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Post by Warrior of Aror on Jan 9, 2017 16:47:51 GMT
Just not Friday the 13th!
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Post by jliessa44 on Jan 9, 2017 17:31:22 GMT
I'm willing to try the club again, though I make no guarantees I'll be able to procure any writing. >~<
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Post by Elethia Arvell on Jan 11, 2017 6:27:29 GMT
Awesome! So that's at least three people who may possibly want to do it...
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Jan 26, 2017 19:25:03 GMT
The twelfth of next month is on a Sunday, which I would rather not do it on. What day next month would the majority of people be able to make it on? Of course it isn't necessary to have everyone on at the same time, but it would be nice to have several people posting and critiquing on the same day.
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Post by jliessa44 on Jan 27, 2017 3:17:55 GMT
Fridays honestly will probably work best for me because I'm rarely scheduled for work on them and I don't have any classes. That being said, I only get my schedule on a last minute weekly basis so I never know when I'm actually free.
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Post by Elethia Arvell on Jan 27, 2017 17:42:39 GMT
Fridays sound good to me. First Friday of each month, maybe?
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Jan 27, 2017 17:53:40 GMT
Let's do it!
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Post by Dmitri Pendragon on Feb 10, 2017 4:18:15 GMT
There must have been a Friday this month already. I've recently discovered a new tool called Strides. It's a productivity application that works on iPad, iPhone and the web. Basically you can create "trackers" for various activities and log your progress at the end of each day. It has four kinds of trackers: Target trackers which track progress on a goal with a deadline; Habit trackers which track how many times per day/week/month you do something; Average trackers which track an average over time; and Milestone trackers which use milestones and sliders. You have to log each of these manually. I'm using it to track my writing. This is how my Strides Dashboard looks. I'm using two Milestone trackers for my two POV characters, for each of whom I'm planning ten scenes in the second draft I'm writing. These ten scenes are my milestones. Words per Day is an Average tracker; I've set 1500 wpd as my average, and I'm currently over that. Write Against Time is a Target tracker with a deadline, and I fill in my total wordcount at the end of each day. I can click through to each of the trackers to see more details, and I can log progress on either the dashboard or the clicked-through page. I like this because it's a visual way to manage my productivity. I found it yesterday on a list of apps that Michael Hyatt mentioned on his blog. I haven't been using it long, so I have yet to decide whether it's right for me, but at this point I'm quite enjoying using it. If you'd like to check it out for tracking your own activities, the link to the Strides website is stridesapp.com.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Feb 10, 2017 12:15:51 GMT
Interesting. I already have a method for wordcount tracking (aka, I use an Excel spreadsheet, but a fancy one with progress bars and charts and a function to record your average and all that), but this sounds pretty cool as well. Probably not going to try it, but still cool.
On a related note: has anyone here heard of/used Habatica?
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Post by jliessa44 on Feb 10, 2017 13:32:29 GMT
I've used habitica. It's cute and I actually did really like it, it was just annoying for me to have to constantly get on and click on the little boxes everyday. And then if I got really busy and didn't get a chance to get on before midnight, I didn't know of a way to retroactively say I did something so I would lose my streak even though I'd done it.
Right now I'm using a bullet journal for my writing. So I keep track of everything in a bujo habit tracker. Which I love. It really works for me to have all the tiny squares where I can see what I actually got done. It's also extremely satisfying to color the little squares in, and I like to look at the lines that a streak makes. Plus, I love paper systems because they balance out my technology saturated life.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Feb 11, 2017 0:04:41 GMT
jliessa44: Cool. I thought about joining it . . . but I would probably have that problem of forgetting/not being able to click the boxes and getting annoyed.
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Feb 11, 2017 4:55:09 GMT
On the topic of statistics: My draft takes me about 1 hour to read so far (reading at 200 wpm, which is "lower than average" by everyone's estimates, but I always find myself missing a lot of the sub-subtextual elements when I read at the "average" 300 wpm). And it's taken me somewhere a bit over 12 hours to write. I write fairly slowly at 500 words per half hour. Which means it would take me only two and half minutes to read.
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Post by NightBlade on Mar 1, 2017 2:22:39 GMT
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Mar 1, 2017 15:21:55 GMT
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Mar 1, 2017 19:01:22 GMT
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Mar 3, 2017 14:57:42 GMT
Well, it is now the first Friday of the month...
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Post by jliessa44 on Mar 3, 2017 23:25:27 GMT
I forget the word count for entries
Edit because I'm apparently too lazy to look back a page. Anyway... I don't have a way to check word count on my phone but I'm 95% certain this is under 1,000. ----
A cigarette hung limp between his fingers. His long and lean frame filled out the makeshift throne with affected arrogance. Smoke trailed behind the cigarette as he lifted it back to his mouth and inhaled. Dark brown eyes scanned the battered warehouse, taking in his kingdom.
Rows and rows of huge shipping containers with contents long forgotten by their owners had been smashed open and emptied out enough to make rooms for his subjects. A puff of smoke temporarily clouded his vision before dissipating. His gaze refocused on the graffiti left by a previous gang. It had been a controversial decision to leave the spray paint coating the walls largely untouched, but he was glad he stood behind it. Years of history, of struggle, surrounded him.
It almost made him believe in his own cause.
"Feeling sentimental, kid?" Kane came up from behind and caught Cale in a headlock. "Or are you dreaming about Reva?"
"Lay off." Cale grappled with his brother, equal parts amused and frustrated. "I ain't dreamin' 'bout no one. Much less some Richie wannabe."
"Hmm. Maybe." Kane roughed up Cale's slicked back hair and then released him. "But I say you got it bad for her."
"Do not."
"Sure you do." Mikel spoke, appearing to whisper into Cale's right ear.
"Gi' off." Cale clenched his cigarette between his teeth and shoved at his second in command. "You cain't say nothin' anyway. I seen you mooning over that one girl all the time. Shoot what was her name... Tina?"
"Tama." Mikel rolled his eyes and dusted off his patched up winter coat. "An' I'm allowed to moon over her, she's mine."
"Who's to say Reva won't be mine?"
"Thought you didn't want a Richie wannabe?" Kane threw the words back in Cale's face with a teasing grin.
"She marries me, she won't wanna be rich." Cale flicked the still burning cigarette at Kane and then started down a row of shipping containers. He had a girl to sweep off her feet.
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Post by NightBlade on Mar 4, 2017 15:04:31 GMT
Kaaaane! Come back to meeeee!
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Post by jliessa44 on Mar 5, 2017 5:22:17 GMT
He caaaaaaan't.
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Post by NightBlade on Mar 5, 2017 18:25:21 GMT
:CCCCCCCCCCCC
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Apr 15, 2017 0:45:44 GMT
Quick question: what are people's thoughts on dealing with swear words in writing? I mean, usually I just say something like "he swore" or "he said, with considerable colorful language," or just substitute in an unusual euphemism (to use the technical term), but that's not possible here. I feel like I need to indicate the language, but I can't actually put it in due to both personal convictions and the fact that my sister will be reading it. Any suggestions? If I just put a line of dashes, will that be sufficient indication, or will that be awkward?
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Post by Aviar Goldeneagle on Apr 15, 2017 2:40:10 GMT
Usually I find you can just put "he swore" or something similar, so I would try to get around it if I could. How bad is the swearing? Personally I feel like dashes or stars would kinda make the writing look unprofessional and awkward.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Apr 15, 2017 3:00:32 GMT
Um. Fairly strong? Part of my thought process was that if I use dashes, I don't have to specify which words are being used . . . I agree that it seems awkward, though, which is why I'm asking here. And as I said, normally I would just use "he swore," but I feel like the dialogue also doesn't feel right without some indication there. If that makes sense.
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Post by Dmitri Pendragon on Apr 15, 2017 4:24:11 GMT
Here's a post about a Christian viewpoint on swear words in writing. kingdompen.org/should-you-include-cussing-in-your-story/ Ignore point 4 for the most part. Make sure to read the comments as well, because there's a lot of differing views even within this particular Christian circle. I do agree with Aviar on the dashes/stars things—I think it would break the reading flow. You'll notice that Bryan Davis in The Seventh Door uses half of a swear word but has the character break off before she says the whole thing. Most people are going to recognise the word even though he doesn't write the whole thing. Since reading the second Mistborn series, I understand why people in real life use swear words, because at times they can convey a lot of emotion. (Not all the time—some people just throw them in wherever.) I'm more or less fine with reading less strong swear words in their proper context (h***, d*m*, b*****d, very occasionally sh**)—they won't usually make me put the book down if they're used to mean what they actually mean—but any much more I'd rather not read. The fact that you feel you need to spell out the language points to the word having contextual meaning. Are there any less vulgar words that fit with the meaning? These are the thoughts I'd suggest you consider: - Are you using the word in proper context and not just for shock value? - Is your storyworld Earth? Do you have to use the real word in a fictional world? - What is your target audience? Who's going to read the book? This isn't a light topic for a Christian to consider. Along with the above thoughts, I suggest you pray. Try reading Romans 14, especially verses 13–15 and 23, and the beginning of Romans 15—they've helped me a lot with certain disputable matters I've been wanting to investigate through writing. Mainly this point— that if it does not come from faith, it comes from sin.Remember that your relationship with God is more important than your story.
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Post by Aviar Goldeneagle on Apr 15, 2017 11:45:24 GMT
Also, I'd be interested in hearing what you guys thoughts are on other situations that swearing in your writing could be compared to--say, murder. If someone commits a murder or steals or something in your story, why is that okay to read, when swearing isn't, even though these sins are worse than swearing? Leilani Sunblade: Could I read the sentence and its context (swearing dashed out or whatever), both to get an idea of what you're meaning and also to see if I could think of a good alternative?
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Apr 15, 2017 12:04:31 GMT
Dmitri Pendragon : Thank you very much for the advice and the article. I looked for an article along those lines yesterday, but couldn't really find anything. I'm less trying to spell out the language and more trying to indicate that it's there and what it's doing, if that makes any sense whatsoever. And I don't think I'm doing it for shock value; more because it's the language that would be used in this situation, and the line feels awkward without it. I may have to try to work around that, though. Thanks again. Edit: Aviar Goldeneagle: I think the biggest reason I don't use swearing in my writing is that, for one thing, there's less of a disconnect between me and the language. When a character commits a murder, I'm not the one wielding the knife. But when a character swears, I am the one penning the word. Another reason is that I know whatever I write, there's a chance my younger sister or someone else of her age/situation (or younger than her) may read, and while she's technically old enough that she could handle it, I still don't want to be the one to expose her to that. Finally, I know from experience that people tend to adapt to others' dialogue, including the dialogue of characters. When I read something with a lot of profanity in it, I'm more likely to accidentally use profanity in my head (so far, thankfully, it hasn't happened out loud). So I guess that falls into the "not causing others to stumble" category, while murder or stealing is rather harder to do by accident. If that makes any sense. Also, the sentence and context. Save
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Apr 15, 2017 17:58:39 GMT
Leilani Sunblade I don't have anything to add, except to emphasize the one thing Dmitri said. You really want to know who's reading the book. From the context that you gave it seems to make complete sense to include those swear words. If you're going for an older teen audience, then there's nothing morally objectionable with using specific words with purpose. And if you really wanted to, you could preface the chapter with a warning to skip that page, or something. I've never seen that done in a book, but it's common in other forms of media. Aviar Goldeneagle That's a great question. For the past year or so I've been writing a book which is intended for younger audiences -- about 8 to 12. I sometimes have difficulty in deciding what's too dark for them to handle (like character deaths and wars and such) and how to have a flawed main character who isn't morally ambiguous. I write under the assumption that you can show some kinda dark things in children's books as long as there is a distinction between good and evil, and at least the distinction between characters who mess up vs characters who don't even want to be good.
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Post by jliessa44 on Apr 15, 2017 18:49:51 GMT
If it was me, I would just scrap the line and rewrite it. It doesn't feel absolutely necessary.
As for why I'm okay using writing and torture and such but not swearing. If I type out a cuss word, I've used the cuss word. It's also something that starts you down a slippery slope. Like if it's okay in some situations, the number of situations it becomes okay in gets larger. Also, I'm not going to kill someone if I write about killing someone (though I don't use murder in my stories and rarely use torture) but I might cuss if I use the words in my writing.
Also. Not cussing for me is partially because I'm a Christian, but also because I feel like cussing is trashy. Lol. (To put it bluntly....)
Morally ambiguous I'm okay with though. Ahem. xD
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Apr 15, 2017 19:29:37 GMT
Warrior of Aror: Thanks. The thing is, I'm not writing exclusively for an older teen audience (plus this will eventually go on my blog), so yeah. And I could put a content warning, but I'd rather not have to. jliessa44: Thanks. I did end up rewriting the line, just so I could move on.
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Post by Warrior of Aror on Apr 15, 2017 20:20:52 GMT
Leilani Sunblade In that case, what you did is probably best. jliessa44 Morally ambiguous characters in what age ranges of books? Because to a certain point I agree that moral ambiguity adds to a story in older books, but for kid's books, not so much.
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