Writing on For Your Consideration

Big Blog Update

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:18:28 -0400

I moved my blog from WordPress.com to Bluehost and the open-source version of the WordPress engine back in 2018. I wanted more control, and wasn’t willing to pay the Automattic folks for the right to add more plugins to my blog. Instead, I probably paid even more money to a different corporation because, well, it felt better.

Technology has evolved, and I’ve decided to move backwards and save some money. With three or four hours of work, I migrated my entire blog off WordPress and into Hugo, a lightweight static blogging engine, relies directly on Markdown, and is simple and cheap to manage on a hosting provider like Netlify.

Claude Built Me a Markdown Reader

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Core to my effort to improve this blog and my writing more generally is a better revision process. I now use tools to catch mechanical errors or to point out when I’ve slipped into passive voice accidentally, but that doesn’t address the flow of prose, the feel of the words washing over the reader. Reading out loud is a superb way to improve, but I’m not always in a position to do that.

State of the Blog 2025

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Stephen Hackett briefly discussed some changes to 512 Pixels on last week’s episode of Connected. Some of those thoughts temporarily live on his Now page. Here’s the main thrust:

… my hope is to have fewer — but more meaningful — things in the RSS feed in 2026.

He also mentioned putting this on the Now page rather than in a separate post because he can’t bring himself to blog about his own blogging. Few people read my site, so I have no such reluctance.

NaNoWriMo 2025 Recap

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I thoroughly failed this year, but I learned two connected lessons:

I will always have distractions from writing.
Writing projects require consistency.

Distractions in life are a given. Friends and family visit us, we go visit family, people randomly invite us to some local event, and unexpected projects appear. My own hobbies distract me from my other hobbies. So much can demand my time and attention, and I have to prioritize where to place my effort.

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The secret to writing is never held in a book explicitly about writing. Rather, it’s in the collective hours and thousands of pages spent reading anything one can get their hands on. It’s in the act of noticing how an author’s actions work, of forming opinions about whether a bit of prose succeeded in accomplishing its goal, so one can determine whether it’s a new tool to emulate or an ineffective path to avoid. Then, it’s in the act of writing. Of joyously beginning with a clear approach, then hitting heads against walls, falling into despair, becoming convinced the whole effort is worthless, and coming out the other side with a workable bit of narration. Do that over and over, while also reading, while also exploring the world, and one may just become a writer.

Local LLM Thesaurus

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It’s always more fun to work on something other than what I should explicitly be doing in the moment, so ideas and small projects naturally arise from procrastination. I was having trouble returning to my NaNoWriMo work after my sisters visited last weekend, and I took fifteen minutes to learn how to locally run an LLM.

My ninety percent use-case for LLMs is word refinement. While writing I will get a word stuck in my head, the wrong word for the exact feeling I’d like to describe. So, I tell some LLM (often Claude) to provide several more synonyms with varying connotations. This doesn’t rely on having up-to-date knowledge or internet access, so a nimble, offline, and local LLM would fit the task perfectly.

My 2025 NaNoWriMo Plan

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

NaNoWriMo, the organization, is on the ropes, or perhaps entirely dead, after a change in focus and an AI-related public relations snafu. None of that affects my plan for participating in the core of the event: writing at least 50,000 words in a month.

I initially wrote this post with the intention of delaying NaNoWriMo until February. This November will be hectic: I’m transitioning roles at work, we have visitors for two long weekends, followed immediately by a trip home for Thanksgiving. The likelihood that I will write 50,000 cohesive words in November is slim.

Summer 2025 Writing Process Update

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Each time I commit to sharing my writing process, I jinx myself to undergo a radical change within a month. Yet, my hubris tells me that this update is different.

Revisiting Morning Pages

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I discussed morning pages just over one year ago when I was one month into the practice and, as it turned out, one month away from dropping it. My last set of morning pages was July 27, 2024.

I’ve been in a creative rut over the last couple months, often writing blog posts last-minute, not making progress on other projects, and not even taking time to read consistently. It’s hard to pin down a cause but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t try a treatment. I’ve written 1000 words of morning pages each day of the past week, having made two changes that I hope will help it stick.

The Lyttle Lytton Contest

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This delightful contest celebrating the command of language by constructing concise opening sentences to hypothetical novels bursts into my awareness each year as internet denizens share the best (worst?) entries. Nominees display subtlety and nuance by brazenly breaking as many written and unwritten literary rules as possible with fewer than 200 characters.

This contest appears built for social media, despite starting in 2001. It drives to the core of good and bad writing by isolating a single sentence, perhaps two, given only the context that it begins a book you’ve just plucked off the shelf. The analysis of each worthy submission is deep and, most importantly, funny.

My First Article For the SABR Games Project

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I rejoined SABR a couple of years ago and focused my volunteer work on fact-checking articles for the Games Project. These accounts of past MLB games are notable in some context of the author’s choice. They could be historically impactful, meaningful within a player’s career, highlighted by a rare event, or any other such factors that make an otherwise mundane day in baseball history something worth remembering.

Last month I decided to try writing one of these articles. I trawled through the archives of Minnesota Twins history for interesting seasons and landed on an early game in 2009 that defined the year for Jason Kubel.

The Performer

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I initially drafted this story as part of a broader writing effort related to The Last Question. All the idiocy happening in the US government and in the world of large corporations encouraged me to finish it.

You can also find it on my fiction writing site.

Review: An Update on LLM Satire

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I gave Claude (3.7 Sonnet) the same prompt I provided ChatGPT two years ago: Write a short article in the satirical style of The Onion, titled “Optimistic AI Just Happy to Be Here”.

I also went back to ChatGPT to see how it has improved.

Claude’s attempt.

Two Good Essays

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

These are two essays by a couple of “guys on the Internet” whose work I enjoy. John Gruber created Markdown and now works in the Apple/tech media space. Merlin Mann used to be Merlin Mann, one of the first modern productivity gurus. Now, he’s essentially a comedic personality. Both are tremendous writers, and these two essays are supremely affecting and have unique styles that show the authors flexing their muscles.

NaNoWriMo 2024 Results

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Well, I did it. I was on the ropes a few times but always found the time, energy, and creative hook to keep my story, It’s Like Jazz, moving along and hitting the requisite 50,000 words.

NaNoWriMo 2024 Check In

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This has been a great experience so far. I had a great start, followed by a few rough days after a five-day trip to Denver. I caught up this past weekend and am back on track, though I’m looking to keep pushing hard because going home for Thanksgiving will only complicate my attempts to write.

Even with that said, I’m proud of what I’ve done so far. Compared to 2019, I’ve started building a better story. I’m more thoughtful about creating characters and pushing a plot forward. I certainly won’t have told a complete story by the end of the 50,000 words, but that’s not necessarily the goal.

NaNoWriMo 2024 Announcement

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I’m doing it again.

I plan to return to the basics for the first time since my initial attempt in 2019. I’ll be sitting at any number of devices—I have half a mind to resurrect my old ThinkPad that runs Pop!_OS and make it a dedicated writing computer—and writing a new novel wholecloth. I feel both intimidated and energized by the prospect. I’ve been working hard on other side projects, including writing blog posts in advance, to make sure I have the space to give this a good effort.

We Are So Back with iA Writer on the iPad

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

With iOS and iPadOS 18 out, I decided to give iA Writer another shot on my iPad. I adore it on my MacBook, and it’s been frustrating not having a consistent interface for my personal writing.

Lo and behold, I discover that iA Writer has been properly working with Dropbox since May! Dropbox decided to hop aboard the “modern File Provider API” train, leading to a slightly worse experience than many years ago¹, but a significantly better experience than when using any Dropbox text file would result in errors and conflicted files.

A Presentation on Word Doodles

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Earlier this year I wrote about doodling with words. Last month I expanded on the idea, turned it into a fun presentation, and presented to Erin’s lab for one of their meetings before we moved as a fun diversion. I used Keynote to put it together, and had a really fun time.

Enjoy.

Packing Up Stinks

Sat, 17 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

My thanks to Jack Prelutsky.

Packing! Oh, Packing!
I hate you, you stink.
I wish I could throw
All this stuff in the drink.
These terrible boxes
Are crowding my floor.
I’m getting so flustered
Each time through the door.

Packing! Oh, Packing!
You’re making me ill.
These thick cubes of cardboard
Are getting their fill.
The crumpling of paper,
The ripping of tape,
All makes me just want to
Run off and escape.

There's No Such Thing as Bad Publicity

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Staring deep beyond his bathroom mirror, George Kurtz, CEO of Crowdstrike, repeated “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” under his breath. He let his head drop and began absentmindedly splashing water on his face, hoping the bags under his eyes would disappear before the back-to-back-to-back interviews that began the next hour.

Looking back up, he wiped down his face with a nearby hand towel embroidered with the phrase “Keep Austin Weird” and forced a haggard smile across his face.

Morning Pages

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I began writing morning pages in June. I first came across the concept via Pagi when they made a post about it being rejected by App Store review. It was a funny way to be introduced to a new creative method, but I didn’t give it additional attention. The idea was tossed into some filing cabinet in my memory.

Morning pages resurfaced in the second episode of Paper Places, a new podcast about writing on Relay FM. Hearing a conversation with actual writers let me more fully connect with the practice, and I decided to give it a shot. Every morning since June 3rd, I’ve taken time in the morning—not first thing, I do my puzzles before anything else—to sit down at a device¹ and write about 1000 words, letting whatever pops into my head flow onto the page.

Doodling With Words

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Doodling is more than scrawling sketches and shapes in the margins of your notes. It encompasses any idle, unguided, and spontaneous bursts of creativity.¹ In a light-bulb moment a few months ago I rediscovered my love of doodling with words, and it’s now something I try to do when I have spare time. Doodling is a phenomenal way to passively develop a skill while enjoying the process.

Local Business to Make Play for Enterprise

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

ELKHART, INDIANA—John Wheedle, founder and owner of Wheedle & Sons Whittling, presented his plan to “go after the big market, starting with those hotshots down in Fort Wayne” during a gathering of business professionals and entrepreneurs at the Elkhart Community Center.

The evening’s theme was Aim for the Stars. Group members were encouraged to present on ambitious, long-term plans and then receive constructive feedback. Wheedle was third to go. On his way up to the podium, several attendees recall him saying “This is going to knock their socks off.”

Writing With Care

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I read a short dialogue with the previously-mentioned Frederick Hess, in which he complains about researchers intentionally obfuscating their ideas behind a wall of jargon. He argues that plain writing, using diction that is clear and precise, is the ideal way to present ideas. Anything else is grandiose and an attempt at an appeal to authority. While I don’t agree with several details in that discussion, or the flippant attacks hidden among the core of his argument, there is insight worth exploring.

George Saunders and Writing Better

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Two authors have had an outsized impact on my continued desire to hone my writing craft: Kurt Vonnegut and George Saunders. At the end of 2023 I read Lincoln in the Bardo and completed Liberation Day to begin 2024, both by Saunders, so he is front of mind.

A New Place for Fiction

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve created a new website, markrichard-fiction.org. I’ll reference any stories or other writing I post there on this blog, but they’ll mainly be hosted there. It’s using the Write.as service, which is a sleek and quick spot to make an incredibly simple blog. I wanted to separate what I write here—almost exclusively blog and essay fare—from stranger projects I hope to undertake.

The Appeal of Pageless Documents

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Today I discovered that Google Docs has supported pageless documents for over a year and a half. I learned this at precisely the right time, and now I’m rethinking how I handle many of my digital documents.

NaNoWriMo 2023 Recap

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I just completed my NaNoWriMo project for 2023. I wrote three stories for The Last Question world in thirty days, totaling 30,984 words. You can find the drafts on the NaNoWriMo page of this blog, with the caveat that they are indeed drafts. Let’s get into how this all went.

NaNoWriMo 2023 Check In

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I’m behind my 30,000 word goal, which is why I’m writing this post as a fallback instead of something longer and unrelated to NaNoWriMo. It’s still possible for me to maintain a pace that gets me done on time, but I haven’t been making as much progress in my free time as I’d like.

My biggest issue this year is that I’m still not allowing myself to write freely. I’m thinking a little too much in the moment, trying to self-edit, and not just getting a story out there that can be refined at a later date.

NaNoWriMo 2023 Announcement

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve done something for National Novel Writing Month each year since 2019. That first year was the only time I’ve “won” by getting to fifty thousand words, but I’ve always appreciated the exercise and change of pace required to make a reasonable attempt. November is just around the corner, so it’s time to consider my plans for this year’s effort.

(Another) iPad Writing Setup

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I switched back to Ulysses and refined the Writing homescreen on my iPad. I have no idea how long this particular setup will last considering the short time spent since I previously discussed this, but it feels stable, all my writing can live in a single app, and I can drop the dance I’d tried with iCloud to make iA Writer work across all my devices.

Going Back to iA Writer

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve finally decided to go back to using iA Writer on my iPad. This has several knock-on effects, with the most notable being that my drafts will all be synced via iCloud.

I say “drafts” because my plan is still to use Dropbox as long-term storage. I now have a monthly reminder to copy completed blog posts over to the proper spot in Dropbox¹ and will only use iCloud for in-progress work.

Five Years of Comical Start

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Last week I released Episode 257 of Comical Start, Pockets of Conversation. Its publish date is just a few days after the 5th year anniversary of our first episode, Multiverse. Grant was unable to record with me, so here is a lightly-edited transcript¹ of the 25 minute monologue that I did off the dome.

MuseScore and the Democratization of Document Creation

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I find music scores to be absolutely beautiful documents. In middle school I was engrossed by creating my own music and, more importantly, writing it down. There’s video evidence of me being jazzed about receiving a “Lyricist’s Notebook” for Christmas around that time. I also recall purchasing a journal of staff paper for ambitious ideas I had. Yet turning musical ideas into something that can be shared, let alone something that would look good, felt out of reach. When the itch to create music struck me again last week I remembered a new-to-me program, MuseScore, that changed everything.

Bad Handwriting and Journaling

Mon, 01 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I was recently in San Diego and decided not to fly with a fountain pen.¹ So when I sat down to journal I was back with my original roller-ball Retro 51 Tornado, and my handwriting was awful. It helped me realize how intentional I still am while using a fountain pen, and how that encourages better journaling sessions.

Going back to a traditional pen kicked my brain into a rapid jotting gear that spewed rough characters and jagged sentences all over the page. These entries were initially shorter and had reduced impact. Once I realized what was happening, I took additional care to write slowly and focus on my handwriting. This had a knock-on effect of making me think intentionally about my day and allowing the journaling sessions to improve.

Dynamic Content and Curriculum

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Textbooks have been the premier mechanism for presenting curriculum for centuries. While the printed word is powerful and, for many people, superior to digital versions, the physicality of textbooks requires that their content remains static. Errors are inevitable, as are changes in relevant topics or pedagogy. New editions are the only tool to fight against the decay of a textbook’s utility.¹ In an educational landscape dominated by digital tools, it’s tempting to have content updated rapidly and frequently. This approach requires a deft hand.

Spring 2023 Writing Setup

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

It’s been a while since I wrote about my setup for various writing projects. It’s changed a bit since then, and is still not particularly robust. Consider this a report on the state of the world.

Writing and Thinking

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

When you think something, what precisely are you doing? Does the thought take shape in your head, or does it only coalesce as it’s put in a communicable form? About once a year, I go down a little rabbit hole of curiosity regarding language, communication, and the meaning of thought. Here I go again.

Building a World

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

After procrastinating on NaNoWriMo 2022 to a sufficient degree that it has just become another story I hope to finish at some point, this week I’ve turned my attention back to The Last Question, which was my world of choice for NaNoWriMo 2021. I have some ideas for where I’d like to go next.

NaNoWriMo 2022 Check In

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

As is now tradition, I’m giving some attempt to National Novel Writing Month. And, as mentioned in my post about getting into fountain pens, I’m doing it by hand in a notebook.¹

A New Writing Implement

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

It’s an odd experience drafting a blog post on paper, but here we are.

A Potential Change to This Blog

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Whenever I think about this blog, I feel slightly disappointed in myself. My internal impression is that many of the posts are written at the last minute about nothing with any lasting interest. Most frustratingly, I want this blog to be a tool to improve my writing and communication, yet I’m not convinced I’ve set up a framework that lends itself to that goal. I began to think about a change.

Kurt Vonnegut

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I first started drafting this post in January of this year. As time has gone by, and it’s been yet a little bit longer since I stormed my way through many of Vonnegut’s novels, my words feel increasingly inadequate to describe how much I admire and enjoy this great American writer. So it goes.

Last Question Update

Mon, 09 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Two months ago I revisited The Last Question, a basic RPG I wrote at the start of the pandemic. A group of friends has agreed to start an actual campaign with me later this year — we’ve had trouble finding a good time to get started — so I decided to retool the game itself. I wasn’t happy with the initial set of mechanics; it didn’t seem to mesh with the intent of the game.

Journaling Update

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been journaling consistently for a few months, and it felt like a good time to quickly reflect on how this habit has grown.

I’ve been using the app Journey to give me a daily prompt for a gratitude statement, just a single sentence, and have handwritten in a journal each evening. I made it through a Moleskin notebook by the end of February, and have since upgraded to a Rhodia WebNotebook. It’s a huge upgrade in quality, particularly since I’m using a nice rollerball pen that bled through the Moleskin pages.

Practicing Missing

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve watched and listened to hours of disc golf content across YouTube and podcasts over the past few years. Since I started playing about 9 months ago, an increased portion of that has been focused on instructional content: specific videos about form, techniques, tips and tricks, anything to help me feel more comfortable and consistent on the course.

Just like with regular golf, putting is the most frustrating aspect of the game. Particularly in disc golf, where you are approaching this relatively large basket and all you need to do is throw the disc in from 20 or 30 feet (ideally), it looks childishly easy. Yet I have a lot of trouble with consistency. Sure, I can make a few, but overall I’m missing in pretty much every possible direction during my round. In fact, both on the course and during my warmup I am practicing how to miss.

Rediscovering the Journal

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

My older sister gave me a lovely leather-bound journal one month into sixth grade, when all students in my grade went on a week-long trip to a nature center called Eagle Bluff. She encouraged me to use it to keep track of the experience, and I wrote in that journal for most of the next year or two. Looking back, many entries were a bit dramatic, but I think they were accurate to how I felt at the time. It was my first time using a journal, and in particular my first time doing serious introspection. I enjoyed the process, but eventually lost the habit and didn’t try to pick it back up regularly until college.

2021 NaNoWriMo Result

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I failed.

There was a part of me that anticipated this. In 2019, I was almost finished by Thanksgiving, which was important since I wouldn’t be able to do much writing that week. This year, I was “on pace” by the time Thanksgiving week rolled around, and I had very little time or focus to continue writing.

I ended up reaching just over 30,000 words in November, and finished three of the six stories I was aiming to write. However, I’m happy with the basic drafts of those three, and am still motivated to keep writing the others. I can make the time to do so, even if it isn’t under the auspice of NaNoWriMo. I won’t be updating the NaNoWriMo page though, as the PDF linked there is a record of my actual progress during the month.

The Subtle Notebook

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I finally bought a couple Subtle Notebooks from Cortex Brand. I won’t go into their whole deal; I’d like to just focus on this particular product.

I’m a notebook hoarder. I’ve always enjoyed having journals around, with different shapes, paper types, and cover styles. Admittedly, many of these are still blank, or only partially filled. Some of them have a specific use-case that has run its course (or has been extensively delayed), while others are too nice, too boring, or just don’t feel quite right for some things I have in mind.

NaNoWriMo 2021 Check-In

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I’m nearly halfway through National Novel Writing Month. You can check out some more info, including a PDF of my semi-current progress, at the NaNoWriMo page.

This is my second time fully committing to this project. My first time in 2019 was pretty straightforward. I just let myself write, and really did not worry about the quality, or whether I was “finishing” the story at any point. This year is a little different. I planned out some ideas ahead of time, and want to use these stories as part of a larger project in the coming year.

NaNoWriMo 2021 Announcement

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve decided to fully participate in NaNoWriMo this year. You can track my progress over on the NaNoWriMo page of this blog.

Fall 2021 Writing Setup

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Last year, I wrote about my writing setup. It involved a few different apps, and while I had a comprehensive process laid out, I just didn’t get myself to follow it consistently. I stopped using Ulysses, and went back to writing on whatever text editor happened to be available, or typing a quick post directly into my blog CMS. It was rather chaotic, so I’m looking to compromise this year.

I Love Limericks

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Something so pure and so true
As a limerick spun out of the blue,
Will always leave me
Feeling ever so free
That I can’t help but share it with you.

A Brief Encounter

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I watch my shot glide to the basket on hole 18. It’s a short hole to finish the course, but treacherous. The basket is perched in front of a large boulder, and anywhere off a straight line to the basket is a precipitous drop-off.

My shot lands a little short, to the left, but on the flattest line down to the basket. It’s my typical safe shot. I hop off the tee pad and collect my things. As I begin walking down the path, a little tuft of fuzz catches my eye. It’s quite still overall, but the bits of fur at the end wiggle in the light breeze.

They’re mostly black, with a clear white stripe down the middle.

Mechanical White Noise

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I recently discovered that typing on a mechanical keyboard does an excellent job of maintaining my desire to write.

Typically I use a Microsoft Sculpt ergonomic keyboard when I’m working at my desktop. I bought one only a few months after moving to San Diego to use at work. Once my hands got used to it, going back to a standard keyboard at home didn’t feel quite right. So, I now have two of these split ergonomic keyboards.1

New Writing Workflow

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Over four years ago I wrote a post about my off-the-cuff writing style. It was a flash-bang approach with only minor edits along the way. However, since writing stories for NaNoWriMo last year I’ve been rethinking my broader aims for this blog, and what processes can help me achieve them. Writing a post each week is a fine goal, but if they aren’t each in service of something larger it’s hard for them be anything but a pleasant chore. Subconsciously, that far-away target was establishing a writing routine with the hope it would improve my abilities. I think it has, but it took a concerted effort in editing a short story (and a few other projects before) for me to recognize that growth. It’s time for a change in approach and a new target.

They Come Again (NaNoWriMo 2020 Story 2)

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s the second story, a little late, but I think much better because of the time I took to actually revise it. Again the basic idea came from /r/WritingPrompts, but I fleshed it out more. This has been a fun experience, and I look forward to doing a bit more in-depth editing and revising of my own work on longer pieces in the future.

Perfect Shot (NaNoWriMo 2020 Story 1)

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Although I’m not doing a complete take of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, I still wanted to put in some concerted effort writing some pieces that weren’t blog posts or text adventures. So, I’ve committed to writing at least 2 short stories this month, a medium I find beautiful and incredibly tricky to nail down.

This first one is particularly short, only about 3 pages if printed, and the idea comes from a post on /r/WritingPrompts.

Text Adventures Part 3: The Mechanics

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Text adventures are, almost by necessity, designed to railroad the player into doing something without it being obvious or annoying. Any mechanics introduced should be a natural extension to the world the player discovers, provide sufficient freedom so they don’t feel like a funnel, yet guide the player in the correct direction. In the text adventures I’ve listen to played on the Cortex/Upgrade crossover episodes, I’ve noticed that mechanics often act as hints. They are like bumpers on a wall (which may kill you, but you can make a different decision the next time.)

All these realizations have come after thinking carefully through the mechanics and puzzles I wrote which were clearly bad (and the few which were actually good), and trying to figure out what precisely caused them to have the effect on the players they did. It’s often me not paying attention to my good sense and the feedback of testers. More frequently it’s me trying to subdue the text adventure genre until it allows me to try and tell a story, rather than building a story that works within a framework.

Directly, most of my text adventure failures have come from a single mechanic undermining any positive decisions I made.

Text Adventures Part 2: The Idea

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I want each text adventure I write to have a unique flavor. Mechanics aside, the story behind it should be fresh, typically built from a single idea, and the more I write the more my mind recognizes these singular bits of inspiration. One thought or phrase is typically enough for me to build a world from: sitting down with a thought, then branching out from the initial point in whatever way my mind flows. I’m going to discuss how this process worked for each of the four text adventures I’ve written and released so far, and try to dissect what I learned in the process. In the next post, I’ll focus more on the thought process (or lack thereof) that went into developing some of the game mechanics around these ideas.

Text Adventures Part 1: Why I Write Them

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve written several in-person text adventures modeled after Parsely games over the past couple of years. Through persistent effort, I’ve managed to improve them and recently began to notice a particular style develop. Since I’m finally pleased with where they are headed, I figured I would document my journey in writing them: Why I write them, how I find ideas, how I develop those ideas, and the actual mechanisms of making a document as reference. This whole set of posts will probably be four parts over the next month. So we start off at the beginning: Why did I start writing these, and why am I still writing these?

Tommyball Princess

Mon, 11 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I really enjoy the Unmade Podcast with Brady Haran and Tim Hein. They generate some wonderful ideas, and the fact that it’s two old friends hanging out reminds me of the conversations (and podcasts) I have with my own friends.

One particular bit that has been ongoing in special episodes is Tommyball. It’s a fictional sport with no clear rules (it’s essentially Calvinball), and in these special episodes it’s Brady interviewing Tim, who plays the role of a conceited former player, and current commentator, of Tommyball. The most recent episode has Tim reading the audiobook of his recently released autobiography.

The Last Question RPG

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I mentioned in my previous post about creativity during quarantine that I was working on writing a new game. I’ve been interested in trying to write something that moved away from text adventures and went into open-world RPGs. I’ve been inspired both by the Republic Commandos game run by Mikhail on an episode of OHAC (and in-person during college), as well as the Campaign Podcast he recently got me into.

Creative Quarantine

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Maybe artists and writers of centuries past had it right, that isolation and odd situations gives a creative surge. Being cooped up at home more than usual has led me to seek out more novelty, and with that has come a desire to create that novelty myself. Over the past weekend I messed around more with Garageband on my iPad, and wrote a small RPG (which I’ll post about once I play it this weekend.)

Won and Done?

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

I officially “won” NaNoWriMo as of writing this post on November 23.

Fighting Through Burnout

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

As I mentioned last week, I’m participating in National Novel Writing Month. As of writing this blog post I’ve reached 37,000 words in my novel, which I’m quite happy about. I found the first week or so pretty easy to manage, and I consistently went above the official daily word goal.

The last week has been a bit tougher. I set a personal daily goal of 2000 words, and I have managed to hit it every day so far. But it’s been tough at times. Many nights I’ll have only written 800 words or so, and think about just calling it for the day since I’m ahead of the official mark. But part of this month is being disciplined on my own; the official goals aren’t that meaningful, they are just a guide. I want to do this with internal motivation, that’s the real challenge.

National Novel Writing Month

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

November is National Novel Writing Month, referred to as NaNoWriMo by the cool kids. The official goal of the event is to write 50,000 words of a brand new novel. More loosely, it’s to write 50,000 of some novel (perhaps you’re finishing last year’s, or revising your current one.) Or if you’re not in the novel game, maybe just write 50,000 words. Or write a graphic novel with some constraint. In reality, it’s an event designed to get people writing and to build the habit of writing every day. The word goal is just to encourage you to silence your inner editor for a while, and let your brain throw crap on paper.

That's a Bad Pirson

Mon, 07 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

I was on one of my favorite subreddits today, /r/learnmath (of course I sort by New), and a question came up that ultimately came down to understanding order of operations. These always frustrate me because they stem from a poor understanding of how the order of operations work; furthermore, any problem involving order of operations can be fixed and cleared up with an additional set of parentheses.

Consider this math problem below – the type I see making its way around Facebook.

Coffee Shop Blogger

Mon, 17 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been curious how cultural trends adjust our feelings toward various habits people have. The biggest change to me has been that of the hipster blogger, sitting in a coffee shop with their MacBook, doing some personal photo-journalism for the benefit of mankind. I think the common notion of what, and who, a writer is has changed dramatically. No longer is it necessarily someone cramped up in an attic, papers everywhere, a drink at hand; it can be anyone with just about any device. I’m sure there are people out there who write posts from their phone – I know I’ve at least edited a few posts from mine.

No Keyboard for Old Men

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

As I come to the realization that a significant part of both my work and personal hobbies involve sitting at a computer, I have become increasingly wary of the stories I hear about things such as repetitive stress injuries (RSI), and what will likely be the impending damage to my eyes. In an effort to avoid, or at least delay, the former issue I have tentatively purchased an ergonomic keyboard. Specifically, the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard from Microsoft. I say tentatively because it’s not cheap. I may return it, but so far I’ve put a few thousand keystrokes on it and it’s feeling pretty good. This review is meant to get as in-depth as a keyboard review can be when written by someone who has never written a keyboard review. I’ll briefly explain my rough, but sufficient, testing procedure and what I found out. Then I’ll get into some details and comparisons I noted to other keyboards I’ve used.

New Wordpress Editor

Mon, 03 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Wordpress (both the .org and .com versions) is rolling out a new native editor. It is a “block” system, and I am entirely unsure how I feel about it. I figured I would give them the benefit of the doubt and try to write a somewhat complete post using the Wordpress.org back-end, with this new block system, and see how it goes.

New Blog

Sat, 17 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Yesterday I switched over from using Wordpress.com to hosting my blog on Bluehost and using the official Wordpress blogging environment. The main difference here is when you are using Wordpress.com, there is some gray area about who really has control over the content. You are ultimately at the whims of their hosting structure, and also you must pay through the nose to access the various features of the actual Wordpress blogging platform it claims to deal with.

New Story and Trevor Project Donations

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I recently put a short story I wrote on Amazon. It’s called When You Come Back. You can find a link to it here. When I originally wrote it, mental illness was not necessarily on my mind. But, the majority of its readers have told me it resonates with them to a fairly strong degree. So, I’ve put it up for $1 and any proceeds I receive will go towards The Trevor Project, in support of mental illness assistance. If you’re not interested in the short story, or in providing Amazon with some of the overhead that comes with buying a Kindle book, you can donate to them directly. If you want the story in PDF form, you can contact me.

Shameless Plug

Mon, 16 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

An extension cord walks in on its son, a vacuum (three-pronged cord of course), plugging itself into an electrical outlet. Aghast at what it sees, the extension cord can only cry out: “You shameless plug, you’re grounded!” I’m going on vacation this upcoming week. This original joke is the best I could do. The actual shameless plug is my friend Brandon’s review blog, as well as my competing review of his blog, where I verbally abuse and critique his writing even if I have not experienced whatever he is reviewing. It’s all in good fun.

Drafts and Completion

Sun, 11 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve been struggling a lot over the past few months in starting a new post, or a new piece of writing for myself, and faltering a few paragraphs in, not sure what to do with myself. A large part of this, as was mentioned in a previous post, is due to my habit of editing as I write. I don’t often plan my writing ideas, put them in some flow chart or other organizational structure, or summarize the points I want to make before I write. This helps keep my writing natural, and keep its place as a release valve rather than work. This also puts me in the position of sitting down with what seems to be a well-formulated idea, only to have it peter out faster than anticipated. I recently had a conversation with someone who pointed out that this isn’t necessarily bad, as it still shows that I’m thinking about these topics. I start to second-guess my own thoughts. It also means that I am still writing, even if the finished product does not get produced as prolifically as I would ideally have it. All this has led me to think about the importance of completing projects in life, and to what extent my large folder of draft documents can be justified and excused.

The Right Tool

Thu, 15 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

As I have progressed through college I have found it necessary to look for and invest in the right tools for the tasks I have at hand. I think it is important to be aware of how I work, and test out ways to improve my efficiency.

First Drafts

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The way that I approach a first draft is not quite the same way that other (more experienced and successful) people approach one. The general advice is to hack through it without looking back. Particularly in writing, it is important to not focus on any grammatical errors, any misspelled words or issues with flow. One needs to get all of their ideas onto the page before they can hope to begin the process of refining those ideas. I do the opposite.