Today I was promoted to Lead Writer at Rogue Dao Studios. It’s definitely a huge honor for me, and for once I’m not really doubting myself. Writing, I think, is the only area in which I don’t. That sounds terribly egotistical, but it’s not about skill so much as practice and repetition and passion, most of all. I write because I need to write; I need to express myself through that medium. Sometimes I hate it. Most of the time, I love it. The same is true of any art, I think.

Basically my duties will now include giving direction on projects, assigning production schedules and timelines, and providing proofing and review for all works before they get submitted to the Creative Director for his final say. Our Creative Director originally inhabited both that position and the Lead Writer spot, but I’ve been moved to that spot now to be more of a direct manager of the team, whereas he has final say on the general state of the writing and setting integrity since he is probably our biggest Planescape buff.

I’m still going to be functioning as a writer. I don’t believe in management styles where the lead basically stands back and dictates to his team while they do the ‘dirty work’ and he just does management-related activities. Aside from really putting a damper on team morale, it keeps the lead’s skills out of practice to the point where his direction loses credibility. No, I much more prefer to be in the trenches working alongside my team instead of ruling from on high.

Perhaps I’ll be able to make some posts about my experiences managing a team – it’s relatively new territory for me, so it will definitely be a learning experience.

But it’s one that I am very eager to undertake.