Fiction, Nonfiction, & How My Writing Has Changed

I remember the times when fantasy and science fiction were my forté. I would get home from school, play some video games with friends until the evening, and then sit down and write until the early hours of the morning, before going to bed and repeating it all again the next day. I immersed myself in these original worlds of my own design, filled with dynamic characters and fantastic events. It was what I lived and breathed for. It was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

And then, as high school moved on and I started to phase my writing into modern, young adult fiction, I found fantasy and sci-fi less and less appealing. I wrote the first draft of Elephants in the Living Room... and then didn't write anything of consequence for years. Short stories, essays, film and game reviews, these came easy to me. They were short, required less commitment, and we're fairly easy to push out whenever was convenient for me. It was simple and it was a way for me to continue to exercise my writing while exploring other activities to fill my off-time.

However, now I find the best way for me to explore my writing has become in the nonfiction genre. Blog posts and journaling, or writing the rules and notes for my gaming sessions, were all I did when it came to creative writing. This became very apparent to me these last few days.

I sat down to work on my recent creative writing fiction piece that I had started last November and hadn't touched since the end of 2013. However I simply couldn't find my voice for fantasy fiction anymore. Yet, the events of the last couple of days made me realize that the desire to write nonfiction about certain aspects of my life, aspects I hadn't given much thought to, yet had commanded much of my time over the last decade. And so I'll give myself the opportunity to sit down and at least start writing a nonfiction piece, that will be a fun exploration of how certain activities, specifically multiplayer video games, had impacted my self-image, my career choices, and the general path of my life. We'll see how the project goes, but I'm not certain how far into it I will get, especially with so many other projects in the works so far.

The Candle Which Burns Twice As Bright...

Another play has come up in my area. Not only am I interested in auditioning, but it is a musical, which is part of my bucket list. It only seems natural that I should audition for it, right? I mean, I've hit up every audition that has been available since last April, so why stop now.

Unfortunately, I'm not as excited for this audition as I would've originally expected. So much so to the point that I am not even 100% certain if I will audition for it. While I have no doubts that it would be an amazing experience and it would be truly exciting and engaging, and I would meet new wonderful people and get the chance to work with others I already know and love within the local theater community, I can't help but wonder if I'm filling my plate too full already.

Life, Work, Writing & Balance

Recently, and by recently I mean in about the last week, I've been struck with a new fear. I know, my list of fears is pretty long, but this one is new and immediate and so it gains some additional attention. The new year has started, and the end of the first full week is approaching. According to my count, I've done a total of 9275 words of writing this week, beating my weekly goal by 2275 words. Not too shabby, and a good start to what will hopefully be 52 weeks of consistent writing.

Zimildran Excitement to the Extreme!

I mean, look at that! How can this image not excite you? I guess the dinosaur junkie in me just gets giddy when seeing this image. Ramon is such a talented individual, and seeing him bring a specific, full world of my own design to life through wonderful art is, to me, breathtaking.

Zimildran has been going well, with the writing and development staying just ahead of our weekly play-test sessions. It is the culmination of almost everything that is at the core of my interests; dinosaurs, mysticism, intercultural diplomacy and conflict, with a dash of steampunk, all spread thickly over a thick base of cosmic horror. It feels wholly original, yet also like I've known it my entire life. Its ancient ruins, spiritual essence, and primal wildlife have stalked my dreams and sneaked into my writing over the years, and it is finally coming to fruition later this year. I am literally beside myself with excitement for this project to be finished.

I can only hope that this excitement holds true throughout the production of this book. It is already much larger than I ever expected it to be (130 pages and counting), and only continues to grow with each passing week.

Soon enough, in the next few weeks hopefully, I will post an excerpt of the world of Zimildran on the Round 10 website, giving you a bit more of a taste of the nature of this world, giving substance to the image above and a window into my imagination.

To Kickstart or not to Kickstart

While my personal experience with Kickstarter hasn't been the greatest (two failed projects in less than 6 months), I would be lying if I said I haven't considered using it again. A man with as many ideas as me needs all the help he can get when trying to turn those ideas into reality, and between Round 10, Zimildran, Dreams of a Dying God, and a certain other, unnamed gaming project, I have a lot of opportunities for help. Namely in the illustration department.

Start the Year with some (more) Self Assessment

Well here we are; 2014. Eight years after I graduated from high school, almost nine years since I started working at Target, and going on twenty two years of living in Brainerd. When I look at things like that, it's easy to get a little disheartened. However, with the way things have been going lately, I feel much more inclined to believe that they will only go upwards from here on out.

I am a published author. I am an independent game designer. While neither have been 'successful' from a sales standpoint, at least they're out there. I am a wellspring of ideas, and I find myself having to pull back the reigns when cataloging my aspirations for future projects. I want to start working on all of them right now, and I want to see them all through to fruition. If only I had a team of me's.