January 2022 - Update

Groundhog's Day in mid-Missouri

 “Life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future.”
—Seneca

Groundhog Day was a snowed-in event for many folks in the Midwest. Regardless of what a small groundhog may have witnessed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, we still have nearly 6 weeks of winter remaining. January proved to be effective for book two, and I’ve even thought of the ending of the Rune Cycle. I’ll explain more on that a bit later.

I’ve considered a putting together a five-year plan for my business. Several nations have used such plans, but to their detriment due to the plan’s rigidity for a large society. On the other hand, five-year plans in any career, at least from my experience, offer a clear idea of where you are going. Writing is fun, and it is a business. Writing the words down is obviously very important, but web management, art direction, advertising, in-person meetings, editing, and promotion of the work is arguably just as important.

Highlights for January:

• Progress on the first draft of The Blighter’s Shadow continued. I got approximately 8,000 words down, which wasn’t as much as I had hoped, yet I am reaching the end of a story arc in book two.
• I reached the end of the trilogy, at least in my mind. I had been toying with various endings, but I am confident this ending is the final one. Writing, for me, is an exploration, even with an outline prepared. Sometimes the character takes me in directions I didn’t plan on, and that is one of the best parts of the writing process.
  • With that in mind, though, the trilogy’s ending could still change — I may begin keeping a list of the endings I think of before I start Book 3, as I find these types of behind-the-scenes formats cool in other forms of entertainment such as films with deleted scenes.
• I have begun thinking about the aforementioned five-year plan. Look for my plan in the near future.

Inspirations:
I am inspired by games, as they create a place for friends and family to join together for an afternoon or evening. Players can work together to defeat the game itself, such as Pandemic Legacy: Season 1, solve a mystery with Sherlock Holmes, or try to build one of the 7 Wonders.

My family and I play games on a regular basis, and we have many in our collection that we’ve added to over the last twenty years. We are approaching 400 games, which may seem excessive to non-gamers, but we have a game for almost any interest or genre. Solo games, cooperative games, such as Pandemic, 2-player games, legacy-style games, and many other games for 2 or more people are commonly played in my household.

I am inspired by board (as well as card and role-playing) games because of the ingenuity it takes to simply create a game. Wingspan is a newer game developed by Elizabeth Hargrave in the last five years; it has become a huge success in the gaming community and with those who enjoy nature/birding. You can hear a short interview about the game here. I highly recommend Wingspan!

I am also fascinated at where the gaming industry has gone in the last 20 years. Realistically, the gaming industry has exploded beyond the classics, such as Scrabble (which is still an excellent game), to the multitude you may find in your local gaming shop.

Games have inspired me enough that I even created a board game for the Rune Cycle. You’ll see characters enjoying it throughout the story. Games have been with humans for millennia, and my addition adds more to the world-building aspect. Who knows — perhaps I’ll adapt the Rune Cycle game for you to play some time!

Even board game companies have a five-year plan. Stonemeier Games, for example, recently released their five-year plan and it is really interesting to see what they plan on accomplishing. They’ve produced some of the newer games you may not have heard of and my family enjoys many of their selections. If you’re interested in their plan, check it out here. 

Winter at my homestead.