The Scrivener's Jest

I started writing when I was young. I had a little notebook that I would write my stories in, and I carried that around like it was my most valuable possession (because it was). Sadly, I don't have that notebook, anymore. It was lost in some move, somewhere. For a long time, my stories were just mine. I didn't share them. I wrote just for me and no one else. Even now, so much of what I write—even these tidbits—are just outgrowths of my own reflections. I became a better writer, though, when I started writing with others. In other words, I became a better writer the minute I started role playing.

Truth be told, cooperative storytelling in any form is great. Role play is just the most obvious example. I started when I was still in high school (a very long time ago). I grew up in the Satanic Panic of the 80s (we need to specify now, since Satanic Panics are far too common), but I managed—with a lot of effort—to find ways to play. By the 90s, I was hooked. There was no going back for me. I still play and write regularly and really don't plan on stopping.

While role play is amazing, it is not the only form of cooperative storytelling. I also love paired or group writing, writer table discussions, even those random improv games where you build a story on a theme. Put a few people around a campfire and let them spin a tale, and I am there. Creating a world or a moment with someone else is magical.

It is a dance, you give and take, build and complement, add color and conflict, and they do the same. Sometimes, it all falls apart. A misstep happens, and the logic crumbles. You laugh, reset, and start again. Sometimes, though, your creations become something special. Memories and stories that linger in my mind even now. Moments, ephemeral, with impacts of forever.

That is what I look for in my shared tales, when the story and characters move almost on their own accord. Where you and your partners are no longer the craftspeople of a world but observers documenting a living space. I have seen rooms filled with that sort of magic. Heard the gasps as people lost themselves in a shared story.

It is a high I will chase until I am dead.