Russell Zimmerman's Blog: Furious Button Mashing

Seventeen: Conventions Coming Up!

I got a bit of GenCon news earlier today (more on that later), which reminded me that MAN OH MAN, conventions are sneaking up on us, already!

I'm going to be hitting a few semi-local (not much in Texas is really very "local") conventions, and they're really not too far off!

Yellow City Comic Con (in Amarillo, Texas) is April 28-30, and a few Shadowrun freelancers (Patrick Goodman and everyone's favorite Neo-Anarchist, Optimistic Chad) and I are gonna chat up the crowd a little bit, and maybe even run an Anarchy game or two (schedule is still being worked out).

Then there's Chupacabracon, in Austin, Texas (well, Round Rock, a suburb of Austin), from May 12-14. The event coordinator is in the middle of hammering out the final seminar schedule here, too, but omg you guys check out that guest list. I'm in some really crazy-good company there (I'll probably be geeking out at some of those game devs, myself), and it promises to be a whole lot of fun.

So if you're headed to either of these Texas-local gaming conventions, feel free to swing by and say howdy! I'll post more about my GenCon schedule when it gets closer, but in the meantime, I hope everyone's having a good spring, and I plan on having a little more concrete "upcoming publications" info to share before my next blog post.

Sixteen: New Projects

I've been busy with my Patreon and a spate of guest appearances lately, and, while it's meant a little less posting to my blog here, it's been nice to get myself working/playing again.

I was pleased to drop by for a game session with the Join the Anarchy crew over on Twitch, diving into their campaign and playing a game of Shadowrun Anarchy with them. It occurred to me mid-'run that this was my first time actually playing the game; the final product, no playtesting, no rules-tweaking, no archetype-fiddling, just relaxing and telling a fun story. It was a great time, and they were a great group of dudes and dudettes! Check out the videos there if you're interested (but be warned, I look like a psycho because it zoomed in my camera way more than it appeared to on my screen).

I've also been slinging dice and recording a "Let's Play" type of podcast with a really great group of buddies -- some familiar to the online Shadowrun community, some not -- and I'm looking forward to those audio bits getting edited and ready for sharing, so I can talk about it more without spilling the beans.

I also recently received some good news on the publishing front (related to that last one, the new game, which is part of why I don't want to let the cat outta the bag early). Once we've swapped contracts and signatures and the details are locked in, though, I'll gladly jibber-jabber my little heart out about it. I'm psyched, it's awesome, and I can't wait to get started...but I don't want to trip anything up by blabbing too early.

Anyways, things are afoot!

Fifteen: Settling In

Hi all, I hope the new year's been productive/safe/peaceful for you all, inasmuch as such things are possible given the interesting times we live in.

For myself, we've gotten moved. In lieu of Christmas, I spent four days driving mom cross-country to get her here to Texas, and then our move-in date shuffled on us one last time before -- finally -- we were able to close on the house and get moved.

There were two things I cared about when we were house-shopping. One was location. I'm closer to my friends up here, closer to a major game store, closer to places I can go to buy books and games, to sling dice and tell stories, closer to stuff that keeps my creative juices flowing.

The other thing I wanted in a new house? I wanted some built-in bookshelves!



So that's about 1/3 of the Zimmerman Family Library (tm), mostly my gaming stuff, but it's all nice and wall mounted on sturdy paint-ready pine, 1" think, on a set of custom shelves that were way over-engineered (I could've probably done pull-ups on the wall mounts). No need to worry about THESE bowing or falling apart any time soon. :)

I'll have some Kickstarter news shortly, if things continue apace. So keep an eye out in a little bit, it should be pretty cool.

Fourteen: Write-y Stuff!

Hi all,

Real life's been pretty hectic lately, dealing with mom's medical issues, drastically changing our move schedule to coincide with hers (and to coordinate it with hers, someone currently several states away), changing our house-buying goalposts by making it a house big enough for her and her lifetime's worth of stuff, too, and...just lots on the ol' plate at the moment.

Overwatch has been a recent refuge -- because as a quick, multi-player, online game, I can get in a match or two in just twenty minutes or so, and then get back to work after a quick break, something that certainly can't happen with Skyrim or Fallout 4 or the like! -- and that shows in my latest Patreon fic. "Miracle Shooter" has long been an augmented-reality game in Shadowrun lore, so I had some fun combining first-person-shooter fun with an ongoing character from my Patreon fiction this month. That was nice.

In other news, Shadowrun: Anarchy has been out for long enough for reviews to come trickling in, and they've been largely positive. Being a multi-writer RPG sourcebook, a few hiccups and wrinkles invariably emerge, but we've got the errata squad (plus a few of us eager writers) trying to smooth things over, so that's good.

Also, my most recent anthology contribution, for The Cainite Conspiracies (a tie-in fiction book for Vampire 20th Anniversary: Dark Ages) is being previewed to the general public here (and is already out as an e-book to folks who backed the Kickstarter a while ago). Getting to work on a World of Darkness piece -- after being a fan of the setting for about twenty years now -- was really cool, and getting to write the Clan-oriented piece for Toreadors (not quite my favorite Clan, but not too far off!) was icing on the proverbial cake.

Last but not least, we're getting our ducks in a row for a Kickstarter -- we decided to delay the launch until a few more things were extra-ready -- that will feature professional voice actors working off my script and story, set in my Over The Stars sci-fi universe...so keep an eye out in the coming months as I give more updates on that.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween, and good luck heading into the holiday season!

--Russell

Thirteen: A Little Bit Unlucky

Hi folks,

It's been a busy couple of weeks, and not all in a good way. A few weekends ago I got a late-night call that my mom was in the hospital (in Oregon, while I'm in Texas), and I basically dropped everything and hoofed it up that-a-way on the first flight I could get.

She was out of the ICU very quickly (whew) but then spent a total of six days in the hospital. She's doing okay-ish now, but we've got some big changes coming, not least of which are that we're moving her in with my wife and I (which means we're also moving, to get a house large enough for all three of us), and blah blah blah a bunch of boring grown-up stuff that has to happen.

In the meantime I wrapped up my contributions to a pretty big Shadowrun product (yay), sent in my first work for Earthdawn (double yay), and I'm busy playing catch-up to meet a few deadlines for some solo work (more info to come shortly!).

Keep an eye out later this month, once things are back on track I'll have an exciting Kickstarter announcement to make!

Sorry this update's not the most exciting, but it had plenty of non-fiction excitement (from where I'm sitting), so I'm keeping it brief.

Have a good one,
--Russell

Twelve: Keeping Busy post-GenCon!

Hi all,

It's been a bustling couple of weeks, what with GenCon, the hugest friggin' gaming convention around (and in some ways a real focal point of my writing year).

I've got plenty to say about what went down in Indy (and how awesome it was), and plenty to say about some upcoming and ongoing projects as a result of Indy conversations (and how awesome they are), but I'm a lazy beast, so given the chance I'm gonna cheat.

I already said most of it here, at my Patreon. So if you're curious about a blow-by-blow of my GenCon trip, along with me getting a little sappy there at the end, feel free to check it out (and feel free to check out the Patreon in general, while you're there!).

I've started to branch out to some other conventions, too, in the meantime -- one in Texas, one pretty far away again -- and I'll be sure to post updates as those convention dates draw nearer and my plans get clearer.

Until next time,
--Russell Zimmerman

Eleven: It Took Me Three Tries Not To Write "Elven"

OMG OMG OMG OMG *runs around, flailing*

GenCon is almost here, and I've been so busy being grown up and writing and stuff that my actual important stuff -- the geeky bits -- have been largely overlooked. I turned in a revised draft ahead of time, finished a first draft of an upcoming project (for a GenCon preview we're giving at a seminar), I scrambled last minute to help two past-due projects get to print on time (*flex*), I've already arranged a few business meetings, I got ahead of the curve on Patreon work (and I'm ready to post my end-of-month piece), and I'm staying up on the work I need to be in charge of lodging, rental car, and driving for myself and four buddies...but my actual fun stuff has been woefully overlooked to date.

Before leaving Tuesday morning, I need to settle on a Star Wars: Armada list, decide how I'm going to paint said list (so it stands out a little at the North America Championship), make a character for Vampire: 20th Anniversary and another for Shadowrun, and I need to find some friggin' games to play or booths to visit Saturday and Sunday, 'cause right now my schedule's pretty honkin' wide open.

In any case, Indy is a treat every year. If you're reading this, you're probably a gamer geek, and if you're a gamer geek you should probably try to go to GenCon. That's two probablies combined, which is basically a certainty. If you've never made it, give it a shot some time; the food is great, the convention experience is unlike any other, and you get to meet enormous goofballs like me (and we all secretly adore signing stuff).

If you already have plans to be in Indy, check for me at either of the Shadowrun seminars I'm involved with (SEM1690375, Friday at noon, where I'll be chatting with fans and doing a Q&A with two other SR writers, and SEM1694425, Friday at 8:00 pm, where I'll be MCing a great big get-together of great Shadowrun podcasters). Feel free to come say hi!

--Russell

Ten: "Downtime"

I hate downtime. To me, it's not so much "time I have to myself," or "time between jobs," it's "time when I don't have any framework."

It's when I'm waiting on some of the many other -- absolutely necessary -- steps in the writing process. When I'm waiting on an editor to get back to me, to approve a synopsis, to get back editing notes on a draft, to get me in the loop about where a product is and when it might be out.

It's not just time between deadlines (because really everything is time between a deadline), it's time when I'm...stuck. Spinning my wheels. Without ANY deadlines anywhere in sight, giving me a little direction, a little nudge, a little reminder.

It's like being becalmed at sea, I guess. When there's no wind blowing, and the sails just hang lank and empty, and the sun beats down, and the crew of Awesome Ship X in Bitchin' Story Z, when they're just stuck there, right? Some gorgeous old age of sail vessel hanging out in the middle of the ocean, without any land in sight, without a cloud in the sky, without anything to push them?

That's me in downtime. I try to stay creative. I try to game, I try to roll dice with my buddies, try to throw myself into a video game or two, try to watch movies. I try to keep the juices flowing, to keep myself primed and ready and psyched to work on something.

But, man, it's tough. I don't have a lot of downtime (I normally drift for a day or two, then get SOME sort of note from SOMEBODY, working SOMEWHERE), but when I do, it really stinks.

I've got this Patreon going to keep myself somewhat busy, and to give me a steady outlet. The problem is that 3-4-5k fiction pieces get buzzed through pretty quickly (I just wrapped one up right before writing this, in fact), so I get "ahead of the curve" on there pretty easily. I've got a plethora of other products -- solo stuff, some announced, some still private -- to peck away at a little bit, too...but even that personal stuff, even that stuff that nobody's holding their breath waiting for? Even that stuff flows better, when I've got something else going on.

When I have a deadline, it feels like I have all the deadlines, and that little nudge, that little direction, that little (ideally) contracted reminder is enough to get me to focus on what needs done. I write the project that's coming up due, and then I write something else. I get in the zone. I work.

But in downtime-downtime...oof. It's rough.

I don't like being becalmed.

Nine: Revisions

I was going to call it "editing" or something, but revisionist history is a matter near and dear to my heart (given my formal academic training is largely as a historian, not at all as a writer), and I thought it would be cuter this way. Plus I have no idea if anyone's reading this, so I can name things whatever I want to.

I'm working on some editing right now, and I realized what my biggest problem with it always is; not rewriting things entirely.

I've tried my hand at doing a little editing/proofing for buddies, in the freelance biz, and the hardest part is trying not to turn their words into my words. When they write something I think is clunky or awkward, I have to remember that their voice isn't my voice, and my voice isn't theirs; what works for me (or what I THINK works for me) needn't do the same, and vice versa. I'm a terrible editor, and I always warn them that, because I'm basically a backseat writer. It's something I'm working on, something I'm trying to get better at to help out, but, yeah, I suck at it.

Trying to do some editing on my own stuff, meanwhile, is much the same (which, at least, makes me feel less like a narcissistic psychopath who just wants all his friends to write like him; I rewrite EVERYTHING I'm supposed to be editing, so at least I'm not a jerk about it). I recently had the opportunity to scribble away on an existing manuscript -- a novel, if you're interested, and a Kincaid novel, if you really care -- and I find myself constantly...doing the thing. Wanting to not just fix errors, but rewrite paragraphs. Reformat scenes. Tweak language. Add details. Foreshadow something later in the book. Rewrite some dialogue. Exclaim! Question? Specify.

I'm a terrible editor, because every document I open in order to nominally edit it, what I want to do instead is write Document 2.0, entirely. A sequel, a major revision, not just a...a...smoothing over of rough edges. I don't want to tweak and nudge, I want to hack and reform. I want to take the initial ideas of that first story -- whether mine or someone else's -- and I want to use those motivators and write something new with them. I want to use the first draft as nothing but inspiration to churn out a new work.

I'm a terrible editor.

I don't know how good editors do it, but -- as always -- my hat's off. They can have it.

Eight: On Failure

As of ten minutes ago, my Inkshares campaign has expired, lunging and flailing to the finish line well short of their required number of pledges/pre-orders. I started off with a bang -- a bang, I tell ya! -- getting six or seven new backers a day, and finishing strong in the Inkshares contest that motivated me to set up the page in the first place.

Then it just kind of...stopped.

90 days is a long time to try and keep that kind of energy going, to keep on and on and on spamming and spamming and spamming about it, to keep on expecting people to like and share and spread the word for you.

$15 for an ebook ($10 as the preorder/pledge special discounted price) is also kind of a lot of money.

And 750 preorders feels like kind of a lot of preorders to set as a threshold, to hit the full tier of Inkshares support and production.

So it was lots of things needing lots of success. And -- to make it clear I'm not entirely blaming the Inkshares model -- it was my own fault, too (including picking Inkshares, if things are wrong with their crowdfunding model, and I chose to use their crowdfunding model, that's on me, not them).

I hadn't planned on Inkshares. I saw they had a sci-fi contest, I got excited, and I jumped in, head first. I heard about the contest late Saturday night, finished gaming with some buddies, got home about four am, and then got up around six, after tossing and turning, and my wife found me sitting in the living room, typing away, getting ready to share some preview fiction.

I jumped the gun. I got psyched because they were hosting a contest while I was working on a story, it felt like good timing, and winning that Inkshares/Nerdist sponsorship would'a been great. I jumped into their contest when it was half over (still finished in the top 20%!), and just didn't take the time to crowdfund right. I didn't spread the word ahead of time, I didn't leak a few previews before the campaign kicked off, I didn't advertise anywhere professionally; I got excited, and I jumped the gun, that's it.

So, with the failure of my Inkshares campaign for Over The Stars, I'm now officially 50/50 for personal crowdfunding projects (though much better than that if I get to count projects I've been a part of). Sometimes you get the project, sometimes the project gets you.

The answer, now, is focusing back on the initial plan. Keep freelancing (check), keep a steady in-flow and out-flow of contract projects to stay busy, stay creative, and stay profitable (check), get a Patreon up and running for additional creative outlet, fan interaction, and income (checkity check check check)...and move Over The Stars to the back burner, on a slow cook, to likely be a Kindle Direct publication when the time comes (check).

Failure sucks. Trying something and failing? Yeah. It's just about the worst. But I think what's worse is not trying something. As it is, I know folks were about $1,000 interested -- ahead of time, sight unseen! -- in buying copies of Over The Stars, and in doing so at Inkshares' prices. If I can get things finished, edited, and ready to be read, on my own schedule, at my own price scale, and with a little word-of-mouth on my side, a little banner advertisement, a little hype ahead of time? This time, the failure really does just feel like the prelude to success.

Wish me luck. I'll see you there.