A few months ago I was looking for ways to get more exercise.  I found myself standing around all day at work and then writing, painting, and playing Starcraft when I got home.  Needless to say, I was spending a lot of time in a chair, which is how a lot of Americans spend their time in the modern age (which must be why membership gyms keep popping up everywhere).  I tried jogging a few years ago, but to be honest, I just don’t like it.  It’s painful, and not so fun, unless I feel really good and full of energy.

I saw some people biking.  You know, those skinny people in the funny outfits, and thought, “Hey, that might be fun.”  So we went browsing state street and found a bike store.  Inside, stuffed in a corner, was this royal blue old street bike.  It even had blue tires!  I rode it around and to make a long story short, I found a new hobby.  I don’t know if I’m going to go buy those funny outfits that Calvin’s dad wears, or get all the latest gear (in another bike shop we visited, most of the bikes were around the $4,000.00 price tag!), but I really love riding around whenever I can.  I ride to work almost every day, and I can’t believe the amount of extra energy I suddenly have.  There are a ton of benefits to owning a bike, but I think the one I like the most is being able to spend more time outside that the few seconds it takes to run from my front door to the car.

Last weekend, my wife went on a “girl getaway” with my mom, sister, and aunt to California.  That meant that I was left with our eleven-month-old son.  He has never been away from his mother for more than a few hours, so you can imagine why I was worried.  Plus, I’ve never had to take care of him all by myself.  I learned one thing: taking care of a baby is a 24 hour job.  I usually go to bed around midnight, but after a day with the kid, I was finding myself crawling into bed around 10:20, and sleeping like a log!

It was some great daddy-son bonding time though.  He started saying “Ma ma ma ma!” for the first time (he usually says “Dada”).  He missed her and was asking for her.  I think he picked up a bunch of new words and habits while Mommy was gone.

The biggest change I noticed was within myself.  I found that I was thinking about him all day while I was at work, worrying like crazy.  And at night, I would get up four or five time to run in and check on him, just to make sure he was okay.  I worried about him all the time.  And now that my wife is back, I haven’t really.  I wonder if she feels like that all the time?  Is it some kind of motherly instinct that kicks in for fathers when the mother isn’t around?  I don’t know.  But I do know that I’m grateful I’m not doing this by myself.  I realized that a mom’s job is pretty tough.  So good job all you mothers out there!  You do it better than I do!

I read a small article by Terry Pratchett, my favorite author.  A couple of things he said struck a chord with me.  When he finishes a book and the bright, happy feeling starts to turn into despair, he immediately starts another.  Apparently, Douglas Adams said the same thing, though he didn’t follow his own advice.  So I’ve launched head first into my next project, because it’s true: every time I finish something, whether it be a board game or a book or anything else, I get the blues.  It’s a wonderful feeling to finish something.  Every time I feel like I can take the yoke off and take a breather.  But the feeling never lasts long.  I’m only happy as long as I’m on a journey, and even a few days without something to charge my mind and get me out of bed in the morning is too much.

I’m very excited about my next book.  The story already has a unique feel.  I’m writing about teenagers this time, in an Asian setting, and I hope this will appeal to a wider audience than The Mechanism.  It is certain to be much longer.  I’m aiming for at least 200,000 words, which is quite a jump from anything else I’ve written.

I’m not sure what the plan will be with this one, but I’m seriously considering just self publishing it in e-format.  The market is exploding, and is easier than ever.  The trick is to get an audience, which I’m not entirely sure how to do.  ”Write a good book,” is probably the best advice.

I’m trying a different approach to writing this one than anything else I’ve done.  On other projects, I’ve constantly been thinking about length and progress.  But this time, I want to treat the work as a painting: dabbing a bit here, working a bit there when I feel like it.  The goal this time is to have a fantastic piece of writing.  Hopefully I’ll enjoy the process more, and I’ll be really happy with the finished product.

The second chapter of The Mechanism is up.  Go check it out on www.eatyourserial.com!

I finished THE MECHANISM rewrite and today the first chapter is being published for free on www.eatyourserial.com.  I am so excited about this story.  Please check it out and tell your friends about it!

I’m very happy to say that I’m nearing the end of my rewrite for The Mechanism. I think this time around, everything is a lot better.  The story makes more sense.  The character motivations are more believable.  The writing is just easier to read.  The whole thing will be published soon on www.eatyourserial.com, and I’m excited to see what people think.  One thing I am happy about is that there are so many illustrations for the game (1-3 per chapter, which means there are around 40 pictures for the whole thing).

And as that is nearing the end, I’ve been having to think about what to do next.  I am still in the middle of designing my board game Empires of the Void. I’m happy with where it is going, and it is sure to take up a bunch of my time until it is finished.  At this point, I really like the game, but I’m a little worried about the amount of downtime in the game.  For those not familiar, downtime is the amount of time players sit around, waiting for their turn, with nothing else to do but talk between themselves or plan.  Personally, I don’t hate downtime.  I find it to be a good opportunity to sit back and think, enjoy the company, or go to the kitchen for a snack.  But game design in general has been moving away from downtime, and people seem to like that.  I’m not sure that I really even need to address this issue, or that it would improve the game at all, but it is something to think about.  Perhaps I could make some of the actions simultaneous.  Or have “non-turn” actions.  I’ll have to try a few things.

I’ll post updates soon about where The Mechanism is going and where to read it.

It’s finally here!  The blog you’ve been waiting for!  This baby’s full of cool content relating to the strange and intriguing world of Blistworld.  As of now, I’m in the middle of writing The Mechanism, soon to be available from www.eatyourserial.com in a free, chapter-a-week format.  It’s a fun adventure complete with illustrations so stay tuned for updates.  For now, take a look around here.