Gah, all of the words! (A New Semester Update)

So recently I learned an important thing about myself: I am the kind of person who likes to talk but hates to write about herself. Check out how infrequently I post here and you’ll see exactly how much I hate it. I keep writing posts that say ‘soon I will update you on all the good things’ which… I don’t do. Why? Because I’m out doing the good things and don’t like talking about it. But a friend suggested that being more front-facing about my process of work wouldn’t be bad, so here goes.

I’m back in the saddle after winter break in between my first and second semesters of grad school and the NYU Game Center looks exactly the same as when I left it. In between I spent holidays with friends, went to San Diego with family, came home to run an overarch weekend at Dystopia Rising (and there will be another post to cover that experience, I promise!) and then went on to Orlando. Day one back reminded me that no matter how much vacation you have, once you’re back in the saddle it’s like you never went away.

My classes for this semester stand as one in human-computer interface, one in collective narrative, an upper-level game design and an upper level studio class and (wait for it), a class on Fandoms. I know! I get to study why people become fans and how they go about fanning (is that a thing that doesn’t involve, y’know, actual things to blow air on your face with?) and the culture of fandoms as they are. I’m fascinated by everything I’m taking classes in, and excited as heck to dive right in.

Speaking of things I’m diving into, this is going to also be the year of ALL OF THE THINGS. I’ve got a writing update post in me for things I’m working on plus coverage on the conventions that I’ll be attending. Because I, good readers, will be going to a bunch of conventions this season and doing a LOT of talking about how awesome games are and especially how awesome women in games are.

So here’s to the new year, and I leave you with a quote that I tossed up on Twitter a little while ago. I woke up from a nap and had a killer idea to make this novel concept I had even better. Except, of course, I’m in middle of a few other projects. So instead of putting it away, I wrote it down. The quote I came up with is: “A good writer doesn’t turn down a good idea, but instead says, ‘you wait your turn’.”

Happy February folks! It’s going to be a busy one.