Halloween and no work being done!

Well, the end of October approaches, and painting has been at a standstill. It's times like these that makes one question the "motivation", or lack thereof, as well as the reality of continuing in this great hobby.

There are many things to consider as I ponder the future of my lead endeavors. I have many hundreds of models, all waiting for the brush. What's the chance I'll get to them? Not sure.

Some ideas about the painting roadblock.

1. Time- I've mentioned this before, but making time for the hobby has been extremely difficult for me. I've got a spot to work at, I find myself up at night watching the TV, or resting while the kids play yet I have no thought of putting paint on miniatures.
2. Co-hobbiests- Is that a word? You get the idea, much of my motivation comes from browsing the internet, especially lead adventure forums. This has helped in the past as I entered the lead adventure painters league. Of course I finished last, oh well. That being said, having a friend to plan with, game against, and motivate is of the utmost importance. I do have one, and he only lives about 2 blocks away! To continue this hobby I must get in contact with him as a way to tackle the pile.
3. Magpie Syndrome- I've seen it called "Magpie Syndrome". You know, the desire to get all miniatures, game all systems, and paint all the myriad armies for said systems? I guess like a Magpie, jumping from thing to thing. I've got this, badly. It was the same for online gaming, or MMORPGS. I would chose one class, then another, then another, never to finish one off. So it goes for miniatures.

With these things in mind, a plan of sorts is in order. I believe the first thing to do is pick an arbitrary time per week to be designated painting only. Just like hitting the gym, or finishing a project, I will dedicate the time to painting (even if it's only a few minutes to start). Getting a buddy should be easy, as I'll ask my friend over, and now comes the hard part. Which game to focus on? I have been pulled towards random-fantasy, you know, getting the Reaper/GW/etc miniatures together and running Mordheim-like battles. Well, I must brush that aside for a bit as I think that focusing on my LOTR army for Mordor will be the most productive, and give the most fun with my hobby partner.

Well, there you go. Time frame? How about starting next week. I'll be checking in to advise my progress (or lack thereof). Wish me luck!