Fantasy Opus - 200K+

After a splurge of writing around Christmas I've not progressed the story much so far this year. This is partly due to an early edit which has seen some characters removed and a greater focus on character interaction, but also because I've had other things to do.

I've finally crossed the 200,000 word mark which means I've written more than:

• 2 Hobbits
• Each of the three books from Lord of the Rings
• The first two Harry Potter books combined

I have a clear understanding of where the story goes next and how it ends, so I just need to knuckle down and finish it.

I do have a couple of other hobbies which have recently occupied some of my time. I fly Radio controlled model aircraft when the sun's out, and I'm also a gamer.

Mass Effect Andromeda has been occupying much of my time. A sprawling space opera where you explore new worlds, form alliances with disparate alien races and fight enemy's on the ground.

The game has come in for some flak as it diverges from previous games in the series and because a few aspects are lacking a little polish (facial animations). While I too have some issues with the game, and don't believe that the perfect game exists, I can appreciate the thousands of hours of work that have gone into the world building, with some spectacular results. Those people heaping derision on the game have probably never created something so unique themselves and just like to denigrate the work of others with a zero score or rants on Twitter.

This knee jerk reaction, especially to games, is counter productive as it will only discourage game developers from taking risks. Games will all become bland and derivative, and it will be our fault. I appreciate games and movies which push the boundaries or try something new, even if they're not fully successful.  Nobody sets out to create a poor game, a failed movie or a boring book.

Rant over.

Bye for now - John Howes.