An Online Community and a Creative Blog

I have recently become involved in an online grassroots network dedicated to Pokémon Go, an exciting new augmented reality mobile game which will be released sometime this year. News and updates on the game and its mechanics have been slow-coming until recently, which had made many hesitant about its viability. However, the community, called the Silph Road, has remained positive through it all, and has focused on growing and creating roots around the world to create a more global experience for when the game does launch.

I am very fortunate in that I was offered a leadership role in a volunteer capacity with the Silph Road, and will be working with other Canadian players to help foster the growing community. It has been incredibly exciting watching the network grow, and my cohort thus far is full of lovely people.

A fellow Canadian leader, Drew, told me about a blog he was working on, which is a fictionalized retelling of events related to the community. He showed me one entry which featured me as a minor character, asking me to look over it to ensure I was content with my characterization. The post was quite well-written, but being an editor I couldn't help but look for other ways to improve the text, both grammatically and stylistically. I sent it back to him with a number of changes and asked for his thoughts. Drew was thrilled with the result, and asked if I would be interested in editing the rest of the blog as well. I was elated, and accepted.

I have had a wonderful time editing the blog thus far. Drew has created a fascinating world full of mystery, and I constantly find myself wondering what will happen next. I have fixed up the language and structure, improving the pacing, adding more detail and building the different characters, all while being careful to maintain his narrative voice. Many of the entries feature other members of the community, and Drew has done a lovely job portraying them, even when he hasn't necessarily met the people in question (myself included)!

Drew has been a pleasure to work with; he is appreciative of the depth and clarity I bring to the entries, is extremely open to my notes, and is overall an excellent collaborator on this sort of project. I am nearly done editing the current batch of blog entries he has sent me, and hope to receive more soon. I look forward to seeing where the blog goes!