The ‘writing pile’ and why I want to do more with it

Writing has been my primary hobby for over a decade at this point, even more so than video games. Ever since I got my hands on a mobile phone and opened up the Notes app, I’ve been jotting down my thoughts in rough, unrefined forms whenever I have spare time. By now, I have hundreds of virtual documents, some of which having upwards of 400 pages each, as records of my ideas and ways to potentially make something of them in the future. This is what I like to call the writing pile, and I add to it every day.

Some of the documents are just me brain-dumping through text or brainstorming as I write. Some of them are screenwriting-styled scripts. Some of them are design documents for potential game concepts. I reiterate upon the same concept sometimes dozens of times until it’s exactly where I want it. What it’s all built up to, however, is that I have a massive collection of ideas that never quite got past the concept stage.

Yet, I finally am at the point in my life and career where I can finally make some of those concepts more than just ideas. I’ve recently started feeling uninspired in regards to game development and design, but sifting through the writing pile has brought ideas I came up with in the past back to light. I can feel the passion that went into those documents more clearly because I can remember what it was like to write it all down, trying to latch onto a good idea and record it before it slipped away again.

Many of the primary concepts I have lined up for potential solo projects are concepts that I’ve been writing about for years, gradually reiterating upon over time. I just never had the skillset necessary to bring them to life. However, I know a lot more about game development than I used to at this point in my life, so I’m finally able to go back and put those ideas that have been sitting in the pile to use. And, of course, that pile will only keep getting bigger.