WotC Seeking Your Setting Proposals (was "Big Wizard announcement")

[Darraketh]

...not including the dedicated thought time I gave it while driving, showering, etc.

Yeah, that was me too.

 

[Bombastus]

I spent a two whole day on it anyone that did it in 2-3 hours can't have a very good proposel It took me 2-3 hours just to type it the first time.

For me, I know that my submission took my entire life to write. I realized during one of my final drafts that I was about to send them a real piece of myself. As a result I feel so raw, waiting for the outcome. Before I usually felt numb and a fake kind of anxiety already knowing deep down that I didn't make the cut.

I must have went to the writer's heaven that we hear about. The secret to me getting there was by being willing to listen to inspiration even when it came from parts of myself that I was not comfortable with. It was a real rush.

Or. I am even further in denial of the degree to which I suck. Either way, it's bliss!

Maggie

 

[Glog]

That's the joy and sorrow of writing for a living, I expect. It can be a very personal experience and you have to make sure that you seperate that on the back end but keep it on the front end. That's one of the reasons why many writers are a little off, occasionally have difficulty dealing with people and turn to nastier habits to dull their pain.

But as long as you love the way it makes you feel on the front end, you will hopefully come back to it. And then you will get better with each iteration. While nothing hurts quite as much as the rejection, few things feel quite as good as being accepted and knowing that thousands of people will come to read your material and use it to craft worlds and stories for years to come.

Savor those feelings and use them to make yourself a better writer.

 

[Bombastus]

While nothing hurts quite as much as the rejection, few things feel quite as good as being accepted and knowing that thousands of people will come to read your material and use it to craft worlds are stories for years to come.

Savor those feelings and use them to make yourself a better writer.

That's the thing. I'm wondering if it won't be just the opposite. I used to get so "dramatic" over my rejection letters, telling myself "oh boo hoo, I am such a great writer and no one is kewl enough to understand me". I really thought that was true.

Looking back, however, what really upset me was the fact that I had compromised my integrity by sending in something that I knew sucked, that I knew I had not done my absolute best, that I had wasted my own time. For me, that's where the pain of writing lies, that my inability to get published mirrors my occasional impotence as a human being. It's all connected. The rejection letters were really saying to me "Maggie, thank you for reaching out. Don't submit to us again until you get some therapy, a lot of therapy. We'd like to see something from the perspective of a grown up, not a child who blames the world for her own incompetence." So every time I write and then get rejected I have to look and see the bigger, unimplied "why".

I'm sure for other writer's it is the same. Perhaps their conscience hears something like "Please don't submit to us until you get over your drug addiction" or "Please don't write if you have to sacrifice your relationships to do so." etc...

Honestly, I think the worse thing that could happen to a writer is for them to get published when they knew they didn't deserve it on some level. My bet is THAT is why so many successful writers end up destroying themselves. I think luck, style, creativity, and good grammar have nothing to do with success. The proof is in the pudding. My bet is that people succeed or fail at writing (or anything) because it is what will get them closer to the truth about themselves.

How about them apples? So, on this level, the WotC setting search is about thousands of people searching for the truth about themselves, and how great that WotC is going to send all of us a letter one way or the other so that we can't blame the result of our efforts on the postal system.

Maggie

 

[Mercule]

Honestly, I think the worse thing that could happen to a writer is for them to get published when they knew they didn't deserve it on some level.

I'm quite certain that there are several entries that are plenty worthy of getting published. In fact, not all the "worthies" will likely even make the first cut of ten. Believe me, whoever gets the $100,000 contract will very much deserve it.

Even if it's not the absolute _best_ they could have done, that's where the preferrential treatment for future freelance projects comes in. Ya think maybe Ed's gotten the Realms a bit more polished in the last 15 or so years?

 

[Scribe Ineti]

Ya think maybe Ed's gotten the Realms a bit more polished in the last 15 or so years?

I thought about that while working on my proposals. I went out and looked over the new FR campaign book, and had a momentary pang -- "How in the world will I be able to write a one-pager on my setting that is as deep and complex as FR?"

Then I rationalized it by thinking that FR wasn't conceived in its entirety at the beginning. It's had years to grow and develop.

 

[Glog]

Absolutely, Mercule! It's an ongoing process.

You have to love writing and creating more than you enjoy bashing yourself. Keep writing and eventually you'll find something good, whether in yourself or in your writing.

Though mainstream success would be very satisfying, if joy doesn't flow from the process, or you don't excite yourself with a wonderful turn of phrase or the knowledge that you created something no one else could create, then I feel bad for you. Write for yourself and if other people happen to find what you write interesting then you can make a career out of it. If you don't write for yourself first and foremost, it is unlikely that you will find happiness in the world you have wrought.

Above all else, keep on writing.

 

[GoldenEagle]

rejection

If someone gets rejected here remember this: They are rejecting a business proposal, not you. Even though a company may not choose your submitted idea, it does not need to be your last idea; it may not even be your best. To paraphrase a gentleman who summited Mt. Everest, it is okay to fall, just not to fail. failure only occurs when you stop getting up after a fall.

This was my first submission after 20+ years of gaming, and I had fun. I will submit something again even if I don't win...I hope if any of you had fun doing this that you will also!

BTW, Jester thanks for being so cool about the core ethos statement andeveryone else for the great tips (Steve C, Clark, et.al.)

Sincerely

John

 

[Bombastus]

I'm quite certain that there are several entries that are plenty worthy of getting published. In fact, not all the "worthies" will likely even make the first cut of ten. Believe me, whoever gets the $100,000 contract will very much deserve it.

Even if it's not the absolute _best_ they could have done, that's where the preferrential treatment for future freelance projects comes in. Ya think maybe Ed's gotten the Realms a bit more polished in the last 15 or so years?

Yes, I am very sure that the person getting the final contract will deserve it in the eyes of a vast majority of the gaming community. I have no doubt of that. I am already ready to buy the new setting and I don't even know what it is.

What I am suggesting is mostly off topic, that when I fail or succeed at something like a writing proposal, it has everything to do with my need to get to the truth. Like someone else suggested, the rejection is the rejection of a business proposal not a person. However, for me, in order to improve myself as a person and a writer I have to be willing look at my success or failure more personally rather than less.

Maggie

 

[Glog]

I agree with GE. I have never submitted for something like this, though I have been gaming for 18 years. I really had a great time with this. I think it was just a great exercise in getting everyone to think about what they love most in the games they play and the homeworlds and backstreet campaigns.

For me it rekindled some of fun I used to have making up scenarios for my friends. It evokes memories of the smell of the Basic set I bought at Sears, waxy dice with numbers colored in with crayon and my first GenCon. Campaign worlds are a great springboard for ideas and there is no substitue for the satisfaction that comes with an original idea.

This experience made me appreciate all of the work that goes into a game I have enjoyed for years. I just hope I get an opportunity to contribute to its development. That's what it's all about for me.