There is no journal entry without a prompt. If there is no external one, there is at least an internal one. There is always a moment that triggers another, and that another one leads to the next, and so on.
Often, even if the impulse comes from within, it is never purely internal because there is always interaction with the external world, even when we spend time alone.
For my journal entry on November 12, 2025, the prompt came to me from a friend, and I embraced it with curiosity.
My friend Janni Pilgaard, who wrote the book 10 Nøgler til et liv med tid nok, which translates to “10 Keys to a Life with Enough Time,” and edited the Danish edition of my book Actual Real-Life Role-Playing Games, in Danish, Rollespil i det virkelige liv, hosts a monthly writing marathon for her fellow writers. I enjoy the creative atmosphere of writing “alone together” for a whole morning online. I also enjoy the writing exercises Janni comes up with for the beginning of every marathon round. This past November, she had the following prompt for us:
“Midt I November sker der…”, which translates into English as “In the middle of November, … happens.”
After that, Janni invited us to free-write for ten minutes.
I enjoyed listening to what my fellow writers came up with.
I wrote in English because it is my favorite language for thinking and creating.
Below, you can read what I wrote, which came as a beautiful surprise to me. Beautiful because the result was unexpected, and the flow of creativity felt like spreading my arms wide at my sides, turning in a giddy circle, and dancing my heart out, or like flying without being afraid of heights (which I have been since my late twenties).
Here is what I came up with:
***
A lot happens in the middle of November. It is strange, nature prepares to go into hibernation, but I feel like I wake up.
Maybe many people feel that way. The year is coming to an end, and we look back at all the scores and leaderboards we have, both for ourselves and for others. There is a little more time for the finish line, so the second wind is coming, and we get the energy boost to keep going and maybe even give more than before.
We might also see our values more clearly as we look at the map of the past year’s game rounds spread before us. And we might be inspired by the new ideas, new beginnings for that new round in our lives’ games, the year that is just around the corner.
***
That particular marathon took place on November 12, and just a week later, I came up with the idea of sharing my work-in-progress on S1000D on Patreon. Nine days after that, I launched “Victoria explores S1000D” on Patreon, with the first paying subscriber joining the same day. Since then, I posted seventeen articles there, both for paid and free subscribers. More are coming soon.
About a month after the Patreon launch, I asked myself, “Why don’t I do the same for my books on self-gamification?” So, I decided to start a community on Substack and bring the Self-Gamification Club back to life there. I published four posts on Substack so far and participated in discussions started by other authors there.
Wow, what a second wind!? I still feel its effects, even when I need a break. Writing longhand helps, and I got another boost at this year’s first writing marathon, organized by Janni this January.
I don’t always feel productive and creative, and there are days when I feel utterly down and drag my feet. During researching, writing, and publishing Be Your Best Game Master, I started asking myself, in times of upset, who is there talking in my head, and which part of me is angry, sad, or scared. That also led me to the following question:
“What part of me chooses how the story of my life develops?”
The answer was that all parts of me contributed to the story of my life. But there was a referee who helped get a consensus, or at least move forward.
That was the Secret 3 I shared in my book Be Your Best Game Master:
Secret 3: You are not a passive observer of your inner games. You are their game master. To genuinely be kind to yourself, help yourself grow, and live life to the fullest is not only about being your best friend. It is about being your best game master.
You can find out more by reading Be Your Best Game Master. You will discover the collective power of various aspects of yourself, as if they were players in very special role-playing games, your mind’s and life’s RPGs, and keep on winning these collaborative games.
