My summer classes are coming to an end, so hopefully in a couple of weeks, I'll have a lot of free time on my hands. I have several writing projects that I would like to get to, but I'll only have so much time or motivation. Therefore, I thought I would reach out to whomever is reading this for help deciding which of the projects on my current "To Write" list I should work on first.

Now naturally, I do not want to spoil any of these stories, so your input will be more or less blind. To this end, I have given ten different forthcoming projects codenames, not unlike those that Wizards uses for their sets. I have put those codenames, in random order, into the vote in this thread. I would love for anybody reading this to vote on one of those ten projects. If one project is far and away the winner, I will focus on that story first. If there is no clear winner, I will select one from those tied for the lead. If nobody votes at all, well, I guess I'll just pick something.

For the record, all of the codenames tie into the story in some way, but because it's me, the tie-in is VERY obscure, and often results from a long string of puns or references, to such a degree that the names will likely tell you nothing about the actual story. Feel free to speculate, however, on what the stories might be!

Thanks for the help, everyone!

Cerberus sounds cool. Will you explain the meaning of each name when the voting period ends?

Yep, I've done this exact dance before

I went for Tintinnabulation because I'm a fan of Edgar Allen Poe, and The Bells in specific. Back in middle school, I was part of a dramatic reading of that poem for Drama class (each type of bell was handed off to a different student).

Thanks for voting! I probably won't explain the meanings when the voting ends, but I will when the story gets posted. I don't really want to show my hand for things I have in the works, because in all likelihood, some of these stories might never get written, or at least for a long time, and I don't want to disappoint people who were looking forward to a particular story or anything.

The biggest problem is that some of these projects were originally slated as collabs with specific M:EMbers, and one or two may still require a buy-in from its intended collaborator. Some I can just do on my own, of course, but we'll see what happens. And given the current level of activity, who knows what I will or will not be able to do.


I figured it was a way to choose a focus and maybe get me writing this summer.


I am also a big fan of Poe, and also of that poem in particular. I have it mostly memorized (I admit I get just a bit lost in the fourth section near the end) and its hard not to love the sound of it. Thanks for voting!

I went with Bubblegum and crossing my fingers that's not the one you asked my help with...

I voted Kung Fu. Guessing it could be related to Donagut, but not really expecting to be right.

Thanks for voting, and don't worry, it's not. That one's not on the list. I'm not saying it won't happen someday, but that one is...ambitious, to say the least.


Thanks for voting! I can definitely see how the logic might read to Donagut.

Incidentally, with five voters, we now have a five-way tie for first, and a five-way tie for second. This isn't narrowing down my choices by as much as I had hoped...

As it was tied for first, I have written Project Bubblegum. If anyone is interested, you may read it here!

I am about 3000 words in Project Tintinnabulation, and will likely have it posted within the next 48 hours, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Feel free to begin the wild speculations, if you want...

Wild Speculation: It's a Dominia Cabal story. This is because the phrase is best known from "The Bells" and you wrote "The Deluge at Carakera" which features the Calling Bell Dominia Cabal Artifact, suggesting some link between the new project and that story.

Project Tintinnabulation now exists! Thank you for playing, and I hope you enjoy the reading, if you so choose to partake!

Dang it, I forgot to post my wild speculations yesterday...

(For the record, one of the guesses was "an autobiographical short," by way of tintinnabulation>Edgar Allen Poe>The Raven>RavenoftheBlack)

I had basically forgotten that I made this thread. Anyway, I thought I should update this, as I have written an additional three of the options here, but forgot to mention that they were, in fact, projects. Those three stories are:

Project Lottery

Project Solitude

Project Kung Fu

As for the rest of the projects on this list, the outlook is not so good, as a Magic 8 Ball(TM) would have put it. I won't give away what they were, in case I ever decide to revisit them, but he's a brief run-down of their status:


Project Lucid - This was designed as a collab with someone who is no longer around. I am planning to finish at least one pre-existing collab without the collaborator, but this one, I think, is dead in the water unless that person comes back.

Project Cerberus - I've tried starting this one twice, and it's never gotten past the prep phase, so I'm thinking this one is not going to happen.

Project Cobra - I've got about 500 words written on this one, and a relatively solid plan, but this one just hasn't taken form the way I was hoping it would. I had high hopes of getting this one out by the end of 2019, and it's just sort of floundered since then. I suspect I will make this one happen eventually, but I have no idea when.

Project Monomania - This one will probably happen, but I need to work out a few more details about it, first. I like the idea of this story, but it's never been high on my list of priorities.

Project Justice - I think if this one happens, it will not be me who writes it. Take that as you will.

So, that's where I'm at with these writing projects. There are a couple other ones that have cropped up in my mind since originally making this list, and most of them will take priority over these. And with my limited time and energy I have for writing these days, who knows what's going to happen.