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angst-in-space · 1 year ago

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july ‘23 writing progress

words written: 18.3k

most words written in a day: 1.8k

least words written in a day: 26

current yearly total: 103.8k

projects worked on:

- ya sci-fi book revisions - sylvix pacific rim au - matchablossom bed-sharing fic - altea rising ch 15 edits (AND I POSTED IT....AT LONG LAST...) - posted ch 9 of sylvix dreamscape fic - short story planning

works published in july:

you’re a dream (i’m never waking up) - chapter 9 (fe3h/sylvix) altea rising - chapter 15 (vld/klance)

july goals:

- write 30k for camp nano - rewrite 4-5 chapters of ya sci-fi book (up to ch 20-ish?) - post ch 9 of sylvix dreamscape fic - start editing ch 10 of dreamscape fic - start editing chs 3-4 of renga fic? - continue first draft of arctic monster book - work on various fics (sylvix pacrim, kazurei post-canon, matchablossom, red skies ch 8, etc.)

august goals:

- continue ya sci-fi book rewrites... erm... i’m way behind schedule but maybe will try to aim for like chapter 25 or so - edit/post another chapter of altea rising - finish sylvix dreamscape ch 10 edits and send to betas - continue editing renga fic if i have time?? - work on other misc fics - maybe... work a bit on arctic monster book?? - write and submit short story

notes:

well.... this was an interesting month! because technically, in terms of word count, this was my most productive month of the year so far—but in terms of what i actually wanted to get done... well, not quite as successful LOL. but uhhh progress is progress, amiright?

i had hoped to write 30k this month and got to almost 19k so, missed my goal by about 11k lol (but still!! most words i’ve written in a month so far this year!).

i’d been hoping mainly to focus on book rewrites and get to chapter 20 or so but uhh... that did not happen either! i got Very Stuck on chapter 16 in particular so that took me most of the month. but i at least go through that and have almost finished chapter 17 as well! buuut i’ll have to rewrite... a lot more chapters this month if i want to stay on track to reach my self-appointed deadline. plus i’m having a lot of crises about my book in general lmao but guess that is all part of the process haha *gives a thumbs-up while tears roll down my face* ANYWAY. aiming for chapter 25 by the end of this month (and i’m trying to kick my own ass into rewriting like 1k words a day) so uhhh yeah. chuckles nervously.

in more positive news, i updated two whole fics in july after months of posting nothing so WOOOO!!! chapter 9 of sylvix dreamscape fic is finally posted after like 9 months, and chapter 15 of altea rising is posted after uhhh like 4.5 years lmao. with the latter, it’s been especially touching to see people so excited for it and that you were happy to see it update! honestly i had a LOT of anxiety about continuing to post it because i worried no one would care anymore, so it means a lot. :’) i definitely hope to keep working on both those fics and aim to update at least one of them by end of august!

i also planned out a short story that i’m hoping to write and submit to an anthology this month so *sweats* pray for me....i have not written a short story in ages, much less submitted short fiction anywhere lol but it’s something i’ve meant to try for a while!!

otherwise, i’m not sure i’ll have time for much else because this month is going to be pretty busy for me on top of all the writing-related stuff i need to do. but hoping to maybe squeeze in some progress on other fics when i can (or when i’m feeling burned out on my book). sooo yeah i think that’s all for now!!

#brigidposts #writing updates #monthly writing updates 2023 #fanfic #original fic #text

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tinypeckers · 4 years ago

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Oh my god I remember reading the HSAU like that's nostalgic for me at this point! I remember sending you an ask about breaking my heart with one of the chapters.

Haha, it’s nostalgia for me too in a sense - though rereading it absolutely kills me inside. It’s also a mess of a plot and way too long but yeah, it was a product of its time (and my age).

But that’s why it’s my Camp Nano project! I kind of fell out of love with writing for a while, then launched into this Creatures Camp AU and it’s lit a fire under my ass once more. Now there’s that and a completely revamped, rewritten HSAU on the way with all the nostalgia of pop tarts, hickeys and drama but hopefully better written and better paced. Fingers crossed!

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gstdaisuki · 5 years ago

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A Talk with Nathan McCree

(this is a followup to my video on Nathan’s work, which you should watch(!), and a mirror of the Patreon post)

Nathan McCree is well-known for his work on Tomb Raider. If you go digging, you’ll find he’s been interviewed about the series several times. However, he’s done quite a lot more. I’d like to fill in some of the gaps. Below are snippets from my chat with Nathan about music on the Megadrive, what it’s like to work within limitations, and music in the future.

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GST: Skeleton Krew's music is an oddity on the Megadrive. there's nothing else quite like it. I saw you mention that the soundscape was inspired by the graphics, which makes sense --they compliment each other beautifully. I want to ask what other influences you had in mind, if any. How much of the soundtrack was just created by just pushing strange sounds out of your tools?

NM: It's very difficult to say exactly where inspiration comes from. Mostly I am inspired by the kit I am using and the sounds they make, so in this case it was the sounds I was creating on the Yamaha chip inside the Megadrive. But musically at the time I was listening to a lot of psychedelic electronic bands like Ozric Tentacles, The Orb and lots of dance/trance/house music of the era.

GST: Now that you mention Ozric Tentacles, the arp sequences in Clockdrops have a similar feel to some of the tracks in Skeleton Krew. It's kind of striking, though I think the direction you went in is actually better realized because you seem to work so well within the FM on the Megadrive. (Hopefully the musical comparison isn't too offensive!)

NM: No I'm not offended by the comparison at all. I did learn a lot about synth patterns and textures from Ozric Tentacles, but again, without copying, I took what I learned and went in my own direction with it. It's important to always have a picture or an emotion of the project you are working on as this helps construct the music in a way which fits the mood of the product and as a result should gel the visuals and the animations together. The music in effect, acts as a kind of glue for the project which holds it all together.

GST: On the opposite end of the oddity spectrum, Astérix and the Power of the Gods for the Megadrive features nothing but classical songs. I'm curious if this was a decision from the game designers, or an exercise for you, or something else.

NM: It was a decision made by the game designer and programmer, Stefan Walker. Stef asked me if it were possible to convert 15 or so of the most famous classical pieces in history that were out of copyright protection (older than 90 years). Of course I said yes, and we set about listening and searching for pieces which fit that criteria and which would be suitable for the game. The conversion process from a full-orchestra down to a 6 note-polyphonic FM synthesizer was a challenge but a very enjoyable one, and the result earned the accolade "Best Megadrive Music Ever". I was rather chuffed with that.

GST: The soundtrack for BLAM! Machine Head is listed as released in 1995, which is before the game came out. Was this a promotional thing?

NM: Yes it was a promotional release of 300 vinyls. We sent a load to UK Clubs to try and get some club play time to promote the game. We succeeded a little but game soundtracks weren't really the thing back then so it gained little traction.

GST: That’s pretty amazing! That was late 1995, right on the precipice of game music leaking into the mainstream. (For reference, "Sega Tunes" came out in August 1996, "Club Saturn" in 1996, and Tommy Tallarico released his arrangement albums in mid-94 and mid-96) Did you get any feedback / reviews from the clubs?

NM: Yes we did. A few were kind enough to give us some feedback. One club I remember said about Nano-Seed, "a floor-filler!". That was good.

GST: Relatedly, what is your experience with club music? Some of the tracks on BLAM! sound perfect for the era. I wouldn't expect them to be written by someone who was previously unfamiliar with club music. Do you remember any particular songs or artists that you drew inspiration from?

NM: I was clubbing a lot in the 90s. I was going to Hot To Trot in Mansfield once a month, Renaissance in Derby in between and a few other local dance venues in Derby. In the end I was clubbing every weekend. Apart from the psychedelic bands I mentioned earlier I can't really pin-point a particular dance music artist. I was listening to so much and none of it was being repeated. I was constantly listening to new tracks. It was a very inspirational time musically and on top of all this I was writing my own dance music in my spare time outside of working at Core Design. So yeah, there was a whole lot of influence that went into the BLAM! Machinehead soundtrack. Having said that, with my writing, I always try to write something which I haven't heard before so I hope there is something unique and new about the music in BLAM! Machinehead.

GST: About Swagman: This seems like the most involved orchestral soundtrack that you had created since Soulstar. I'd like to compare the two a bit. How closely were you working with the rest of the team at this time? Swagman isn't a rail shooter so you can't match the soundtrack with the action in the levels... How much better was your gear at this point? I'd say "it doesn't sound like you struggled with your gear this time" but you actually disguised that struggle quite well in Soulstar, haha.

NM: As you say, Swagman wasn't a rail-shooter, so scripting the music to fit the game wasn't possible. Instead I used the location of each level as my main source of inspiration, and created atmospheres to fit those - The Nursery, In the Garden, Down the Well, The Crypt for example. I had some new kit by the time I started writing Swagman. Mainly the addition of the Roland JV1080 which I had expanded with the Orchestral Boards 1 & 2 and the World Expansion Board. I also had a Roland JV90 which is the keyboard version of the JV1080. That too was expanded. So I had plenty of voice-polyphony at that point and lots of very useful orchestral patches to play with. So you're right, it was less of a struggle with Swagman, but both projects were still very enjoyable to create. With Soulstar, I ended up using quite a few saw-tooth, synth-lead patches to create the brass ensembles. They actually sounded pretty good once they were buried in amongst the rest of the orchestral sounds!

GST: Battle Engine Aquila marks a soundtrack where you were freelance AND in the distant future of 2003. How much of your gear did you leave behind when you left Core Design to go freelance? And how much of it was digital instruments on your computer at this point? I ask the latter because, to my ears, this game sounds about as good as you can get without hiring a real orchestra.

NM: So obviously leaving Core Design meant saying goodbye to all the kit I had built up over the 6 years that I worked there, but of course I needed something to work with as a freelancer. So I spent a large chunk of my Tomb Raider money on a new studio for myself. Apart from the obvious stuff like a mixing desk, studio monitors and a PC, the decision needed to be made as to what instruments/synths I should buy. I had been really impressed with the Roland JV1080 so I bought one of those (and expanded it as before) and the synth geek in me also decided to by one of Roland's latest creations, the JP8000 - a fully record-able and controllable raw synth machine! With this machine it was possible to record the movement of every pot and fader straight to Cubase. A very useful tool for dance music, and to this day I still haven't used it to it's full potential. I also bought an Akai S9000 sampler which I used mainly for drums, so once again my orchestral setup was synth-based, rather than sample-based. So I started out freelance with this kit in 1998. When I got the opportunity to work on Battle Engine Aquila I decided I needed a bigger orchestra so I bought another Roland JV1080 (expanded again) and an E-MU Virtuoso 2000 orchestral synth which I quickly binned when the main controller knob became faulty and I wasn't impressed with the architecture of the signal path. I continued to use the Akai S9000 sampler for a few more years for electronic music but as soon as computers became fast enough for sample based editing inside the sequencing software, it too became a dust collector on my studio shelf along with other outboard gear which were replaced by VST instruments and Plugins. To this day I still use the 2 Roland JV1080s and my Roland JP8000, and that's about it. I'm not one of these musicians who needs to hide behind a million synths or new pieces of kit every month to convince people I can write music. I'm one of these guys who can make music from anything. A fork, knife, bottle, my kid's mini toy guitar, or glockenspiel. If it makes a note, I can use it, which I frequently have in my compositions over the years. I remember when I was working on a prehistoric game called BC, I used a metal electric fire which I scraped with a nail and hit some bricks with drum sticks to create the percussion sounds for the music. I don't need to buy new kit to be creative.

GST: I'm curious about what the limits are when it comes to crafting something unique. If you go too "far out," you'll have a unique song, but it might not resemble "music". Where's the balance between copying the songs you heard in the club and becoming autechre? Same question for non-electronic music: It's possible to get unique compositions if you go to the edge of music theory, but that can also become inaccessible. (You did seem to use odd time for the end theme of Waterlollies (11/8 by my count) though, which is always a fun technique.)

NM: Finding something new isn't about moving further and further away from music, it's about persevering with textures, ensembles, sounds, patterns and harmony until you find or create something which you haven't heard before. You have to wade through a load of stuff you have already heard until you find new waters. Sometimes that can take hours, sometimes days. You have to keep going. Adding stuff, deleting stuff. Thinking outside the box. Sometimes forgetting what you have been taught. Turning things upside down, back to front. It also helps to enter altered states of the mind when creating. This can be done in a variety of ways. Working late into the night until you are close to falling asleep for example, puts your brain into an almost dream state which helps create new things which you wouldn't normally think of during the day. This is why many creatives, and not just musicians, do their best work in the early hours of the morning. Other things can help too, drinking alcohol, but this has a negative impact on your hearing, and then of course there's marijuana which I think most musicians that have ever lived swear by! Personally for me, it's about perseverance, working at the detail and striving for perfection. Music doesn't have to be complicated or removed from tonality and harmony to be different. There are billions of combinations, it's just about looking for the new ones.

GST: One more question about the early days: Does any of the original software or source code for your Megadrive music still exist?

NM: There's a possibility that I have a copy of the programme somewhere on my hard drives but it needs a special custom built PCI card installed in your PC to work and that, I do not have anymore. You see in those days, getting access to certain elements of the games console just wasn't possible like it is today. Now you install some dev tools plugin and you have direct access to every feature of the console. Back in the early 90s we had to dismantle the machine with a screwdriver, rip out the circuit boards, making notes of the chip serial numbers and manufacturers, then calling the company and asking them for a full specification of the pin numbers and what each one did. After that, we would order the chips we wanted (or rip them out of the games console itself) and design our own circuit board which included the chips we wanted and have it all re-mounted onto a custom built PCI card which we would then install into a PC. After that, it was all about programming. We followed a similar process for the Megadrive sound chip. It was a Yamaha YM2612. So we ordered a couple of these directly from Yamaha and once we had the full spec it was pretty simple to work out how to wire it up on a circuit board. All we needed to do was to add left and right phono sockets to the output pins on the chip and send the 5v power supply to it and there you go, Megadrive synth on a PC! Of course there are the other pins (24 in total) which needed connecting up to the data bus, memory access pins, read/write request lines, interrupt request line, ground pins etc. but once we'd figured all this out it was simple enough to create a circuit diagram for the board. Once we had that we sent off the design and the 2 x Yamaha chips to a circuit board manufacturing plant in the UK. A week later our 2 x Megadrive synth PCI boards arrived. We plugged one into my PC and the other into Sean (programmer)'s PC, and we got to work coding up the sequencer. Sean took care of the machine-code level programming of the synth engine and I programmed the high-level language user interface. We had the whole sequencer up and running in 4 months. So I may have the source code and sequencer files but I don't have the hardware on which it runs. Of course I could have another circuit board made but it would take some time to get all that together again.

GST: What happened to Console Sounds / Industrial Ambiance? I can’t find it anywhere.

NM: I took the album off-line. It was available as a library album for a while but the critiques viewed it as if it was an album release and began slating it for sounding like off-the-shelf music - which is exactly what it was. It was never an album release. It was just a bunch of tunes that had not been used for anything, and I was just trying to earn some money. But when the critiques got hold of it and slated it, I took it down.

GST: That's understandable, but unfortunate. Have you considered bringing the album (or any of the songs) back on a service like Bandcamp or Soundcloud?

NM: Yes I do have ideas and avenues for a lot of my music. The first thing I want to do is to officially release all my game soundtracks. After that I'll see what's left and if there's any mileage releasing any of it.

GST: Actually, how much of your music can you release on Bandcamp? I know that the rights can get tied up...

NM: Well after the Kickstarter campaign, I am now officially a record company and publisher so I can release any of my music whenever I like. I don't need a platform like Bandcamp or Soundcloud (where often the composer/performer ends up surrendering their rights for little compensation). I don't need to do that now. I can release my music myself and retain 100% of the rights, which is a better way to go. It's been a hell of a lot of work to get to the company to this point, but the infrastructure is there now, so I'm going to continue with that.

GST: Oh, that's exciting! Do you have any idea when we can expect to see some old soundtracks released? I'm also very interested in the dance music you wrote outside of Core Design. That would be a fun throwback thing.

NM: I want to start rolling my old game soundtracks out over the next few years. I have earmarked about 10 albums which I think are worthy of release. They all require some work in terms of remastering and re-recording. Some would benefit from a live orchestral recording like Soulstar, Heimdall II, Swagman and Battle Engine Aquila to name a few, but those kinds of production are very expensive so we'll have to see how funding goes for that kind of thing. In the meantime though, I will be releasing new synthetic recordings of these soundtracks - all made using the original equipment which I wrote them on, so they will sound the same, only better! Yeah there's probably an album or two of dance type tracks kicking around which could be released. Other songs too which are still unfinished so i'll need to do a bit of work to finish those up into some releasable form. So plenty of work to keep me busy for the next 5 or so years I'd say.

GST: Where can we find news about these remastered albums? Where's a good place to find you? Is there anything else you'd like to plug?

NM: The best places to keep informed as to what I'm doing career wise is on my official FB page: https://www.facebook.com/nathanmccreeofficial/ and also my Twitter page: https://twitter.com/nrpmccree As far as plugs go, please just support my concerts. They cost a huge amount of money and time to organize and I can only keep doing them if we get a good attendance. It's really important, not just for The Tomb Raider Suite, but for games music in general, and if you do like the Tomb Raider Suite album which is free to play on Spotify, please consider buying a copy. This is how us musicians make a living and it really does help us to keep going and writing more stuff which hopefully you will enjoy. A big shout out to all the fans who have supported me so far and who continue to do so - you guys rock!

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letswritefanfiction · 5 years ago

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2019 100 word a day recap.

2019 Writing Recap

Total Words: 172,386

Best day: 3602

Worst day: 0

Here we are, folks. One year ago, I came at you with a surprisingly short post talking about my new year’s resolution to write 100 words a day, and what I hoped would come of it. And here I am on the other side to tell you exactly what did. Let’s get into it.

Let’s start with that 0 number up there. None of you will probably be able to note this, but I’ll let you know that in all of my monthly recaps, never did I admit to that 0. But it’s true. There were two days in particular (both of which I blame on my friend, Becca) where I know I didn’t write anything. The next day I tried to make up for it by having double the writing sessions, both times. Which I guess is kind of fair? I probably wouldn’t have had those two writing sessions on those days otherwise, so it probably doesn’t affect my word count. But also, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t think missing two days of a resolution means you failed. On contrary, I think it means I succeeded spectacularly. I’m so pleased.

Of course, there are about a week and a half’s worth of days that are unaccounted for...I probably did write those days and just forgot to record it, since that’s a more likely thing to forget for me than the actual writing, but...who knows.

Now let’s talk about my best day. The 3,602. That’s a pretty juicy looking number, isn’t it? Well, the truth is that all of those words are probably going to be deleted. I wrote them in a flash, obviously, but they were for a chapter that I...kind of hated. A chapter that I’m still trying to nail down, but I’m gonna bet you now that none of that text is gonna make it into the final version. And that’s okay too! Even though my total word count up there looks really impressive, I think, for a casual writer, we both know that a lot of it is going to end up deleted. Some already has! Some already fell victim to an unexpected shutdown by my computer! (I never learn.)

As for the year in full. I really am so stinking proud. I had no idea that my total number would be that high; even if you take out the 50K from NaNo, that’s still over 100K written! And, truthfully, I have no idea how low that number would have been without this challenge. But it likely would have been in the tens of thousands. Probably not even that high up there. Who knows if I would have felt like I could take on NaNo? I mean, as it was, I didn’t! Who knows how much less prepared I would have felt if I hadn’t already been on the minor roll I’d been on?

Now let’s talk about what I’ve accomplished. After over five years, I finally managed to put the alphabet challenge I started in high school to bed. I thought I might be sad about that, since it’s kind of a relic, but NOPE. I’m happy to see it go! Good riddens! I hope people enjoy it. Otherwise, I only published one other oneshot, and it was the first thing I did this (last!) year. But I’m super pleased that it was for a fandom other than Pokemon, and that I had variety in that way. But the thing that took the majority of my time and word count this year was a currently unpublished story, Zenith. My 2018 Pokeshipping week contribution that got totally out of control. The last chapter is in shambles, but everything else is getting polished up for publication, and I’ll be really excited to put it to rest as well. Lord, let it be soon.

Truth be told, this isn’t all that I’d hoped for. I’d hoped that Zenith would be finished and published, the alphabet challenge over and done, the untitled story titled and finished, and everything back in the works on Ghost Story. Welp. No. That was unreasonable. So I’ve shelved the unpublished story for now, since it’s also going to be a roaring beast, and it shouldn’t be my priority right now. But, I’m pleased to say that there is still a fire in me for Ghost Story. I thought after not working on it for so long, it would be dim, just like it dimmed when I thought I was finished with it and began to publish it. And while I don’t think I can ever recover my passion for it from that period, I can’t tell you guys how excited I will be to go back to that story and take it down once and for all. Let 2020′s Ghost Story be 2019′s Zenith and then some.

Now let’s talk about me. Like I wasn’t already, haha. But I’m really not expecting anyone to read all of this; it’s more of a record for myself. I’ve never written so much before in my life, and I think I really learned a lot about myself and my process in doing so. Since high school, I’ve done most of my writing in my bed. Well, the many different beds I’ve had in that time. But I’ve discovered that that’s not really my best method. For me, even just going into the living room and sitting upright, maybe with a tasty drink or a little munchie snack makes me feel much more like I’m having a session, rather than, like, trying to sneak in a bit of writing in the midst of my dicking around on the internet. I’m lucky enough to live in a building with a communal work space, and going there is even better. Like a coffee shop I can go to without having to put on shoes, haha.

This is the first year that I’ve really given writing while listening to music a try. I love music so much that it’s pretty distracting for me...in every way. Like, in doing anything, if I’m listening to music I enjoy, I’m probably doing that more that the task I’m supposed to be doing. That’s why I don’t listen to music while writing. But this year, I did. I discovered a few albums that have nice, low-key vibes throughout the whole album so I can have it play through and be nice background music. It’s still distracting, but not as much. But I also did a lot of writing with music that I do love and/or was actively listening to as well. And, yeah, it was distracting. But it also made my time more joyful. And, to me, that’s the most important thing, so as long as it’s not costing me all my productivity, why not listen to some showtunes?

I’m only going to take a moment to talk about my plans for 2020, since I haven’t really thought about them. But gone is this 100 words a day thing. I’ll never get through editing that way! But I’d like to think that I’ve gotten into the habit enough of writing every day that it won’t be a problem. I’m aiming to spend about 20 minutes a day writing, more or less. But that’s my easy, achievable goal, I think. It’s going to be much more lenient, which feels freeing. But I hope to accomplish just as much this year as in 2019. If not more! So here’s to it!

#writing #new years resolutions #resolutions #personal #writing challenge

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onmywaytobe · 6 years ago

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Get to know the writer!

tagged by @borntobeabook <3

1. Pen or pencil?

Pen! I get too nervous that pencil will smear lol

2. Have you ever drawn your OCs?

Nah I wish! Alas I cannot draw

3. Does your writing ever make you cry?

Writing very rarely makes me cry, but there was one time I was writing a really bittersweet goodbye scene (the mc’s friends were wishing him well, but he was the only one who knew he’d never get to see them again) and it gave me this like deep ache in my chest....so I can make myself feel things, but not actually cry I guess

4. If your Muse was a person, what would they look like?

Oh geez I have no idea, probably just like me but with like....messier hair? Idk I have a lot of conversations with myself so yeah my Muse looks like me but more artsy lol

5. Which of your pieces would you choose to be remembered for?

One of my films, probably Voice of Treason, because I’m really proud of that one and I want to make a name for myself as a filmmaker

6. How much have you written or worked on your WIP so far today?

Uhh...I’ve reblogged some posts about my characters, and I’m going to redo my WIP pages... in my defense I’m waiting for NaNoWriMo to start to actually work on They Met in a Cafe

7. Have you ever based a piece (or a portion of a piece) on a dream?

Oh yeah I do that all the time, not for my bigger WIPs usually but for my smaller ones (like half of my NaNo piece last year)

8. Do you prefer silence, a little noise (music, ambient noise, fan etc) or a lot of noise when you are writing?

I need pretty much total silence, I can’t stand the sound of typing (even when it’s my own haha) so I usually put on noise-cancelling headphones for maximum quiet

9. Do you have any routines before you sit down to write?

Nah but I’m trying to get in the habit of doing something (like putting on a hat) to encourage myself to write? Idk I saw this post that was about like using conditioning to convince yourself to be productive so I wanna try that

10. Have you ever participated in a NaNoWriMo or a Camp?

Yeah!! I’ve done NaNoWriMo every year since 2012 (with the exception of 2013, since I literally finished my first draft of a novel the day before NaNo started for some reason) and I’ve done almost every Camp since April 2014! Tbh without the pressure of a word count to reach I’m really bad about self-motivation to write so this helps me out a lot!

I tag @lightningandthetumbllr @elarasterling @ladyyvaine13 @katabasiss (feel free to do this or not! it’s just kinda fun)

#tagged #tag games #about me #cafe #onmywaytonano #treason

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bayalexison · 7 years ago

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Bay’s 2017 Writing Summary

So I decided to do a 2017 Writing Summary. I haven't posted as much stories this year, but the ones I started/posted were longer works than the shorter pieces I did last year and I got a lot to say about those projects.

Dancing With Butterflies and Dragons (Ace Attorney) Foul Play (Pokemon, WIP) The Scent of Roses (Pokemon)

So first story I posted was an Ace Attorney fic! That doesn't feature heavily the more popular characters! First intimate scene I wrote in like three or four years? But yeah, Dancing With Butterflies and Dragons got me starting in really digging Amara/Dhurke and wishing there was more content of that pairing haha.

Foul Play is another story where I wish there was more content, this time Grimsley and Nanu interacting. The majority of folks like how I portray them so far, so hopefully the next several scenes I thought for them won't disappoint!

I wrote like a backlog of 5 chapters and extra scenes, and posted the first 3. I actually have a rough draft of Chapter Four and have an outline, but thanks to US/UM and some feedback on earlier chapters I'm rethinking how I want the next several events to progress. There's also how some people mentioned Chapter 3 having some prose problems, so I'm considering polishing that. So yeah, Chapter Four will have to wait a bit more.

(While I'm here, I'm soooo amused in US/UM Grimsley just does Mantine Surfing and disappointed Nanu's International Police backstory kinda got cut. Not only that, in Ultra Sun you don't get to battle Nanu while in Ultra Moon you do. I've been robbed of that opportunity, dang you Game Freak! = P )

The last fic, The Scent of Roses, I wrote for Serebii's Yuletide gift exchange. I mentioned a bit in the forums how I started one prompt, didn't like where it was going, started this prompt and it got a bit longer than expected. Not only that, my beta made some suggestions on what stuff needed expanding so I had to rewrote some parts last minute.

There is actually one more fic I wrote but didn't post yet. I started an Ace Attorney, Nahyuta centric story for April's Camp NaNo and finished up the rough draft over the summer, but I felt the end product was underwhelming and set it aside lol. I thought about adding a scene or two to flesh the story out more, and perhaps if I'm motivated enough I'll do that sometime in 2018.

I'm going to be honest, during the fall I did feel that "I'm not good enough" writing blues and why I kinda struggled turning in my Yuletide early this time. My mental health was also all over the place with irl stuff going on. The comments I got on Dancing With Butterflies and Dragons and Foul Play did make me smile and remind me there are people that do like my stuff.

Next year I would like to make progress on Foul Play, and perhaps write more Ace Attorney. I saved up a lot of Ace Attorney prompts and I would like to get started on them! Maybe something else will strike my fancy, too.

#fic post #random musings #writing summary

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streetsandsodiumlights · 7 years ago

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@exalted-plains tagged me and i almost didnt notice rip. ten questions:

What’s your favorite trope to write?

my Entire NaNo this year is based off an amnesia trope x10. i love that trope. people forgetting things is my favorite thing bc then they get to rediscover who they are and i cant get enough of that

How do you get into the writing mood?

usually i write before bed, for an hour or two. i don’t think i really have a mood, but sitting down at a set time and not giving up on the writing is very, very productive. if i start writing something that just doesn’t flow, i make a note of it and move on to a thing that i’m more motivated for. then later i can think more about the thing that wasn’t working and see if i can’t find a reason? idk i think for me it’s more habit and problem-solving that makes me Want to write.

What music (if any) do you listen to when writing?

i’ve got a playlist for nano this year, but mostly that’s to get me inspired; i listen to it while i’m driving so that i can think a little about certain characters’ arcs and where i want them to go. while i’m actually writing, i prefer it to be silent, but i sometimes put on music just cause i Feel Like It.

How many tabs are open when you write?

for this nano? maybe two, three? not as many as usual, haha, but that’s mostly because this story is all in my head and other ones usually are scattered across all sorts of different idea storage sites

Favorite procrastination activity?

warframe............. warframe and pokemon

Which of your traits did you put into your Ocs?

all of them. just. all of them. i project so hard on these characters that sometimes i write about my own feelings n im like “you know what makes this easier to express? making that part of wyn’s backstory.” it helps that this nano project has a current population of about 15 POV characters, so traits that don’t fit some can just be pushed onto others. you could say that this year’s nano is my most efficient journey of self-discovery ever.

What’s a wolfpuppy quote you imagine your Ocs saying?

i’m actually going to save this question and later make a post w/ all my characters that has the quotes w/ them. it’s just too good an opportunity. in the meanwhile, here’s one that sums up my current project in its entirety:

Do your Ocs all have something in common?

in this story, everybody’s stories converge on a single point, and then continue on from there. they basically all have the same backstory, to the point where i had to make a backstory before the backstory to keep it interesting, and i ruined my whole timeline.

oh, and they’re magic.

If you could write anything, knowing it would be published worldwide, what would the topic be?

honestly if i knew it would be published worldwide i would definitely write a story about hope and optimism and not giving up on things that aren’t doing so well. that’s a message that means a lot to me and if i was known for one thing i would want to be known for saying that. oh yeah and it’d be gay all over

At what point do you think you’re going to just say ‘fuck it’ during NaNo?

never,

#personal #about #shannon ily a lot thanks for tagging me

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lyonface · 8 years ago

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Writing Review 2016

I was tagged by @galadrieljones. Thank you, falon. I haven’t been writing much lately but I hope to jump back on the wagon soon.

Total Number of Stories Completed:

Completed? Sheesh. If my self-contained prompt fills count, we’re getting close to 20. Klexos EV can count as self-contained, but really is just an extended universe for Klexos proper, so I don’t like counting it.

Total Word Count:

All of the fanfiction that currently exists on my AO3 was basically started in 2016 (Klexos was published on 12/22/15, but it counts.)

I docked the first two chapters from Klexos (holy shit you guys those were 8k words BY THEMSELVES) and added unfinished work, the rest of my AO3 wordcount, and my poetry. We won’t even touch rping because that is literally unquanitifiable, but I have no doubt that those blogs would add on thousands of words of just my entries on their own. My written works (fiction and nonfiction) in 2016 total approx. 172,201, minus roleplaying and planning documents.

Fandoms Written In:

Dragon Age, Hannibal, Mystic Messenger.

Looking Back, Did You Expect To Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected?

I had no true idea what I would end up writing, but I can be pretty damn sure that I would never imagine myself writing the sheer volume of work that I have. Although I did anticipate being further in Klexos by this time (it’s over a year old!) I also had no idea that I would write it’s side story, Klexos EV, nor that I would be roleplaying again and getting into other fandoms.

Short answer: I expected to write a shit ton less.

What’s Your Own Favorite Story Of The Year?

Klexos is my darling child, despite my lack of attention to it in recent months. Klexos EV is the first self-contained fictional work that I’ve completed since an original piece of fiction back in high school that we shall speak no more of. Although I haven’t gotten to what I anticipate will be my favorite parts of Klexos, I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of creating it and having people see it.

Did You Take Any Writing Risks This Year?

Doing it at all was a risk, honestly. Setting up my AO3, deciding to prioritize my fiction over my nonfiction. My Patreon was also a pretty big risk, which I hope to pay off (literally) soon once I get the hell over this cold and writer’s block and jump back on the bandwagon. So basically I went from making an AO3 to making a Patreon to neaty bookend my year.

Do You Have Any Fanfic Or Profic Goals For The New Year?

Finish Klexos or get damn close. Start an original piece that’s been kicking around in my head since my failed attempt at NaNo this year. Prioritize my time better so I can be productive and still enjoy myself. Push my personal boundaries and make myself write things I may find uncomfortable so I can more thoroughly explore myself and my worldview.

Best Story Of The Year?

I see Klexos is going to be basically the answer to all of these, isn’t it?

Most Popular Story Of The Year?

Still Klexos my dude.

Story of Mine Most Under-appreciated By The Universe, IMO:

The Senris that was never allowed to be on @lyrium-larvae tbh. You can check out the #solas tag and start from the beginning to see how it plays out. It hurts me. My friends and I have phrases for certain instances during that whole arc. Good lord...

Most Fun Story To Write:

Klexos is really fun, but it’s getting to where I’m finding gaps that need to be filled up with meaningful content before moving on to the next story beat, which is proving a bit more difficult than I intended. First big work I’ve planned until the end, so it’s bound to have issues.

Story With The Single Sexiest Moment:

I haven’t er...written anything sexy and posted it besides No More Games, which doesn’t actually get into any raunchy bits because I chickened out and couldn’t justify how those two characters would have sex on their first night together that was unplanned.

I have written....a lot of stuff off site though, and hope to stop being a shakey baby and just get to posting it out for the public to see. It’s one of the hurdles I want to overcome in 2017.

Most Sweet Story:

Basically all the prompt fills I have written and will ever write for Galenris (Galaren DuMarc/Fenris) is going to be sweet. Because the two of them together just hit me right in the Good Feels.

“Holy Crap, That’s Wrong, Even For You!” Story:

I haven’t written anything that would make people be aghast. If someone reads Klexos EV and says that, they clearly don’t know me.

Story That Shifted My Own Perceptions Of The Characters:

Binary actually helped me understand Will better even during the process of writing it. It’s short, but it will inform my interpretation of Will Graham probably for the remainder of the time that I write him, in fanfics or otherwise.

Writing Fenris in general has made me realize more and more that he and I have a lot in common, almost to an uncomfortable degree.

Most Unintentionally Telling Story:

Yeah uh...those will be coming in the future I have no doubt. Considering my post not 18 hours ago about having an idea for a fic related to dubcon that made me uncomfortable haha.

Hardest Story To Write:

Mmm. Klexos is difficult because of its sheer scale and demand for organization in order for everything to work properly together. I’ve never written anything this involved or with multiple interactions and arcs going on at once while still trying to remain focused on character development. It’s rewarding, and will be more so I have no doubt, but man it is not easy to stick to it sometimes.

In terms of subject matter... I don’t think I’ll write something as emotionally uncomfortable or compromising as Klexos EV for...a long time, unless Hannibal dredges something out of me I don’t know is there (or goddamn Mystic Messenger, of all things.) I felt actual physical discomfort and emotional anguish while writing EV, especially for Chapters 5, 7, you know just the entirely last half, especially after 6. The experience of basically rewriting Klexos Chapter 6 as Klexos EV Chapter 9 was incredible, and gives me a lot of appreciation for tied together endings like that.

Like, fuck guys, I’m writing a fix-it oneshot for my own fucking fanfic. That is intense, dude.

Biggest Disappointment:

All but abandoning my Wordpress blog is...pretty depressing. Today was the first day it’s gotten no hits in a very very long time, and I guess it just kind of felt...mm, like I’d let it go too long. I’m also disappointed in my own inability to apparently time manage effectively. It was a strength I had during school that has apparently gone flabby with lack of use. I plan to rectify that.

Biggest Surprise:

That I’ve learned so much not only about myself through writing the way I have (a lot, like oh my god) but that I’ve found friends and learned more about writing than I necessarily though I might. I’ve met so many good, varied writers through fandoms and it’s so interesting to see everyone’s styles and processes, even if they’re not so good at feedback or working together (beyond rps, at least.) I’ve found far more confidence in my writing than I thought I would necessarily ever, I think. I mean jeez, one of my poems got published in 2016! That still doesn’t feel real sometimes!

---

Thanks for tagging me! And if anyone feels an urge to fill it out and log their progress, make sure to tag me! :)

#i was tagged #galadrieljones #writing #fanfic #klexos #writing review #writing meme

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chellexo · 8 years ago

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What’s the funniest commercial? Anything local that uses clip art and is just basically unintentionally hilarious

What’s something you’re dying to say to someone in this answer? The reason we aren’t friends anymore is because you are a bully. Also, I swear you could’ve majored in passive-aggression, because you’re a master at it.

Who’s that towards? One of my roommates.

Do you believe in fairy tale love? Eh. Kind of.

Is there a guy who you can go to with no make-up on in sweatpants and bedhead and he couldn’t care less? Only relatives, ha

What did you fall asleep thinking about last night? Bellarke or Nick & Jess

Do you have nightmares after watching a horror movie? Sometimes

Does pop taste different in cans than it does in bottles? I guess so

Did you know that pressing strings on the guitar really hurts at first?Ohh, yes.

Have you ever kissed someone whose name starts with E?

Who’s someone who puts up with you no matter what? My sister and my cat

What’s the last drink you poured for someone? Water for Brigitte

Can you taste the difference between Coke and Pepsi? Yes

What about normal Pepsi and Diet Pepsi? Yep

What’s the last thing you bragged about? Maybe parts of my San Fran trip, but I really try not to brag

Do you wear more than one pair of socks when it’s cold? Not unless I’m going out into the snow

What’s the last thing you bought at a dollar store? Trash bags, I think

Do you think you could be an inventor? Ehhh, probably not

If you dated someone that someone else liked, would you rub it in their face? Of course not.

What’s worse, cleaning the bathroom or the kitchen? Bathroom

What does your toothpaste smell like? Mint

What’s the first thing you do after a shower? Comb my hair and put in leave-in conditioner

Do you think it’s so cute seeing elderly couples holding hands? Yesss. Restores some of my faith.

Are you grateful for everything you have? Yes

Do you and your family pray before eating dinner? Sometimes. Usually just when we go out to eat though

Does your email have any under scores in it? No.

Do you swoon over characters in movies and TV shows? I don’t think I do anything else, honestly

What’s the last link you sent to someone? Don’t remember...

Do you ever hear your favorite bands or singers on the radio? Yep!

Where is The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants set? The answer before mine spoiled that it’s in Maryland, soo I guess that’s it, ha

Does knowing a person plays an instrument make them more attractive? Yep

Do you ever get annoyed for no reason at all? Ohhhh yes.

What do you have for midnight snacks? Crackers, chocolate, anything, really.

Can you wear T-shirts and tank-tops all year long where you live? Nope

Does going to Australia sound appealing? YES! I’d absolutely LOVE to go

What about Greece? Yes

Who’s the last person who took care of you? Parents

Who never fails to piss you off? Myself

Should Britney Spears just go away? Haha, of course not

Would you ever get a tattoo of your favorite band or singer’s name? No

Do you feel awkward with your family? Sometimes, but not usually. With some extended family, yeah.

Would you ever move to another country? For a short amount of time, maybe. I’d have to be pretty comfortable with the country first, though, and understand how everything works. Also, I’d obviously have to have a good job lined up too

If you found out someone you know is gay, would you think less of them? No

Who’s the last person to come to your door? One of my family members

How would you react if you found out Edward Cullen is real? When was this written? Hahah. That would be beyond freaky.

Is your hair in need of a wash right now? Yep

Have you ever hurt someone by accident? Yes

How many gyms are in your city? Tons

What’s your favorite video game? The Sims

What’s your make-up routine? Moisturizer, concealer, powder foundation, mascara, liquid eyeliner on the top, add some color to eyebrows, lip balm or lipstick

Do you know what the ‘green party’ is? Kind of

What’s your iPod/MP3 player like? I have an old green iPod nano and an iPod Touch

Do or did you keep a journal and did anyone ever read it? Yes, many. A couple people have read sections of them.

Do you own any form of a Gameboy? Yes! I got a Gameboy Advance in ‘01 and still have it.

Do you own any TY tinie beanie babies and, if so, which ones? Oh my gosh, my siblings and I had an entire basket full. Can’t remember specific ones now, though.

What’s the best part about Halloween? Dressing up.

What’s the best part about Christmas? Being with family and seeing their faces light up with the magic of it all

Do you like Valentine’s Day and why or why not? Yeah. It’s cute!

What TV channel do you most watch? The CW and Fox, for The 100 and New Girl.

Which radio station do you listen to most often? At school, 93.7 or 100.7. At home, 99.5 or 101.5.

What grade are you in? 16th

Do you have any pets and do you want any(more)? Yes! A cat and a dog. I’d maybe want another cat someday, but Gigi hates other animals, ha.

Is make-up overrated? No.

Which color looks best on you? Light blue or green

What’re you doing tomorrow? Not sure! Hopefully something productive.

Do you ever listen to Gospel music? Not really

What religion are you? Catholic

Have you ever seen a double rainbow? Yep

What’s your favorite store in the mall? Books-A-Million or Bath & Body Works

Have you ever seen a cat with blue eyes? Yes

Can you knit? Not really

Where do you live? Virginia

Where do you want to live? Somewhere in New England, or maybe southern California. But I do like VA a lot

What time is it? 1:10 p.m.

#survey #march 8 2017 #me #personal

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angst-in-space · 5 years ago

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april ‘20 writing progress

total words written: 20.7k

most words written in a day: 1,912

least words written in a day: 41

current yearly total: 60,367

projects worked on:

- reached my camp nano goal of 20k words! - published “countdown”, the fic i wrote for the klance “...and we are beginning” zine - mostly worked on the klance roman holiday au... i’m nearly done with it i swear - i think i wrote like two sentences of altea rising lol - also started planning a galolio fic with @221bdisneystreet owo

april goals:

- meet my goal of 20k words for camp nanowrimo - *laughs nervously* finish the last chaper of altea rising….? - finish the klance roman holiday au (or at least get a good chunk of it done since i’m pretty close to the end) - get some progress done on the wangxian fic since i neglected it through all of march, oops

may goals:

- finish the kl roman holiday au - start working on the last chapter of altea rising again since i didn’t really work on it during april lmaoooo - also work on the wangxian fic again, i mean it this time - start writing sylvix fic?? - plan the galolio fic some more?? - maybe work on red skies a bit??

notes:

april was....quite a whirlwind, as i’m sure it was for everyone haha. obviously we’re all still in quarantine, and on top of that i was working remotely for most of the month - but then as of a week ago, i officially left my job so that was a lot to deal with mentally/emotionally. for the most part it’s a good thing bc my job had been super detrimental to my wellbeing and it was best for me to step down...but also it was super hard to leave my coworkers behind, and also now i don’t have a job or any other source of income so...that’s fun!! but anyway i digress...

despite all that, i was surprisingly productive during april hahaha. i did camp nano with a goal of 20k words, which i succeeded in doing so i’m very excited and proud of myself for that!

i had wanted to focus on altea rising but uh....i got really caught up in the kl roman holiday au so i spent pretty much the entire month working away at that. and i’m very nearly done with my first draft of it. it’s um Very Long right now...over 60k words and still going lol.... but i’m getting towards the end and i’m hyped to finish it since i started it more than a year ago haha. so yeah i think my main goal for may is going to be to finish up a draft of it, and i’m hoping to publish by maybeee sometime between end of may or mid-june. we shall see!

once i’ve completed a draft of that, i do really truly want to throw myself back into the last chapter of altea rising. i think i had kind of burned myself out working on it for a while, but i’m hoping this month i can focus on it again. i feel just awful about it because it’s been like a year and a half since i updated it but UHHH the last chapter coming eventually i promise. then there are a few other wips that i would really like to work on some more....for instance, i do still really want to work on the wangxian fic i started working on with jessie haha, i keep neglecting it and i feel bad so yeah i’m hoping maybe i can get a little bit of progress on that done this month!

i also started planning a galolio maximum ride au with miranda so i hope to do some more planning on that as well!!

aaaand i maybe possibly will start working on a sylvix fic this month...i’ve had an idea planned out for a long time now that i haven’t started yet, but i’ve really been itching to write it lately, so i may delve into that soon-ish (if i can just think of how i want to start it dammit).

also since i haven’t updated red skies in like a year UHHH i would love to work a bit on that as well cuz it’s been ages and i really really want to continue it. *sweats*

...um so yeah i really have my work cut out for me lol but also i don’t have a job and i’m stuck inside all day every day so hopefully it will be a month of productivity!

#brigidposts #writing updates #writing progress 2020 #text

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