Setting Things Aside

As my regular readers may have figured out, I’ve always got a LOT of different pots a’boilin’. RPGs, modules, wargames, boardgames, convention games… there’s always a lot of things that need to be finished around casa de grognard.

I find that this actually works out well for me. I’ll develop something in my mind, maybe set out an outline or even write a couple of pages… and then drop it. It’ll stay there, in the back of my mind, percolating, writhing around in my synapses, and then finally, like the spawn of some creative parasite, out it comes in one creative gush.

That’s what happened with my “Temple of the Old Ones” AD&D scenario, which I’m running at this year’s Dexcon. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do with it, did a map of the first level, and it just kind of sat there, staring back at me.

Until last Monday, that is. Suddenly it demanded to be let out, and the words just wouldn’t stop. And I’ve got to tell you, it is indescribably cooler than it would have been if I had forced it a month ago, just to “get it off my plate”. Now it just needs a little clean up, and it’s good to go.

So don’t be afraid to set things aside, and pick them up when the time is right. You may find that the quality is improved a hundredfold when you do.