Announcing 12 for ’12

Earlier this year, I had this insane idea, and I’ve been trying to talk myself out of it ever since. I call it “12 for ’12.”

It’s a year-long project in which I plan to write a novel every month in 2012.

Yeah, I know. It’s nuts, but I can’t get it out of my head.

It may not be as insane as it sounds. By novel, I mean a work of fiction that’s at least 50,000 words. The Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards each define a novel as anything over 40,000 words, but I want to be a bit more ambitious.

Fifty thousand words may seem like a lot, but most of my novels range from 80—100,000 words, so that makes these substantially shorter, more in line with the size of novels that used to get published before the publishing industry made the push for doorstop-sized tomes we see on shelves now that take years to write and months to read.

That’s also, not coincidentally, the number of words writers shoot for during National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo happens in November every year, which means it’s just around the corner. Last year, over 200,000 people gave it a shot, and 37,500 actually crossed the finish line on time. Of course, I’m hoping to take on not a month-long sprint but a year-long marathon.

I’m a full-time writer – this is my day job – and disasters aside, I write fast, often between 3,000 to 5,000 words per day. That makes 50,000 per month eminently doable. Toss in the other freelance gigs I don’t plan to give up, though, like writing the Magic: The Gathering comic for IDW, and that makes it a bit more of a press.

No matter what angle I attack this from, though, it’s going to consume a lot of time. Much as I’d love to, I can’t feed my kids if I take the better part of my year off to write a dozen novels. That’s where you can help.

I’m planning to launch a Kickstarter project on November 1 – right along with NaNoWriMo– to line up preorders for the books. This is a crowd funding system in which you can pledge a certain amount of money toward a goal that I establish. If we meet the goal, your credit card gets charged, and I get to work. If it falls short, you don’t get charged, and I go on my merry way.

This isn’t a charity, though, in any sense. In exchange for your hard-earned bucks, you can pick from a variety of rewards, including ebooks, softcovers, hardcovers, your name as a character, and so on.

For an excellent example, check out Tobias Buckell’s The Apocalypse Ocean novel, which just got funded last night. Or Jeremy Keller’s Technoir RPG. Or Gareth-Michael Skarka’s Far West RPG, for which I promised to write a short story as part of the campaign.

I’m still wrestling with the format of the project at the moment, and with the types of rewards I hope to offer. I might set it up as a series of four trilogies rather than as a single, massive challenge. I might offer the chance to look over my virtual shoulder as I write. In the end, though, the idea remains the same.

I’d like to write a dozen novels next year, and I want you to dare me to do it.

 

Magic #1 Card

IDW recently released this image of the card that will accompany the first issue of the Magic: The Gathering comic I wrote for them. Like all the cards for the series, it’s an older card with gorgeous new art, which makes it collectible and fun but not something anyone should feel forced to buy so they can use it in their game. It features the series’ hero doing what he does best: taking something that’s not his.

The first issue is due to hit stores in December. I cannot wait for you all to read it!

Back from GDC Online

I spent most of this week in Austin, Texas, at GDC Online (which isn’t really online much at all, despite the title). I’d never been to Austin before, but the city welcomed me in and treated me like an old friend: it fed me well and kept me up drinking and chatting all night.

I got in late Sunday morning and wandered around town until my room was ready. That evening, I met up with a bunch of folks from the IGDA Writers SIG, plus longtime tabletop industry friends Jesse Scoble (now with Kings Isle in Austin), Thomas Reid, and Scott Haring. (It’s free to join the Writers SIG mailing list, by the way, and a great means of networking with other video game writers.) Afterward, I had dinner with the other speakers in for the Game Narrative Summit, followed by a pilgrimage to the Ginger Man.

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Next Week: GDC Online

Next week, I’m off to Austin, Texas, for the Game Developers Conference Online. (Which is not actually online, but is about things online, it seems, which is why I must haul myself down to Austin to it.) I’m giving a short speech called “Building a Transmedia Property,” which is about how to build yourself a story/world that has the best potential to work in several different media. Heady stuff.

If you’re going to be at the show, be sure to let me know. I’ve never been to Austin before, and I’m looking forward to a fun few days talking about stories and games!

Magic #1 Cover B

I just spotted one of the alternate covers for the first issue of the Magic: The Gathering comic I’m writing for IDW. This one’s by the talented Eric Deschamps, and it depicts the hero of the tale – Dack Fayden – relieving a young lady of something valuable. Knowing him, it’s probably magical too.

The book’s scheduled to ship in December, and I can’t wait for you to read it. I just wrapped up my first draft on issue #2, and I’m already looking ahead to the rest of the series.

Magic #1 Solicitation

Yesterday, IDW released its solicitations for its comics coming out in December. Among many other amazing things, this contained more details on the first issue of the Magic: The Gathering comic book I’m writing for them. While most solicitations are kept intentionally vague, it does reveal a few cool new bits about the book, including the names of the superstar artists working on variant covers: Eric Deschamps and Christopher Moeller.

IDW’s really pulling out the stops to get some top artistic talent on the book, and I cannot wait to see their efforts. I’m proud to be in such excellent company, even if it means I’ll have to work twice as hard to keep up!

Look for the full text of the solicitation after the break:

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Join Me at Gaming Hoopla

This weekend, I’m a guest of honor at Gaming Hoopla, a local gathering of tabletop gamers held in Janesville, Wisconsin. I should be there Saturday afternoon from noon to 4 PM at the least. If you’re around, come on out and join me and fellow guests Tom Wham and Jim Ward at the event. I’m looking forward to chatting with friends and fans and maybe even sneaking in a game or three.

Ann and Project 16:49

I’m proud to announce that today my wife Ann is in Madison, Wisconsin, to help accept the state superintendent’s Friend of Education award on behalf of Project 16:49. Ann works as the homeless student liaison for the School District of Janesville, and she and Robin Stuht – her counterpart in Beloit – have been working tirelessly over the past couple years to set up a shelter for homeless teens in Rock County. Many homeless children can enter a shelter with their family, but a large number of homeless teens don’t have that option. They’re not yet old enough to enter a shelter for adults, so they have zero places to go.

To help raise awareness about this problem, filmmaker Rubin Burgos created a documentary about three local homeless teens. He called it Sixteen Forty-Nine after the numbers of hours and minutes a child has to wait between leaving the safe haven of a school in the afternoon and returning the next morning. Ann and Robin took up that banner, naming their effort Project 16:49, and they’ve been showing this moving film all around the area to help drum up support ever since.

This pays off in all sorts of ways, not just raising funds for the shelter itself but also motivating people to chip in as best they can. Earlier this month, for instance, the staff of the Mercy Health Mall teamed up to donate backpacks full of school and personal supplies for Janesville’s homeless teens. (That’s them in the photo. Ann’s the one in the blue dress in the middle.)

Today, State Superintendent Tony Evers is recognizing Project 16:49’s efforts (along with eight others) in a ceremony at the state capitol, and Ann and Robin are there to accept the award. Read the official press release, and if you can manage it, visit the Project 16:49 website to see if there’s something you can do to help.

I spend my days entertaining people, which I love, but my wife and her friends are out there on the front lines every day, working hard to help people in the worst need. I’m glad the state superintendent stood up to recognize and endorse all their hard work.

I Am the Gamerati Geek

My pal Ed Healy has spent the last several weeks wandering the country and visiting game stores, helping promote games. Along the way, he’s filmed all sorts of people telling stories about games and what they mean to them. For a heartwarming example, check out blind game store owner Phil Glotfelty’s account of meeting a customer who was deaf. Lester Smith and I met with Ed while he was at Noble Knight Games in Janesville, Wisconsin, a few weeks ago, and Ed recorded my story about how I first got involved with adventure games.

It may be coincidence that this was released during Speak Out With Your Geek Out, but I’m happy to take advantage of that and declare this my official geeky post for the week.