Advice From Brandon Sanderson & A Trifecta of Game Dev News

It's been a very interesting month since I did my last blog post, and I'm very excited about what's going on right now. Clarity is needed, and so shall it be given.

In gaming news/the development world:


I've been shocked with great news in the Games Industry twice in the past week. The first was the return of Richard Garriott to his roots with his new game project on Kickstarter.

Then, secondly this news bit about my other favorite legend in MMO game development history, Brad McQuaid. He has gone full circle, and is now back on EverQuest after twelve years away from the game that blew the online gaming industry into the cosmos.

This news, coupled with the forthcoming of Elder Scrolls Online, Camelot Unchained (Mark Jacob's new game) and EverQuest Next unveiling, it's truly an exciting year for me. Especially now that I've meshed myself in the industry I loved to follow so closely growing up. If you see a ton of fanboy esque posts over the next number of months, I apologize in advance, but I know it will be impossible to contain the excitement that this brings bubbling to the surface.

In the writing world:

I've been refining the first draft of my book, and am down to three final plot points to write through, and have been studying up on the various publishing options available. I've yet to make a decision as to which way I would like to go as of yet, as there is so much information to sift through and so many more questions to find answers to.

I made it out to meet Mr. Brandon Sanderson at a local book signing, and got some absolutely great advice from him. I put forth the question, "When you were starting out, how did you go about finding an agent, or approaching publishers with your first manuscript?"

This was his response:
"When you 'finish' the first draft of that first manuscript, write something else for a while, and then come back to the draft with fresh eyes. At least a month later, and read through it from start to finish. Never write a sequel when you are starting out. I wrote thirteen books before being published, all stand alone books, no sequels attached to existing works/universes."

He then went on to talk about his experience with publishers, and recommended the folks over at Jabberwocky Books

He offered a plethora of other great advice & direction. In closing, I leave you with this last bit of advice that was shared. Oddly enough, I felt this kind of applies to Game Design as well:

Learn what camp you are in as a writer

• Exploratory
• Exploratory writing is usually for those that like to just start writing and see where the story goes, without much of a game plan or set path for the story to take.
• Out-liner
• Out-liner writing is more for those that like to know where the story will start and end, as well as what important people/places/things will appear throughout.

Brandon's POD Cast can be found here.

Itching

I'm itching to share what I've been working on so hard for the past month and a half, but I have to keep reminding myself not to get ahead of the train. It's distracted me to the point of consuming my thoughts for full days at a time, of what can I share or not share, so to prevent myself from entering an infinite loop of non-productive work periods, I will leave the sharing well enough alone for the time being. Instead, I will be focusing on my research into conventional publishing, and self publishing.

It seems to be a subject that lacks clear information for those seeking it, muddied by the age of technology and a system that is yet struggling to catch up with the modern desires of the populous. I want to open this topic up to discussion to the readers as well. If you have thoughts or suggestions on the subject, please feel free to post them in the comments.

Similarly, I may run an article or two on the subject of Independent Game Development, and the age of crowd funding. It has swept through the games industry, both digital and traditional (board games), and has lit a new creative fire under the feet of many who thought their dreams would never see the light of day because they could not find a publish/company that would help their product get to market.

I look forward to discussing these in further detail, and posting my findings going forward on both subjects.

First up:
Self publishing. Pitfall or new forum for success? Let the research begin.

Why I Do What I Do

OK, so today THQ, or at least part of its assets, were sold. The remainder it seems will remain a part of their ongoing Chapter 11 case. Yet again a pang of pain hit me deep in my creative heart for an industry that has been bled to the brink over the past few years with no end in sight. It got me thinking about how badly I wanted to be in the creative sector, firstly by choice in games, or secondly as a writer. It's not easy deciding to go for a career that most people deem unviable, and often causes many sleepless nights when pondering the reasons why we should do what we do.

The question crept into my mind again as I read the article, and realized that a plethora of ultra talented creative people were not going to have jobs yet again, why would I want to try to make a career out of something as unstable as games or writing? It threatened to steal away my creative drive for the day.

Enough was enough, I had to remind myself that there is nothing else I would rather do. I started reminding myself of the joyous feeling I had when I got my first job in the industry, and the extensive happiness that has followed since. Working on my writing career currently has kept me sane in an otherwise terrible situation of unemployment, and has given me hope that in fact, I CAN accomplish my goals and dreams.

The lesson through this today is:
Remind yourself why you do what you do. Remind yourself to dream, and shrug of the bad stuff that happens. If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way. There's no end to what the creative mind can achieve once it has been let free. Sure there are a lot of questions about where to go next, or what to do next, but the simple fact remains, your mind is your own and nobody can take that away. Build on your dreams until they become a reality. For me, there is no other option. I have to create. I can't survive doing anything other than something creative. I would go insane.

I truly wish all of those affected by the sale/closure of THQ as a company all the best in their future endeavors, and I hope that those that are out of work will land on their feet and chase their dreams into tomorrow and beyond.

All the best stuff is yet ahead of us as a creative collective, I truly believe that.

Late Nights & Writing - What do they have in common?

I often find myself up late in the evening when I'm focused on anything creative, whether I'm writing a new story, or simply trying to scribble down some notes on an idea I had for a board game, or trying to sketch out a rough idea for a world map. I will find myself restlessly tossing and turning when I know I should be sleeping, as I have to be up at a decent hour for some reason or another, but will be unable to get a proper sleep until I get up and hammer out whatever idea is bouncing around in my brain.

This brought me to the conclusion that a restless mind for me is often the result of a creatively anxious mind. It's like dry tinder to an open flame. Once it starts burning, it must be wholly consumed before the flame is satisfied and can then flicker out and rest.

For those that would ask:

"What would you recommend trying?" 

I would answer with this:

I keep a variety of writing/doodling supplies close at hand for when I wake up in the middle of the night and feel the need to get something down on paper, or simply can't get to sleep until I get it out of my head.

With that said, it's now time for another story snippet.

   She burst from the trees onto the rutted road, paused to gain her bearings, then headed south at a full run. Wildlife scurried in and out of the trees all along the road as she ran, as if running from a forest fire. Another thunderous boom sounded up through the valley, and another flash of light lit the sky above Barroville. It was not long before dawn now, and the trees on either side of the road gave way to farmland as she rounded a bend in the road, the town walls now in sight. There were people everywhere on the road here, running from the gates. Men, women and children, farmers with their livestock, merchants and their carts, all trying to get away from the town as fast as they could. A sea of torches and lanterns flooded out from the village. Shouts and screams echoed over the walls regularly now that she was in earshot, and she noticed that most of the people fleeing had not even paused to change from their night garments. She shouldered her way through the throngs of people as quickly as she could without pushing them out of the way, working against the flow towards the gates.

Character Development

Most of my writing time over the past few days has been swallowed up with revamping one of the characters in the story, and figuring out the direction I want to take with it. I was trying to blast through more of the novel, where the character really comes into her own, and is fully revealed to the reader, when I became stuck. I realized that there were at least half a dozen directions I could take her story, and each one affects the overall direction of the story later on.

So, yesterday and today, I began mapping out those paths on paper, and decided I needed to find the most supporting path I could. I knew who the character was, but I didn't fully understand how her role fit into the story past a certain point. Then it dawned on me that often times the best bits of a story, are the ones you don't expect.

With a new direction in mind now, I am once again starting to make headway towards the end of the book.
One of the things that helped me to figure out what was missing with this character, was the following exercise:

Answer the following questions about the character you are currently focused on developing:

Who
   Who is this character?
Where
   Where did/does this character come from?
What
   What is this character's purpose to the story? What is it doing?
Why
   Why is this character doing what they are doing?
How
   How will this character do what they need to do? How will it accomplish its overall goal?

The other thing I had to remind myself, is that this is a supporting character, and not to get sidetracked too much from the main vein of the story with her. It was necessary to have a section that focused just on advancing her presence and meaning to the overall novel however, and thus the quandary came.

Sadly, I do not have a snippet to share today, but will hopefully have one tomorrow.

When It Clicks

There's no greater feeling than when something just clicks, and you are able to hammer through a pile of work without any real effort. I finished up today's quota and then some with relative ease, and am pleased with the progress. It was a gorgeous day outside my window as well, and I happily soaked up the sunshine.
I'm officially into the teens with the chapters now, and am thrilled with how the story is developing.

Tomorrow I'm working more on developing one of my favorite characters, and can't wait to share a bit about her. With that, here is a snippet from Chapter Thirteen.

   The hermit walked toward the lake from his secluded cabin in the forested hills near the Shimmering Tear. The morning was crisp, the sun glistened off the surface of the water and the snow on the ground, and birds chirped in the trees all around him. He soaked it all in, basking in the beauty of a new day. He crested a small hill before the final descent to the shoreline, and stopped in his tracks as he spotted a woman’s body half ashore and half in the water. Small waves from the light morning breeze lapped around her, slowly pushing her up on the gravel. He rushed to her side and checked to see if she was alive. Finding a pulse, he quickly pulled her the rest of the way up onto the shore.

   “Ah, good. I’m not too late,” he said to himself as he worked to resuscitate her.

Brain Sludge

Today was a bit of a longer one, as I was battling through a thick layer of brain sludge that was attempting to keep my thoughts from flowing. I'm glad to say I prevailed against it with more coffee, a large dose of sunshine, and some fresh air. Chapter Twelve will be wrapped up within the hour, and with that I give you yet another snippet from this addition to the novel. I've altered these snippets slightly to hide the characters names, as I am not yet ready to reveal them. Soon.

   A scraping noise from behind alerted him. He spun to find another guard, the remnants of one at least, half out of the water at the far end of the pier. It dug its fingernails into the boards and clawed itself the rest of the way up onto the wooden planks.

   “We’ve got another one here,” he shouted as he put his back to his friend's and faced off against the approaching second guard. Its chest was torn open, and its entire upper body leaned to the side; eyes vacantly gazing at its prey.

   “Is there no end to this,” cried out the third companion as she fired her arrow at the corpse that had pulled itself out of the water?

   The guard grunted as the arrow slammed into its left thigh, and without flinching or pausing, lumbered on.

   “They’re Undead,” he yelled in reply.