One of my New Year’s resolutions this year was to “Be more creative,” which I admit is rather vague and subjective for a resolution. That said, my plan is to be very deliberate and objective in pursuing that goal for 2016. The first concrete step toward that goal is a new monthly article series I will be writing for InnRoads Ministries entitled Cyclopaedia.
What is a Cyclopaedia? It is an archaic term for an encyclopedia which Wikipedia states “is a type of reference work or compendium holding a comprehensive summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge.” Cyclopaedia will be a monthly article that delves deeply into sources for a particular topic helping prospective game masters, game designers, writers, and storytellers to know where to start their research.
How did Cyclopaedia come to exist? I will be honest, I had not been looking for any further blogging opportunities beyond this blog nor had I been seeking writing opportunities beyond my freelance work. So what was the genesis of this new article series? There are two components to its beginning. First and foremost has been a growing friendship with Mike Perna of InnRoads Ministries. As I mentioned earlier in my reflections on 2015, we finally met face-to-face at Gen Con 2015, 
and since then have kept a running dialogue through email and social media. When he put out a call for writers for the InnRoads website, I heard that creative voice in my head whispering to me to submit a couple of proposals. What to propose? What would I enjoy writing? This is where the second component comes into play. One of my favorite elements of the Achtung! Cthulhu books I have been working on is the “Suggested Resources” found at the back of the books, full of amazing WW2 and Cthulhu resources related to the current book’s theme. As a GM/DM/Storyteller, I love doing extensive research for my campaigns and adventures. I thought perhaps I could share my passion for research in a manner similar to these “Suggested Resources.” I approached Lynne Hardy (creator of those “Suggested Resources”), who loved the idea and encouraged me to pursue my own version of them. Thus, I proposed a monthly article series of in depth gaming/storytelling related information for InnRoads. Mike loved the idea and after a few emails back and forth, the article series had a format and a name, Cyclopaedia, a monthly blog post and downloadable PDF focused on a particular theme.
- CYCLOPAEDIA 0: INTRODUCING A NEW CREATIVE RESOURCE
http://www.innroadsministries.com/wordpress/cyclopaedia-0-introducing-a-new-creative-resource-4/
As of this past Saturday, the first full monthly article has been posted. This will be an ongoing series posted the 1st Saturday of each month.
- CYCLOPAEDIA 1: STEAMPUNK
http://www.innroadsministries.com/wordpress/cyclopaedia-1-steampunk/
Doing the research and writing the first article was so exciting. I really enjoyed the process and have already begun drafting some potential future articles. I am interested in hearing from you and readers of the article series regarding topics that would interest you. What theme or genre would you be interested in seeing researched in depth? I am open to ideas.