I know I’m a little late to the party, but I’ve got something I’ve been working on. Hopefully I can get it done in time. I’m almost 70,000 words in so far, so I’m pretty sure I can meet the minimum requirement of 100,000 words. Unfortunately, even though I’ve got a decent amount in terms of words, I don’t have much in terms of story progression and the game still feels like it’s only at the beginning of the story.
I’m hoping that if I spend literally all of my free time writing and simplify the outline a little, I might just be able to get the game done in time… I should really put together a WIP.
I too am one of those fresh fish brought in by finding the contest. I posted my tale in the quote thread, but the short version is I got tired of never finishing any significant creative projects, and when I found this place after discussing the difficulty of finding a good coder for a SRPG game idea I had, it was perfect. The contest provides me the motivation I need to stop all excuses and actually do the work. I found out roughly two months ago, and in that time I have written 55,000 words and roughly coded about 12,500. My goal is to finish all writing no later than Halloween, and the code by mid-December. Then beta test and rush like mad to finish it all by January. It is hard to work on it with a family, a full-time job and a part-time job, but I am all in, and so far so good.
And I like this format of writing, so I already have a couple other ideas after this (a short prequel to my current story, and something really off the wall).
@Avery_Moore, yeah I think that’s definitely part of the trick; writing a story that can actually be told in 100,000 words or somewhere slightly higher. It’s hard enough to type/code 100,000 words, but to fashion a satisfying plot arc within that word count is another thing altogether.
Sadly, unless I lose my job in the next month or two (something I do NOT want to happen, for the record!) I don’t see any way to get something submitted by end of January. I have so many ideas, and a lot of scenes written down, and a complete story with multiple endings mapped out, but I’m working to get CCH2 over the hump this fall, and time is at a minimum.
I’m losing (leaving) my job in 7 days . It’s the only thing that gives me faith that I’ll actually finish my story in time for the deadline! Sometimes I think I should regret trying to write an epic. But epic fantasy is just… so… awesome…
I hope so. It’s not an existing sport like football or soccer or hockey, but a “15 minutes into the future”-type sci-fi sport. I had been working on the particulars of how it would be played for seven years before it finally came together, so this is my first opportunity to be able to write it.
@Eric_Moser You could always but CCH2 on hold until the competition is over and finish it next year. (That’s what I had to do with another project I’m working on. I’ve already been putting that off for years though, so I figure, how much difference is a few more months going to make?)
@Charles_Parkes Yikes! Leaving your job to finish your story sounds a little dramatic… At least tell me you hate your job. That way it’s a win/win whether you get the story finished in time or not.
I thought about doing that this past spring but ultimately decided CCH2 had to be my priority. Part 1 sold very well and many readers have contacted me asking about the sequel. It will be 2+ years since the first one was published. Past that, people start losing all interest.
I still intend to write my other story. I’ll just have to figure out when.
@Avery_Moore Well, I went part time a while ago, thinking it would give me more writing time…
Then my partner and I decided to leave everything and run off to live beside a forest in Wales (these places are pretty scarce and magical in the U.K. because we’re so crowded)
So I had to spend half the year working and half the year setting up another business - luckily she’s a fantastic sculptor and people love her stuff - to ensure we’d have an income after we left. As you’d guess, I wasn’t expecting writing to be paying the bills… (cough)
So I basically agreed to work two jobs till now so that from September to January I could write half a week, every week. In a fairy forest. Next to a mountain stream. While the world burns… (Hey, what did you expect, fantasy is the preserve of the escapist )
Makes sense. The readers you might lose from waiting an extra six months to a year to get CCH 2 out might cost you as much or more as one of the contest prizes. Especially when you consider that you will want to keep as many readers as possible for CCH 3 way off in the future. Looking forward to checking it out!
Sooo…I just got a car, which means my boss at the Midwest Chess Academy can start setting up some chess classes for me to teach at some elementary schools. Although I won’t get a lot of hours, the chess instructor job will pay vastly more per hour than my current job, so financially, it will at minimum equal out. What this means is that in the next few weeks, I’ll be able to quit my menial theater job and start taking my literary and chess careers more seriously!
I would be able to write twice as much, (something like 10k a week instead of 5k a week) but even then, I don’t think I’d be able to finish The Magician’s Task in time for the contest. I have 62k for it, but I anticipate the complete story clocking in at something like 500k. I did the math, and that means I’d have to write something like 3k per day, every day until the contest, which is basically impossible for me. Meh. I guess I’ll submit TMT for the next contest, if there is one!
Well, I’d love to have Supra in the running. However, I think the scope of my vision will exceed the amount of time that I have to get it written, especially during my last semester of school.
I’d love to enter my new project…but I got a late start and don’t think I will be finished by the deadline. But hey, at least I’m writing a new game. Maybe next time.
. It’s the only thing that gives me faith that I’ll actually finish my story in time for the deadline! Sometimes I think I should regret trying to write an epic. But epic fantasy is just… so… awesome…
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