Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Revision anyone?

Liosis — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 01:08:19 -0800

Well, apart from exam revision I'm not doing any right now, but as of the 15th I am free and shall be revising or writing or somethinging my novel. I know that there is are huge chunks missing, but I don't know where. I'm quite excited for some reason, it's like nanowrimo without the cheering fans and lack of sleep...well, maybe not the lack of sleep. I considered the two months thing, but since I still have writing to do (somewhere, hopefully find out where) I decided against it. I'll save the two months for some time when I have the delusion that my that things make sense.

Anyone else? Revising? Editing? Finishing? Polishing? Burning? Printing off to use as wrapping paper? Waiting until two months is up like normal people?
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Better to follow perfection day and year; better to learn from it quietly than to spring the trap or the fire a shot that frightens it away.
Nano2006: The flying ship (fantasy). Won.
Nano2007: A cure for magic (fantasy). Won.

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Invite to a writing group!

Alcar — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:28:43 -0800

Aka: do YOU have what it takes to join the Sua Wizards?

As part of our ISO-9003 application process, things get explained. (Not the name, though; you learn the meaning behind that if you join, and maybe even a secret handshake.)

Basically, a group of us got together last year after nano and kept the muse going all year* round.

The gist of it is that we meet up once every two weeks, Sunday afternoons from 1 pm until 3-4 pm. Meetings have been held mostly at my place so far. Two people submit short stories, chapters of novels, plays, poetry etc. sometime during the two weeks before the meeting (generally, we go for ~2,500 as the max submission length) via email. Everyone else prints it off, etc., edits, and at the meeting we go round in a circle and every one gives their critiques, advice, ideas and such about whatever is submitted.

After that, we chat about writing, story ideas, so some games (like the page 117 game) and so on. It's pretty fun, but RL sucked away half the members during the year, so now there are only 3 of us.

So we're looking for 3-4 people who are willing to commit some of their time to the meetings, editing, submitting and such. You do NOT have to write throughout the year -- some people are just submitting edited chapters of their nano, a chapter at a time. Some of us hope to publish things, some don't: It's fairly informal all told.

If you're interested, or want more information, talk to me, Chris, or Darusha during the next meeting or the TGIO party or via nanomail etc. I figure 6-8 members in total is a reasonable number that will survive attrition and such: if you know someone who didn't do nano who'd want to join, feel free to invite them as well.

* Last year had no meetings from July-August, due to summer screwing up many schedules. but all year round still sounds better.

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Member of SFFmuse
Nano #1 done at 62,857. #2 (the sequel) starting soon....

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Yay! We broke 1 million words!

Alcar — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:36:12 -0800

We rock.

End of story.

ALSO: I shall be bringing a gift (no, not the harf nor a certain hat) for someone who wishes to write fantasy in the future. If you do, talk to me at the meet.)
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Member of SFFmuse
Nano #1 done at 62,857. #2 (the sequel) starting soon....

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Who's coming to the TGIO party?

spadequeen — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:53:08 -0800

Post a reply if you plan on being there so I can make a reservation. Please post by Wednesday; thanks!

The plan is to meet at 6 pm at the Boston Pizza by Save-On-Foods on Dec 1. Hopefully we'll do better with bus schedules this time.

#102 - 3510 Blanshard Street

UPDATE: Reservation made, destination changed (see above).
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Check out my novel Beautiful Red @ my site and podiobooks.com
See also this year's Nanowrimo Podcast

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Favourite bits of dialogue, description etc.

Alcar — Thu, 8 Nov 2007 17:16:28 -0800

Everyone has them, so we needs a thread for it :)

I'll start, with this small bit written 10 minutes ago:

Adwyn stopped, looking around at other doors in puzzlement. "Guards?"
"Oh, we don't post any guards in the diplomatic quarters." Watkin chuckled. "That would discourage the dignitaries from plotting and murdering each other, and we can't have that."
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Member of SFFmuse
Nano #1 done at 62,857. #2 (the sequel) starting soon....

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

NaNo Links

Kublai Khan — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:48:33 -0700

Any links (On topic or no) that may have come up during the meetings (or just cool novelling links) should be posted here, with a description.
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Nano 2006 - The Illogiad (50k)
Nano 2007 - Das Auge Des Sturm *crossesfingers*

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

The Laughably Awful Thread

l_m_t — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:13:56 -0800

So, we know that NaNoWriMo is a time to write lengthy prose, but with the time constraints and the rushed word war typing, we're bound to write some of the worst, most mind-achingly awful prose we have ever spewed out in our lives.

This is the thread for sharing any snippets of story that are so bad, they can't NOT be shared. Let's laugh at our awful prose together!

I'll kick things off with a sentence I wrote during a word war last night, which is bound to become an instant classic:

“Well,” Colby paused, trying to find the words to express what had happened, without actually acknowledging what had happened. “Well, something happened."

(Gods, how much caffeine was I on last night?!)
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***
Victorian author with a slovenly muse.

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

boggles at moniter

Alamaris — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:41:50 -0800

Does that "word count" bar on the word processor actually read 50,022 words? Really?

Holy crap guys! I did it! [faints]

Granted, I still have about another 50k of actual story left, but I'm not going to think about that for a day or two. I think I deserve the break. :D
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NaNo '06 - Love of the Unordinary: Won!
NaNo '07 - Child Of Moon And Night: Won!

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

The Zombie Love Poems

Alcar — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:32:35 -0800

Because someone asked. All written in a 4 month period in 2005. There are others, but they're more zombiesque than really love poems.

Love In Old Age
Josh MacLeod

I admit it: I love the coy way
Bits of you fall off during sex.
All the pieces pale and twitching
With maggots I lovingly collect,
& the way your hands sneak off
To return, touch, & surprise me
Is worth every stolen moment,
smiles lighting our rotting faces.
There is nothing at all purer.
I would tell you, had I but breath,
That this is far preferable
To the cold embrace of death.

Forever
Josh MacLeod

You gave me your kiss
I walk in a darkness
Lit by love & madness.

You bit into my head
I thought I would be dead
But woke a zombie instead.

You took my life from me
And gave me an eternity
For reasons I too clearly see.

Our vows weren’t made in error
We will be together, part never
Not even the day after forever.

Trust
Josh MacLeod

I was there when your troubled ended
And when they began again
I know I said I understood
But I was lying way back then.

And it seems to me that we are just
Flesh and then we’re dust
And this state between
Doesn’t seem to mean we’re
Cursed or that we’re blessed.

I know you love me, even now,
Untethered from the grave
But no matter how you tell me
or the love your words convey
I can’t see you eating my brain as OK
Even if it will save me.

Even if I will not die
I can no longer lie
I know you love me,
But I cannot be
A zombie for eternity.

No matter how we hold on fast
It seems that soon or late
Sometimes even love never lasts
Against the vagaries of fate.

Love After Death
Josh MacLeod

Sometimes you show your love
in quiet ways, in cleaning up
after me, in stitching me together.

Sometimes you sing amazing grace
because I was blind before you bit me
and devoured my brains.

The dead see clearly, you knew,
and you loved me so, even if
I rot faster than you.

I think it was because I was dying
when I undied, but I am not sure
of anything, only that love remains.

Only that my mother loves me,
even if we are both undead
and some say we are damned.

Sometimes, to make me laugh, you tell
jokes, about how Jesus returned
as a zombie, eating brains.

About how his disciples became the first
and have been making more zombies
ever since, conversion by dinner.

You explain it as theophagy, because
eating gods is a holy thing, but we
seldom even eat people anymore.

I know I am burdening you, because
I cannot chase the living far
but you never complain.

I wish I loved you enough
to find a way to end my unlife
and free you from my burden.
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Member of SFFmuse
Nano #1 done at 62,857. #2 (the sequel) starting soon....

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

You all just lost The Game

Will the Great — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:46:33 -0700

Hahaha!
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

TGIO Party planning

spadequeen — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:37:32 -0800

There was some talk in another thread about planning for our TGIO (thank god it's over) party, recreated here for your benefit:

Alamaris wrote:

By the way, has anyone given any thought to the Thank God Its Over Party? Last year I think we had it on a Saturday night at Boston Pizza. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Debate! Decide!

Kublai Khan wrote:

I thought Boston Pizza wasn't bad location wise last time... I don't really care where we have the TGIO party though, as long as there's food.

Alcar wrote:

Yeah, worked for me. Best thing is, we can have it on the first this year :)

Alamaris wrote:

Ooh, good eye. I can't believe I didn't notice that one.

I should have mentioned in the original post that yes, the first of December is a good night to do it, and Boston Pizza worked well, although lets hope for a less crowded restaurant this time.

So. As Alamaris said, "Debate! Decide!"
----------
Check out my novel Beautiful Red @ my site and podiobooks.com
See also this year's Nanowrimo Podcast

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Zombie Films

spadequeen — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:05:26 -0800

At the meeting I mentioned a couple of zombie films whose names I could not recall. The internet to the rescue! The films are: Wild Zero (the Japanese punk-rock one) and End of the Line (the Canadian religious nuts one).
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Check out my novel Beautiful Red @ my site and podiobooks.com
See also this year's Nanowrimo Podcast

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Of lolBibles and lolZombies.

Alamaris — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:34:57 -0800

This is the image source, and the macro'd bits are obviously mine. Whose idea was this, Darusha's? Anyways. Hope this satisfies. ;D

Also, LOLCat Bible.

I must also add this video of a chicken running around, yes, headless. I'm not sure if the music makes it better or worse.

Enjoy!
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NaNo '06 - Love of the Unordinary: Won!
NaNo '07 - Child Of Moon And Night: Won!

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

November 25th...

Alamaris — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:05:49 -0800

...same time, same place, same characters?

By the way, has anyone given any thought to the Thank God Its Over Party? Last year I [em]think[/em] we had it on a Saturday night at Boston Pizza. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Debate! Decide!
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NaNo '06 - Love of the Unordinary: Won!
NaNo '07 - Child Of Moon And Night: Won!

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

i finally started... today

jadeharpy — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:36:40 -0800

ah! an actual morning with no encroaching deadlines to scare me away from writing!

looks like i have 2 weeks exactly to finish...

anyone want to take bets on whether that'll happen or not?
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"You're not dressed for an afternoon of Tchaikovsky and heavy petting!"
"I'd rather staple a skunk to my forehead and go to a trade show for banjo makers. And yet, it's still better than working, so count me in."

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Zombie Website

spadequeen — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:05:25 -0800

WARNING: Time waster. Also, brains.

http://zombiechannel.com/
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Check out my novel Beautiful Red @ my site and podiobooks.com
See also this year's Nanowrimo Podcast

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Little bit of trivia

Will the Great — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:56:52 -0800

If you'll visit the main page for Honestgamers.com, you'll notice a preview for an upcoming RTS entitled "SunAge". Click on that, and see if you recognize the author.
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

UVic residence write-in?

botherd — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 17:10:03 -0800

I know that a couple of times we've talked about having a write-in at UVic so I thought it was about time someone actually organised it. There are about four of us in Ring Road Hall so I think that would be the best place to meet, but obviously non-Ring Roaders would be welcome too. Anyone interested? I was thinking that Wednesday evening would be good, maybe about 7pm? We can all meet in one of the lounges with our laptops and have word wars, etc. Yes? No? Maybe so?
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Yes!

Alcar — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:08:45 -0800

And done nano #1!

I'd hoped for more words, but (almost) 63K is where the plot came to, and the last 10K took 3 days to write, ending when I realized the plot *was* coming to a halt and I was just trying to avoid it -- there is a difference between writing an ending to fast and not reaching it at all.

Unlike the first, the sequel actually has a title, though the plot is far more bare bones. I know it's a thriller rather than a mystery and won't be as funny at all. Mistakes will come back and haunt people and all the bast of the characters (mostly subtext in the first book) will be explored a little more in depth.

My MC will NOT be as shy, damn it!
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Member of SFFmuse
Nano #1 done at 62,857. #2 (the sequel) starting soon....

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

UVic Meetup - Take Two

KallyCat — Mon, 5 Nov 2007 16:30:20 -0800

Okay, so there was a bit of confusion last week, mainly because we've got classes, and haven't yet developed the ability to clone ourselves. The new plan is to meet at Vertigo (in the SUB) at 12, and assume that people will be around from 12-2, since a lot of us don't finish class until 12:30.

There's no need to bring your novels (or parts of them) with you, but no harm either.

We've got no real way of identifying ourselves to newcomers, so look for the crazy. I'll be wearing a black and white scarf, and hopefully you'll recognize people from other meetups.

I sent an email to everyone that requested to be on the list. If you didn't get the email, or want to be added to the list, please comment here or nanomail me with your name and email.

-Ben
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Ben - Dead Baby Girl

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

November 18th Meeting

Steve-O — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:26:03 -0800

THE SUPREME COMMANDER DEMANDS THAT ALL VICTORIA NANO-WRITERS MEET NEXT WEEK ON NOVEMBER 18th!

THE MEETING LOCATION IS THE BLACK STILT CAFE! I TRIED TO BOOK A FEW TABLES AT IHOP FOR A BITCHIN' BACON SLAM, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE NONE OF IT. DESTRUCTION OF INFERIOR HOUSE OF PANCAKES WILL BE DISCUSSED AT MEETING. BRING YOUR OWN BACON!

THE MEETING TIME IS 3:00 PM

BE THERE

OR BE SQUARE!
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'05: Falling - A Love Story
'07: The Dying of the Light - Post-Apocalyptic Angst
- My Blog

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Turkey City Lexicon

bmlg — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:42:13 -0800

I mentioned this at the Black Stilt, but in case anyone didn't have a chance to write it down, the url is:
http://www.sfwa.org/writing/turkeycity.html

It is a useful listing of both good and bad things found in fiction during workshops.

A Good Thing: Eyeball Kick
Vivid, telling details that create a kaleidoscopic effect of swarming visual imagery against a baroquely elaborate SF background. One ideal of cyberpunk SF was to create a "crammed prose" full of "eyeball kicks." (Attr. Rudy Rucker)

A Bad Thing: "I've suffered for my Art" (and now it's your turn)
A form of info-dump in which the author inflicts upon the reader hard-won, but irrelevant bits of data acquired while researching the story. As Algis Budrys once pointed out, homework exists to make the difficult look easy.

Bonus link just for fun, Nick Lowe on Plot Coupons:
http://news.ansible.co.uk/plotdev.html

Does anyone need links to Patricia Wrede on Worldbuilding or POV?

-Barbara
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

The Zombie Song

KallyCat — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:32:34 -0800

Organ Donor by DJ Shadow

DANCE ZOMBIES, DANCE!
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Ben - Dead Baby Girl

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

You know how they say to never skip a day's wordcount...?

Alamaris — Fri, 9 Nov 2007 00:40:19 -0800

...no matter what?

They're right. *makes face* Wednesday was so insanely busy and hectic I can't even remember why it was (how's that for redundant?), plus the nasiest case of writer's block I've had in a long time. Thursday (today, really, even though its after midnight) involved me being unavoidably upisland for about 8 hours. The resulting panic attack from being in a car, in the dark, in the rain, going down the Malahat, was enough to knock my brain out for the last few hours I could have used for catching up.

If I don't manage to bust my way out of the block in the next few hours (I'm staying up until 3am, tops) I'll have to write 8000 words tomorrow to catch up for my 75,000 word deadline at the end of the month. Saturday's wordcount will have to be done in the early morning before I have to go spend a night in Langford, and I'll be coming straight from that house to the NaNo meeting, so Sunday gets deligated to after-dinner hours.

I'm not too worried about it, since I'm pretty sure I can make up for lost wordcount throughout the month if all else fails, but still. Gah! Wordcount!

(And of course, I had to procrastinate some more with making this post... go figure. Now, if only this darn writer's block would scram. I had to get stuck at one of the only TWO scenes in the entire novel I hadn't planned out to a T.)
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NaNo '06 - Love of the Unordinary: Won!
NaNo '07 - Child Of Moon And Night: Won!

Canada :: British Columbia :: Victoria

Nov 11 meeting

spadequeen — Mon, 5 Nov 2007 10:47:17 -0800

Hi, all.

Since we seemed to fail to plan the next meeting at the last meeting, we better do it now.

I expect we'll be meeting at the same bat time, but what about the bat channel? Do we want to keep meeting at the Black Stilt? If not, we'll need suggestions of other places that would be more suitable.

Discuss!

(note: if you want to meet somewhere else, please have a place in mind and let us know. We've already tried to come up with other ideas, and as you can see, have failed. kthxbye)

~Darusha
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Check out my novel Beautiful Red @ my site and podiobooks.com
See also this year's Nanowrimo Podcast