{"id":21,"date":"2013-07-15T21:55:14","date_gmt":"2013-07-15T21:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=21"},"modified":"2013-07-15T21:55:14","modified_gmt":"2013-07-15T21:55:14","slug":"day9-starcraft-and-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=21","title":{"rendered":"Day9, Starcraft, and Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s an interesting coupling between the real-time strategy game Starcraft 2<\/a> and writing, for me. \u00a0Before I can get too deep into that, I need to make mention of a fellow called Day[9]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Day[9]’s real name is\u00a0Sean Plott<\/a>. \u00a0A coworker of mine when I was at my previous job introduced me to Day[9]’s Daily, which is a show where Sean talks about Starcraft. \u00a0Day[9] has been a professional gamer and commentator for over a decade, and the vast bulk of his experience and fortune all stems from Starcraft.<\/p>\n

I didn’t immediately take to watching Day[9]’s shows regularly for a long while. \u00a0My introduction to Day[9] came before my trip to Reno’s WorldCon, so I wasn’t really in the proper place to add his particular brand of wisdom to my life. \u00a0Eventually, when I was in a better job and a happier place, I started going through his archives, mostly focused on his extremely humorous Funday Mondays.<\/p>\n

The thing about Day[9]’s shows, though, is that they’re infectious. \u00a0Actually, it’s not his shows that are infectious… it’s the man himself. \u00a0He is highly energetic, highly enthusiastic, and extremely passionate about what he’s doing. \u00a0These are qualities that we can all appreciate, and that we should all try to apply in our lives.<\/p>\n

His shows are about Starcraft, and though my initial interest in the game had waned, I found myself wanting to play the game again. \u00a0I started playing with a renewed interest and perspective on the game. \u00a0I wanted to participate in the competitive, laddering portion of the game. \u00a0I also wanted to stream<\/a> my experiences, and participate in the Starcraft 2 community.<\/p>\n

One particular show<\/a> Day[9] did is extremely popular, and exceptionally inspirational. \u00a0It’s nearly 2 hours long, and in it, Sean talks about his life growing up and becoming a successful professional gamer. \u00a0Whether you know anything about Starcraft or not, there is something for everyone in that particular show.<\/p>\n

Looking at Sean Plott’s journey inspired me. \u00a0This is a man that had the courage to pursue his dreams, and the dedication to making sure that the pursuit was successful. \u00a0This is a man that embraced the concept and now teaches that every loss is an opportunity to learn and improve. \u00a0This is a man that remained energetic and enthusiastic after finding his success, and continues to be a positive role model for all ages.<\/p>\n

I have no aspirations to becoming a professional gamer myself, or even a commentator. \u00a0I enjoy the game, but my goal has always been to become a published author. \u00a0We can all take lessons from Sean’s life in regards to pursuing our dreams. \u00a0Those of us that play on the Starcraft ladder can take a few lessons from the game itself.<\/p>\n

Overcome Ladder Anxiety<\/strong>
\nA lot of people experience fear before hitting the Find Match button. \u00a0Will I make some terrible mistakes? \u00a0Will my opponent be rude? \u00a0What will I do if I lose? \u00a0These are questions that can ultimately chase people away from playing the game altogether. \u00a0It’s natural to feel the apprehension. \u00a0It’s also important to overcome it, and just jump into the game.<\/p>\n

With my writing, I definitely feel my own version of Ladder Anxiety. \u00a0I wonder if what I write will be any good or not. \u00a0I wonder whether or not anyone will be interested in what I write. \u00a0Once I finish my story, I wonder whether or not I’ll be able to get it published or not. \u00a0I’ve already posted about my struggles just getting the first draft out. \u00a0Something I can take from Starcraft is that I just need to get in the game, do the work, and see how it comes out. \u00a0Ultimately, it should be fun. \u00a0If it isn’t, then maybe it’s not the game (or dream) that I should be pursuing after all.<\/p>\n

Haters are Gonna Hate<\/strong>
\nIn any game of Starcraft, you can run into any number of truly toxic individuals. \u00a0Even out of the game, watching streams<\/a>, you can run into people that will berate you, or give you bad advice, or mistreat you in some way with words. \u00a0Welcome to the internet, folks.<\/p>\n

The lesson to be learned is to not take everything that is said to heart. \u00a0Some people may try to help you, and you should be courteous to those people, and try to use what treasures they give you. \u00a0Other people may try to tear you down or drag you down to their level. \u00a0You should be courteous to those people as well, find the lessons that can be learned (that may have nothing to do with what they’re actually saying), and be assertive in protecting yourself and your work.<\/p>\n

There will always be people that take issue with you, for whatever reason. \u00a0Even people like Day[9] draw detractors. \u00a0Let them froth, and don’t take it personally.<\/p>\n

Learn From your Losses<\/strong>
\nYou’re not going to win every game you enter. \u00a0In Starcraft, in fact, the system is set up so that you’re really supposed to only win about half of your games. \u00a0If you get hung up on the losses themselves, and let the negative emotions that come from those losses overwhelm you, you’re not going to have the mental faculties to win the next game.<\/p>\n

As in Starcraft, everything I do with my writing won’t meet absolute success. \u00a0Not all of the seeds I plant will be within fertile ground. \u00a0I’m going to get rejection letters. \u00a0All of the best authors have stacks of rejection letters in their history. \u00a0It is important for me not to let the prospect of those letters get me down. \u00a0It is also important that I learn from each unsuccessful experience, so that I might elevate my chances with the next endeavor.<\/p>\n

It’s a Mental Game<\/strong>
\nStarcraft is all about multitasking, allocating resources appropriately, and reading your opponent so that you know what’s coming and where you’re going. \u00a0While the pros may have hundreds of actions per minute, the dexterity of their fingers isn’t the greatest part of their game. \u00a0Their greatest strength is their mental fortitude, to be able to withstand the pressure of sitting up on stage, with thousands of fans watching and significant money and reputation on the line.<\/p>\n

Writing is also a mental game. \u00a0While there may be something to be said for emotions coloring the artistic palette, I think the stronger argument is for having the mental stamina to see that the work is done. \u00a0It’s important to feel the emotions without letting them distract you from doing what needs doing. \u00a0It’s especially important not to let fear be a crippling force, once the story is done, and it’s time to go on to the next level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s an interesting coupling between the real-time strategy game Starcraft 2 and writing, for me. \u00a0Before I can get too deep into that, I need to make mention of a fellow called Day[9]. Day[9]’s real name is\u00a0Sean Plott. \u00a0A coworker of mine when I was at my previous job introduced me to Day[9]’s Daily, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8,9,3],"class_list":["post-21","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-day9","tag-starcraft","tag-writing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions\/23"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}