I got sidetracked in April, namely due to a board game idea that I couldn’t ignore, and I’ve been working on iterations of it since. It’s derivative of Clank! but it improves several aspects of the game that I thought needed improving. I’m a Clank! fan, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that everything can be improved upon. I’m particularly excited that I’ve figured out a new way of dungeon exploration using game mechanics I’ve not seen before. The first 4-player playtest went well, with the testers refusing to end the game once I got a general idea of how things went. They wanted to finish their 90-minute game–which was a positive sign.
My sidetrack also included a weekend lost to COVID shots and two more to adding windows in my home office. Now I can enjoy the outside view while I write. It’s a big upgrade and I added a 1300 lb. rock, blueberry, and raspberry bushes to admire as the season pass. When the berries bloom, I’ll enjoy watching the birds gobble them down.
With the lockdown lifting in Ohio, and all my sane friends vaccinated, I launched my bi-weekly poker game featuring plaques I had manufactured in China. I hope to sell them on Amazon, but there are so many hoops to jump through to get something like that going, I dare not set a timetable.
It took me 6 weeks to finish all these side-projects, but as of yesterday, I’ve started book 4 in my series. Every writer will tell you, it’s easy to write a book, but hard to keep writing. I’ve not had writer’s block yet, so I’m still on target for writing 3 books in 2021.
I have a complete outline of where I *think* book 4 will go, but we’ll see what happens. I was pleasantly surprised by book 3’s ending, so I was a little worried the next one will be hard to top. After my 6-week vacation, I put down 2,500 words today, and the flow felt good.