The Marshmallow Ranch Gazette (Patreon)

Volume 4, Issue 14 - Tuesday, August 13th, 2019

Howdy, patrons!

It looks like we'll just call the first week of August a 'gap week' and move on with our regularly scheduled updates -- sorry about that. I fell behind with a few things, and instead of being Lucy with the chocolate conveyor belt I thought it would be better to figure out why it happened and move ahead with a revised schedule. Being better with my time is a process, and setbacks are bound to happen. It's only a bad thing if I haven't learned from the stumble.

This time, honestly, I think it was the usual ADHD of overbooking myself in a fit of perceived competence. It's something that bites me in the ass all the time; there are so many great projects out there and so many wonderful people to work with, and I often say yes to things that I shouldn't until I have a firm grip on the projects I've already committed to. What ends up happening with so many balls in the air is that you drop one and all of them come crashing down on you when you go to pick it up. I hate disappointing people, and I know I have a reputation of over-promising and under-delivering. I've talked about this a little bit before, but I really want my word to mean something, and I want to be way more dependable than I am. In order to do that, I need a much more realistic perspective on how much I can handle at any given time.

A lot of this misjudgement comes from overestimating the amount of time something takes. On a good day, I can write about 1,500 words in an hour -- so I'll make a weekly goal to write 1,000 words every day with the understanding that it roughly equates to about an hour of work. But when it comes time to sit down for an entire hour and concentrate on a story that gives me so much anxiety….well, maybe I'll play a little Hearthstone while I noodle around with the idea. Suddenly, the hour's up and I have to move on to something else. There's no writing to show for it, either!

Since I've built my release schedule and workload around the metric of dedicating seven hours (or 7,000 words) to writing, I assume that should get me one episode of a serial (2,500 words), three blog entries (3,000 words total), and an extra 1,500 words to work on another short story, my Pathfinder games, do pre-writing for a different serial, etc. etc. But it never works out that way, does it? 

For me, the lesson here is to focus less on the results of all that writing and more on the actual process of writing. It's more important to put in the time than to anticipate what I'll have to show for it. I've said this before, but I want to be honest about where I am with the next serial episode by the time I post the Gazette every Tuesday so folks know what to expect. I've just begun writing episode 21, and if all goes well it will be ready by Thursday. But it's also possible that this will be another "gap week", depending on how my ability to keep focused shakes out. Either way, I'll be sure to announce on my Twitter account (@serialjackalope) Thursday evening what you can expect.

In somewhat better news, I had an onsite interview with a company for a day job yesterday! The outfit has taken its lumps in a highly-competitive space, but it's looking to bounce back with a lot of inexperienced but dedicated employees working to will it back in the black. It promises to be an...interesting time, but it's also a very good opportunity to help build something from the ground up. I can also take advantage of the company's mission for education to continue learning more technical skills! I should know something by later this week, and it's a real possibility I could find myself doing the office grind as early as next week. Fingers crossed!

With the serial and other short stories, I'd like to spend my writing time engaged in more deliberate practice. I do think a lot of the basic building blocks for storytelling haven't been given as much attention as they should, so in the coming weeks I'd like to work a bit more on that with "Crushing The Competition". Namely, creating distinct and well-textured characters; writing crackling and natural dialogue; working theme into the conflict and having a clearer sense of stakes. Right now, we know what Ralph is being tasked to do, but we don't quite know what happens if he fails or what he gets if he succeeds. Beyond the nebulous danger of being found out or failing to get the information, there isn't a good sense of danger or conflict tied up in it. Further, we're not sure what Ralph might want instead of what he's doing. In order to make the characters more engaging and for the plot to have momentum, all of this is going to have to be addressed.

This all came as an extension of feedback I received from my players during my last Pathfinder game. I was really curious why folks didn't seem to latch on to the story hooks I was laying out, and the response was basically "because there aren't clear stakes or clearly-defined motivators for the PCs". Looking around at my other fiction, it's a common bug. Working on that with this serial will help me develop a better eye for it in all of my other stories. At least, that's the plan anyway!

That's all for now, patrons! This week in addition to (hopefully) the next episode of "Crushing The Competition", folks donating at the Captain Crunch level and beyond will get a look at your first additional content! It's the rough draft of a short story I wrote for a dear and patient friend; by the time I post it to SoFurry, it'll be fairly different (especially the beginning). But! Here is the story in its original form. If you'd like to see it when it posts Wednesday, it's not too late to boost your level!

-Jakebe