9960 réponses à ce sujet

[Obsidian Gryphon]

Oh, and grats to OG for:

a. being productive, and

b. being entirely on topic (first time that's happened in a while...)

 

 

Well, at least we have to touch base on the subject now and then before we get thrown out.  

[MrStoob]

Well, at least we have to touch base on the subject now and then before we get thrown out.

Ha!  I'm generally of the opinion that we keep ourselves to ourselves, so no need to for BW to get heavy about anything.  Anyway, the title says 'writers' support thread', not a 'writing thread' and so everything is on topic... 

 

And a quicky (don't think I've posted this before, apologies if I have...):

 

...

 

“Okay, people, keep it moving.” Officer Trent calls out to the crews loading the craft.  Keeping this operation under wraps hasn't been easy, all and sundry seem to know about the Crucible project.  The officer barks his orders, nervous of some of the passengers destined for his deck.  Despite the assurances given, Officer Trent has to muster all his bravado to keep face in front of his subordinates.  A clattering sound rings from down a wide passageway, causing an involuntary sharp inhale from Trent.

 

“Sir?” one of the junior officers asks, “Is that them?”

 

“I sure as hell hope so, son, or you'd better ready your sidearm.”

 

“Yes, sir.” the junior smiles.

 

Trent moves towards the passage to stand at ease and 'greet' the passengers, tapping the datapad in his hands, as much so he can turn away from his crew and hide his worry.  The clattering sound increases with faint squawks and hisses, also getting louder, until four rachni scurry out of a side passage with a squad of eight marines guiding them, looking as nervous as Trent, which he is thankful for.  The commanding marine approaches and salutes Trent.

 

“They're all yours, sir.” he says, showing his relief to be rid of them.

 

“Gee, thanks.” he casually returns the salute.

 

“We named the lead one 'Snappy'.” the commander says as with pride then turns and winds up his hand to round up his squad, “We're out of here.”

 

Snappy now approaches Trent, stopping just a few feet away, then looks left and right at the various craft being loaded.  Trent can't be certain, but he's sure the creature before him is asking which is their ride.

 

“Ahhhhh...” he looks at his datapad, double-checking the ship they will be transported on then is about to indicate but the rachni have begun scuttling away.

 

“Err... where you going, huh?  Your ship's not that way!” he looks down the way to see where they are headed.

 

A lone Keeper is working on a panel on a data conduit channelling through the hangar.  The rachni approach the Keeper quickly, then surround it, chattering amongst themselves.

 

“Err... hey!  What're you doing?  That's only a Keeper!  They're okay!” Trent now runs towards them.

 

The Keeper turns from its work to face them.  Trent can hardly believe it when the Keeper seemingly smiles and nods serenely to each of the rachni, who study, sniff and investigate the Citadel's caretaker.

 

“Sir?” a security officer asks as he follows and readies his weapon.

 

“Hold fire, soldier.” he waves the officer back.

 

By the time Trent arrives, the chattering of the rachni has subdued, and the Keeper seems to be gesticulating, the rachni mesmerized.  Watching this exchange for a moment, Trent tentatively approaches to attract the rachnis' attention.

 

“We all good?” he asks.

 

Snappy turns to face him and lets out a barking hiss upwards but not aggressively, then makes its way back the way they came, the others join him as they trot back.  Were there a rachni equivalent of 'cocking a snoop', then Trent is certain Snappy did so as it passed the security officer.  The Keeper returns to its work, still seemingly smiling, though Trent isn't certain; they always seem to have a blissful look on their faces.  He looks back one last time at the Keeper happily working away, then returns to join the rachni, whose chattering seems even more lively than before.

 

Conjecture based on rumour is not the best basis for any theory but having heard of the great technical ability of the rachni, and the rumours of ancient genetic meddling, and as he looks at the multi-limbed Keeper, and the knowing exchange that just took place, he ponders.

 

“Okay, Snappy, if you can get your people onto the Demistar there,” he points with his datapad, “we can get this show on the road.  Oh, and I'd appreciate it if there aren't any more surprise visits with the family, okay?”

 

Snappy turns to his group, seemingly issues orders, then they trot towards the craft's apprehensive looking cargo crew and security detail, then board the Demistar.  Trent watches to ensure they board without event then returns to his crew, shouting out at no-one in particular.

 

“Why couldn't have a normal war?  Us and them! There's the enemy, bang, bang, someone wins, war over, something like that?  Nooo, we gotta have an intergalactic, all-species, ancient hyper-intelligent robots, last hope for all of humanity war!  Hughes!”

 

“Yes, sir.” a young crewman steps up.

 

“Brew up! I think we've earned it.”

 

“Yes, sir!”

[Seracen]

Well...in the interests of staying on topic ...   ... if I feel competent enough in XPA/XNA, I might start doing Mass Effect comics, beginning with my first Mass Effect Fanfic.  It all started out with me wanted to create covers for my stories, and sort of snowballed from there, haha!

 

 

Ha!  I'm generally of the opinion that we keep ourselves to ourselves, so no need to for BW to get heavy about anything.  Anyway, the title says 'writers' support thread', not a 'writing thread' and so everything is on topic... 

 

And a quicky (don't think I've posted this before, apologies if I have...):

 

...

[snip]

 

 

Hah, nice!  I always wondered what the Keepers and the Rachni would make of each other, lol!

[MrStoob]

Well...in the interests of staying on topic ...   ... if I feel competent enough in XPA/XNA, I might start doing Mass Effect comics, beginning with my first Mass Effect Fanfic.  It all started out with me wanted to create covers for my stories, and sort of snowballed from there, haha!

 

I'd certainly like to transform some creations into comics.  Someone in their review did say they could see one of my works as a Dark Horse kind'a thing, which was nice.  If I could, I'd want this guy to draw it  :

http://flauschtraut....670/Mass-Effect

Some of his femShep/Liara stuff is great, and not at all lewd either.

 

And on that rachni piece, I have another one that's in progress (not sure how to finish it) where Liara and a crew board the remnants of the Citadel to assess the damage, and the Keepers have formed a society based around their recent experiences.

 

...

After being led by a Keeper to the other Keepers in 'congregation'.

 

Another Keeper is now moving towards them from the crowd, slowing as it approaches until it is right in front of Liara.

“We give thanks to the Shepard for releasing us.” it says, “We honour her disciples, the Normandys.”

“The... Normandys...?” she replies with a brow raising.

“Okay, can I be freaked out now?” Johnson says.

“You're not the one being... Well I don't know but it sounds like Athame all over again!”

“The Shepard died, so that we might live.” the Keeper continues.

“Really?” Liara brings her hand up to her face and rubs her nose in frustration.

[Obsidian Gryphon]

^ So how does the Keeper speak? Through a voice box?

 

I'm going another way for the Keepers and Shepard isn't dead in my fic.

[MrStoob]

^ So how does the Keeper speak? Through a voice box?

 

I'm going another way for the Keepers and Shepard isn't dead in my fic.

What I said about the/a Keepers'/Keeper's voice was that it was somewhere between emulation and salarian.... and in that particular scenario, very much like the alien squeaky toys from Toy Story ("The claw!") lol.

[Seracen]

Ugh...story boarding is taking longer than I thought it would, lol!  Hopefully the end result is worth it...but suddenly my comic seems to be growing into a monstrous work, haha!

[Obsidian Gryphon]

OT. Hee hee

 

Omg, I'm so excited for this.

 

[Seracen]

Totally getting that when the entire game is done (or unless they offer a good deal on the season pass)

[YurigirlzCrush]

*averts eyes* Not watching, not watching! Does it mention a release date?

[Obsidian Gryphon]

*averts eyes* Not watching, not watching! Does it mention a release date?

 

28th July. Weeee! Never been so happy and anticipating like this for some time. Not even DAI raised such good feelings.

 

Other games I'm looking forward to :

 

Tomb Raider sequel which I hope makes the port to PC. I really enjoy the first one. The reboot is really great.

Dishonored II

 

A very  meagre list.

[Seracen]

Dishonored 2, Persona 5, and Fallout 5 here.  I want to anticipate the next Assassin's Creed, but I lost my taste for all of them after 3.  The vomitous spewing of regular installments since then have not helped matters greatly.

 

Which is why I hope BW takes their time with the 4th ME.  I'm not chomping at the bit yet for new content, b/c it's the start of a new story.  Once the game drops, and once I end up playing it...THEN I am certain that I'll be pining for the conclusion.  That's generally how these things work for me.  Otherwise, it's too much stress to be actively anticipating the rest of the story.

 

Incidentally, that's also why I so rarely read incomplete fanfics, unless I happen to be acquainted with the authors.  Some of those stories have me anxiously anticipating the end, and I love them.  However, it isn't as if there's some guaranteed schedule of release, as there may be with TV shows and games.  Conversely, if it's a story that's incomplete, yet "dead," I'll sometimes still read it, if the story is recommended to me.  This is usually b/c I can simply head-canon the ending myself, so long as the story is well-written enough that it lives in my mind.

 

That's sort of why, while sometimes I might be perturbed with the way a story pans out, I never really felt it completely destroys things for me.  For certain, I tend to hate anime/tv/games that end poorly.  However, if the show hooked me towards the beginning, and held that interest throughout, I will invariably write my version of the finale, simply to put the story to rest.  In the service of time, I do so less and less and I get older, and have more responsibilities, but it's still an interesting exercise.

 

Which is what brought me to the forums, come to think of it.  I wouldn't still be engaged in conversation nearly 3 years later if not for that whole fiasco.  As I've reiterated constantly, it was a bit of a mixed blessing.  I'm constantly thankful to have been in this amazing group and thread from the very beginning, and it's the only reason I've kept coming back.  Furthermore, considering all the fan content, I got the endings I wanted...dozens of them in fact!  Hundreds more that wait for me as well!

 

Art truly lives in the minds of the fans, as much as the creators.  It's a community effort.  And that's all I'll say about that, lest I begin to "soapbox"...haha!

[Obsidian Gryphon]

I quit Assassin's Creed after the one set in America; it's getting repetitive. I also got bored of the gameplay, protagonists, it's guys all the time and I don't see any difference with each one though I like the twist to the English fellow.

 

I read a few ME fics in the beginning and just lost interest when the fluff keeps going in each chapter. There's one in which I felt the writer had gone overboard; the premise is ridiculous and downright impossible for a human without undergoing a radical genetic transformation (I quit reading). Another was downright gloomy in ending; Shepard committed suicide. I regret reading that. I think I've only read one to completion and enjoyed it. I decided to stop reading other ME fics more than a year ago because I want to concentrate and try to finish up my fic. 

 

While straightening / fleshing out a bit more of the early chapters, I decided to change something to cast a little more shadow to Shepard's state of mind. It was mentioned in later chapters but I think I didn't actually explain what it was except that it's a terrible thing no asari like to talk about. Since nobody is throwing bricks at me, I guess it's ok 

[Obsidian Gryphon]

Life Is Strange Ep 4 continues the trend. I cried, I laughed, I shake my fist at stupidity and I went a little WTF at the end because by then, I was already paranoid.

 

Not going to spoil it but this game is great, the story and chars are engaging and I really look forward to the last ep. I also look forward to LIS 2 since the devs said they're going to make the sequel though with a different cast.

[Seracen]

Gonna have to pick up some Steam point next chance I get, haha!  Work on the comic is progressing nicely.  Getting the screencaps just fine, so far.  Now to figure out whether I'm better off constructing the panels in Photoshop, or getting some specialty software from Office Max.  It's cheap enough, but it is better/easier?

 

And I just realized that all this work has put my writing on hiatus, haha!  Ah well, it isn't like I'm not still working on a project.  I managed to find a way to still work on Mass Effect related stuff too!  Incidentally, I still need practice in posing models and stuff.  I'm considering taking requests for wallpapers from the regulars in this thread.  Dunno if I have the skill to do so yet.  Also, there's the consideration that certain characters and poses are just outside my range from a technical point of view.

 

Ah well, PM me if you're interested.  I make no promises, as I've got a lot of stuff to do on other projects; but perhaps the requests will get the creative juices flowing!

[MrStoob]

Gonna have to pick up some Steam point next chance I get, haha!  Work on the comic is progressing nicely.  Getting the screencaps just fine, so far.  Now to figure out whether I'm better off constructing the panels in Photoshop, or getting some specialty software from Office Max.  It's cheap enough, but it is better/easier?

 

And I just realized that all this work has put my writing on hiatus, haha!  Ah well, it isn't like I'm not still working on a project.  I managed to find a way to still work on Mass Effect related stuff too!  Incidentally, I still need practice in posing models and stuff.  I'm considering taking requests for wallpapers from the regulars in this thread.  Dunno if I have the skill to do so yet.  Also, there's the consideration that certain characters and poses are just outside my range from a technical point of view.

 

Ah well, PM me if you're interested.  I make no promises, as I've got a lot of stuff to do on other projects; but perhaps the requests will get the creative juices flowing!

I've considered doing a comic with Skyrim screen shots.  I spend half my time doing that in Skyrim anyway... lol.  I believe last time I tried that venture I ended up giving up as I wasn't quite as savvy as I am now, so NPCs kept wandering off on me during a 'shoot'.  Nowadays, I can pose 'em with Halos Idles/Pupper Master then freeze 'em in place via the console.   It's bad enough doing mass dance vids; I did one of all the then Bijin Warmaidens+Seranaholic (9 chars IIRC) at the Luxury Suite.  Jeez, it's like trying to control unruly children sometimes!

 

But yea, I've suitable tales to transform into a comic, with a bit of knock-about seaside humour and whatnot.

 

Oh, on which point, I pulled a Skyrim story...  As I said in a previous post, I was trying something a little more 'saucy' but it just wasn't right for me.  I'm editing it a little and going to re-post.  So far it's not actually THAT different, just the odd line here and there to tone it down.  It's the sequel to something which is, as I said, 'knock-about seaside humour' (boob gags and such like) but nothing extreme so it jarred with that if nothing else.  I just felt that the bar was set and as it was early in the tale, the bar could only go higher... if you know what I mean... I don't think anyone wanted that, despite the 2 kudos on the piece.  lol

[Seracen]

I've considered doing a comic with Skyrim screen shots.  I spend half my time doing that in Skyrim anyway... lol.  I believe last time I tried that venture I ended up giving up as I wasn't quite as savvy as I am now, so NPCs kept wandering off on me during a 'shoot'.  Nowadays, I can pose 'em with Halos Idles/Pupper Master then freeze 'em in place via the console.   It's bad enough doing mass dance vids; I did one of all the then Bijin Warmaidens+Seranaholic (9 chars IIRC) at the Luxury Suite.  Jeez, it's like trying to control unruly children sometimes!

 

But yea, I've suitable tales to transform into a comic, with a bit of knock-about seaside humour and whatnot.

 

Oh, on which point, I pulled a Skyrim story...  As I said in a previous post, I was trying something a little more 'saucy' but it just wasn't right for me.  I'm editing it a little and going to re-post.  So far it's not actually THAT different, just the odd line here and there to tone it down.  It's the sequel to something which is, as I said, 'knock-about seaside humour' (boob gags and such like) but nothing extreme so it jarred with that if nothing else.  I just felt that the bar was set and as it was early in the tale, the bar could only go higher... if you know what I mean... I don't think anyone wanted that, despite the 2 kudos on the piece.  lol

 

Sounds interesting, lol.  I don't usually go be Ao3 in regards to feedback, as I rarely get any there.  I haven't ventured far into Skyrim for fanfics, but my surrogate sis has 100's of reviews in that fandom, so I'll have to give it a shot at some point.  I actually have the idea for an Elder Scrolls story rolling around somewhere...but I am debating whether I'm better off re-purposing it into an original story and publishing it.

 

As far as Skyrim machinima and the like, there is a method to extract the models into Texmod, and then convert it into a format that XPS can read.  Unfortunately, I think the intermediary is 3DS Max, which is Greek to me so far.  However, I've seen quite a few XPS conversions, and I've found XPS to be fairly user-friendly.

 

Totally get what you mean about writing outside your comfort zone though.  It can be hit-or-miss, regardless of how it's actually received.

[MrStoob]

In other news... (is that getting old? lol)

 

The 2000AD FB page posted an old Gibson image from their space opera Halo Jones, which made me a little nostalgic.  An absolute classic of a tale about a woman stuck on Earth as an 'Increased Leisure Citizen' (unemployed and treated like cattle) who finds work aboard a ship and her adventures thereafter.  But what I was going to waffle about (yes, it's one of those moments) was one of the supporting characters, 'Glyph'.

 

*Halo Jones spoilers!!!* (just in case)

Halo and her room mate aboard the ship, Toy, become aware that someone else is actually living in their room (Glyph) and they just hadn't noticed before.  Glyph explains that he/she changed gender when the technology became available, then back, then again, so many times she/he can't even remember what his/her original gender was and lost all identity.  So much so that she becomes irrelevant, completely unnoticed by society.  Glyph can do as she/he pleases, lives with families who don't notice another mouth to feed, and stows aboard the ship they're on without even alerting security systems.  When Glyph explains all this, Halo and her room mate have already forgotten about her and are watching vids.  Glyph is, of course, very lonely.  I just thought that was a great idea for a character, as sad as it is.  Glyph dies saving Halo's life from a demented robot dog who thinks he loves her.

"Well at least no-one died today."

[aoibhealfae]

three days to the end of CampNaNo... I suck at this blergh.

 

I think writing dialogues is one of the hardest thing ever. I don't think I have a problem writing descriptive things but dialogues is another monster....

[MrStoob]

three days to the end of CampNaNo... I suck at this blergh.

 

I think writing dialogues is one of the hardest thing ever. I don't think I have a problem writing descriptive things but dialogues is another monster....

I have the opposite 'problem' really.  I find dialogue pretty much flows straight out of the characters' mouths onto the page, whereas descriptive can be more elusive.  I think it can come down to accuracy VS flow, and asking 'does the reader really need to know the details here?'.  Thus it's quite probable that if I look back, some of my passages happen in 'white spaces' because of that.     Or at least 'It's a hospital room. You know what one of them looks like.'

[Seracen]

In other news... (is that getting old? lol)

 

The 2000AD FB page posted an old Gibson image from their space opera Halo Jones, which made me a little nostalgic.  An absolute classic of a tale about a woman stuck on Earth as an 'Increased Leisure Citizen' (unemployed and treated like cattle) who finds work aboard a ship and her adventures thereafter.  But what I was going to waffle about (yes, it's one of those moments) was one of the supporting characters, 'Glyph'.

 

*Halo Jones spoilers!!!* (just in case)

Halo and her room mate aboard the ship, Toy, become aware that someone else is actually living in their room (Glyph) and they just hadn't noticed before.  Glyph explains that he/she changed gender when the technology became available, then back, then again, so many times she/he can't even remember what his/her original gender was and lost all identity.  So much so that she becomes irrelevant, completely unnoticed by society.  Glyph can do as she/he pleases, lives with families who don't notice another mouth to feed, and stows aboard the ship they're on without even alerting security systems.  When Glyph explains all this, Halo and her room mate have already forgotten about her and are watching vids.  Glyph is, of course, very lonely.  I just thought that was a great idea for a character, as sad as it is.  Glyph dies saving Halo's life from a demented robot dog who thinks he loves her.

"Well at least no-one died today."

 

Interesting.  Sounds like something that one would see in an episode of Twlight Zone or Outer Limits.  Actually, the initial premise sounds like a comic I once read in Heavy Metal.

 

three days to the end of CampNaNo... I suck at this blergh.

 

I think writing dialogues is one of the hardest thing ever. I don't think I have a problem writing descriptive things but dialogues is another monster....

 

You know, I think it totally depends on the characters and the writer.  I found it easier to write dialogue for characters after doing a worksheet on them (what are their wants/fears/desires/regrets, what would they say to their younger selves after the story was done, etc).  I was able to make choices and do things I'd not originally have considered.

 

In regards to dialogue itself, it's a bit of a switch for me.  I used to prefer writing action scenes.  Nowadays, I prefer writing dialogues (b/c that's where most of my drama exposition is done, and I find that more engaging than I once found the fight scenes).  Descriptive writing is also hit or miss, but my relationship with it hasn't changed much over the years.

 

Having said all that, it's entirely possible that my preferences will change when I start writing another story, haha!  Best of luck in writing camp!

[aoibhealfae]

I used to write a LOT of scientific articles or article critics for school/uni... fiction is the enjoyable outlet but I'm still trying to get a hand on writing dialogues. Probably because I'm not a social person myself and in real life, English is a mess of linguistic patois mixed with other languages. I could hardly use any of that in writing unless I'm doing an ethnography. Most of the time I watch movies and tv series and read postmodern lit just to get the right narrative feel for dialogues.

 

cries.... 

 

but this is because I'm trying to write the story continuously from the beginning instead scene by scene. Its very easy to free write but harder if you want to write the story consistently. I'll post some chapters later when I'm done with the second arc. 

[MrStoob]

I pretty much picked up my writing with the fan fics, school writing notwithstanding (which was a long time ago for me to be honest).  I'm 'lucky' in that I've always been a good user of English, and not just because I'm English, which obviously helps in the beginning.  I wasn't even sure what it was I wanted to write until I started putting fingers to keys (pen to paper as t'were) but dialogue seems to be what I enjoy most, and (I think...) what one of my strong points is.  Sometimes I feel compelled to put some descriptor in because the chapter's beginning to look like a script rather than a book.  lol

[Obsidian Gryphon]

I'm getting sidetracked by my togrutan JK.   Doesn't look like I'll be poking with my fic any time soon.

 

Spoiler

  Spoiler tags so the images don't blow this section up

[MrStoob]

I'm getting sidetracked by my togrutan JK.   Doesn't look like I'll be poking with my fic any time soon.

*snip*

Is that from a game or a source creation or something?  And who doesn't like the twi'lek?  

 

I'm perpetually interrupted in one hobby or creative venture by another.  Skyrim modding (just updating character appearance) is my thing at the mo, which gets in the way of writing and music.  That said, they do inspire each other so there is that.  Like I made a vampire character for Skyrim and while deciding on her background/persona, was inspired to write her tale which is halted, because I have music and mod stuff I want to do... lol