Scripts, tree trunks and FOMAI
THINK. I used to love having all scenarios mapped out. Everything scripted in advance. Well, to some humanly possible maximum, but still. Ended up overdoing, over-prepping. Over-thinking!
But what is life if not a mixture of experimentation, coincidence, and luck?
Spending some time in fantasy worlds inside my mind is well engrained in my geeky side. With well over 3 decades of history in role-playing games, I thought I have seen enough both as a player, but also a game-master. For those less familiar, that latter role involves inventing a story, crafting an outline of events, along with non-player characters, places, artifacts, and other elements that bring the experience as close to 'real'. Essentially running the world for your players, describing the impact that the fantasy world has on them, and vice versa.
For quite some time I am nurturing this hobby with a small group of my close friends from Poland. We live apart but still find an odd Sunday evening to meet virtually.
So, what did I discover in running an adventure that was supposed to be two or three sessions, and is still far from finish nearly a year later?
Focus on compelling, multi-dimensional characters. Their stories could be weaved in and values applied in most scenarios. It is important to know what they stand for.
Your players will always surprise you. Let them be creative, discover angles you never thought about, ask annoyingly provocative questions.
Use visuals. Mood boards, locations and character designs spark imagination and lead to complete new paths.
Stories are like an overgrown bush. Easy to get confused if you are losing sight of the main trunk, but also so easy to tangle in another branch, another tree.
You don't need to have everything scripted. Trust your core assumptions and be open to some improvisation!
FEEL. I feel I am socially starved lately. Every day looks the same, every week follows a similar pattern. Busy work life, busy family schedule, a few other things going on health-wise, and I am waking up to the fact that I have so many calls to my friends and colleagues to do, that I don't even know where to start.
Something else is awaken too. A caring optimist in me who does not seem to notice certain limitations and hence acts as if they did not exist. Somebody who refuses to accept that occasional tiredness and routine are sufficient excuses to withdraw.
I was walking our dogs one morning and noticed a quiet corner of the park with a swing under a massive chestnut tree. The swing might be empty now, but it's the trunk of the tree that is witnessing all the joy, warmth and laughter of children challenging gravity and their fears of falling. Strong relationships are like that tree trunk - long memory, hard to crack and unwavering strength of support.
I made a few calls that very day. My tree trunks were all there for me!
DO. I think I may have just invented a new word: FOMAI. It describes the itch of being constantly anxious about not leveraging the marvelous benefits of AI, algorithmic technologies, machine learning and the like, while everybody else is doing it. Can you notice the flaws in such thinking already?
Let's use an analogy of a 10k running race. Most of athletes have already started to run. Some of them have little understanding of the route, yet they believe that it is better to get going rather than stand still. Some others have arrived at the start in heavy winter boots they are reluctant to take off. Some others wait in the dugouts until their perfect, custom-made racing shoe is designed, manufactured, and delivered to their starting block. Scrolling memes meanwhile. There is also a group on a side, debating whether running is even ethical, and if most people run, what does it say about the ones who walk.
FOMAI is a blend of all the above positions. Somehow, we might collectively believe that what we do is not enough anyway, and hence engage is a set of random activities, in hope that while a particular effort might not be precisely what we need, the sum of smaller directional moves would give us some momentum.
I have heard a few people mentioning Notebook LM platform developed by Google. With the launch of mobile app and also inspired by my fellow tech geek, I decided to play with it. As its core functionalities involve summarizing & analyzing sources we can feed, I did test it on my own blog content published at Caring Geek.
As probably every writer & creator, I also suffer from the 'what's so special about my work' anxiety. Which was why I asked Notebook LM AI to pull out the most original (ie. not frequently published or posted) ideas. Click here to read what came back. I must admit I am pretty pleased with the answer!
A wise man said the best strategy to combat anxiety is an exposure therapy to build immunity. I am fighting my FOMAI with random acts of trying, one app at a time.
