Category Archives: Writing

Make Art Not War – 2017 Challenge

As I’ve recently expressed in this blog, I’ve been kind of frustrated and emotionally adrift. Work on Earthdawn has been good, but… well, I feel there’s more in the tank.

Driven in part by similar feelings, writer and game designer Monica Valentinelli has put forward a voluntary challenge for this year. Make Art Not War. I’ll defer to her description (at least briefly):

This challenge is about making art to tap into your voice and tell your story. After all, one story can change the world. The problem is, we have no idea which story that will be, when it will be told, or in what medium. It’s up to us to find it–by making art!

I’m stepping up to the challenge. So here we go:

  • I pledge to spend an hour a day on my personal, original art.
  • If I don’t feel motivated, I will write about why I wanted to take this challenge, either for fifteen minutes or one to three pages, whichever comes first.
  • I pledge to keep track of my output in a public fashion to be held accountable.
  • I pledge to be disconnected from the internet and social media during my creative time to minimize distraction.

Here’s my primary (but not exclusive) goal with this challenge. I’ve had a story in my head for more than fifteen years. I started working on it about the time my wife and I first got together. I produced a little shy of 6,000 words for it, and haven’t really looked at it in some time. But even after all this time, it is still with me.

So I want to see if I can make it work.

Will it? I don’t know. But it is probably the only way to get it out of my head. If I want to really make a go at writing (even as a side gig), I need to stop thinking about it, and start doing it.

Wish me luck!

How many lives?

Senseless.
Hatred dressed in the costume of morality.
Poisoned hearts. Corrupted minds.
Fear and anger, a loaded weapon
Pointed at the innocent by the guilty.
Dividing.

We are not other.
Brothers, sisters, parents, children.
Bone and muscle.
Mind and spirit.
When one is injured, we all bleed.
Red.

I try not to let their hatred,
Their ignorance,
Their fear,
Affect or infect me.
But it is hard.
The right things often are.