Characters, writers and shared control

What you’ll learn

Distinguish the writers, their characters and their conversations outside the story.
Leave character choices to their writer unless an agreement or shared rule settles the outcome.
Give characters an in-story reason to know information before they act on it.

Inside and outside the story

In character (IC) means within the fiction: what characters say, do and know. Out of character (OOC) means the writers talking about the game. “Can we move the next scene to the harbour?” is an OOC question. A character arguing with yours does not by itself mean the writer is upset with you. Likewise, something a writer tells you privately does not become knowledge your character can use without learning it in the story.

Write your character’s intentions, actions, thoughts and perceptions.
Leave the other character’s feelings, decisions and reactions to their writer, unless you have agreed on the outcome or a rule decides it.
If you know a secret from a character profile or a writer discussion, give your character a way to discover it before acting on it.
If a post takes away your choice, explain the specific problem. Communities use godmodding and powerplay differently; a label alone may not tell your partner what to change.

Deciding the other character’s response

Niko’s threat terrified Lea. She confessed and handed him the key.

Leaving a response open

Niko leaned across the table. “Someone unlocked the storehouse last night.” He glanced at the key beside Lea and waited.

You can plan discoveries together

Try it yourself

Your partner tells you outside the story that the mayor is their character’s parent. Your detective has found no clue. How could you use this idea?

Show explanation

Keep the detective unaware for now; being told as a writer is not an in-story discovery.
Ask whether your partner wants the family connection to become part of the plot.
If you both do, agree on a clue the detective could find, such as a family photograph.