A brief post about Gencon 50.
Gencon is the annual pilgrimage for many gamers, designers, and game writers. I have been before but not in a long while. It is like going to the cold clear spring and having a sip. The walk is hard, there are uncomfortable parts to the trail, but the trip is made worth it when you sip from that spring.
I went to Gencon for the 50th anniversary this year. I met cool people and played cool game. I got to attend interesting panels and see the latest things. I also got to be reminded that I am not alone on this winding path through game writing. Friends, new and old, are walking it with me. Strangers walk ahead or behind. We are all on the same quest and face the same dragons.
What did I take away from Gencon (besides new game books, obviously)? I came away with a desire to do more. I want to write more. I want to submit more work, drive down my inner insecurities and try more things. I may fall on my face but I will always fail if I don’t try. I want to play more. I want to try different games for both playing and writing. D&D is always home, but it is nice to expand the horizons even more.
Those intentions are all well and good, but how will that translate into actions?
First, I will be posting more. I be posting more game content and I will be talking more about other games. I will review when I can, and talk about how one idea spins into another. I want my game content to involve other systems I am interested in besides D&D. Fantasy Age, Gumshoe, Fate, Savage Worlds, and others will all get some attention. This is partly because I am interested in them, and partly to challenge myself. I want to get outside my writing comfort zone.
Second, I have some new direction in mind for my youtube videos. I will vlog more about my process of becoming the writer I want to be. I will also try to produce more reviews with better production values.
Third, I will be submitting more works out there. I will be pitching more, and sending out more queries. I will look for more collaboration opportunities. I have the intention of publishing 3 times as much as I did in the last year. It may mean publishing it myself, but I am going to keep pushing for more work. I am a writer. I may not get paid a lot for my writing but I am still a writer. Writers write.
My batteries are refreshed. And I am ready to get back to work.
A brief side note.
I suffer from social anxiety, depression and a bad case of impostor syndrome. I am also often in a great deal of pain from severe arthritis. This made meeting and talking to people at Gencon hard for me. I mention this because it occurs to me I am not alone in this. Depression lies, impostor syndrome is normal, and you are awesome. I need to hear that sometimes, and if you need to hear it, let me know and I say it for you. Gencon is filled with people like that, including some of those people you are afraid to talk to.
Now, I need to get back to work. What are you working on?