Storium and Challenge Update

I just finished writing a poem today. So far, I haven't missed a single day, and on a few days, I have written several poems. They are all very rough, but I have seen some potential in a few of them. I think the most important part of this exercise is simply the fact that I am writing again. I am forcing pen to paper and getting words out. This has had a huge effect on my desire to write. Before, I just wanted to sit and watch TV, or play games, or just waste time on YouTube, but now I am making the choice to put those things to the side and work on writing instead. That is the best part of this whole challenge.

Secondly, I discovered Storium. I read about it in one of Wil Wheaton's blog posts and had to check it out for myself. Storium is a collaborative story-telling game. Kinda like a Role Playing Game, except more focused on on the story rather than moving miniatures on a map and beating up bad guys. When I heard about it, I just had to try it and now I am in two stories and planning on narrating my own story. I've fallen in deep guys. As a game, it isn't fully fleshed out. There are very few rules. You use cards to develop your character--a mixture of natures, strengths, and weaknesses. Then you use those cards to beat challenges set up by the narrator. There is a system that if you play a strength card on a challenge you will win control of the story, but I haven't seen that this locks people out of the story. Maybe that rule is more for a rotating narrator rather than a single narrator. The fun, for me, has been fleshing out characters and deciding what they would do and say in certain situations. It really is a fun way to get back into writing. I joined a game that is very much patterned like a Dresden novel, complete with modern wizards, monster hunters, and vampires. I joined just so I could try the game out, as this genre of book isn't usually my cup of tea, but I've been having a ton of fun. 

Storium is also the reason why I have been neglecting my blogs as of late. I look at the time I have available and decide that I would much rather write on Storium than compose a blog post. I am going to try to get back into it though.

A Challenge

I am turning 35 this year. March is my birth month, and after 35 years of spinning I need to do something. Each birthday has become less significant than the last; to the point where I don't even remember how old I am anymore. I don't know if this improves, but I decided that I needed to mark this occasion by doing something special. By posting my challenge here on my blog, it makes it public, and hopefully holds me accountable. So, here goes...

During the month of March, starting tomorrow, I will compose a short original poem every single day. I may compose more than one poem a day, but my requirement is one poem a day. I will be carrying a small notebook with me everywhere I go because you never know where or when the desire will strike you and I don't want the fact that I don't have something to write on to be an excuse. I may post some of my poems here on this blog, but in the end I will have at least 31 poems and I may end up doing something with them. Or I might not. I am quite rusty at this creative writing thing.

Originally I thought that I would write poems that praise the good and beautiful in my life, but I don't know if I will stick to that restriction. I just want to force myself to create something like I used to. And hopefully thoroughly enjoy myself doing it. 

I will keep you updated.