United States :: New York :: Rochester

What Genres/Topics/Themes/Etc?

hoshikaze — Fri, 3 Oct 2008 13:29:06 -0700

So what genre is your novel? It might be interesting to see what else other Rochester people are writing about. (Aside from looking through profiles - and maybe strike up some conversation on the topic).

For my nano novel this year I'm writing in the fantasy genre (previous nanos were mainstream, so it's a change for me). I'm not familiar with fantasy enough to pick a sub-genre, but there is magic involved and magic is central to the plot. My theme will probably involve self-discovery and growth to some level. Usually when I write theme ends up working it's way in some how, I don't usually figure out before hand what theme a novel will have. The bit of an idea I currently have for it now is mostly based on pondering over the main character and her journey through the novel.
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Got RP? (HP inspired)
Proud FM member

United States :: New York :: Rochester

KILL ME, MY LIFE IS IN THE WAY OF MY NOVEL! cry

cydira — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:13:34 -0800

Ok, folks!

Who else has a toddler crawling around and how the heck do you manage to get writing done with the drama of children???

PLEASE HELP MEEEEE!

[insert dramatic scream of misery as the baby attempts to gnaw limbs off]

Oh.. and

HI!!!!!!!

:)
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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Word Count check in's

MidnightGds — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:45:41 -0800

As of this moment mine is.. 2603. I went on a writing spree last night.
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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Drive By Post Thread

MidnightGds — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:40:07 -0700

Rules go like this: Just post what's on you're mind at the moment. Anything at all.

I'll start:

Last night my neices spent the night and well I'm still tired from that experience. Morgan slept with me. She woke up at 5:30ish am and told me she wanted Spooky. I told her to go to sleep as I had to get up early for work in a few hours and she told me she'd be able to fall asleep once she had Spooky to snuggle with. Mind you I had to be up at 8am for work at 9. The kitten was under my bed snooping around and getting into stuff. I literally lifted my matresses up at 5:30am, she pulled the kitten out and we got into bed once again.
Guess what.. I wasn't tired after that!! I figure last night I got at least 4 hours of sleep.
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United States :: New York :: Rochester

The Original Fiction Mary-Sue Litmus Test

MidnightGds — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:51:44 -0800

New! Try out the script version of the Mary-Sue Litmus Test, with easy clickable checkboxes! (Thanks, Ivy Blossom, for making this!)

So you've written an original character, and you're wondering whether she (or he) is a Mary Sue. Well, you're in the right place to find out. Just read through the questions below, taking down the number of points your character scores every time you answer a question "yes" (or, "Well, sort of..."). Then add up your points, and check them against the numbers at the bottom of the page. Do try to be honest, or it probably won't do you much good.

Keep in mind, some of the things on this list are bound to happen in any story -- the problem is when they all start happening in the same story. Obviously, no test can take every contingency into account, and we can't promise you that every character who scores high on this test is a Mary-Sue, or that every character who scores low isn't. Heck, Bono from U2 scores a whopping 72 points! That doesn't mean he's a Mary-Sue; it just means he has astonishing number of romanticized traits -- and although he's a real person, he might not make a very believable character. It's up to you as the author to decide, as objectively as you can, how your results really apply to your story. This test isn't meant to tell you how to write your characters; it's just a reference list of points to think about when developing them. If you have any suggestions for how to improve it, feel free to let us know.

This test was created by Falstaff and Grayswandir, based on the original Gargoyles Mary-Sue Litmus Test. It was designed for use with original fiction characters, but will also work in relation to fan fiction, for most fandoms. Use it as much as you like, but please don't take it without asking.

The Name

+ Is the character named after you (this includes your first, middle, and last names, and any nicknames or online names you use)? [20 points]

+ Is the character's name an unusual spelling of a more common word or name? [3 points]

+ Is the character's name a noun or adjective not normally used as a name? [2 points]

+ Does the character's name contain unnecessary hyphens, apostrophes, or other punctuation? (e.g. M'chelle, Gloria-Angelica, etc.) [4 points]

+ Does the character have more than one first, middle, or last name, without reason? [3 points]

+ Does the character have a name you really, really like? [1 point]
+ Is it Raven? [3 points]
+ Is it a variation of Raven? [1 point]
+ Is it Hunter? [5 points]

+ Does the character's name describe her/his personality? (e.g. Tristan means sad, Darcy means dark, Charity means charity, etc.) [1 point]

+ Is the character's name unlikely or highly unusual in relation to the time or place where she/he lives or grew up? [1 point]

+ Does the character have a nickname or pseudonym? [1 point]
+ Is it a "dangerous" nickname (e.g. Death Dealer, Crimson Fury, etc.)? [3 points]

+ Is the character's name foreign, even though the character isn't? [1 point]
+ Is it an Asian name? [2 points]

+ Does the character have a name or nickname that corresponds to a mythological/literary/historical/etc. figure (e.g. Venus, Faustus, Bonaparte)? [1 point]

Appearance

+ Does the character appear to be much younger than she/he really is? [3 points]
[Add only 1 point if the character is immortal.]

+ Is the character highly attractive? [3 points]
[Add only 1 point if the character has to work hard to maintain her/his physical beauty.]

+ Are one or more other characters attracted to her/him? [1 point]
+ Even though they are involved with someone else? [1 point]
+ In defiance of sexual orientation? [4 points]

+ Is an otherwise chaste or stoic character immediately attracted to her/him? [3 points]

+ Does the character have an unusual eye color, or otherwise exceptional eyes? [3 points]
+ And are these eyes a color that does not occur in nature? [1 point]
+ And will they have something to do with the plot? [2 points]

+ Does the character have eyes that somehow "reflect hidden depths or experience or sorrow"? [4 points]

+ Does the character have an appearance unsuited to the time or place (e.g. perfect hair prior to the invention of shampoo, a woman wearing pants in 1805, etc.)? [3 points]

+ Does the character get a disproportionate amount of physical description compared to the rest of the characters? [2 points]

+ Does the character have unusual or exceptional hair, or does her/his hair get a disproportionate amount of description compared to that of the other characters? [3 points]

+ Is the character a fashion plate (this applies to any style of dress, from preppie to goth to Western to Elvish, and so on)? [2 points]

+ Does the character dress in a manner you find particularly attractive, sexy, or cool? [1 point]
+ Even though it's illogical for the character to dress this way (for monetary reasons, for instance, or because it interferes with her/his job)? [3 points]

+ Is the character ever described as "thin enough to be anorexic," where this is intended as a compliment? [1 point]

[Subtract 3 points if the character is over 20 and appears much older than she/he really is.]

[Subtract 3 points if the character is overweight for the full duration of the story. "Buxom" does not count.]

Character

+ Does the character have a clone or identical twin? [7 points]
[Add only 1 point if there are a large number of clones in your story, and your character is neither the original nor above average in prowess.]

+ Is the character of above average intelligence? [1 point]
+ Is she/he a genius? [1 point]

+ Is the character related to royalty or nobility? [4 points]

+ Is the character rich or well-to-do, although she/he doesn't work? [1 point]

+ Is the character heir to a large fortune? [1 point]
+ The sole heir? [1 point]

+ Is the character the last surviving member of a family/clan/race/species/etc.? [2 points]

+ Was the character ever the sole survivor of a calamity? [4 points]

+ Was the character ever estranged from her/his family/tribe/country/etc.? [1 point]

+ Was the character ever forcibly banished from her/his family/tribe/country/etc.? [3 points]

+ Does the character have amnesia? [4 points]
+ And does she/he still retain a trinket of some kind from her/his past? [4 points]
[Subtract 3 points if the character never remembers any of what she/he has forgotten.]

+ Is the character a minority, a woman, or a member of a lower caste, who succeeds or makes a contribution in spite of her/his social disadvantage? [3 points]

+ Does the character have an angsty childhood, or an angsty past? [1 point]
+ And does she/he angst about it during the story? (Angsting does not necessarily include simply relating events to an interested third party.) [2 points]

+ Does the character have angst in the present? [1 point]

+ Was the character an illegitimate birth? [1 point]

+ Was the character ever abducted? [1 point]

+ Was the character abandoned by her/his caregivers? [2 points]

+ Was the character born into slavery, or forced into slavery or prostitution? [1 point]

+ Was the character born/raised in extreme poverty? [1 point]

+ Did the character run away from home (for more than just a few days)? [1 point]

+ Did the character ever suffer physical or emotional abuse [2 points]

+ Did the character ever suffer sexual abuse [2 points]
[Add another point if it was rape.]
[Add another point if it was incest.]

+ Does the character feel guilty about something terrible that happened in the past? [1 point]
+ Even despite overwhelming evidence that it wasn't her/his fault? [2 points]

+ Does the character consider her/his beauty/talent/skill/etc. a curse? [3 points]

[Subtract 2 points if the character is a protagonist but ever freely, willingly, and knowingly worked for the villain/evil regime.]

More on Character

+ Is the character unusually accomplished for her/his age/species/etc.? [2 points]

+ Is the character fluent in more than two languages? [1 point]
+ More than four languages? [2 points]

+ Has the character traveled extensively? [1 point]

+ Does the character collect things you consider intellectual or cultured? [1 point]

+ Does the character have a faithful pet or animal familiar? [1 point]
+ That isn't a dog, cat, horse, or bird? [3 points]

+ Is the character educated despite living in a time or place where education is not widespread? [2 points]
[Ignore these points if the character is a scribe, monk, priest, scholar, etc.]

+ Is the character consistently irreverent or radical, without repercussions? [1 point]

+ Does the character ever easily learn a difficult skill (e.g. learn to play guitar in a matter of weeks)? [3 points]

+ Does the character have an amazing singing voice? [1 point]

[Subtract 3 points if the character has ever fairly lost in any kind of duel, fight, or competition against someone of equal or lesser ability, and the winner was not the character's rival.]

+ Does the character play a musical instrument well? [1 point]
+ Is it guitar? [1 point]
+ Bass? [1 point]
+ Violin? [1 point]
+ Piano? [1 point]

+ Does the character use a katana or any other Asian weapon [1 point]
+ Despite being of non-Asian heritage? [3 points]

+ Does the character "just know things"? [5 points]

+ Does the character have an accent relative to her/his country of residence? [1 point]

+ Does the character have a major quirk or habit in common with you? [2 points]

+ Does the character have a physical handicap that does not hinder her/him significantly? [6 points]

[Subtract 4 points if the character is significantly physically handicapped.]

[Subtract 10 points if the character is significantly mentally handicapped.]

+ Do animals or children instinctively like the character? [3 points]

[Subtract 1 point if the character is a smoker.]

[Subtract 2 points if the character has a dependency or addiction that is or would be very hard to break (e.g. alcoholism, drugs, gambling, sex addiction, etc.)]
[Subtract another point if the character never overcomes this vice.]

[Subtract 2 points if the character has a significant personality flaw (e.g. she/he is a spoiled brat, is horribly judgmental or biased, is irrationally violent, is naive and easily manipulated, etc.)]
[Subtract another point if these flaws persist until the character's death, OR subtract another 2 points if these flaws persist beyond the end of the story.]
[Subtract another 2 points if these flaws get the character in serious trouble (e.g. she/he gets fired, gets killed, gets someone else hurt, etc.)]

+ Does the character have a special birthmark or other marking? [4 points]

+ Does the character have a physical "flaw" that does not actually detract from her/his beauty (e.g. lips too full, white strip in hair, etc.)? [2 points]

+ Does the character have wings (this counts even if she/he is an angel, only has wings sometimes, can't fly, etc.) [10 points]

[Subtract 1 point for each of the following that applies to the character:
She/he remains in a committed relationship for the full duration of your story.
She/he has a child or children for the greater part of your story.
She/he does not learn from major mistakes.
She/he has very little or no empathy for other people.
She/he is selfishly manipulative or sadistic (e.g. threatens self-harm, lies, blackmails, etc. in order to get her/his way).]

Work and Play

+ Is the character astonishingly good at something that is not her/his profession? [1 point]

+ Does the character have any particular skill at which she/he the best or among the best? [2 points]
+ And is she/he widely knows for this skill? [2 points]

+ Does the character have any particular area of study/information/etc. in which she/he is the most knowledgeable or among the most knowledgeable? [2 points]
+ And is she/he widely known for having this knowledge? [2 points]

+ Is the character the sole or last practitioner of a particular martial art or magic? [3 points]

+ Is the character one of only two practitioners of a particular martial art or magic, in a master/student relationship? [3 points]
+ Does the other practitioner die during the course of the story? [2 points]

+ Does the character hold your job? [2 points]

+ Does the character hold your dream job? [3 points]

+ Is the character a female in a role not suited for women in the place/time period (e.g. a female cop before 1900, a female soldier in the US army before 1970, etc.)? [5 points]

+ Is the character a male in a role not suited for men in the place/time period (e.g. a male geisha, a coy young seamstress boy, etc.)? [5 points]

+ Is the character a secret agent? [1 point]
+ A double agent? [2 points]
+ And wears high heels or leather? [5 points]

Is the character, or was she/he ever... (add points for all that apply)
+ A model? [1 point]
+ A rock star? [2 points]
+ A stage actress/actor? [1 point]
+ A film actress/actor? [2 points]
+ A dancer? [2 points]
+ A cop? [1 point]
+ A ninja? [2 points]
+ A pirate? [2 points]
+ An alchemist? [1 point]
+ A bounty hunter? [2 points]
+ A mercenary? [1 point]
+ An assassin? [1 point]
+ A thief or pickpocket? [2 points]
+ An outlaw or member of organized crime? [2 points]
+ A diviner? [1 point]
+ A hero? [2 points]
+ A starving artist? [2 points]
+ A freelance writer? [1 point]
+ A freelance reporter? [1 point]
+ An explorer? [2 points]
+ A pro-athlete? [1 point]
+ A gymnast? [1 point]

[If your character exists in an otherwise normal universe, add 2 points to her/his score for *each* of the following abilities that your character possesses (with or without the aid of charms, spells, etc.). If, however, possession of these abilities is considered normal in your character's universe, add only 1 point each.]
+ Teleportation
+ Telepathy
+ Telekinesis
+ Pyrokinesis
+ Prophecy
+ Healing
+ Animal communication
+ Empathy
+ Shapeshifting abilities
+ Invisibility
+ Invulnerability
+ Flight
+ The ability to pass through matter
+ General magic or sorcery
+ Time travel
+ Transdimensional travel or communication
+ Photographic memory
+ The ability to see auras
+ Summoning
+ Power of seduction
+ The ability to shrug off minor wounds
+ The ability to kill people with her/his bare hands
+ Super strength or speed
+ Skill in martial arts or hand-to-hand combat
+ Sharp-shooting
+ Sleight of hand
+ Computer hacking

+ Does the character share more than one of your hobbies or interests? [1 point]
+ And is she/he better at these hobbies or more knowledgeable about these interests than you are? [2 points]

+ Does the character have the same taste in music as you have? [1 point]
+ In books? [1 point]
+ In movies? [1 point]
[Add another 5 points if you said yes to all three.]

+ Does the character have what you consider better or more refined taste than you have in music? [1 point]
+ In books? [1 point]
+ In movies? [1 point]

+ Does the character have the same religious or spiritual beliefs as you? [2 points]
[Subtract 3 points if her/his beliefs are radically different from yours for the full duration of the story.]

Immortals, Gods, Fay, etc.

(This section only applies if your character is immortal, or of a species other than human.)

+ Is the character a vampire? [5 points]

+ Is the character an elf? [5 points]

+ Is the character a shinigami? [5 points]

+ Is the an angel or fallen angel? [10 points]

+ Is the character old, even by the standards of her/his race? [3 points]

+ Is the character exceptionally powerful, even by the standards of her/his race? [3 points]

+ Is the character exceptionally beautiful, even by the standards of her/his race? [3 points]

+ Was the character present at more than one earthly historical event? [5 points]
+ Because she/he instigated it? [3 points]

+ Was the character ever the inspiration for classical art, poetry, etc. (e.g. she was the Mona Lisa, or Shakespeare wrote a sonnet for her)? [8 points]

+ Is the character the only immortal or non-human in the story? [3 points]

+ Was the character made immortal, etc., by divine intervention? [1 point]

+ Is the character a crossbreed of species (e.g. half-vampire, half-demon, etc.)? [2 points]
[Subtract 3 points if one of these species is goblin, slime monster, etc.]
+ And does the she/he have the benefits of both species? [3 points]
+ And the drawbacks of neither? [5 points]
[Subtract 3 points if the character has no benefits from either species.]

+ Does the character angst about being immortal? [2 points]

+ Does the character angst about being a vampire or fallen angel? [3 points]

High School

(This section only applies if your character is currently attending high school or middle school.)

+ Is your character an outcast or rebel? [2 points]

+ Is your character top of her/his class? [2 points]

+ Is the character president or head of a school organization or group (e.g. head cheerleader, first-chair violin, editor of the school paper, class president, etc.) [2 points]

+ Is the character on a sports team? [1 point]
+ Is she/he the team captain? [1 point]
+ The star player? [1 point]
+ From her/his very first time playing? [3 points]

+ Is the character in the play? [1 point]
+ Does she/he have the lead role? [1 point]
+ Despite having never been in drama class before? [2 points]

+ Does the character give the winning or star performance in a school event (e.g. battle of the bands, debate, a sports game, a spelling bee)? [1 point]
+ Is this success totally unexpected? [2 points]

+ Is the character bullied for her/his sexual orientation, skin color, intelligence, poverty/wealth, looks, clothes, background, etc.? [2 points]
+ Is it because the bullies are jealous? [3 points]
+ Do the bullies eventually see the error of their ways, or else receive some form of retribution? [2 points]

+ Does the character ever beat up more than two bullies at the same time? [5 points]

+ Is the character part of a clique that you consider cool (e.g. goths, punks, ravers, skaters, etc.)? [2 points]
+ And does the character actually refer to her/himself as a part of said clique? [3 points]

+ Does the character rap? [1 point]

+ Is the character in a band (not including a school band or orchestra)? [1 point]
+ Is she/he the lead singer? [2 points]
+ Does she/he write all the band's songs? [2 points]
+ Is the band good enough to go professional? [2 points]

+ Does the character have a boyfriend or girlfriend who is out of high school? [4 points]

+ Does the character keep a notebook of poetry? [1 point]
+ Is the poetry "good enough to be published"? [3 points]
+ Does a love interest find this poetry book and begin to understand the character? [5 points]
+ Or does an antagonist find this poetry book and use it against the character? [4 points]
+ Do any poems written by the character actually appear in your story? [1 point]
+ Does the poetry contain any of the following words: crimson, soul, darkness, love, vampire, glass, moonlight, serpent, rose, dance, winter, flame, cold, goddess, blood, angel, star, forever? [1 point per word, because dude, what are you doing actually writing your character's angsty-teen poetry?]

+ Does the character have her/his own credit card and/or large amounts of disposable income? [2 points]

+ Do the character's parents have a special or glamorous job of which the character reaps the benefits (e.g. her/his parents design video games, so she/he gets games before they are officially released)? [3 points]

+ Does the character have a tattoo or body piercing? [1 point]

+ Does the character frequently get drunk or do drugs without repercussions? [1 point]

+ Does the character use Japanese words in conversation, although she/he does not live in Japan? [2 points]

+ Does the character talk about anime frequently or have lots of anime clothes, collectibles, etc.? [1 point]
+ Does the character have a pet named after an anime character? [1 point]
+ Does the character draw really well in the anime style? [1 point]

The Plot

+ Has everyone significant heard of the character? [2 points]

+ Do all of the important characters end up liking/respecting/fearing her/him? [3 points]
+ Did they all like/respect/fear her/him from the beginning? [1 point]
[Subtract 2 points if everyone liked the character at first, but ends up disliking her/him by the end of the story.]

[Subtract 1 point if the character's problems continue after the end of your story without hope of respite (i.e. she/he neither dies nor gets a happy ending).]

+ Is the character repeatedly rivalled by the same person? [3 points]

+ Is your character a member of The Resistance or a band of freedom fighters? [1 point]
+ Is your character the leader or a lieutenant of The Resistance or a band of freedom fighters? [2 points]

+ Does the character suffer punishment for a crime she/he did not commit? [2 points]

[Subtract 2 points if your character ever willfully commits rape or murder.]

[Subtract another 2 points if the character goes to prison for the crime.]

+ Does the character reform a villainous character? [3 points]
+ And does the villain become evil again after the character dies or leaves, but retain some last vestige of goodness from his/her interaction with the character? [2 points]

+ Does the character fall in (reciprocated) love with, or have sex with, a character you would like to fall in love with or have sex with? [3 points]

+ Is the character someone you would like to fall in love with or have sex with? [3 points]

+ Does the character effect a major change in her/his love interest to make said love interest a more appropriate partner? [3 points]

+ Has the character ever been nursed back to health from serious injuries by a warm, kind, and loving person? [3 points]
+ Was this person the character's love interest? [2 points]

+ Does the character die a romantic death (e.g. suicide, execution, battle wounds, broken heart, etc.)? [2 points]

+ Does the character die in her/his beloved's arms? [3 points]

+ Does the character's beloved die in her/his arms? [3 points]

+ Does the character sacrifice her/himself for love, or so that two other characters can be together? [4 points]

+ Have you ever written a fight scene in which you described with needless extravagence everything your character did? [2 points]
+ Was this scene inspired by a movie, show, or game? [2 points]
+ Did you actually reference the movie, show, or game (e.g. "He jumped up and hung in the air, like Neo in The Matrix"? [15 points]

Your Character and You

+ Do you draw the character, or ask other people to draw her/him for you, more often than any of your other characters? [2 points]

+ Did you base the character on your favorite previously existing character or person? [4 points]

+ Is the character someone you would want to be friends with, assuming she/he would be receptive to friendship with you? [1 point]

+ Would you be very surprised if someone did not like the character? [1 point]

+ Do you take any negative feedback about the character as a personal affront? [4 points]

+ Is the character a mouthpiece for your own beliefs or views? [3 points]

+ Do you have a character journal for her/him? [4 points]

+ Do you ever wish you could be like the character? [4 points]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finished? All right, tally up your points. Here are the scores:

0-10 points: The Anti-Sue. Your character is the very antithesis of a Mary-Sue. Why are you even taking this test?

11-20 points: The Non-Sue. Your character is a well-developed, balanced person, and is almost certainly not a Mary Sue. Congratulations!

21-35 points: Borderline-Sue. Your character is cutting it close, and you may want to work on the details a bit, but you're well on your way to having a lovely original character. Good work.

36-55 points: Mary-Sue. Your character needs some work in order to be believable. But despair not; you should still be able to salvage her with a little effort. Don't give up.

56-70 points: Über-Sue. You've got one hell of a Mary-Sue on your hands here, and it's not going to be easy to set things right. But do your best. There may be hope for you yet.

71 point or more: Irredeemable-Sue. You're going to have to start over, my friend. I know you want to keep writing, but no. Just no.

Again, keep in mind that the test isn't always correct. Morpheus from the Sandman Comics scored nearly 70 points, and yet we don't believe he's a Mary-Sue. He's well developed, suffers the consequences of several major personality flaws, and has very few powers or talents besides those necessary to perform the duties of his station. Of course, research, an interesting story, and good writing always help too. ;)

We hope this test has been some help to you. If you're looking for suggestions on how to avoid Mary-Sues and create original, developed characters, you might want to read this essay on Mary-Sueism, or the Occasionally Asked Questions about halfway down Dr. Merlin's Mary-Sue Litmus Test. Best of luck!

http://www.onlyfiction.net/marysue.html

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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Getting back on the NaNo-train

DizzyWillow — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:45:04 -0800

After finals ripped my NaNo piece from my hands in favor of good grades (which I have gotten, yay!) I'm finding myself now two days behind, going on a third, and the once insatiable drive I had even while I was studying is now....gone. Just...gone.

Anyone have any tips? I've tried sitting down and rereading what I'd written, or just putting aside time for writing and yet, I just sit and stare at the white space on the page below my small pile of text, unsure what to do. I have my plot written down, and I know where I want the story to go, but the words to move the characters and events just aren't coming.

Help, please?
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United States :: New York :: Rochester

If you are having trouble staying focused

vedesca — Sun, 9 Nov 2008 16:21:47 -0800

http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html

The link has been bouncing around some of the other boards, I found it through another site with nanoers.

Basically, you set your world goal and your time and it will provide some punishments when you stop writing for two long.

For instance, Kamikaze mode starts deleting what you've written until you start up again. That should keep those of us who get distracted easily writing :-)

Once you try to leave the page, it offers to put everything on your clipboard so you can paste it into your word processor in case you forget to copy it on your own.
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Robin, ML - Rochester, NY
"Fact is there's nothing out there you can't do. Yeah, even Santa Claus believes in you." - Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

United States :: New York :: Rochester

Writing at Jitters in Henrietta

StainlessStlRatz — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:33:37 -0800

Hey. I am currently working till 7:30PM at Jitters in Henrietta. Join me if you would like.
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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Starting Over.

Draculina — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:18:22 -0800

Protagonist ditched me and eloped her fiance ahead of time, antagonist joined the circus and later becomes a Batman impersonator in Las Vegas.

Because of this, the vampire novel will have to wait.

Going in a completely different direction, and inspired by Nada Surf's 1996 song "Popular," I present to you (at the end of November, God willing) The Teenage Guide to Popularity.

Wish me luck at hitting 15k words tonight! :D
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~*Defy Gravity*~

United States :: New York :: Rochester

What's on your playlist for NaNo 2008?

MidnightGds — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:44:23 -0700

The music I listen to most of the time is Type O Negative, Evanescense, Danzig along with splashes of classical, new age and instrumental music.

How about yourself?
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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Six word stories

MidnightGds — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:46:20 -0800

We'll be brief: Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.") and is said to have called it his best work. So we asked sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves.

Dozens of our favorite auteurs put their words to paper, and five master graphic designers took them to the drawing board. Sure, Arthur C. Clarke refused to trim his ("God said, 'Cancel Program GENESIS.' The universe ceased to exist."), but the rest are concise masterpieces.

Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.
- William Shatner

Computer, did we bring batteries? Computer?
- Eileen Gunn

Vacuum collision. Orbits diverge. Farewell, love.
- David Brin

Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so.
- Joss Whedon

Automobile warranty expires. So does engine.
- Stan Lee

Machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time
- Alan Moore

Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
- Margaret Atwood

His penis snapped off; he’s pregnant!
- Rudy Rucker

From torched skyscrapers, men grew wings.
- Gregory Maguire

Internet “wakes up?” Ridicu -
no carrier.
- Charles Stross

With bloody hands, I say good-bye.
- Frank Miller

Wasted day. Wasted life. Dessert, please.
- Steven Meretzky

“Cellar?” “Gate to, uh … hell, actually.”
- Ronald D. Moore

Epitaph: Foolish humans, never escaped Earth.
- Vernor Vinge

It cost too much, staying human.
- Bruce Sterling

We kissed. She melted. Mop please!
- James Patrick Kelly

It’s behind you! Hurry before it
- Rockne S. O’Bannon

I’m your future, child. Don’t cry.
- Stephen Baxter

1940: Young Hitler! Such a cantor!
- Michael Moorcock

Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.
- Richard Powers

I’m dead. I’ve missed you. Kiss … ?
- Neil Gaiman

The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly.
- Orson Scott Card

Kirby had never eaten toes before.
- Kevin Smith

Rained, rained, rained, and never stopped.
- Howard Waldrop

To save humankind he died again.
- Ben Bova

We went solar; sun went nova.
- Ken MacLeod

Husband, transgenic mistress; wife: “You cow!”
- Paul Di Filippo

“I couldn’t believe she’d shoot me.”
- Howard Chaykin

Don’t marry her. Buy a house.
- Stephen R. Donaldson

Broken heart, 45, WLTM disabled man.
- Mark Millar

TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! … nobody there …
- Harry Harrison

Tick tock tick tock tick tick.
- Neal Stephenson

Easy. Just touch the match to
- Ursula K. Le Guin

Special Web-only edition: We were unable to include these 59 stories in the print magazine.

New genes demand expression -- third eye.
- Greg Bear

K.I.A. Baghdad, Aged 18 - Closed Casket
- Richard K. Morgan

WORLD'S END. Sic transit gloria Monday.
- Gregory Benford

Epitaph: He shouldn't have fed it.
- Brian Herbert

Batman Sues Batsignal: Demands Trademark Royalties.
- Cory Doctorow

Heaven falls. Details at eleven.
- Robert Jordan

Bush told the truth. Hell froze.
- William Gibson

whorl. Help! I'm caught in a time
- Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel

Nevertheless, he tried a third time.
- James P. Blaylock

God to Earth: “Cry more, noobs!”
- Marc Laidlaw

Help! Trapped in a text adventure!
- Marc Laidlaw

Thought I was right. I wasn't.
- Graeme Gibson

Lost, then found. Too bad.
- Graeme Gibson

Three to Iraq. One came back.
- Graeme Gibson

Rapture postponed. Ark demanded! Which one?
- David Brin

Dinosaurs return. Want their oil back.
- David Brin

Bang postponed. Not Big enough. Reboot.
- David Brin

Temporal recursion. I'm dad and mom?
- David Brin

Time Avenger's mistaken! It wasn't me...
- David Brin

Democracy postponed. Whence franchise? Ask Diebold...
- David Brin

Cyborg seeks egg donor, object ___.
- David Brin

Deadline postponed. Five words enough...?
- David Brin

Metrosexuals notwithstanding, quiche still lacks something.
- David Brin

Brevity’s virtue? Wired saves adspace. Subscribe!
- David Brin

Death postponed. Metastasized cells got organized.
- David Brin

Microsoft gave us Word. Fiat lux?
- David Brin

Mind of its own. Damn lawnmower.
- David Brin

Singularity postponed. Datum missing. Query Godoogle?
- David Brin

Please, this is everything, I swear.
- Orson Scott Card

I saw, darling, but do lie.
- Orson Scott Card

Osama’s time machine: President Gore concerned.
- Charles Stross

Sum of all fears: AND patented.
- Charles Stross

Ships fire; princess weeps, between stars.
- Charles Stross

Mozilla devastates Redmond, Google’s nuke implicated.
- Charles Stross

Will this do (lazy writer asked)?
- Ken MacLeod

Cryonics: Disney thawed. Mickey gnawed. Omigawd.
- Eileen Gunn

WIRED stimulates the planet: Utopia blossoms!
- Paul Di Filippo

Clones demand rights: second Emancipation Proclamation.
- Paul Di Filippo

MUD avatars rebel: virtual Independence Day.
- Paul Di Filippo

We crossed the border; they killed us.
- Howard Waldrop

H-bombs dropped; we all died.
- Howard Waldrop

Your house is mine: soft revolution.
- Howard Waldrop

Warskiing; log; prop in face.
- Howard Waldrop

The Axis in WWII: haiku! Gesundheit.
- Howard Waldrop

Salinger story: three koans in fountain.
- Howard Waldrop

Finally, he had no more words.
- Gregory Maguire

There were only six words left.
- Gregory Maguire

In the beginning was the word.
- Gregory Maguire

Commas, see, add, like, nada, okay?
- Gregory Maguire

Weeping, Bush misheard Cheney’s deathbed advice.
- Gregory Maguire

Corpse parts missing. Doctor buys yacht.
- Margaret Atwood

Starlet sex scandal. Giant squid involved.
- Margaret Atwood

He read his obituary with confusion.
- Steven Meretzky

Time traveler's thought: "What's the password?"
- Steven Meretzky

I win lottery. Sun goes nova.
- Steven Meretzky

Steve ignores editor's word limit and
- Steven Meretzky

Leia: "Baby's yours." Luke: "Bad news…"
- Steven Meretzky

Parallel universe. Bush, destitute, joins army.
- Steven Meretzky

Dorothy: "Fuck it, I'll stay here."
- Steven Meretzky

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/sixwords.html
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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Dean Koontz: Angels, Demons, and Our Mysterious World

MidnightGds — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:50:21 -0800

The best-selling writer talks about why in the short-term evil wins, but in the end, good usually triumphs.
As one of the most popular fiction writers today, Dean Koontz captivates his readers with his creative plotlines and unique characters, often incorporating a spiritual element into the story. According to a recent Beliefnet interview, Koontz says these elements are both partially woven into his writing consciously and partially come second nature as he's writing. This may have a lot to do with his own faith life. Although Koontz was born into the United Church of Christ, he converted to Catholicism after marrying his wife, Gerda.
Koontz—whose upcoming book, "Your Heart Belongs to Me" is set for release November 25th--spoke to Beliefnet about the amazing supernatural experience he had after his beloved dog died, how his father's attempt at murdering him affected his life and faith, and why he gives his characters free will.
Why did you convert to Catholicism from the United Church of Christ in which you were brought up?
I was from a dysfunctional family. And although my mother made sure I went to church, the family didn't reflect the values of the church. There wasn't a lot of closeness among relatives in our family.
When I started dating Gerda, we didn't have much money. We would go on Sundays to neighboring Jonestown, where she had aunts and uncles. I was so impressed with the sense of family among them and the fun they had being together and the easiness with which they interacted that I, either rightly or wrongly, identified that in my mind as being a consequence of Catholicism, which was so strong for all of them. So, it got me interested in it. When I was in college, I expanded my reading about things and ended up thinking about halfway through college that this was for me.
What's your favorite thing about being a Catholic?
It gives me a sense that the world has shape and form and function and meaning. I suppose that's my favorite thing about it, because I don't wander aimlessly seeking for some meaning in things. I have a sense of what those meanings are. It opened my eyes to a deeper, more complex world, and that leaves you a lifetime of exploring to follow.

What's your least favorite thing about being a Catholic?
How Vatican II threw away so much tradition. It's only beginning to come back. The Latin Mass and all of that was a great loss, something that is embraced and promoted for hundreds upon hundreds of years and then disappears overnight in an attempt to satisfy an urge toward trendiness. It was a great loss to the church, and I think it still is.

Has a situation in your life ever tested your faith to the point where you wanted to let it go?
There was a time in my life after losing my mother, who had a very difficult life, [where] she was ill. She was married to a man who later in life was diagnosed as sociopathic. I was in my 20s when she died.
That seemed to me so unfair [and then I began to] question whether things had meaning. But, it was a sophomoric kind of questioning. It wasn't anything that was intellectual in its nature. And time passed, and that doubt passed.

Your father tried to kill you a few years before he died. How has that incident affected your life and your faith?
The attempt came before he was in the home. When [my wife and I] moved west, one of the benefits of it was [we were] 3,000 miles from my father. I thought, "At last, I've got some distance here. The phone calls won't come at 2:00 in the morning that he's in some kind of trouble or he's too drunk [and] they won't let him leave a bar and get in his car and somebody has to come get him.
However, his health took a turn for the worse, and we had to bring him west and support him for 14 years. It was really toward the end of that [time]—I guess he must have been about 80 [with] the first attempt. He pulled a knife on me on two different occasions. The second time was in a retirement home. The first time made it necessary for him to go on anti-psychotics. He didn't need to be in a nursing home, but he needed to be under some supervision where we could be assured he was taking the anti-psychotics, that somebody was monitoring this. He was taking them in that retirement home. He couldn't drive anymore, but he could walk to the shopping center across the street. It was not a facility to which he was restricted. What nobody knew was that he was developing an immunity to the drug, or it was having the opposite effect, as sometimes these things do.
The second attempt was in front of a lot of witnesses, and that ended up—after he was committed to a psychiatric ward— requiring that then he spend time thereafter in a restricted facility.
It certainly affects your life. What more affected the life was his presence in it up until that moment. In my childhood he—especially when he was very drunk—would threaten to kill us all, my mother, me and himself. As a kid I assumed sooner or later that would happen. Then, I grew up and it hadn't happened, and I felt guilty about that. I felt like, as awful as he is and all the terrible things he's done, I was putting upon him a heavier weight of evil perhaps than he actually carried.
But, one of the psychiatrists who had to deal with him after his first outburst, the first attempt with the knife and he went in for observation and everything, called me in and said, "Let me tell you some things about your father. He would not go to church or be religious in any way, except periodically, when things went really bad for him. Then he would sit around all day reading the Bible and quoting it and everything." She began to list a number of personality traits as things he would do from time to time. And it became eerie, because she was telling me things that I thought nobody could know unless they had grown up in [my] house. She said to me, "I believe your father is a paranoid schizophrenic with tendencies to violence, complicated by alcoholism." Later, he got a darker diagnosis than that. But, she said, "These are the kind of people with all this complexity of problems." This was in the days before they were really finding drugs that were effective.
She [then went on to say that], "Somebody with this tendency to violence complicated by alcoholism and has a paranoid schizophrenic complex will frequently be the kind of person you do see in the news who has killed himself and his family. It was good of you as a child to come through this without more of the problems you have." I said, "Well, writing is, to some degree, therapy, and I think every writer works out some of his own problems in the course of telling his stories."
But, at that moment I realized that my guilt was not proper, my feeling that I was putting too much weight of evil on him. Actually, I wasn't. And whatever his problems, whether they were partly behavioral, partly of his own making or partly because of some condition he was born with in a mental way, I'll never know, but I think it's probably a combination of both. But, it never taxed my belief that life had meaning and purpose. In fact, seeing him live his life without meaning and purpose sort of showed me the way to live life more successfully.

Good always seems to prevail in your books. Is it because of your faith that you always believe that, ultimately, good will triumph over evil? When you write, do you want good to prevail because in your own life to some degree it didn’t?
It's actually sort of the opposite. I saw my father live a life where everything was done for himself, when he subsequently was diagnosed as sociopathic. And, of course, I've written a number of novels where a sociopath is the center of the action, even before my father was diagnosed.
When I looked at the way he lived his life, it was always about himself. It was always about his wants and desires and not about anybody else. Therefore, he broke just about every kind of rule of behavior and cultural or legal behaviors that would make a life an acceptable or an admired one.
And yet, although he had a lot of fun—he drank a lot and he ran around with a lot of women and he was gambling—all the things he wanted to do that he thought were fun, he got to do and he got away with. But, he never had a pleasant life. He was always an unhappy man, and although he would never have acknowledged it, always sort of desperate.
In the end, he ended up with nothing, with no friends and no family who cared about him. When he died and I had to make a list of people to call, there was no one to call because he had left a life without any friends. Even what few family members he had were uninterested. Nobody sent flowers, nobody thought of coming to a memorial or anything like that. In the end, that kind of behavior did not lead to a satisfying life.
I often say that in the short run, evil wins. I've seen it all my life. Bad behavior can triumph in the short run. But, in the long run I never see that it does. I think it's more realistic to say that most of the time good does triumph over evil, even in the shorter run, but certainly in the longer run. It's partly faith-based, but it's partly just practical, just looking at the way I've seen life for the past 60 years.

You've acknowledged that spirituality has always been an element in your books. Are you weaving these spiritual elements in consciously, or is it just second nature as you're writing?
It gets to be a little bit of both, but I would say it happens because of what your world view is. And it's going to happen automatically without your straining to do it. The way I sometimes begin a story is with a premise, just an odd little thing.
Then, I look at it and a character has to come into my mind, and I have to be able to play with him very quickly in the first chapter to begin to see a person I want to know a lot more about and that I find engaging. But, at the same time that's happening, premise and character, there's constant questioning going on in my mind. What is this about, really, besides the story, because, if it isn't about something more than the plot and more than the unveiling of the character, then it isn't interesting enough to write.
And for me, that often leads to issues of moral or spiritual nature, and they begin to arrive naturally from the kind of story it is. So, you look at that and say, "Okay, I now understand what this story is really about."
In the case of something like "Odd Thomas," which began with the character, not with the premise, I could see right off that the story was going to be about great loss and how you persevere through it, and how a faith and a belief in a universe of meaning and purpose will help you do that. And so, the themes rise up out of the situations, and then I just go with them. I don't generally have to impose anything. Otherwise, I think it could start to sound like somebody on a soapbox.

Do you think you'll ever go the Anne Rice route and write an explicitly Christian novel?
I don't know. What I will say is I think I'm more interested in exploring, even though I am a Catholic. There's something for me that's more interesting than not just explicating something according to the doctrine of the church but looking at the world and applying some of your faith to analyzing things about it differently.
This is a very difficult subject to explain. I wrote a book called "From the Corner of His Eye," and it takes on the subject of how meaningful every single act that we do in life is, and how everything we do reverberates through the lives of others in ways we will never see, and why one good act can reverberate again and again through life--through different lives. One small, good act can reverberate and grow through different lives and inspire something good in someone else that keeps growing until a great goodness comes out of it at the far end, just as an evil act can inspire evil acts that are greater than the initial one because they grow as they occur through lives. That was a difficult thing in the novel to try to show rather than tell.
If I'd tried to write it with a Christian kind of overt framework, I would, first, lose some readers, which [I'd] want to keep because I want them to follow [me] on this journey. But, secondly, it would have also limited my thinking about it, because where I went in that novel was into quantum mechanics, because I'm a reader of science.
It had occurred to me several times that what we see in quantum mechanics and in modern physics is a confirmation of any spiritual description--most faith descriptions of how the universe works. The further you go into the quantum world, the more you get into the feeling that some of the things they say about this parallel perfectly with some ideas that faith teaches you about the nature of the world and that religion teaches you about the nature of the world. That's fascinated me, that out of quantum mechanics and even molecular biology, you get confirmations of a created universe if you're willing to think about them.
I wanted to write a novel in which that was dramatized. And so by the time I had finished it, it's a novel about faith and the necessity of faith and hope, but it's also a novel about quantum mechanics and how the intersection of faith and science can work and where it can illuminate and brighten our understanding of our own existence.
That kind of thing I find more intriguing than just retelling any story that comes to us from one faith or another. A friend of mine, after he read it said, "This whole book is about exploring the concept of the mystical body of Christ." And I said, "It really is, but almost nobody will ever notice that."
And that doesn't matter. It isn't that anybody needs to notice that. It's just that, in exploring quantum mechanics and seeing where it intersects with faith, you start to see that these things can support each other, that they're not mutually exclusive.
Of course, the first of all scientists --in the Western tradition, anyway—many of them were Jesuits, and the science was often supported by the church, although that isn't what most people think who don't know history as well. That's how I'd rather apply the faith thing, to say where are we, why are we here, and explore where it takes me on a subject like quantum mechanics or something else rather than to retell a story—although retelling a story and imagining the missing details, as I believe [Rice] did, is also a fascinating thing.

Do you think that there's a specific character you identify with most spiritually from one of your books?
It's very strange. I learned a number of years ago not to sit down and think about a character too much, not to make any notes about a character or lists. Sometimes young writers say to me, "I write a profile of each character before I begin a book." And I tend to say, "Well, it works differently for every writer, but I would suggest you don't do that, because you're forming the character. You're not letting the character form himself."
Instead of making notes and making character profiles, for me the best thing to do is give the character free will.
And when you know that about him, then you say, "Why is he that way and who is he, and where does that come from? I often say to young writers God gave us free will to do what we want, to go wrong or do right, and you have to do the same with your character. You hope and believe he's a person who's doing what he's doing for the right reasons, but he's going to evolve--and it's true for women characters, too--they're going to evolve on their own if you let them. They will take the story into places you never imagined it would go.
That's the exciting part of writing, because the characters just fascinate you. They're constantly a surprise. I've got a low boredom threshold. I'm a--potentially a slacker by nature, so I always have to resist that. And when I sit down at the keyboard, I've got to entertain myself, because, if I'm not, I'm not going to be able to spend all the hours it takes to get this story down right. As a consequence, when you give them free will, they amaze you. It's during those moments where they take over the story, that you really feel in communion with something higher than yourself, that you're exercising the creativity, which I sometimes think is a thing that really means we're created in God's image. We're creators as he is—[though] not on such a grand scale. But, that moment, when you're exercising your creativity, it often feels almost like a sacred moment.

Demons are another common occurrence in your books. Do you believe in real-life demons?
I believe the world is deeply mysterious and it's full of wonder, and both wonder of a bright kind and wonder of a dark. As to specific demons and things like that, I don't know that I go to the extent that I would identify individual demonic spirits. But, I will tell you, I have lived long enough to believe not just what Catholicism tells me, not just because it tells me there is real evil in the world, an embodied evil, but because I have seen so many things in my life that make no sense to me. I see people do evil that harms them as much as it harms somebody else, and yet they're compelled and driven to do it for no apparent psychological reason.
So, I do wonder, and I do look around and have no problem believing that there are forces at war in the world. And there are forces for good and there are forces for evil, and they go beyond the mundane. They go into something that is a spiritual realm.

Would you say that you believe in real life angels, as well?
I would say that I've had some experiences that lead me to believe that spiritual forces work in the world. One of them I've written about recently. We had this dog that we loved so much...

Trixie?
Yeah. And when she passed the grief was intense. [Gerda and I] knew it would be, because she was an exceptional dog, and very intelligent and just a delight. But we didn't know it was going to be as hard as it turned out to be.
The first week after [she passed] we decided to walk around to places on the property that she particularly liked and spend that hour memorializing it, I suppose. And then three weeks to the day--actually, almost to the minute—[that she passed] we walked out of the house and we went down to one area on the property that she particularly liked. We were standing there and suddenly out of a tree came this butterfly bigger than my hand. I'd never seen a butterfly in my life this size. It was bright gold--not yellow, but very gold. I would say the color of [Trixie's] coat when the sun was hitting it.
It flew around our heads three or four times, batting our faces and our hair. Neither one of us reacted with alarm or anything, just sort of startlement. And nothing—no butterfly in my experience—had done anything like that, either. Then it flew up and was gone. Gerda and I are not people who are always seeing supernatural moments in life. I don't believe the supernatural enters the world visibly very often.
But, she looked at me and said, "Was that Trixie?" And I immediately said, "Yes, I think so."
Neither one of us said anything more to each other about it. We walked around the property. And later that night, Gerda said to me, "I can't get over thinking about the butterfly because of how impossible it looked." And I said, "I think it looked impossible, too. But, aside from the size, what do you think was impossible?" And she said, "The wings were so thick. Nothing with wings that thick--no butterfly--could fly." And I said, "Well, how do you know—why do you think the wings were thick?"
Because when I had seen it, I was impressed with the fact that the wings seemed almost like a stained glass mobile piece that might hang from the ceiling in the shape of a butterfly, with leading around the edge to hold the wings together. She said it seemed to her there was a rope of neon around the edges of the wing. So, we had a similar reaction, with a different description of the detail, which made it all seem even more real to me. I think it was a moment of the supernatural in which Trixie's spirit was saying, "I'm okay."
Only weeks before she died, we had a couple of friends here for dinner who were monks. They had not met Trixie before, but when they were here, they were so taken with her that at one point one of them looked at the other and said, "What do you think about this dog?" And the other one said, "Well, I don't know. Dean, have you ever read the Book of Tobit?" I hadn't. It's a book of the Apocrypha. But, I did go and read it, and it's a very subtlety told story about an angel who visits in human form the [main] character. Tobit had been with him previously in the form of a dog.
So, do I believe in angels present among us? I think the supernatural world interacts with our world in ways that are so subtle that we're frequently unaware of it. And then, when we are aware of it, we look for other ways to explain it.
As someone who is very logical in the way he moves about everything in life, I would say for a large part of my life those things got explained away by logic. It didn't mean that my faith meant I had to believe in all that sort of thing. But, the older I've gotten, the less the logic works for me and the more I look at the world and say, every day, how mysterious and strange it is. And it'll be fascinating one day to discover what it really all means.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Books/2008/10/Dean-Koontz-intervi...
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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Generating Writing Ideas

MidnightGds — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:48:31 -0800

Ever stumped for new ideas? I’m nearly ready to start a new book, but I noticed during the plotting process that I was short on ideas. I had used up many of the ideas collected over the years and stashed in my “Idea Notebook.” While one interesting idea might be enough for a very short story, books take LOTS of intriguing ideas. You need ideas for quirky characters, ideas for many unusual plot twists, ideas for great secondary characters, and unusual places for settings (even when that setting is your home town).
It’s good to write down the ideas that come to you out of the blue (in the shower, when you first awake, on a walk, etc.) But sometimes you need good ideas faster than that. You need LOTS of ideas, and you need them soon. Where are some good places to find them?

1) Get a stack of old magazines, either your own or the stacks given away or traded at most public libraries. Flip through each magazine very quickly. If something catches your eye (unusual photo, funny advertisement, interesting headline, local event), tear out that page. Skim articles–don’t read in depth at this point. That can come later when you put your ideas together.

2) Because many of us spend a lot of time online, also keep a computer version of an Idea File. You can have sub-files labeled “characters” or “themes” or “events,” if you like. But when you are reading the news online or you click on one of those weird-sounding Google ads and come across something odd or funny or quirky, copy and paste the story into your computer Idea File. Also store the URL (the web address where you found the idea.) Remember that URLs can disappear, so copy and paste the pertinent details. Just make it a habit to have your Idea File open when you’re surfing the web, then drop the interesting tidbits you find into the file, and watch it grow!

3) Lie down and try taking a ten-minute nap. Just close your eyes and relax. You might actually fall asleep, but I never do. The minute I try to relax and take a short power nap, my busy mind kicks into gear. All kinds of ideas surface, the kinds that make you get up and write them down before you forget them.

4) This won’t sound like a pleasant way to spend time, but a good idea generator is to make a list of “The things I hate…” List the most annoying people, annoying habits or annoying anythings in your life. Annoying people make great antagonists, annoying habits add character depth to all your characters (including your hero), and annoying events give you plots to write about (and things for your hero to overcome.) The added “plus” in writing about things that annoy or disturb you is that you’ll write with passion. It will help you stick to your writing schedule, and the passion will come through in a more powerful story.

5) Explore words! Just for fun! Read the dictionary or thesaurus. Five minutes of this, and you’ll generate more ideas than you can imagine.

Try to get into the habit of always having your antennae up and alert for ideas. They’re everywhere. Then go one step further and capture the ideas for later writing. Oh, you’ll be glad you did!

http://institutechildrenslit.net/Writers-First-Aid-blog/

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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Meet up this weekend?

Dakotarunner — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 20:08:43 -0800

Just wondering, is there a meet-up at the Henrietta library this Sunday?

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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Way Behind Already

Draculina — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 19:18:38 -0800

Only 2800 lines!! D: D:

This is why vacations at the start of November are bad ideas.
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~*Defy Gravity*~

United States :: New York :: Rochester

[Info] Homing, a reminder/refresher.

vedesca — Thu, 6 Nov 2008 17:38:36 -0800

Howdy!

If any of you have looked at the word count score board, you'll see that we were currently in 133rd place. Not too shabby.

Now, if you use the word count api for the region, you'll see that the max word count is 12,171. Now I know there are a few of you out there in the forums that have a word count higher than that, so I figured I would remind you all about the important aspects of homing.

What is homing?
Well, when you affiliate to a region, you get all those region's emails. When you select a region as your home region, your word count is then counted into that region's totals.

Why should I home?
It gives a more accurate count than affiliating. We currently have over 450 people who have affiliated with the region, yet we have only 93 people who have selected Rochester as their home region. The reason for the large number of affiliates are past participants, those who simply want to be informed about Rochester and the like. The 93 shows us how many people in Rochester have word counts, i.e. our actual number of Rochester participants. Having the actual number of participants helps with the swag order each year, plus the more people who have homed the more accurate our regional word count is.

How do I home?

- Go to My Nanowrimo.
- On the side bar, you'll want to click on the "My Regions" link.
- If you click on the "My Regions" Tab and you see "United States :: New York :: Rochester" then you are already half way there.

If you don't see "United States :: New York :: Rochester" then you haven't affiliated yet. Go to the "Regions" tab and search for Rochester and you should get two results, one from Minnesota and one from New York. Click on the "Join" link next to the New York one and you have now affiliated.

- Now, click on the "Home Region" tab. You'll see a list of all the regions you have affiliated to as well as an option to have no home region.

If Rochester is already selected, then you're good and homed.

If not, then simply select Rochester and click submit. You are now good and homed.

Tada!
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Robin, ML - Rochester, NY
"Fact is there's nothing out there you can't do. Yeah, even Santa Claus believes in you." - Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

United States :: New York :: Rochester

[Info] Want to help?

vedesca — Sun, 5 Oct 2008 02:43:58 -0700

Hi again!

If you’ve read the “Events” post, then you’ve come here out of curiosity, if you haven’t then you were caught by my super unoriginal title.

Either way, thanks for looking.

As we all know money and gas have been sort of an issue (not to go into a discussion on that, as I believe there is a forum dedicated to those and various other issues that inspire debate)

However, I completely understand the desire to avoid travelling long distances for events. I also know that our region’s participants tend to be a bit spread out. Because of this (and my possible work needs), the events I have planned so far are more centrally located than before.

Now I don’t want anyone to feel left out or neglected so if you don’t/can’t travel out to Henrietta for the events, but still want to meet up with fellow wrimos, give me a heads up of where/when you’ll be and I will add it to the calendar. If I have the time off, I’ll show up with my bag-o-swag and ridiculous shirt. If it is a spur of the moment thing, just make a post letting everyone know.

If you’ve got tons of free time and want to make a set meetings schedule for your neck of the woods—I will make sure to get you any extra swag I have so that you too can bribe people with stickers!

Thanks!

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Robin, ML - Rochester, NY
"Fact is there's nothing out there you can't do. Yeah, even Santa Claus believes in you." - Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

United States :: New York :: Rochester

Anyone else near the Rochester area, but not in the Rochester area?

kellielynn — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:35:39 -0700

I live in Canandaigua, which is in Ontario County. Just wondering if anyone else is close by?
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United States :: New York :: Rochester

First Time

Kaelic — Sat, 1 Nov 2008 01:50:25 -0700

Hey everyone. I'm new to the community and I figured I'd give NaNoWriMo a shot this year. I've heard about it before but I hadn't ever talked myself into attempting it..

Let's make this month a good one. Good luck to everyone here

~John

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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Help! OMG I'm Stuck!

MidnightGds — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:05:18 -0700

I found this while surfing the other boards. I though it would be cool to meet some new people from around the world, etc..

Like it says....you need help post here...mental block, characters are misbehaving, coffee not working, time is a wasting, tired, can't think, forgot how to spell, light needs bulb changed...whatever. I'm sure between all of us we can smack you around enough to get back on track, even if it's just for a peptalk

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United States :: New York :: Rochester

I created a Facebook Group...

Erimore — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:00:23 -0700

For those on Facebook, I've created a group there for us. You can find it under: NaNoWriMo - Rochester, NY

Here's a URL that should work... http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32567073825

--Erimore

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--Erimore.

United States :: New York :: Rochester

University of Rochester

JadedNightshade — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:35:55 -0700

Any NaNo'ers from the UofR or other local colleges?
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How strange it is that if someone talks to God he is religious, but if God talks back, he is crazy...

United States :: New York :: Rochester

8 Ways To Maintain A Positive Attitude

MidnightGds — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 18:35:13 -0800

There Is No Obstacle Too Great

1. Become mindful of your thoughts and let them occur without judgment. As you recognize self-limiting beliefs and feelings, eliminate them by focusing on positive thoughts about the present and future.

2. The author Charles Dickens advised, "Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." Don't brood over mistakes, carry grudges, or harbor hate.

3. Worrying is a wasted effort and the breeding ground of doubt. It will lead you to contemplate potential losses rather than effective solutions. The antidote to worry is positive action.

4. Adversity comes to each of us in time. Expecting rather than dreading this adversity can make challenging periods seem less daunting and will allow you to accept that you possess the strength to conquer each obstacle as you have conquered obstacles in your past.

5. Assume that hidden in every setback there is a lesson. Consciously choose to think of the challenges you face in a positive way: as a learning experience, an opportunity to demonstrate your strengths, or the first step on a new path.

6. Think about what you desire, not what you fear. Visualize future successes with the belief that you will achieve them, and then take action. When you are working diligently toward a goal, there will not be time to ponder the obstacles.

7. When negative thoughts and feelings threaten to overwhelm you, take a "time out" and do something that makes you happy. Letting yourself be swept away in a favorite activity or meditation will inspire well-being.

8. Be confident that no matter what adversity you face, you will be strong enough to remain positive and optimistic. Knowing that there is no obstacle you cannot overcome will give you that strength.

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United States :: New York :: Rochester

Welcome and Hello!

vedesca — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:01:38 -0700

I just wanted to post a quick welcome and hello to everyone trickling back after the forum reset. This year looks like it is going to be exciting and fun!
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Robin, ML - Rochester, NY
"Fact is there's nothing out there you can't do. Yeah, even Santa Claus believes in you." - Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

United States :: New York :: Rochester

George Orwell's 12 writing tips

MidnightGds — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 18:36:47 -0800

George Orwell has earned the right to be called one of the finer writers in the English language through such novels as 1984 and Animal Farm, such essays as “Shooting an Elephant,” and his memoir Down and Out in Paris.
George expressed a strong dislike of totalitarian governments in his work, but he was also passionate defender of good writing. Thus, you may want to hear some of George’s writing tips.*

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:
What am I trying to say?
What words will express it?
What image or idiom will make it clearer?
Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
And he will probably ask himself two more:
Could I put it more shortly?
Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?
One can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails. I think the following rules will cover most cases:
Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
* From “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell.

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