The House of the Harping Monkey is hosting IntWoCreMo in January of the forthcoming year. It takes its inspiration from NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and, in similar vein, challenges writers to create their own RPG world setting of 50,000 words in just the 31 days of the month. Online support and documentation is available to those who would like it and the basic information is here: http://harpingmonkey.com/intwocremo/?p=1.

Tempting though it would be to participate in this venture, I really have so many other commitments that it would be verging on the reckless even to think about trying it. For 2007, I really must concentrate on getting finished all of those 50-90% completed projects that I have lying about – it is such a pity that having done the hard work, the words are not getting published. This will really be my writing resolution for the New Year – 2006 has been quite good in terms of publications but next year must be better and will be better if the unpublished stuff makes it into the public arena in one form or another. I am also going to identify several magazines for short articles which I can write in off moments and which take comparatively little time to complete. I’ll push ahead with the fiction and try to get ‘several’ short stories published and, in the fullness of time, even Gilbert Games. Additionally, I will push on with articles for Slingshot and Strategy and Tactics. I started a piece about nomadic warfare on the Steppes last night (when I was supposed to be doing something else) and, although I can foresee having to change the shape and scope of it some time, it should be published around June or July. In the meantime, I plan to submit some shorter pieces – in my experience, editors often like to see shorter pieces to act as fillers when the larger ones leaves holes in publications or to fit in with some emergent theme. I shall be working on that basis anyway.

That’ll be all for me this year. Let those celebrating enjoy themselves and I hope to be back next Tuesday.

heavilysaltedcheese@yahoo.co.uk.