What's the opposite of Schadenfreude?

Oh wait, I think it's envy - don't need no fancy German word for that! Anyhow, that's what I was feeling when I stopped by Wil Wheaton's blog this evening and found out that he'd been contracted to write a column for Dungeon magazine called "Wil Save" (ok, if you don't get the joke just skip down to the next blog entry; it's what passes for humor among the D&D set). An unabashed roleplayer from way back, Wheaton will begin his column by reflecting on his gaming with a "then-and-now" theme and take it from there.

It's a fantastic gig, and while I have no doubt that he will do a bang-up job, I can't help however but be a little green to hear the news. It's bad enough that he's ahead of me on the published author curve, but did he really have to leapfrog me in the field of game writing as well?

(Now it's true I've never submitted anything to Dungeon, Dragon, or any other of the RPG magazines, but that isn't to say that I haven't written an awful lot in the service of gaming - I spent the better part of a year cowriting and editing a fantasy roleplaying game that never ended up seeing the light of day!)

And let's not forget that this newly-reimagined prodigy of the printed word was once Wesley Crusher and starred in Stand By Me...

Actor, writer, gamer, high-stakes poker player, model father - not only do you land all of the cool roles, but you play them with grace, wit, and aplomb to boot. If I were a pessimist, I would despair that I was doomed to follow in your footsteps (albeit about a half-mile back) forever. I mean, look at this blog of mine - I'm at blogspot, for crying out loud, and although I can noodle around with HTML when I need to, I won't be executing any super-dynamic Perl scripts anytime soon!

But strangely, I am undeterred. I will continue to peck out my stories a couple hundred words at a time on the train ride home, collect my rejection letters, and redesign the Jersey Exile every six months or so; I might even dig out some of the old gaming stuff and see if I can't get some of that published as well.

I may be envious, Wil, but in truth I'm mostly inspired by your example. It is possible to live many lives in a world that supposedly has you pegged and pigeonholed shortly after birth. It is possible to be a Renaissance Man and actually get paid for it. It is possible to make it as a writer, a blogger, a Dungeon Master, and a father, no matter how difficult the road may seem at times.

So thanks, Wil. And good luck - you deserve it.

p.s. Not to crow, but I was on the History Channel twice this year. Number of Wil Wheaton History Channel appearances in 2004 to date? Why, zero, I'm afraid...