A Not-As-Brief Writing Update - November 2025
Happy November!
You know that the year is concluding when the leaves on trees lining neighborhoods turn shades of orange, yellow, red, green, and those in-between – with names you have to Google to find out about. Here in the Pacific Northwest, a majority of us live for this season. Personally, I am more of a summer type of guy. Long days…dusk at 9:32pm?
Mmm, wonderful. *Insert an okay-hand emoji here.*
I want to bring you fully up to date for the first time in nuuuuumerous months with my projects. Yep, I stopped being consistent with these ages ago. Truly, it is none other than my fault, :P That said, it’s helpful to follow my YouTube Channel as well as this blog. I’ve uploaded a Mini Writing Update here and there. Usually labeled, “Writing Update from such-and-such place”. What’s more? The LegendFire Podcast mini series! In them, three strikingly good writers from the community to spill secrets of their craft to me over six podcasts. In reality, it’s advice, insight, laughs, and are worth checking out! Click on the underlined title above to watch the first one, or watch with the below link. The rest you’ll find on my YouTube:
Worldbuilding in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, feat. Caulder Melhaire.
For the Back Half of 2025:
August: The plan was to work on an indie (aka ‘independent’, small team) game project this month. Way back in March, I met a small team at GDC (Game Developers Conference) in San Francisco. They showed interest in me.
But, it fell through; I was ghosted!
That quite frustrated me. I was so looking forward to giving his fantasy game my best shot with screenwriting. Ugh. If you’re a creative director-type, please don’t do that.
September and October: There is this portfolio piece that I finished up its first draft of. I have what’s called an “Interactive Fiction” piece. I have all typed it in Microsoft Excel -131 lines of it - where the rows & columns serve as a useful structure to write a branching narrative. Read it through. Edit and spit-n-polish it. Following that, I program it with a simple programming language called Inkle. It was developed for this style of story. That is, click-based. Meaning, users click through each portion as you read it on your computer screen, or phone.
(Column B is the Golden Story Path. Columns A and C hold Branching Options at various points, and Development Notes in the blue one, as you can see. Looks kinda like fall colors, amirite?)
It will resemble something like this (featured on https://www.inklestudios.com/ink/):
No, it isn’t one of those typical games I like to write; it is for another purpose.
End of October to the Opening Days of Thanksgiving Month: I am resuming developmental revisions on Project Ellexis, after basically a four-month hiatus.
Yay!
My plan was to finish that interactive fiction project, then pivot over to the book. Why a change of mind? I miss writing the book. I just want to spend the time to get it closer to the end and then cross that finish line. My Lord in Heaven, I want it done. As such, I picked up Chapter 6, which was previously “finished”. There are portions of narration that need to be distributed throughout it. As of this week, I am revising Chapter 7, as seen below with my notes. No, it doesn’t say, “Chapter 7”. That’s because I broke it off from what was Chapter 6; it was too long for its own context and needed its own space.
I don’t mind that I spoil this; it’s in cruddy rough draft form. So don’t point at me and say, “Hey, don’t spoil your own story!” Well, you don’t know what else comes! :D
After tricky structural revision, I will be at an important milestone: 50% Through! Basing it off the First Draft chapter numbers. Still, HALFWAY DONE!! Hell yeah!
Sometimes, I wonder why we say the term “hell yeah”. I mean, I’ve spoken it plenty of times. *Shrug.*
How much time until this revision is completed? Not a clue lol. I can always guestimate three to five months, but it neeeever pans out. Authoring a novel is highly challenging, if you are not aware .
That is as good as any note to wrap this up on. I doubt that I will write a year’s end update. Perhaps a video instead? Also - harkening to what I said prior, there will always be another videogame project to find.
Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! Don’t get cavities from eating too many pumpkin spice snacks. Lastly, I hope Stranger Things Season 5 has a great premiere this month. It will be amazing seeing Eleven and her friend’s story come to its conclusion as 2025 also draws to a close.