: Re: Writing vs roleplaying (by forum) In the latest years, i've developed my two main writing-related hobbies: "Conventional" writing: short stories and a wanna-be novel, far from being completed Roleplaying

@Debbie451

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It is a relatively common experience.

Roleplaying, coding, writing... they all exercise the same mental muscle. That muscle gets fatigued, and needs to rest before it can be used further.

A well-known metaphor is the metaphor of the well. As you are doing any of these activities you are drawing water from the well, and at some point it will start to run dry. You have to give the well time to refill.

There are a couple of ways around this, but I suggest you look into the related (but better documented) problem of programmers who write, for more information.

Do not write and roleplay on the same day. Even though the well is finite, it refills with rest. Sectioning off these activities by day will generally give you a full well to work with each time.
Do not take an active role in planning roleplay sessions or designing the roleplay world. Be a participant, not a god. This still strains the muscle, but minimizes the impact when you're not actively involved. You otherwise risk doing 'background work' on the roleplaying when you want to be writing.
Do your writing for the day BEFORE you start roleplaying for the day. If you drain the well a bit too much, at least you are draining it on the thing you want to accomplish. I find an off-day roleplaying does not matter nearly as much in the long run.

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