How Freelancing Is Like WoW:

Maybe it just speaks to the depth of my obsession, but sometimes I see odd similarities between my life in World of Warcraft and my life as a freelance writer.For example, finding a job can be a lot like trying to raid. It’s hard, and you’re going to get rejected a lot, but if you have good gear and know your class (have good clips and can write decently), you’ll eventually get a raid spot (writing job).

There are different qualities of raids/jobs, as well. You can try looking for PUGs (temporary or part time writing gigs), or you can try to join a raiding guild (look for a permanent, full time job).

The “PUGs” are generally easier to get into, but they can’t be relied on for regular raiding/work, and you never know what you’re getting into. Some go great, but others are run by newbs who may wipe on trash–or in the case of writing jobs, take forever to pay or offer insultingly low rates. You even run the risk of getting scammed by a ninja raid leader/unethical employer.

The guilds/full time jobs have higher standards and are harder to get into, requiring proper applications and perhaps test raids/assignments, but can be more rewarding over the long haul.

In either case, you’ll inevitably encounter those with unrealistic requirements, who want Firelands heroic achievements and a 380 ilevel or 8-15 years of agency experience and a master’s degree for the simplest tasks.

Of course, the big difference is that WoW is a game, so the whole idea of having to make applications, do test runs, or meet strict requirements is just ludicrous. [Insert standard rant about the raiding culture.]

Does anyone else see similarities between their virtual and real lives? Or is that just my own dementia?

Altaholic’s Lament:

I’m a chronic altaholic and always have been. I think I made at least three or four different characters before my ten day trial ran out. Currently, I’m juggling three 85s, my eternally neglected shaman (currently twinked at 80), and the petless warlock I mentioned early in this blog’s life, currently approaching level 40. Not to mention the countless other largely abandoned toons, including a Tauren death knight in his 70s and a Worgen druid in his 50s whom I used to play often.It’s overwhelming. I’m always hearing people talking about their half a dozen 85s, or (in a surprisingly high number of cases) their ten 85s. I don’t know how they do it. Maybe they exaggerate, but considering how much this makes them look like losers, I doubt it.

How do they do it? It’s a chore keeping all three of my 85s decently geared, and I can barely find time for my shaman and warlock. As it stands now, I simply can’t find the time to give all my characters the attention they deserve. I definitely can’t manage any more max level characters.

But yet I want to keep going with my shaman and lock. I’d at least like to get my little warlock demon form, because that’s just freakin’ awesome. On top of that, I’m still tempted to create more characters. I still think I might enjoy a hunter or a priest if I could just get past those dull early levels. And I’m tempted to try playing on a role-playing server, too.

So what to do? I’ve often said a character doesn’t need to reach end game to be worth playing–even if I never play my druid or DK again, I have many fond memories of them. But at the same time, it feels a little demoralizing to say “This character is never going to reach max level” up front.

On the plus side, it’d be another chance to run through Northrend. I’m addicted to Wrath content like it’s crack.

What about you, dear reader? Are you an altaholic? How do you manage it all?

More Weird Worm:

Weird Worm posted another of my articles, Eight Sweet Perks of Being a Nerd. I hope you can take some amusement from it.