@Gower, an update to my update: I was just trying to upload my mammoth chapter file to cogdemos and it failed due to size (24500 lines, 371,400 words, 2.2MB) – all my smaller files uploaded with no problem.
I’ve messaged EvilChani to see about getting a special dispensation, but if that doesn’t work I’ll need to hack the thing in half to get it up there for playtesting…
So, way back in January 2024, I wrote up the following list of my goals for the year.
That’s a done, nope, nearly done, and… sort of done. I wound up with two chapters and most of a third on the sequel, which was a pretty accurate guess, considering all the variables involved.
At this point I don’t know if we’ll ever finish the edits on Diaspora, but I’ve made peace with the fact that it might not happen, so if it does, it will be a pleasant surprise.
And of course, Asphodel was published this year, a fact which I am still coming to terms with. Boy, did some people hate it.
But those people are in the minority of those who felt the need to say something in a place I would run across, much less to me directly, so I suppose I’ll consider that one a win.
As for December specifically:
narrator voice They were not the same goal. Not even close.
But I did get the 30k one beat by another 7k, and I’m set up to try and get as much of the rest done as I can in January.
It’s been a rough one, in a lot of ways. Thanks, everyone, for the collective spirit to keep these threads alive. I know I’ll miss Eiwynn’s presence here, and there will always be a tinge of bittersweetness to a new month’s thread, but I’m glad we’re carrying on. I can only imagine that’s how she’d want it.
Still not very close to fibishing the base writing for Chapter 3 of Guardian of Time, but I’m only 600 words off of my alternate 20k goal which I’ll consider a win given everything that’s happened this month. I’m going to try to get those last few hundred words if I can, but I have a long day ahead, and I doubt I’ll get it done.
Well, I did it 
I’m so proud of my work this year. It feels so sad to reach the last day of this thread without Eiwynn. But I’m happy we’re continuing the tradition next month, and I’m grateful to be around such a lovely group of writers. I’m wishing everyone a good new year 
Holy shit, how do you even keep track of something like that?
Well, here we are. Congrats to everyone who made even a dent on their goals this year. I’ve appreciated your camaraderie on this thread and all the others, and look forward to continuing it in 2025, in honor of Brittany. 
This year I’ve completed another HC game (Ink and Intrigue) and begun my first for HG (The Eternal Library). I’m quite happy with both of those accomplishments. I’m enjoying the freedom to write what I want how I want right now, and appreciating the feedback I get to help me make it better.
My goal for Dec was to get a demo and Patreon for The Eternal Library up before Christmas, and I’m pretty proud that I managed to do that! 
I’ve added another 8000 words to the project since then, and am hoping for a 20k update in January that will go to Patreon members for early access before being released to the public.
My biggest writing goal going forward is to stay true to myself and my story.
Sending everyone hope, kindness, blessings, and inspiration. May 2025 be good to us all! 
I ended up writing 8k words this month, coming short of my goal. I also didn’t finish Chapter Six of Meteoric, but I had a hectic month with a lot of changes, so I’m not beating myself up over it. I’m definitely looking forward to 2025. It couldn’t possibly be worse than 2024 
My goals this month were:
1. Engage those on my WIP page to hear what is and is not working for them.
I didn’t hear from folks this month as I did the previous month. Maybe I can do more in January to generate their feedback.
2. Write 5 days a week
I wrote most days, but I had to balance it with a book I am publishing next fall. I want to be hard on myself, for setting a goal I can’t reach, but I think I just need to cut myself some slack. I wrote almost 16,000 words, which I am proud of.
3. Determine the format for Exit Through the Gift Shop. … I need to decide whether the reader can return more than once at the same age, or just experience one visit per decade.
I decide the reader visits once per decade and expanded how much time a reader can spend in the museum during their visit. This was all in the direction of simplify, simplify, simplify! I also restructured how readers move through the museum, choosing one easily replicable mechanic, which continues to teach me the value of anti-complexity. I feel good about all of that.
4. I have 3 of 4 exhibits on the first floor in the 1930s written; this month I hope to finish that exhibit and write the other three floors as well.
I DID finish the exhibt on the 1st floor but ONLY finished the 2nd floor; the 3rd and 4th will have to wait. I am not sure if I set the bar too high or if it all made sense that I would spend half the month revisiting my earlier code to power-charge its ability to be written at scale. I spent time making a template for each hall in the museum, so I could focus on writing the content in each one rather than adding special coding elements. I also GRAVELY under-estimated the amount of research required. I am essentially building a text-based simulation of the Museum in 1936. For each exhibit I need to find photographs, text descriptions, and analysis of the content so I can picture it, 3-D, in my head so I can both describe it and narrate my characters experience within it. To get that level of detail AND accuracy is intense; I love it but I have to recognize that just takes a lot of time.
5. I hope to also add a major skills check at the end (already know what it is - and I am really excited by it - but need to first figure out when the skills check takes place.
I am excited to build it but won’t let myself until I finish the 4th floor.
6. Finally, I want to keep challenging myself to simplify, simplify, simplify, and make sure I am not writing content only a smaller number of people might experience.
Yes yes yes! I have done good work in this direction, but have more work to do.
My main goal for January is to write faster or, rather, get further in the book than I did in Dec. I think that means simply finishing the chapter - a draft of all four floors plus the skills check (behind the scenes visit). We’ll see!
Oh, and it’d be great if my main permission holder starts the next step of the conversation with me about rights…
Happy new years all! I look forward to seeing more of your work in 2025.
looks at my first chapter, sitting at 114949 lines… …well shit.
Progress on my 2024 goals
December’s Goals
For those asking… I don’t think I’m ever going to remove Eiwynn from my list. She was on it when she left us, and she’ll be on it until I do. It’s a sign of respect.
I’ve been spending some time on physio exercises and my leg/hip seems to be recovering; I’m working my way up to the level of strength training I was doing before I got injured. So I’ve been able to do that, which hopefully will put me in a better position when I get back to work next week.
I did revise one of my outlines and got it greenlit which I’m really pleased about; I also coded the first chapter of that project and started writing it.
Mostly though I’m proud of Honor Bound coming out this month, and responding to various bug reports as part of that, and I’m really pleased with the feedback I’ve had about it. That’s the big thing for the year as a whole - though I also released the Royal Affairs extra epilogue back in January, almost a year ago now. I’m really happy to have done both and to stretch myself creatively in a lot of ways.
The last few weeks have been tough but it’s been very nice to have this space and I’m glad it’s continuing to exist. I’m going to post a digest for the month and year in a bit, and I’m looking forward to thinking about writing goals on New Year’s Day.
I’m setting my writing goal for 2024 as finishing Shattered Eagle: Fall of an Empire! I feel confident about my progress recently, and so long as my schedule doesn’t prove as onerous as it was these past few months I should be able to return to my initial, more productive pace.
Wishing y’all a happy and prolific new year for writing!
Message EvilChani about it. I’m sure she’ll be able to help. (And, damn!)
Imperfectly.
I’ve finally added a big whack of readable if cliffhangery code to Choice of Rebels 2. That’s my December “target” “met”. Happy New Year, everybody.
Boy has this been a year. A whole rollercoaster of things I started to do. Soon enough itll be a year since I started actually writing an IF which is wild to think I’ve stuck with it for so long. As the hour nears ever closer to midnight. I shall bid you all a wonderful new years and I shall see you all next year.
Here is my monthly release and WIP digest for December 2024; congratulations to everyone who’s written something this month.
As most people here will know, our friend Brittany Martin, aka Eiwynn, passed away this month. Below is a selection of her writing:
And here is the rest of the updates and releases for the month:
Releases
Next month’s expected releases
Current Full Game Beta Testing
Hobby Project Releases
CoG WIP Updates
New Hosted Games/Hobby WIPS
HG/Hobby Updates
AletheiaKnights Review:
New Steam Page:
I’d like to point out that I updated Saturnine a few days back. I’d normally stay quiet about that, but I’m planning to start an open beta in… checks clock… two hours, so I kinda need all the exposure I can get.
Happy New Year.
Thank you! I’d seen it and thought I’d added it to my spreadsheet, appreciate the catch!
I have a digest for 2024 ready, but it’s… 24000 characters too long for Discourse to let me post it. Going to figure out how to wrangle it.
Thank you so much for preparing this for us all!
So the consistent daily writing thing went well, until Dec 18! After that, honestly, I’ll just blame the holidays. The fact that I did so well until then is a pretty good feat for me. Didn’t finish editing my Halloween Jam project but that’s okay too. It has been a hectic end to a crazy year, let’s see what the new year will bring.
January post will be up in a few minutes.
Note: Dashingdon is closing down.
And here is a giant digest for the whole of 2024!
30 published games, 160 brand-new WIPs, 142 WIPs from 2023 and earlier updated, 44 game reviews, 9 author interviews, 9 upcoming releases to wishlist on Steam… and a partridge in a pear tree.
I’m absolutely stunned by the creativity in this community. I hope everyone who’s written something this year feels good about what they’ve created. You’ve done brilliantly.
First off, here’s the release post for the whole of 2024:
Choice of Games Releases
Heart’s Choice Releases
Hosted Games Releases
Hobby Project Releases