Topic: Random Updates from Terry Amthor

[Terry K. Amthor]

How do you manage to keep everything organised with Word? Or is it simply done through experience?

I do an outline first, and that usually goes through a number of revisions. For instance, there are outlines of Emer IV and Artifacts now, and the Wuliris module has a very detailed outline. I then go in and fill in material as I get inspired (several sections of Wuliris are written, and lots of material from other books has been dropped into Artifacts).

[vroomfogle]

Anyway, you got me thinking about Jaiman, and I ended up doing some work on the Wuliris book!

Anyway, with this discussion of Jaiman, I am thinking more that a separate GM continent guide would be best (I think Matt H. suggested this?) with general history, and an overview of the continent, with profiles of each realm including the political structure, who's in charge, etc, with some secret GM info on intrigues. Lots of general maps and travel information. This is something that I would actually prefer to edit rather than write, with someone pulling in all the already written stuff from Jaiman, Tanara and Xa-ar, and adding material for NE, and SW that I would provide basic outlines of. It would be a smaller book, like the Player Guide.

Yeah I floated this idea a while ago, and in fact started on it.   I think I've got the majority of material already assembled.   The Jaiman GM Guide would be a comprehensive resource covering all sections of Jaiman equally, plus filling in holes - such as complete cultural summaries, languages, trade routes/goods (imports/exports), currency, and maps maps maps.     The followup to it would be the Jaiman Player Guide, similar to the SW Player Guide but a basic intro to Jaiman using the GM Guide as a starting point.  It would have simple maps, along with cultures (and mechanics to go with it such as cultural ranks) to give the player nearly everything they need to make a Jaiman based character.

Hopefully I'll have some time in the future to complete such a thing, I'd still like to see it.

[Terry K. Amthor]

It's 60° F, dark, misty and overcast here in VA, perfect writing weather. I had to open the windows, especially because this won't last long. If you (as a fantasy character) could live anywhere in the Shadow World, where would it be, and why?

[tbigness]

Norek of course, it rests on a body of water with skiff transportation and a beautiful setting and rich country side. Picturesque to say the least and an environment to take full advantage of at the Red Headed Lady...

[Terry K. Amthor]

Doing a little airbarge research prior to work on Eidolon and Emer II...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg_disaster

[Terry K. Amthor]

Anyone want their character to appear in a SW module or novel... and then be killed off?

http://www.cinemablend.com/pop/George-RR-Martin-Wants-Write-You-Game-Thrones-Kill-You-Off-64506.html

[egdcltd]

Red shirt auditions!

[Terry K. Amthor]

Just wrote a couple of pages on Gryphon—mostly Earthwarden stuff—which sent me into an Artifacts & Lost Tech sidetrack, and just spent the last hour cleaning up the outline for that book in Word.

Maybe I do need Scrivener...

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

[BrianI]

Maybe I do need Scrivener...

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

Terry, I think Scrivener would be well worth the investment for you (buy and learn investments, really). I got a copy the other year via NaNoWriMo discount.

It's a hugely useful app for writers - I find it much, much better than a word processor.

Highly recommended!

[Terry K. Amthor]

Goal for the week: Finish Gryphon Adventure!

Additional fun:
• Learn Scrivener (yes I splurged and bought it) while organizing Artifacts and Wuliris/Zor books.
• Emer II and Eidolon tinkering.

Wish me luck! I hope my stomach can take all the coffee and strong iced tea...

[egdcltd]

Let us know how you get on with Scrivener. I'm still considering it (I was also recommended Liquid Story Binder XE).

[Terry K. Amthor]

"This tale grew in the telling..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien.

What else is new? Made tremendous progress on Gryphonburgh the last few days, and somehow it grew another few pages, but the biggest two adventures have yet to be fully fleshed out. I am trying to write these adventures in the old style like Eidolon, with lots of detail, scenes, etc., to make it easy for the GM. And I am fleshing out the town, to make it a great place the PCs could always go back to and feel at home.

(oh and added some random notes into Artifacts and Emer II and Wuliris; ADHD you know)

The week is not over yet...

[Terry K. Amthor]

Finishing up NPC stats and the Green Gryphon Inn layout text for Tales. On the one hand, the Gryphon is a pretty sprawling inn, but Gryphonburgh is at the crossroads of two major Kingdom highways: the  Greenway (running between Haalkitaine and Ixbridge), and the N/S Steppe Highway (running south to Lethys). So, lots of traffic from all over the kingdom. I had originally imagined this book to be a small set of adventures set in a sleepy remote town, but as usual, things got a little out of hand. Though of course, a GM can pick up a generic town anywhere (or make one up him/herself). This book definitely has some SW mythology.

[BrianI]

How's Scrivener working out for you, Terry? I've been using it more actively again for a (non gaming) book myself - wondering if you're beginning to get any benefits yet.

[egdcltd]

How's Scrivener working out for you, Terry? I've been using it more actively again for a (non gaming) book myself - wondering if you're beginning to get any benefits yet.

I'm curious as well, before I take the plunge and buy it myself.

[Terry K. Amthor]

How's Scrivener working out for you, Terry? I've been using it more actively again for a (non gaming) book myself - wondering if you're beginning to get any benefits yet.

I have to admit that I have not done much with it yet. I loaded the material for the second SW novel into it, and I can see where it would be a useful too for that. I did start to try it with the Wuliris module, but abandoned that. Part of my issue is that it is not very strong on styles, especially if you import material that has been styled. I apply styles to the material even when composing it in Word--an old habit that goes all the way back to doing style codes that were readable by the typesetting machine. Seeing the various style headers and the hierarchy helps me organize the material--and generate a TOC (though in the latest version of WORD of course they completely changed how you do that) that lets me see a summary/outline.

So, it could be useful, but maybe only if I start a module from scratch with it. And for me, it's just one more imput/output layer, when I am already pulling text from IDD and Acrobat and other Word files.
 

[metallion]

Just going to leave this here...

"Move to Swink, they said.  Calm and idyllic, they said.  No trouble at all in Swink, they said."

[Terry K. Amthor]

Just going to leave this here...

"Move to Swink, they said.  Calm and idyllic, they said.  No trouble at all in Swink, they said."

Where did I put Swink anyway? I was sure that it was in NW Emer, but now I can't find it.

[Terry K. Amthor]

How's Scrivener working out for you, Terry? I've been using it more actively again for a (non gaming) book myself - wondering if you're beginning to get any benefits yet.

Just another note about Scrivener: it might come in very handy for the Space Master revision, since we are pulling in scanned rtf text, and there are so many different elements, and I have lots of little ideas for different things that would go great on one tackboard where I can keep everything in one place...

[BrianI]

Cool - glad to hear it.  And not just because I have a SM2 copy from way back or anything.