A Work in Progress

In the context of a friend's references to Digital Natives in her blog, I got to thinking about the recreational pursuits of members of that generation. Online gaming is a big part of the digital revolution. I think there is little argument over the pervasive influence that MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft have had on the recreational landscape. Certainly, there has been much press over their purported detrimental influences on people of all ages. While I cannot entirely dismiss some of the claims, it does seem that many of the positive effects have been either overlooked or given little notice.

I'm not a World of Warcraft player myself. I find City of Heroes a more interesting premise, but to each their own. So, my points here will be based here on my experiences with that game, but I don't believe I'm too far off the mark in reference to many of the others.

• Mathematics: both simple and intermediate. How many experience points do I need to make it to the next level? If I add this enhancement, by what percentage does it increase my powers over this one?
  
  
• Economics: supply and demand, buying and selling of goods and services. The addition of the auction and consignment system for buying and selling items provides a tangible insight into real-world economic forces.
  
  
• Logic and Strategic Thinking: These enemies have these kinds of powers. If I attack them this way, what will happen? If I use these other powers, what will happen? What's the best way to deploy my team members? Should we split up or stay as a group?
  
  
• Teamwork: City of Heroes in particular is structured in such a way that you will succeed more quickly--and be more likely to succeed on challenging missions--if you work as part of a larger team. Part of the challenge can also be finding the optimal combination of characters and powers to achieve your objective. (Refer back to Logic and Strategic Thinking.)
  
  
• Social Skills: Unless you participate in these games as a solo player--which is possible, but seems to me would greatly diminish the overall enjoyment of the game--you constantly interact with other players, both in and out of character. As such, most of the social forces you encounter outside also come into the play. The chief difference is that it's a whole lot easier to walk away from people who don't like.
  
  
• Creativity: The basis of these games involves creating a character with a particular appearance and attributes. The level to which this can be expanded is usually limited only by the player's imagination. The games also provide tools that give players a virtual playground of options. City of Heroes, for example, has an absolutely amazing design center for characters, including not only basic body appearance, but costume elements as well. For those drawn by visual design, many, many hours can be lost in playing "dress up" with your characters. For those of us with less visual talents, it's possible to create complex stories for your characters, stories that can often be played out and expanded within the game.

I offer these chiefly as points of discussion and items for further thought. And, I guess, a note to parents that your kids just might be learning something useful during all those hours online.

"I will maintain that the artist needs only this: a special world of which he alone has the key."

André Gide

World building has long been a part of science fiction and fantasy writing. Creating a consistent and believable world is absolutely necessary to having readers accept the setting of a story. There are entire books and seminar sessions on this topic. Not only is it important, but it's often downright fun to do in its own right. The process of writing then becomes sharing the wonders of your world with your readers. (This can, of course, be done to excess. I'll refrain from suggesting specific authors here, but I'll bet that you can create a personal list of your own.)

In talking with other writers, one of the common experiences is getting caught up in one's own world. Even if the story takes place in the present, with established locations, there is a whole other universe encapsulated in the viewpoints and actions of your own characters. When the muse has a particularly firm hold, many of us find that we merely become the reporter at the scene, chronicling the events as they happen.

It's a particularly heady sensation, in many ways far superior to getting lost in a really good book or movie. Unlike those examples, these characters come from our own mind—even if they demonstrate volition of their own. The world they live in is one of our own creation, no matter how familiar the surroundings.

People who are not writers do not fully understand. And they often wonder why we snarl and snap when forced back into the "real world" around us. To quote from Heinlein's The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, "There is no way that writers can be tamed and rendered civilized." While I'm not certain that the sentiment is entirely true, it is a warning to other well worth considering.

"The novel may stimulate you to think. It may satisfy your esthetic sense. It may arouse your moral emotions. But if it does not entertain you it is a bad novel."

W. Somerset Maugham

When I am stuck for something to ramble on about here, I crack open The Quotable Writer to a random page and use whichever of the quotations on the two facing pages strikes a chord. Today is such an event. The quotation above resonated strongly with me, as it echoes a thought that I have often found myself struggling with.

Over the years, I have attended in several Creative Writing classes, attended workshops, and been part of writing groups. The first seem to generally focus on technique, structure, and style. These are all good and useful things to know. However, when taught in an academic environment, they tend to get overly concerned with literary elements and less on getting a story told.

When I sit down to write, first and foremost, I strive to present an entertaining story. I want my readers to feel that their time and money are both well-spent. I think it's only a small percentage of readers who will remember the literary style or attention to the properly extended metaphor. My goals is to have the maj0rity of readers finish the story feeling that they've been on an enjoyable voyage getting from the first page to the last (and hopefully wanting more).

This is not to say that I don't hope to present intriguing ideas or pose questions of ethics, morality, or spirituality. It is the characters' journeys as they explore these issues—whether internally or externally—that I find make a story particularly compelling and memorable. This isn't to say, of course, that a good dollop of action isn't nice too.

There are too, I know, who scoff at any media produced solely with the intent to "entertain". I can recall very few of these that did not also try to accomplish at least one of the other three goals that Maugham mentions. The issue really is which of these was a priority for the author. For most readers, it's really about entertainment value. Value, as measured in dollars and hours. Writing and publishing are, in the end, businesses. The ideal situation is to reach as wide an audience as possible with one's work.

Solid entertainment will nearly always sell better than superb craftsmanship—although sloppy work will always get you notice (and probably not the kind you want). Unlike other merchandise, people don't tend to return books to the seller as "defective" because the quality writing was below their expectations. (There might be people who do this, but I don't know anyone who has ever done it.) The long-term result, though, is that those readers will most likely not look for that author's name again the next time they're looking for something to read. They will, however, remember those who showed them a good time—gave them value for their time and money.

Isn't that what we all want?