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So You Wanna Write a RPG Blog? What NOT To Do

August 7, 2008 by guest

Hi folks! My name is Berin Kinsman, and I’ll be guest blogging here while our beloved Chatty DM is off vacationing in the wilderness. I’ve been a roleplayer since 1978, which officially makes me an old grognard. I’ve been writing about gaming on my own site, UncleBear, since 1996, long before the word “blog” was coined and tools like Blogger, WordPress and Livejournal were available. I’ve been doing this before a lot of what’s now conventional wisdom became conventional. What I want to do is pass along some of the mistakes I’ve made over the years, to help you avoid some of the pitfalls I experienced.

Don’t Lose Focus

Complete this sentence: My blog is about _____________ . At least 95% of the posts you make on your blog should be about whatever you filling in that blank with. The other 5% should tie into that topic. If you’re writing about D&D, write about D&D. If you suddenly want to write about religion and politics, it had better tie into D&D somehow. The most successful blogs avoid topic drift.

* Corollary A: Don’t Make the Topic Too Narrow

If you decide you’re blog is going to be about clerics in 2nd Edition D&D, you may be restricting yourself. You’ll find you want to talk about other things, but it’s hard to do in the context of your chosen topic. Topic drift will happen. It’s okay to expand your blog’s focus as you go along, but it’s better if you start off at the right level of granularity

* Corollary B: Don’t Make the Topic Too Broad

If you’re going to cover all things roleplaying, you had better cover all things roleplaying. Don’t ignore the 800 lb. gorillas in the room. If you spend most of your time writing about [Your Favorite Game] and little else, then you’ve got a blog about [Your Favorite Game].

Don’t Give Rude People An Inch

There is a broad gap between respectful disagreement and a flaming troll, but I’ve sometimes been too nice for my own good and given the latter the benefit of the doubt. Don’t. Not ever. You can set your own rules about issuing warnings, banning people from leaving comments, and so forth, but the very first time someone does something uncool you’ve got to nip it in the bud. Once you’ve got an established community your regulars will often do it for you, but as you’re ramping up one of two things will happen: the jerk will inspire others to imitate his behavior, and/or the nice people will free to politer ground.

* Corollary A: Don’t Take It Offline If You Don’t Have To

If the jerk says it in your comments section, address it there. Whether you’re posting a polite “yeah, uncool, chill” or putting someone’s head on a pike, it establishes the ground rules for other readers/commenters and shows that you’re in control.

I have two or three regular readers who never leave comments on the page, but send me emails taking me to task about something-or-other that I posted. A one-off note to point out an error and help me save face is cool, but these folk want to engage me in private debate. My policy is to not respond to negative comments from people I don’t know (and if you’re a regular commenter, I “know” you for purposes of this rule whether we’ve ever met face-to-face or not). If you want to engage me, do it in public. Often they want to remain in email because they know they’d look foolish in a public forum, or that other readers would rise up to back me. Don’t take the flame bait.

Don’t Blog in an Altered Mental State

This is an extension of the Chatty DM’s Golden Rule of Blogging. My two personal caveats are Don’t Blog Angry (I tend to say things I regret later) and Don’t Blog Bummed Out (I whine. A lot). I’m not saying don’t write it; you probably need to get it out of your system, and you can probably edit and salvage something useful from it later. Just don’t post it until you’re in a better place and have had a chance to think about what you’re putting out into the world.

I’ve extended this to include blogging while under the influence of controlled substances, including prescription medications and over-the-counter cold medicine. I’ve never done it (okay, I’ve blogged on NyQil a few times) but I know people who do, and their posts run the gamut from incomprehensible to painfully embarrassing. You just hurt your credibility and lose readers.

Don’t Stop Playing

Most of you are probably looking at me funny, but this is gospel truth: there was a two-year period where I was neither running nor playing in a game, but I was still writing about it. It was frustration for me, to say the least, and it came across in my writing no matter how neutral or upbeat I tried to be. I became very disconnected from the roleplaying community and started to veer off into my own orbit. Because I wasn’t gaming, topic drift set in and I was violating Rule#1.

Don’t Fear the Reruns

If you’re going to be away from the blog for a few days, rerun some best-of posts. It’s easy when using tools like WordPress; just change the post date, and it will keep the same URL so links to the post won’t get screwed up and all the original comments will remain intact. I usually put a new note at the top, indicating the date it was originally run. Reruns don’t have to be your most popular posts; they may be something you’re proud of writing that wasn’t appreciated at the time, or something that’s suddenly topical again. It’s quick filler, if nothing else. You’re not cheating. No one will pelt you with fish for doing it.

Don’t Lose Touch with Regulars

As stated in Rule #2, if someone regularly posts comments on your blog, odds are you “know” them to some degree. They’re also likely registered on the site, so you have their email address. If they suddenly stop posting, after a few days you should drop them a line and find out why. They may have found some cool new spot to hang that you might also like (or need to compete against, or join forces with). You, or another regular, may have inadvertently offended them. They may have lost interest, and you really want to find out why so you can improve your blogging.

In my case, I had a regular vanish for months and while I thought about following up I didn’t, because I didn’t want to violate their privacy. When they reappeared it turned out they were having trouble, and that I might have been able to help them. I still feel guilty about that. You don’t have to hold a huge fun raiser to help people with their medical bill or anything like that; just letter a member of your community know that you’ve noticed their absence and miss them can have a huge effect when they’re having a tough time.

Well folks, thanks for the soap box. I hope that this was useful to you, and that it helps you avoid some of the trials and tribulations I went through to build a blog and a community that I’m proud of.

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Filed Under: blogging, Musings of the Chatty DM, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: RPG blog primer

Comments

  1. Tom says

    August 7, 2008 at 8:52 am

    Hey, good stuff! While knowing what to do is a great thing, so is knowing what not to do. There’s no reason not to learn from the mistakes of others after all. That way, I can make all new mistakes πŸ˜‰

    Toms last blog post..The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

  2. Micah says

    August 7, 2008 at 8:54 am

    I would chime in and suggest that people ask themselves seriously if they would be disappointed if no one ever read their blog. If it’s something you do for fun and you like the practice in writing, then go for it. If you’re dreaming of stardom and legions of adoring (and perhaps ad-clicking) fans, then you’re probably in for a big disappointment.

    The blog space (and RPG blog space) is pretty crowded these days, and people have a limited amount of time in the day. So, be ready for earth-shattering posts and revelations…that no one else reads or comments on.

    Micahs last blog post..On Hiatus

  3. Berin says

    August 7, 2008 at 9:10 am

    @Micah Hence the beauty of reruns. If your readership does pick up, dusting off the brilliant post that no one read six months or a year ago makes it “new” to a whole bunch of people.

    You’re right about “Don’t assume this is going to take off”. I’ve been doing this for 12 years and I suspect most of you are reading my words for the first time. You have to be doing this for some sort of reward; money and the adulation of fans had better be further down the list than ‘it’s a labor of love” and “it makes the voices in my head shut up”.

  4. Graham says

    August 7, 2008 at 9:27 am

    “Don’t blog in an altered mental state”

    I’d add Corollary A:

    Don’t blog hungry.

  5. Berin Kinsman says

    August 7, 2008 at 9:43 am

    Hungry is definitely an altered mental state. I’ve done six impossible things already before breakfast, and I’m getting cranky.

  6. DocBadwrench says

    August 7, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Excellent post. Very straightforward and reasonable.

  7. Donny_the_DM says

    August 7, 2008 at 10:48 am

    Dont blog angry is good too. I’ve said some pretty stupid things blogging while annoyed at something.

    Excellent advice though. Is great addition to a great series.

  8. greywulf says

    August 7, 2008 at 11:13 am

    Phil, you’re not fooling anyone with your Uncle Bear impersonation. We all know it’s really you under that….. oh…… hi, Berin……. πŸ™‚

    Good advice, all.

  9. ChattyDM says

    August 7, 2008 at 12:22 pm

    No it’s not me… this is all Berin!

    I’m still around but this whole guest blogging thing is great… I really feel like a Webcomic artist!

    Great post Berin, the don’t blog in altered state is dead on.

    I do recall writing one post when I was very drunk… I just can’t seem to remember which one…

  10. Lost Creation says

    August 7, 2008 at 3:20 pm

    Great series. No offense to Chatty, but this was probably my favorite entry in it. (What’s it say about me that I respond better to negative direction than positive?) πŸ˜€

    Anyway, I’ve been enjoying this blog for a few of weeks now and figured I’d take a moment to say so.

    A bit of feedback: with these guest posts, you may want to encourage your guest blogger to put their name and a link to their regular blog at the top of the post. That blue/gray box at the end basically signals “nothing important to read here, move along” so I didn’t notice who wrote this until I read the comments.

    It’d be a good service to the guest bloggers too. I have no idea who Berin is or where his blog may reside (or if he even has one… assuming “yes”). I’d like to read more if possible, but I don’t know where to go!

  11. Berin Kinsman says

    August 7, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    @Lost Creation: That’s why I introduced myself and linked to my own blog in the first couple of sentences. Did you miss that?

    I take it as a compliment that I was able to the ChattyDM’s style and tone. For the next post I’ll use my own style, so you can see what I’m really like.

  12. Berin Kinsman says

    August 7, 2008 at 3:48 pm

    Added my avatar and bolded my name, to emphasize you’re not in Kansas. Or Canada, as the case may be.

  13. Lost Creation says

    August 7, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    Yes, I completely missed it. The part above the first header must have signaled “Don’t read me, I’m not important” to my addled brain, too. Nothing like making an idiot of yourself with your first comment, eh?

    Also noticed after the edit window that one of your follow up replies had a clickable name link but the other didn’t. Could all this be a sign that I need to stop reading (and commenting) on blogs at work….? Nah.

    Edit 1: Started browsing your real blog, looking forward to more. πŸ™‚

    Edit 2: BTW, much clearer on the edit. Even I might have noticed that… might. πŸ™

  14. Berin Kinsman says

    August 7, 2008 at 4:02 pm

    @Lost Creation: No harm no foul. We all learned something today. It’s like an Afterschool Special or something.

  15. Yan says

    August 7, 2008 at 6:38 pm

    Well Berin to emulate chatty’s style you just need to pick something you could tell in a sentence or two and make a 1000 word essay on it…

    πŸ˜‰

  16. ChattyDM says

    August 7, 2008 at 7:38 pm

    You know Yan… I have high speed internet where I vacation.. πŸ˜›

  17. Berin Kinsman says

    August 7, 2008 at 8:31 pm

    @Yan I didn’t tell you there was one more “don’t” on my list, but I went on and on and on about it so much that I decided to split it into it’s own post.

    Plus, they don’t call him ‘Chatty” for nothing!

  18. Questing GM says

    August 7, 2008 at 10:28 pm

    Excellent post! Now I’m in violation of a few rules…I hope I’m not in trouble.

    Questing GMs last blog post..Wizard’s Employee Shoots Wife and Kills Self

  19. Dr. Checkmate says

    August 7, 2008 at 11:58 pm

    “No harm no foul. We all learned something today. It’s like an Afterschool Special or something.”

    That was all Berin, right there. πŸ˜‰

    And, thanks. Good advice. In fact, you’ve inspired a post for my own blog. Cool!

    Dr. Checkmates last blog post..Clean Slate Two

  20. Berin Kinsman says

    August 8, 2008 at 12:05 am

    That was all Berin, right there.

    In my next guest post, they’ll get the full Berin Kinsman Experience. Wait for it.

  21. Yan says

    August 8, 2008 at 9:07 am

    @Chatty: I would not want it otherwise or they would be no fun in poking stick at you.. :p

  22. Storyteller says

    August 9, 2008 at 4:34 pm

    Thanks for this great post Berin!

    Storytellers last blog post..The RPG Three: Part Two

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