#4thewords

[ckret2]

so I do most of my writing on 4thewords.com. It's a site that turns writing into a game: you get quests requiring you to fight monsters that require you to write x amount of words in y time, and get loot and win prizes and progress through several plotlines and all that. Great motivation.

they've just started their annual halloween/not-nanowrimo-because-screw-their-recent-face-heel-turn/winter event. And one of the quests—a quest that will only ever be available during this one event and which expires 44 days after you pick it up—requires you to write 250k words.

that's 5,682 words, per day, for a month and a half.

and, my friends, when I play a game, I am a completionist.

so goodbye everybody, you won't be seeing me until December.

(this is a lie. I've decided to count my tumblr posts toward my word count since they're usually worldbuilding & character development, so I'll probably be here infodumping to fluff up my daily progress.)

(and if I've somehow sold you on the appeal of 4thewords my referral code is ZIUQJ49028)

[larissa-the-scribe]

Me, logging on to 4thewords to do some writing not long after the latest NaNoWriMo news dropped:

no no nonononono--

OH THANK GOODNESS

[novella-november]

Okay, everyone kept reccomending 4TheWords, so I tried it out yesterday and it is just as fun (and useful!) as everyone was saying!

I wrote 1k words in just half an hour, and then did almost 2k words before leaving for work :D

I highly recommend checking this fun site out, and make an account so you can use it anywhere; I don't think it has a mobile app yet, but it looks like it runs just fine on a mobile web browser, so you can use it like you would Google Docs!

If you enjoy the Game aspect, you can select monsters from a list of options, each having a combination of Word Goal + Timers depending on the monsters "level"; every time you reach the required word goal, you defeat that monster and gain loot for your character, which I assume is used to upgrade your appearance and such.

I assume from a few screenshots I've seen (but haven't looked around the site just yet) that there are more optional social aspects to the game, and you can buy things to customize your character, buy house decorations, as well as different maps.

On the writing utilities side, you can keep writing even after you've defeated the monsters if you don't care about the game aspect, and it will keep track of your word count with a timer that tracks your active time writing!

All in all, a very useful and fun website!

I highly recommend if you need some fun motivation to write, to check this out!

[whimsyswastry]

4TheWords on AI

In the wake of NaNoWriMo AI-gate, I (and many others) contacted 4TheWords for their stance on the use of generative AI. I'm thrilled with their response, which you can read in full under the cut or by following the link.

Also, 4TheWords now follows a freemium price plan, where almost all features are available in some capacity for free. There's never been a better time to check it out.

I promise, I'm not sponsored (this is Tumblr after all lol) I just love 4TheWords and never would've written my 80K story without them.

Where we stand on AI 

We don’t use generative AI

We don’t train AI on your words

All of our art is painted by humans, our words written by humans

Tools are powerful, and we will continue to use and make tools that help us write

The written word is worth protecting

There is a magic to the human spirit, a spark that alludes definition. That spark must be protected.

Part of that spark lives in the words we write, in the stories we tell, in the art we create.

To write like a human is easy to copy. To write with the spark of humanity is not. 

Writing is a painstaking labor of love where each word carries with it the weight of a life lived. A life stumbled, felt, experienced, internalized, and then shared. We don't place words in the right order as much as we attempt to piece together emotions into some mosaic so that others may grasp at a sense of what was felt.

As much as we might attempt to hide it, our written words are a reflection of the human spark within us.

As well as a large language model that has vacuumed trillions of words may emulate the written word, it has yet to capture the human spark that is the foundation upon which those words sit.

We must protect that foundation.

We must continue to kindle the human spark.

We must continue to write.

As a software company made for writers by writers, using technology to help people write, we see the merits cutting edge technologies can unlock. Machine learning is a powerful technology. But generative AI, fueled by the stolen sparks of millions, is not a technology we endorse.

We will continue to use technology to help us write. But we must be the ones to do the writing.

We must continue to fan the flames of creation, of creativity, of the human spark.

We must continue to write.

[vandijkwrites]

I put it in the tags of another post but if you like to gamify writing and haven't tried 4thewords.com before, DO IT. It is the #1 tool I've ever found for writing with ADHD and it is so cute and fun. There's always an adorable event going on during NaNo too!

During NaNo you can get a free month and other free goodies with the code wrimo23 and it gives you a free month even if you already subscribe! (And you don't have to cancel after the month to avoid being charged because it works on a pre-paid subscription model)

[sassysnowperson]

During the whole Nanowrimo meltdown, the writing community website I am currently a part of (4thewords, a word count gamification site where you use word count to fight cartoony monsters, collect items, and make sweet wardrobe outfits to show off) has received MANY QUESTIONS about their stance on AI. So they just released their own clarifying statement. It really does feel like whoever wrote it was directly responding to Nano, and that response is a big old middle finger.

Some excerpts:

"We don’t use generative AI"

"We don’t train AI on your words"

"All of our art is painted by humans, our words written by humans."

"Machine learning is a powerful technology. But generative AI, fueled by the stolen sparks of millions, is not a technology we endorse."

"We will continue to use technology to help us write. But we must be the ones to do the writing."

[the-pen-pot]

Woo! Hit my 1500 day streak today over in 4thewords

(There were some days where I didn't write but repaired instead, but still. I'm celebrating 🥳)

[jbankai89]

In light of NaNo's nonsense, I've moved my writing over to 4thewords, and I'm in LOVE. I've written more in the past week and a half than I have in months, it shares none of your data, and its perfect for ND writers, as it's like an RPG, and you get the instant gratification of fighting monsters by writing. I love it. If anyone wants to add me, here's my profile:

[furiarossa]

Wohoo, I'm on a roll, baby!

[creatively-storm]

It is done. My NaNoWriMo account has been deleted, after the long process of moving my story to an alternative. It might be a temporary alternative, depending on if I find anything I like better or something, but currently I'm using 4thewords and Ellipsus. Ellipsus used to sponser NaNoWriMo, but after the ai stance, they back off and no longer support them. So I'm giving it a shot, if nothing else purely because of their no ai stance. I will update with thoughts. 4thewords is also being tried because of their stance on no ai. I like the game aspect of it, it's fun. Again, will update with more thoughts. I will still be participating in NaNoWriMo, although I will not be using the official site.

[borealwrites]

If people are looking for a fun writing tracker, I suggest 4thewords! Kill monsters by writing! You don’t even have to use their word program, you can just copy/paste!

I’m not describing it well, but 8/10 I do recommend! It’s a little clunky on mobile though. Also it’s 100% free. There are paid versions too, but the free version works just fine

[ckret2]

o shit

[emarie-stone]

Also today is when the 4thewords nanowrimo early access starts so that’s what I’m doing when I get home!

Why did I go to work today?

[novella-november]

If anyone wants to join me on 4thewords for a 999 words Co-op/multiplayer battle, I'll be starting it in a few minutes!

room code is:

CLAVD17177

I have it set up so you are allowed to copy+paste in anything you've already written for the day, and 7 more people can join for a total of 8 players.

The length of time given to write 999 words with this monster is 99 minutes, so 1 hour, 39 minutes.

[whimsyswastry]

If you're still looking for a NaNoWriMo replacement for this November, 4TheWords is running a special event from October 28th until December 10th.

You can choose which word count quest is right for you, from 5K all the way to 250K. If Gamification is your thing and AI isn't, come give it a try! Free accounts now available!

[chaoslynx]

we're so back probably maybe