Life Shift to Book Writing

In the next few weeks I'll publish my latest large project...and then life changes!

Photo by Gavin Allanwood on Unsplash

Solo RPG Publishing

Since 2019, my gaming blog Rand Roll has been the focus of my work efforts, from the pdfs published for Dungeons and Dragons on DM's Guild, to the random tables for system-neutral roleplaying games to the more recent push on Solo RPGs.

This year I've been working on my largest project, and expanded Gamemaster Emulator for solo roleplaying, vastly increasing the options available from my free version of Chaos Solo Engine.

It's been a massive project for me, and now it nears completion. With it I'll be able to change my focus to writing gamebooks and publishing those.

Gamebooks Writing

I made the decision to focus longterm on writing gamebooks a while ago, but knew getting to that point would take time.

Once my Chaos Solo Engine big 1.0 version is out, that will be the time. I'll still be writing solo random tables and variations, but it will no longer be the prime focus. I'll have templates and processes that can work away for me day by day, week by week.

There have been milestones this year too for writing gamebooks. We finished the first season of the 100 Endings Book Club (an online gamebook club), I finished the first full draft of a gamebook and asked a couple of people to test it, and I attended Fighting Fantasy Fest 6 in London, speaking to gamebook authors and publishers.

While the big change will be focusing on gamebooks, it's the lifestyle changes that come with it that are more exciting to me.

Writing on Buses, Trains and Planes

For me the biggest change is that I'll be happy travelling more. Not so much the spending a week here or there, but that I'm happy doing lots of writing while in the process of travelling. Planes have always been productive on the laptop and on the Coach to and back from London I was happily writing away on my laptop.

This means I'll be happy going up to Bristol for the day on the bus (or a cheapish train if booked about a month in advance), writing on the way. It won't feel like a couple of hours which I should have been spending at home.

The same is true for locally to Sidmouth, Cornwall, Plymouth or further afield to Spain, Poland or further afield. Because I can travel in the off-season and whatever day, it keeps things cheap and I can still work a full day writing.

Finishing Up

I'll have to wait to see if the shift to gamebooks happens smoothly and whether it opens up the options I hope it might!

Good luck with any life changes you're hoping to make!