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You are here: Home / Archives for freelancing

Shotgunning

April 12, 2016 by Chris Sims

Since that day my first nameless elf died in the gray-ooze cave in The Keep on the Borderlands, I was hooked. I got into roleplaying games over three decades ago because I was interested in the drama.

Filed Under: Analysis Paralysis, Editorial, Featured, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games, Video Games Tagged With: D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, freelancing, game design, intellectual property, nerd culture, roleplaying games, Storytelling, transmedia storytelling, world building

A Busy Year, Part 1: NPC Importance

December 30, 2015 by Shawn Merwin

Working as a part-time RPG freelancer is a proverbial rollercoaster ride. Sometimes it is thrilling, and other times the reward at the end of the ride is that you get to stop.

Filed Under: Adventure Prep, Columns, Editorial, Featured, Know Your Roll, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: D&D, freelancing, NPCs

Chatty DM, Freelancer, Epilogue: Tales of Ubiquity

June 6, 2013 by The Chatty DM

Between May and August of 2011, I wrote a series of articles that looked back on the different stages of my life which led me to become a RPG freelancer. This an epilogue of sorts. You can read the previous articles here: Part 1: Lessons from Academia Part 2: Lessons from Day Jobs Part 3: […]

Filed Under: Freelance Writing, Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits Tagged With: freelance, freelancing, Job Hunting, Job Interviews, roleplaying games, ubisoft

Chatty DM, Freelancer, Part 2: Lessons from Day Jobs

June 5, 2011 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty details his real life work experiences and how they helped shape his burgeoning career as a writer.

Filed Under: Freelance Writing, Musings of the Chatty DM Tagged With: Biography, D&D Insider, freelancing, Real Life Jobs, Writing

Chatty DM, Freelancer, Part 1: Lessons from Academia

May 30, 2011 by The Chatty DM

In which Chatty starts telling the story of what made him a writer, sharing a few key lessons from his early years.

Filed Under: Freelance Writing, Musings of the Chatty DM, Newest Critical Hits, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: Biography, D&D Insider, freelancing, Writing

So You Want to Write RPGs?

March 18, 2011 by Shawn Merwin

How does one get into the freelance RPG business? I cannot tell for sure, but I can make some observations.

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Know Your Roll, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: freelance, Freelance Writing, freelancing, rpg writing, Writing

Interview: Steve Townshend, D&D Freelancer and Co-Author of “Demonomicon”

July 14, 2010 by Dave

Steve Townshend is a freelance writer (both for D&D and his own fiction) and actor living in Chicago. We recently had the chance to interview Steve over email about the release of the new D&D Demonomicon book, of which his name shares the cover with Mike Mearls and Brian R. James. We also asked him about story in D&D games, a subject with which he has a lot to say.

Filed Under: Featured, Interviews, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, demonomicon, DM advice, freelancing, monsters, steve townshend

Mailbag 3 – The Pitch

April 19, 2010 by Chris Sims

I did my share of pitching to Dragon and Dungeon magazines. I remember how nervous I was. You wonder if you did it right or if some blunder will get you blacklisted. The pitch can be nerve racking, but it shouldn’t be. If you follow the guidelines and contributors’ etiquette, you might not receive a contract on the first pitch, but you are headed in a good direction.

Filed Under: Analysis Paralysis, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, advice, D&D Insider, dragon, dungeon, freelancing

Friday Chat: Don’t be boring! A Real D&D Insider Pitch

April 9, 2010 by The Chatty DM

levator Pitch: The PCs are on their way to meet the monarch of a peaceful land when they discover the half-buried body of a gigantic elemental noble where the king’s castle should be. As the colossal primordial pulls itself out of the ground and starts to walk away, the PCs realize that the castle is within the creature, and their only chance to recover it is to go inside its body. While inside, they must break several rituals that hold the castle in the creature’s chest before it can walk to a nearby ley-line and return to the Elemental Chaos.

Filed Under: Freelance Writing, Musings of the Chatty DM Tagged With: d&d 4e, freelancing, Friday Chat, pathfinder, Submission

Mailbag 2 – Freelancing 101

April 8, 2010 by Chris Sims

I’ve gotten a number of questions about freelancing and writing for D&D Insider. In this issue of the Mailbag, I’ll deal with queries and submissions. I’ll also touch on huge sums of money you can make and the glamorous lifestyle you can lead through successful freelancing. Or maybe I’ll just talk a little about money.

Filed Under: Analysis Paralysis, Editorial, Featured, Roleplaying Games Tagged With: 4e, advice, D&D Insider, dragon, dungeon, freelancing

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About the Author

  • Chris Sims

    Chris Sims has played roleplaying games for 35 years, and he has helped produce games for more than a decade. Before he set up his freelance shop in the wilds of Austria, he was an editor, developer, and designer at Wizards of the Coast. There, he worked on Duel Masters, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering. Ask him something via email that might receive a response in a post, and follow his tweets.

    Email: chris@critical-hits.com

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