by Savanja on Jul 21, 2006
by: Tony "RadarX" Jones
<!-- if (!document.phpAds_used) document.phpAds_used = ','; phpAds_random = new String (Math.random()); phpAds_random = phpAds_random.substring(2,11); document.write ("<" + "script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript' src='"); document.write ("http://ads.tentonhammer.com/adjs.php?n=" + phpAds_random); document.write ("&what=zone:25"); document.write ("&exclude=" + document.phpAds_used); if (document.referrer) document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer)); document.write ("'><" + "/script>"); //-->I know exactly what you're thinking. What in the world could be exciting about the life of a Ten Ton Hammer writer for EverQuest 2? Absolutely nothing, but here I am typing about it anyways. Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes, how we decide what we write about, and what our secret handshake is? Yeah I didn't think you cared, but for the 5 of you who do (4 of which are Ten Ton Hammer employees), Thursday is usually the busiest day, and a great example of what we go through on a weekly basis.
First thing Thursday morning, I check and see what's due, as any organized writer would. Guh, "A day in the Life of a Ten Ton Hammer Writer," who came up with thi...oh I did. What was I thinking when I picked this topic? I boggle for a few moments, do some work for my other job, and let the events happen. Time to check out the forums and see what's...not going on. It's been kind of a slow week. I read thread #2,228, about people getting random tells from plat sellers asking them to go to www.asianfarmersite.com. I decide I've read quite enough about it. SOE knows about the problem, we sure as crap know about the problem, so let's just stop talking about it for 5 minutes. I check a few more EQ2 news sites for random blogs and tidbits, then start my daily conversing with fellow writers.
It's Coyote day! This is my favourite day, because Coyote does his weekly story and it makes me laugh, not that he doesn't do that days. There are rare exceptions when I don't laugh as much, but this usually involves tentacles so we'll let that slide. Coyote and I spend a few moments discussing story topics, some of which includes me asking him "Are you just looking for reasons to use the word 'fart'?" To avoid another lecture on why that word is funny, I make a suggestion, we discuss it back and forth and then I see it. The infamous "*grin*" This means Coyote has an idea, and it's either going to make everyone laugh, or destroy the universe. Perhaps both. Coyote finishes his article, and doesn't disappoint me. If you haven't seen it go read it!
This is also one of my least favourite days of the week. Thursday, is that magical day of wonder, when we make decisions about what is going to be written the following week. We have a simple rule around here. If you can't give me an idea of what you want to do, you are at the mercy of "Radar's Wheel O' Doom." What does that mean? It means I get to type "chugga chugga chugga...chugga chugga....chugga...chugga....chugga." into an email. It also means I have to come up with the content ideas. Where do I pull them from? Well you can't see what I'm pointing at, because I'm sitting on it. Just kidding. I pretty much have a to-do list so long, EQ3 will be long released before I complete it. I finish the report late at night so nobody can complain until the next day, and I head off to bed, thanking everything holy that it's Friday. So there you have it, a day in the life of a Ten Ton Hammer writer. It's just as glamourous, and exciting as I made it sound. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go assign an a "How to Prepare Dark Elf" guide.