Literature and Gaming

I'm finally finished setting into my new apartment. Back with the posts!

I have taken an interest in writing prose (short stories and maybe a novel) in the past few months, and for the first time in my life, my interest is not waning. One thing I figured was that, since I was competent in creating very involved and interesting game worlds, I ought to be ready to write literature with limited adaptation, right?

I've rarely been that wrong in my life.

For players to really be involved in either Interactive Theatre or Roleplaying Games, the setting is the basis for everything you will design, since the oh-so-interesting characters that your actors/players care about will be created by your players themselves, for the most part. If you create a sufficiently entertaining playground, you can give your actors/players thrills for months and years.

In literature, your audience won't create a character tailor-suited to their own interest. The author's job, then, is to create a single character that a large audience will feel for, and make his viewpoint the viewpoint that will be the most enjoyable for the widest of audiences. Your reader is mostly trapped within your choices.

I had read 18 pages of "The Fire in Fiction" before I threw out 80% of the material I had written beforehand to begin anew. I know now how long and hard the road will be to dedicated authorship.

Still, I decided to write, and am happy I did. My girlfriend gives me full support, which I know to be crucial in my situation.