It’s Monday, let’s talk stationary.
First off isn’t the logo cool?! Lone Archivist put together a pack of logos for #Dungeon23 and #Facility23. Go check them out.
Last time I talked about the #Facility23 challenge and what I’m getting from it. This time, I’m going to talk about what I’m using to capture the information and how I’m laying it out.
First, self-care. The hardest thing for any creative to do, aside from make a living doing this, is to know when to walk away. We’ve been conditioned, by literal decades of devaluation, to believe that if we’re not on all the time and if we’re not monetising all we do then we’re worthless. The eternal Binky the Clown at the end of the bed may always be there but he is, I promise you, always lying. Work out how regularly you want to do something, then do it. Then schedule breaks. Then take them. I mean it. As an example, I’m doing #facility23 five days a week. That may change as the year goes on but right now it’s a great way to frame my working week.
Second, off-site backups are always your friend. For this project, I have a word file I list every day’s entry in. What cars I pulled, what I came up with. It’s a paragraph at a time, it takes a minute and it will, I promise, help.
Third, tools. Writing in long hand helps a lot for a project like this and so does writing in pencil. I know it might feel weird but trust me, write in pencil. You will screw stuff up. You will change your mind mid-flow. That’s not a bug that’s a feature. Embrace it, and be ready to side-step the doubt. Write in pencil. I use the Blackwing I got a while ago because I am, on occasion, Extra, but any pencil will do.
What you record your work in is absolutely up to you. I have big, expansive handwriting so I’ve picked up a Mnemosyne 180 notebook. It’s a spiral-bound, horizontal, grid-paper notebook and it’s perfectly for me. What works for you is what works for you. The only wrong answer here is something you don’t enjoy writing in. Also yes this is absolutely an excuse to buy a new notebook.
Finally, layout. This is where the big challenge hits for me because a lot of #facility23 and #dungeon23 articles feature amazing artists who put together stunning renditions of their locations next to each week’s entries. I cannot draw in any meaningful way and trying to do so every day is a short-cut to this not being fun anymore. So instead, my weekly pages look like this:
Across the top, the title, week, and date range. Then, three columns. On the left is a list of the cards from the daily pull. In the middle is the basic breakdown of the location I’ve created. On the right are the points to take forward. Sometimes that’ll be a character (The Ursa monks are absolutely showing up again), sometimes it’ll be a plot point or a location.
So there you go! That’s how I’m putting my #Facility23 location together. Next time I’ll chat a little bit about what it is. In the mean time, if you fancy chatting, here’s where you can find me.