Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
Today, it’s time to look at a somewhat depressing subject. When do you call it a day, both as a GM, a player, and a creative?
When is it time?
This is honestly something I’ve been thinking about a fair while, and it all starts with a couple of events in my life recently.
So I’m going to break this into two parts: As a GM or Player and as a Creative.
GM/Player
So as a little bit of background on this one, over the month of December, my regular gaming group went on hiatus. That was expected and planned, due to work, education, and family commitments. This was all done under the understanding that we’d be firing back up again in January.
So what’s the issue? Well, I’m the GM in the group, and even though we’re (at the time of writing) 13 days into the month, NOT A SINGLE ONE of my players has asked me the big question of “When are we playing again?” Not one of them went “Gee, I can’t wait to find out what happens next” or anything of that sort. And let me tell you, that is one hell of a downer (pardon my French). It’s reached the point where I’m seriously considering letting the group go, and either stop playing (at least for a while) or finding a different group – even though that’s a pain to do.
So, what’s actually happened? Well, it has felt like I was the only one engaging. Like I was the only one actively spending time on the campaign. I put in several plot hooks that were designed to specific characters or players, which none of them picked up on, and while some of the group was attentive, at least half had their screens turned off (we were playing on Zoom), and I couldn’t help but get the impression that they weren’t paying attention.
And of course, that’s the BIG RED FLAG as a GM or player. When it feels like you’re not getting enough out of it, compared to what you’re putting in. Especially if you feel like you’re putting in far more than anyone else, or getting far less out of it. It’s a two-way street. And it’s definitely the point where you should take the L (L for Loss in case you were wondering) and move on.
Creatively
Now, as a creative the story is a bit different. Back in 2021, around August, I was writing in thousands of words per day. In a month, I believe that I wrote about 100K words (and just for comparison that’s about a large paperback novel in a single month – “The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole,” the 8th novel in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King is 91K words) and it went on for a few months, but the whole project of about 800-1000 pages, and that’s on top of my other projects. On top of that, a project that I was due to write on in January + February of this year, one that I’d really been looking forward to, and had just started researching for, got canceled (due to issues outside mine or the publisher’s control).
So, what’s actually happened? Well, I think I’ve burned out. At least a bit. Probably from overwork, and then disappointment. It’s left me feeling somewhat dejected and unable to get myself into gear. I’ve yet to miss any deadlines or fail to complete any projects, but it feels like it’s time to take a step back and rest. Will I quit? Probably not, as I’d hate to join the (unfortunately very long) list of creative talents that I’ve worked with since I started in 2016. Not that I think they made the wrong choice, but because I was very unhappy in seeing so many friends disappear out of the business.
And this is the BIG RED FLAG for the creative: Is the motivation still there. If not, can you rekindle it? If yes, then give the wick of the candle time to regrow some before you reignite it. And if it’s burned away, then yeah, it’s time to step away and find something else to enjoy.
Anyway, next week we come back once more, to hopefully happier topics. 😊
Kim Frandsen
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