On Forwardness

 So much has happened since I last posted. It has been a trip. First, I FINISHED MY DEGREE and a very short time later I got a new job. It isn't related to writing (systems engineer), but it pays the bills. Happiness is: not worrying about where the next gas top-up comes from.

Then, I started playing in a new RPG campaign. That's coming up on two years running once a week and has been fun. As a writer, I've always seen the value in being part of these shared story experiences, but I also see how difficult it can be to fit in your own character's "narrative" at all, let alone at an appropriate moment.

After that, some people in China started getting sick and the world was thrown upside down. I can't believe that's an ongoing thing, yet here we are with a year under our belts and the world is still as it was. I've been working from home since, delineating between "work" and rest under my own schedules (sort of).

Writing has been so far from my mind as I've adjusted to much of that, but I've started entering competitions to push myself a little. Some of them are on websites where other entrants can read and give feedback, which is always a good thing. It helps having people give you a touchstone as to how you're doing.

My most ambitious project was entering a competition for a substantial prize. I didn't expect to win, but I'd hoped to get some really strong feedback from others: Not a peep. I always panic when that happens.

In relation to my RPG stuff, I do create little rules supplements for my favourite games and share them online. I don't expect people to pay (although that option is there), but it's nice when someone does. Sadly, that is a rare treat, but even more rare is for people to leave reviews. I know there's the old addage, "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," but that isn't useful for helping others build on their craft. 

So, where possible, I will leave constructive criticism. Mostly, I try to point out places where a story can get confusing. Not every reader is going to be a sophisticated reader, and you have to write for that. I'm just as guilty of this as others.

And that's where I am. I'm coming back to writing, slowly but surely, and I'll be pen wrangling a lot more as I do.