10.16.2009

What Has Invoked the Wrath of the Wizard? ~ Patton Oswalt

*Sits down and dusts off the old Blog* . . . *coughs through the dirt that was kicked up and finally is able to wave most of it out the window*

Ahem. Writing and creativity can come in all forms. This post proves it. The previous post (posted 7 months ago—SORRY!) had to do with a gaming session that we did for the Firefly Tabletop Roleplaying Game. Since then I have gotten to know the players of that campaign and we have jumped from game to game—roleplaying. I LOVE roleplaying. Remember my character creation schpeel way back when? Roleplaying games take the cake on character development and plot momentum.

I decided to try it. D&D 4th edition came out last year and I tried to run a game, tried to GM . . . like you do. I failed. Part of it was due to the players, but most of it was due to me. I failed because I didn’t plan. Same thing with writing; if you don’t plan you don’t get anywhere. Your characters get away from you and they start controlling you and you’re left holding the bag going “W-w-wait wait wait! Come back!”. Players (and characters) will run in a completely different direction than what you thought you wanted. Sometimes, it’s a good thing. But when you are running a game on a weekly basis and you have to continuously come up with new plot devices and scenarios for your PCs and cannot do so because you have no idea where the story is taking you, it’s not such a good thing.

This time, though, I think I’m nailing it. I am taking an old, OLD concept for a story that I had when I was . . . really, too young to admit to. This story and the characters that I originally created have, while not been completely tossed out the window, are in a major need of a makeover. If one thing is for certain, it’s that writers are and always will be their own worst critics (If they don’t have an ego the size of a Semi). So for the past TEN years I have been revamping the novel idea over and over and over in my mind. From its humble beginnings way back when some characters have been cut, some have been added, some got more screen time and others that I thought were important just quite simply aren’t. What does all of this have to do with the game? Well, I’ll tell you. I am using my players as my guinea pigs. Their circumstances are slightly different from my original characters, but I can relate each one of theirs to one of my own, I’ve notice. For Example: Matt (my fiancĂ©e) is playing a Tiefling Swordmage. His character, while a different class, reminds me a lot of my Pseudo Dragon character, Zeffie, with his demeanor and all around quizzical nature.

What they don’t know is that they are my rough draft. I have so many options running through my head for this story that I quite literally have too many trains of thought to nail down into one streamline saga. So, my mission with this D&D campaign is to see what path THEY would take. Hey, if I am going to run a game, I may as well get some creative satisfaction in the situation. They will act exactly the way my characters do in regard to running my plans off track, and maybe into an avenue that I hadn’t thought of yet. Does this mean I am using them? That once all of this is over and if, by some minor miracle, I get the novel published and it sells, I will claim it all as my own creation? Absolutely not! First of all, it would be copyright infringement. I can’t use Wizards of the Coast’s (WotC) copy written material in anything I do. Also, I am not a complete asshole. I am not going to nix a dedication page to them to at least acknowledge their efforts in assisting to give me a little creative jump-start. Not only that, but I am really only using the rules of D&D 4.0 loosely. I have my own world completely drawn out, my own continents, cities, lore, the whole nine yards. (So those of you thinking that I would ever take WotC’s stuff and try to sell it for my own profit don’t jump down my throat).

All of that being said, remember . . . I did say that all of this would happen if, by some minor miracle, it happened to get picked up and published. For now, I will try to keep this old dusty blog not so dusty anymore, and start to post some stories and general concepts for everything from my player characters to the plotline as it develops for them.

As always, input is welcome by fellow GMs as well as fellow writers! In fact, PLEASE give feedback.

Cheers!

~Hoshi

1 comment:

Tess said...

look feedback. and that is so weird that tess ultimately ends up with zeffie....and Matt is him. lol just had to say that. i will have something better` next time. love you sis