So what about you, RPG Bloggers? Why do you write about games? In what form does writing crop up in your campaigns? What’s your process, your stumbling blocks, your passion? How has writing helped you or your table? Or is writing more like a CR 8 Succubus whose torturous, siren song hurts so good and dominates your very being?
It’s funny that this was November’s RPG Blog Carnival topic, since it’s the month I’ve written the least for a long time. Not writing, not posting, and having the words and thoughts and ideas stuck in my head has actually been a physical ache.
So why have I been quiet? It isn’t exactly writers block. The thoughts, and even the words are there. It’s more a combination of stress, frustration, exhaustion, and just a general feeling of being overwhelmed. The fact that I’m in the middle of my second to last class for my Masters degree probably is a contributing factor...
So why do i write about an old pen and paper fantasy RPG?
I’m sure nostalgia plays a part, but the real reason is because when my mind wanders it tends to drift around to fantasy and sci-fi. So what makes Dungeons and Dragons my default go to as opposed to Middle Earth, Narnia, Starfleet, or any of the zillions of other worlds found in books? D&D is a game, a sandbox, and it literally doesn’t exist without the involvement of players. While I can steal ideas from all of those other worlds that authors have created, I’m not limited by them.
So maybe even more than writing is the creating. The monsters, places, magic items, characters, and everything else are all mine!
I think that is why I write.
As far as writing goes, I always keep a 'campaign diary' of games I am a player in. This started off, many years ago, as just running lists of monsters defeated and treasures gained (for the XP!), but then someone would say something funny and I would write that down, so it just became something that I have enjoyed doing --- now they are pretty fun to write, probably less fun for strangers to read since there are a lot of "you had to be there" moments. We usually share these via email and the other players offer their observations/corrections. They are NOT literature --- they are just "Here is what happened last week (followed by a list of players present and their characters)....).
ReplyDeleteI realized a while ago that having a 'chronicle' of what had happened (however basic) helped us keep track of where we had been, what we had done and what our outstanding quests/obligations might be... plus it has really helped keep players who couldn't make it in the loop and a part of the fun. I don't have young children, but some of my fellow players do and it seems like a week does not go by where one of them can't come because of something involving kids, school, etc. Even players who COULD be there sometimes have trouble remembering what happened two weeks ago (our regular games all seem to meet once every two weeks), so a brief synopsis that you read over the night before really helps.
Another player in a group I was in made a video once for a campaign we had been in where he just edited together a bunch of clips from different movies like 'Gladiator' and "Pirates of the Carribean" or 'The Sound of Music' with subtitle commentary to make a psuedo-movie trailer-like video for a film of our campaign. It wouldn't have made any sense to anyone not involved in the game, but we laughed ourselves sick over it.
I also enjoy writing on various topics that interest me, or riffing on stuff that I find funny or interesting on my blog. This takes a lot of forms, from comments on current events, etc.(that are probably mostly not game related) and general musing on differnt things which may or may not be game related. A lot of what I used to post in forums I now post on my blog, mostly just because I enjoy writing (I don't consider myself to have literary ambitions; I just enjoy writing for my own fun).