Working Notes 05: Workflow
Right now, creating sustainable systems matters more to both of us than creating maximum output. Having a fixed publishing rhythm gives you a guarantee that there will be new, quality material, and refreshed material, coming out at a steady pace, making the Patreon subscription worthwhile. It reduces the chaos in my brain (hey, I haven’t mentioned it in three days) the structure it needs to function.
A reduced level of output, and focusing on shorter works like scenarios, produces stronger work in the long run. Cutting out the number of moving parts eliminates confusion for everyone and builds consistency. The goal is steady, sustained production that delivers quality material that will stand up and be useful for years to come. A long tail, not the pump-and-dump behavior incentivised by the fact that once the book falls off the front page it’s invisible forever. If it even made the front page, because the system is rigged in favor of the big publishers. But I digress; if you know, you know.
For all of the talk about how there’s no wrong way to play, there is an orthodoxy in roleplaying. All of the discourse is apples arguing with other apples on how to be better apples. There are a rare few oranges or bananas in the mix. That applies not only to how roleplaying experiences are played, but how they’re made and distributed. That workflow doesn’t work for me. What’s the saying, when you do what you’ve always done you get what you’ve always got. That’s fine if you’re not trying to innovate or push the boundaries or have a different vision of what the possibilities are. Change the workflow, change the output.
Daily Update
Created new graphics for upcoming articles and researched hashtags to try to get more engagement.
Worked on the free/pay what you want Story at the Table: A Narrative Roleplaying Method release. It’s too long. I originally wanted a one-page version, realized that format missed the point, and set a cap at 32 pages. That seems reasonable, right? I’m currently up to 35 pages. Something needs to be cut.
