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So, as I seem to be regaining a bit of energy, I'm considering getting back into roleplaying. In the long run, I'd also like to write some choice-based IF and/or text-heavy games. And so I'm a little concerned that roleplaying will A) use up all my free time and B) satisfy my creative urges well enough that I'll never actually write anything 'real.'

On the other hand, it would be writing practice of a sort, and it's entirely possible that I'd end up working on 'real' writing as well. One of the longer pieces I've worked on was actually based on an RP that didn't work out.

Anyway. I'd love to hear other people's perspectives on this. 

RP is fun practise, but you'll never be able to turn a profit off it. Writing games, on the other hand...

Deciding to jump into the forum games killed my productivity. Don't do it again if you want to write a story.

I advise you to not host any really large RPs while writing text-heavy things. I had to close one of my RPs recently because it was simply exhausting my creativity and got in the way of the "real" project -- my story.

Roleplaying casually, however, is okay, I think, but it isn't on the same level as hosting a large RP or writing a story. Just be sure you're doing it in moderation so that it doesn't as Chris put it "kills your production"

Put it this way: if it weren't for RPing and forums, I might actually have gotten something done in my story game, at least a couple storylines...

I'm a big believer in RPs for writing practice, mainly because RPs were the turning point for me as a writer, and are one of the reasons I don't (imo) suck at it today, but I can understand what Chris is saying. Whether or not one should try to tackle both RPs and formal story writing at the same time depends on what kind of RPs they're doing, how involved their role is, and how much time they have to spare.

When I was a kid, I did pretty much whatever. Forum RPs, one-on-one e-mails, private chat rooms and public free-for-alls... most of them good experiences, and I was still modestly productive on story writing--but I was mainly writing fanfiction (with the occasional original piece) and, when your talents are still developing, you tend to go easier on yourself by virtue of not knowing any better. (Though I really, really tried to grow up quickly as a writer.)

These days I'm more for advocating one-on-one, PM / E-mail RPs because they're slower, you can take your time to think about your reply and refine it, (so you really do get to practice,) you don't have to contend with a lot of chaos, confusion, or troll members jumping in ... if one of you is more skilled than the other, tutoring / teaching is waaaay easier, deciding on a plot / narrative is actually possible, and it can turn into something even more productive, like co-writing a game / story based on it more easily. Casual forum RPs are fine once in a while, but hosting or having an important role can be tricky, and hosting something with real rules and standards, while writing a story of your own? Pfft. Naw. Unless you have a ridiculous amount of free time, you'll either abandon one, or you won't be productive with either.  

I did a few one-on-one RPs with a friend of mine a while back, and we also did a more original RP during our down time in an MMO we were playing together, which also gained a lot of traction from any events that happened in-game around us. It was pretty good, honestly, and I was excited to write a story about it once we had a full out-line. We got pretty far. A couple years or so of life and character development. While the story is still on hold, I feel I learned a great deal from that experience.

The nice thing about RPing a CYOA in particular is that it takes out the "what if" dilemma that some co-written stories face. I've been part of a couple RPs where one person wanted to go one way and the other person wanted to go the other way. Well, with a CYOA, you don't have to choose or argue, just do them both!  

Thanks, folks. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but probably what I needed to hear. :P

Something tells me you already knew the answer before you asked. :P

I was sincerely ambivalent. And I don't think there's a definitive, universally true answer. But... Fazz's suggestion with regards to moderation, kind of reminded me that I don't generally do things in moderation. Otherwise, I'd probably take Kiel's advice. But even if I were just doing 1x1s, I'd almost certainly end up with way too many of them, and I'd be constantly checking to see if anyone had made a new post.

Probably not the best possible use of my time. :P

I have like, 7 tabs open on my phone to check RPs. XD 

Re 1x1: if anything, I spend more time on those- every time the other person posts, I feel like I have to reply.

Really? But you only feel like that with one-on-one RPs? Hmm. I don't have that problem ... but, thinking about it, I guess I used to have issues with that--except that it was with any kind of RP. They used to consume all my creativity, but that was at a point in my life when I needed a break from reality.

Ah. See, I'm capable of the moderation thing, and if I don't feel I will be, I just say no. I've turned a lot of people down lately because I'm dragging my heels on T.O.W. and until it's done, I don't want any other writing project distracting me.