Can a Guy Have Too Many Hobbies?

I’ve spoken a number of times about some of my hobbies: Warhammer 40k (both painting the miniatures and playing), writing speculative fiction, science fiction and fantasy movies and television (well, good television of all stripes really), among others. A short while back, I was having a discussion with some colleagues and the topic somehow turned to television shows, who was watching what and whether a series was worth continuing or not, to be replaced by an interesting newcomer.  This got me to thinking about hobbies in general.

We all recognize that we can only watch so much television per week; there simply isn’t enough time to watch **every** program that interests us.  So we prioritize our time based on whatever arcane or heuristic methods we convince ourselves of using.  The advent of PVR certainly makes things easier, but it can lead to a steady and daunting accumulation of shows to watch.  You have to make time somewhere to watch them.  So, if we extend this to all hobbies, creative writing included, at one point you just reach a critical mass where something takes a hit – we reduce or replace a hobby to make room for another, or we start permeating our hobbies into other parts of our lives.

My life includes a number of roles and duties: officer and employee for the Army, husband, father of two children, son to my parents, and brother to my sister.  I must sleep, I must eat, I must work to support my family, I watch television and movies to relax, write to express myself, play games to enjoy my time off, et cetera.  All of these come with an elemental requirement of my time.  Could I sacrifice some family time to devote more to my hobbies?  What about sleep?  Maybe I could sneak some writing time in at work?  Those certainly are options, yet at what cost?  Spending more time writing means more chances to complete the works, get those submitted more often, thereby increasing my possibility of success and recognition.  Less sleep makes me more creative anyways…. Unfortunately it affects my family time, my productivity at work, makes my appetite go out of whack.

I say all this because I spent some considerable time re-editing my fantasy manuscript and started getting it vetted over at the Absolute Write forums.  What a great venue.  Then I started hearing things about a couple of games from the local gaming store.  I checked out both EveOnline and Warmachine.  Let me tell you, these stoked my curiosity enough that I completely ignored the writing aspects of my life for about a week.

EveOnline is a futuristic, sandbox, real-time strategy game; the science fiction version of World of Warcraft.  The irony that I would be more interested in a science fiction game versus fantasy is not lost on me.  But it wasn’t the space combat, or even the levelling up and commanding great fleets that caught my eye.  It was the option to be the economic and industrial powerhouse, working the in-game economy and markets to your favour.  It is the function as the facilitator that appealed to me, the guy who moves the pieces from the background.

Warmachine is a steam punk tabletop miniature game whereby two armies fight against each other.  The differences between it and Warhammer 40k are relatively extensive and the models are, in some ranges, top notch and really support the steam punk genre.  That the objective is to ultimately kill the opponent’s warcaster and/or complete the mission objectives is a new and refreshing twist.  That it follows a streamlined system and is from a fledgling company that, to be honest does not have GW’s previous history of “questionable” decisions, is a significant point.

When I look back on it, there are a number of hobbies and other activities that I have simply given up for newer ones.  Just like TV programs, a number simply weren’t interesting enough to maintain my interest, while others went by the wayside for other reasons; the life of a bachelor is certainly different than when married, more so after you have children.

Examining the cloud of activities above, I can honestly say that time management is almost an activity in and of itself.  To say that creative writing will remain one of the primary activities is an understatement.  In fact, I’d say it has become the newest and primary of my hobbies.  With the fantasy manuscript finished and now under review, I’ve the follow-on novels and a few new projects I’ve committed with verve and enthusiasm.
 

Get Your Geek On! Oh, And Write Too.

One of my favourite past-times, aside from writing speculative fiction, is playing table-top war games.  Warhammer 40k was the first one that caught my attention, back in grade 7 when one of my classmates brought in his older brother’s White Dwarf magazines.  White Dwarf is a Games Workshop publication for all their games, Warhammer 40k inclusive.  I saw the pictures and read the army descriptors and the various units and fell in love.

 

Not until years later did I get into the game.  Other game systems joined my repertoire of table-top gaming, now dwindled back down to just my 40k armies.  The cost of the game in terms of cash for the models and time to paint the miniatures certainly curtails how much I get to play, but I still game as much as I can.

 

 

 

The odd thing is how much my wife accuses me of being a closet gamer.  Frankly I consider myself a closet geek.  Being an officer in the military certainly doesn’t lend itself to bragging rights over playing games involving little painted plastic models, or writing thus far unpublished speculative fiction for that matter (aren’t I the optimist).  On that vein, it seems that a lot of writers keep their passion a secret, tucked away and reduced to when their friends or colleagues aren’t around.  Described as such, it almost sounds like an addiction.

 

Getting together with other gamers certainly lets me get my geek on; no pressure, same interests, etc.  The people certainly vary, in age, employment, income, you name it.  Great, now I’ve made my gaming group sound like a rehab session; group therapy for the gaming afflicted.  Living with a major military base nearby does draw more than its fair share of military personnel into the hobby.  There is a gaming club on base, primarily for tabletop gaming, which I unfortunately can’t participate in due to timings and distance.  The local gaming store is the only real venue, which includes a number of the base club players as well; I can say with certainty that I am one of the few officers that shows up to play.

 

I was more than a little surprised by the recent email and phone call from another captain that used to work in my Branch, asking whether I played Warhammer 40k.  The cryptic email was worded almost in code, or certainly would have looked that way to the uninitiated.  We talked and I discovered someone else with the same passion for tabletop gaming.

 

Then I wondered about how this reflects on my writing hobby.  Not everyone is open about this little part of their lives, almost embarrassed or afraid how others would react – especially so when you ask them to read your work, or they themselves ask.  What will be their reaction?  Will they enjoy it?  Will they hate it?  Agents and publishers are strangers, phantoms unknown at the other end of an email address that make a yes or (typically) no judgement.  When dealing with friends and family, things somehow seem more personal. 

 

I’ve never allowed anyone to read my fantasy manuscript, largely because it was far from finished, let alone polished.  Now that I’ve completed the final draft, I’ve started sending bits and pieces off to be reviewed, to see where it stands.  It’s soon off to either finding a beta reader or through the rounds with agents and publishers.  This leads me to wonder, how many others out there have closeted their ambitions to being a published author from friends and family?  Is it something you keep hushed away?

 

NB:  For the sake of clarity, I don’t want anyone to think I have minimized the trials of those with addiction.  In my position I am privy to the sometimes sordid and wretched results this may cause.  I would also like to applaud those who have beaten their particular ‘dragon’ or continue to fight their personal battles.

NB 2:  I feel I must make a statement about the recent and, in my personal opinion, atrocious handling of the whole 'Space Marine' is a trademarked term for book and e-book publications.  As you can imagine, most any reasonable person, typically a concept used in the basis for legal decisions, would find any credence to GW's claim.  I don't think they have a leg to stand on and am absolutely thrilled to see Amazon re-offer the book that caused the kerfuffle.