You don’t need to be familiar with James D’Amato’s One Shot podcast in order to have a blast with the The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide, released this month from Adams Media. Ability Scores Title: The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide Author: James D’Amato Page count: 272 Price: $14.99 Softcover, $10.99 Kindle edition Dimensions: 5.5” x 8.4” ISBN-13: 978-1507208373 Publisher: Adams Media... 
Last week, as part of the continuing +1 to Writing series, I asked Robert Denton III (@ohnospooky on Twitter) about how he went from being a fan of a franchise to one of the people who works on it. We talked about what it’s like to write tie-in fiction, and what are some of the challenges writers face. If you missed it, you can catch up on Part 1 of our conversation here! +1 to Writing is an ongoing...
How do you go from being a fan of a franchise to one of the people who gets to work on it? What is it like to write tie-in fiction, and what are some of the challenges these writers face? +1 to Writing is an ongoing series of interviews with writers at different stages in their writing career, from veteran wordsmiths to emerging authors. It looks at the RPG, tie-in media, and sci-fi and fantasy fiction... 
What does the path to becoming an RPG freelancer look like? How does that path differ if you want to write tie-in stories for your favorite IP, or if you have an idea for an original story? What does it actually take to go professional in the business, and what are the writing habits and creative mindsets you need to cultivate along the way? +1 to Writing is an ongoing series of interviews with writers at... 
The Id DM recently invited me on his podcast, Ego Check, an interview podcast series hosted by a licensed psychologist, Michael Mallen, Ph.D. The podcast delves into a variety of game types (e.g., tabletop roleplaying games, boardgames, videogames) from a psychological perspective. Dr. Mallen has been interviewing members of the gaming community for articles on his blog, The Id DM, since 2011 and is now... 