Writing tip: "Et cetera" is a Latin expression; if you abbreviate it should have a period at the end of it. Thus, "etc." rather than "etc" ... that is, if the company you're writing for uses "etc." at all-some (such as Paizo, and Wizards last time I checked) prefer "and so on" to "et cetera" or "etc ( Read more... )

Not an April Fool's joke!
And this is why I was disappointed with Amazon vs. publishers re: ebooks and authors taking the pro-publisher-wants-to-raise-prices side of that disagreement.
And yes, this is Mike Stackpole writing an article for the Huffington Post--way to go, Mike! :)

Michael A. Stackpole asks: Who Benefits From High Ebook Prices?

I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants GM. I've run one-shot games at conventions with no premade map. I've done one-shot games with no monster stat blocks, just determining approximate ACs, hps, and attack values for the monsters. I'm pretty good at "faking it ( Read more... )

Suck it, The Elements of Style! :)

50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice

Hated going over this book in high school English class. Or perhaps I just didn't like my smug teacher. No, wait, it's both!

Thanks to savageplanet's twitter for the link!

The third annual RPG Superstar competition is an American Idol-style event where gamers submit game designs to judges and the votes of the fans. Each round eliminates some of the contestants until fan votes determine the final winner, who gets to design (for pay and cover credit) an adventure for Paizo to publish as a full-color print product ( Read more... )

Check out the new Pathfinder Society Open Call! This is a FULLY OPEN call, and you can submit whatever scenario ideas you want! If you want to get your foot in the door writing professionally for Paizo, this is the place to start. link

Using "a fraction" to mean "a small amount" is a pet peeve of mine. I have a math background, therefore to me a fraction is "any numerical quantity that is not a whole number ( Read more... )

Wanna get your foot in the door as a published adventure writer? Check this out, Paizo's having an open call for outline proposals for its Pathfinder Society (organized/tournament play) adventures. Think you can pitch a cool one-session adventure scenario in 750 words? Then start workin', deadlines for submissions is October 30th ( Read more... )

How some words in common use were dug up or even created by Gary Gygax. A neat read!

Steve Chrisomalis's blog (linked to me by Paizo's Christopher Paul Carey!)

Working at a real game company again, and being a person who's written a lot of game books, there are times where stuff I've written comes up in conversation ... usually brought up by me, in response to some discussion about a current or future product. It happens often enough that now it's sort of a running joke at Paizo, in that whenever join a ( Read more... )