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Quill and Ink Corner: A writing thread for the Cobbies.

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nectarbug Since: Mar, 2014
#251: Jul 25th 2014 at 11:51:25 PM

I'm surprised you even know what pen and paper is... ;D

(No, but seriously... I have no idea how old you are, even).

Leradny Since: Jan, 2001
#252: Jul 26th 2014 at 12:17:36 AM

24. Young for a Cob, old for a Troper.

Pyrite Until further notice from Right. Beneath. You. Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Hiding
Until further notice
#253: Jul 26th 2014 at 1:16:27 AM

Oh, that works if you're jotting ideas down, but it makes things more complicated if you're making edits and have to re-type everything all over again when you get back. (But you probably already took that into account, I assume.)

I can't access common emails because of a filter.

The email is divided. But emails going out are monitored and you need a good reason to send non-work emails out.

So in other words, no way to access personal email account from work, and no way to access for-work email account from home. Am I understanding that part right?

edited 26th Jul '14 1:17:15 AM by Pyrite

Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.
nectarbug Since: Mar, 2014
#254: Jul 26th 2014 at 1:47:47 AM

I would use the time for research and sketching out the scenes.

I am less a writer and more of an editor, if I am to be honest with myself (it is a conscious exercise in non-perfectionism to leave the typos and half-formed thoughts that are inevitable when using a phone as a computer; but I see them and they wound me). I am most productive when I develop scenes on paper and then transcribe them, because when I'm at the keyboard I just obsessively edit every sentence I put down.

ETA: I will sometimes print out my work and go through it old school with a red pen — again, to ensure that I actually get through it, rather than get stuck polishing one spot til I've rubbed it raw.

edited 26th Jul '14 1:51:11 AM by nectarbug

Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#255: Jul 26th 2014 at 5:09:33 AM

The TV Tropes sandbox? tongue

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Pyrite Until further notice from Right. Beneath. You. Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Hiding
Until further notice
#256: Jul 26th 2014 at 5:40:46 AM

Hey, just because TV Tropes can ruin your life doesn't mean you should go out of your way to make it happen.tongue

Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#257: Jul 26th 2014 at 6:12:01 AM

I have pad and pen for hashing out ideas but I prefer typing it just works better for me. It is a big pain in the butt to write it down on the pad then transcribe it to text again. I once had to transcribe three of William Faulkner's stories word for word. I will never transcribe again if I can help it. It makes writing a chore rather then something I enjoy.

Pyrite: I can not access my work email from home it does have an exterior portal for business use only.

I could PM myself the changes and then copy paste it and then load it up that way. Drop box is out because it is a file sharing service which security wise is verboten. I was hoping there is some text only service I could use that would allow me to temporarily save the text privately and not worry about someone snatching my words from publicly viewable source.

edited 26th Jul '14 9:31:21 AM by TuefelHundenIV

Who watches the watchmen?
Nocturna Since: May, 2011
#258: Jul 26th 2014 at 8:30:12 AM

Oh! Maybe... oh, what was it called. The text thing that the writing contests use... Let me go look that up.

EDIT: Here it is: http://freetexthost.com/

It's a text hosting site which is text only, allows you to set a viewing password (so you could keep your work from being publicly viewable), allows you to set a number of days before auto-deletion of your text, and would enable you to access it from home as long as you wrote down the resultant URL for the generated page.

edited 26th Jul '14 8:33:53 AM by Nocturna

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#259: Jul 26th 2014 at 9:26:32 AM

Teuf, since you can get to TV tropes from work (at least I think you can), you could paste it onto your troper page in spoiler text, then copy-and-delete it when you get home. If you decide to do that, I wouldn't say so, though; it's privacy by obscurity which is not terribly strong, and gets weaker the more people know it's possibly in use. But no one is likely to stumble onto it; they'd need to be looking for it.

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#260: Jul 26th 2014 at 9:34:11 AM

Nocturna: I can access that site actually. I will give it a shot and see how it goes.

Maddy I had considered that. I prefer to not leave an obvious foot print if someone should say check the change logs of my user page for example before the change log expired. It is a possibility should it come to that.

Edit: Wow that is really cool. That is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. 50k character limit is more then enough for my needs.

edited 26th Jul '14 9:35:40 AM by TuefelHundenIV

Who watches the watchmen?
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#261: Jul 26th 2014 at 10:02:49 AM

True, but if someone is cyber-stalking your writing to the extent that they're monitoring your edit history, security through obscurity is of no value at all.

Leradny Since: Jan, 2001
#262: Jul 26th 2014 at 12:06:01 PM

You were trying to work around workplace filters and blocked sites, and the two step process of handwriting+transcription is too difficult?

I wrote all 50000 words of a Na No Wri Mo draft on paper and transcribed the whole thing for wordcount verification.

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#263: Jul 26th 2014 at 12:10:15 PM

It has nothing to do with difficulty and more to do with being a massive pain in the ass. I hate writing things out twice to begin with. Transcribing everything would pretty much turn me off of more writing because I find it to be a massive pain in my ass to begin with. I have done my share of transcription and I personally hate it.

Who watches the watchmen?
Leradny Since: Jan, 2001
#264: Jul 26th 2014 at 12:16:19 PM

I think of my handwritten draft as draft 0. As I transcribe, I also edit it into draft 1, so it's not exactly the same.

It's just, it seems like if you have to do all these complicated security workarounds to type the draft like you prefer, you'd be better off mulling over the ideas in your head, then waiting till you got home to write.

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#265: Jul 26th 2014 at 12:40:14 PM

When I get home I have other things I need to do. I have dogs, a wife, chores, and even some sleep to catch up on because of the odd balance in my Friday to Saturday schedule change over. Sundays are my one day to decompress so I do no writing unless its something I really want to do.

As for ideas. I think about them all the time but when I get to writing I have found it is always best to write it out as I go and use my free thinking time to hash out those written notes.

I like to hand write my notes because they are not the story itself but whatever wandering thoughts I have which more often then not get in the way of the story as I have other ideas I consider on a regular basis. What I type out is the story. The typing makes it easier to write out what I want and make the initial small tweaks instead of fighting with pen and paper editing.

Part of the reason I write at work on Saturdays is I get my work done very early in the day an d I have 10 hours filled with not much to do other then the occasional small mess and patrols.

Doing the writing helps keep my brain from feeling too tired. It keeps the exhaustion at bay.

edited 26th Jul '14 12:42:37 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Who watches the watchmen?
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#266: Jul 26th 2014 at 2:32:39 PM

A good day for writing. Over 2000 words today.

Who watches the watchmen?
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#267: Jul 28th 2014 at 7:55:30 PM

Between yesterday and today, I busted out 6k words on a story I haven't touched since last fall. In that time, I have started and abandoned two other chapter attempts, but I think this time it worked. At least, I'm not reading over my own chapter going, "What the f***, BN," and then headdesking.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#268: Jul 28th 2014 at 8:23:21 PM

I had that problem with my start.

Who watches the watchmen?
nectarbug Since: Mar, 2014
#269: Jul 28th 2014 at 8:49:26 PM

Last night I made a major breakthrough on a plot point I hadn't figured out. Woohoo!

Does anyone else only figure out the story by writing it? I do a lot of planning, but I'm constantly coming up with fixes and refinements that ripple all the way back to the beginning — like I realize a noble character makes much more sense as a coward. I feel like I'm playing Tetris or something... It's always shifting and I have to keep accomodating unexpected pieces. They're always improvements, so I don't mind so much. I just wonder what it must be like to know wtf you're doing... ;D

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#270: Jul 28th 2014 at 10:29:54 PM

[up] Yay breakthroughs!

Personally, I tend to have only general ideas of where the story should be going, and slightly more firm ideas of who the characters are. I tend to come up with plot points as I'm writing, honestly. Still while working toward a destination, but I have surprised myself in the middle of a scene when my brain goes "turn left here for the scenic route" and it comes out fairly awesome.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#271: Jul 29th 2014 at 10:24:34 AM

Ok finally scrounged up the remains of my notes for Lerad's script and shot them off. It is my first time going over someone's script. It was pretty decently written as far as I could tell, despite being unfinished. A couple observations and suggestions were noted. I did the best I could.

Also finally finished knocking out someone else's story for a initial going over.

Normally I don't like doing that because I feel a bit awkward doing it sometimes. I honestly feel like I have to "flip a switch" to dead pan and dispassionate as possible when I do go over it.

edited 29th Jul '14 10:26:12 AM by TuefelHundenIV

Who watches the watchmen?
nectarbug Since: Mar, 2014
#272: Jul 29th 2014 at 10:43:43 PM

I made another huge breakthrough tonight. Oh lord... What a relief. These have been nasty, angsty, like, Why do I even think I can write a novel? kinds of problems. I feel downright giddy! Sunshine and lollipops! Let's get gelato!

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#273: Jul 31st 2014 at 7:08:58 PM

My second most popular story just topped 100k views somewhere in the last three hours, which is nice. But I just finished writing a really depressing scene, which has me not feeling super excited about it. I think I need more sugar.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apocalypse from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apocalypse
#274: Aug 2nd 2014 at 4:12:35 PM

Wow I had a realization that the last two paragraphs with a certain character were a bad idea when I cam back to it. Anyone else ever have that happen where you write something thinking this will be great only to suddenly come screeching to a halt as the gears freeze up in realization you just made a notable error?

Who watches the watchmen?
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#275: Aug 5th 2014 at 9:52:35 PM

[up] Occasionally in hindsight, normally when re-reading the chapters I wrote months ago. Usually it's of the, "Oh yeah, that plot thread I was totally going to use ... and have now accidentally snipped off and/or embroidered into a different part of the story."

I'm considering starting a Patreon for my fanfic writing, but I'm stuck with what the heck I would offer as incentives beyond "but if you donate, I'll post up chapters early for just you to read!" or "at $X I'll write an OC into a cameo." Any ideas of what you would do, or what you would want, from such a campaign?

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

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