On writing when you just can't be arsed

 Let's be honest.

 We've all been there.

 Every writer in existence had at the very least one day where they felt like just the thought of staring at a page full of words was too much. Where even thinking about it makes your brain hurt in ways you don't like.

 There might be all sorts of reasons for that. It can be a bad period, the inspiration just isn't there, you had an awful day and the thought of sitting down and thinking words is making your brain hurt.
 Or you're just a lazy fuck. I know I am.

I mean, if even Robert can be one, we all have an excuse, right?

 Then again, you don't always have the luxury to just lazy around. Deadlines are a thing, and to some of you commissions are another thing - while you might know what you like to write, not always you will like what you have to write. I know. I've been into that position a number of times.

What's the worst that can happen? It can't be that bad, right?

 Actually, it really can be. And I'm talking by personal experience, here.

 If you stop writing one day - and I'm talking about the whole thing, not even thinking about writing, or characters, and so on - you risk to go into a loop and keep avoiding that. The whole 'yesterday I didn't, so today I don't really feel it either' can get to you, and you end up like a floppy little blob on the couch trying to motivate yourself to do something.

This is gonna be you. No, it's not as fun as it looks. Trust me.

 And this is without counting the fact that you might have to deal with deadlines and so on. And that's some stress you don't really need. We're writers, we have enough of that already.

That sounds awful! Whatever shall I do!

 First, tell me to stop writing like an infomercial. I find it unnerving and I wrote it. Brrr.

 Second of all, don't fret - there are a number of ways I've found helped me get through these sort of slumps.

 1. Dedicate some time to at least think about your writing - you don't necessarily need to get words on paper, but develop it in your head. Character progression, scene ideas, etc. Even just scour the internet and use it as research. It's gonna help. It won't create a gap between the days you actually write something or not.

 2. Write shorts tied to your WIP - Maybe you're just tired of writing that character. You got a bit of a burnout. Why not explore the other characters? Hell, why not explore the world you've put them in? What's MC's best friend doing? And best friend's best friend? What is the baker of the auntie of your character's best friend's best friend doing? Allow yourself to think outside the main plot. Look at your world from other sides, and it might just help you get in the mood to get back to the main plot. They won't need to be published, or even seen by any other living being, but they kept you in motion.

 3. Text-based roleplay - I already talked about the benefits of the various kinds of roleplaying in my series dedicated to it, but especially in a slump it might need reiterating - text based roleplay is easy to find, easy to get into, and it's a good way to keep your technical writing in check. It can be a one off, just not to lose the habit of writing something creative, and then back to the WIP. BEWARE: Use with caution, since it can lead to burnout as well.

 4. Just take it easy and relax - Don't let this post make you panic about skipping a writing day or two. Burnout is a reality and can happen, and sometimes we just need to take a break. It's actually more healthy than forcing yourself to work. But it's good to keep in mind the possible drawbacks of it, just to make sure you don't fall into that loop. Remember: knowing the risks helps avoiding them. So just kick back, relax, do something else, ride the writing block out, but remember to get back to it.

But I have a deadline!

 Then that becomes a bit trickier. But there are ways around that as well. Especially if you're trying to write something that you don't fancy or feel, and if you do commissions that can happen - it's not your fault, or the customer's fault, it's a matter of not always knowing what we get into. On concept the idea they want you to write might be amazing, but in reality you might look at the blank page and don't know what to do.

 Here are some ideas:

 1. Try to weave in things you like - As writers, we know that a story is not just a scene: there are little details, little things that all compose a singular work of literature. Yes, you might have a specific guideline for that piece, but the rest is up to you: even something simple as having a side character, or a color, or a piece of something to describe that suits your fancy can help you get through it.

 2. Get technical - The work you're doing is not about the work you're doing. Make it about you. No, I'm not saying to completely ignore the guidelines, but to steel yourself and put yourself in a mindset that says 'I'm good. I'm capable of doing this. I might not like it, but fuck it, I can make even things I don't like writing work. Because I'm a fucking good writer.' Don't take the piece as a chore, take it as a possibility to showcase that yes, even what you don't fancy in your hands turn into bloody gold.

And trust me - you CAN do it.

 3. Focus on the end goal - These sorts of slumps, and this works on both sides, can make you lose track of what you're writing for. They can make you question yourself. Don't fall for that. If you're having a day like this, and you have a deadline and can't take a day off to avoid burnout, keep your mind steeled on the end goal. And this can be showcasing your talent, or some days - and yes, I know it might be heresy to say it outright because it's that part of the business we don't like talking about, I always feel icky about that part myself - the thought of being known, selling and getting paid for your work is a good incentive too. Don't feel ashamed of that. Don't sell yourself out, don't get sloppy just for a paycheck (look above - get technical, you're here to do GOOD work) but the trick is exactly that: work. If you want to make writing your work, that is an aspect too, and not something to be ashamed of. I mean, we all need to eat.

 Mind you, on that last part...it's not easy, quite the contrary. But keeping it as one of your goals can help. And when you've got the clock ticking and no saints to turn to, you can use all the help you can get.  

 So come on. We're writers. Let's keep doing what it says on the can, shall we?

On RPG's in general - Tabletop RPG resources

 Here we are! The end of the RPG and Writing saga.

 It's been a nice run, and I hope I gave you both good ideas for your writing, an incentive to try this amazing hobby, and a way to find other very awesome people. Most of the friends I made roleplaying in various ways stuck with me for a long time, and I'm proud to call them so.

 

 Today's post will be a tad shorter, too. Do keep in mind, though, that the same little word of advice about meeting other people applies here too: all of these resources usually will require an interaction of sort with other people, and this time we're talking voice interaction at the very least.

 So keep that in mind, yes?

 Prepare your bodies, because we're starting!

'cus it's gonan blow yo mind~

Online resources - The tools of the trade

 So, remember how we used the term Tabletop way too much in the last posts? Here's a secret.

 You don't necessarily need a table for it. Or a group to be physically in your house or somewhere else, either!

 Thanks to the powers of science and technology, the applied sacred oils and praise to the Machine Spirit while chanting the Sacred Hymn of the Planetary connection-*coff*

 Sorry, sorry. My 40k is showing. It's getting a tad shameless at this time of the month.

Look at dem servoarms showing. So lewd. (For those who ask, yes, there's 40k tabletop roleplaying too.)

 But yeah, with the power of the internet, in this day and age you can engage in all sorts of roleplaying from the comfort of your own home.

 To do so properly, though, you'll need a couple of things:

• A Voice over Internet Provider service: My favourite at the moment is Discord - light, easy to use and secure. Skype is another good option as well, especially with the latest updates making it a bit more streamlined and usable.
• An account on Roll20, or a similar service: Roll20 is basically a virtual tabletop. It's a framework that can accomodate most kinds of roleplaying systems. There are other instruments that you can find that provide the same sort of service. Google is your friend.
• Friends. Here's a little inspiration on how to acquire some.

Interacting and improvising around other people

 This can be one of the biggest hurdles to surpass when you start in this hobby. You'll have to talk with other people, and you'll have to interpret a character, with its reactions, its backstory, talking back and forth in real time with other people doing the same!

 It can be scary.

 Luckily, you have a couple of games that, after you acquired a sufficient number of friends, can help you doing that without going through the whole, in-depth experience.

 I find that one of the best sort of games to do so are social deduction tabletop games - some of them you can even find versions online to play. These games are a ton of fun, usually very easy to learn, and will help you gain confidence in doing and saying stupid stuff with your newly acquired friends.

 Some examples are:

• Secret Hitler (Here's an easily accessible online version): A social deduction game with pretty easy rules and that can get very tense, it's an amazing tool to learn how to play a 'character' - of the players, a small group of them will have a secret agenda and will need to work against the group to fulfill it, while the others will need to stop them in time. Try it. It can create some gorgeous and hilarious moments.
• Tabletop Simulator: found on Steam, if you guys have a decent enough pc, this game will be invaluable. Another tabletop simulator, but usually for more traditional games, it hosts a miriad of various games you and your friends can find and play - and yes, social deduction games too, like Snake Oil, where, given a certain item, each player will have to sell it to the judge (appointed every turn) as the BEST THING EVER.

Let's get some dices rolling, shall we?

 Right. It's time for the big one. The real stuff. You've read the whole miniseries, you've tried to roleplay by chat around, you've tried calling your friends and get more comfortable around them while playing games...the time is right to get your character sheets, login on roll20, and get started as a GM or as a Player.

 The first thing you'll need to do is the manual for your system. Of course, as we discussed before, usually you'll have to buy these manuals, because no one here supports piracy, do we?

• DrivethruRPG is one of the most extensive online stores to get all of your roleplaying fix. Reviews, an easy-to-use online store, an online library where you won't lose anything as long as you remember your password. A great way to get your manuals.
• If you still don't feel like laying down money to play, which is totally understandable, you have some RPG's that are completely FREE! I know, right? Here's a selection: of particular note are Dungeons and Dragons 5e, so famous I don't think it requires explanation, and ECLIPSE PHASE, a stunningly well done transhumanist roleplaying game with underlying themes of cosmic horror.

 Once that is done, it's just a matter of starting and creating your stories! Remember, you can always propose a new system, you can always rework things, you can always back down. After all, it's all PEOPLE we're talking about, and if your friends are good friends, they'll understand.

But I want to invite people in my house!

 You do? I know, it's a good feeling, I had to stop because I don't want them to find the bodies in my closet  - I'm too embarrassed of the mess.

 If you wanna connect in the real world with people who enjoy the same hobby, one of the best ways to do that is finding a shop for the hobby in your area - Comic book stores, book stores and tabletop gaming stores usually tend to have both the resources you need to get started (dice sets, manuals, etc).

 A friendly chat with the workers there is usually a good way to know who's playing what and if they have available spots - sometimes you'll even find little ads around that will ask for players or game masters for specific systems.

 

 Going online and searching for groups in your areas is another good way as well. As always, I'd advise first a public encounter and getting to know them instead of jumping headfirst. It's not just a matter of safety - you might not like their style, or they might not like yours. It's all a matter of being curteous and recognizing a situation you might not have fun with.

 If you want to get to know more about the hobby, there's plenty of resources online to expand your knowledge. On youtube you'll find a lot of channels dedicated to tabletop RPG's - between recorded sessions from start to finish, stories and guides, you'll be hard pressed not to find what you're looking for.

 A very nice serie I found some years ago, and that is still funny and reliable to this day is Noah Antwiler's 'Counter Monkey' series: lots of amazing little snippets and stories, advices and experiences from his days as a roleplayer that are fun to watch and listen to. 

 And with that, our little miniseries is done! Stay tuned tomorrow for my very short short set in the #Tiogair universe, 'Tryouts', depicting a little snippet of life at the Heart's Delight.

 Go forth, my dungeon delvers, mercenaries, scoundrels and paladins - try this hobby for yourself, and if you like it create gorgeous and fun stories. And if you're already familiar, share your best stories down here in the comments! Show everyone how amazing this can be!

 Toodles!

On Tabletop RPG's and Writing - Being a Player and Writing

 Hey! Welcome back!

 So, how's it going? Still wrapping your head around the whole GM thing? Don't worry. Took me forever to figure all that stuff out myself.

 I know it can sound daunting and complex, but really, it's not that bad.

 Now sit back and relax, and we'll talk about how it is to be on the other side of the barricade - one of the cats the Game Master is trying to herd all around his world and his plot.

And believe me, it's a fun place to be.

Give it some time. When you'll foil the GM plans enough you *will* become like this.

 Let's begin, shall we?

Being a player - What do I need and what do I do?

 Every roleplaying game usually has between 2 to about 6 or 7 other players other than the GM. 

 Of course, the more players are involved, the more schedules you need to sort out when we're talking of a tabletop game, so it usually settles to about 4 players max.

 You're gonna be one of them.

 As a player, you're gonna be required to own at the very least the player handbook of the game you're playing. If you're playing on an actual physical setting, you will need your own set of dices as well.

 Since this is more of a broad overview of roleplaying, I can't tell you exactly which system you will be playing with, but don't worry - the manuals are usually pretty clear on the basics and you're not alone. The GM at the very least should already know the basics of the game to help you create a character and know what to roll and when. After that, repetition is the base of engrained knowledge.

 And trust me. There will be repetition when it comes to rolling dices. To the point you'll immediately associate certain things with those terms.

"On Will, Constitution or Reflexes? I NEED TO KNOW!!"

 Don't worry. No one will expect you to know every single rule of the game the first time you play it. The only thing we're gonna ask for is just the will to learn, and all decent players will know everyone starts from somewhere and lend you a hand.

 With all that, your next step is gonna be creating a character. As for the GM and the introductory adventures, every system decent enough will have some 'example' character sheets that you can pick from to start playing the game right away and get familiar with the system.
 Or, as with adventures for the Game Master, you can create your own from scratch - give him or her a backstory, a reason to adventure, and basically make your 'alter ego' in this world. Needless to say, it's the one I think it's more interesting, and the more useful as a writer.

 The Character Sheet is basically....everything about your character. To keep the game balanced, most of your character's capabilities (how good is he/she at picking locks, at combat, at magic, how much he/she knows) and actual features (strength, intelligence, charisma, dexterity and so on) will be represented by numbers. You will have either a number of points to allocate on,  or will have to roll some dices, to determine these numbers. All this is to avoid characters that can do everything ever in the history of the universe - because remember: it's a group game. Everyone needs to have fun.
 Thus, most characters will probably specialize in this or that aspect - in D&D, for example, a typical party is comprised of a warrior to soak damage and physical feats, a mage for the arcane knowledges and combat spells, a rogue to find traps and scout ahead (and usually stab people with pointy things) and a cleric, knowing about religion and faith and being able to heal the injured.

 All of these things are usually done through the roll of one or more dices. As we covered yesterday, each system has its own rules for dicerolling. In D&D, a general roll is made on a d20 and adding or subtracting scores on your character sheets. The higher the number, the better, with a 20 on the dice being a critical success and a 1 on the dice...

"Omae wa...mou shindeiru."

 A critical fail. Oddly enough, despite the statistical possibilities of getting a 1 and a 20 being the same, you'll swear you see more 1's than 20's.

 So these games are fun and break the fundamental rules of probability and the universe! Neat, huh?

 And thus, after you and the other players finish making your characters, the game proper can start. The party comprised of the new imaginary people you created will venture in the world the Game Master devised for you lot, and in such world they'll grow in power, notoriety and wealth as they adventure through the setting and face weird and dangerous situations of all kinds.

 And probably die in a ridiculous manner. There's no such thing as an 'old' adventurer, after all.

An example of Player-Game Master interaction

 As yesterday, I'll make up a short scene between me, playing Zoe, the wizard, and Liam, this time with him acting as the GM. To ease the whole thing, we'll assume the party has been split up, so we'll keep this interaction short, with a guest appearence from Ann, playing again Irene, the Rogue.

 Liam (GM): "Alright. So. As Irene is scouting ahead in the ruins and searching for traps, you told me you wanted to take a better look around the main hall of the ruins, if I'm not wrong. As you roam around and look at the various walls, you can notice quite easily something on the floor. What you first noticed as lines decorating it and running all the way to the walls seem to be, actually, a set of very thin, elegantly scribbled runes that create the patterns around the main hall."

 Me (Zoe): "Huh. Go figure. Aight, I try to follow one of the lines and decypher what the language is. I'll cast 'comprehend languages' on myself to make things easier."

 Liam: "You recognize the language as ancient Aelish, something that hasn't been used for centuries to this day. After you cast the spell on yourself, the words are much easier to make sense of, and you can start reading the first branch of the line. This one seems to be speaking about the creation of this place, called 'Irid Daelochis', a military outpost of sorts to keep in check some unknown armies mentioned in the script. It details how the greatest engineers of the Aelian civilization laid down rings of defenses throughout the structure, with some specifics on the traps they set up to make the position more secure. Roll me perception."

 Me: "Zoe would frown reading all this and look at the corridor Irene started exploring. Trying not to give away our position too much, she'd just take a pebble and send it rolling on the floor to make a possibly natural noise and recall Irene here. As for the perception check...WELP. Fuck me. She can't hear shit. It's a 1."

 Liam: "Yeah, no, your character is absolutely certain everything is fine, and that around her there's dead silence. Is she gonna read another branch?"

 Me: "Yep. Allll perfectly fine, innit. Nothing to worry about. God damnit. Anyway, yeah, since it gave us some intel on the possible traps of this place, I'm gonna have her read the branch that goes towards the northeastern corner of the hall."

 Liam: "This branch seems to be detailing how the Aelian civilization started its conflict with this still unnamed faction. It goes on a lot on how they started becoming so paranoid that they had to secure everything from the enemy spies. Even the..."

 Me: "...Oh come the fuck on. Don't say it."

 Liam: "Even their writing and their history. Yes. Would you roll a will save, please?"

 Me: "I knew it...Aight. It's a 15?"

 Liam: "Just passed it. The more you keep reading the passages, the more you can feel something prying back in your mind, but you manage to shut it down just in time. You do realize though that something just awoke. And it's not very pleased with you lot."

 Ann (Irene): "Am I back yet?"

 Liam: "Yeah, I'd say by now between the noise of the pebble and a quick looksie you're back. What is Zoe doing?"

 Me: "As Irene comes back, I'd say she can see Zoe widening her eyes, flinching and scuttling back from one of the lines on the pavement. She definitely doesen't look pleased. 'Right. Quite sure something fucked up.'"

 Ann: "Irene will look at her. '...What did you do?'"

 Annnnd scene.

 Now, as a player, I want you to notice something here, that will help you a lot when interacting with the Game Master and the other Players during the game.

 In all of this, I never decided the outcome of my major actions (looking at the writing, and so on). I give the Game Master the intention of what I'm going to do, and where its needed, the Game Master is the one controlling what happens next - if I have to roll some dices, what I see, and so on.

 As a player you can't just autodetermine your outcomes, i.e. 'I look for a secret door and I find it on the east wall'. You just look for the door. Determining if it's there or not, or if you find it, is the GM's job.

 Same thing goes for interacting with the other players. What my character can do when it comes to them is attempt something. After that, it's either rolls, roleplaying or common sense dictating if the GM will let that attempt go through. Zoe can try to shove Irene to provoke her, but I can't say "Zoe pushes Irene to the ground" just "Zoe tries to push Irene angrily". If I roll a 1 on my check to push her, she'll just mildly annoy the rogue.

Typical example of your average D&D wizard attempting any kind of physical conflict.

And, pray tell, what does this have to do with writing?

 I'm glad you asked, it seems like you still haven't lost your amazing wit from my 'Hello World' post.  It's almost like...

 Ok. No. Used that joke already. I'm not that cruel.

 As with the GM side of things, being a player in a roleplaying session, aside from being awesome fun, can be incredibly useful for your writing - only, in this case, in the aspect of characters and character interaction.

 First things first, you'll have to make this character: this means figuring out what sort of person someone living in this setting could be. And the adventures this character will go through along with his or her friends will shape their personality in a very organic manner, making them fleshed out as they go. How will they react when put in front of a morally ambiguous situation? How are they standing on certain issues? You will find yourself having to answer these questions as you go along.   Just remember not to take arguments too far - a good rule of thumb is, when the party is starting to get really divided on something, take a step back. It's all for the fun of all the players after all.

 But, as long as you stay in that sort of 'boundary', there's another very important aspect to all this: you will be forced to think outside the box. You will be met with situations that might very well be common, but, unlike in the real world, you will have very uncommon ways to deal with it - magic, weird capabilities, and so on. This will help you even when you're writing your own story to devise interesting and innovative uses of powers we usually see exploited only in very limited ways.

 Think about this: how will making breakfast change if you had access to fire magic? How would society deal with it? There are a lot of nuances that you'll find yourself thinking about as a roleplayer that will help you make your worlds a lot more believable because you'll be used to think at normal things with unusual stuff to face them with.

 Not to toot my own horn, but to make an example, in Tiogair magic resurfaced in a technologically advanced world, and became common. What did that do? There are chefs in the best restaurants testing alchemical cooking, using essences and magic to give spice to their dishes. Astral projection is used in prospecting for minerals and other industrial applications.

 Just little aspects like this can help make your worldbuilding a lot more complete, because those capacities are not just that 'special power' - but an intrinsic element of your characters, or even society as a whole, affecting their day to day life.

 Another good aspect is the fact that your characters will grow, and you'll have a chance to build firsthand fantasy/fictional dialogues with other people. And that's amazing. Because it can help you give the characters in your story more natural, realistic banters and reactions to situations - because you saw it play out in a similar situation somewhere else.

 And, last, but not least, one of the most important lessons of them all in my opinion: your character can't do EVERYTHING EVER. Yes, in RPG's we usually stick to one role, while in books your main characters tend to be a lot more...'proficient' than others. But let's be honest: we all know the danger of falling into the Mary Sue/Gary Stu trope. Having to move your character in a setting you don't directly control, with other characters you don't control, will help you realize just how much more fun it is when there's actual, genuine interactions not only between characters, but between fields of expertise as well. And when you aren't writing the story, yes, sometimes even your character can fuck up. And get hated by someone. And that's healthy. A good character isn't a perfect in everything character. They'll need help, they'll give help to others, and sometimes they'll even get their ass kicked and have to go home with the tail between their legs.

 So!

 With all this being said, I really hope I've whetted your appetite for roleplaying games. And if that's the case, tomorrow you'll be able to find various informations on where to get started: roleplay resources, sites, and so on that can help you delve into this amazing world.

 And if you ever have any questions, you can post them on the comments below and I'll be more than happy to answer what I can!

 Toodles!

On Tabletop RPG's and writing - An introduction to RPG's

 So, here it is. Honestly, I wanted to tackle this topic for quite a while, but Twitter, with its 240 characters limit, ain't really the best place to do so.

 But now I have a blog! And I can write basically how much I want and of whatever I want!! Iiiih!

Sorry, I still can't get over it *.*

 For those who aren't familiar with the word, here's a brief introduction.

What are tabletop roleplaying games?

 For 'Tabletop Roleplaying Games' (from now on abbreviated to 'TTRPG' for ease of my already unsound mind) we intend narrative-driven group games originally played around a table with some friends, creating characters and stories in a premade setting thanks to a set of rules and a lot of these.

Dices. Some make for very good throwing weapons, too!

 Some very known examples of such games are Dungeons and Dragons and Vampires: The Masquerade (but I'm old, and the new 'hip' Vampires game is Requiem.)
 I could absolutely nerd out and go on the various systems, the differences, the settings, and so on...but I do still value your mental sanity, at the very least more than mine, so I'll avoid doing that.
 You can thank me later.
 Suffice to say, these systems offer you and your friends a framework where you can move your characters and create your own stories, acting them out in an improvisational verbal (and sometimes not only verbal) act.
 A playing group is usually comprised of 3 to 8 people, of which one acts as the rulekeeper and 'narrator' (generally referred to as Game Master, or simply Master) and the others each creating their own singular character to move in the story.

So, this is the basics...what then?

 What happens after that is actually more simple than it might look at a first glance. I'm more than happy to admit the whole setup can make it feel like this sort of games are incredibly complex - character creation can take a while to finish, and there are the rules, the statistics to allocate, and so on - but once that hurdle is over, the procedure is quite streamlined.

 The GM (Game Master) sets up the scene. He will act as the 'world' surrounding the characters, the people they'll meet, the encounters, the rules of the world. With the scene described, the other players take the role of their characters, interacting with the GM and with each other to try and figure out how to use their abilities and ingenuity to 'figure out' the situation. Depending on the group, a lot of character development and narrative stakes can take place.

 

 Following the rules of the game and at the GM discretion, a lot of the actions the characters will try to take will be decided by the toss of one or more of those dices, representing unbiased, unforgiving, pure chance.

And this is usually the result when I play D&D.

 As you can probably tell already, for someone who wants to be a writer this is definitely something to consider for training.

 In this short series, I will go through:

• The benefits of roleplaying to Writers as a Game Master
• The benefits of roleplaying to Writers as a player
• Various roleplaying games and resources that you can use to try it out whenever you want!

 So for now, I'd say we'll stop here. Stay tuned for the next post in this serie, coming soon!