Friday, June 26, 2009

WoAdWriMo?

Gameblog reader rcade asks the simple question that is the title to this post.

The short answer is No. I'm superthrilled with all the great modules (still available here, thanks to James at Age of Fable) that resulted from the two WoAdWriMo outings, but I don't plan to attempt to organize another Worldwide Adventure Writing Month. The reason I'm not continuing the project is twofold:

1) The two WoAdWriMos have made it abundantly clear to me that one of my personal strengths is not Organizing the Fans. That takes a special combination of limitless enthusiasm, abiding patience, technical know-how and general smarts that I can't quite muster. I don't regret trying, but my talents lie elsewhere.

2) Someone else has improved on the formula and WoAdWriMo is in many ways redundant now. I speak, of course, of the One Page Dungeon Contest. It's not the same as WoAdWriMo, but it's got a rip smart format. Format was one of the things I struggled with and the One Page Dungeon just effin' nails it. Look to the future for the One Page City, the One Page Encounter, the One Page Secret Society, the One Page Kingdom, the One Page Tavern, etc, etc.

So no WoAdWriMo. HOWEVER, don't let me hold you back. There's still need in the hobby for new materials for GMs trying to keep their campaigns running. July may not be Worldwide Adventure Writing Month, but there's nothing stopping it from being [Your Name Here] Adventure Writing Month. And if you want a cheerleader to Ra! Ra! you on, or just someone to talk about the module writing process don't hesitate to leave a comment on my blog or send me an email (jrients AT gmail DOT com). Or call me, I'm in the book. It always amuses my wife when someone on the phone asks for "Jeff of Jeff's Gameblog".

ADDENDUM: I should probably also note that if someone else wanted to take the reins of this project, that would be totally cool with me.

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:39 PM

    That is a shame.

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  2. That makes me sad, also, since I already wrote one and all.

    That said, allow me to present Thirty -Part One: The Heroic Levels.

    It's a set of barebones drop-in encounters, written for 4E D&D but easily adaptable to any FRPG.

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  3. Ah, whenever I try to talk any kind of design process around here it goes over like a lead balloon :)

    I personally think you should be amazingly proud of WoAdWriMo; when you first announced it I predicted a MUCH lower turnout. MUCH.

    I've been involved with several publishers over the years who've staged contests of varying types, and the lesson has always been, repeatedly hammered into me: the ones where it's a page or less of work go like gangbusters (magic item contest, adventure seed contest, cool NPC contest, new monster contest, new random table contest) and the ones that require multi-page work (adventures, articles, etc) tend to flop.

    WoAdWriMo was, comparatively speaking, no flop. It vastly exceeded my (admittedly, probably tinged with the vibe laid on my by my prior bosses) estimations of where it could go.

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  4. (not suggesting, btw, that WoAdWriMo was a "contest" - just that the same social issues apply)

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  5. Ah, whenever I try to talk any kind of design process around here it goes over like a lead balloon :)

    Thanks for continuing to try!

    And thanks for the kind words about WoAdWriMo. I am very proud of all the people who contributed and thankful for all the assistance I received. It was a good gig. And I never would have finished Asteroid 1618 without the public pressure of the 1st WoAdWriMo.

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  6. I saw somebody putting up a PDF containing one page city entries.

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  7. Thanks for continuing to try!

    This is the closest thing on the Internet to an RPG design forum that makes sense to me :) It's just missing the "RPG design forum" part (which says something about the places online that aren't missing that part, and yet are further from the concept).

    I never would have finished Asteroid 1618 without the public pressure of the 1st WoAdWriMo.

    Speaking selfishly, that makes the whole thing worth it ;)

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  8. I never got anything into what I considered a publishable format, but WoAdWriMo inspired me to think in a more structured fashion about writing adventures.

    What were the technical difficulties you faced with WoAdWriMo?

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  9. Jeff - Johnn, Yax (he might not know this yet) and I want to make WoAdWriMo happen if we can. We're all pretty busy, so no promises, but I'd like to give it a shot. Can you send me an email with what-all would be involved in doing that? hannah@roleplayingtips.com

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