Writer’s Corner - Ep. 1 - “The why behind writing”
Hmmm…where to start? I’m still fairly new to this whole blog thing, but I find value in these posts. I hope that whoever reads these things finds some value added to their lives in one way or another. If you took a glimpse at my ‘about me’ page, you’ll see at the bottom I have a few novels I plan on publishing in the future. While I am unsure exactly when that will happen just yet, I thought it would be pertinent to dive deeper into what started me on that path. In my bio on the ‘about me’ page, I mentioned I started writing to help get ideas in my head on paper. That is true but there is more than to it than just that.
Why I started writing was multi-faceted. Yes, I needed a medium to extract the thoughts and ideas from my mind so they can be materialized. I use this same method in other aspects of my life such as being the Dungeon Master for Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) campaigns, making YouTube videos, creating unique Gameservers for players to enjoy, hosting Game Master Community Events for those Gameservers I am a part of, etc. These are all ways to extrapolate my ideas I have in my head and materialize them.
Something clicked as I started going down these different pathways. I learned something new about myself and found something I truly enjoy. I learned that when I create something new or unique whether it be a story in D&D, a Gameserver, or GM event, and others enjoy those things…I find true fulfillment. This is not something I had not ever found before regarding something that some would consider ‘work’. It takes A LOT of work to do some of these things. I’ve prepped more than 20 hours for a single D&D session that maybe took 5 hours total to play. Its taxing, but I love it. I loved the work leading up to the session almost as much as I loved the session itself. This is what I’ve discovered about these adventures I embark on where I create something and expose it to the world.
This is where writing comes in. Even writing this blog which I’m sure only a handful of people will read, if that. The point is, I am creating something and exposing it to the public. If one single person finds some type of impact or connection from anything I create, I have found a sense of fulfillment. I could see, from a psychological perspective, where people…particularly younger generations, seek the likes, comments, sharing on content on different social media platforms. I can see how easily it is to be sucked into measuring your success by the sheer quantity of those actions from your audience. I also learned something about myself in this regard…
In the beginning of the kingdom I am continuing to build upon dubbed Iron Dad Games or the Iron Realms Community, I thought I, too, wanted those things. I’d check my updates and notifications often to see how many people liked this post, or that video, or commented on any of my content. I thought I wanted those numbers to be high to show some quantitative data that measured my “success”. But then I learned, over time, that none of those things truly matter to me. Something magical occurred in this journey of kingdom building, as I call it. People, and not a lot of people, became reliant on some of the things I was created to cope with life’s stressors.
The fact that something I created provided some people hours, sometimes hundreds of hours, of entertainment to distract them from the things that were bringing them stress or causing depression…was magical. That’s when I decided that this…whatever you call it, is something I want to do until the end of time.
I suppose you could call it being a content creator, but its more than that. I don’t just create “content”. Maybe I should call it “Weaver of Fantasies” or something…I don’t know. Perhaps one of you fine people could make some suggestions below on titling whatever it is I am doing with all these different venues of “content creation”.
Nevertheless, to bring this blog back full circle to the beginning, this is why I write. This is why I started writing novels, blogs, stories for servers and D&D campaigns, quest lines, flavor text on digital weapons and armor, lore videos for all of the above…yes, the fulfillment mentioned above is why.
I suppose I could drop some nuggets of information on my closely held to my heart novels for those who actually read this blog. The first novel I plan on launching, which still doesn’t have a name yet, will be a large (100,000 + word) Fantasy Novel revolving around some highly unique characters who’ve been drawn together by what some what deem as “Destiny”. With highly varying backgrounds and social upbringings, these four characters’ stories cross paths and intertwine to weave a story worthy of song full of victories, defeats, death, and of course…adventure!
The second book, not sure if it qualifies as a novel just yet, will be what is defined as a memoire. “A memoir (/ˈmɛm. wɑːr/; from French mémoire [me. mwaʁ], from Latin memoria 'memory, remembrance') is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories.” This is exactly what it is, a recollection of my life’s events which shaped me into the person I am today. I will delve deep into the trauma I endured as a child to include domestic abuse, sexual abuse, gang violence, drugs, and more that most people would never guess I went through.
As a person that most consider to be strong, confident, or a leader – its important for people to understand that even people labeled those things have been through things beyond what they portray. Most people don’t know these things about me aside from my closest friends and family. It’s a scary thought that some of the things that happened in my life will be in the public eye, but this goes back to where I talked about discovering who I am as a person in my about me page or when I talked about wearing a mask in this blog. How could I be authentic if I am hiding critical parts of my life that impacted who I am today?
The third book, which is in its very early stages, is going to be about parenting. Specifically, its tied to geographically separated and/or divorced households, the difficulties that are associated with those situations and how to make the best of it the cards you’ve been dealt. I’m still on the fence about publishing this book but we shall see as it progresses. I’ll still write it to get my thoughts on paper regardless.
There you have it, the first books I plan on publishing. I definitely intend on my fantasy book to have sequels, but I didn’t want to make that promise to any would-be readers. I plan on designing my fantasy book’s end so reader’s have a sense of closure but there is still that looming thought of “Well perhaps there might be a sequel regarding this thing.” That way the door to a sequel isn’t closed, per se, but rather slightly cracked open.
If you are a bookworm, I’d love to hear what is the most important thing that makes a good book in the comments section below. I think for me, it’s the emotional connection to either the author or characters. If I can relate to a character or author, I will be much more likely to be engaged and finish the book. I think this applies to things like TV shows, movies, etc also – at least for me. If you have any additions, throw them at me.
Thanks for stopping by!
- Iron Dad
