Chugging Along...

And now, after a couple of hours of writing, I have the following:

31,422 / 50,000
62.84%

I think I have a right to be proud. It's less than halfway through and I'm over halfway done. And I managed to finish that one story that didn't quite come out as expected and started one using the characters from last year's novel. Not copy/pasting, I promise.

I had another really bad time with my knees today, and didn't feel very well generally, so I am very proud of what I've got done so far, what with that and the playtest of CoC. I'm hoping I'll be able to sleep better tonight than I did last night, as well. Going to bed at 6 am should not mean that one is unable to sleep in past 10 am. At least, not if you're me.

Busy Buzzy BumbleBrit

Started applying for jobs today. Yeah, I know I'm still ill, but I'm getting used to it now, and I need to start now unless I want to find myself paychequeless for the start of 2007. That wouldn't do at all, would it? So despite the continuing illness, I've updated my CV and started looking for work, start date pegged for December. This gives me a couple of weeks at least to build up my tolerance for doing things like, I dunno, going outside and carrying out a day full of activity. I just wish my knees didn't hurt so badly. I think I'm going to get a cane. Where can I find a nice cane; does anybody know?

Not sure what I want to do tonight, projects-wise. There's always the NaNo, obviously - I finally did something with that "Voudon Udon" idea that dodgyhoodoo planted in my brain during last year's NaNo launch party, so I could finish that off. On the other hand, there's lots of coding that needs to be done on the City of Complications site, and I still need to find chat software; I'm probably going to stick to Yet Another Bulletin Board for the forums but I need a place for people to chat ... unless I do this via IRC, which I suppose is a possibility. Man, I haven't been on IRC in years; I hope I remember how mIRC works. So I could do that. On the other hand again, I've been having some ideas on how to start the actual text content of Urban Chaote, so there's that to consider...

Argh. Why do I do this to myself every godsdamned time? It doesn't matter how free my days are; every time I turn around, projects pile on projects pile on projects and my inspiration winds up pinging in every damn direction, leaving me standing in the middle of a pile of half-finished projects going, "What's next? What's next? Agh!" It's not that I can't focus on one task and get it done; it's just that when a piece of inspiration hits me, I tend to grab hold of it and start it up so that I don't lose it, knowing that I can come back to it later. But suddenly it's 'later' already and I don't know where to start with concentrated focused effort now. Everything wants to get done NOWNOWNOW, you see. I'd damn my muse if she hadn't provided me with so much good shit over the years.

Okay; let's try the old-fashioned logic thing. Certain of these projects have actual deadlines, primarily the NaNo. That has to be done in the next 17 days. And just because I'm very far ahead doesn't mean I can slack. I'll get my 50k words done at least before I think too hard about any of the rest of it. In the meantime, I'll consider what kind of shots of London I want for City of Complications so that I can either find what I'm looking for online or ask dodgyhoodoo to be a sort of a bespoke photographer - well, he offered. At least the character sheet submission format is easy - darkdanc3r used the CbN format for her submission so it's probably easier to just stick with that; it's pretty standard over the WoD boards I've seen anyway. It's now just a matter of writing out the text for a general London overview, and establishing things like chantries in London as a whole. It hasn't been a problem in the one playtest I've done because that was just a random street meet between darkdanc3r's character and a not-so-random supernatural who is, I'll admit, one of my favourite creations. So it's not like no work's being done on CoC just because I'm busy with the NaNo.

After that, I'll shift my focus to CoC coding and chat room software searches, work out how to establish the YaBB board on the site and write the general overview of segments of London that will tend to be used in chats. I'm thinking for that one that I'm going to have to set up a number of rooms, seeing as how London's so interminably big. I might be able to get away with City / West End / Various Chantries / Other, but I doubt it. West End is too rife with subdivisions, for example Chinatown, Soho, 'Theatreland', Covent Garden and Oxford Street. Then there's Other, which covers just about any segment of Greater London you care to name. I really need to narrow that down a little bit, but most starting Mage characters are not going to be able to afford living in Zone 1. I'll consider Greater London divisions later, I think, but I think I'll probably just divide out a few useful places that I already know quite well - say Wimbledon, Tooting, Finchley, Golders Green, Colindale/Brent Cross, Wood Green, Clapham and such - and leave the rest to handle itself. And then Camden, of course. Can't have any kind of London campaign without Camden. It doesn't have to be going to the trendy in my universe! Though I suppose there'd be scope for plot there...

Anyway. Once that's done, I can focus more on the Urban Chaote stuff. With all the London-centric spooky stuff I'll have already written by that point, I'm sure to have a better handle on it by then. I'm having different thoughts on the magical aspects of it, too, as the intial idea I'd had was apparently an unintentional recreation of Ars Magica's system and it makes dodgyhoodoo uneasy. I'd like to do more on it sooner, but I've got other committments, plus there's the whole job search thing, which really takes precedence over all of it ... but not at eight in the evening. Besides, beyond applying for things, what more can I do?

So now I have a Plan. Plans are good. Must also remember to book Dragonmeet - dodgyhoodoo reminds me that you can get tickets on the door, but they are always more expensive and anyway, advance booking means you spend less time in the queue. I do not go to Dragonmeet to spend time in the queue. Of course, this year I don't go to sell anything either. I just want to go shopping and play games this year. There's enough time next year for ACG to make another appearance.

My life is just never particularly slow, is it?