Week 707

What’s this? I’m blogging about my work on a weekly basis – a simple way to track and archive whatever it is I spend my time on.

Last week was kind of short, as I spent a day working in the garden with my dad. We finished the path to the new terrace and built an encasement around the hazel tree. When you have four proper working days a week, you really feel it when you take a day off, especially if there’s a big project screaming for your attention.

So other than getting my hands dirty, I wrote like crazy on my upcoming novel De verdwijners. There’s a lot yet to do before I deliver the first draft at the end of the month, but I still feel I can make it. To succeed, though, I really need to go into full-fledged writing mode, which is very different from how I normally operate. I have to forget about e-mail, forget about To-Do lists, and, as a friend put it, move my BICHOK, or: Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard!

Some things can’t be neglected though, so I went to Two Tribes to discuss the world and story of our upcoming platform puzzle game Toki Tori 2. I installed Windows and Two Tribes’ development tools on my MacBook, so I should be able to mess everything up from now on.

I also went to the VARA to discuss The Spiral, a drama series they will be broadcasting on TV in September, and the Alternate Reality Game that will be a part of it. I will be watching the show, playing the game and reporting on all of it.

Beyond the novel, I didn’t write much. I wrapped up my big Minecraft article for Bright Magazine, but didn’t contribute to the Tech spread in nrc.next, which had two good gaming pieces by David Nieborg instead. I did publish my column of the week before on Bashers.nl.