Thursday, October 27, 2016

Small Magic - It's NEVER Too Late

My dear blog friend Andrea, at Falling Ladies, has begun a monthly collection of stories and experiences of what she has termed as "Small Magic". You can find this month's post by Andrea by clicking HERE

And the original "Finding Small Magic" Post on her Falling Ladies blog is HERE:

I hope you will take a moment and check them out, add your own (even just a link to a picture or a sentence or two is PLENTY! It need not be as wordy as I tend to be. :)

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So this month I have just been so busy that there has been little time to create the Small Magic post I really wanted to  which I will save for November. 

One of the major influences in my writing and future ideas for figures and such in my Bewilder and Pine shop is a gentleman named Monte Cook. A role playing gamer for 40 years and the owner of Monte Cook Games, he recently set a Kickstarter record for fundraising for his latest RPG creation, "Invisible Sun". He is taking gaming to new creative levels with this project and I'll talk more about that, and it's influence on my own work, in the coming months.

His weekly newsletter from his website links to some other articles and projects that he finds interesting and I was quite happy to come across this article about a 26 year old man who hosted a Dungeons and Dragons game for his 70 year old grandparents, a couple of their friends and his 50-ish year old mother and another couple who is in their 60's.

All were playing for the first time. . .and they LOVED IT! :)

You can read the article, called "70 Year-Olds Play D&D for the First Time and Love It" by clicking HERE

The "Small Magic" of this, to me, is that it shows that it is never too late to try something new and to engage the imagination in new ways. My favorite part of the article is how the grandfather now texts his grandson between weekly games to discuss his character and it's backstory. lol That's AWESOME!

I never was a gamer. Still am not. (but maybe by the time i am 70?) Still, I appreciate the people I've known who do play it . . . as well as the worlds that are built around it and the creativity it inspires down the line.

For another interesting take on the role of gaming in adult life, if you are a podcast lover, you might try the episode of "Imaginary Worlds" ( a podcast I HIGHLY recommend) called "Rolling the Twenty Sided Dice" found HERE:

There are some very interesting takes on the influence of gaming on kids from that 80's generation who are adults today. 

The Imaginary Worlds podcast covers a range of subjects that are all surprising peeks into the worlds we create and why. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy those and I'll be back as soon as time allows in this hectic holiday making schedule to share some more magic with you all. . .

No Dungeons around here, just Dragons. :)





8 comments:

  1. Not being a gamer, but of course some of my family are, I have never played D&D. Still, I will go check out those links because i am interested in creating imaginary worlds. That part is more fun to me than the playing in those worlds. I am guessing that is what draws you in as well from the sounds of it. So many possibilities.

    I hope you Don't feel obligated to create a magic post every month. I understand if you are to busy. Thanks for stopping by with your comments. They are always appreciated!

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    1. Hi Andrea! Yes, it is the creation of worlds that has me interested in RPG's more now than ever. I can see how I want to do similar things with my characters and figures without, at this point, getting into the gaming aspect of it. Of course, books do this to a degree but the gamer world is filled with multi dimensional ideas and props. . .

      And no, I don't ever feel obligated but I LOVE the Small Magic Idea SOOOO much!! Thank you!!

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  2. My brother is a gamer. He is now 51 and still loves it! I remember in the 80's, him playing infront of the t.v for hours! Mom and I loved watching him! I love your story!!! So true, it is never too late! I love your latest creation! Big Hugs!

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    1. Thank you Stacy! So good to know your brother has clung to that world! There's definitely magic there. :)

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  3. Believe it or not, I used to game about 10 years or so ago. haha I decided it was just not my cup of tea. :) But kudos to Monte!

    I absolutely LOVE LOVE your dragon. It's perfect in every way, capturing that certain kind of magic that is often very difficult to do when it comes to creating them. Well done! :)

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    1. Alex I DO believe it! I think gaming draws such a wide variety of folks and the chance for opening up the imagination is awesome. :) I don't know if it will ever be my cup of tea either, as far as playing, because I am a truly solitary world sort of guy. Thank you for your comment. You must be getting ready to depart the UK yes? Hoping the days have been filled with lovely experiences and memories made. :)

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  4. I've never played a game, and are you surprised? hehe. I remember playing digger in the 80s. Maybe that counts. Your dragon is so amazing Nicolas, like all the work you do, the intricate detail blows me away.

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    1. Thank you Louise! Ohhh Digger!!! That was a joy. :) I honestly think it's just my writing that has opened the RPG world to me. Creating characters and scenarios, dialogue and, of course, worlds of imagination within the world I am writing in. . . Thank you for your kind words as always!

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