# Look Ma! I'm Writing!



## seasong (Dec 10, 2002)

I kind of stumbled into writing a Story Hour, when _mmadsen_ sort of dared me to. Or rather, dropped an off-hand comment in response to _my_ off-hand comment, which I sort of took as a dare, and leapt.

Now, exactly one month and approximately 10,000 words of narrative later, it has sunk in that I'm actually _writing_ something, and that people (a few people, anyway) are _reading_ it. And while I still occasionally wake up in a cold sweat, thinking, "What the heck am I _doing_?", I think I've managed to find an acceptable rhythm for continuing to do so.

And then I go and read all of these other Story Hours, like PirateCat's, Wulf's, DrMidnight's... and they've been going for what seems like eternity.

A year from now, assuming a somewhat reduced writing rate for me (once I get past the campaign growing stage), I might manage to be at 50,000 words of narrative, close to a short novel in length. If my story is satisfying, I might have somewhere around 20,000 page views, and an audience of a hundred or so. I hope I make it!

Anyway, I wanted to share my feelings. I've always written strictly for myself (and sometimes my players), and it's frightening and thrilling to write for a potentially large audience.


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## Sniktch (Dec 10, 2002)

*Here, here!*

I hope you make it, too, seasong.  I identified a lot with your post while I was reading it and felt I had to chime in.  Its amazing to me how _crippling_ the fear of failure can be - it can sometimes paralyze you to the extent that you simply don't do anything at all!  And to me, at least, the fear of sharing my work and the fear of failure go hand-in-hand; I'm afraid to share my work because it might not be well received and that will mean (on some level) that I've failed.

However, I'm thrilled at the reception I've received so far and have become completely addicted to writing my daily pages.  I've started to wake up in a cold sweat at night when I realize I haven't updated in a day or two.  See, now that I've started writing again, I don't ever want to stop!

So, keep it up, seasong!  Here's to hoping that in a year we both have manuscripts written and we can look back fondly at the anxiety we felt while making our first post, while watching the page views slowly crawl towards one hundred, and all the other pangs and flashes that kept us awake at night, feverishly typing away while we waited for sleep to overtake us.


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## Lazybones (Dec 11, 2002)

I completely understand. 

As a writer, the blank page is a merciless, unfeeling adversary.  All of the writer's guides I've read, from Anne Lamont to Steven King, all insist that the key is forcing oneself to confront that foe, to get at least a little bit on paper every day.  It's _sooooo_ easy to turn away, and remarkable how often you start thinking you have nothing to say this day, and then end up with 6-8 pages of stuff that you feel great about. 

Enjoy writing your story hour.  I'd suggest that you primarily do it for yourself; the down side of relying on accolades is that it is often sporadic; you feel disappointed when no one responds and doubt yourself when the praises aren't flowing in.  Focus on your craft, tell the story that you want to (_have to_) tell.  It's weird, given how your work is so much a part of you, but it's almost as if you have to divorce yourself from it, not care about what anything things, before you can send it out into the world and get the success that all writers want.  

I just checked my latest compilation; I started my _Travels_ story in January, and for Books I-VI, 320,000 words.  Between my four threads, I think I've got maybe 12-13k views total, and it's in the top 20 of active stories in that regard.  

Good luck, and good writing.


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## seasong (Dec 11, 2002)

Thanks for the kind words!

Regarding feedback... yeah, that's kind of the standard writer's depression cycle, right there in a nutshell . Do they like me? Do they like me? Do they like me?

Fortunately, my players have been reading it fairly consistently, so it serves a purpose beyond the merely egoistic - I can use it to communicate.

Thanks again.


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## el-remmen (Dec 11, 2002)

I use my story hour as a way to keep in the practice of writing.

I'm not much of a fantasy writer - but I have written a whole lot of other stuff when I had time (including two novels langusihing in my file cabinet) - since I don't really have the time to spend on another novel (though I have an idea and a chapter list for another) - but I don't want to fall completely out of practice of the craft, the story hour is a good outlet.

Of course, it also helps to have a completel narrative of your campaign and it can even affect your game - because it can help develop an  NPC's voice - or allow you to see a plot point or character in a new way.

All around, great stuff - I wish I had the time to read more of them.


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## jonrog1 (Dec 12, 2002)

Congratulations, and welcome to the club.  Remember Asimov's  rule -- "We write 999 words, so the thousandth one doesn't suck." (I may be papraphrasing)

The only road in writing is the long one.  Enjoy the trip.


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## (contact) (Dec 16, 2002)

Lazybones said:
			
		

> *It's . . . remarkable how often you start thinking you have nothing to say this day, and then end up with 6-8 pages of stuff that you feel great about. *



*

But story hours are so easy-- the game writes the story, you just have to transcribe it!  I started writing up game logs for the fun of it, and also to preserve a record of these great campaigns we were running.  After Piratecat's SH prompted the creation of a forum, I started posting them here, and it's been a wonderful experience.

It's funny, but I really felt like the ENWorld was a small audience, not a big one.  It seemed like a safe place to share stories about our shared hobby, and the one forum where the audience would "get it".  They laugh at the inside jokes, they understand that sometimes even the best villains roll 1s on their saves, and they know how the role-playing game structure works.

Of course, now I realize what a cesspool of backbiting, vindictiveness and unreasonably harsh judgements I've stumbled into, and if you weren't collectively holding my sordid past over my head, I'd stop posting here.

(p.s. Writing isn't near as romantic as you writers make it out to be.  "I craved pathos, but all I got was peanut butter and jelly".)*


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## seasong (Dec 16, 2002)

(contact), you a funny guy .


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## el-remmen (Dec 21, 2002)

(contact) said:
			
		

> *
> 
> But story hours are so easy-- the game writes the story, you just have to transcribe it*




Not for me brother. . . Like I said before I use the story hour not only as a record of my game - but as a way to keep my writing chops up. . .  I try hard to build dramatic tenstion, describe scenes, give emphasis to certain dialogue and bring the game world to life so that the events and people around the PCs do not seem "flat".

Sometimes some entries are closer to being _merely transcibed_, but other times I sit and make a real effort to make it leap off the page/screen (thus, my SH is a bit uneven at times - oh, well - not going for the Pulitzer here )

But just because I do it that way doesn't mean it is for everyone - and just because it is easy for you doesn;t mean it should be easy for everyone - at times I have taken nearly half an hour crafting one sentence or description.


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## seasong (Dec 22, 2002)

I thought (contact) was joking, actually. For a mere transcription, one could read my brief record of what happened to Captain Agina... Craft, this is not:







> _Captain Agina calls for retreat. Line is routed, scattered. Three orcs close off escape for Agina's aides, banner drops and Agina draws sword, orcs die under spear (aides) and sword.
> 
> Agina (total attack +8) does a normal hit 67.5% of the time, does a crit 7.5% of the time, and does d8+5 damage. She does an average of 7.8 hp per round, against orc 24 hp. On a round that she kills an orc, she does an additional 7.8 hp average, due to cleave. She kills one orc every 3 1/2 rounds without help.
> 
> ...


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## (contact) (Dec 27, 2002)

I meant it to be funny, but I wasn't joking, if that makes sense.  I'm no l33t writer by any stretch, I meant that my weaknesses are addressed by the story hour format.



			
				nemmerle said:
			
		

> *Not for me brother. . . Like I said before I use the story hour not only as a record of my game - but as a way to keep my writing chops up. . .  *




I can dig that, and I think I do that as well.  Anyone doing anything should work on their skills, right?  But in my case, the most difficult part of the story _is_ the story; what is it about, what happens and what does it all mean?  

Writing D&D logs means that those questions are already answered-- my wonderful group plotted my updates and provided the dialouge at the gaming table.   If it's poignant, it's because they are poignant players.  If it's funny, it's because they are funny.

All I have to figure out is how to say what I already know I want to say.  I don't frankly know where my 'chops' are at, but for me the largest struggle writing fiction is already taken care of.

I also think that this forum creates a reader base (all three of them) that understands without having to be told the basic expectations of the form:

There will be heroes, they will have things like magic missile spells and +2 flaming keen longswords, and they will chop and burn villains.  Rogues can sneak.  How?  Well, hell, they just can and everyone knows that.  I don't have to 'convince' a reader that Mung the Malefecant can get behind the group's carefully planned tactical formation, I just have to say "the rogue snuck to the back of the room", or "Unfortunately for all that is Good and Right, there isn't a man amongst the brave men with a Spot check of +12".  

And, since it's D&D, the primary conflict will be understood to be 'do they succeed' or 'do they succeed in a cool way'.

Seasong's quoted passage communicates what happened to those orcs as well as a masterful passage would, if not as artfully.  We all know what 'total attack +8' means, and why the orcs are all going to die.

The larger game conciets of D&D can be played upon as well, without pages of supporting text.

As an example, my Risen Goddess campaign has a plotline where the PCs are involved in this radical shake-up of the native D&D elven pantheon.  That's the crux of the conflict, and drives the plot.  I can do that here, because I don't have to establish at some point what the elven pantheon is, who its members are and what they're about-- they are already "written into" the expectations of the readers.  

When we shake that all up, the readers understand the history and sancity of the ideas that the PCs are challenging.

Now, could I do all that from scratch?  _That_ would be intimidating to me.

So by "easy", I guess I mean "crutch".


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## (contact) (Dec 27, 2002)

And if that post wasn't long-winded enough, there's also the concept of ad-lib performance as opposed to scripted performance. 

The DM is mostly in charge, but the tension of the game lies in the PCs choices-- the stories are thereby organic, and I can't think of another written format where that organic nature exists.  Bad DMs squelch this aspect, but the good ones encourage it.

That makes these forums (and RPGs in general) a unique vehicle to do what humans have always done-- talk about themselves.


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## el-remmen (Dec 27, 2002)

I guess I approach things diferently than you do, (contact).   For me, ideas are always rushing to me, characters, motivations, developments, subplots, etc. . . 

But it is the nuts and bolts of writing that is hard for me - the getting down to it and crafting those sentences, creating the rhythm of words that helps to convey the feeling of the scene as much as the adjectives or the dialogue does.

So, the fact that these stories are re-telling D&D games only makes it easier for me in a very basic way.

I spent an evening a few weeks ago writing an outline and chapter notes for a (non-fantasy) novel - but I doubt I will ever write it - because the hard part is still to come even though I know what I want to happen to the main character, his name, relations, and even how the chapters will be structured.


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