by burbie52, HSM team writer

At one of our recent bi-weekly meetings for the magazine, an idea was put out for our annual April Fools Day joke. If we chose to do so, we were to write as though HSM was closing its doors, or that we were leaving for whatever reason we could come up with.

I thought about this for a while, and though it was a cute idea, I wasn’t able to come up with anything funny to say. I think this was because it hit a bit too close to home for me, and it made me think about what I would do if this ever truly came to pass.

I have been here for over two years — January of 2011 saw my first article published here. I love writing, and this magazine has provided a great place to express myself through that medium. When I first was asked to tackle writing an article for HSM, it was about a subject I was well versed in — my club, the Grey Gamers. I felt confident that I could do that, even though I had never written this type of article before. Fiction and poetry are more my style, I have been writing both since I was a child.

How I felt at first

When I was asked to join the team after that initial article, it kind of amazed me. It wasn’t expected, and I hadn’t even thought about becoming a staff writer at all. In fact, I wasn’t sure I would be able to come up with enough material to write about in Home, or be able to write in this style that was new to me. I was wrong on both counts, for Home is a wonderful place, full of stories waiting to be told. That and the fact that the editorial team was always there to point me in the right direction when I strayed off the path, and through watching what they did to each piece I had written, I learned.

There were stories about people and how Home has helped them. Stories about new places to see and things to do. Stories about clubs and their contributions to the community. Stories about social issues that are important to all of us. There is also the PR that informs the community about new up and coming content for their enjoyment. The list of ideas is endless, and I have tried my hand at most of them at one time or another. I have even written a game review, something I never thought I could do.

Doing this keeps my creative juices flowing and stretches me as a writer. I am being asked to do things outside my comfort zone and it has been very good for me. I wrote about “Stepping Off the Ledge” a while back, because taking the first step on a new journey is always the hardest. But if the goal is worthwhile, it is always worth the risk that you take putting yourself out there.

Me if this ever ends

All of this leads me to my musing about what I will do if HSM ever closes its doors for real. I have to say I don’t like the idea at all. I would not only miss our staff meetings, which are always both productive and fun, but I would miss being able to write about this wonderful place called Home that we all love. I would be hard pressed to find such a wonderful mix of personalities and hard workers as I have encountered here. I love working with all of these people toward the goals that our leaders have set. I love that egos are checked at the door, and drama is left behind as well. I love that we are encouraged to stretch ourselves and try new things. I love that we genuinely care about each other as people, not just avatars.

I truly don’t know where I would go if I ever had to look elsewhere. I doubt I would find anything quite like what we have here at HSM anywhere else. I have sometimes thought about trying to reach out to another magazine and write for them about Home, but to tell the truth there just aren’t that many to choose from, and none of them do what is being done here.

I guess if Home ended or the magazine shut down I would go back to playing games more often, and my writing would probably go back to what I did before I came here. I still write fiction — maybe I would go back to working on my next book. I have written fiction for HSM as well, and I want to continue to do so for a very long time. Poetry has always been there, and always will.

I am confident that HSM is in this for the long haul. I don’t think that we are going anywhere soon, just like Home isn’t either. I love what I do here and look forward to the rest of this adventure we all share.

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One Response to “Life After HSM”

1. Godzprototype says:

   April 29, 2013 at 12:55 am

   I agree. HSM is an awesome team of writers and artists. It really has been enriching to work with everyone.
   Keep at it.8)

   Reply