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December 2005
Beginning with the January 2006 column, Confessions of a Newbie will shift its focus for a while from my normal gaming related topics to my experiences as I undertake a new project. This is for two reasons; one is that I have had so little time for gaming lately that it has been difficult to think of what to write about each month and the other is that I imagine at least some of the readers of Collector Times might be interested in.
Starting in January, I plan to be enrolled in a "Special Projects in Fiction" course at our local college. This course is designed for the writer with a book length project, and delves into helping the writer revise the manuscript as well as preparing a proposal package to send to agents and publishers. "Cardan's Pod" will run for four more months here on Collector Times, and while chapter 25 will leave the reader with a definitive closing for the story, what will be published here is only about a third of the book. I hope to be able to polish the complete volume and be able to interest an agency in representing the book to a publisher. The prospect is both intoxicating and intimidating, and I would like to invite my CT readers along for the ride. It may go nowhere, or I may eventually end up with a publishing contract. I hope you'll join me either way.
I have, in years past, suggested in this column humorous ideas for how you can use gaming to liven up the year-end holidays. In a way, I'm going to do that again this year, but in a more serious manner. Gaming doesn't have to just be about livening up our own holiday gatherings; it can be about livening up the holidays of others whose observances may be inhibited by this year's tragedies, or by poverty, or by other unpleasant circumstances.
One suggestion I'd like to make is derived from something done by many other groups, including the bicycle club here in town. Each year, the Greater Arizona Bicycling Association's Tucson chapter sponsors a "Toys for Tots" ride. Participants bring toys and ride with those gifts on their bicycles through town to a collection point. Not only does it benefit the Toys for Tots program, but it also helps give the bicyclists a more positive image here in town. Maybe we aren't fighting as much of an image problem as the Harley bikers, but both groups do the Toys for Tots rides for the same reason.
Gamers can do the same thing. See about setting aside one of the gaming nights at your local game store for a "Toys for Tots" gaming night, and each participant brings along a toy to donate to the cause. Find out if you can get this event featured in the calendar section of your local paper where non-gamers are going to read about it. You benefit a great cause and help the image of gamers in your community.
Donate games to gift programs. Many areas have special programs where local people buy gifts particularly for foster children in the system. Here in Southern Arizona we have "The Angel Tree" and "The Giving Tree" for situations such as those, and often the children have requests on the tag for the kinds of gifts they're interested in. Look for such a program, and see if some of the kids are interested in games. If so, why not get them an age-appropriate game from your local gaming store, rather than the typical department store type game?
Don't just give games to family and friends for the holidays; take some time while you're all gathered to help them learn how to play the game. The instructions can sometimes be a bit overwhelming to the novice gamer, but with an experienced gamer leading the way they can avoid much of the frustration and get straight to the fun.
Game your way into the New Year; many gamers stay up until the wee hours of the morning when they're playing anyway, so why not invite folks over for a New Year's Eve gaming party? New Year's Eve parties don't have to be about getting drunk and making a fool of your self. You can roll some dice and make a fool of your self instead. The odds are, though, that gaming won't leave you with a hangover in the morning.
Above all, stay safe. Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope it is happy, meaningful, and full of friends for you. I also hope to see you back here again next month as Confessions of a Newbie embarks on the quest for the elusive publishing contract. Whether I succeed or fail, it promises to be an adventure.
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