Works in Progress V: Somehow, someway

During GameX’s “Build an RPG” panel, David Hill reminded those of us gathered that those of us without the good fortune to be paid writers would be doing our writing in our spare time. And with day jobs, spare time can be difficult to come by. As frustrating as it can be to be uncertain of when, if ever, one might be getting paid for work completed, it can also be frustrating to have a notion in one’s mind that doesn’t make it out due to client requests and phone calls.

_{“I know I’m awesome. You can stare.”}
Still, despite plunging back into a pile of work after a holiday weekend, I continue to brew some things on the various burners in my head. That burning stuff you’re smelling? That’s the smell of greatness.

Lighthouse

I’m trying to work on this whenever I can. I was made aware of something last night that, for a moment, made me think I’d have to scrap the entire project and start from scratch again. However, it turns out that the tweaks to the overall product are going to be happening in bits I haven’t written yet, so it just needs to get written. Written properly, that is.

Fantasy Novel

I’m still not entirely sure what I’m going to be calling this. It used to be “Arrow of Fate” but that seems a bit kitschy. “Wilds of Acradea” maybe. Anyway, I had an infusion of ideas the other day when my wife suggested I do the same thing to my protagonist here that I did to Morgan in the aforementioned project: gender-swap her. In this case it would help her be less annoying. The more I thought on it, the more I realized things would change within the narrative, and slowly a slightly different story began to take shape. Like the Genesis planet, new life is being formed out of the old. Hopefully, this new life won’t include slug-like tentacle things that wrestle with Klingons or become unstable & explode.

Video Project

It’s a secret to everybody.
Okay, not everybody. My wife is again playing the role of conscientious nit-picker and could end up playing a role in what’s being planned, but as I told her last night, if I didn’t have someone like her challenging my ideas, I’d wind up like another George Lucas.
…Ew. Okay, moving on.

Farraday

Okay, I know I said this’d be a back burner thing, but with the growing appeal of Star Trek Online I couldn’t help myself and this stuff just started spilling out of me. Is it any good? Does it hold a candle to the likes of Ronald D Moore or even Bob Orci? I have no idea. It just feels good to write. Maybe Bob will tell me, if he swings by this way again. If that was really him.

RPG Project

I need to throw together a to-do list for this little project: compile previous notes, organize ideas, jot down historical events, collect space-babe art. Okay, that last one might not relate specifically to the project, but come on, these are space babes I’m talking about. It falls into one of those “when I have free time and I’m not spending it with my very patient and beautiful wife” categories.

Other Stuff

I don’t have a clever picture to put here, but I have pitches in to The Escapist, there’s talk of me producing a column for an online gaming magazine that is not The Escapist, and I should be getting some freelance gaming work in the pipeline later this month.
What I need to do, in short, is just keep writing, build up more momentum behind my metaphorical pen, and sooner or later, somehow, I’ll be able to start my day with writing rather than hauling my butt out the door for a thankless commute.