# Story Hour Fatigue



## Sepulchrave II (Jan 30, 2005)

Who else suffers from it, and what do you do about it?

I'm a year behind in updates now, and the backlog is growing. There was a time when I would post - enthusiastically - twice every week. Now, once per quarter seems about average. Sure, my schedule has changed, and I have more responsibilities and time constraints, but I _could_ still make time, if I chose, to update maybe fortnightly.

It's just so damn daunting. I sit down with the best of intentions, and think 'Oh God. _This_ again.' I've tried putting it out of my mind, but it nags at me. I've tried avoiding my own thread, because it depresses me to read it, but still, I look back in.

The thing is, I love sharing it with people. I love the feedback that it elicits. I'm so _excited_ about detailing the story. Until I actually sit down to write. 

Suggestions, anyone?


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## el-remmen (Jan 30, 2005)

I am over ayear behind myself, and to think at one poitn I was updating the story hour as it happened, but two sessions behind became five, which became twelve which became twenty. 

There have definitely been times where maintaining it has seemed daunting, and I put it off for as long as I can, or I'll start to write up a section and think "Damn! I am still all the way back here?!!" 

But usually I find it to be inertia that needs to get pushed past and after the first page or so of struggling I get into it again and remember the fun of the encounters and how this stuff links to what is going on the current game reminding me of details to bring up again. etc. . and the next thing I know I will have written two or three updates in a month's time, and more. . .at least until life becomes to busy to maintain that and I slow down again and have to push past the "fatigue" again a month or three down the line.

I guess, my only suggestion is to decide to stop and be done with it, putting aside any guilt about that, or just accept that you will update whenever it feels right and happen to wan to and put aside any artificial timetable you may have made for yourself or that your readers may have put on you.

Hmmm, looking back, that doesn't seem very helpful.


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## Piratecat (Jan 30, 2005)

I'm with you. There's pressure to make the updates _worth_ reading, especially when it's been a little while between them, and that's intimidating. It's countered by how much fun I'm having while I'm actually writing; I get lost in the story then, and hours seem like minutes. It's just been taking me some effort to get myself into that frame of mind.

A few suggestions:

- worry less about quality, and just write for fun. _Your_ fun.

- skip a whole year by posting a brief summary, and skip to the present. Let what has happened in that year come across as backstory during the writeup of your current adventure.

- Find a way to motivate yourself. I'm just posted an art contest for my game in order to help keep me focused.

- Write about something totally different for a while.

- Read Steven King's _On Writing_; there's some good advice in there, in my opinion.


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## Ankh-Morpork Guard (Jan 31, 2005)

My SH is no where near as long or as popular as any of the three from you...but I think PKitty's got some seriously good advice. Especially in worrying less about the quality.

I honestly am writing my SH more for myself than anyone else. The fact that people like it is a wonderful byproduct of posting it here, and while I do love feedback and such...I'll still continue to update it without it. 

I'd say getting behind could be something that wears down on you. It'll make you feel like you're just trying to catch up instead of telling the story. If you can focus on the fun parts and what made it great isntead of just trying to catch up, it should be fine. If not...well, take PKitty's advice and try writing something completely different.


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## Cheiromancer (Jan 31, 2005)

I don't know if story hour fatigue is anything like thesis fatigue, but if it is, I might have some advice:

*Write what you can, not what comes next.*

I have trouble beginning chapters, and making transitions between sections.  So what I started to do is think, "Ok, I have to explain X in here somewhere.  What will I say when I come to that point?"

And then I write down X.  I might not ever use it, I might find I have to change it, expand on it, or cut it down to size, but it is a lot easier to work with something when it already exists.

How might this work for you?  Well, suppose the battle in Afqithan is causing you trouble.  Write something else!  A scene, a dialog, some background material.  And put it aside until you want to use it.  Doing such things will allow your creativity to express itself, and this will make it easier to be creative.  After a while you'll be eager to write, and (with a lot of material pre-written) you'll be fantastically productive.

Anyway, that's what I've been doing with my MA thesis, and it seems to be working.

Good luck!


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## pogre (Jan 31, 2005)

Notice, you're by no means alone.

You, PC, Destan, Wulf, and many others who have massively popular stories - seem to put pressure on yourself to deliver something equally great. Your absence is even more noted with forlorn bumps because of your previous great efforts. I remember when I was up in Chicago talking to Wulf, before I had even read his work on here, he was commenting about his monster hanging over his head.

The solution I suggest may not be popular, but here it is: 

Sell the updates at RPGnow. The reward of getting paid may be enough to push you over the edge. I know you are perfectionist and may respond - it will take me even more time to prepare something for sale. Instead, I suggest you say to folks right up front in your "for sale" blurb - _this is exactly the same quality and approximately the same quantity of my story hour_.

I think you would make a little coin to spend on yourself and the wife and the pressure of updates would at least be tempered by the knowledge it just meant money in the bank.

I guarantee you lots of publishers of pdfs would step up to format and sell your stuff for a percentage to save you that hassle.

Just something to think about...

I know I would pay a buck or two for an update.


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## Lazybones (Jan 31, 2005)

pogre said:
			
		

> Sell the updates at RPGnow. The reward of getting paid may be enough to push you over the edge. I know you are perfectionist and may respond - it will take me even more time to prepare something for sale. Instead, I suggest you say to folks right up front in your "for sale" blurb - _this is exactly the same quality and approximately the same quantity of my story hour_.



While I would likely spend a few bucks on Sep's content, the problem with all SHs on this site is that they rely heavily upon copyrighted content and trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast , ne Hasbro. Sep's creation is heavily homebrewed/unique, but all of the spells and monsters are from the various sourcebooks. It's my understanding that fiction is not covered under OGL, but of course IANAL. WotC might not have a problem with this, but I'd be shocked if Sep didn't get a call from a lawyer if he started selling his content for profit. 

As for the original question: I can totally understand where you're coming from, Sep. Fact is, if I had the expectations attached to my SH that you have on yours, I don't know if I'd be able to produce anything more. Piratecat took my specific points, but I can say that my muse comes and goes. She's a flighty wench, but I find that I can force her sometimes. The longer I stay away from my keyboard, the harder it is to get back (and strangely, my mood dips over those long stretches... I think what they say about writers _having_ to write has some truth to it).  So I often have to make a conscious effort to sit down and pound something out... a character introduction scene, a minor combat, sometimes even a few lines of dialogue.  At the time I'm thinking, "This is utter crap, I'll never use this," but oddly enough more often than not a lot of it ends up sending me in a new direction and relighting the fire of inspiration.  There have been only a few times when I've had to ditch entire chapters and start fresh; yes, that'll happen, and for me at least it's hard to let go of anything I've written. 

The suggestion to take a break and write something else is also a good one. I have a very short attention span, and often am 2-3 stories ahead in terms of creating plots.  Obviously most of those plots never get written, and it's easy to lose interest in what I'm currently doing. Go ahead and scribble out a few chapters of something; that is often enough to work out the creative impulse, and you'll often come back to your original project with a new perspective. 

Finally, if I were you I'd write a few chapters without even looking at ENWorld or your threads.  Write for yourself; worry about what people want later.


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## Silver Moon (Jan 31, 2005)

I have a huge advantage these days of the most posted is a Play-by-post game, which still takes time to reorganize into chapter format but most of the typing is already done.   Still, I'm way behind on it due to our group's rapid post rate.   I'm now up to logging our 9th PBP thread while we are currently wrapping up the first module with our 25th thread.   Since I've decided I'll never catch up at this point I've started a new thread for our second module rather than waiting.  So I'll be posting both simultaneoulsy for a while.

What I'm behind on now is my weekly gaming group's Story Hours.    Our D&D campaign just played our 11th game night in the current module and the Story Hour only has the first 4 games so far.    Before that we had done a 3-night module in our western campaign which I just started to log the Story Hour of this weekend. 

I'm also behind in logging a one-shot game from last summer that I am still planning to turn into a PBP.  I still have a chapter or two to go with the final hour of that game.


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## Seravin (Jan 31, 2005)

First I remind myself that I write for several reasons, but like D&D the act of writing should be fun.

If something about the next post makes me want to avoid writing, then I dither for awhile and then eventually start writing about something else for awhile.  I'll go visit a different part of the world and talk about how events were affected, or whatever.

Finally, I remind myself that posts can be of any size.  I don't have to write 5 pages to a post if all I have in me is a single page for the day.

If none of that works, my girlfriend starts to cheerfully nag after about three weeks of delaying.  I don't recommend it personally.


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## Sepulchrave II (Jan 31, 2005)

> It's countered by how much fun I'm having while I'm actually writing; I get lost in the story then, and hours seem like minutes. It's just been taking me some effort to get myself into that frame of mind.




I hear you, PC. One of my main problems is that I no longer have those long, unbroken periods of time like I used to. And it takes me a while to get into the right headspace.



> - skip a whole year by posting a brief summary, and skip to the present. Let what has happened in that year come across as backstory during the writeup of your current adventure.




Oddly enough, I've been giving this some serious thought. I do need to wrap up a certain plotline first, however. I'm thinking that this is the way to go.



> I don't know if story hour fatigue is anything like thesis fatigue, but if it is, I might have some advice:
> 
> Write what you can, not what comes next.




Cheiro, Story Hour fatigue is nowhere near as bad as thesis fatigue. Trust me on that one. In fact, if your MA is getting you down, I'd highly recommend writing a SH as a distraction...



> Finally, if I were you I'd write a few chapters without even looking at ENWorld or....




Blasphemy! Impossible! I've been addicted to ENWorld for four years. Not paying a regular visit is unthinkable    

Seriously, though, it's the 'fun' part that I miss. How do I rediscover that? I must admit though, that even with this disclosure, things just got a little better.


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## el-remmen (Jan 31, 2005)

BTW, thanks for the thread, it got me to get off my ass and start my next installment. . .


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## the Jester (Jan 31, 2005)

I just took about a month off from my story hours (and still haven't gotten back to one of 'em).  I prolly update as much as just about anyone; but from early/mid December to mid-January, I just wasn't interested.

Then I ran a Very Special Gaming Event, where my epic party crossed with another dm's epic party JLA vs. Avengers style, and I frankly _still_ haven't come down from it.  Shortly afterward I was back on the updates!  And though I'm over a dozen games behind in each thread, I've been (at least somewhat) trying to summarize the unimportant or less interesting stuff.  

I guess my best advice would be- if you have a super-special game, it might inspire you to jump back in.


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## ThoughtBubble (Jan 31, 2005)

It's not story hour fatigue, but sometimes I just can't get into the kick of writing. I found that I have a mantra that helps out. 

"It doesn't matter what I write. I am just putting words on paper. I have no goals. I am simply seeing what forms. I have no concerns of quality. I'm just using up some time. Whatever I do will be great, because I have no expectations. And even if it isn't great, it doesn't matter. I enjoy the act of writing. I have no need for the outcome."

And I write like that, usually a paragraph or two. Which, by that time ends with, "But as long as I'm going to be sitting here for the next fifteen minutes, I could be writing about X..."

Once all the worry starts to fade away, once I get past that squirming little twisting need to get up and stop working because it might turn out badly, then I can write. It's especially useful if I've got a product proposal, or update due for work.


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## Mortepierre (Jan 31, 2005)

I can certainly sympathize with you in this regard, Sep. Though I started my own SH but recently, I am already discovering that in-between two campaigns, my family life and my work, the spare time I have left to write isn’t nearly as long as I had expected.

Moreover, the fact is that once you gain an audience due to the quality of what you write, you feel a pressure to continue to provide A+ material. That’s especially true for authors such as Piratecat, Destan, or yourself.

My own mistake was a desire to write long updates. I realize now that I should have gone for shorter but more frequent updates. Once I finish the current chapter, the next ones are going to be handled that way.

Beyond that, I find that what others have already stated is true. It’s often the first few pages that are the most difficult to write down. Once you’ve started, things get rolling and it becomes far easier


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## Wisdom Penalty (Jan 31, 2005)

it's the price of fame, sep.

while i appreciate the fact that it may get a bit difficult to update, and the constant bumps can prove frustrating, id bet 99.63% of the story hour authors on this site would love to be penning one of the very few threads that get read by more people than just their own players.

do you ever communicate with other story hour authors off-line? about d&d? writing? anything?  they may have some ideas or, at least, can validate the fact that they feel the same way (though this thread sort of does that, i suppose).

as for my part, ive tried to refrain from bumping sh's that i read because im worried it may have the opposite effect.  destan, for example, seems to have packed it in. pcat has drifted away from his hordes of faithful. and you...well, you know your situation best. 

i guess the bottom line for me is that ill read whatever post, whenever you post it, and i hope you get at least a 1/10 of the enjoyment from writing as i do from what you write.

W.P.


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## Piratecat (Jan 31, 2005)

Wisdom Penalty said:
			
		

> pcat has drifted away from his hordes of faithful.




Nah. I had dropped to about once a month, but that's now going to once a week (with some conditions.) I should be able to keep that schedule.

Mortepierre hit the nail on the head about shorter updates, more frequently. I find shorter updates easier to write, and it's almost certain that they make the thread more accessible to new readers.  Heck, I usually write one long update and break it up into two or three pieces.

My big stalling point recently was twenty unlabeled and unorganized tapes that have the game sessions recorded. They were just sitting there, staring at me, and every time I thought about writing I didn't want to deal with them. An hour of organization, and that's become a lot more bearable.


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## BiggusGeekus (Jan 31, 2005)

Sep,

If I were you, I wouldn't update the story hour.  I'd write up the first 10,000 words into a nice format and send it off to the Wizards novel submission thing.

You have a wonderful tale to tell and you are a talented writer.  As long as you are banging your head into the gravel to get this all down, why not get paid for it?

I realize I'm begging to get a jillion email viruses for suggesting that you don't update and make us wait some more, but really I think this is your best bet.


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## KidCthulhu (Jan 31, 2005)

Well, I'm not trying to update a story hour, but the first thing I want to say is:

Get over yourself.

We, the devoted story hour readers, do not expect you to be Faulkner.  We read the story hours because you are telling us a great story.  It's about what happens next to the characters.  If you're caught up in making every update a shining pearl of literature, you need a smack upside the head.

Don't wait to be "in the moment".  If you wait for your muse to arrive, she never will.  The only way to make all your writing competent and readable is to write.  Every day.  Just write.  

Sure, the most popular story hours are popular because they're well written.  But they are also popular because they describe great hours of gaming.  Don't get so lost in the words that you forget the picture.

I agree with the idea of summarizing to get yourself back on track.  Imagine if sports writers had to write about the big game from a taped transcript or notes a YEAR after the event.  It would it be incredibly dangerous, and their distance from the time and place would only make it more difficult to recover the feeling of the moment.


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## barsoomcore (Jan 31, 2005)

KC (is it okay if I imagine you with a Sunshine Band?) has a good point. I've been writing more-or-less long tales for a very long time now, and sometimes you have to slog for a while, not really feeling the joy, until you have a breakthrough and suddenly the fun is back. You just keep putting words on the page.

And while I agree with the summarizing tip, here's another: When you don't like what happened, or you can't figure out how to get through it --

MAKE IT UP.

It's amazing how much freedom just making up any old thing can be. You don't HAVE to report what happened; you have to tell a great story. Your story.

So if trying to recall what happened a year ago is getting you down (heck, Barsoom Tales is reciting encounters from FOUR years ago, I think. Maybe three.), just start making it up as you go. Worked for Indiana Jones.


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## Ankh-Morpork Guard (Jan 31, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> MAKE IT UP.




Very very good advice.

Another thing to remember is that, as said many times already, you don't have to impress people with every single update. There doesn't have to be a major 'wow' moment or even combat to keep people interested and enjoying your SH. You've got a big advantage in being a 'big name' SH because people will read it no matter what. Ignore their expectations and just write for your own enjoyment.

Of course...sometimes I wonder if the non-'wow' moments and slower times in my SH hurt it more than anything. But eh, its the price of daily updates. I try to set a minimum for my own updates, at least a page but usually a little over. For SHs that update less frequently, you may feel more obligated to produce longer updates. DON'T! Write as much as you feel is good. Ignore all the peopel who read it, they'll read no matter what!


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## barsoomcore (Jan 31, 2005)

Oh, one more piece of advice if you're finding it difficult to get enthusiastic about your writing:

Read something.

Like, say...

A _Story Hour_? I can recommend several...


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## el-remmen (Jan 31, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> Oh, one more piece of advice if you're finding it difficult to get enthusiastic about your writing:
> 
> Read something.
> 
> ...




Yeah, that is really good advice - when feeling slow on my own - often reading someone else's has inspired either to emulate or better their attempt. . .


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## BSF (Feb 1, 2005)

I will speak up as a reader.  Hey folks, write for your fun.  I love seeing my favorite Story Hours updated.  I miss them when they aren't.  But I also try to be understanding when you all have other things going on in life and don't update.  I appreciate that you want to make it an update worth reading, but remember who your target audience is.  Really we are just a bunch of gaming geeks.  

It's the same thing as telling other folks at the FLGS the story of your game.  We are listening, or reading, because it is fun.  It's neat to see the interaction of the opponents and the PCs.  It's neat to think "Damn, I should do that in _my_ game!" That works for both players and DMs.  We love to share in the gaming stories.  We love it so much that it is like a drug fix.  Tell the stories you want to, in the order you feel like telling them.  Share them when they are fun to write up because we are here to share in your fun.  But please don't feel any serious obligation to the readers.  Feel much more obligation to yourself to keep the story hour fun.  When you are having fun writing it, we are having fun reading it.  It will just fall into place.


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## Shemeska (Feb 1, 2005)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> And while I agree with the summarizing tip, here's another: When you don't like what happened, or you can't figure out how to get through it --
> 
> MAKE IT UP.




Absolutely. I only started writing my storyhour about two years into the campaign, and I've been relying on a combination of my own notes, my players' notes, and getting to write up behind the scenes material that I couldn't really do in a game that focuses on the PCs. I now get to make up and detail the stuff that happened from the other side of fence from them, and tell the whole story.

When in need of material, make it up and make it interesting, don't get bogged down in a scene or a few paragraphs and end up stalled and stumped in your writing. I tend to jump around when I write, and go it bit by bit rather than smoothly from start to finish with only rare exceptions to that.


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## Silver Moon (Feb 1, 2005)

KidCthulhu said:
			
		

> We, the devoted story hour readers, do not expect you to be Faulkner.



I certainly hope that's true.  William Faulkner died in 1962, so never had a chance to play D&D, yet alone write a story hour for one!


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## spyscribe (Feb 1, 2005)

When I started writing my story hour, I was already a year and a half behind.  Close to two years later I'm only now starting to make headway into shrinking the gap between where the game is and where the story hour is.

For me, story hour fatigue sets in because the task is just so _big_.  The game is on-going, which means that the writing is on-going, and I know that even if I caught up with the game "present" I'd eventually fall behind again.  It's the nature of the beast and something I didn't quite grasp until I was doing it.

I don't know if it's a useful perspective, but I would really love to be only a year behind.  I can also say that in bits and chunks, I am getting there.

A couple things that are helpful to me, although not necessarily useful for anyone else: 

1.  I have a partner in crime.  Fajitas, who DMs the game, also serves as fact and sanity checker on new updates.  We're both writers, and it's useful to have someone who is in there slogging with me.  Also, I'm not above looking at something coming up that I don't want to tangle with and saying, "Here, you write it."

2.  I have a backlog.  In part, this is necessary because I have to build some lead-time into the schedule because of outside notes (see point 1).  But one of the nice things is I can have a couple months of no writing and still update regularly.  Now, I don't particularly recommend underemployment with limited internet access as a means for catching up on story hour writing, but... I also won't deny that it works.

I will say one of the benefits to running behind the game is it does give you the freedom to write events out of order, and then fill in the gaps later.  Some games need to be written up fresh; others are better with a bit of perspective.


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## grodog (Feb 1, 2005)

If you're up for a phone call to catch up sometime, Sep, I'd be happy to be encouraging by voice as well as post


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## Plane Sailing (Feb 1, 2005)

Hi Sep,

Speaking as a long established and uniquely "unsuccessful" SH writer  I understand some aspects of SH fatigue - in particular the falling behind bit. Where once I was writing up stuff in the week that it happened I'm now a year and a half behind and updating less frequently.

The backlog is the biggest downer, I think. It makes the task look too big. Of course, there are so many other calls on time now (one of the biggest I currently have is ENworld moderation, believe it or not - there is a lot of looking at stuff that is fine to pick up duplicate threads or nip problems in the bud ). One of the other issues is the sheer number of storyhours - at one point you could update once a week and remain on the front page, then once a day... now you've got to update twice a day!

In some ways I think it is harder for people with popular storyhours though - although the idea of a legion of fans bumping for updates sounds cool, it is an extra level of pressure which could become unwelcome after a while.

Thanks for bringing this up though.

Cheers


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## tleilaxu (Feb 1, 2005)

just give a brief summary of the next year of play and skip to whatever part you feel like writing about. or just post stats for the different characters in the game. that's almost as interesting as the story itself.


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## jmucchiello (Feb 1, 2005)

pogre said:
			
		

> Sell the updates at RPGnow. The reward of getting paid may be enough to push you over the edge. I know you are perfectionist and may respond - it will take me even more time to prepare something for sale. Instead, I suggest you say to folks right up front in your "for sale" blurb - _this is exactly the same quality and approximately the same quantity of my story hour_.
> 
> I guarantee you lots of publishers of pdfs would step up to format and sell your stuff for a percentage to save you that hassle.



While true, legally, his story hour would be impossible to publish without a lot of editing. He uses a lot of material from books that are not OGL and thus those references would have to be changed so as to be unique (and not just renamed well-known stuff). Practically all the named demons and devils would have to be renamed and reimagined. Very messy.


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## barsoomcore (Feb 1, 2005)

Oh, and while I'm on a roll with the good advice, note that writing THREE Story Hours simultaneously does NOT noticeably reduce SH fatigue.

What am I, dumb or something?


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## diaglo (Feb 1, 2005)

write what you can, when you feel like it.

that's what i do.

most of the time i have to do within 2 weeks of the last session... otherwise i forget.

but i'm sure you don't suffer from faulty memory.

updates are just that updates. some can be short and sweet.

some can be lengthy.

and some can be the norm.


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## pogre (Apr 24, 2005)

Sep,

This thread helped bust me out of my "fatigue." I followed PC's advice of posting a quick summary and it really helped jumpstart me again. Now, my writing is no where near your quality, but I did want to suggest it again to you. 

Even if you decide not to pick up the story hour quill again thanks for this thread.


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## Shayuri (Apr 24, 2005)

As the writer of a short-lived and seldom-read Story Hour that capsized from the very thing you speak of, I feel some empathy for your plight, Sep. What kept me writing was that it was fun. When it stopped being fun, suddenly I couldn't find time to write anymore. 

I suspect the reasons I lost the fun are different than yours in many ways. For example, I felt discouraged right out of the gate at what I felt was a low response. Of course, that was a long time ago, and I didn't realize how naive I was being.   And clearly, not an issue for you.

But the backlog thing, I can very MUCH relate to. I think that was the big thing that killed it for me, and here's why. In the GAME, I was having fun doing things right then and there! Then I'd get to the computer and realize I had all this OTHER STUFF to write before I could get to the cool stuff I just finished playing! And even though the other stuff was fun too, back when I played it...NOW it seemed boring and passe'. 

I think I could have recaptured it, had I done what a couple of other people in this thread suggested. Bundle up all (or as much as you can) of that OTHER STUFF...and narrate it away. Sweep it under the carpet. You might even NOT narrate it, and instead suddenly jump forward in time. Then, as you write about the cool, current stuff, you might find ways to work the backstory in...in the form of flashbacks, memories, dialogue...etc. I suspect that would make it far more interesting and entertaining -for you-, while still fulfilling the reader's need for continuity. And later, once you're back into the groove and the Writer's Turbine is running smoothly, perhaps you can sit down and write out "Of Shadow and Flame: The Battle for Afqithan." Or whatever. 

Other tricks that sometimes help me out.

Write a "trailer" for the next section. You know, like a movie trailer. Sorta like...

(Cue deep rolling timpani with somber voices chanting Latin softly in the background)

Deep Voiced Movie Trailer Guy: "In a land steeped in darkness..."

(Rolling shot over grinning, horrible demonic faces with glowing eyes and brimstone breath...pan back slowly to show row after row of them, as far as the eye can see, with some bigger, even worse ones lined up farther back, outlined by lightning against a turbulent, thunderstorming sky)

...and so on. Don't wanna go into TOO much detail. 

Trailers are awesome for zapping fatigue though. Imagine that a story is like a tall, cool glass of presweetened Kool Aid. A trailer for a story is like sucking the Kool Aid crystrals right out of the bag. It's like slamming Pop Rocks and Pepsi. At least, it helped get me going again when I was fading out. Eventually other problems killed my Story Hour, but ultimately that's how it goes sometimes. It was no biggy. But you, sir...your Story Hour touches a lot of people. It'd be a tragedy if it were to disappear.

We prescribe a jump cut to more current events, and perhaps a Trailer. Give it a shot and see what happens!

Good luck, Sep.


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## Herremann the Wise (Apr 24, 2005)

Hi Sep,

You most probably don't know me because I've never posted on your thread or anything - although I have read your story at least four times and thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel a little silly offering advice considering all the great Enworld SH Authors that have written on this thread already to the most famous writer here - your good self. However and besides, I shall continue with poor grace.

Essentially what I suggest is this: write three paragraphs *only!*

Then press New Reply, copy it over and hover the arrow over the Submit Reply button. Let the thought of sliding it slightly right to the Preview Post filter through your mind and try and resist it. Then press the Preview Post button anyway. Give it a quick read out aloud making sure you have not performed some embarrassingly mundane grammatical error or spelling mistake and then before your brain can scream _"no"_, press the Submit Message button.

However, believe it or not, this is the easy part. The hard bit is writing three more paragraphs no more than two days later. Let them sit for a couple of days and then submit it again. Keep doing this. I think there are two things you have lost you see. The first is the habit of writing a storyhour. You're out of shape. You're SH writing-fitness is up the ****. The second though is the most important. If you do what I suggest though, this one will come. You'll remember and realise that you actually have a damn good story worth writing.

I suggest this to you most humbly.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

PS: [pimp] I can't let the opportunity go by not to pimp my SH to THE writer of story hours. If you are of a mind and have a spare moment - check out The Happenings of Lucifus Cray and make comment if you feel sufficient motivation. Like yourself, my style has been heavily influenced by the creative genius of Jack Vance. While I'm nowhere near in his (or your) league yet - I hope to eventually get there one day. Have a read, if only to screw up your nose, turn to your SH and show me how it's REALLY done. 
Hope to hear from you soon. [/pimp]


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## Mishihari Lord (Apr 24, 2005)

I don't have a story hour, but I do have a suggestion from my other writing experience.  Writing an account of what has happened is grueling.  You have to remember what happened, who said what, and why, and how everything related.  If something gets in there that doesn't hang together logically someone's going to notice it.  Pure fiction, on the other hand, is more fun.  You make it up as you go along and noone's ever going to say "but my character never did that!"  My suggestion would be to intersperse your story hour with some pure fiction about backstory or what's happeneing elsehwere or the fate of an NPC that's no longer relevant to the story just to get into the writing groove, then write something for your story hour.


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## Amal Shukup (Apr 25, 2005)

I'm thinking, from reading your (cannot be praised highly enough) Story Hour, that there are two things in particular that you seem to really ENJOY writing. (I could, of course, be completely nuts here):

1. Scenes where your PCs/NPCs really 'throw down'/do something stunningly cool
2. Introspective Theological dialogue/exposition

These bits are of course connected by all kinds of narrative, establishing scenes, set up, buffing, coping with consequences and the like. 

So, assuming I'm correct in my assessment, treat yourself: Write some of the 'fun' stuff - not 'what's next', just something that you're going to ENJOY writing.

When opportunity/inspiration presents itself, you can come back and fill in the 'in between' bits, or write 'cut scenes' or simply move on to the NEXT/CURRENT arc and use the 'good bits' as flashback scenes...

You don't even need to post these (gasp! horrors!!) until/unless it suits you. Really, it's a matter of reconnecting with the writing in such a way that it is enjoyable for YOU. You don't owe us readers anything. If you never post another word, we're all still WAY ahead.

On a related note, the work (while obviously rough) is really, really good. I certainly enjoy it more than Jordan's/Goodkinds' ongoing excreta anyway: If I there IS a way to strip out the 'copyrighted gaming material OR (less likely) a way to convince WoTC to publish something that a) is not in one of their settings, b) features the whole Paladin/Succubus 'thang', and c) covers some controversial religious ground, I would suggest retrofitting for novelization....  Or Graphic Novelization...  Oh yeah, I'd buy that...

A'Mal


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## Rackhir (Apr 25, 2005)

Would you like a secretary? I have a cell phone with free long distance and more minutes than I could ever use. I'd be happy to take dictation for you to get it at least into a file. In my abortive attempts as writing story hour entries I always found that there was something about the process of typing that seemed to get in the way of the ideas I had for how to write something.


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## Shemeska (Apr 25, 2005)

Well I stated 2 years into a campaign and I'm probably around 130 game sessions behind, but I'm still posting every single week. Of course I just started up a new campaign so I'm going to have to balance th schedule of updating both of them on some sort of timetable.

I figure that eventually I may start to run into a slow period, but I don't see it happening any time soon. Plus, commentary makes it all worth it every week


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## Warrior Poet (May 4, 2005)

Hi, Sep.

Just found this thread from the new Wyre update link.  I wish I'd found it earlier.  I didn't realize you'd been feeling some frustration with the writing process.  Sorry to bug your old threads so much about updates!   

General suggestion about writing (I work as a writer):  allow the writing to fail.

That's hard, especially when 1) you have hordes of groundlings clamoring for the next scene (of which I am certainly guilty with regard to your story hour), and 2) no one likes to imagine that their creative processes "fail."

But it's important to allow the Creative to fail.  Story's not always going to be good.  It may seem stilted, or jumbled, or too intricate, or it may not arrive at all.  You sit down to write, and nothing happens.  Or you sit down to write, and something happens, and that something is a feeling of repulsion from the writing.  You have to allow that to be o.k.  Once you start to realize that the writing doesn't have to be magic all the time (or even anytime), you can move forward.  Then, the magic comes of its own accord, and you just happen to be the fingertips that help it get to the page.  It's not always going to fail.  In most cases, it's going to triumph, but occasionally, it won't, and that's fine.

On the other side of things, we, you're readers, need to allow the work we read to fail, as well.  I don't think students learn this in literature courses very much.  It's o.k.  Not every book (or chapter, or scene, or sonnet, or whatever) is going to be great, even when all the world seems to say it is.  I'm not saying your writing isn't great (because I think it is great), but we, the readers, have to have faith that it will turn out o.k., and if it doesn't (that is, if every installment doesn't have us RIVETED TO THE SCREEN!) that's o.k.  This is to encourage you not to put negative pressure on yourself, nor your readers to put negative pressure on you.  I say negative, because some pressure is good, inspiring, helpful, necessary.  But if you've got anxiety because you feel you have to "live up," then it sounds like it's not fun, and that's a problem.  As KidCthulhu mentioned, this is just story hour.  It's not life-saving surgery.  You're contributing something valuable, and you're a tremendous writer, and I'd like to think we're all tremendous readers, but this is a game, and a damn fun one, and sometimes it just needs to be fun, for you as much as for the readers.  More so, really, because you're the one doing the work!

The other advice here is excellent.  Though many people derive pleasure from your work, it ultimately has to please you.  If it doesn't, maybe it's time to stop (or at least take a break).  As much as I've hated to see games and campaigns come to an end in the past, they do.  Books end.  Paintings stop receiving brush strokes.  Symphonies have a final note.  You can always revisit them, but they do end.  If writing's causing you too much distress, if it has stopped being good for you, then take a break.  Unless you're writing to deadline for contract reasons, or you're writing to exorcise some personal demon, it shouldn't be a source of chronic displeasure.  And sometimes, it's not supposed to be roses, and when it isn't fun, you have to allow it to be o.k. that it's not fun.  If it's not time for the stories to end, maybe it's enough to take a break.  Write something else.  Get some exercise.  Read, including (and sometimes especially) things that aren't related to gaming AT ALL.  Travel.  All of the things that help a DM recover from burnout apply to writers, artists, pretty much everyone who gets bogged down by what they love.  Even the best job in the world is still, sometimes, a job.

I've babbled enough (and probably incoherently).  I wish you good writing, for YOURSELF.

Warrior Poet


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## Funeris (May 4, 2005)

Transferred here from the Viridity and Saizhan SH.  Glad to see you back, Sep.  

I assure you, the majority of us suffer from SH fatigue (even us small-timers ).  Everyone's advice here is good, makes me want to get back to updating.

My own SH fatigue is a combination of getting caught up with sessions that occured months and months ago AND the constant writing of a handful of characters.  Now, I'm not the DM for my first SH, Destan is.  So, its even more difficult for me because I don't know what's going on in the background.  And when I do post what the villains are thinking, its completely made-up BS.  But I enjoy writing the made up stuff moreso than the handful of characters I'm limited to.

As a result, I recently started my second SH, for a game I DM.  I'll have a lot more to contribute to the SH, so it won't just be about what occured during the session.

But I may be a unique example.  I don't know many players that write the SHs for their games.  Anyway, good luck with the new SH.  And follow everyone else's advice.


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## blargney the second (May 4, 2005)

There can be no story hour without doubt.


-blarg


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## Knightfall (May 4, 2005)

Sep, don't worry about the raving fans begging for more updates. Write what you want, not what you feel obligated to write. The new thread is a good start but I think you should also ask people to refrain from posting bumps in it for the time being.

The welcome backs are fine, but dozens of bumps leads to the idea that you have a large audience that is waiting on bated breath for more, more, more! I suggest to everyone to not bump Sep's new thread -- just read.

as for SH fatigue, you have learned that you are not alone. All SH authors (and I believe authors in general) go through periods where writing is like having you teeth pulled out. Many, on this thread, have already told you about their own fatigue, so I won't go into great deatil about mine.

All I'll say is two words... Realmsian Dragonstar.

Cheers!

KF72


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## Joshua Randall (May 6, 2005)

Sep -- two comments. One technical, one practical.

(1) If the constant bumping is getting you down, you could request a moderator lock your actual story hour thread except when you want to update it. Create a separate thread for discussion.

(2) If you don't feel like telling *The Story*, how about telling us some of what came before? Like, how did Eadric et al. first tangle with Cerothumulos (sp?) ? How did Contundor get to be such the bad-ass horse he is? What was Nym doing before he healed Eadric? What were some of Skaddius'(*) adventures?

(*) Skaddius = Mostin's player's former character

These wouldn't have to be brilliantly crafted stories. They could be just one gamer talking to another. We all dig that stuff.


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## Gwarok (May 7, 2005)

To paraphrase:

"_ I do not know how to proceed._

Ahh. And how, exactly, is that different from how things were say, yesterday, or a year ago? Or five years ago?

_(Profound discomfort.) Readers, I feel unworthy…_

(Raised eyebrows.)

_(Shame at false modesty…)_

(SLAP.) (Smile.)

_(Humility)_

(SILENCE.)

_What do you wish of me, readers?_

To be active in the world. To be the Sepulchrave II. To act as a author and storyteller. To have a strong write arm.

_But its like, really tough. (Guilt. Longing. Conflict of interests. Confusion. Despair.)_

We appreciate your honesty and directness.

_I don’t know what to do. Part of me desires to be selfish. I fear that I will resent you readers if I abandon other stuff. I fear that I will fall if I don't keep things interesting, and you will withdraw your grace from me._

It is a difficult conundrum (humour). You have the right to choose. That can never be denied.

_I suffer._

As do countless fans.

_I fear the work._

That is wise. It is subtle and cunning. But it is not beyond your ability to deal with.


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## genshou (May 14, 2005)

Sep, I'm sure your intent in writing this was not to get others to START writing Story Hours, but that's the effect it's having on me.  Expect to see Pledge of Tyranny showing up anytime now  

I read your SH a long time ago (a long, long time ago, but in a galaxy relatively near to here).  Today I downloaded all the separate threads as well as Cheiro's compilation to read later, but from what I remember, it's always been worth my time (even when, like right now, there are other things I *should* be doing ).  I do a lot of freeform role-playing on messageboards, and sometimes I just can't figure out what to post.  Sometimes I'll wait a week or two for inspiration.  Other times, I'll just write a crummy post.  Over the course of a presently 100-page story thread I've been working on (featuring the future daughter of an NPC in Pledge of Tyranny, though any more details might be considered a spoiler), it's been excellent writing for the most part, but what's kept me going isn't constantly posting exceptional material.  It's been the fun of writing for that character.  If my posts are exceptional, that's good.  But if not, oh well.

You just have to decide that you're going to post _something_, and then start writing.  We don't care if it's the same quality every time.  We just want to know what happens next 

So keep on pluggin' in your own way and at your own speed.  We'll just... encourage you to maintain that speed


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## grodog (Jan 9, 2017)

Perhaps a bump is in order to get some further ideas/input, [MENTION=4303]Sepulchrave II[/MENTION]?


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