With the completion of my initial work on the Small Favor matrix and some freelance editing, I am taking a short break.

Of course, for me, "break" means I only work on one project, because I iz insaneymans.

But which. One. Spock? Which. One?



Lemme know, f-list. Taking you advice until tomorrow evening.

But for tonight: comicable books and wine, oh yes.

Latah!

Work Journal: 4 pages of longhand, legal pad notes on Small Favor. This brings us up to 90% of the text.

ALSO...

From this post, I have closed out the following TO DO items:

4. Zorcerer of Zo-based fairy tales: EXCEPTION: Must write one as present for somebody's birthday. RESEARCH DONE.

6. Script Collaboration: Final draft done; patricks is submitting to contests and whatnot.

Now, I print sumfing out and start dinner.

Just a quick update... all of my current projects are still live, I've tried to service them all a bit this past week... and it's sucking the juice out of me.

Here's what I'm gonna do with them, so as not to go insane.


1. Local gamma playtests of Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies: One down, at least three or four more to go, switching in different players and characters. Try to set next session up for late April. Rewrite handout.

2. Gamma draft revision of the S7S manuscript: Can't be done until local gammas are done. Stop thinking about it until after playtests to free up headspace.

3. Research and analysis on Small Favor: Finished re-read of book. Starting the actual note-taking tonight.

4. Zorcerer of Zo-based fairy tales: Stalled in mid-tale, most due to fatigue. Stop thinking about it until after I can get back to novel; free up headspace. (EXCEPTION: Must write one as present for somebody's birthday.)

5. Incipient novel: One chapter written. (Stop thinking about it until after Small Favor work is done to free up headspace.)

6. Script Collaboration: First draft done. Awaiting comments from trusted readers. Revise/Edit/Trim/Tighten for upcoming contests.

7. Providing feedback to authors/game designers: Reducing this, unless one or more of three things is involved -- friendship, a PDQ licensee, or cold hard cash.

8. Freelance editing work: Do one more night's worth of work on prep docs beginning of next week, then ignore until the document to be edited hits my inbox.

9. Other low-impact projects I can't remember: If I can't remember them, they're unimportant, so I'm erasing the vague bookmarks point into mystery that are squatting in my skullmeats.

Thus, the actual To Do List becomes, in rough order:
A. SmF notes: Start tonight.
B. Get feedback on script; revise: As it happens.
C. Get info for a Zo Tale for present: This weekend.
D. Finish editing prep docs: Monday or Tuesday.
E. S7S Gamma Playtests: Revise handout late next week, start nosing around for interest in an end-of-month session.



Well, that almost cut it in half.

Also: Find time to sleep, somewhere in there.

To aid my own sanity and time-management, here's the list of freelance projects I'm currently juggling (note, please, I am not including day-job stuff or social stuff):

1. Gearing up to run several local gamma playtest sessions of Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, to test out rules changes made through the beta playtests. After I get feedback and testing on that...

2. ...moving onto the gamma draft revision of the S7S manuscript with lessons learned and general text-tightening/awesomifying. This will be sent out to peer reviewers for comment and gamma playtesters for testing.

3. I am still contributing to The Dresden Files RPG; the most important element of this will be my research and analysis on Small Favor, once I actually buy the book later this month.

4. I am writing Zorcerer of Zo-based fairy tales, with the aim of putting out a small fiction collection. Right now, I've written five -- "The Blue Tailor," "The Wooden Pirate," "The Witch Girl," "The Horse Prince," and "The Gingerbread Knight." I probably need at least five more (and art) to make a slim digest book.

5. I (apparently) have begun a novel, trading on two of my big interests: swashbuckling and mysticism. One chapter down.

6. I am collaborating on at least one (possibly three) movie scripts with a colleague.

7. I am providing feedback to other authors and game designers regarding their works on an ad hoc basis.

8. I will be picking up some freelance editing work for another Standards Developing Organization (SDO), in the interests of making money.

9. I am positive I have one or two other low-impact projects I cannot summon to mind right now.

That's the State of the Chad at the moment. I will be pondering how best to service all of these endeavors with regard to the limitations of time and attention.

If you are involved with any of the above listed projects, please take this as an explanation of why I may be a bit terse in responses.

Daniel Perez says nice things about me:

http://highmoonmedia.livejournal.com/125166.html

Also, last night, I wrote a new Zorcerer of Zo-related fairytale, as a birthday present for one of my girlfriends.

Given her response, I may do this for everybody's birthday this year.

Two benefits to this:
1. People get a personalized piece of prose art for their natal day.
2. I get another story for my eventual Tales of Zo collection (which I really want to finish before Xmas 2008 for pub in 2009).


EDITED TO ADD:

This is awesome on stilts:

Battle Scene! From SPIRIT OF THE SEASON