Waylon's Crossing Forum

So, I admit I've been putting this off, because I hate confrontation; however, I feel that I need to remind everyone of a couple of the finer points of being productive members of a campfire.

Meta-Gaming

This is, to be blunt, letting your character know and act on knowledge that he/she does not know through his/her interactions with the other characters. This knowledge is what we, as authors, have gleaned from reading what is written by other authors and/or discussed with them.

I hate meta-gaming, so if you're still not sure, please message me, because I will start deleting posts that I believe have broken my primary rule.

Controlling someone else's character

It is a matter of etiquette that in campfires we only describe events from our own character's point of view (POV). This becomes an issue when we start doing things with other people's characters. Unless you have that author's explicit permission to do something, do not attribute actions to that character.

Think about it this way: You're playing with your toys and a friend comes over with theirs. Then you take your friend's toys and start to play with them, too. Would you be upset? I know I would.

There are fine lines with controlling another's character. As the campfire leader, I'm expected to and must (to a certain extent), in order to keep the story moving. As a member, we should only have another character do something if it's (a) relevant, (b) in keeping with their personality/character, and most importantly, (c) necessary.

If it's not absolutely necessary, find a way for your character to discover or do that action him/herself. That's what it means develop a character. Never, under any circumstance, attribute motives or reasons for why a character does something, unless said character is your own.


Now, all that being said, if I have broken any of the above guidelines or led you to believe that they were okay through my own actions, I heartily apologize. Please note that, going forward, I will either remove posts and have you re-do them, or remove you from the campfire. I'm sorry, but I love this story and I will shut it down rather than see it ruined.