A note on humility, egotism and altruism.

[Ozewse]

Perhaps the best place to start, by comparing a few terms through the power of Wikipedia.

Humility (adjectival form: humble) is the quality of being modest or respectful.
Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of egolessness.

Egotism is the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself, and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and importance — intellectual, physical, social and other.

Altruism or selflessness is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others. [...] Altruism or selflessness is the opposite of selfishness.

What do these terms have to do with writing, especially in regards to roleplaying?

Humility, in its most basic form, is the basis upon which all interpersonal storytelling occurs. In order for one person to roleplay with another, they must be willing to listen to what another person has to say, write, or otherwise communicate through words or actions. The act of reading another person's writing, is in its most basic form, taking interest in something other than one's self, and therefore, altruistic. Egotism, although it may sound like a horrible trait for one to have, is not only inevitable in the nature of human beings, but -also- required for interpersonal storytelling.

If humility is the basis for all interpersonal storytelling, how does egotism fit into the equation?

The act of creating a story with intent to show others your creation is, in itself, egotistical. This is where egotism is required for roleplay, without a story to tell to another, a roleplayer is not playing a role.

Herein lies what may be considered one of the hardest struggles a passionate writer might face.

The balance egotism and humility.

How does one balance egotism and humility?

Egotism is a natural part of the human psyche. It is, arguably, the source of self-confidence, self-esteem, and yes, even confidence in a one's ability as a writer or in the quality of their work. However, it is also the source of narcissism, overconfidence, and over-assertiveness when applied without moderation.

Humility is the opposite. Humility is not considered a natural part of the human psyche. It is a learned trait that begets what many consider gracefulness. The phrase"to be graceful in defeat" is, arguably, to be humble. Humility encompasses accepting one's flaws as a reality to be dealt with, and to accept ones positive traits without allowing them to "blind" themselves from their negative ones.

Speaking in terms of "the ongoing war in each roleplayer's mind", Altruism is humility's weapon against one's natural egotism.

But how does that apply in roleplay? Is there a TL:DR version of this?

Roleplay can only be achieved through a series of responses to stimuli that a character is given, or by stimuli that one character gives to another. This stimulation can be as simple as a question, or as minute and intricate as the way one's body language changes. This is why it's very important to read further into an emote than the simple words placed in the text box. One must respect those they roleplay with, and be humble enough to listen to a story before they tell one. Roleplay is a game of give and take. To take the story into your own hands is egotistic. To hand off the reins to another, is altruistic. But in all cases, both must be held in moderation for all parties to remain interested and contribute equally.


TL;DR: Take the supporting role sometimes. You'd be amazed at where it takes you.

[Dae]

More importantly, if one is just here to tell their own stories, why aren't they just writing a novel?

And I'm serious about this- sometimes stories and characters would work better as a narrative than an interactive experience. One shouldn't be hesitant or afraid to write as a singular author. One form of storytelling can cultivate the other.

[Pudding]

I've seen many ways of storytelling, from direct storytelling, live, even, to a couple of pages about a certain character. However, I don't know why my eyes instead of dropping on the text dropped on your avatar and signature, nice combination, Oze.

[Ozewse]

Kassadin support is best support. I'M KASSADIN. I'M HELPING.

[Maulbane]

This is a very good thread. But, for some reason, I keep getting reminded of the damn Cyberdreams game for I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. I... I don't know why. It might be the topic of ego. Beh, moving on!

It's interesting. I know for a fact that I used to be not-so-great at RPing. Some of my early characters tended to try and take the spotlight a lot. Jelme was 'that guy' who'd never stop making wisecracks, as if he was pointing a lamp at himself and twiddling his eyebrows wildly shouting "Huh? Huh?". Maulbane, despite the fact that I loved him dearly, did end up becoming kind of a ... Power-hog. I got a -wee- bit overenthusiastic with his storyline, leading him from one incredible feat of strength to the other - though, it did give quite a few others legitimately fun RP, so I think it's one of my lesser evils.

Almost three years later, however, I've become boring. Utterly, utterly dull. May as well call me snore-bane. It's an amalgam of reasons I tend to shy from the spotlight, one of them's obviously stage fright, but I think that I've become more fond of characters who aren't that spectacular, who are, for all intents and purposes, less 'interesting' than the guy next to them. I'm hardly conceited enough to say I do it out of the kindness of my heart, and I think one of the most poignant reasons is that, well, it's a challenge. It's so much harder to build a character who you can feel actual emotions about when you keep them on the sidelines, but I've tried. Beralle's essentially the player character equivalent of that vendor you see everywhere, and Vedajo's ultimately both not very bright and completely unskilled outside of running. That's not to say that a character's attributes dictate what place they assume in an RP, but those with particularly talented characters (we've all got one, no worries) will tend to balk more at the idea of sitting back.

I find an almost voyeuristic pleasure these days in being "that guy in the crowd", I think. The figure that shouts "woo, Stormwind." with twenty other people saying the same thing, but still comfortably knowing that the character has a place, and isn't simply another throwaway alt. It's part of the world-building process for me, I guess, and it makes me feel fuzzy.

I think I'm done.

[Kage]

Heh. I remember making a post way back around when I first joined about not being the main character. About being the background guy, the guy drinking a bottle of beer with no part in anything. One thing I've learned though, that's the best place to be. It opens many more options to what you can do later on. You're not tied down by a storyline you have to create, and its pretty fun. Being the supporting character really does lead to amazing rp and a story for your own character. Krest's had several of his own stories just be supporting another in his way. Be the support. You'll get to do more.

[Vladdy]

Me? Egotism? Ha ha... I mean, it's not like I'm... *cough* Paulton *coughcoughCOUGH*