I Met With . . .

. . . the game developers to go over a story outline I'd sent late last week.

Anything I've written in the past has been to my own consideration. I've sought the advice of a trusted few, and received feedback from a writing class (which most will tell you is pretty worthless) but anything they offered was more of an alternate path the material could take, if I wanted to.

This is my first time writing for a committee. Though I'm given free creative reign, I'm still a hired hand. So at the end of the day, my yield is turned in to the drover.

If nothing else, this project has given me the opportunity to sit at a table and hear the cliched things you thought were the product of a stressed writer's exaggeration.

"We want something big, but keep it small."

"One of the things I love about your writing is the vagueness. Everything can be interpreted so many ways." Followed moments later by: "Yeah, I just love how specific it is. Keep it that way."

"Has anyone here played Fallout 3?" Everybody raises their hands except me. "There's one scene where you're told, 'there will be cake' and then later there's cake. Let's have that in there."

"Are you taking notes?"

It was decided that we'll meet every Monday night. Expect more to come.

. . . and no. There will not be cake.