I revised my Suggestion Schedule to account for some problems my initial iteration had. Throughout February I got so much more done, wrote many more scenes, worked out a greater number of world building articles. It wasn’t perfect, and it did suffer from a few days of ‘I just need a break’ where I did almost nothing off my list, but it was one of my most productive months in a long time.
It’s not perfect. I didn’t publish any blog posts or watch any movies. So I’m still tweaking and revising the process as I’m continuing.
Projects
My focus on The Colonel Lieutenant paid off, as I’ve worked out a lot of the issues and sequence of events that have been plaguing me and added a few key scenes. Now I’m at the point where I’m sitting down to write out the rest of the scenes and see if they work. The same with Orcfyre.
I’ve been writing scenes for the 1st Minnesota book, and it’s fun to finally get this one to the page. It’s also a bit nerve racking. I’ve had this project on my mind for over a decade, and I’ve researched it and investigated, yet I also know how much more I could research. To finally get words down and start seeing things take shape is to challenge the perfect story I’ve had in my head.
Other projects are coming along. With the suggestion schedule, I’ve advanced everything, and figured out a number of stories that I’d been stuck on or indecisive about.
March Goals
- The Colonel Lieutenant: Write Ten Scenes
- Orcfyre: Finish One Act
- 1st Minnesota: Finish One Act
- Other Projects: Finish One World Building / One Scene Each
- Publish One Blog Post
Books
- The Bearer of the Black Staff (Fiction)
- The Great ‘What Ifs’ of the American Civil War’ (Non-Fiction)
- War and Peace (Fiction, Audiobook)
- Seven Basic Plots (Research)
- Mr. Lincoln’s Army (Non-Fiction)
I finished two books in February.
The Bearer of the Black Staff was okay. It was several centuries after the last section of books in this series, and it’s more of a fantasy novel than post-Apocalyptic. But it just wasn’t very exciting. I’m really hoping when I get back into the Shannara books that I read back in Middle School that they’re better than I remember.
The other, The Great ‘What If’s’ of the American Civil War, I found really disappointing. It brought up a lot of interesting questions and possibilities, but the discussion about what could have happened fell really flat. There were only a handful of bits of information I thought were interesting enough to remember; the rest wasn’t enough to record. Oh well, I can’t love every book I read.
Still plugging away at War and Peace and Seven Basic Plots, which are both large books (and remember, I’m taking notes on Research books like Seven Basic Plots, so it’s slow going). On the plus side, I’m over halfway done with both, so downward slope.
March Goals
- Finish one fiction book
- Finish one non-fiction book
- Ten chapters of Seven Basic Plots
Movies/Shows
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
- Starfleet Academy
- Stargate SG1
- Foundation Season 1
- Star Trek Discovery (Rewatch)
To start with, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is fantastic. I loved it. A short-scope story of a knight making a name for himself at a tournament, with great supporting characters and amazing drama. The first GOT show I really got into and look forward to rewatching. I recommend this show to everyone.
I continued through several episodes of Starfleet Academy, which I continue to enjoy. It’s not the greatest Star Trek show, but it could be a lot worse. I also re-watched the first four-seasons of Discovery so I can knock Season 5 out and finish that show off.
To my surprise, I didn’t watch any movies this month. I thought I would get down for one or two, but time and other projects got away from me. Oh, well.
March Goals
- Watch Three Movies
- – One Missing Best Picture Winner
- – One ‘Background’ Movie
- Finish Three Seasons of TV Shows
- – One Season I’ve started and Haven’t Finished
- – One of a Series I want to Finish
Games
- Surviving Mars: Relaunched
- Star Trek Voyager – Across the Unknown
- Horizon: Forbidden West
- Hogwarts: Legacy
Star Trek Voyager – Across the Unknown is inspired by the 90’s television show of the same name. It is a procedural game where you command the starship USS Voyager as it travels thousands of light years across the galaxy to return home. I really like this game. Not only does it take from various storylines of the show, but it gives you ways to experience the storylines differently, to see different outcomes and different endings. And since the game generates different maps and sequences, you’re never going to play the same game twice.
RPG-wise, I recently ran a playtest of Delta Green as a World War 2 Commando game, with heavy combat. It went really well. The players all had fun, and though there were casualties, it felt like a World War 2 battle. Well, at least like a movie of a WW2 battle. Maybe I’ll revisit the system in the future.
March Goals
- Don’t worry about playing more or less. Just enjoy the games you play.
What’s Next
I’ve got two events coming up in the next few months. I have a table at Minicon 59, and I should have a table at Quantum-Con 4, I’m just waiting for confirmation. Even if I don’t have a table at Quantum-Con, I’ll be heading there for at least some of the convention as an attendee.
Minicon 59 – April 2 to 5, 2026
Doubletree Bloomington.
Quantum-Con 4 – May 15 to 17, 2026
Crowne Plaza Minneapolis, Plymouth