Well, kids, I’m back.
Truthfully, I didn’t mean to be gone for as long as I have been. Time sure flies when you’re doing all sorts of stuff. We’re all moved in, so that’s a good start. Please don’t think my lapse in posting here represents a true lapse in writing. True, my output’s been down as I hesitantly find my feet on Twitch.tv, but less is not the same thing as none.
I’ve finally given my Patrons (thanks guys!) the rough draft of the first-person writing exercise I’ve been talking about. A bit of revision and worldbuilding decision making is necessary to get that post ready for the general public, but what began as a simple bit of practice developed into a snapshot of a character that I actually really like. He’s an adventury type, and I’d probably cast Harrison Ford to play him (if I’m being honest). Most importantly, he’s a realist (read “skeptic”) in a fantasy world riddled with monsters and, well, riddles. This vignette sees him escaping a forest haunted by bipedal, reptilian monsters called Skelops who were guarding a site sacred to the Church Kari and Tomas walk by in Vacen. Not that church in particular, mind you, but the greater organization it is a part of. I don’t want to spoil too much about what that artifact is or why it’ll get our protagonist paid, but know that there’s a little wikipedia page written about it in my head already, including controversies.
The next vignette I’ll be working on will be the first one I started, from the perspective of an actual magic user. Now, the magic that Kari and Tomas will be learning is not the same as the magic used by the Church, but this story will be about a new priest who understands the fundamentals (sidebar: my terminology here is far from final; I’ll be developing my own system and naming conventions for how the organization I’m currently rendering “The Church” functions and things. It’s structured like the Catholic Church, though, so that’s why I’m borrowing the terminology). Truth be told, though, I’ve made almost no decisions as to the specifics of her powers or anything like that. That’s the point of this vignette, though, is to force me to!
Another piece of the changes that have been happening over the last couple of weeks is the realization that until I have a firm financial base for my writing, the writing isn’t the actual job—the social media is. It is to that end that I have begun using my Twitch account. Although I haven’t yet found a smooth way to do this, the goal in streaming is to drive traffic to my writing. In truth, before I really try to drive traffic to TSWL and related projects, I need to get its blog ready for the public eye. Yes, I have been saying that for probably two straight months now. If I stop saying it, it’ll truly never happen.
And now, allow me to close by thanking you. Yes, you, dear reader. Every time you click on one of my links and read these words, you’re validating all of this scattered effort which I put into this project every day. Just by witnessing my process and my efforts, you’re lending them significance and urging me to continue. You’ve heard other internet personalities say they define themselves by their numbers, and I regret to inform you that that is roughly 98% of us content creators. The other 2% are liars. So thank you for your clicks, thank you for your time; I hope you know what it’s worth to me.
Umbrella Terms 