Hitting a Speedbump

Speed bump, writer’s block, call it what you will but whatever it is it has slowed me down quite a bit as well as giving me pause for thought. Taking stock is the order of the day at present, that and looking at other things in the hope that I will be sufficiently guilt-tripped back into the right direction!

I had planned to be slightly further along with the new book than I am currently. There, I said it. In truth I am just over 50K words to the good but I have really hit a brick wall. It is not that I have run out of ideas or things to write - more like I am second and third thoughts about what I have written thus far. I am happy with the rules but feel as though I am missing a trick with something. 

The rules as written cope very nicely with around half a dozen or so ships a side. For the ACW this works well enough but I am fast coming to the conclusion that for larger actions the rules will seem a little ponderous - especially when looking at the thorny topic of firing arcs. 

At the time of writing there are six main arcs and then some fourteen others making twenty in all. Bear in mind though, that the additional fourteen are in fact seven arcs mirrored so, for example, a forward turret with an arc of FWPS (forward wide, port or starboard) is reflected as AWPS (aft wide, port or starboard). I am quite happy with using all the arcs and play testing with them has thrown up only a singe issue that was quickly addressed. My feeling is though, that for larger actions this may be a little clumsy. 

Now this point may seem like a modest one but for me it has been seismic in its implications. I wanted to write a set of rules that would appeal to both the naval novice and the seasoned tabletop admiral and indeed, I believe I have but with the focus slightly off target. I am leaning towards using the six arc default for most battles of a dozen or so models a side at least with the additional fourteen as an option for smaller engagements. That in itself is simple enough but it has generated a lot of extra work as the emphasis of the book has been very much towards using the full suite of firing arcs.

It is extra work as changing the emphasis means redrafting a table, changing the text in a few chapters - none of this is hugely challenging to be honest - and then revisiting the ship specifications. That in itself is a big undertaking and to be honest, I think that is why I have been allowing myself to be distracted by other projects! It is not difficult to do but it will be time consuming. Still, it is the job that isn’t started that takes the longest to do - as a wise hobbit once said.