Anyway as long as the guest writers respects the theme of this blog wich revolves around ideas about MMOs it should work fine.

I’m a huge fan of comments too!

Anyway, thanks for the kudos. I also appreciate your comments on my blog. The comments are the best part for me, because it’s a chance for other people to chime in. I already know my own opinions, for the most part. A good conversation about topics I care about is always great.

I’ve tried to write short blog articles but I find it impossible. Many of my articles do start off small but as Tolkien once remarked “the tale grew in the telling”. I find some topics so interesting that I like to fully investigate them. Hopefully my readers still find what I write about interesting.

*cheers*

Recently, I started my own business so I haven’t had the time. However, in the near future I may end up contributing some stuff, even if it’s only as a guest author. Sadly, since it has been years since I was at university, my prose style and argument construction have become seriously degraded.

As far as taking on another full time writer, I think that obviously has both pros and cons. Since I am not speaking from experience, I will speak from my rear (where I normally produce my thoughts). Taking on a partner, you run the risk of watering down your content and losing your specific perspective that drives readership. However, a partner also frees you up from the responsibility of having to force out articles even when you aren’t in the mood. Obviously, I think it is a balance and really depends on the person with whom you partner.

I might also make your day. I happen to know a link that could solve a lot of your issues with getting this out there. Check out: http://www.thegamecrafter.com/publish

I blog for a few different reasons really. I’ve always been into writing. When I was a teenager I started work on my own IP and wrote short stories about it. Only one ever saw the light of day.

I returned to writing when I started raiding in MMOs. A lot of players back then tuned into high end guild sites and read anything and everything. Doing that got me a writer position with the ill fated MOG magazine (which btw was awesome). I’ve always just felt like I had something worth saying and it provides a creative release for me.

To be honest I have been considering picking up fiction again. It just feels so hard because so many of my great ideas, especially at this point, will look like copies or something close even if they were original. Of course in writing almost nothing seems original anymore. At any rate, I’ve been working on a short story that I might post here. The worst case is everyone hates it but is polite enough to say “Eh… maybe you should stick to editorials.”

http://tishtoshtesh.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/alpha-hex-paper-beta/

It’s a design that I’ve got to revisit, since the existing design seems to be imbalanced. (If you get around to testing it, please let me know how it goes.) I’m working on another one that I’ll release similarly as a PDF. If I can find a publisher for these, great, or I may just offer sales on my own from a local printer. (The versions for sale would be prettier, printed and boxed up, but the PDFs are fully playable if you don’t mind doing some of the setup.) I’ve toyed with the idea of making more this way, but so far, the AH beta has been downloaded maybe five times. It’s hard to justify pushing them out the door or setting up a distribution chain for that.

It’s still fun to design, and fun to play. As a hobby, that’s gotta count for something.

…which brings us back around to blogging, actually. Why do you blog? If it’s fun, another writer on board may enhance that… or detract from it. If you’re trying to make it a business or take it too seriously, well, another author might be more of a headache.

Oh, and Word of Shadow is another good multi-author blog. They don’t always agree, as it happens, but that does tend to make for some interesting discussions.

I do appreciate you guys all coming and giving your advice. I’ve really been thinking a lot about this.

My major problem is that all of my writer friends that I know well are more like guests. Most don’t want to make a commitment. Then I have the issue of looking into people I don’t really know. That is kind of scary! It may also working out amazingly well like college roommates.

Of course it could also end up working terribly… like college roommates.

It really is nice to poke around in the views of other players, especially when considering MMO design, which should cater to a wide audience. When I do my board game design, I can afford to specialize. When I dig into MMOs, I really have to rely on others being willing to talk about their views, and really dig into why they do what they do.

Oh, and my blog will always be a solo endeavor. That’s just how I do things. I have found plenty of other sites that do well with multiple authors, though, like Kill Ten Rats and Hardcore Casual. Notably, I solo 95% of the time when I play these MMO things, too. I’m wired that way.