Work Journal: And so we come to the close of a week of enforced-non work, in an effort to recharge my batteries after the final lap of my DFRPG heavy-lifting.

I spent the time socializing, watching and reading semi-swashbuckling media (Hamlet sort of counts), and generally just trying to chill out.

And now I have a choice: a) work on chapter 2 of my novel, or b) work on S7S.

I'm gonna go with b).

Simply, I cannot:
1. Think about a), since b) is eating brain-cycles.
2. Assemble a local gamma group of appropriate size for the last bits of testing (but hey, plenty of playtesters JUST WAITING for stuff on the list).

Also, the gamma rules for S7S have drifted a bit from the beta, in some ways further out from core PDQ and in other ways back closer to it. (Maybe that's a rotation rather than a drift?)

So, tonight, I'll start on updating the gamma handout for S7S with the "lessons learned" from the last local gamma, and use that as my "roadmap" for recrafting chapters 5 (characters) and 6 (rules) of the manuscript.

Then I'll push the files out to the playtesters with some targeted areas for test.

With luck and sweat, maybe I can have all that assembled by next Friday evening.

Tags: asmp, dresden, fiction-and-poetry, game design, pdq, s7s, work journal, writing

From Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within:

Chapter 1, "Metre," footonote 14:
14. Milton, like many seventeenth- and eighteenth-century exponents of iambic pentameter, seemed very reluctant to use feminine endings, going so far as to always mark "heaven" as the monosyllabic "heav'n" whenever it ended a line. Finding two hendecasyllables in a row in Paradise Lost is like looking for a condom machine in the Vatican.

And quoting a line from Shakespeare's "Sonnet 1":

But thou, | contract | ed to | thine own | bright eyes [18]

Chapter 1, "Metre," footonote 18:
18. If you already know your feet and think that this is really an amphibrach, a dactyl and two iambs, I'm afraid I shall have to kill you.

Hee!

Tags: books, fiction-and-poetry, silly, writing

With the completion of my initial work on the Small Favor matrix and some freelance editing, I am taking a short break.

Of course, for me, "break" means I only work on one project, because I iz insaneymans.

But which. One. Spock? Which. One?

Poll #1180446 "Break"
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Which "for-fun" project should I work on during my "break"?

Lemme know, f-list. Taking you advice until tomorrow evening.

But for tonight: comicable books and wine, oh yes.

Latah!

Tags: asmp, dresden, evilhat, fiction-and-poetry, game design, gaming, s7s, sekrit projekt, sf&f, work journal, writing, zoz

What If Every Single Joel Silver Movie Took Place In The Same Universe?

http://io9.com/382809/what-if-every-single-joel-silver-movie-took-place-in-the-same-universe

A neat version of Wold Newton / Tommy Westphal Universe Hypothesis crossovers.

Tags: fiction-and-poetry, mad science, movies, sf&f, silly

Have I mentioned I possess Del Close's SAG card? Because I do -- found it in a copy of Black Easter, purchased at Dangerous Visions in LA.

This, to me, equals awesome, though I understand many of you won't diggit.

If you diggit, comment, plz.

Tags: fiction-and-poetry, silly

Work Journal: 4 pages of longhand, legal pad notes on Small Favor. This brings us up to 90% of the text.

ALSO...

From this post, I have closed out the following TO DO items:

4. Zorcerer of Zo-based fairy tales: EXCEPTION: Must write one as present for somebody's birthday. RESEARCH DONE.

6. Script Collaboration: Final draft done; patricks is submitting to contests and whatnot.

Now, I print sumfing out and start dinner.

Tags: dresden, evilhat, fiction-and-poetry, game design, work journal, writing, zoz

Just a quick update... all of my current projects are still live, I've tried to service them all a bit this past week... and it's sucking the juice out of me.

Here's what I'm gonna do with them, so as not to go insane.

( snipping for sanity )

Well, that almost cut it in half.

Also: Find time to sleep, somewhere in there.

Tags: dresden, evilhat, fiction-and-poetry, game design, gaming, mental health, movies, pdq, pt-job, s7s, sekrit projekt, sf&f, work journal, writing, zoz

To aid my own sanity and time-management, here's the list of freelance projects I'm currently juggling (note, please, I am not including day-job stuff or social stuff):

1. Gearing up to run several local gamma playtest sessions of Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, to test out rules changes made through the beta playtests. After I get feedback and testing on that...

2. ...moving onto the gamma draft revision of the S7S manuscript with lessons learned and general text-tightening/awesomifying. This will be sent out to peer reviewers for comment and gamma playtesters for testing.

3. I am still contributing to The Dresden Files RPG; the most important element of this will be my research and analysis on Small Favor, once I actually buy the book later this month.

4. I am writing Zorcerer of Zo-based fairy tales, with the aim of putting out a small fiction collection. Right now, I've written five -- "The Blue Tailor," "The Wooden Pirate," "The Witch Girl," "The Horse Prince," and "The Gingerbread Knight." I probably need at least five more (and art) to make a slim digest book.

5. I (apparently) have begun a novel, trading on two of my big interests: swashbuckling and mysticism. One chapter down.

6. I am collaborating on at least one (possibly three) movie scripts with a colleague.

7. I am providing feedback to other authors and game designers regarding their works on an ad hoc basis.

8. I will be picking up some freelance editing work for another Standards Developing Organization (SDO), in the interests of making money.

9. I am positive I have one or two other low-impact projects I cannot summon to mind right now.

That's the State of the Chad at the moment. I will be pondering how best to service all of these endeavors with regard to the limitations of time and attention.

If you are involved with any of the above listed projects, please take this as an explanation of why I may be a bit terse in responses.

Tags: dresden, evilhat, fiction-and-poetry, game design, gaming, mental health, movies, pdq, pt-job, s7s, sekrit projekt, sf&f, work journal, writing, zoz

Sekrit Projekt SS: All 44 journal pages typed into computador, yielding a total of 12 pages and 6198 words.

Now to set it aside for a couple days, to let the brain cool off. In the meantime, I'll work on revising "The Horse Prince" and diverse other porjekts.

Tags: fiction-and-poetry, sekrit projekt, sf&f, work journal, writing

Sekrit Projekt SS: 38 of 44 journal pages typed into computador, yielding 11 pages and 5432 words total.

Tags: fiction-and-poetry, sekrit projekt, sf&f, work journal, writing