Hey everybody, I know it’s been a little while since my last post, but I’m back online for a bit. I’ve pretty much been putting every spare minute into the card game I’m working on, but now that I’m past the initial design phase and shifting the focus to playtesting, I’m hoping to have a little more time to spend on the blog, the podcast, and my own writing again.
My original plan was playtest–or more accurately–watch people playtest and take notes. Lots of testing and lots of notes for a few months, and then go back to the design after compiling the notes. And while that’s going on, I could work on writing again at night after the kids go to bed.
I even planned out what I was going to work on. I have this ghost novella that I’ve been working on for literally ten years. Every couple of years, I go back to it and try to finish the first draft. It’s got around 10,000 words and what I have planned should top it out around 12-15K. It needs some editing and whatever, but it’s mostly complete. The only thing lacking is the ending and I’ve got two or three ideas to put on paper and see what works best.
The goals was simple. Finish the first draft before my birthday in March, and then spend the rest of the month cleaning it up and then have a couple of other writer friends give me some feed back in April. Get it ready for submission by May 1 and then spend the summer launching the card game.
Then one big problem arose. I was on my horror Pinterest board and noticed an ad for a movie that came out in 2016. I wouldn’t have paid any attention, but that movie had a familiar title: It was the same title as my novella.
Not a huge deal, but I thought I’d check it out, anyhow. And I’m not sure if I’m lucky or unlucky for doing so. Because it’s the weirdest thing. Not only did it have the same title, but it also has a very similar story. So similar that it would make my story look like a copy.
And one more thing…the main character? Same name and similar backstory as mine.
What the heck? How can that even happen?
I don’t know. Maybe we are living in a simulation and in a previous life, I finished the story in 2012 and this movie was based on what I wrote? Or maybe in the previous live I wrote the screenplay? Or maybe I’m living with a duel personality and my other half wrote the movie?
That’s all way to frightening to think about, so let’s just chalk it up as a coincidence. Either way, I’m shelving this story for a while again. Even if I changed the title and the main character, I just see too many similarities with the movie and need to completely rethink this story.
So I think what I’m going to when I’m not working on the card game is go back to what I spent most of last year working on and that is an epic fantasy trilogy. I’ve got a few of the major plot points mapped out in Scrivener and a very basic outline of the whole series. And I think it’s good. I think it’s got potential.
Yes, I’ve never published epic fantasy. But there was a time when I could say I’ve never published YA. Or Science Fiction. Or Horror. You know, it’s all about learning and continuing to grow.
And that’s how I hope to spend the rest of 2019. Learning, growing, and creating.
I hope you’re having a great year so far, and check back soon. More stuff is on the way, as always 🙂
