Thanks again for the thread, @raywilson! I realise I didn’t end up answering the discussion question earlier but at any given moment I’m usually not taking breaks enough. One of the most important pieces of advice I’ve been given is to incorporate breaks into my schedule as though they’re part of the work (because they are).
I want to post my WIP/release digest for July but for reasons best known to itself Discourse has changed how copy-pasting formatting from a google sheet works, so I need to do a load of tedious format edits. Not sure when I’ll get round to sorting it
Seconded. I thought I’d be about 2/3 through my story at my current word count, if not even further in than that. But I think I’m closer to 33-40%.
The irony is that my starting outline has stayed pretty rock solid - it isn’t like I’ve scope crept myself at all, branching (especially action scenes and romances) just is making everything take a lot more words than I would ever have guessed.
I mean the crew who vocally goes complaining about it and gives strongly worded poor reviews because of it, not the crew who just doesn’t like it. (Hence the emoticon.)
OK, let’s do this! Sorry for some of the links being ugly - it took ages to get them even as neat-looking as they are here
I know there are a lot of projects without forum threads, but mostly this is the easiest place to check - Tumblr is horrible to try to see anything chronologically or look things up, and cogdemos doesn’t. So if you know of a new demo that came out, or an update that happened, in July that I haven’t listed please give me a shout and I’ll add it to the list!
You’ve linked some of the topics to a message that’s not the first, is that what you meant by them being ugly? (I was a bit confused seeing my name in a link that wasn’t my topic. )
I managed 1 and 2 fairly easily, but not 3 which is fine, that was more a stretch goal and I really didn’t have it in to untaggle complicated code this month.
Noted and will be added to reading list. I have nothing to exchange feedback on tho, yet xD. Let me know if there’s any specific points to keep in mind for feedback.
microchip center went through with basically no resistance from the commissioners or the school board. why people will sell out their literal neighbors and land they live on for a check, i’ll never understand. i’m still an optimist to my core, though; gotta move on to the next battle.
but ANYWAYS. i did get some good writing done! i didn’t polish 1-2 scenes (oh my god that would have taken way longer than i thought), but i did do all sorts of other work. revised some stat systems and did little edits allllll over chapters 1 and 2, as well as hugely fixed up the “skip ahead” function to make it work for players wanting to skip to chapter 3 (and me, when i’m playtesting!). even though that progress isn’t exactly what i listed as goals here, it’s definitely in the spirit of what i was wanting to get done, so i’ll call this a huge win!
Much obliged! In terms of specific feedback, I’ll just c+p what I wrote somewhere else. But honestly anything you have to say would be helpful.
Specific Feedback I’m Looking For
How is the prose and emotional evocation?
Specifically for the newest chapter, how is the pacing through the middle and the climax?
Any weird spacing issues? These show up on one pc but not the other, so I don’t know how much I can do about them, but let me know anyways.
Where are some places where we can input scenes or reactions that are determined by the protagonist’s personality bars? (ex: a reserved detective might say x)? Are there any places where the character reacted in a way that you feel was not how you established them (ex: a reserved detective would NEVER say x)?
Achieved. It was surprisingly motivating to do, and even on days when I didn’t want to do anything, I often ended up writing for a long time. It is not up to my usual standard, but, as I said, it is there.
Hell yeah. I listen to some music in other languages, and one band I follow, there’s a fan who posts translations of their lyrics with annotations and footnotes on the wordplay, cultural references, etc., and their website is absolutely the biggest blessing ever. Finding thoughtful and informative translations is truly a treasure.
Does the bald lady that gets mentioned halfway through enter with the PC and Kip? Since there was no mention of her when the scene was set in the room, I didn’t know she was there at all until she sighed. I can only assume she was included in the “your footsteps” as a collective statement but I figured I should mention that if that’s not the case.
From the excerpt I was assuming the world to be something of a medieval type, so the “rad climber” assertion took me out. Is there a meaning in-universe unrelated to the slang?
Good demonstration of character and some interpersonal conflict arising from clashing priorities. I like that moment where PC gets drawn into their thoughts of their own family.
Oh wow, last day of the month now. I forgot I had any writerly goals at all, actually.
Well, I started reading The Dead by James Joyce. But I figured it’d take me a while to continue/finish and my aunt wants to read it too so I decided to lend the book to her first. Couple days ago, I read the “Foreword for Students” in Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense (10th ed.) and then wrote down some thoughts it triggered. Hoping to continue studying that next month. Also added bits to both the planning doc/text files for the Halloween Jam and Precious Metals. It’s kinda like how I approached tidying up my desk this month—just tidy up one thing, then check it off the day’s to-do list. Small, manageable bits of progress that feel okay and can accumulate over time. It’s tough right now, internally, for no discernible reason beyond neurodivergent struggle, but because of that I think I’m doing alright. The unfortunate menstrual cycle announced its presence today, though, so I’m not planning for any more writing to finish off the day/month, I’ll just do a bit of work and call it there.
Yes! She entered with the MC and Kip but that part I didn’t include in this because I didn’t wanna have you reading something too long.
Now that I think about it, you’re right. “Rad climber” does sound a bit modern in retrospect.
Say, what do you think about including modern language in a medieval setting but using it as a broken dialect that the poorer/uneducated class use? By that I mean the casual way of speaking.
Unexpected family stuff and semi-expected health stuff means that I didn’t complete the first goal, and therefore didn’t even start the second goal. Meh.
)
gonna try to be helpful again.
with basically no resistance from the commissioners or the school board. why people will sell out their literal neighbors and land they live on for a check, i’ll never understand. i’m still an optimist to my core, though; gotta move on to the next battle.