Can you believe I have been with Critical-Hits for two years already? A lot has happened since July 2007 (when I started blogging) and January 10th 2009 (when I merged my blog with Critical-Hits). Yet, as I’ve discussed a few weeks ago, my passion and my drive to write content for the website has now collided with various other priorities. They range from my freelance assignments to reorganizing my life in the light of a recent separation and adjusting to the violently joyful upheavals of love found anew.
In that time, I’ve further thought about what gets my blood boiling and sends my brain in a creative frenzy. As I seek to find this feeling anew among all the clutter that accumulates in my existence, I realized what makes me tick as a writer. I found it while reading a book.
A while back, I was reading Wil Wheaton’s Just a Geek while I was waiting for Dr.C to finish work. I came upon his story about trading his Death Star playset vs a landspeeder and 10$ back in the 80’s and it just dawned on me:
Will was lousy at trades. Oh wait, that’s not it. 🙂
Much like Wil realized that he was a born storyteller, I realized that was also one of the things I liked doing most: writing stories about what my experiences with RPGs. If you look over my previous 2 posts (here and here), my series on becoming a freelance writer (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) or all my posts about playing with my children, you can feel the energy being poured into these articles. Yet, as I recall, they required minimal effort to write. I enjoy sharing my experience through a (slightly) fictionalized account of what occurs in my geek life so much that it doesn’t feel like work to me… at all.
Secondly, as I re-read my posts about DMing at the New York Comic Con, I remembered something fundamental about my blogging experience. My absolute best posts are and have always been those where each paragraph oozes with the bubbling enthusiasm that is a hallmark of my extroverted personality. I seem to recall someone (probably Logan Bonner) at Pax East last year telling me that whenever I raved about a new game, he would usually cut what I said about it in half before considering how true it could be.
That’s me to T.
So this is what I want to reconnect with. I want most, if not all my blog posts to be like the one I wrote about NYCC, I want to share my insights as a GM, share my good ideas, tell a good story. But most importantly, I yearn to talk about things that get me excited again, things I feel enthusiastic about. Be it the new Marvel Heroic Roleplaying campaign I may start with my friends, the mounting excitement (albeit sans details) of playtesting the next iteration of D&D, my burgeoning experiences as a foodie geek or exploring new gaming horizons with my children and my girlfriend.
In fact, if I recalled what brought me to Critical-Hits 5 years ago, I’d say it was the enthusiasm of Dave, Danny and co. This is what this place means to me, this is what I want the place to remain.
And you dear readers have been a huge part of that. Thank you for reading.
Happy anni Phil! I can’t believe it’s been that long either. A year maybe but 2? Time is flying by way too fast.
Hey Heather dearest, thanks for the kind words. Are you still in Italy? How’s that country treating you so far? You’ve also been there for quite some time. Say hi to G.I. Mike from me.
You are my hero, Phil. Keep all the good work coming, and take care of yourself, man.
Phil – With your love of storytelling have you considered trying your hand at creative fiction?
See, I knew you’d like this book! (Now, can I have it back? :P)