Strike the Earth

Any gamers in the house? I’m a huge fan of games: the creativity, the challenges, and the competition, of course. I love testing my wits and resolve in unpredictable settings and it’s fun to surprise my kids when I play one of “their” games. I may be a grandma now, but “Grannies are pernownin noobs!”

I started playing Dwarf Fortress after my hubby had been talking it up forever. It’s been around for over twenty years, and was one of the major inspirations for Minecraft, but much more complicated. He watched YouTube tutorials and Twitch streams and conferred with our sons as they all anticipated an upgraded release on Steam. I couldn’t avoid learning about it and was, eventually, hooked.

But Dwarf Fortress is HARD. You are expected to lose your colony several times, regularly even, so much so that one of their mottos is “Losing is Fun.”

Hmph. I didn’t like the thought of that but tried anyway. And I lost. And tried again. And lost again. But with each new try, I started with more experience under my belt, and I developed my own motto: “If at first you don’t succeed, just look how much you learned.”

“I never once failed at making a light bulb.
I just found out 99 ways not to make one.”

Thomas A. Edison

Growing as an author is like playing a new game. Unknown possibilities lie before you, but the path is untraveled. How and where do you start?

Choose Your Game

Do your tastes run more towards a first-person POV solo quest (like first-person shooter,) or an ensemble adventure (mmporp-massively multiplayer online role-playing game)? Are you a minecrafter (world builder,) puzzle solver (mystery,) or do you love Stardew Valley? (Sounds cozy to me.) Whatever you land on, make sure you love your story/world. You’re gonna spend a lot of time there.

Once you’ve chosen your adventure, you need to learn how your game works. Study the craft—query a friend who’s had some experience. Or search out tutorials. Don’t just visit the same old sources, but find out where the players are, whether Twitch, Substack, or Kindle Vella. Check out new sources for fresh takes on familiar obstacles.

When I play a new game, I want to know what the goal is and how do I reach it. In the writing game, this means I consider my goal–is this a first draft? Is it a brainstorm session or contest submission? Self-pub or a traditional publisher? Sometimes I’m competing with the game, and sometimes I’m just trying to improve my personal best.

I adapted some tips from this Wiki Walkthrough that should serve you in the writing game.

• Stay calm—don’t panic. The challenge may seem overwhelming but if it were easy, you’d be bored already. Try something new, and don’t be discouraged if you falter. Starting over doesn’t set you back to square one. Each restart comes with new understanding and new skills.
• Configure your controls the way you like them—your desk (standing or curled up on the sofa), keyboard (clicky?) or notebook with special pens. Then throw in some yummy snacks, good lighting, and a supportive chair. I like to have dark chocolate and mixed nuts in easy reach, as well as a supply of lens wipes. The key is, make your setting work for you.
• Learn the environment—Where are attacks most likely to come from? Pay attention to the feedback that urges you forward or sets you back. What activities distract you, and which renew your resolve?
• Communicate—Whether you’re playing solo or among strangers, you need a party. Not the balloons, cake, and disco ball kind, but that small contingent of trusted folks who are committed to watching your back and helping you stay on mission.
• Practice—Gamers rehearse keyboard strokes to build muscle memory, striving to improve their APM (actions per minute.) Word sprints, writing prompts, and flash fiction are fun ways to strengthen your author game. Learn the rules for your genre; the conventions, expectations, and the tropes, so you can bend—and even break them when it serves the story. Havok Publishing is a great place to read and write flash fiction.
• Develop your style—know your voice. Bob Hostetler’s writing wisdom, “God has given you a story that no one else can tell,” set me on this journey years ago.
• Join a team—find your tribe. Don’t sequester yourself completely, even if you write in solitude. Find community that challenges and encourages you, the ones that inspire you to start, and start again. Groups like Writers Chat, Realm Makers, and the 540 Writers Community have been a huge encouragement for me.

Strike the earth. No matter how much you prepare, study, and research, you need to commit. To act. To enter the fray.

In Dwarf Fortress, you wield your pickax to break ground. Wield your words. Start your story. Write. This is the first win.

Sophia L Hansen is an author and editor with Havok Publishing and loves to write In Other Worlds. She’s lived on a tiny island in Alaska, the bustling cities of New York and Boston, raised kids in Tennessee, and now resides just outside Birmingham, AL. After 30+ years of marriage, seven children, and numerous pets, Sophia still fits into her high school earrings.

You can follow Sophia’s words and worlds at https://www.sophialhansen.com/, Facebook, and Instagram.