Stress and writing

I've been writing, mostly technical stuff about how games work. I have an interesting problem, which is how to explain games to art historians and the art historical theory of visuality to gamers without boring them.

Anyway, it feels like I'm writing and writing and doing nothing. I'm still mostly concerned with phenomenology and haven't yet connected it to everything else, except for some thoughts on perception and perspective. I've read a lot of books and thought a lot about play worlds, visual storytelling, and image experiences, but it's hard to connect them.

I did a very rough revision of parts of my text, including some hastily compiled texts that I sent to a national seminar for doctoral students in art history to read aloud in early October. I didn't put much effort into making the revision a coherent text, because that would be a big waste of time. I have 101 days left to write, and I still think it will work. But sometimes I feel the stress of "Will I get this book together?".

I make time every day to go to the gym or go for a run. I don't feel like it makes me more efficient, but I know there's a good case to be made that it makes me healthier, smarter, and less stressed, so I stick with it.

1986 The Legend of Zelda


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