RPG Authors: How Do You Do It?

[haiiro]

Now, the question is, what do I cut back on?

Since I assume you can't cut back on work -- or you already would have! -- I'd say one of the following three things:

1) Drop one of the games you're involved in, and use that time for writing.
2) Like Storminator said: take a break! You've got a crapload on your plate already!
3) Find a job that allows you, without getting into trouble, to write while you work. I have no idea what field(s) you're in, but night jobs like security tend to involve time where you have to be awake and alert, but there's nothing work-related to do.

 

[Southern Oracle]

Honestly, with that list, I'd ask why you want to write more. Really, think long and hard about it. What are you going to get out of it?

Is it too corny to say I want to make a meaningful contribution to the genre I've enjoyed for the past 23 years? I'm proud of the articles I wrote for Dragon, but I have other ideas I'd like to develop.

 

[Southern Oracle]

1) Drop one of the games you're involved in, and use that time for writing.

This is the most likely option. There are three GMs in my group, and we rotate campaigns every so often. Since the Vampire GM is MIA, I guess I need to wrap up my Star Wars d20 game and let the Warhammer d20 GM step up to the plate. Star Wars is the most intensive of the two games I run, because the adventures available are abysmal (in my opinion).

2) Like Storminator said: take a break! You've got a crapload on your plate already!

I haven't written anything since October of last year, and my last work was published in December. I've had a break from writing...I just need a break from the rest of life.

3) Find a job that allows you, without getting into trouble, to write while you work. I have no idea what field(s) you're in, but night jobs like security tend to involve time where you have to be awake and alert, but there's nothing work-related to do.

Unfortunately, I'm a night shift supervisor for a retail store, so my night is spent stocking shelves, setting ads, and doing maintenance work around the store. I get two 15 minute breaks and a half-hour lunch each night, and I use that time to work on my games on my laptop. I can crank out a statblock in 15 minutes, but that's not enough time to spend wrestling with a design issue.

My part-time job is online but involves a lot of offline development. I could step back from some of it, but since I run a number of projects by myself, that would mean one or more of those projects would have to end. (Unfortunately, I've already looked into it, and no one else is willing to pick up the slack and keep them going without me.)

I appreciate all the advice. I realize writing is a labor of love, and if I want to do it bad enough, I'll have to make sacrifices to get it done. I guess the next step is to talk to the wife...

 

[Jolly Giant]

I found I had to end my campaign (after 4 years of DMing it) to really get going on my first book. I've also cut back on posting on these borads, stopped reading story hours etc. Even so, I work long hours and have two kids still in diapers, so I still don't have nearly enough time to write.

 

[dougmander]

How do you find the time to write professionally, DM a game or games, work a steady job (or two), spend time with your wife and kids, maintain a story hour, write a blog, manage a website, etc., etc., etc.?

Well, since we had the baby back in February, my spouse and I haven't been doing any gaming, except for a blog-based campaign we can add to on the fly, when one of us gets a spare minute. The ENWorld Boston Game Day was the last time we gamed, in fact. My time to write and ilustrate has been severely curtailed. I'm learning to work in smaller bursts of 15 minutes to an hour, rather than 3-4 hours at a time.

Oops, the baby just woke up. See what I mean?

 

[Barrier Peaks]

It isn't easy...

I used to run my own campaigns every other week, working on them in the days prior to game night. I have a full-time day job, too. Once freelance assignments started rolling in, I had to make time to write. I'd do it at work during my lunch hour, for a couple of hours each night after I got home, and for several hours more on the weekends.

I found myself running game sessions more sporadically, or not running any games at all, which was a pain because I was the only DM/GM in my group. That meant that I wasn't getting much, if any, game time. I managed to find another play group, but they run on a weekly schedule (every Friday, 6pm til the game ends, which is usually between 1am and 3am). When I'm on deadline, those long weekly games can be hard to commit to.

These days, I've got a three month old son that contends for a good portion of my time. So much for the regular game nights; I make one out of every 3 or 4 sessions. The guys in the group are extraordinarily forgiving of these absences. The weeks after my son was born were probably the hardest -- my word count dropped, and although I was happy with being a new father, my self-confidence in relation to my writing and design work was on the ropes.

Once I started making time, exhaustion or not, things got better. Those writing "muscles" need to be worked regularly, preferably every day. Not writing is a sacrifice that I can't afford to make at this point. I've got a decent day job, and my wife works part-time, but the extra money I get from freelancing (sporadic as it may be) really helps the ends meet with a little more surety, especially with the cost of living in SoCal.

I have to say, it's tougher some days that it is others. Gods know that I should be writing now, at this moment, instead of posting on EN World, but the topic was too close to the heart for me to ignore.

Gary

 

[tonym]

...My part-time job is online but involves a lot of offline development. I could step back from some of it, but since I run a number of projects by myself, that would mean one or more of those projects would have to end. (Unfortunately, I've already looked into it, and no one else is willing to pick up the slack and keep them going without me.)...

Is this a paying job? If not, scrap it, along with Star Wars d20. Then clean less around the house. Teach the oldest kid to do the laundry. And put the most time-consuming child into foster care.

Hope that helps.
Tony M

 

[Southern Oracle]

I have to say, it's tougher some days that it is others. Gods know that I should be writing now, at this moment, instead of posting on EN World, but the topic was too close to the heart for me to ignore.

Thanks for taking the time...now get back to writing!

 

[Southern Oracle]

Is this a paying job? If not, scrap it, along with Star Wars d20.

Yes, it is a paying job...quite well, considering it's part time. More per hour than what my wife makes working full time as an assistant manager for a shoe store. I've come to the conclusion though, that I need to set Star Wars aside after this story arc is complete.

Then clean less around the house.

According to the wife, I can't do much less.

Teach the oldest kid to do the laundry.

Done, but teenagers today...what can you do?

And put the most time-consuming child into foster care.

Sometimes I daydream, but then I come to my senses. After all, I need them to care for me in my old age...if I scrap one of them now, the others might get ideas about a nursing home or something later on.

 

[tonym]

Haha, true...true.

Plus you might be shoving the wrong bird out of the nest.
You don't want to King Lear yourself.

Better keep 'em all, just to be on the safe side.


Tony M