Writing Writing Freeform Larps

Following on from my last post, I've now published Writing Freeform Larps on Lulu as a physical book.

So now you can get it on Lulu (as a book), DriveThru RPG (pdf) and Itch.io (pdf).

Last time I explained what it contains. 

This time, I look at the book’s development and history.

Genesis

I’ve thought about writing a book about writing murder mystery games for some years. Something that would help our authors at Freeform Games, who often need guidance.

While I directed them to various freeform-writing articles I’ve written over the years, they were scattered across the Internet and had a few gaps. I wanted to pull them all together into one place and fill the gaps.

At the same time, everything I planned to write about writing a murder mystery game also applied to freeforms. Only there was more to include in a book about freeforms – I often use rules and ideas in a freeform that I would never use in one of our murder mysteries (because of the extra complexity).

As I didn’t want to write two (very similar books), and because I wanted to include those extra bits, the book became Writing Freeform Larps (with sections that talk about murder mysteries).

Writing

I started by grabbing everything I had previously written and dumping it into a folder on my laptop. (Many of the previous articles are on the uk-freeforms wiki.)

I then started a blank MS Word document and created the chapters I thought I would need. I based the chapters on the basic process I’ve used for years. Not all steps needed a chapter, but I knew I would have chapters on writing plots, characters, and rules/mechanics.

Once I had a rough structure, I dropped in the articles I felt went in that section.

One thing I did was change the emphasis of those articles. I realised from the beginning that this book was how I wrote freeform larps. Other writers do things differently, and I didn’t want the book to come over as if my way was the only way to write freeform larps.

As I worked through the book, I realised that my articles didn’t cover as much as I thought they did: there were more gaps than I had thought. So I kept myself busy for a few weeks filling those gaps.

Early drafts

By January 2023, I had a first draft ready and asked for comments via the uk-freeforms mailing list. I got some great feedback – and spent the next month incorporating it. (I find the process of receiving feedback, and my reaction to it, interesting. I may go into it in more depth in a later post.)

By mid-February, I had incorporated the comments and uploaded the files to Lulu. I created a temporary cover using Lulu’s own cover generator, and ten days later, I had a print copy in my hands.

I then read through the whole thing, making notes for things that didn’t work. For example, I needed an extra page early, so the chapters all started on an odd-page number.

I pulled together a better cover using Affinity Publisher and had a second draft to review in early March. (While it might have been a “better” cover, it’s not a great cover. It’s workable and legible, but designing covers isn’t my forte.)

This time, while the interior was fine, I wanted to tweak the cover as it felt unbalanced. So I did that and ordered another test copy. While waiting, I uploaded the pdfs to Itch.io and DriveThruRPG and submitted the files for approval.

The three covers

Published!

Writing Freeform Larps was first available via my Itch page (no approval needed). DriveThruRPG followed a few days later, and I announced it on Facebook and elsewhere.

And finally, I was happy with the hard copy, so I made that public at the end of March.

That leaves me with marketing, which isn’t my favourite thing. So far, I’ve:

• Written about it here on the blog.
• Added a page on my personal site.
• Added a page on Great Murder Mystery Games (where I’ve had to explain what a freeform is and why I didn’t call it “Writing Murder Mystery Games”).

For the future

• Talk about Writing Freeform Larps on the Freeform Games blog (and mention it on our Facebook page and newsletter).
• Keep an eye out for bundles on Itch or DTRPG I can join. 
• Take hard copies with me to places like Peaky and Consequences.
• Promote it in the larpy places I don’t normally frequent. If I can find them.