Category: Postman

It was nice, having an actual “weekend” for once. That it happened on Tuesday-Wednesday is besides the point. Got caught up on a lot of housework and a lot of writing.

But the mail is calling, so it’s time to take up the satchel and put some miles under my feet. I shudder to think how much clean-up I’ll have waiting for me.

(My route is the best training route for new carriers. If they can survive the 12 miles of this walking route, they can handle any of the others in my town. That also means they’ll leave a mess for me to take care of.)

Writing-wise, it’s been very productive. Over 20,000 words in the novel!…and we’re only a prologue and three chapters in…

I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted an old-school science fiction brick-of-a-book story. That I’ve planned for six more to make it a series is…somewhat daunting but exciting.

Now that I’ve found my notes in the various folders for my old stories, I’ll also (very occasionally) give them some attention. The Sidewinder Stories are the primary for those, however, so players: expect the rest of Chapter 3 to be up soon! (Ish)

Speaking of Sidewinder, I’ve also found an artist willing to take commissions on making cover art! He’s sent me the first draft of the concept and…well, I’ll admit I teared up a little to see my name on a book cover. Since it’s in Star Wars, it’s not publishable, but when it’s ready I’ll be printing out copies and sending them to those players who were there during Arc I. They’ll be able to see their characters on pages.

The goal of every Forever-DM.

It’s time to sling letters. Here’s hoping to get a tiny bit more written down during lunch and the evening.

Stay safe out there, readers!

-JB Swift

Years ago, I learned the hard way that I was not the sort of writer that can work on multiple full-length stories at the same time. I’d get stubborn about trying to keep up with each project and eventually, I’d get overwhelmed.

Oddly enough, while this happens with writing, it doesn’t do the same with my RPG campaigns. Physical exhaustion is what kills my ability to run multiple campaign arcs. (Don’t worry, players; I’m not abandoning any of the work, just very tired)

Since learning this about myself, I’ve set myself with priorities. When I have a real evening to myself, I dedicate chunks of time to the campaign writing, as well as to my work-in-progress. That does not mean, however, that I’ve abandoned my other projects entirely; I just wait until I’ve satisfied my priorities well enough to go into those other worlds.

If you check to the right on the Home Page, you’ll see a new box: Progress Tracking. I’ll be adding on my other projects to that box, but the Peregrine story will get the most attention at the moment. It’s going to look like a lot, but keep in mind that you won’t see the numbers change all that often.

I do have a side-project that I’ll be looking into, though, that will involve other people. I’m going to be on the lookout for someone to make the artwork for this website (it needs a profile picture of its own, and I will not use other artists if I can’t compensate somehow), and if they could also draw up cover art for the Star Wars fan-fictions (to be given freely to the players when I can print them, which will happen), that’d be an awesome bonus.

So, if any of your are artists, please let me know and I’ll see about how much I need to save for a commission.

I’ve also restarted the Postal Living page and added an article to it. I’m lining up what else I want to write about for it, which will take its own time. That’ll have to be done carefully, as I navigate what I can write about and not violate the Hatch Act. Yes, I take that very seriously, even if some folks in politics do not.

I’m off to set things up and have a writing sprint for Peregrine before I get too exhausted. If there’s anything y’all have been wanting to see or read, let me know! If it slipped my notice, I’d rather you tell me than it stay on the backburner.

Stay safe out there, readers!

-JB Swift