March 2024's Writer Support Thread

[Niki_Christopherson]

@RockmanX

What other pieces of IF have you done? Maybe that will be a good starting point.

This is my first one. TBH, I’ve never been able to finish a game I’ve started making. I always run into a difficulty curve.

@RockmanX

This is my first ever completed piece of IF I did

CONGRATS! That is definitely worth celebrating.

@HarrisPS

It’s very funny being married to another writer and opening up the shared laptop to see things like this in the VS Code tabs:

This is actually very adorable. Me and my husband have a weekly “Marriage Parking Lot” where we write down stuff we need to talk about together during the week, and then discuss them every thursday.

@LiliArch

hattifattener

I googled this word and got weird little guys with tiny hands from Moomin, and uh… what?

@leiatalon

In other news… climbs on platform

I’ve finally got my WIP forum post up and a DEMO ready to play!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! oh this is gonna be fun! time to go playyyyyy gremlin noises

@ChanceOfFire

. Interestingly, gender-locked-female isn’t the popularity death sentence I thought it might be.

It isn’t? You mean I could’ve saved myself the trouble?!! Nah, I’m just kidding. I’ve always wanted my games to include multiple genders, even in ‘gender-locked’ scenarios. XD I like screwing around with gender too much not to enjoy it. XD That said, I’m glad you’re seeing feedback and interest!

@Blunderbutts

Thankfully, things have settled down. I have a job again, and a whole box full of new spoons back in the drawer, which means I’m able to get back to the WIP that I’ve missed so much.

I’m so glad to hear you’re feeling better! New spoons is nice! I’m finding my own situation to be the opposite. Xd I have less spoons now that I have a full time job. But honestly, I’m really happy to hear about other’s progress and it gives me hope! Can’t wait to see these new improvements in play!

@Zaxwlyde

All in all, been quite a productive week. Looking forward to the next week of development!

So looking through all your screenshots, it looks very polished! I’m sure it’ll be fun once it’s fully implemented to see how it interacts with the gameplay itself.

@LiliArch

I am positively overjoyed by the fact that I finally, finally found an app to replace the one I was using for mapping out character stat sheets, which stopped being available some time ago!

Well? Spill! Share!

@LibtechMk

How long does it take you, to write more than 10,000 words. At your best speed and your worst

When I have no job, and I am able to devote everything to it, I wrote a 150k word novel (1st draft) in 30 days. That breaks down to 5000 words a day. So, two days. Keep in mind, I was DEEP in AuDHD hyperfocus on a novel, and like, I wasn’t eating/sleeping/etc properly. I could not really do this again.

When I have a job, responsibilities and life needs me, I manage maybe 1k words a day. So at least 10 days? But again, that’s not considering the fact that I sometimes have a whole week in between writing. So, more accurately, 10 weeks. 2 months and two weeks. Roughly.

@LibtechMk

What do you do when you hit a wall? Your method might be helpful to more than you.

When I hit a wall, I try to find something in my genre to take my mind off it. A tv show, a novel, something. I also vent to my husband, who acts as a rubber duck and lets me talk myself through the problem.

@love4tae

ready to update (WIP) Vengeance |Combat, Romance, Thriller| (UPDATE: MAR 1, 2024) !

GOOD JOB!!!

@HarrisPS

Plus some extra scenes and responsiveness with a ghost character

ghost romance You have me salivating my dear!!!

@HarrisPS

A couple of things though: that update didn’t take a massive amount of time, and I also got paid a fee for it upfront. So if an update takes a lot of time and energy to do without a sense that it’ll give a sales boost, it may be more worth focusing on current projects. If the reviews aren’t good, even if it goes on sale when the update comes out, if may not tempt new players even if existing fans are excited to see the new scenes.

This is really good advice. O.O

@Eiwynn

As the third week of working on my stat pages comes to an end, the narrator voice from “Gossip Girl” has started to voice (in my head) my character entries for the compendium.

I find this hilarious and when my characters talk back to her, I end up with better entries because the characters are defining themselves better as I write the entries and both these entries and the character sketches I revise end up better for it.

I feel like if I knew more about Gossip Girl, this would make more sense to me. But I have been feeling lately that my ROs are very, very… undefined. Maybe I should consider writing up some interviews with them. …I dunno, I just feel like with the limited amount of time I have, I should spend it writing in the game, not working on side stuff like this? But at the same time, it’s probably good to do some character exploration. …UGH, SO HARD TO CHOOSE.

@LiliArch

On the other hand, my shiny new writing software claims I have written way more words today than I actually have, since I’ve been copy-pasting my text to it. On the plus side, I can track wordcounts by page, chapter, and section now! Which is great.

Oh, I’m always interested in finding new writing softwares! What’cha using?

@leiatalon

I’m lying on a couch in a posh office with the Writers’ Therapist, who is speaking in a calm, compassionate voice, saying the words every writer needs to hear…

@Eiwynn

It is okay to have closure on a project and move on.

I gasp in epiphany. Surely I’ve thought these words before, but hearing them again rings true and clear like the call of freedom.

Careful, you’re gonna make me wanna rp all of my posts here. TAT I’ve missed rping so much…

@AAChmielewski

Don’t think I will be able to finish anything this month… Good luck to you brave writers, godspeed.

A journey is counted by the steps one takes, not by the destination reached. A quest is counted by the destination reached, a goal acheived. Remember, writing is a journey, not a quest.

---

And with that, I’m going to start this weeks couple-hour-binge on working on Phoenix Rising. TAT WISH ME LUCK GUYS.

That said, I’ve found an IRL sensitivity reader for the Disability System I wanted to implement into Phoenix Rising, so that’s good! It makes me feel a little better about possibly implementing it more early, instead of waiting for the game to be finished and then adding it in later. The Sensitivity reader is paraplegic and missing a leg, so at the very least that helps there.

TAT Annnnd plans just changed for this evening and now I’m freaking out. Dammit. This is gonna affect my ability to write. TAT

Edit:
two things:

1. I wonder if everyone could explain/give examples of how they set up their “Credits” page. Like, I’ll show mine:

*comment Copyright 2010 by Dan Fabulich.
*comment 
*comment Dan Fabulich licenses this file to you under the
*comment ChoiceScript License, Version 1.0 (the "License"); you may
*comment not use this file except in compliance with the License. 
*comment You may obtain a copy of the License at
*comment 
*comment  http://www.choiceofgames.com/LICENSE-1.0.txt
*comment 
*comment See the License for the specific language governing
*comment permissions and limitations under the License.
*comment 
*comment Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
*comment software distributed under the License is distributed on an
*comment "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND,
*comment either express or implied.
*comment Eye-shape Art Commissioned from Phrenex.
*comment https://ko-fi.com/phenrexcreates/commissions

*label endgame
This game is still in progress, and may change as it goes along. Please report any errors and mispellings at:

*link https://www.tumblr.com/nascentsoulstudios - Nascent Soul Studios

*link https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/phoenix-rising-updated-08-12-23-wip/140948/17 - Phoenix Rising WIP Thread

If you are submitting errors (particularly code-related ones), it would be really helpful if you could [b]provide a screenshot[/b] to go with it. That'll really streamline my troubleshooting process. (Pressing ctrl+windows+s takes a screenshot on windows computers!)

I'd also like to see [b]your stats[/b] by the demo's end! It will help me rebalance stats/stat checks for upcoming editions of the demo. Hope you had fun!

*link https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxbw_NjuMDgk2GNbdhy3hmo9coSOSCQ7g Here's a playlist of videos taken while coding this! Feel free to watch my process!

*ending

2. Do you think setting up an Accountabili-buddies thread would be a good idea? Like, so that we can set up little checkins with each other to keep us accountable for our progress? Stuff like that? Penpals, almost, but with the implicit idea that we gush at each other about our stories and ask each other to proofread story and code to help figure out where we’re fucking up?

[LiliArch]

@Niki_Christopherson

weird little guys with tiny hands from Moomin

That’s the one

@Niki_Christopherson

What’cha using?

Novelist It’s lacking the ability to do relationship charts, but it’s free, works locally, doesn’t require registration, doesn’t have ads, and doesn’t steal your data, so all in all, I can always just do the charts elsewhere, if the mood strikes me.

[Marmus]

Fortunately, I was able to release an update today, exactly a month after I posted the demo. Took some serious effort, but I made it.

Also, I decided that the name I wanted would be the best one for the story, and I will be changing it after a few days.

There is still the last major part of Chapter One that I need to write, so I will get to that. Hopefully I will face less trouble than I did with this update.

[AAChmielewski]

@Marmus

Fortunately, I was able to release an update today, exactly a month after I posted the demo. Took some serious effort, but I made it.

Great job!

[Zaxwlyde]

Hey, everyone!

Going to do a bit of periodic updates in these threads whilst I barrel towards a WiP for Once in a Lifetime.

Good news, though! I have officially settled on OiaL’s WiP content.

Upon release, the WiP of OiaL will include:

• A full throated character creation system. Pick Talents, Attributes, physical appearance customizations, nationality, city, and more! (At this time, only 6 cities are supported and the only nationality is the US, this will change throughout development.) — The character creator is fully completed as of this past week and functional.

• Dynamic family generation. Once in a Lifetime will feature a full-scale life-simulation and includes backend generation systems to simulate a proper family, friends, classmate, and coworker experience. Your parents may/may not have your last name, there’s a possibility of siblings or none at all (split into a dynamic three-tier branch!), aunts, uncles, all of it is dynamic. Every new Lifetime is populated with a unique and dynamic family unit. Likewise to coworkers and classmates! — This feature is heavily under development. The first dynamic family roll was completed on 3/23/2024 with some issues, and is being patched up.

• The 2004 Era. Beginning in the year of the 2004 Presidential Election, you’ll delve into the Modern timeline, complete with developing technologies and events, unique features, and more. — 2004 Era selection is implemented but actual event implementation is on my roadmap.

• Play up to Age 10, progressing Month-by-Month. In the beginning, the game will have dedicated but sparsely generated random events. This will grow in size and quantity as development continues and chugs onwards.— On the roadmap.

• Begin your journey in Pre-School/Elementary School! Experience class events, befriend and engage with classmates, and much more.

• Experience unique life events, such as: Illness, Friendships, Familial Issues, World Events, and much more!

• Lastly, there’s plenty to reveal as development continues!

---

Once in a Lifetime has had some seriously heavy-throated progression since it began development. I’m currently at over 16k words of just code alone which is expected to balloon in the coming days to most likely 40k+.

Whilst still a ways off from WiP release, I plan to do a pseudo developer diary every week. I’m beyond excited!

Have a great Sunday, ya’ll!
~Zach

[leiatalon]

The art director for the Phantasmagoria theater troop just reached out to me for permission to use one of my poems as part of a performance piece about motherhood to accompany an exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art. That totally made my day. What an honor! It isn’t confirmed if the poem will be included, but I do hope it is. Someone found my poem and liked it enough to reach out, which I think is simply wonderful.

In other news, I’m headed for a quick hike with the dog and the kids, then hope to get some good work done on Ink later today.

I hope the weekend is treating y’all well!

[AletheiaKnights]

Give Shelta some ear scritches from me!

[izzily]

Just came up with a pun so good/heinous that I removed it in order to insert it at a point where players will always encounter it.

How’s everyone’s monday?

[Fusion_Ultimatum]

Lol

[LiliArch]

Well, I’ve certainly been more productive than I expected. And then got my brain hung up on the “I must be productive! Go go go!” mode and failed to stop enough to sleep. Which… could have gone better. But also worse.

Also trying to build a job application.

[Zaxwlyde]

It’s been a Monday, and was a huge Sunday too!

Character generation is vastly improving based upon tests.

• 100 Male First Names
• 100 Female First Names
• 100 Last Names
• 50/50 chance for Parents (individually) to have Player’s last name.
• 50/50 chance for males/females to copy last names of their married partners.

There’s so much more under it too.

• Determination of grandparents being alive
• Determination of siblings, and if a sibling is rolled it has a chance to roll another up to a total of 3 for both brother and sister’s.
• Tragic events (Mother dies at birth!)
• And so much more!

I ran my first basic complete re-roll tests on all the major characteristics (barring talents and attributes) for the Player’s parents earlier today.

Huge resounding success. 30 dynamic re-rolls straight without errors, unique options, proper hair styling (such as if bald you can’t have a hair color/texture haha) and I was thrilled.

I’ve begun working on job and educational code to plug in before I work on the other character’s generating.

Gen #1

Gen #2

Gen #3

Above all, things are accelerating at a massive pace.

Code was at 16k mid-day yesterday (words including code I mean,) it is now…

WordCount

EDIT: Hilarious that I commented on hair texture to see the bald roll with a bug. Going to be fixing that!
EDIT2: Fixed!

[Eiwynn]

@izzily

How’s everyone’s monday?

I’m continuing to work on my “Codex” pages.

After searching for a particular character sheet, I realized I have over 30 of them, of which 25 are for the “common route” and the rest characters for the “dock route”.

It even hit me harder when I saw that my character sheet file is over 10,000 words.

All because I could not find the character I went looking for the first time through the file.

Now I have additional incentive not to write the “dock route” only characters into the common route, even if it makes writing the codex harder, with the goal of having the codex work for all routes as they are released.

Back to writing companion entries (only a couple more of those to go for today).

[poison_mara]

You are my hero, always looking for those small details. I am the kind of writer who doesnt bother about codex and all that. But I respect and admire the people who do bother.

I come from a role player perspective, a hatdcore one, that sees telling the player in a codex how X is and how they feel is really afecting player views and force a mindset.

However, I know I am in a minority and most audience prefers writers tell them how characters are and how their characters feel about it

[Eiwynn]

@poison_mara

You are my hero, always looking for those small details

I am humbled to know this, Mara. I hope to someday live up to your praise.

@poison_mara

However, I know I am in a minority and most audience prefers writers tell them how characters are and how their characters feel about it

My goal with the Codex is not to tell the reader how to feel about characters in the story, but rather, to provide a central repository (like a wiki page as one of my feedback called it) that includes some of the core world-building tidbits about the Patchwerk world the reader gets immersed into, all in one easy-access place.

The reason I take an inworld “gossip columnist” tone within the character compendium entries is to signal to the reader that these entries are open to interpretation and that what they read there is given with a narrator’s bias.

I would rather not give the impression of a “cannon” entry that comes down to the reader from the mouth of the author.

This is very important to me and it is one of the reasons it takes time to craft each entry.

[Leinco]

@Leinco

Before the 15th, I hope to complete the side story I had planned out. If I can get that done before the 15th, maybe I could post that as a snippet, lol.

I just love when random depressive episodes make me essentially a husk for like 3 weeks, and right after I decide to work on a side story. I swear it’s like a cycle, it happens like every 3 months. Still, I managed to finish that side story. Mind you, it wasn’t before the 15th, I finished it on the 20th. However, I am proud of myself for somehow managing to finish such a light-hearted side story while walking around going “life is meaningless.”

On that note, I pulled myself out of it yesterday and am doing well enough now to return to this thread.

For the rest of the month, I think I’ll take a bit of a break to make sure I’m fully out of this before doing any heavy lifting with the writing. I may iron out some minor details here and there, but no major work.

Other than that, I’m glad to be back here, and I apologise to you all that I don’t have the time nor energy to read through uhh… checks notifications …250 new posts…

[Eiwynn]

@Leinco

I’m glad to be back here

We are all happy you are able to be back as well!

[HarrisPS]

@Niki_Christopherson

ghost romance You have me salivating my dear!!!

Aha I don’t mean to be misleading! It is less a romance and more a weird codependent friendship… relationship… thing where the ghost is living in your body/soul! But it is very up for interpretation. Especially if you also die at the end and become a ghost yourself, which is possible.

Overall I’m in a bit of a funk. I had a brilliant time playtesting Ink and Intrigue yesterday, which was nice to do because I was finding it hard to focus on planning/coding, but today I came down with the cold that’s been cycling through the household. Between that and a bunch of other things, the last few weeks have not been as productive as I’d have liked at all. Which makes me antsy especially because it was a month which in theory had a lot of writing time available but hasn’t worked out that way.

I’m resting up as much as I can humanly do and having painkillers to help with the various aches, and reading the rest of the Fatal Fidelity series by Rien Gray and rewatching S1 of How to Get Away With Murder, both of which are excellent, even if I’d rather be spending more time writing.

@Leinco I’m glad your health has improved, welcome back! And I hope everyone else is doing well - and if things aren’t ideal, that things improve soon!

[Havenstone]

Today I had my third bike puncture this week, cracked my knee REALLY hard on a bedstead, and accepted that my laptop’s death means that I’ll not be posting my big update this month. It’s still just not playable yet. So all that kinda sucks.

I’ve also decided to rethink my goalposts for the current instalment. The chapter I’m writing is I think richer and will end with more bang than I’d originally imagined…which means that instead of plowing onward until I’ve written everything I had in mind and I’m competing with the million+word games, I could wrap this one up as a 700k-er and actually have a shot at getting a game on the app stores by the end of 2024.

So that’s kind of exciting.

@HarrisPS

a month which in theory had a lot of writing time available but hasn’t worked out that way.

Oh, that’s the WORST. All my sympathies. I’ve had a bunch of those this past year.

[Eiwynn]

@Havenstone

So all that kinda sucks.

I am sorry that you had so many trials this month. If it is any consolation, your tenacity is always inspiring, especial to other “slow” writers, such as myself.

@Havenstone

I’ve also decided to rethink my goalposts for the current instalment.

I’ve had to re-evaluate Patchwerks a few times in my writing it; looking back at my initial thoughts give me both happy and sad thoughts.

[LiliArch]

I’m glad to report I found my story files I thought were lost! Not that they’re of any use currently, but it’s nice to know they’re available. Also found my lost umbrella, which was great. (Not in the same place though. That would have been something.)

Haven’t done much writing since yesterday, but I did manage to send my job application. And got a headache, which is… very much not great, but I was expecting it, so it’s good to get it out of the way.