Monday, November 18, 2013

Love and Monsters

I know I should probably be focusing my writing efforts on Beyond the Deadly Desert right now, but I'm in a little bit of a pickle.

You see, for most of the areas and regions of Oz and beyond that I've written about, I've been able to say something about linking your character to that place. Sometimes, it's about building your character as though they were from that area, like playing a bunny from Bunnybury. Other times, I talk about the benefits of having a friend from that place.

But there are a number of places beyond the Deadly Desert that are really very not nice. Particularly the regions that General Guph recruits from as he built his Army of Conquest in The Emerald City of Oz.

So I'm wondering: Should I make an effort to make the Growleywogs or Phanfasms playable or sympathetic, even though they had distinctly villainous roles in the story they appeared in? Has any Oz writer taken the opportunity to make any of those creatures into relatable characters? Or should I treat them as monsters or villains?

My view might evolve as I knuckle down into that section of the job, and get a better picture of what these guys are really like, but as I'm getting a run-up on it, that's what I'm seeing in front of me.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

And This Is Why I'll Never Win NaNoWriMo

Because today is the first day this month I've gotten to sit down and write anything. Between work and other scheduled activities (including a little gaming), I have been run ragged over the last few days. Last night, I finally got to bed at a human hour with no chance of anything else happening first thing in the morning. We'll see how long this lasts.

I still love NaNoWriMo (and NaGaDeMon for those who participate in it). Don't get me wrong. Because it's a good excuse, a kick in the butt to do the thing that you really want to do. And sometimes, that's what I need.

The day job and real life have left me pretty stressed and depressed recently, so I haven't been putting as much attention into some things. Like this blog, for example, or the thing that this blog is supposedly about. I've still got all the work I've done on Beyond the Deadly Desert, but it's been lying fallow for far too long. I think I'll take advantage of the excuse to blow the dust off of it and finish it.

I don't think it will be finished this month, but hopefully I can use NaGaDeMon to build up some steam and momentum and see how far that takes me.
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