Don't Just Sit There -- Write Something! (In 30 Days)

We're a day into November and I nearly neglected to mention that we're now 24 hours into three consecutive "Get off your keister and write something, dammit" events!  All three of these month-long exercises have one thing in common -- they each encourage you to put pencil to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and get that spark of creativity splashing across the page. With the self-imposed deadline of 30 days, it motivates the brain to stop frittering about with minutiae and get your Great Work out into the public eye. Here's a quick summary of each event:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) -- The grand mack-daddy of writing events. We each have a Great American Novel burbling inside us. Well, NaNoWriMo encourages you to get it out. In 30 days, you must write a 50,000-word novel. It doesn't have to be good or even make sense. But if you're able to get 50,000 words on paper in one month, you can prove to yourself that you are capable creating that masterwork. You have accomplished what others have only dreamt of -- you wrote a damn BOOK.

National Game Design Month (NaGa DeMon) -- For the game designer in all of us, NaGa DeMon encourages you to create that board game, fantasy heartbreaker RPG, RPG supplement, card game, video game, 40-level dungeon delve, anything you desire. The trick is that you have to write it and play it within 30 days. C'mon, you must have a game you've considered creating. How about that RPG adventure you think would entertain and/or freak out your players? This is the time to get it out there and play it! (And possibly get it into the hands of the public as well!)

National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) -- If you'd like to stay online for your writing efforts, NaBloPoMo encourages you to post every day for the 30 days of the month. It doesn't matter what you say, just that you say it. The philosophy is that the more you do something, the better you get at it. So, to become a better writer/blogger, you need to break down the barriers between thinking about writing and actually doing it. So fill your blog with 30 daily posts during November!

At some point, I have participated in all three. I've written two novels, created three RPG supplements, and had one month of daily blog posts. Each one has proven to me that I'm capable of great creativity. We all are. So, as Wil Wheaton says, "Get excited and make things!"

P.S. My participation in 2011 in a combination NaNoWriMo/NaGa DeMon project will directly result in tomorrow's Big Announcement. Stay tuned!

In December, Will You "NaBlo" or "NaGa"?

The month of November is always a busy time for me, as I usually participate in the yearly National Novel Writing Month, AKA "NaNoWriMo." My blog posts drop off significantly, and my game design plans are back-burnered as I desperately try to crank out yet-another "Great American Novel." Of course, I could use NaNo as the catalyst to focus on one of my hobbyist projects, but I really do enjoy the challenge of generating a 50,000-word book in a month. So November is filled with great writing productivity, but no RPG-related productivity. However, the month of December, that all changes. This post serves as both an announcement of my intentions as well as a call to other blog-meisters and would-be game designers to join me.

There are two NaNo-similar events that we as RPG enthusiasts can participate in--either one of which will increase our creativity and productivity, ending with something substantial of use to the RPG-playing community.

National Blog Posting Month, AKA "NaBloPoMo," is not held on a regular schedule like other "National Blah-blah Month." Rather, bloggers are encouraged to pick one month of the year and, during that time, post something each and every day. Bloggers from throughout the blogosphere with a wide variety of interests commit to posting something substantial on a daily basis for 30-31 days (or 28 days if you're a February slacker). In December, I challenge all RPG bloggers to commit to a daily post throughout the month. To make this useful for your readers though, I suggest that all entries have some kind of use to the RPG community, ie, new monsters, characters, rules, etc. Or if you'd rather create something more substantial...

National Game Design Month, AKA "NaGa DeMon," was founded by Nathan Russell of Peril Planet. His challenge is for you to create a game within 30 days, whether it's an RPG, boardgame, computer game, or other project. You "win" by actually creating and playing your game within the month. Now, NaGa DeMon is being held in November 2010 (in other words, it's currently underway) and so it collides with NaNo. (Nathan has suggested he may run the next event in February 2011.) Anyway, I plan to tackle NaGa DeMon in December, wrapping up 2010 with one (or two!) RPG projects I've been dragging my feet on. If interested in this challenge, why not try to finally hammer out that rules supplement for your favorite system? Maybe you have an adventure module you'd like to write, produce, and publish. Maybe you'll just come up with that ultimate RPG rule set and, once complete, release it for free to the world. The object is to finally put pen to paper and create that RPG game or supplement you've always planned on writing. (And really, a name like "Naga Demon" just SCREAMS for RPG involvement!)

Anyway, those are the challenges for December. You have two weeks from today to get planning on which you'd like to tackle. I'd really like to see an explosion of blog posts and/or multiple RPG projects coming to fruition during the month. Chime in if you plan on taking up the Gauntlet of either one! And watch for updates throughout the month as to my personal progress on my projects.