Scritch, Scritch

It seems I have a couple options if I am to succeed in my endeavor. First, I can scratch constantly, testing every little thing that comes my way. Second, I could choose to bide my time, waiting until I was pretty certain I know where to scratch. There are, of course, many places in between, but more on those later.

The first option has the benefit of getting me trying things and possibly spotting something sooner than I might recognize it otherwise. On the flip side, I will likely spend a great deal of time in endeavors that aren't wholly productive, insofar as my goals are concerned. The second option gives the freedom to mull things over, but then I may miss what I am looking for, delaying my success for months or longer. Of course, these are the extreme, the black and the white of the spectrum. The best course is almost certainly hidden among the greys between the two. So perhaps I need to take stock of some of the likely suspects.

The first is writing. The problem here is that there are at least three kinds: verse, fiction, and academic. Sure, I could write non-fiction, but I have never had enough passion about any subject to find a good non-fiction angle. I have both poems and short stories that are ready to go out the door and into the mailbox. Some have even got destinations lined up. That would be a decent place to start, though I may also need to do more writing. One thing to consider is the New Times 55 Fiction contest.

In the academic realm, I could research and write something new or tweak something I already have, but I should work out my target publication or conference first. A search for new ideas is always a little frustrating. There is an atmosphere in graduate school that no amount of colleague chatter will ever replace in the faculty evironment, and since finishing grad school, I have been pretty dry in this area.

There is game design, as well. I have one game finished and a second that needs testing (badly). I have wondered if perhaps this isn't the first place to look, in fact. Certainly, it can be one of the more entertaining pursuits. The problem is that there is little to be done once a game is invented. Most companies don't even acknowledge outside submissions, and those that do are generally small and specialized. Sadly, they aren't the right kinds of companies for what I want to keep designing, namely tactics-oriented games. Actually, I will go with anything that minimizes or eliminates chance.

So there I have it, my usual suspects. Anyone with a spare $100k can assist me by financing the production of my completed board game (if you like either Go or Chess, you are in line for liking my creation, if history is any indicator). Barring that, I guess I should review my options and pick one to pursue first. More on this when I have made a selection (before the end of the month, shall we say?).