Success!

Now that I've actually posted something and had it work, I feel like I can actually type a full post without expecting disappointment when I hit "Publish" and none of it shows up.

I figured that it was probably time to start up blogging again, especially seeing as I'm possibly looking at freelance writing jobs to bring in some extra funds, and this can only be good practice. Maybe I'll even end up not sucking. One can only hope.

I've recently acquired an interest in tabletop RPGs, and have wanted for awhile now to play. The issue currently is that I have no one in the area to play with, and I'm also a total noob (but admitting it is the first step, I've been told). I'm thinking of going to the used bookstore in the area and trying to get enough money to buy a Player's Handbook for D&D by selling the Twilight books that I can safely say I will NEVER read again. I find this to be a more than fair trade. I only hope that the bookstore will agree. Maybe my interest is rooted in the lack of characters I've created, which after NaNo seems criminal. Actually, even when I was barely writing over the summer I was still creating different characters, though admittedly they were incredibly shallow and needed personality surgery to be viable in a decent story. So the fact that the only one I've created in the last two months has been for my next writing project (more about that later) is odd. It's one of my favorite parts of the writing process. I see RPGs as a way to fix that, and create serious character development skills as well. Now the trick is to find a way to play when all the people I know of who play are about two hours away. And also, learning without my head exploding. But I see that as a minor obstacle.

In writing, I've been doing this project with a friend called the Letter Game. We basically just created characters and a general setting, and then had them start writing letters to each other. It's very interesting, and different than I thought it would be. For instance, I'm used to coming up with basic plots, adding the twists where needed and then letting inspiration drive the rest. That's what worked best for my NaNo novel. I created Point A and Point Z and left the others up to the journey as it unfolded. Harder to edit effectively, but the experience was definitely worth it, especially since it gave me a distinct goal to work towards as opposed to my other, more open-ended attempts at becoming a novelist. You know, the ones that crashed and burned in a fire worth of a Balrog. But for this newest project, I'm not the only one coming up with twists. She is too. It's a rather disconcerting experience, having half a plot already planned out almost out of habit and then having to completely revise it to fit the new information she just provided. It's good for me though. Makes me learn how to be really adaptable in my writing. Now I just have to figure out a way to reply, and I can maybe move past the block in all my other endeavors.

I feel like this is sufficient for my semi-triumphant return to this blog. Perhaps I can figure out a way to motivate myself to keep it up. Who knows... the possibility of money usually helps.