I knew I wanted to utilize Jonathan Coulton’s “Thing a Week” idea. Of course, if he got stuck, he could do a cover or two. I can’t do a cover because, in writing, that’s either plagiarism or copyright infringement (or, of course, it could be both if I were really stupid about it).
I don’t have the time or energy to actually work on the book right now (other than just jotting down notes here, sometimes writing a few thousand words there when, or if, I have some extra time or I find myself awake at 2am). I could write a chapter of the book at a time, but that’ll just land me back int he same spot I was in a few years ago (not knowing what I had written previously, and just being generally out of touch with the entire piece).
And I am not a big fan of short stories (don’t particularly like reading them, don’t particularly like writing them), so a story a week? That’s right out.
I could do a blog post a week… but I’m trying to make this a more substantive blog that talks about larger issues and bigger decisions around me, which means those posts would because essays. Do I really want to tackle a big issue, and write an essay, every week? No.
So, what to do?
I’ve been on an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (the old school first edition) kick as of late. I found my old books (you know, the Player’s Manual, the Dungeon Master’s Guide, etc.) as I’ve been cleaning things up in preparation for the baby. Instead of selling them, I decided to keep them and collect the ones I was missing (I never actually owned a Monster Manual, as odd as that might seem, and I always wanted a copy of Deities and Demigods with Cthulhu and Elric in it).
But I really wasn’t sure why I was collecting them. I can’t see getting the chance of playing again soon (not for many, many years), but I knew they were useful as reference material for fantasy settings.
And that’s when it dawned on me.
I created a relatively generic fantasy setting called “Northwing” about 20 years ago. I’ve never really done anything with it, so why not pull it out (I still have the stuff I had begun to create in that setting) and create 52 “things” from that? Creatures, characters, locales? And have them adhere to AD&D rules?
Why not?
I gives me a chance to build up a world I never really started (much less finished) working on, gives me a creative outlet, and keeps me on a schedule.
No, it’s not hugely creative, I agree. But it does let me get my hands typing, and allows me to play with building a fantasy world that might be useful at some other point.
So, in the next few weeks, I’ll start this up. I’ll probably find a way to separate it out from the regular blog posts, but I will find a way to have an organized posting system for it and focus on creating a fleshed-out world for Northwing.
It’s kind of exciting to think about.
I honestly think I’ll start with an arctic lizard:
Gotta love The Mighty Boosh.
That’s enough for me today. Back to eBaying stuff. Enjoy the last bit of your snow day if you were lucky enough to have one.
UPDATE (3/14/10): Yeah, I’m not going to do this. I need to focus my time on writing my own stuff. While Northwing is original, AD&D isn’t. Guess it’s going to end up being essays, then. :)
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I need to write something…
I need a regular writing project of some sort.
I’ve been debating this for a while.
I knew I wanted to utilize Jonathan Coulton’s “Thing a Week” idea. Of course, if he got stuck, he could do a cover or two. I can’t do a cover because, in writing, that’s either plagiarism or copyright infringement (or, of course, it could be both if I were really stupid about it).
I don’t have the time or energy to actually work on the book right now (other than just jotting down notes here, sometimes writing a few thousand words there when, or if, I have some extra time or I find myself awake at 2am). I could write a chapter of the book at a time, but that’ll just land me back int he same spot I was in a few years ago (not knowing what I had written previously, and just being generally out of touch with the entire piece).
And I am not a big fan of short stories (don’t particularly like reading them, don’t particularly like writing them), so a story a week? That’s right out.
I could do a blog post a week… but I’m trying to make this a more substantive blog that talks about larger issues and bigger decisions around me, which means those posts would because essays. Do I really want to tackle a big issue, and write an essay, every week? No.
So, what to do?
I’ve been on an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (the old school first edition) kick as of late. I found my old books (you know, the Player’s Manual, the Dungeon Master’s Guide, etc.) as I’ve been cleaning things up in preparation for the baby. Instead of selling them, I decided to keep them and collect the ones I was missing (I never actually owned a Monster Manual, as odd as that might seem, and I always wanted a copy of Deities and Demigods with Cthulhu and Elric in it).
But I really wasn’t sure why I was collecting them. I can’t see getting the chance of playing again soon (not for many, many years), but I knew they were useful as reference material for fantasy settings.
And that’s when it dawned on me.
I created a relatively generic fantasy setting called “Northwing” about 20 years ago. I’ve never really done anything with it, so why not pull it out (I still have the stuff I had begun to create in that setting) and create 52 “things” from that? Creatures, characters, locales? And have them adhere to AD&D rules?
Why not?
I gives me a chance to build up a world I never really started (much less finished) working on, gives me a creative outlet, and keeps me on a schedule.
No, it’s not hugely creative, I agree. But it does let me get my hands typing, and allows me to play with building a fantasy world that might be useful at some other point.
So, in the next few weeks, I’ll start this up. I’ll probably find a way to separate it out from the regular blog posts, but I will find a way to have an organized posting system for it and focus on creating a fleshed-out world for Northwing.
It’s kind of exciting to think about.
I honestly think I’ll start with an arctic lizard:
Gotta love The Mighty Boosh.
That’s enough for me today. Back to eBaying stuff. Enjoy the last bit of your snow day if you were lucky enough to have one.
UPDATE (3/14/10): Yeah, I’m not going to do this. I need to focus my time on writing my own stuff. While Northwing is original, AD&D isn’t. Guess it’s going to end up being essays, then. :)