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Planning for August 2023

Planning for August 2023

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As of today, we’ve reached another really big milestone in recovering from the basement-flooding incident in late June. A moving crew has come to return all the furniture and boxes that were packed out on 3 July, and I also hired them to move everything back in out of the storage pod we have in front of the house. My library and all of my office items are now at least back down here with me, although they’re almost all still in boxes. I’ll be unpacking (and searching for critical items) for days at least, possibly a couple of weeks.

A lot is still up in the air – in particular, I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to get most of these boxes unpacked, and clear space down here for the game tables that are the other half of my creative enterprise. I hope that by mid-month I’ll be more or less back to normal. So I’m not going to establish any hard-and-fast objectives to meet this month.

On the other hand, for the first time in about six weeks, I can at least think about having a firm plan of action for creative work in the coming month.

My plan is to focus on Architect of Worlds this month, recovering the battle rhythm and forward momentum I had going before all this happened. My primary objective will be to make enough new progress on Architect that I can reasonably release a new free update for my patrons by the end of the month. Ideally, I’d like to have at least some idea as to what the new release date for the book might be, but we’ll see how the month goes.

Meanwhile, I do have a couple of small items to write up – some world-building work for the Danassos setting, and another book review for August. I don’t anticipate any real trouble hitting those milestones. I may also keep banging out some new prose for Twice-Crowned, although I don’t expect to make enough progress there to release a new update.

Stay tuned.

Status Report (25 July 2023)

Status Report (25 July 2023)

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Things are moving more slowly than I’d hoped with respect to getting my basement back into livable and usable condition. Here’s where we are as of this morning:

  • Furniture and almost all of my personal goods, including the bulk of my library, moved out.
  • Foundation repair and installation of a new drainage system and air-quality system complete.
  • Water heater replaced (this wasn’t on the critical path, but the old one was a few years past its warranty date, so better safe than sorry).
  • Replacement drywall hung, holes in ceiling left by plumber during emergency repair patched, everything trimmed and spackled and ready for painting.
  • Walls and ceiling have been painted.

The sticking point is the new carpeting. That wasn’t delivered until yesterday (24 July), and we’re supposed to hear from our sales rep today to schedule installation. The earliest we could get the carpeting done would be tomorrow (26 July), and later in the week would be a safer bet.

The problem is, that almost certainly pushes Moving Day – the day I get back all my furniture, and we recover almost the entirety of my library from the storage pod – into next week.

From a logistical standpoint, that’s not a disaster. I’d almost prefer to have a free day or two between Carpet Day and Moving Day, so we can pre-move a few items and get things set up for the big effort. Even better if there’s a weekend in there, so I can focus on getting my house in order without having to juggle my day job too. Still, pushing all these dates to the right (again) means there’s no time left for creative projects to hit good milestones before the end of the month.

I have managed to get some creative work done in July: some world-building work for the Danassos setting and a few thousand words of new prose for the novel Twice-Crowned. None of that has amounted to enough to roll out to my patrons, though.

Meanwhile, I’ve found it almost impossible to make any forward progress on Architect of Worlds under current conditions. It really needs my full workspace and all my research resources on hand. So if Moving Day isn’t going to be until next week, and it will probably take me one or two days to unpack enough to get back to work on Architect . . . well, that means that July will have been a dead month with respect to that project.

So this is, unfortunately, my best estimate for my patrons and readers: there will be no updates for the month of July, no charged updates for any project and no free update for Architect of Worlds.

We are approaching “back to normal,” and I anticipate being able to get back to all my creative projects on a more typical basis in August. I sincerely hope I get no worse disruption to my home and creative work for a long time . . .

Status Report (15 July 2023)

Status Report (15 July 2023)

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We’re making progress on getting the basement (that is, my living space, home office, and creative headquarters) repaired after last month’s flooding incident. The current state of play:

  • Furniture and almost all of my personal goods, including the bulk of my library, moved out.
  • Foundation repair and installation of a new drainage system and air-quality system complete.
  • Water heater replaced (this wasn’t on the critical path, but the old one was a few years past its warranty date, so better safe than sorry).
  • Replacement drywall hung, holes in ceiling left by plumber during emergency repair patched, everything trimmed and spackled and ready for painting.

We have painters scheduled to come in on 19-20 July, and the new carpeting should be delivered about then too. I’m hoping we can get the new carpet installed sometime between 21 July and 24 July. At which point, we’ll be ready to call the movers to bring back all my furniture and help us move all our goods back into the house.

Current best guess is that I’ll be able to call the move finished and release the storage pod we’re renting by about 26 July. At that point, at least, I’ll have my bed back and will have my workstation set up in its usual place once more. Unpacking all my books and games, and otherwise getting everything back to normal, may take some time beyond that.

Unfortunately, I am not making much progress on Architect of Worlds during this period of disruption. I’ve tried to do a few pages, but my current work area is very cramped and some of the physical materials I’ve been using are hard to deal with at the moment. I’ll keep at it, but I suspect the best time for me to forge ahead with that will be after that 26 July milestone.

Fortunately, there’s a solid weekend at the end of the month. I plan to get some minor creative work (notably my book review for July) out of the way over the next week or so, so I can focus on Architect editing and layout for 3-4 days at the end of the month. I see a good chance that, together with what I managed to knock out before the disaster, I should have enough new layout done to permit a free update for my patrons. Expect to see that by the end of July.

Meanwhile, I’ve been carrying out an interesting experiment with respect to my Danassos setting. I thought of a way to model some specific elements of the setting’s back story, and the results have been very interesting. Some revisions are underway to my “historical timelines” document. I doubt I’ll have a new version of that ready for anyone else to see by the end of July, but it’s already suggesting some new stories for that setting, and I suspect there may be some revisions to the Twice-Crowned draft before I’m finished. More about that as it develops.

Planning for July 2023

Planning for July 2023

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Well, as all my readers are doubtless aware, we had a small disaster at my home: some combination of a groundwater intrusion through the foundation, and a burst pipe, ended up flooding our basement. Since that’s my living quarters, telework location, and creative office . . . yeah, this was a big disruption.

So here’s the critical path for the next few weeks:

  • At the moment I’m standing watch while a crew of emergency movers finish clearing out our basement.
  • Tomorrow is the 4 July holiday, and we’ll probably be finishing up a few items and hauling out a fair amount of trash.
  • We have a crew coming in starting on 5 July to do foundation repair and install a new (and considerably upgraded) drainage system. That’s likely to take up to two weeks, so figure about 19 July to get that done.
  • We plan to take the opportunity to replace the water heater. May as well eliminate one possible cause for another water-based disaster in the future. Not likely to take more than a day.
  • Then it’s a matter of patching, priming, and painting drywall and replacing the entire carpet. Not likely to take more than a couple days, if we can coordinate the work efficiently.

Best guess, in the last full week in July I’ll be able to call the movers to bring everything back and help us unload the POD in which my entire personal library is now sitting. Of course, then I’ll be faced with the task of unpacking everything . . .

I do have my computer set up in the living room, so I expect to be able to make some progress on the Architect of Worlds layout, do a book review for July as usual, and maybe push a few other items forward. In particular, I suspect I will be able to release a free update for Architect late this month for my patrons.

Circumstances are not exactly conducive to major progress, though, so (unlike most months) I’m not going to set out any specific milestones for July. Look for a Status Report or two as the month moves along.

Special Status Report for Patrons (29 June 2023)

Special Status Report for Patrons (29 June 2023)

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This one is specifically for my patrons (and regular blog readers who might be interested in my creative projects).

As I mentioned on 23 June, we’re currently fighting a flooded basement which has knocked out my primary living area and home office. I haven’t been entirely cut off from the Internet, obviously, but I’m spending 12-15 hour days just keeping up with my day job and doing pack-and-move work here. Not much time left over for creative work, so (e.g.) Architect of Worlds is pretty much on hold for now.

Architect didn’t get enough new layout done before the disaster struck to justify a new update. There will therefore be no free update for patrons at the end of this month.

I also may or may not generate a planning message for July at the beginning of the new month. Things are too much in flux for me to be able to plan anything with a straight face.

The primary effort right now is to prepare our basement for a crew who will be coming in, starting on 5 July, to do foundation repair and waterproofing work. To that end I’ve packed up just about the entirety of my library and moved it to storage. Over the next few days we’ll be policing up any remaining small items, and moving the larger pieces of furniture aside so the crew has access to get their work done. After the foundation work is finished, we’ll need to paint the new drywall, get all the carpeting replaced, and then move everything back into place. I expect all this to take up the bulk of the month of July. It might even overlap into the first week or so of August.

I’m not entirely cut off. We’re also working to ensure I have a small home-office space elsewhere in the house while the work is being done. If that works out, I may be able to get back to some creative work in a limited way, even while all the repair and rehab are being done. I’ll keep everyone posted as things progress.

Planning for June 2023

Planning for June 2023

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May was a big month at my day job, which left me short of spoons for creative work. I didn’t hit my objectives for Architect of Worlds, so that book is a bit behind its notional schedule. I did manage to redesign a major step in the design sequence and get about ten pages total laid out, so progress didn’t halt entirely. Meanwhile, I managed to post two book reviews last month.

I still have some research-and-revision work to do on the last few steps in the design sequence, although I did make a big chunk of progress on that in May as well. In particular, I think I see ways to simplify the math for measuring greenhouse effect due to carbon dioxide, and that should streamline a couple of steps as well as possibly improve the accuracy of the model. Meanwhile, Step Thirty-Two of the current draft sequence is kind of a mess, so I hope to get it cleaned up a bit before finishing the layout for that section of the book.

So here’s the plan for June:

  • Top Priority:
    • Architect of Worlds: Complete revisions for the mini-models for a world’s atmospheric greenhouse effect, specifically for Step Thirty of the design sequence.
    • Architect of Worlds: Extensively revise Step Thirty-Two of the design sequence (variations in local climate).
    • Architect of Worlds: Continue work to design and lay out the finished book. Plan to finish through page 132 (out of approximately 180), or the end of the Designing World Surface Conditions section. May continue past that point if time remains in the month.
  • Second Priority:
    • Danassos: Continue work on the new draft of Twice-Crowned.
    • Danassos: Rebuild the alternate-historical timeline.
    • Human Destiny: Continue compiling material for the eventual Atlas of the Human Protectorate.
    • Human Destiny: Produce a map of late 23rd-century Mars for the Atlas.

As far as releases for my patrons are concerned: I expect a free update of the growing Architect release draft, and that’s about it. As in May, I may write another chapter or two of Twice-Crowned, but I don’t expect to produce enough new material to justify a charged release.

As a side note, I’m getting close to a decision as to whether to set up an LLC to publish under, rather than publishing simply under my byline. That’s a straightforward process, but there are a lot of steps and some expense involved, so I’ve been considering it carefully. May have an announcement about that sometime this month.

Status Report (21 May 2023)

Status Report (21 May 2023)

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Things are moving along, if not as quickly as I might have liked.

As of today, I’ve finished initial layout for Architect of Worlds through Step Twenty-Seven in the design sequence (world albedo). At this point I need to do a little research and possibly reworking of the mini-model for atmospheric greenhouse effect. Once that’s done, I think I’ll be able to finish editorial work on the next few steps in the design sequence, and get those laid out in the interim draft. Probably won’t be able to get all the way to the end this month, but we’ll see.

Meanwhile, I need to write up two book reviews and get those posted before the end of May.

Some of my time has been taken up by a Muse-inspired side trip. I’ve been binge-watching the entire Star Wars continuity – the current canon, not the pre-Disney “Legends” canon. Kind of kicking myself for not having picked up on that earlier. The theatrical films are, of course, something of a muddle. On the other hand, the animated shows and the Disney+ mini-series have been superb. The experience has been tickling my world-building brain something fierce.

The concept that’s taken up residence in my head involves a kind of “alternate history” of the Skywalker Saga, with the (overt) point of divergence that Qui-Gon Jinn survives the Battle of Theed and lives to take Anakin Skywalker on as his student. I’m also indulging in some rampant speculation about the motives that Sheev Palpatine might have had for his decades-long campaign to subvert and take over the Galactic Republic. I may end up with a pretty solid outline for a divergent Star Wars RPG campaign, although actually running it for players (or writing a fan-fiction series on the premise) is probably out of the question. I’ll probably write it up here as time permits, rather like the Space: 2049 material I’ve been playing with at odd moments.

Don’t worry. Architect and my other top-shelf projects aren’t going to be neglected. Much.

For my patrons, I think you can expect to see a free-update of the Architect partial draft, with as much new material as I’ve been able to edit and lay out in May. No charged release for this month.

Planning for May 2023

Planning for May 2023

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I was able to stay more or less on track throughout the month of April. I didn’t quite reach my original objective for Architect of Worlds book design and layout, but I did get a substantial chunk of work finished. I also managed to get to the end of Part Two of Twice-Crowned. A lot of items were done without me having to rush down to the wire at the end of the month, too – for example, I got April’s book review published quite early. I do seem to have mastered the skill of sticking to the big projects well enough to continue making significant progress.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m planning to do some work on the actual content of Architect before I get back to layout, so that’s a high-priority item for the month of May. Otherwise the plan for this month is going to look a lot like the one for April:

  • Top Priority:
    • Architect of Worlds: Review and possibly revise the mini-model for a world’s internal heat budget, specifically for Step Twenty-Four of the design sequence.
    • Architect of Worlds: Review and possibly revise the mini-models for a world’s atmospheric greenhouse effect, specifically for Step Thirty of the design sequence.
    • Architect of Worlds: Continue work to design and lay out the finished book. Tentatively plan to finish through page 132 (out of approximately 180), or the end of the Designing World Surface Conditions section.
  • Second Priority:
    • Danassos: Continue work on the new draft of Twice-Crowned.
    • Danassos: Rebuild the alternate-historical timeline.
    • Human Destiny: Continue compiling material for the eventual Atlas of the Human Protectorate.
    • Human Destiny: Produce a map of late 23rd-century Mars for the Atlas.

As far as releases for my patrons are concerned: I expect a free update of the growing Architect release draft, and that’s about it. I may write another chapter or two of Twice-Crowned, but I don’t expect to produce enough new material to justify a charged release. Slow but persistent progress is the order of the day.

Status Report (27 April 2023)

Status Report (27 April 2023)

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Small course correction, with respect to Architect of Worlds.

A few minutes ago, I sent this month’s incremental update of the book design to my patrons. That’s a few days early and about 12 pages short of the goal I set for myself at the beginning of April.

The reason is that I just reached Step Twenty-Four in the main design sequence. That’s the step in which you determine the current geophysical parameters for a world under development – status of the world’s lithosphere, whether or not it has active plate tectonics, that sort of thing. The issue is that there are a couple really thorny bits of math in that step, probably the ugliest formulae anywhere in the previous draft. I’m also not entirely confident in the accuracy of the mini-model for that step. So I’d like to pause the layout long enough to do a bit of research, maybe develop a new mini-model, and simplify the procedure so it’s not as ugly and ill-polished.

While I’m at it, I also have similar concerns about some of the later steps, especially where we figure out how much greenhouse effect a world gets from its atmosphere based on its composition. I’m actually very happy with the way that procedure fits together overall – it models the evolution of an Earthlike world’s atmosphere very elegantly. However, the actual mini-model for greenhouse effect is again both ugly and not one I’m 100% confident in. So that might get some attention too.

So I’m going to set aside layout work on Architect for at least a few days, while I go off and do some of that redevelopment. In the meantime, I’m just one chapter away from the point in Twice-Crowned at which I was thinking another charged release of the interim draft for my patrons might be appropriate. So the last few days of April, I’m going to spend mostly on getting that chapter written and polishing up the last chunk of new material. Patrons should look for a charged release there, probably sometime on Sunday if all goes according to plan.

I also have another “bonus” book review I want to publish this month, but that will have to wait until I’m sure I can get this chunk of Twice-Crowned whipped into shape on time. if that doesn’t work out, at least I have a review ready to go early in May.

Status Report (22 March 2023)

Status Report (22 March 2023)

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I’ve apparently hit my stride with respect to doing layout for Architect of Worlds. I reached my tentative milestone for that earlier this week, passing page 70 out of 180 in the draft.

I intend to continue working on that for the rest of March, but not pushing the pace too hard – maybe a page or two at a time, possibly getting as far as page 80. Meanwhile, I’m going to take a creative break and see if I can complete some revisions and bang out a few more chapters of Twice-Crowned before the end of the month.

Here’s the plan, then, for my patrons and other readers. You’ll be seeing another incremental draft for the rough layout of Architect of Worlds regardless, as a free update. Hopefully that will get us to a point most of the way through the “Designing Planetary Systems” chapter. However, if I can get at least to the end of Chapter Eighteen in Twice-Crowned, I’ll push that out as a charged release. That will be roughly 12,500 words of new material that you folks won’t have seen before. If I don’t get that far, there won’t be a charged release for this month and we’ll see how things go in April.