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Oren is a grumpy old man whose physical age hasn’t quite caught up with him, at least that’s what the kids who won’t get off his lawn keep saying. He’s been into roleplaying games since he was knee-high to a d10, and into prose writing for nearly as long. He loves stories and games that push the envelope of storytelling, like the Discworld series and the RPG Primetime Adventures. He’s also a huge Star Trek fan, though his rants on the mistakes of Voyager and Enterprise might make you think otherwise.
Beta reading is a critical part of the writing process. It’s a preview of how real-life human beings will respond to your work, something every author should get before their book hits primetime. And yet, I keep seeing authors mishandle the beta reading process. Over … read more »
We storytellers like to play games, and so it naturally follows that the characters in our plots would like to play games too. But what happens when the game becomes the plot? Is a great time had by all, or is everyone’s good day canceled … read more »
Roleplaying mechanics can be difficult to balance, and magic can be difficult to balance, so it’s no surprise that when you combine the two, you get serious fireworks. I’m talking about powers and abilities that aren’t just overpowered; they can bring entire games to a … read more »
Whoops, the world ended while we weren’t looking. Guess that means it’s time to don leather and recycled sports equipment, then cruise the sands looking for easy targets to raid. But is that really how it would go down? Join us for a discussion of … read more »
You might have heard there are no shortcuts to fixing a flawed story, that the only solution is to roll up your sleeves and make the hard revisions. You may even have been told that hiring a content editor is a good way to deal … read more »
Hi, I love this blog and the podcast and have really appreciated how much information you present on the craft of writing and also how it has helped me make sure that my writing isn’t unintentionally offensive or not inclusive. My question is actually about … read more »
Plenty of RPGs have unbalanced rules or abilities, and sometimes those broken powers get so out of control that they bring the entire game to a screeching halt. This episode we’ll tell our own stories of RPG destruction. We’ll talk about magic systems that go … read more »
When you finish a good story, your first instinct is probably to check if there’s a sequel. But then you hesitate. How can you be sure the sequel is going to be good? We’ve all seen more than our fair share of promising stories crash … read more »
Good afternoon! I have a roleplaying question. But first, some context: I’m a DM and my party of adventurers is about to visit Candlekeep (like a giant library in Faerûn). One of my players put a lot of work into his backstory, describing how he … read more »
The Iliad is a critical work of western literature that has influenced countless works throughout history and into the present day. But when a story is retold and adapted this often, important elements are distorted until they barely resemble the original. That’s why we’ve invited … read more »