Character Development Thread--Discussion

Wait, your Sem-end exams only take one week to finish? o.O

We call it 'exam week' for a reason. I don't know how they manage to pack it all in or how we students continue to survive it without burning out, but it works.

Huh, ours used to stretch for around two weeks, depending on the subjects ofc.

Confirming that Nagako and the Youkai Showcase are both still active.

Yes, Tamara's still wandering around. I was going to have her bump into Nagako, but I can't now that the latter is in the Food Court. I guess I should have said something... Anyway, Yomegami, if Nagako is looking for someone interesting, nrjxll's character - Kel - probably stands out. Selina might not as much, though. Either way, you are welcome to join the search for Tamara.

Not that I've got any clear plans for how that will go down, mind you. And I can't promise more than, at most, three posts-per-week...

I should point out that, technically, Dimitri is still active. He's simply in a fixed position and nobody visits. I am keeping up with the thread in case that changes.

edited 20th Nov '14 3:08:13 PM by Night

I have Martian Dynamics on my list of active stalls.

Waiting on KC in Fair.

@Darkblood: If Victoria is still indeed in the Entry Hall, does she have anything to say about/to the giant centipede that just walked in?

Didn't notice Darkblood had posted in Halloween. Not sure whether to edit in a response or wait for someone else.

Edit: Looks like that question's been answered.

edited 20th Nov '14 5:00:18 PM by nrjxll

The internet here is being very sporadic right now. If it doesn't get better within the next couple days I might be a little inactive (not that it'll affect much given the current lack of activity).

While I'm here, I'm also going to note that I don't intend on having Nagako stay in the Food Court in Fair; unless someone talks to her first, she's just going to grab some food and leave (maybe making a brief recognition of Marion beforehand).

You know, it occurs to me that the CDTs are kind of my equivalent to NaNoWriMo.

That statement requires elaboration.

The two things I've been repeatedly told are best about NaNoWriMo are that it teaches people to stop worrying about quality and just write, and that it creates a sense of community. While I often lament the quality of the posts I make for the CDTs, I also feel it's often helpful to have that need to keep the thread going forcing me to just go ahead and post what I have rather than endlessly tweak it. And I find the little community of regular writers the CDTs have formed to be one of the most appealing parts of participating in them long-term. So while I've never personally seen the point of NaNoWriMo, it occurs to me that these threads may serve a similar purpose for me as it does for others.

Edit: Also, on an unrelated note, I'm feeling a bit perplexed about where to go with the hotel storyline in Fair. As the last post made clear, Rey no longer sees any point to negotiating with the agents, but she doesn't want to just start blasting either.

edited 21st Nov '14 2:18:11 AM by nrjxll

I'm sorry guys, I've been busy lately! I'll reply today, promise.

Don't have much going on this weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to write more often.

For all that my bitterness is intentionally exaggerated for comedic effect, days like this (or maybe these) leave me genuinely worried about the threads.

Tonight! There will be something from me tonight before bed.

My family and I have basically had no life for the past two weeks.

Your near-constant whinging has motivated me to a slightly-higher-than-average weekly posting rate, nrjxll! This is truly a wondrous occasion.

BWA HA HA! IT'S WORKING! IT'S WORKING!

(...Though seriously, I really am kind of worried about the threads in general, not just bugged because I personally can't post).

Actually, come to think of it, I'm starting to wonder what the point of the threads is, at least for me. I'm certainly not considering quitting them or anything (that'd be hilariously self-defeating), but I do wonder if the writing benefit I get from them is objectively worth the amount of time and stress involved these days.

Personally, besides the fact that I wouldn't be writing anything if it weren't for the CDTs, I'm mostly in it just because it's fun. I really like bouncing my characters off everyone else's and seeing what happens, especially if the result is a meaningful relationship that carries on for at least several threads. The fact that they let me hammer out things about my characters, oftentimes bringing up things I wouldn't have considered otherwise, just seals the deal.

I do have to acknowledge that I'm kind of a hypocrite for complaining so much about people not posting when I've been able now to post in Fair for the last few hours. It's just hard to work up the motivation knowing there won't be a response for like three days no matter what I do.

No personal offense intended to Blackfire - I knew what I was getting into when I had Kel talk with Selina.

Edit: I also want to apologize for complaining so much in general. I know without question everyone else is busier than I am, and I know it's annoying to read and doesn't really accomplish anything. It's just that the state of the threads makes me genuinely miserable, and it's not like I have anywhere else I can vent about it.

edited 22nd Nov '14 12:18:42 AM by nrjxll

Writing for this place is the only way I can get any writing into my schedule at all. It's less intensive to drop my characters into a ready-made setting than it is to try to get something done on any of my actual works, only to hit a wall and wonder if my characters' actions on this front should have this specific effect or if I'm taking things too fast or too slow or whatever, et al. I guess I sort of keep writing here in the hopes that I can occasionally be able to come to you guys for critique on characterization and I kind of wish that we did more critique here of each other than we currently do, but that would make me a hypocrite because I rarely have any constructive criticism on anybody's characters (you know, beyond 'they seem okay; I didn't see anything glaringly bad') and often think everybody else has stronger, more well-developed characters than I do for a reason I'll get into in a bit.

I'm getting to the point where the CDTs feel like work to the extent that I welcome times where this place is slow so that I can nap or play video games or spend hours on You Tube and not have to think for once. But that might just be burnout. Which I suppose should be taken as an indication that I should stop posting here if I don't enjoy it anymore, but then, you know, I wouldn't be writing at all. I still have ideas about characters that I want to try out but which I can never seem to put into words on my own. I'm like my sister, who spent her first year of life co-bedded with another kid at the orphanage and couldn't sleep on her own until she was almost in middle school, only with writing- I learned how to write by doing so collaboratively here in short format, and now I can't keep a narrative going much longer than a few hundred words before I wonder if I'm even going anywhere.

Fuck it, it's 4 AM and I'm rambling.

I don't know about comparisons, but personally I've found your characters to be perfectly well-developed. And I'm not just saying that to be reassuring either.

Edit: On an unrelated note, I'm finding Krajn is finally flowing voice-wise in Halloween. I'm not sure I like the way she's flowing, but still.

edited 22nd Nov '14 1:44:19 AM by nrjxll

I just want to make it clear that while I do appreciate what you've said, I was not trying to fish for compliments or validation or whatever by saying that. I feel like most of us has had to hear the irrational part of ourselves tell us 'literally everyone else has it all together and you're the only one who doesn't' at least once in our lives.