There are remedies and sometimes you won’t think of it.
A) Ask for a roleplaying period off.
This is standard. And I’m usually happy to give you a Breakdown/Ammo period off, especially if you ask me before I say get a set of results up. If you know you’re struggling or you have a busy couple of weeks or you just need a break, ask. I will provide it. The only way it’s an issue is if you’re already booked. If that, make sure you give me at least a week to find a replacement and make sure you get some response from me. Regardless, I know this is a game and that people need breaks. Sometimes I’ll provide a break without you asking just because I want to prevent you from getting burnt out from my end as best as I can, but you’re the best judge of it.
And another thought: If you really need some extended time off, I have no problem giving you a “month” off and trying to build a feud through segments, giving you a few weeks off without needing to worry about roleplaying, but you return to roleplaying the following pay per view. Anytime someone wants some extended time off, I usually ask if I can book you for the pay per view. Granted, I can’t give this to everyone for obvious reasons, but if you really are burnt out, this is one way to give you a break without having to take yourself out of the game.
B) Make a secondary/tertiary random low-card character.
I know some people have made random characters essentially as jokes or with no desire to see them win. Just for fun. They give themselves a ten minute time limit and just come up with something. Many feds don’t have “jobber” characters. I welcome them as long as that is the case and in some cases, these characters at least remind you why you loved the game in the first place and why you find it fun. There’s less pressure. You can just do random things and not really care. If you get a win, great. If you don’t, who cares? You’re messing around. Granted, I’d prefer a few more of the these character if I see them to be more serious and of varying styles as it’s more variety for possible opponents, but there are value in these types of character as it allows even a break for other roleplayers with their serious characters. They know they can have some fun and let loose, or try a new idea without worry about taking a loss in a big match or even write a status quo roleplay (See below) to set things up for later. The importance of these characters though is that they are NOT meant to be serious. Otherwise, they just add to the burn out.
C) Write a status quo roleplay
I use “Status quo roleplay” to mean any roleplay that adds nothing new to your backstory, character development and largely just set things up. These types of roleplays a lot of people do without worrying about it. They usually are done if people don’t want to no-show or they’re low on ideas. But they have that advantage. They set up. They either allow you to get something up that you can still use for future roleplays and your backstory/storylines when you’re having a busy or tough week, or they don’t put too much strain in terms of writing as they largely just are there to reiterate something done or to “buy time” until you’re able to come up with those ideas. Granted, this is not necessarily great if you’re in a huge match, but it’s still something and you never know. The best part about these is that if you do have a vague idea about what you want to do with the character, but are not sure of how to get there, you write this type of roleplay to set things up, to introduce a new character, to introduce a new change or to set something up so when you make that change or that new storyline moment, it’s far more effective or powerful to the reader. They also tend to save ideas as you’re really not adding much new, just reminding the reader what is important about your character in coming weeks. I personally tend to use this option when I roleplay and have a rough week or few ideas.
D) Take a Leave of Absence
This is the worst-case scenario, but sometimes you need to recharge away from the fed. This does take you out of the game and sometimes, I can’t work you back into storylines cleanly, leaving you in a bit of limbo when you are motivated to return. But it gives you some times where you’re not worrying about roleplaying or even reading shows as often if you take an extended LOA, I just write you out of the storylines and the show. This also has the additional problem that you may have to work back up to where you were as the longer you take time off, you open up a door for someone else to step up.
These are just some remedies, but at the end of the day, burn out is something that really only you can determine. But there are a lot of ways to avoid it, but also to prevent yourself from taking yourself out of the game. There’s nothing wrong with taking a break though, but sometimes it’s just a matter of taking a couple of weeks instead of going on a full-on Leave of Absence. I’ve had some people talk to me saying they need to take long periods of time off and then two weeks later, they miss it and want to come back. Think about it, but you’re not alone. EVERYONE suffers from it at some point, no matter how good or how consistent they may be. Hopefully this helps some of you with it.