Tim Moungey
Wolverine Studios Community Manager
We conclude our series on text sim dynasties today with a FAQ and discussion on common issues that come up in the process of creating your work. The focus will be on written dynasties, as the area I’m most qualified to give expert advice. If you missed the first two parts of the series you can view part 1 here and part 2 here.
What if I get writer’s block?
Thisis common for even professional writers, so don’t fret if it happens to you. AsI’ve explained to my students when lecturing on this topic, what’s happening inthis case is that your brain is stuck and can’t find the mechanism to get pastthe mental obstacle. So what you need is to reset your brain and shift it inanother direction.
WhenI get writer’s block, the very first thing I do is step away from the computer.You can not force yourself out of a writer’s block, and staring at the screenwill not magically conjure up a solution. So do something else. What I often dois either go listen to music or read something. For me, reading is usually literary fiction - Haruki Murakami inparticular is excellent for this, as we share similarities in writing style andaffinity for first person.
In terms of music, I listen to whatever genremost fits the mood of what I’m trying to write. Heavy action? Something with afierce beat that gets me amped up, such as Fort Minor’s “Remember the Name” orIsle of Q’s “Little Scene”. If it’s a contemplative piece, songs like The BandPerry’s “If I Die Young” or pretty much anything by Taylor Swift, BritneySpears, and Carly Rae Jepsen (even though they have a lot of peppy numbers.There’s something about sugary pop that works with me). Analytical piece?Weirdly enough, rap - whether it’s Bone Thugs N Harmony, Notorious B.I.G., orSnoop Dogg.
Thepoint is, figure out what works for you. Maybe it’s reading, maybe it’s music.It might be another video game (heresy, I know) or watching a TV episode onyour favorite streaming service.
I’m bored with my dynasty.
Ithappens. There’s a few ways of addressing boredom, but the first thing you needto do is figure out why it’s boring you. Tired of the journalistic/historybook? Try switching to gameplay? Gameplay got you down? See if there’s a coolstory about a player or another team in the league to talk about. The point is,shifting the angle and even the dynasty type can refresh things and bring newexcitement into your discussion.
Ifthe issue is you keep winning all the time, quit your current in-game job andtake up a fresh challenge - whether it’s the worst team in the pro games orleaving that hegemon you’ve built up in college for a difficult,down-on-its-luck small school in a region with a poor talent pool or a lot ofcompetition. Conversely, if things are proving too challenging, considerswitching to an easier in-game situation where success will come more readily.
Nobody is commenting, even if I ask questions to try and get feedback.
Someplaces you post a dynasty will be more active than others. One thing you canconsider doing is cross-posting to more than one venue, if it’s allowed on eachplace you post. I do this by default, by the way, with two or three favoriteforums to post in.
Youalso might want to take a look at your dynasty and ask yourself, “If thiswasn’t about my team and my game, would I be interested in this and keepreading?”. If the answer is no, then figure out why it doesn’t interest you andsee what adjustments you can implement to make it more engaging.
Help! I keep abandoning dynasties and starting new ones because I have new ideas all the time!
Ah,yes. The ADD version of dynasty writing. First, as you get new ideas, writethem down somewhere and keep a list handy rather than act on them right away.In my professional copywriting work, where many of my clients hire me forrepeating projects, I build a topics list. This accomplishes two things - Iwrite down ideas immediately, rather than forget about them a few weeks later,and when I’m tapped dry for inspiration, I have the list to go back to.
That’show you handle the new ideas aspect of this issue. The other problem - theserial abandonment - has nothing to do with ideas at all. It’s that you haven’tdeveloped writing discipline. Many of my artist friends comment about the sameissue in their field - they start a project, get distracted by a new idea, anddon’t finish the piece they initially started working on.
Thesolution here is to, as I mentioned last time, set a schedule for yourself andstick to it. Make yourself keep that writing routine. It’s one of the biggestreasons why, in teaching, I always had students write weekly journals. Itteaches writing routine and discipline (among other benefits). In fact, itworks so well, quite a few continue journaling even after the semester is over.Same basic principle with your dynasty writing schedule.
I think I’m a terrible writer/streamer and don’t know how to get better.
Onething to keep in mind - everyone is bad when they start, even when they’renaturally talented. In fact, a few months ago, I looked back at one of myearliest dynasties and the cringe was real. In each post, I spotted like 20different items that needed revision or opportunities to make it much better.So embrace the suck. The best way to get better is to keep writing.
Anotherpath to pursue - read the work of people whose dynasties you think are reallygreat. But don’t read them for enjoyment. Instead, read them with a writingcraft eye in mind. How are their posts structured? How do they move from pointto point, and how do they develop each topic or scene? What are their techniquesfor using dialogue (if applicable)? This can even get down to granular thingslike their sentence lengths and word choices.
Forstreamers, I admittedly would be awful at this. But the same basic principleapplies. Look at successful ones and see what they’re doing that’s workingwell. What’s even better is if you can go back to their earliest streams andthen watch their videos in order to see how they progress from their owndifficult start to now.
Alsothink about asking creators (whether streaming or written) about how they gotstarted. What problems did they encounter? How did they solve those problemsand get better at their craft? Most people will be willing to help if you justask.
That concludes our dynasty series. I hope you’ve found it helpful or inspiring. If you’re feeling the urge to play a game and start your own dynasty, check out our free game demos here. Or, if you already own the game you want to play, start a thread on our dynasty forums. I look forward to reading about your adventures.