I’m still collecting my thoughts and energy after Origins 2010. I had a good time, as always. I also learned a lot, both about the games I played there and about writing fiction. I had the privilege of learning from two New York Times Bestselling authors, Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston. These two guys do a great job of communicating what it takes to turn decent fiction writing into really good fiction writing. I hadn’t heard from Aaron Allston before, but I’ll definitely attend his seminars in the future. Michael Stackpole’s seminars have always added to my writing toolkit, and I’m grateful for any chance to learn from him.

Right before Origins, I set out on a quest to increase the number of game sites I’m monitoring for the news items I provide here on the site. The quest was rather insanely effective. I started with around 400 sites I monitored regularly. The list is now well over 4,000. In fact, it’s so large that it’s choking the software I use to help me monitor the sites. I’m currently breaking the list down into smaller chunks based on subject matter (e.g., Miniatures makers, Wargame publishers, Board game publishers). Once I’ve managed that, I’ll start providing a lot more news than you’ve ever seen from me in the past. Until then, it may be a bit quiet. Sorting through 4,000 links is not a simple or quick task, especially when you load each one and try to assess both the site’s main focus and the best pages on it to monitor for newsworthy items.

In the meantime, the updates may be smaller and more sporadic. Bear with me, though, as I think the end result may surprise us both. I’ve got one MASSIVE database of game-related sites now. Once it’s properly organized, I’ll be able to turn it into news…