We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.
—Ernest Hemingway
Whether it be a novel, poetry, RPG adventures, or RPG core books, how many of you are aspiring writers? Best advice I have heard is Write First, Edit Later. To be a writer you have to write. I have often pondered story ideas that intrigue me, mulled over writing a novel some day, and occasionally put a few words on paper. I am a storytelling gamer at heart. I have been writing and running RPG adventures for over thirty years, most of which I developed and wrote up myself, not using pre-written modules or campaigns. I realize, just because I am a game master for RPGs does not mean I am a great storyteller or that I am a writer. I am also an avid reader, passionate about the stories I read and often delving deep into their creation history and heading down rabbit trails of research into associated books. Reading and delving deep into books, their authors, and the history of the book does not make me a writer. I am an editor for RPGs and boardgames, occasionally doing some filler writing for the books, but that does not make me a writer. I am even a part of a writer’s group that meets for lunch each week at the University where I work. I help edit and critique the writing of others in the group, but that doesn’t make me a writer. What would make me a writer is putting my own words on paper and practicing the art of writing. With my passion for storytelling and joy of literature, I have this growing itch to try my hand at writing, so I am going to challenge myself.
If you aspire to be a writer like I do, I want to encourage you to consider National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO) with me. For those really serious, you can sign up for the event and post your writing progress and really push yourself to get a novel written during the month of November. With my other responsibilities, I honestly do not have the time at this point in my life to commit to those word counts per day to write a novel in a month. So instead, I am using NANOWRIMO as a challenge to myself to spend at least 15 minutes every day in November writing. I can find at least 15 minutes sometime during each day to put words together for a story, perhaps even more time on some days. I have no idea what will come of my writing in November, but I am looking forward to this challenge. I am mentioning it here so you can keep me accountable. Feel free to email me or ask me on social media how my writing is going for the month. If you like, I can provide accountability to you as well if you want to try my challenge also.
So, let’s get to some writing!