Post by Joe Summers on Mar 20, 2020 21:30:59 GMT -5
So, there's been some discussion in the shoutbox about how we handle current events in CPW world, and we've had a few admin discussions about it as well. I figured since Lopez wrote an RP that went all in on the COVID stuff, this would be a good time to let you in on our thoughts and how we're probably moving forward with this. I don't think there's really a "right" answer here, so if any of you have thoughts on this, do feel free to share them. Hopefully, as you all realize by now, we're pretty flexible.
We're not going to pretend that COVID-19 doesn't exist. That would be the easiest thing to do, but, I do think that a lot of good writing comes from what people are expecting in their own lives. Right now, each and every one of us is dealing with the effects of the virus in some way. To not allow that to be used in our fictional writing would be a waste. So, please. RP about it, write about it, talk about how it's effecting your character...whatever. If it inspires you to do something great, go for it.
As the same time, we're also not going to have CPW mirror reality. If there's one thing that we DO know about COVID, it's that...we don't really know anything. Life might be disrupted for a few weeks. Life might be disrupted for a few months. What might seem fun and creative now might not be anywhere near as enjoyable in June. Or, you might want to write something as a bit of escapism, and...not be able to because of the whole "social distancing" reality that most of us are in right now. So, there's a balance. We don't want to keep people from using current events. We don't want to stifle creativity. But we can also say with a great deal of certainty that...CPW shows aren't going to be cancelled for this. They don't have to be held in empty arenas, and they don't have to face the same challenges that AEW/WWE are facing right now because...that's the difference between fiction and reality. And it's the same with RPs, since not stifling creativity goes both ways.
What Gina and I seemed to think was a good compromise was to (permanently?) put CPW reality back where things were a month or so ago for the rest of us. That is to say...COVID exists. COVID is a problem in some parts of the world. There are reasons to dabble in things like empty arena shows, if we decide we want to do that. But, at the same time...the world isn't shut down. Society is still going. People have options. If you're inspired by what's going on in the world around you, you can move with that. If you want to use this as a platform for some escapism without having to stay consistent with the reality of the moment? You can do that, too.
It's not a PERFECT solution, but as someone whose job has focused very heavily on this the past few weeks (as those of you who know what I do for a living/who I work for can probably imagine)...trust me, there are no perfect solutions. We're at least fortunate enough to be able to try and create one that works for all of us.
We're not going to pretend that COVID-19 doesn't exist. That would be the easiest thing to do, but, I do think that a lot of good writing comes from what people are expecting in their own lives. Right now, each and every one of us is dealing with the effects of the virus in some way. To not allow that to be used in our fictional writing would be a waste. So, please. RP about it, write about it, talk about how it's effecting your character...whatever. If it inspires you to do something great, go for it.
As the same time, we're also not going to have CPW mirror reality. If there's one thing that we DO know about COVID, it's that...we don't really know anything. Life might be disrupted for a few weeks. Life might be disrupted for a few months. What might seem fun and creative now might not be anywhere near as enjoyable in June. Or, you might want to write something as a bit of escapism, and...not be able to because of the whole "social distancing" reality that most of us are in right now. So, there's a balance. We don't want to keep people from using current events. We don't want to stifle creativity. But we can also say with a great deal of certainty that...CPW shows aren't going to be cancelled for this. They don't have to be held in empty arenas, and they don't have to face the same challenges that AEW/WWE are facing right now because...that's the difference between fiction and reality. And it's the same with RPs, since not stifling creativity goes both ways.
What Gina and I seemed to think was a good compromise was to (permanently?) put CPW reality back where things were a month or so ago for the rest of us. That is to say...COVID exists. COVID is a problem in some parts of the world. There are reasons to dabble in things like empty arena shows, if we decide we want to do that. But, at the same time...the world isn't shut down. Society is still going. People have options. If you're inspired by what's going on in the world around you, you can move with that. If you want to use this as a platform for some escapism without having to stay consistent with the reality of the moment? You can do that, too.
It's not a PERFECT solution, but as someone whose job has focused very heavily on this the past few weeks (as those of you who know what I do for a living/who I work for can probably imagine)...trust me, there are no perfect solutions. We're at least fortunate enough to be able to try and create one that works for all of us.