Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dice
Hello! This is my first blog post. I'm a tad more than a tad nervous about all this. But I rolled those dice and they said 9 paragraphs ASAP, so I guess that's what I'm doing.
First, some context: this is my entry to Warren's Random Blogwagon. He has set the Blogosphere at large the task of posting about randomness. When should we post about it, how long should the post be, who should we link to? All randomized.
I was a bit trepidatious about this whole idea. After all, what would I even write about? How would I fill the random number of words? What if I pulled the card for a blog I've never heard of? And then I rolled a 1 -- post ASAP. Now, I'd been wanting a kick in the pants to start my blog. But this was too sudden. I didn't have any ideas!
So I figured I'd randomize the rest of the post as well. Length: 9 paragraphs. That was doable, I thought. And it must contain a link to... please be someone I know. pleeease be someone I know. I begged the card gods and pulled: 3 of Hearts. PLANET ALGOL? I'd never even heard of that. How was I going to pick a post to reference?
Well first I searched the blog. Easy enough. And as luck would have it the first result for the word "random" was perfect for this challenge. Live by the Random Table...Die by the Random Table is a post about sticking with the results of a random table, even if they seem strange or cruel. And stick with it I did!
But this has all been preamble and fluff to technically fulfill the requirements set out for me. What do I really think about random tables?
Here's what I think: random tables serve to push us out of our comfort zones. I would not have posted anything on this blog for months if not for Warren's post. I didn't feel ready- in fact, I still don't feel ready to be a "blogger". But I suppose I am one now. All because I listened to the siren song of randomness.
I do not use random tables in my games particularly often. In fact, it's something I want to improve at. If today (because I'm trying to write and post this on the same day I rolled the post) has taught me anything, it's that the chaos of a random table is sometimes just what you need to get the juices flowing.
This is not how I planned to start my blog. I was going to do a well-edited, multiply-revised post about some highfalutin' theory. But one thing about that kind of post: it takes time. Time that I would've spent procrastinating out of fear of it being bad. Instead, I've been pushed to put something out into the world half-formed. But better half-formed than never formed at all, and better to publish a crummy post and get inertia towards the next than to sit around and say, "oh, I'll start my blog someday." So if you take anything away from this post, let it be this: do it. Whatever that project you've been thinking of is? Start it. Doesn't matter if you have no plan. If you have a faint idea, go. This bus doesn't wait for stragglers.
{{ tags: rpgs, randomness, blogwagon }}