And with NaNoWriMo now kicking into gear, I’ve got another sale to help out my fellow creatives!
WThe Way With Worlds 1 ebook is on sale until November 7th! It’s a chance to get a little boost in your work and think over the world’s you’re building!
Like I said I’m not doing NaNo this year, so it’s my contribution. Still, let’s see about next year . . .
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Yes, it’s done! The Pizza Generator is complete and ready for your culinary randomization!
This one was another generator where I went in for really deep analysis, and I think it paid off. Pizzas are a complex business, and I found specific “pizza patterns” that guided the generator’s design. There were also more than I expected, which got a bit complicated.
With this I need a bit of a break from food generators. They’re fun, but surprisingly complex, and I think because I love to cook I tend to get into them really deep. I’m not done yet – I at least want to do a candy bar generator – but I’m gonna need a rest.
As for other generators, well I’ve got plans . . .
– Steve
I may not have time to participate in NaNoWriMo this year (I am writing, but not up for the challenge), but I figure I can make this contribution – my book “The Power Of Creative Paths” is on sale for this week! Hope that makes everyone’s life a bit easier.
Hope it helps out. Maybe I’ll participate next year.
To be honest, I sort of am envious people can participate. I usually have my book plans set out months or even a year in advance so I’d have to plan that. On top of it, NaNoWriMo seems more FUN when it’s fiction.
. . . or I could make a generator next NaNoWriMo. Hmmmm.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
It’s there, the Pizza Generator is in Beta!
I’d say it’s mostly done – at most I need to add some new ingredients, tweak the probabilities, maybe some formatting. So let me know what you think and go forth and pizza!
Here’s some samples:
- A pizza with Artichoke Hearts, Bannana, Romaine Lettuce, Capers, and Parsley, topped with Tandoori Sauce.
- A pizza with Capers, Zucchini, Roasted Fennel, Shredded Carrots, Bacon, Carnitas, Tuna, Salami, and Short Rib Meat, topped with Goat Cheese.
- A pizza with Chipotle Pepper, Pulled Pork, Sausage, Hot Dogs, and Jalapenos.
- A pizza with Meatballs, Salami, Prosiccuto, Steak, Chicken, and Basil.
- A pizza with Pinto Beans and Red Pepper, topped with Ricotta and Tomato Sauce.
- A pizza with Red Pepper and topped with Cheddar.
- A pizza with Romaine Lettuce, Almonds, and Kimchi, with White Sauce.
- A pizza with Tuna, Carnitas, and Meatballs, topped with Goat Cheese and Fontina.
- A pizza with Yellow Onion, White Onion, Capers, Romaine Lettuce, Pulled Pork, Buffalo Meat, Canadian Bacon, and Italian Spices.
- A pizza with Zucchini, Sauerkraut, Black Beans, and Roasted Fennel, topped with Havarti.
- A pizza with Bean Sprouts, Jalapenos, Tomatoes, Red Onion, Roasted Fennel, Hot Dogs, Clams, and Herbs De Province.
- A pizza with Buffalo Meat, Pepperoni, Tuna, Meatballs, and Parsley, topped with Mascarpone.
- A pizza with Carnitas.
- A pizza with Jalapenos, Bannana, Garbanzo Beans, Bacon, Chicken, Prosiccuto, Egg, and Cilantro.
- A pizza with Olives, Shredded Carrots, Butternut Squash, Chipotle Pepper, Roasted Fennel, Jalapenos, and Bannana Peppers.
- A pizza with Pickled Ginger, Yellow Onion, Black Olives, Red Pepper, Burdok Root, and Basil, topped with Paneer Sauce.
- A pizza with Pine Nuts, Pickled Garlic, Red Onion, Pulled Pork, Linguica, Buffalo Meat, and Tuna, topped with Goat Cheese.
- A pizza with Pinto Beans and Pineapple, topped with Fontina and Tandoori Sauce.
- A pizza with Salami, topped with Goat Cheese, Cream Cheese, and Mustard.
- A pizza with Steak, Butter Chicken, Canadian Bacon, and Ham, topped with Parmesian and Barbeque Sauce.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
The pizza generator is very close to done. I’ve got to expand the formulas for meat/veggie combos and maybe tweak the probabilities, then it’s good to go! Check these out!
- A pizza with Apple, Pinto Beans, Zucchini, Pineapple, Natto, Garlic, and Roasted Fennel, topped with Fontina and Bulgogi Sauce.
- A pizza with Apple, White Onion, Salami, Short Rib Meat, Hot Dogs, and Bacon.
- A pizza with Artichoke Hearts, Broccoli, Cilantro, and Parsley, topped with Gouda and Pesto Sauce.
- A pizza with Artichoke Hearts, Mushrooms, Burdok Root, White Onion, Fennel, and Roasted Fennel, topped with Tomato Sauce.
- A pizza with Cauliflower, Jalapenos, and Herbs De Province.
- A pizza with Green Pepper, Cauliflower, Banana, Egg, Prosiccuto, Pulled Pork, Tuna, and Butter Chicken.
- A pizza with Ground Beef, Egg, Ham, and Banana Peppers, topped with Parmesian.
- A pizza with Pickled Ginger, Yellow Onion, Cashews, and Parsley.
- A pizza with Red Onion, Scallions, Zucchini, Pickled Ginger, Argula, and Red Chillies.
- A pizza with Romaine Lettuce, Kimchi, Red Pepper, Fennel, and Garlic.
- A pizza with Argula, Eggplant, Yellow Onion, Cashews, Roasted Fennel, and Cilantro, topped with Swiss Cheese and Tandoori Sauce.
- A pizza with Canadian Bacon, Linguica, Prosiccuto, and Bannana Peppers.
- A pizza with Carmelized Onions, Black Olives, Sauerkraut, Chipotle Pepper, and Herbs De Province, topped with Barbeque Sauce.
- A pizza with Clams, Pulled Pork, Salami, Herbs De Province, and Red Chillies.
- A pizza with Jalapenos, Burdok Root, Pickles, Potatoes, and Green Pepper, topped with Colby and Fontina.
- A pizza with Kidney Beans, Pine Nuts, Pinto Beans, Butter Chicken, Hot Dogs, and Tuna.
- A pizza with Mushrooms and Bacon.
- A pizza with Roasted Fennel, Bell Pepper, Olives, Black Beans, and Basil, topped with Colby.
- A pizza with Salami, Tuna, Garlic, and Italian Spices, topped with Cheese Sauce.
- A pizza with Zucchini, Caramelized Onions, Shredded Carrots, Pickled Jalapenos, Mango, and Cilantro, topped with Ricotta and Cheddar.
The updated version has options for any, meats only, veggies only, and of course mixes. It’s led to some insane stuff – but also some delicious ideas.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
So I’m back to work on the pizza generator, using all that data I collected before things got nutty. This one is coming along well, but the data structures are surprisingly complex, so it’s going to take a week or two more to finish depending on my schedule. However the results . . . well they speak for themselves!
- A pizza with broccoli, black olives, zucchini, mango, pickled ginger, egg, clams, bacon, and linguica.
- A pizza with butter chicken, linguica, salami, and ground beef, topped with fontina.
- A pizza with chicken, bacon, and roasted fennel, topped with paneer.
- A pizza with garbanzo beans, red pepper, kimchi, pickled garlic, apple, and egg.
- A pizza with ground beef and jalapenos, topped with asiago and havarti.
- A pizza with ham and butter chicken, topped with paneer.
- A pizza with hot dogs and cilantro.
- A pizza with mango, roasted fennel, canadian bacon, prosiccuto, ham, linguica, and pepperoni.
- A pizza with pickled ginger, kimchi, shrimp, pulled pork, butter chicken, and steak.
- A pizza with roasted fennel, steak, clams, bacon, sausage, and hot dogs.
- A pizza with salami, butter chicken, meatballs, tuna, and short rib meat, topped with mozzarella and brown sauce.
- A pizza with salami, egg, pepperoni, and shrimp.
- A pizza with short rib meat, garlic, and parsley.
- A pizza with spinach, shredded carrots, apple, pickled ginger, and argula.
- A pizza with yellow onion, argula, canadian bacon, clams, tuna, and sausage.
It’s a bit meat-centric right now (results in the end will split between vegetarian and meat results), but looking good and properly crazy-yet-possible.
So strap on, your culinary dreams will continue!
After this I may take a break from food generators – they’re surprisingly challenging. But I still want to do more, just maybe not one after another.
– Steve
Well it’s not generator related, but it is creativity related, and ties into Scott’s considerable work – my first pop-culture book, co-authored with my good friend Bonnie, is out!
It’s called Her Eternal Moonlight, and is a look at female Sailor Moon fandom in North America. It was pretty interesting to study this; interviewing people, finding common patterns, then communicating it as a book. It definitely gave me a lot of insights.
It’s also getting reviews here and there, and we’re also discussing it on podcasts:
Now with that done, maybe it’s time to get to some generators and creative writing – but there is going to be another study coming up starting next year . . .
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
I’m actually getting back to these! Awesome!
Work should be a bit calmer now. We had some changes in organization and process that look to be more efficient and effective, and it’s already paying dividends in just a week. So let’s hope you see more writing out of me (though my goal is to be writing anyway).
So from here . . .
Next Way With Worlds Book
Way With Worlds Book 2 is still being edited, and I sink my teeth into it next month. It’s definitely not going to be out until February, but I can’t see it being any later than March.
The “followup” works on Way With Worlds are underway. As usually, not spilling much here (but you can find out a bit more in my newsletter if you’re really curious). More and more I’m thinking it may be worth releasing early, but I don’t want to stress myself. At this rate, I’d like to actually get people’s opinions – release it early or after Book 2?
I will say after all this I may take a break from writing on Worldbuilding. Think I’ll have said my peace for awhile.
Random Creativity Book
So now that I’m pretty sure I’ll be writing on randomization and creativity, I’ve got to figure out just how to do it. I probably won’t start brainstorming it for at least another month, to be honest. What I want to do is distill all my wisdom from Seventh Sanctum into book form (hopefully, one book). The hardest part is figuring out where to start and then how to put it in some organized form.
The second part? A title.
Seventh Sanctum
Trying to find time to bang out the Pizza Generator as the data is all ready, so I can do something else. I think having it hanging over my head kind of killed the fun and I need to move to another generator. That happens. Maybe I’ll revisit it another time.
But we must have random pizza, because who doesn’t want kimchi and bacon pizza with havarti? Wait, that sounds good . . .
Speaking
I’ve got a full slate coming up – be sure to check my speaking page!
Con-Volution is my next convention, and I’ll be speaking on worldbuilding and monsters on Friday! Go, attend!
That’s it for me – what about you?
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
What is this? Another update? Yes, amazing.
So anyway, to give you a bigger story on my slow blogging it’s pretty much been one thing after another. Mostly work and some shuffling around duties, software releases, and more. It’s also been a bunch of other stuff going on from helping friends out to errands. I haven’t had life get this much on top of me in awhile, though the smoke appears to be clearing.
The funny thing is it all goes back to that two days of classes I had. I’m sort of wondering if losing two days was a catalyst. Plus side, I got a great certification out of it.
Now let’s get to a REAL update here.
- Bonnie and I were interviewed about our new Sailor Moon Book on The Crystal Chronicles. Go check it out!
- The Pizza Generator. Haven’t done a thing on it, plan to return. That was pretty low on my list, which is kind of tragic as I’ve got enough data to go with – and learned a few things about Pizza. Going to see about getting that sucker out.
- The Next Generator. Still gonna be food, but I’m still conflicted between coffee (which would be more funny considering pretentious names of coffee types) or a real serious one on candy bars based on my analysis of candy structure. The candy bar generator would literally make candy bar ideas that would be real and you or someone could make. Oh and in other news, I am anal-retentive enough to analyze candy bar structure – are you aware that there have been multiple forms of filled/chambered candy bars? I am now because I am weird.
- Way With Worlds Book 2. At the editor, and it’s the same person who did the Sailor Moon book. She rocks hard so this is gonna be a great edit. I miss my other editor, but life got busy and I can damn well relate. Still looking at Q1 in 2017.
- The Way With Worlds “extra” book(s) I keep dodging about are in the works. I’m debating if I should release “something” early as the other book is delayed. Still haven’t decided – but let’s just say you’re gonna keep seeing Way With Worlds stuff into 2107. What, you think I used ALL my material?
- As for other writing, I have a few small books in the works, some of which are creativity-based. These are going to be good but also act as more “fun” to write so have no deadline. One of my big projects in 2017 on (about 12-15 months) is to do a book on what I’ve learned about randomization and procedural generation and the psychology of creativity.
That’s it for me – what about you?
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Wait, so where have I been?
Sorry to vanish for, well, nearly two weeks, but it got crazy.
Short form is I had a crazy 4 weeks with work, book publishing, class, and a bit of illness. This then compounded with two more weeks of crazy brought about by exhaustion, more work, family and friend issues, and more. The smoke is finally clearing, but my major reaction is roughly A) WTF happened, and B) Thank goodness for No Man’s Sky and Gravity Falls as a break.
So six weeks so nutty it could be a candy bar. So what’s up?
- Way With Worlds Book 2 is now slated for “Q1 2017.” Getting the editing done has been a challenge – my editor herself got mobbed at work, had technical issues that mangled one of the documents, and more. After talking, she’s going to take it easy to focus and I’m moving the editing to someone else. On top of that the holidays are still approaching so I figured best to keep this scheduled within a given quarter – not a month.
- The Sailor Moon Book, Her Eternal Moonlight, drops in a little over a month!
- Though I’m insanely busy, I have made some plans for my next writing in the coming 18-24 months. This is not to overload myself so much as focus it and avoid overloading myself.
- The Pizza generator has data ready to go (try 100 different ingredients) so now I just need to set something up. I may not get it done this month but hope to soon. Not sure what food to do after that – I was considering coffee or pastry, but I also have some notes on a candy bar generator that would be descriptive enough to nearly be used as a recipe . . .
- I’m waiting to hear what I do at Con-Volution and Kraken-Con.
- I got accepted to speak at the PMI Silicon Valley symposium. I’ll be speaking on how to ruin a project. Yes, you heard that right.
That’s currently it for now. I’ll be back on top of this, return to Civic Diary, and more in the next few weeks.
– Steve
