Contributor: Beth Fallon
Submission: non-fiction guide to PELs
System: Accelerant (but all take heed)
Years LARPing: 21
Email: efallon@earthlink.net
With the end of the Mirror, Mirror Revel, and Aralis and Lost Eidolons on their ways (not to mention a host of non-Accelerant games), the Post Event or Summary Letters are probably flooding inboxes. Or they should be. When I first started LARPing, I didn't really care too much about PELs, because I was too busy gushing about The Magic of the First Event (trademarked). Then, as I became jaded (literally and figuratively for Madrigalites), I had my First Real Event Complaint (also trademarked). It was minor, but I was a little devastated. What if staff hated me? What if they told the offending person? What if someone complained about me? What if I hurt the person's feelings-- it really wasn't that big a deal, was it? When I finally sat down to write the letter, however, I was a little dismayed. How could I frame it without sounding whiny, overly aggressive, or mean-spirited? How long should I spend talking about it? What if, in writing about the module, the reader ignored all the good things I had to say about the game? What if they ignored my personal character requests because they were worried about fixing the single bad part of my experience?
I think we've all been here. PELs, especially if something went less than perfect, can be difficult to write. We often have close friends who are on staff, and LARPing is a small community. Therefore, I'm giving you Beth Fallon's guide to PEL writing. As an experience LARPer and staff person, she gives a good perspective on not only how to deal with OoG problems, but also how to make staff aware of IG desires and goals. So, read on, and incorporate her advice into any post-game summary you might submit.
