15 June Writing Update

Today was productive, even though I only had time to work on one thing.  My wife is out of town for the next couple weeks, so I should have more time to devote to projects like this.

Writing accomplishments:

• Finished my two draft Carcosa hexes, along with some rumors, and a new monster.  Uploaded all that to our master Google doc.  One of my other collaborators will call dibs on a couple more hexes tomorrow he says, and I hope to hear back from the other soon as well.

Tomorrow my goal is to -- if I hear back from both -- lay claim to a couple more hexes and begin work on those as well as get started on a more detailed outline for the Assassins novel.  Need to finish brainstorming that, but that will come along with the more detailed outline.

14 June Writing Update

The last few days have been pretty productive, even if they haven't directly led to a vast amount of new wordcount.

Writing accomplishments:

• Had a great meeting on Thursday with my writing partner.  We traded comments on each other's new chapters.  I like where both novels are (we have 10-11k for each written so far, with a goal of 100k for each; each is therefore 10-11% completed).  I think this meeting and new verbiage -- after an extremely long hiatus -- is exactly what we needed to rejuvenate our interest in both projects.
• I have turned around my draft to him incorporating his comments and tonight I began brainstorming and initial research on my next chapter (for the other novel, since we trade off each time).  This next chapter I write is going to be a cool action chapter set mostly in a small castle on the Isle of Wight, and if it comes off well, will be something straight out of a James Bond movie.
• Wrote out one fairly complete Carcosa hex (the project has 18 total, though my two collaborators will do some of them) as well as a handful of rumors.

My goals for tomorrow are to continue researching, outlining, and brainstorming the novel chapter as well as complete a second Carcosa hex.

10 June Writing Update

Writing accomplishments today:

• Finished chapter two of the collaborative novel.  It's ok.  It's a little too workman-like, and first they did this, then this, then this, for my liking, but hey, it's done.  Commented on my partner's chapter four of the other novel.  That's good stuff.  I am liking what he put together there and looking forward to picking up where he left off.

Tomorrow (Thursday):

• Have my novel meeting, which should only inspire me on these projects.  Need to read up on the other two novel projects so we can brainstorm about those in greater detail.  It's been a loooong time since I've looked at or thought about those.
• Will hopefully put some words down on the Carcosa project.

9 June Writing Update

I haven't been updating this sucker as frequently as I would like, but then again, there hasn't been a great deal of progress on the writing front anyway.

Writing accomplishments of the last couple days:

• Nearly finished the draft of chapter two of one of the four (!) collaborative novels I am working on with a partner.  Only two of the four are actively being worked on.  The other two are just at the conceptual stage.  We had been working diligently on these last summer, but they have been on hold since August 2008 because of our school responsibilities.  We have restarted work on both and intend to put some wordcount in on each over the course of the next year, despite the fact that my partner will be in Germany doing research for a year.  Hopefully we can stick with them.  We trade off the two novels each month, each writing one chapter, so that both active books get a new chapter every month.  If we did this for a year, we'd probably be darn close to having two completed drafts.
• Put down a few words on my D&D setting/campaign.  Need to do more with that so I can run my wife through her first old school dungeon crawl before she heads off to California.

Tomorrow I plan to finish off chapter two of the collaborative novel I'm working on and send the draft off to my partner. If I still have some writing time left over, I need to put some words down on my joint Carcosa project.

28 May 2009 Writing Update

Haven't updated in the last few days because I've had very little of note to update. I have been continuing to read plenty of things (both academic and personal reading), just haven't been writing much.

Accomplishments/updates for the last few days:

• Received a few semi-cryptic comments back from my advisor on the dissertation chapter outline, but he commented on the first draft again rather than the second, which leads me to believe he mistakenly never read the second draft. Alas, I really did want some feedback on that. I'm going to shelve that for now and just press on, I don't want to get into the confusion with him.
• Made some progress on the Carcosa collaborative project. I have started a draft with all our ideas to date (not all that many thus far). We have decided to detail the Yathlogthotep Forest, a mostly unknown area of ten main hexes, though an additional eight hexes contain the fringes of the wood. We can't say all that much about eighteen hexes, as that is a pretty large area, but I think we can do some interesting things with it. My hope is that we can have something to submit -- assuming my two collaborators agree -- for the next issue of Fight On!. Submissions are due by June 27, so I think that gives us plenty of time.

My writing goals for tomorrow: work on Carcosa a bit and crack open those musty collaborative novel files and draft some additional wordcount on one of them.

24 May 2009 Writing Update

Had a pretty productive day today, writing-wise.

Today's writing accomplishments:

• Finished the second draft of my dissertation chapter outline/description (about 2200 words) and sent that off to my advisor. I am, as always, slightly apprehensive about how he will receive it.
• Extracted my notes from two books on elements I will want to add into the dissertation: one piece on linking sexuality with modernity and one on the Foucaultian notion of "discourse," both of which I think I'll want to include, probably in the first chapter.
  
• Put down a few words on Carcosa. I'll contact my new collaborators on Tuesday about my ideas.

My writing goals for tomorrow are minimal, as we have some friends coming over for a cookout at 3 PM (Memorial Day and all).

23 May 2009 Writing Update

Had a pretty productive day, and hey, this is the third day running I've updated this blog, which has to be a record.

Today's writing accomplishments:

• Finished the draft of the dissertation chapter outline. I haven't yet sent it off because I want to think about it a bit more tomorrow and do one final editing pass. We'll see how my advisor likes it. He's a tough critic.
• Have a second taker re: the Carcosa collaboration project. Told both I would get back to them in a day or two. Wrote up my initial thoughts on the project, and have a clear sense of what I'd like to propose to my collaborators, which is good. The more material I have in hand before talking with them, the better.
• Penned a few thoughts on Thoon, mainly on the deep history of the setting.

Tomorrow I hope to send off the dissertation chapter outline and write more on Carcosa. I still want to hit the collaborative novels, maybe I will open up those files and begin revisiting them.

22 May 2009 Writing Update

Not a vast amount of writing accomplished today, but some.

Today's writing accomplishments:

• Did some work on the dissertation chapter outline. One more good day of writing should finish out that draft, though I still need to answer some tough questions in my mind before I can put it to bed.
• Put a few words down on Thoon, though not as many as I'd like. Mainly some initial thoughts on its moons, which will give it a nice Flash Gordon vibe.
• Updated my personal writing wordcount tracker (spreadsheet) for 2009. I started doing this last year and its a nice record for posterity.
• Posted a note on the OD&D board asking if anyone would be interested in collaborating on a small Carcosa-related project: a joint hex/sandbox design. I have some ideas but would like a partner. Already had one taker (DuBeers), which is great. I have corresponded with him previously on my contribution to the free Carcosan Grimoire project.

Tomorrow I hope to finish the dissertation chapter outline draft and email that off, continue to get a few words on Thoon, and put some initial thoughts together on the Carcosa deal.

21 May 2009 Writing Update

This post isn't about books, instead it's about writing. I feel the need to start tracking my academic and personal writing output, and this is as good a place to do that as any. Not like anyone is reading this thing anyway.

Today's writing accomplishments:

• Began revising my dissertation chapter outline according to my advisor's comments from the other day. It was my impression that he just wanted some informal thoughts, but as with everything he reads, he asked a number of tough, hard-hitting questions that will cause me to do a fair amount of additional writing. Another day or (more likely) two of writing will put this second draft to bed.
• Completed and submitted my book review for On Point. If the one I did for them last year is any indication, I will receive no further information on the review. Presumably these suckers are published, because I've never actually seen a copy of the journal and my library doesn't stock it (nor do they provide electronic proofs).
• Put some initial thoughts down on Explorers of Thoon (c), the planetary romance setting I have been wanting to create for a while now. Think of it as a combination of E. R. Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series and Thundarr the Barbarian.
• A handful of discussion board posts on the Original D&D Discussion Board (my first on this board, though I have been lurking there for a while). The "Old School D&D Renaissance" has really caught my fancy of late. Too bad it took the deaths of E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson to bring old school D&D back to the front burner of everyone's attention.

So, all in all, not a bad day, writing-wise. Tomorrow I plan to do more work on the dissertation chapter outline, some more on Thoon, and maybe I'll even revisit the collaborative novels I am working on with JS.