update on the Togashi Dynasty

Disabled

I just sent in a draft of my L5R chapter, after beating my head bloody against it for the last week or so. Note to self: when estimating the amount of work involved in writing a chapter for a game book, word count on its own is not an adequate metric. This is not, repeat, not like writing fiction. It’s more like writing your undergraduate thesis.

I even have a bibliography. 4th edition books consulted in the writing of this chapter: core, Emerald Empire, Enemies of the Empire, Great Clans, Imperial Histories, Book of Air. Books consulted from previous editions: Way of the Dragon, Creatures of Rokugan, Legend of the Burning Sands. Also the L5R wiki. 4th edition books not consulted: Strongholds of the Empire. (And Second City, but that’s because my gaming store doesn’t have it in yet. Otherwise you bet your ass I’d have been eagerly looking up just what an Isawa Archaeologist does.)

Now I think I need to go feed myself and maybe drool at the TV for a little bit while I wait for my brain to regrow. I need it for some of these other projects whose deadlines are breathing down my neck . . . .

0 Responses to “update on the Togashi Dynasty”

  1. moonandserpent

    I have a *little* bit of pro RPG writing under my belt (sigh for a game that will never see the light of day) and yeah, it’s amazingly time consuming. The only thing outside of academic writing I’ve seen that comes close is comics writing. Congrats on surviving!

    • alecaustin

      I actually found RPG writing to be easier than writing prose fiction, but then I can vomit forth academic prose twice as fast as I can write fiction. So possibly I’m just a freak.

      • Marie Brennan

        Well, it also depends on circumstances. I used to be a lot faster at academic writing than I am now, and I probably could have gone faster on this if I knew my L5R canon cold. (I really, really don’t.)

        • maratai

          Trust me, L5R canon is…very complicated and portions of it are a hot mess. Even if you’ve read all of the fictions, there are still chunks of story in the damnedest places. Like, the chunks of story in the very short-lived miniatures game rules sets are probably wicked hard to get a hold of these days.

          • Marie Brennan

            I’m very glad I mostly didn’t have to deal with the nitty-gritty details of actual canon, just the general shape of it. As it stands, I’m sure there will still be fans bitching that the alternate history I’ve sketched out doesn’t make sense because of A, H, and V that I haven’t taken into account.

          • maratai

            That already happens with actual canon, so you’ll be in good company. ^_^

          • Marie Brennan

            Well, the good news is, I’m writing for the RPG crowd rather than the CCG. I get the impression they’re less . . . touchy about such things.

    • Marie Brennan

      I can see the comparison to comics, given that I spent half my time checking details of canon history, etc.

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