Themeattics

“Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

OH NO, WHAT DAY IS IT?

List, fam, I’ve got goals and those goals do NOT afford a missed weekly article, so here we are. A day late, a buck short, but limping over the finish line regardless.

Speaking of goals, how’d last week’s pan out? Well, a little hit or miss. To be expected, I suppose. I’d hoped to end things a little better, but given I was gone half the week and had absolutely no chance to do any sort of writing while gone, the results weren’t terrible:

• Residuum
  • Polish up the new ending of Chapter 9.
  • Completely rewrite Chapter 10 in the new direction.
• Catalyst
  • Decide on whether Kahs is appearing in book one.
  • Generic outline for the first quarter (Up through the First Plot Point)
• Project CT (A new game project I’m working on designing and writing for)
  • Finish the first basic play rules.
  • Finish and print the PnP cards for local sessions.
• ThemeAttic
  • Create a logo.
  • Compile a list of at least 10 audience expansion ideas.
  • Start fleshing out at least one of those.

Half a week, half the list. Acceptable. Something that exists as a bit of a standout on that list, at least for me, was the audience expansion ideas for ThemeAttic and, ultimately, for me as an author. Ten was a bit of a reach, in the end, and resulted in things that could probably be grouped together, but ignoring that, here’s the list, in no particular order:

1. YouTube channel.
2. Engaging in writer / reader Twitter threads.
3. Engage with local writer groups.
4. Engage with online writer groups.
5. Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story on site based on comments.
6. Dweller shorts on site.
7. Substack.
8. Transform Twitter account into true writing account / make a new one.
9. Daily posts on ThemeAttics FB.
10. Instagram (Apparently this is a major author platform?).

Some of these are obviously more involved than others, but I think, generally, I should be working through ALL of these ten things, not just a subset as I originally intended. All minus the first, maybe, though that’s probably the biggest possible impact point. I just… ugh.

Now, while I’d like to make this a post about anything other than my own goals, it’s something I’m putting together at the end of the work day as we draw closer to the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, so I’ve got a few, uh… non-writing related things to take care of before then. So, nah.

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And that brings me to this week’s. No sense delaying:

• Residuum
  • Completely rewrite Chapter 10 in the new direction.
  • Write at least half of Chapter 11.
• Catalyst
  • Decide on whether Kahs is appearing in book one.
  • Generic outline for the first quarter. (Up through the First Plot Point)
• Project CT
  • Finish and print the PnP cards for local sessions.
  • Write the story intro for the game start.
  • Write the story leadup to battle 1.
  • Write the scripted events of battle 1.
• ThemeAttic
  • Make up post for 6.16. (You’re looking at it)
  • 6.24 post.
  • Figure out the whole Substack thing.
  • Develop actual social media plans besides “Exist on site.”
  • Set up all noted social media accounts.
  • Figure out the world / design of Dweller shorts and/or CYOA stories for site.