This week has been chaotic and exciting on multiple levels. The new computer. The new OS. Revealing the tremulus proofs. Getting Ravaged Earth (electronically) out the door. But there is always more to be done. And other parts of life get in the way. We often say REAL LIFE gets in the way, but let’s face it. For myself, and other creative types, this is our real life. It’s glorious, and ugly, and fascinating. And a dozen (or more) words cannot even hope to capture a fraction of who any of us really are. As someone who works largely in [...]

They say an artist is always as good as his brush, a carpenter only as good as his tools, and a writer, a designer, well, chaps like these get little attention. In fact, we’re supposed to be content with a notebook, a pen, and a brain brimming with creative bent. Let me tell you, we who take a turn at pushing the boundaries of endless imagination are getting the short shrift of that deal. It’s not all bad. Let’s face it. As writers we can (and often do) create wherever we go. Not a lot of folks can say that. [...]

I’m in the process of refining some elements of my life. In other words, the plan is to work smarter, not harder. I spend a massive amount of time sitting in front of a keyboard, so I’ve decided to update the Mad Lab a bit. This information will be of use to you writer types out there who don’t want to do all the grunt work that I’ve done in these matters. Some of the things I’ll be getting, in short order, is a new computer (I’m essentially making the switch from PC to Apple for the first time outside [...]

It is better to be too busy than not busy at all. It helps pay the bills and pass the time. And I have been too busy. So busy writing, working on production things, and spending so much time in my head, that it seemed a sin to work on anything that was not directly related to getting the work done. And then there was the illness that drained my energy and left me spent and fatigued and I had no words left over for socialization at the end of the day. Either on the internet on in real life [...]

Today, on the Reality Blurs’ Facebook page, I asked, “Why do I create so much work for myself?” It wasn’t meant to be whiny or self-pitying or any of another hundred things. And no one took it that way. Not really. They said things varying from humorous to downright nice. The real question wasn’t that, at least not to myself, but I didn’t feel that was the place to peel back the mask and get down into it. I thought I’d do that here. You see, I put a lot of myself into my work. It’s not like it’s any [...]

This is so late Friday, it’s actually Saturday morning. This has been a long, long week for various reasons, especially real life (which I’ll talk about more next week). Today, Jeff Scifert swung by the Mad Lab and picked up his copy of Agents of Oblivion (though he did spot it in a shop in London when traveling abroad). We talked about some of my secret writing today. Some of the mechanics and ideas I have in store for this definitely new thing I’m very excited about. The break has been good, short though it may be. I’ll most likely [...]

When I was in college, there was The Market in downtown Charleston and there were these ladies there who would lay out their baskets week in and week out. They were made from scratch. These ladies always had regular customers come rain or shine and they were there despite the latest craze or new thing that people in the stalls around would be selling. They always had smiles on their faces, and when they weren’t swarmed with customers, they worked on their wares and took pure enjoyment in what they did. Sure, they made their livings at this, but you [...]

Upon arising from another night of weird sleep and strange dreams, courtesy of spicy food and a combination of Law & Order and Supernatural before bedtime, I stumbled into the day unrested. I discovered it was the 29th, this though rising to the surface through a hodgepodge of random thoughts. Though it’s Wednesday, I’m already feeling like I’ve had three Mondays in a row. This happens when I deviate from my routine for more than a weekend. Today, however, I decided to set aside some of the glaring to-do’s glaring at me (as they are wont to do) and use [...]

Bouncing ideas off of others is something I’ve talked about in the past and that’s a good thing to due, but this is not that article. Today, we’re going to talk about the value add of social media and how it can be advantageous to our work lives. I’ll admit I was a naysayer early on. I didn’t think Twitter and the like were bad things, but I’ve seen a number of tech fads come and go over the years. Heck, I’ve spent my fair amount of time (and then some) on MUDs back in the day and remember when [...]

Confession. Over the course of the past year, I began to listen to a lot of podcasts. 1  Not just ones about RPGs, but about writing and all sorts of things. I especially find the ones at Nerdist quite good and believe many of you would enjoy them because, hey, overlapping demographics. Right? I especially dig The Indoor Kids because they talk about video games and the blurry area around them where culture, art, and philosophy all collide in a strange miasma of color and splendor. What prompted me to mention this today was the fact episode 30 deals with movies [...]