Steven Savage's Blog, page 38

Games, Sustainability, And Expectations

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Lately, I got into the game “Portal Knights,” a charming Minecraft-meets-Action RPG video game. It takes a lot of lessons from various games and combines then for a solo or with-friends adventure in a broken world. There are a few polish issues, but for $20 there’s a lot of value.

The game also has optional downloadable content, from a fancy one with new stuff to simple ones with extra hats or...

Steve’s Update 12/15/2019

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A few big announcements!

First, Chance’s Muse, my book on random generators – is out! You can get it from a variety of sources at this link!

Secondly, I’m back at generators with the Promare-Inspired !

So what have I done since last time? Way With Worlds: The Gods and Deities Book’s first draft is almost done – I expect to have it this week! Chance’s Muse: As noted is done. Out,...

Plots, Pants, And Flows

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Writers have heard this over and over again.

Some people are plotters, detailing out their stories before writing.

Some people are pantsers, charging ahead writing with little or no outline.

Some people are “plantsers” walking a line between both.

Though these are convenient ways to classify writers, they’re limited. These classifications are much like the classic and oft-mocked D&D alignment...

Deadlines Are Tools

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After an eventful few months, I was trying to keep up on all of my various projects. It was starting to get stressful – one book being published, the next worldbook in progress, and a novel in the works. How could this be stressful, I wondered? I had plans and outlines, and well-thought out deadlines, shouldn’t that make life easier?

Of course the more I examined, the more I realized a few...

Writer’s Sharing Good And Bad

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As mentioned previously, I help run a group of writers who are current and future self-publishers. Each month we meet to discuss how to improve and focus on a given subject. Once again, I have a useful insight from the event.

In this case, our specific theme for November was thought-provoking – we discussed what we were our good and bad points as writers. The idea wasn’t venting or bragging –...

Jojo’s Bizarre Aesthetic

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Aesthetic, that artistic and thematic sense of creative work, is vital to things like writing, art, and video games. Sadly we forget this fact as we’re deep into code or plot outlines or arguments about Pantone. To help bring us home to this importance, I’d like to talk about musical jokes and psychic powers.

Specifically, I want to discuss Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure, often referred to as “JJBA....

Steve’s Update 11/29/2019

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Hello all, let’s see where I am!

So what have I done since last time? Way With Worlds: The Gods and Deities Book is past the halfway point writing-wise! So it’s just keep going – heck this might be out before the new year!Chance’s Muse: I am checking the (hopeful) last draft of the print book and the ebook is formatted.A School Of Many Futures: I’ve written out past Chapter 5!Seventh Sanctum: Sadly, not much –...

Cooking With Steve: Root Vegetable Mash

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Gonna take a break from posting my healthy recipes and post this for Thanksgiving – this is sort of “Mashed potatoes plus,” putting together lots of root vegetables.

The parsnips add a great flavor, and I suggest swapping in other root vegetables like rutabagas, and maybe kick it up with garlic.

It’s fast, simple, different, and a way to impress people!

2 medium potatoes, diced (peeling...

It’s Pitches All The Way Dow

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Ever seen a good book pitch? Something like “A wizard with a deadly disease tries to reconcile with his past. Before he dies, can he make peace with supernatural entities and his own family?” The idea of a wizard facing mortality is my jam, so I’m for this.

Have you started watching a show based on a great episode pitch, or seen one on a wiki that you used to expose someone else to a show? I...

Deplotting

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As I charge forward more or less on A School Of Many Futures, I find myself feeling constrained at times. I have these awful moments of feeling trapped in my work, weighed down.

You may recognize a similar experience in writing my first novel, where I talked about how Big Rocks, ideas I was afraid to abandon. This is a similar feeling, but more distributed, not quite as bad as last time. So what happened?

The more I looked it over the more I realized that this t...