The Ultimate in Justification

I am an expert in justification. I have found ways to validate things I do that should have no need to be validated at all. For some strange reason it helps me to stay motivated so I thought I could share some tips with you.

I'll start with music.

I have a job. I don't particularly like it but I don't hate it either. I give it a tepid seven. That said everyone who knows me knows that my life's passion has been music and poetry... so songwriting I suppose. I work with lots of 'professional' musicians, which generally just means that is all they do for a living. Something I used to do but when I wanted a family and a house I gave it up to go work for the big guys who could afford to pay me what I wanted plus benefits. But I still take myself seriously as a songwriter. I'm so fucking arrogant that I honestly believe that I'm the best songwriter in the city. It doesn't matter if it's true, put me in a lie detector test and I will pass it. That's how sure I am.

Part of what I think makes me so good is my unique perspective. Most songwriters I know do it full time. The travel the country writing their songs and play to some kind of audience every night.

Look, everything you do effects who you are. Those songwriters have a perspective they write from and it is partly informed by the lifestyle they live. This goes for all professional musicians/songwriters. Their experience informs their creativity. So a working family man writing songs will, by default, write different songs. I think that my songs have a place because of that.

How does all this BS navel gazing apply to games? Well...

I wrote two reviews in the last couple of months.. a pretty shitty and low number. But with Matt, Mike, Pete, Charles, Nate.... the list goes on, what can I possibly have to offer that they don't? How can I possibly justify writing reviews at all?

It's the same BS justification I use to write songs. I have a different perspective. I don't get review copies, I don't buy games intending to write reviews, I would only review games I've lived with for awhile. I may not have the skills these gentlemen do, I may not have the experience but I can write pretty well, I can express myself reasonably well, I have experience in that area so I think that there is something there worthwhile. I think this can apply to any of us who don't do the 'job' of writing reviews. We may not be as fast, we may be reviewing older games, but it's from a point of view that the big guys just can't (and never intended to) do.

I've been working on a couple more but I just can't find my feet yet. I was happy with how the Earth Reborn one came out and now I'm struggling to find the right approach to other games I want to write about. These are older games that have been amply covered by others, but I'll throw in my two cents anyway and I'll try do it in a style that is unique. If that's even possible.

I really like that more people around here are writing more, the articles are slowly becoming my favorite part of the site and that is partly due to the comments being on the trash talk page... no clue why that would help so much but there it is. I hope we see more from everyone else and if you're uncomfortable writing more for the site... try using a little of my justification technique and see how that goes for you. It's made me more confident in what I do.

I really liked your Earth Reborn review.

I ~adore~ both your music (as you know) and your reviews. When it comes to "the big guys" don't lump me in with Mike, Matt, and Charles...they're on a much higher plane of existence than I am, and honestly, their output eclipses mine by a 4 or 5:1 ratio. Fucking Charlie is a dynamo...the guy writes like a madman, administers much of the work at MM's review corner, does a damned podcast...holy shit.

Keep writing. I got sick and that took the wind out of my sails big as shit. I'm just now getting back to it....and the more voices there are, the better off we all are. When you're not writing songs, write reviews. Your opinions matter to a great many people.

Dont write reviews because you want to be like someone else, whether you think they excel in quantity or quality, do it because you're interested enough in what you're writing about that you feel like putting it down and sharing (actually the sharing part is optional, I have a whole blog that no one ever sees and at least so far this year I've not felt the need or interest in posting it even though I have a fairly good feeling its better than the vast majority of stuff I read about board gaming, though lets face it its a low bar if we're being honest.)

What you can offer is the same as what anyone else can offer. A unique and custom perspective that comes from you. So what if someone else played more games than you or studies them more or is more eloquent or funny. Worrying about that is a fools errand. A lot of "well known" reviewers and writers I couldn't care less for, I find what they write boring and pointless, and often the stuff they write about boring or pointless. Thats true sometimes for people who cant write for shit AND for people who objectively I can see write well and with obvious knowledge and skill.

Most of the time (and this is just me, and I'm just another string of text on the intertwat so bear that in mind) its more fun just to read something with a bit of character and personality (from the writer) with an honest and human connection to what they're writing about. I don't need a fucking PhD level dissection of bio emergent radioactive intertwined semi co operative shared incentive decision tree, nor do I need to read this game is cool bro. Just write some shit you like about shit you like, end of story. I'll go and figure out myself if I can be arsed to try the game you talk about, and I'll trust myself to decide if I like it or not.


to cut a long and boring story short: write the shit you want, about the shit you want, in a way thats honest (ie not trying to sound like someone else), and do it for yourself first and foremost. If it turns out you can't write for shit, or no one is interested it's not going to affect your motivation then, and you wouldn't be the first one. But at least you won't be running into your own needless preconceptions of what you should or shouldnt write and who is or isnt "better" than you.

Dr Manhattan wrote: Dont write reviews because you want to be like someone else, whether you think they excel in quantity or quality, do it because you're interested enough in what you're writing about that you feel like putting it down and sharing (actually the sharing part is optional, I have a whole blog that no one ever sees and at least so far this year I've not felt the need or interest in posting it even though I have a fairly good feeling its better than the vast majority of stuff I read about board gaming, though lets face it its a low bar if we're being honest.)

What you can offer is the same as what anyone else can offer. A unique and custom perspective that comes from you. So what if someone else played more games than you or studies them more or is more eloquent or funny. Worrying about that is a fools errand. A lot of "well known" reviewers and writers I couldn't care less for, I find what they write boring and pointless, and often the stuff they write about boring or pointless. Thats true sometimes for people who cant write for shit AND for people who objectively I can see write well and with obvious knowledge and skill.

Most of the time (and this is just me, and I'm just another string of text on the intertwat so bear that in mind) its more fun just to read something with a bit of character and personality (from the writer) with an honest and human connection to what they're writing about. I don't need a fucking PhD level dissection of bio emergent radioactive intertwined semi co operative shared incentive decision tree, nor do I need to read this game is cool bro. Just write some shit you like about shit you like, end of story. I'll go and figure out myself if I can be arsed to try the game you talk about, and I'll trust myself to decide if I like it or not.


to cut a long and boring story short: write the shit you want, about the shit you want, in a way thats honest (ie not trying to sound like someone else), and do it for yourself first and foremost. If it turns out you can't write for shit, or no one is interested it's not going to affect your motivation then, and you wouldn't be the first one. But at least you won't be running into your own needless preconceptions of what you should or shouldnt write and who is or isnt "better" than you.

I'm not sure if you're responding directly to what you think I'm saying or not but let me say a couple of things on this because it seems odd.

I'm not writing for anyone but myself.
I'm not worried about people being 'better' than me - I have plenty of confidence, in fact this post is kind of about my confidence.
I have absolutely zero desire to be like some one else.

If you thought that those things were bothering me I'm happy to report you were wrong. If, on the other hand, you were just giving advice (like I was doing) cool... I think we're on the same page.

However I do rationalize and I do like to justify.. why? It motivates me and makes me happy. I think that's pretty simple. The thing is that no one piece of advice will ever work for all people. I don't think that -write what you want honestly and don't worry about it- would work for me on it's own. I need a little more than that to satisfy the desires I'm working with.

I do not enjoy writing things that I think other people are covering already. I have no interest in that. I find great joy in looking for an angle that works for me. If I can write a song that I don't think anyone else has done or is trying to do that makes me very happy. If, however, during the writing process I start to feel like I've heard this before I am instantly unhappy. So I can't just write the shit I want about the shit I want to write about. I won't be happy in that situation. I need to write the shit I want about the shit I want... in a way that strikes me as original and interesting. If I don't like what I write... then I get irritated.

I did realize while writing this post that some people may think I'm spending too much time justifying what I do or why. That it might seem like far too self conscious an exercise. But.. that's what I enjoy so I do it.

/ unsubscribe

Black Barney wrote: / unsubscribe

Ahhhh, but

SOLD!

I write reviews (or anything) when I feel impassioned about it. Just do that, don't worry about the rest.