(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
We’re all heading for the holidays, so let’s catch up! Also you may note this is appearing all over – I’m diversifying my posting base.
So what have I done the last week(s)?
- A Bridge To The Quiet Planet: Is selling in ebook format! So print is next. I’ve got the document print-formatted now – which thanks to some Open Office tools and formatting choices was easier than I thought. There’s some lessons here.
- Way With Worlds: I’ve got another book out! This one is on Organizations!
- Seventh Sanctum: Steady as she goes here, but the next generator or three are being outlined.
- Other: Lots of relaxing now that the holiday season is here.
What’s next?
- A Bridge To The Quiet Planet: Getting print format out and getting a draft. The text is done, the real worry I have is the cover. Covers are the hardest part of POD.
- Way With Worlds: I’m outlining the next book, but am also pacing myself.
- Seventh Sanctum: Want to try to update the Nexus and maybe get a new generator out.
- General Stuff: The holidays, of course! I am also working on some productivity techniques I may be sharing soon!
Steven Savage
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
It’s my weekly Scrum style standup for my audience, so where am I?
So what have I done the last week?
- Way With Worlds Minibook #2: Edited and ready for publication. Had a bit of a delay, did a screwy search-and-replace I had to fix. ugh.
- Way With Worlds Minibooks (General): Sent them to the editor!
- “A Bridge To The Quiet Planet”: Chapters #3 is in beta and needs to be edited. Debating if I do that or finish more scenes to be sure.
- Blogging: I recorded my next two agile posts!
- Other: Not 100% sure. I’ve been running pretty hot and fast.
What am I going to do this week:
- Way With Worlds Minibook #2: Plan my publicity activities for the book and prepare to publish.
- “A Bridge To The Quiet Planet:” Probably get Chapter #3 ready for pre-readers, but might do some more writing. As noted, not sure.
- Blogging: Doing 1-2 more writing posts and probably putting them on the Sanctum. I may try some more fun Tumblr posts on (of course) Overwatch.
- General: I’d like to work on one of the two generators I have in mind, but want to see what my pacing is.
Challenges:
- I feel less overloaded, think it was just the amount of things vying for my attention, but I still think I’m operating at just a bit above my preferred capacity. It’s likely I won’t take on any big new projects for about 6 months – like new books, etc. I want to find space for generators and fun stuff. Then again working on a novel and putting out 6 minibooks is enough.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
It’s my weekly Scrum style standup for the audience. Here’s what’s up – but first a note.
The last two months have been pretty intense, its all been books and writing for the most part. I may be changing some of my plans around so it’s a bit more diverse.
So what have I done the last week?
- Way With Worlds Minibook #1: All formatted and ready to go! Pretty much I can launch it any time.
- Way With Worlds Minibook #6: Writing away. I’m going to try and block out time to just finish it, but not making any plans.
- “A Bridge To The Quiet Planet:” The plot is outlined! In fact the “draft” was better than I thought!
- Social: I spoke at Hydra-Con, made lots of new contacts, and had a great time. Promising new con!
What am I going to do this week:
- Way With Worlds Minibook #1: Setting up marketing and getting publishing queued up! You should see it later next week.
- Way With Worlds Minibook #6: Writing more of it.
- “A Bridge To The Quiet Planet:” Working on Chapter #1. I might try to blitz it this weekend, but the goal is a readable draft end of month.
- Writing: The usual blogging, plus a few other things I want to write.
Challenges:
- Some friends are moving, which might require some of my time.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
It’s my weekly Scrum style standup for the audience. Not a lot of Sanctum relevant stuff here but hey I’m including it for now – wondering if i need to?
Well bluntly this week also was nuts, with assorted work events, a friend having health concerns (resolved) and of course occasional allergies. It’s not been the greatest week – but Agile method are about adapting. So where are we?
So what have I done the last week?
- Way With Worlds Minibook #5: Still going good and on schedule – I might even get a bit ahead of the game.
- Seventh Sanctum Spotlight: That’s on hold. This is due to the interruptions I’ve been having from allergies to events, and now convention time might cut into the results for me and other people. So I’ll do it in June if it seems viable.
- Professional: Attended that professional event – they’re running out of space so I found my apartment complex can host them! A great way to network and meet people.
- Social: Girlfriend’s birthday and book club went well.
- “A Bridge To The Quiet Planet:” The latest plot outlines and character arcs are plotted. Looks good again, and I think the book is taking on a more personal tone; for instance, there’s two minor characters (one extremely minor as in he’s in one scene) that by exploring I really did a lot with the story. This is a good lesson from the late Sir Terry Pratchett – you tell a lot more by having it personal, even if that person is gone after a scene.
- Newsletter: The newsletter is out. Which you probably saw.
What am I going to do this week:
- Way With Worlds Minibook #5: More writing. Let’s just assume that’s the norm (and book #6 is next). I’m thinking these books are best written in one or two big lumps not spread out.
- Social: Fanime is going to consume a lot of time this week, as will events there. I’ll be preparing presentations.
- Speaking: I’m speaking twice at Fanime.
- Cosplay: I’ll be Doctor Oobleck from RWBY at least one day.
- Her Eternal Moonlight: A sale is coming, so pay attention . . .
- “A Bridge To The Quiet Planet:” Next step is fleshing out the plot so it’s ready to be scene-for-scene outlined, as well as some character details.e
Challenges and blockers:
- The Allergies are better, but I’m keeping an eye on them. These were bad and hit a lot of people hard.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
And it’s time for another Scrum style standup! OK it’s weekly, and I prefer them daily but that’s a bit much.
First a note – I had a nasty allergy attack around Thursday which held a few things up. I’m overall on time/ahead of my plans but it was annoying
So what have I done the last week?
- Way With Worlds Minibook #1: Editor had a bit of a delay, so I expect to get things in a few days.
- Way With Worlds Minibook #5: Got actually 10 questions written. I find more and more these are best written in large amounts.
- Way With Worlds Marketing: The bookmarks came. They are awesome. Let me strongly recommend Club Flyers.
- Seventh Sanctum Spotlight: I held off on this when some allergies hit. I’ll probably start them off in a week or so.
- Professional: Two professional meetups, they were awesome. I really enjoy the “Agile Crowd” here in the valley.
- Social: Bad movie event was great. We saw “Mac And Me” which was hideous, but before that watched “Misfits” which was good.
- “A Bridge To The Silent Planet:” A bit harder than I expected. It’s about 1/4 plotted with some outlines out to the end. It’s becoming a bit more of a small novel – neither a doorstop nor a novella. Which I realized is what I want. However it’s a bit hard to shake the rust off so its’ slower than I wanted – and the allergies didn’t help.
What am I going to do this week:
- Way With Worlds Minibook #5: Write more of course.
- Seventh Sanctum Spotlight: May or may not do this.
- Professional: One professional event this week.
- Social: Got a barbecue and otherwise will work on creative projects.
- “A Bridge To The Silent Planet:” I plan to finish the plot outline this week.
- General: Some basic chores and such.
Challenges and blockers:
- The allergies hit hard. I might delay a few things unless these clear up in the next day two. Expect a possible “revised sprint.”
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Deciding to call this “Steve’s” Update because you know it is mine. Anyway, the weekly “standups” Scrum style continue! What have I done and what am I going to do?
So what have I done the last week?
- Got the Color Generator deployed. It’s out and being used, so go to it! I also learned a lot about generators making it.
- Way With Worlds Minibook #1: I should hear from the editor this week.
- Way With Worlds Minibook #5: Still writing away, a bit ahead of my game actually. Might crank out a bit more than intended.
- Way With Worlds Marketing: I got new flyers for Way With Worlds put together, now I just have to print them, but ran into some issues with the printer website malfunctioning – maybe everyone is busy.
- Seventh Sanctum Spotlight: Will probably start next week. I do have a kind-of-spotlight with Character Creation Is The Whole Game.
- General: Went to a meetup, went to Rifftrax, cleaned out a closet and a half, did a newsletter, finished my laptop research.
What am I going to do this week:
- Printing the Way With Worlds Flyers: If the aforementioned interruption is overcome.
- Way With Worlds Minibook #5: Still writing.
- General: Purchase and recieve that laptop, go to some social events. Likely to be a light week here – going to be focusing on a lot of “life” stuff.
Challenges and blockers:
- No blockers right now except said interruption with printing the flyers.
General:
- May will be a bit busy due to Fanime so it’ll probably involve me focusing mostly on my current works and not taking on any new generators, etc.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
And here it is, Color Generator! Thanks for all your feedback, this was a delightful one to make. I learned a lot about language and mood and a sense of “being” in a sentence and these lessons will make me better at both generators but also as a writer.
So let’s get some examples!
- Ichas – The red of a rose. Used for secret paintings.
- Pantedsh – The supreme green. Those that see this color cannot forget it.
- Paost – The purple of imaginary wine. Paintings using this color ward off jealousy.
- Khang – The sickly yellow of hatred.
- Buife – A light red. Paper of this color is something everyone knows how to make.
- Cecymbir – A flamboyant green. The gemstones of this color are said to grant one intelligence.
- Lotruin – A harsh purple. Tattoos of this color are associated with laziness – but only if concealed and only if worn on the left arm.
- Sufofe – A sober blue. The color once associated with scientists.
- Icasanget – The orange of ideal sunrises. Those that see this color will dream of what they saw.
- Canturn – The yellow of gold that can only exist in the future. Those that see this color see other worlds.
So there you go! Now let’s see what our infinite new spectrum brings . . .
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
The Color Generator is coming along nicely. Check these out!
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=color
- Rentehiem – The oldest blue. Under light of this color gold tarnishes.
- Osochawn – The yellow of gold. Those that see this color go insane.
- Enklu – The yellow of gold that you will one day see.
- Stast – The orange of a sunrise. Those that see this color become sane.
- Pigurmote – A bold greenish-blue. The color of old dreams.
- Tefrou – The orange of a sunrise. Paintings using this color stop envy.
- Ichre – The orange of imaginary fires.
- Ouwath – The purple of disgust and of the evening sky that can never be imagined.
- Detingat – A fiery yellow. The color of clothing once worn by witches, but that changed because of a prophecy.
- Saffican – The orange of unknown sunrises.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
I’ve been thinking of how I organize my projects and share them with you my audience and friends. I’ve not been thrilled with how I’ve done updates, and recent spates of illness and surprises derailed a few things. So what I’m doing is taking my projects to be managed much more traditional Scrum style. I got the idea here from Failbetter’s use of Agile to make them publicly engaged via blogposts while doing Sunless Skies.
If you’re not familiar with Scrum,, its basically a method of organization where you A) keep a backlog of stuff to do B) do it in small increments called sprints, and C) regularly report and measure progress. I recommend reading up on it.
(I’m still big on the Getting Things Done method, and will use it as part of my work, but my large amount of longer-term projects require some different approaches plus this lets me try out techniques from work.)
What this means for you is
- Every month (a “sprint”) I’ll tell you what I’m planning to tackle on my projects. Most Sprints are two weeks, but I plan my projects quarterly/monthly so this is a bit easier.
- I’ll do weekly reports (a sort of Standup) on progress. These are usually daily in proper Scrum, but I have my limits.
- I’ll do a roundup/retrospective at the end.
So what’s up for April!
Finishing The Color Generator: I’ll finish the Color Generator in April with the goal of deploying before the end of the Month – preferably mid-month. I’ll be regularly updating it with new data so keep an eye out.
New Seventh Sanctum Spotlight: A new Seventh Sanctum project to spotlight talent and interesting media – this is an experiment and may or may not succeed.
Way With Worlds Minibooks #1: The followups to Way With Worlds. I will send this to editor – remember these don’t launch until June.
Way With Worlds Minibook #5: Get this to at least 60% completion if not more. And, yes I have four of these suckers written already – make room in your summer reading!
There are also some marketing efforts, tech purchases, and home maintenance but I don’t think you care about those.
So I’ll be posting updates weekly (probably Monday) to let you know where everything is once a week!
And as it’s Sunday, let’s get to a status!
What I’ve worked on:
- Wrote 5 more questions on Minibook 5.
- Minibook #1 will be in the hands of the editor next week.
- Reached out to initial “promotables” for the Sanctum Spotlight and designed how it’ll run. It’s pretty much ready to go, I’ll start it later this month.
- A few notes on the Color Generator are in place, I’ll dive into that more soon.
What’s coming up this week:
- I plan to focus on the Color Generator to get as much done as possible.
- I’ll be attending two professional events, so that consumes time.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Here’s some samples from the latest generator. It generates colors, inspired by the Neathbow from Sunless Sea/Fallen London – http://thefifthcity.wikia.com/wiki/The_Neathbow
I loved the idea of creating new colors, so here we go! It’s probably about 25%-33% done at this time – there’s a nice amount of detail, but far more coming.
So tell me what you think!
- Moten – The mellow orange of joy.
- Lebode – The purple of the evening sky in your memories.
- Elde – The blue of shallow water that you fear seeing.
- Cesque – An iridescent green. Under light of this color plants grow.
- Khuppen – The one true green.
- Bitohoem – A deep greenish-yellow. Those that see this color have glimpses of the future.
- Cerate – The yellow of sunlight falling on the incurious. Under light of this color plants grow.
– Steve
