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.

Late Post: Auditions

Hello again, readers! I missed the Wednesday post, so my apologies for that. My week has been quite busy, and so this and most other posts will be shorter in length for the next week or two.

The most noteworthy event during this week is the fact that I had another audition this last Wednesday evening, May 1st. The director is my Acting class instructor, so having that established familiarity with him as a person did wonders for my anxiety. I went in at 7:00pm, and I'm assuming that he really liked my performances since I was one of the last to leave, having been called back in for additional readings three times.

He said he should have the play fully cast by this weekend, so I should get an email Saturday or Sunday to let me know if I got the part or not. We shall see! I will say that I am very excited, and I'm trying to not expect a role, but rather just be happy with whatever feedback I get from him.

The Life of an Otter

Today I found I was far more stressed than I originally wanted to admit to myself, something I realized as I let the hot water of the morning shower pour over me. And, I found, as my morning went on, my stress only increased.

I had a research paper due on Monday, and I came to realize that the shape of my schedule from Friday morning through Sunday evening wasn't one to allow for much room to research, organize, write and revise said paper. On top of that I needed to begin preparing for my final speech, I needed to read through the scene my acting partner and I had landed on, and I came to realize that I was falling behind in my RPG writing, my blogging, and that the end of the semester was right around the corner, having snuck up on me with incredible speed.

These thoughts and more crowded my mind, and put me in a sour mood to start the day off. I don't like to toot my own horn, but I like the entertain the notion that I am not one to get easily stressed. I tend to take things as they come, a skill I've been working for the past few years, and it takes a bit before I start to lose sleep.

Luckily, though, two of my friends came forward to help ease my stress, through consistent joking, light-hearted shenanigans, and offering scheduling advice. What looked like a catastrophic mess of a weekend soon became a manageable situation, and I was beginning to mitigate my stress, all thanks to two of the most wonderful people I've had the pleasure of getting to know these past few months.

During speech class today, one of the students spoke about personality profiles, and outlined three basic personalities as described by animals. The lion, the otter, the beaver and the golden retriever. I recognized the person I used to be (the beaver), the person I wanted to be (the golden retriever) and the person I currently was (the otter) in her descriptions. One quality about the otter that stood out to me was that, as she claimed, "an otter will call anyone that they interact with at least two times their 'close friend'."

I saw that in myself right away. It's true, if we hang out together only a couple of times, if I have two different conversations with you that both seem to go relatively well, I often consider you a close friend. That label in no way diminishes the quality of those friendships I've shared for many years, it only helps define the lengths I'm willing to go to in order to 1.) get to know you better, and 2.) maintain our friendship. While I can't be 100% certain in this self-assessment, I feel that I get along well with most people, and unless our personalities clash in a particularly blatant way, I can often see myself becoming good friends with just about anybody.

Whether I've been going to your house since my early years in elementary school, or we just met this semester in one of my classes, or you're the friend of a friend who has hung out with me once or twice, or we've merely shared a place of employment for about a month or so, it is very likely that I see you as a friend, and I see the potential of a greater friendship there. When it comes to relationships, I tend to jump in feet first, plunge myself in whole-heartedly, and then see where it goes from there. Unfortunately, this means that I cannot get to know everyone as well as I'd like to, much to my dismay. Yet I do what I can for my friends and family, whether it's offering counsel via a message or phone call, showing encouragement over their chosen form of artistic expression, or simply sharing a few amusing stories and listening to how they're doing.

However, no matter how far I'm pushing in a relationship, I always feel I can push a little further. Am I overextending myself? Am I wasting my energy on too many relationships, exhausting myself emotionally, and will I only be met with disappointment? I will admit that sometimes it feels that way. Sometimes I feel like I'm giving too much or coming across too strong, but then I have evenings like I did on Thursday, or mornings like today, and I realize that for me to do any less would be a dishonest, dissatisfying use of my energy. It is my ultimate wish to experience as many people's stories as I can, to interact with as many people as possible, and to create and share memories everywhere. And boy do I have a long way to go as I bring that wish into reality.

Fleshing out Zimildran

I've been toying around with a lot of creative ideas around the Zimildran Module for my roleplaying game (see my Current Creative Projects page for more information). Even though I should be devoting most of my time to the Round 10 Core Rulebook, I can't help but think about the excitement the world of Zimildran gives me, and I know I have big plans for that book, when I get around to actually finishing it.

One thing I know I want to do is to flesh out the world of Zimildran more than simply what is presented as the roleplaying game. My original plan was to release a series of short stories for digital download, all based around characters in the Zimildran universe. Follow the gunslinger and bounty hunter Erik as he hunts down dangerous carnivorous dinosaurs in the wilds of Ukinda. Learn about the backstory of the Snowmarcher Hrothgar, and how he became an exile of his people. Uncover the mysteries of the druid-like Wardens, and find out what part they play in keeping the Elder Gods at bay.

All of these ideas and more flood to me, yet at the same time I feel like piecemeal fiction, while great, isn't entirely scratching the itch I have for bringing this world to life, and so another idea came to mind.

Rather than releasing something alongside, or just prior to, the Zimildran Module, why not create something original and insert it into the Module itself? Suddenly, ideas for a short comic book, an illustrated story that would grace the first few pages of the Module, complete with beautiful art and a compelling, if short, story, sprang into my head. I love this, although this would mean delaying the Module even further while I save up the money to pay an artist for the additional pieces.

Decisions, decisions. I should really just focus on tightening up and finishing the Core Rulebook, since without that there is no Zimildran Module. But God knows I can't keep my inspirations quiet all the time.

Daily Habits

Whenever conversations have taken a turn towards one of my hobbies, such as writing, sketching, or even Game Mastering an RPG session, it isn't rare for people to say something along the lines of "I'm a terrible artist," or "I can't write at all," or even "I could never run an RPG." I can't help but chuckle at these statements because of how misinformed they are.

Writing, as with most hobbies, isn't something you're born with. Anybody can learn how to cook, how to sing, how to play the guitar, how to skateboard, and how to write. These are skills, and it's true, while some may be born with natural talents in these areas, anybody can learn how to do them, and to do them well.

The key, and this is where most people fail, myself included, is consistent practice.

We live in an age of instant gratification. When I was growing up, it was common to wait minutes for a webpage to load, even if it was all text. And it was what I did. I'd click the link, and sit and wait while the page slowly came into view, often reading the information as it showed up on screen. Now, if the page takes longer than ten to fifteen seconds, most people close out and try again, or look for a different page. We are accustomed to instant information, to finding what we need as fast as we can hit the 'Enter' button, yet it is my firm belief that this technology is being poorly misused. Yet that is a subject for a different blog post.

If you want to get better at something, anything, all you need to do is practice it. Work it into your routine, schedule your time around it, make time for it and hold yourself accountable to it. Whether its physical exercise, budgeting, academic preparation, or creative writing, all you need to do is be willing to devote the necessary time.

I have these skills in sketching and writing because I did them when I was young. I started as a child and kept the hobbies up throughout my prime development years, into high school, and after. Now, in my adult life, I find that I don't continue the hobbies as often as I'd like, and because of this my confidence in them has fallen. I can still sketch, but it takes me a while before I feel good about my artistic abilities to hammer out portraits and character concepts like I used to. I can write, but it takes a few days of straight fiction writing before I feel confident about my ability to tell a story.

Turn your desire into action and start writing daily. Keep a journal, and carry it with you at all times. I know how this sounds, and I know that a lot of us who aspire to be writers think "keeping a journal is amateur stuff, I'm ready for more than that." I know this because I thought this way just a mere year ago. However, I have since decided to take my own advice, and it has done wonders for my ability to get my thoughts out on paper. It has made me a better literary communicator and a better verbal communicator. There really is no downside to having a daily journal.

Writing also requires an acceleration period. This period varies in time from one person to the next, but generally you can expect it to be around thirty minutes. You can't sit down and expect to start writing your novel right away, and you can't expect every session to be equally effective, at least not at first. Having a daily journal, and writing in it for at least thirty minutes prior to working on your manuscript, is the perfect way to get your creative gears turning, to kick-start the part of your brain that works on literary communication, taking abstract thoughts and turning them into words on a page.

The same goes with any skill you put into practice. Instead of jumping right into your workout, stretch for a short while beforehand. Instead of starting your piece of artwork right after you get done with your work shift, instead sketch a few scrap drawings in a notebook. We want everything we do to be perfect the first time, yet that is not realistic. In fact, that frame of mind is a hindrance to achieving our true potential as artists. Recognize that consistent, scheduled practice is necessary to becoming better at something, and then go out and schedule that practice.