10369 réponses à ce sujet

[Sandtigress]

I think we even have evidence in game of them not being too strict about it - the keeper's first usually comes from the best and purest blood but Lanaya was able to become first because of her persistence, hard work, and talent. It doesn't seem to me that they have much trouble accepting other bloodlines into the clans.

[mousestalker]

I'm guessing the Dalish are too close the edge to be overly picky about blood lines. Having a good, competent Keeper probably outweighs heritage.

[nos_astra]

I love the idea of some clans being very purist while others waren more pragmatic.



The clan names, however, make no sense. Even Mahariel doesn't sound Elvish to me (or am I wrong, is Elvish based on Hebrew?).

[Shadow of Light Dragon]

@klarabella - I looked up 'Adaia' recently (CE elf's mother), and the guide I referred to said it was of Hebrew origin. Shianni (from Shani?) is Hebrew.



I don't know if that and Mahariel are a convincing argument for elvish at large, however. And some of the names (like Valendrian) are clearly made up.

[Miri1984]

So, was watching the wonderful Payroo's livestreaming today and the thought occurred to me that you could livestream the writing process as well . It would be pretty hilarious from my point of view (for example, at the moment I'm working on my next Blood Wound chapter, but in the past ten minutes I've written two sentences, looked up the spelling of a word, checked the Anders thread, gone back to old fics to check continuity, looked at the wiki, and then come here to write my thoughts) but it would also be pretty telling. I'd love to know if there are people out there who can write a whole chapter at a sit down without being distracted. There are times when a chapter just flows for me and I don't stop writing, but they're few and far between.



I don't imagine it would ever be as interesting as watching an artwork go from lines to full colour and awesomeness, but I still think it would be quite fun

[Maria13]

Habren or Hafren is Welsh...

[Maria13]

Miri1984 wrote...

So, was watching the wonderful Payroo's livestreaming today and the thought occurred to me that you could livestream the writing process as well . It would be pretty hilarious from my point of view (for example, at the moment I'm working on my next Blood Wound chapter, but in the past ten minutes I've written two sentences, looked up the spelling of a word, checked the Anders thread, gone back to old fics to check continuity, looked at the wiki, and then come here to write my thoughts) but it would also be pretty telling. I'd love to know if there are people out there who can write a whole chapter at a sit down without being distracted. There are times when a chapter just flows for me and I don't stop writing, but they're few and far between.

I don't imagine it would ever be as interesting as watching an artwork go from lines to full colour and awesomeness, but I still think it would be quite fun

I do exactly the same and feel guilty about it.

[catabuca]

Wow, the discussion that's come out of the Mahariel thing is really interesting, I'm glad I asked

You guys seem to know a lot more about various sources than I do ... I suppose my knowledge will grow as I get more into the writing though.

Interesting you should bring up the 'purist' versus 'not quite so purist' clan idea though; the overarching themes I wanted to explore throughout my story was about a clash of tradition and more 'modern' attitudes, with some of the younger generation representing a move toward more shared interests with humans, but looking at the complex problems and conflict such a move would entail. It's not a simple case of 'traditional' = 'backward' and 'modern' = 'progressive'; there are good things and not so good things about both, and no easy path toward an ideal future. I'm exploring those shades of grey ... of course, by way of lots of hot steamy elf sex.



*ahem*

[mousestalker]

{Narcissism}
I've spent a fair amount of time whinging here, so I thought I'd post when I'm happy about writing.

Currently I have my main story which is coming along nicely. The primary characters are fleeing for their lives, so they can not amble off and get sidetracked. There's some more character development coming, but it's in the context of 'ohmigawd we're gonna die' so they can't derail me there either. I have a simply delicious side project started by a prompt from Corker (Lily as a Mickey Spillane character) that's made me laugh several times (always good). I'm leisurely filling a prompt on kmeme that has also made me laugh. And I have a backlog of story ideas and character sketches that will easily keep me busy for the next few years.

If I'm not writing Nobel Prize stuff, I'm also not humiliating myself too badly. The only real fly in the ointment is that I came up with a great character idea in the shower, but I'm not sure how to fit her in a story and I don't know when I'll have time.

Still, I'm free all day today from when we get back from church. I have to do laundry, but that's a great fit with writing. Just start a load, fix some tea and settle down and watch the snow melt, then write, write, write if all goes according to plan.
{/Narcissism}

[mousestalker]

Also, given the Hebraic origins of the Dalish clan names, I am so going to have to play a mage named Orli Surana through the Mage origin at the very least.

[Creature 1]

mousestalker wrote...
I have a simply delicious side project started by a prompt from Corker (Lily as a Mickey Spillane character) that's made me laugh several times (always good).

Good, I must see more of Chilly Lily!  

[errant_knight]

Miri1984 wrote...

So, was watching the wonderful Payroo's livestreaming today and the thought occurred to me that you could livestream the writing process as well . It would be pretty hilarious from my point of view (for example, at the moment I'm working on my next Blood Wound chapter, but in the past ten minutes I've written two sentences, looked up the spelling of a word, checked the Anders thread, gone back to old fics to check continuity, looked at the wiki, and then come here to write my thoughts) but it would also be pretty telling. I'd love to know if there are people out there who can write a whole chapter at a sit down without being distracted. There are times when a chapter just flows for me and I don't stop writing, but they're few and far between.

I don't imagine it would ever be as interesting as watching an artwork go from lines to full colour and awesomeness, but I still think it would be quite fun

I usually write for a minimum of 3-4 hours at a time without doing other things. Well, I'll get up for a soda or 'necessary' breaks. I can't actually write if I have to stop, and will wait until I can be uninterrupted. I find it way easier and don't have to do as many rewrites. On the weekends I've written for 12  hours on occasion without realizing it. Except for the results of sitting that long on a really crappy chair, of course.

Modifié par errant_knight, 17 janvier 2011 - 07:09 .

[Addai]

Shadow of Light Dragon wrote...

@klarabella - I looked up 'Adaia' recently (CE elf's mother), and the guide I referred to said it was of Hebrew origin. Shianni (from Shani?) is Hebrew.

DA elves do remind me of medieval Jewish history somewhat.  And the city elf origin always makes me think of Fiddler on the Roof.

[Miri1984]

@Errant Knight Nowadays uninterrupted writing time is like gold dust for me, so I grab what I can. sometimes it's only two minute bursts. But do you stop to look up stuff or check chapter outlines or anything? That's what I'd be interested in seeing - what references people use when they write.

[errant_knight]

Miri1984 wrote...

@Errant Knight Nowadays uninterrupted writing time is like gold dust for me, so I grab what I can. sometimes it's only two minute bursts. But do you stop to look up stuff or check chapter outlines or anything? That's what I'd be interested in seeing - what references people use when they write.

Nope. If I have to research something, I do it beforehand, then just sit down and write the chapter. I don't do outlines, although I have a notion in my head. Thing is, if I figure stuff out, I end up chucking it once the characters start talking and acting half the time anyway. And I've found that if I plan things out too much I end up trying to force things that I want them to say/do, rather than what arises out of events or interactions.

Sometimes I do IM LadyD for a name I've forgotten or some such thing, though. Oh, wait. I lie. I've had to google a couple of times, once to see what the part of the castle my character was walking on was called, and once to find out a heraldry term for a shield description, but usually, I'm just writing. I'm not counting looking things up on the encarta thesaurus, that's just part of writing.

I'd like to write when I don't have that much time, believe me, I just can't get in the characters heads and stay there the way I need to if I can't concentrate, and if I know I only have a little time, I can't seem to do that.

Modifié par errant_knight, 17 janvier 2011 - 07:39 .

[Miri1984]

*nodnod* I know what you mean. Unfortunately for me not having time to write is like locking my characters up in solitary. They beat at the walls of my mind until I can sit down and let stuff be written, so finding SOME time to write during the day is completely necessary, otherwise I go nuts Short bursts of freedom are better than nothing!

[catabuca]

I've found outlining really useful this time around. In the past when I've tried to write I've come to a stop because I hit an awkward spot and can't move on.

My current chapter, for example -- I knew what would happen in the scene almost entirely, but don't have all the dialogue sorted in my head or whatever. So I quickly sketched out key moments in chronological order, adding any 'proper' writing as it came to me while I went along. Now I'm at the stage where I'm essentially filling in the gaps, writing around what I have, etc. There will be elements of the outline that make it into the finished chapter, but I expect most of it, because it's such scrappy writing and full of notes to myself, won't. But that's fine, because it's there as a guide to help me along.

Then there's the larger story outline, that I keep in a separate document, and that gets added to as and when I have ideas about other scenes I want to have happen. At the moment because I'm only at the beginning of the story, it's combined with other things that keep my mind on track, like snippets of dialogue that I know, for example, I want Alistair to say to Zevran, but probably not for another 10 chapters or whatever. It also at the moment includes relationships (platonic, romantic and physical) as I envisage them developing, but of course all that is subject to change as the characters grow through the story.

I expect that once I get more writing under my belt and have a better understanding of where it's going, that overarching outline will be split up into separate documents -- one for general outline, another for relationships, another for dialogue ideas, scene sketches, etc. Not quite there yet though.

Do you all prefer any specific writing software? Until last year I wrote everything in Word, but I found Scrivener (Mac) and after using it to write a 25k academic piece I realised how great it was. There's a beta version for windows atm, not as fully-featured as the Mac version, but I hear it's good. It keeps all your research, notes, web references, picture references etc. in one project accessible via the 'binder', so you have everything there in front of you, can split-screen if you want, use keywords, compile for printing, whatever. I wouldn't be without it now.

[Maria13]

I research as I go along. I'm probably a bit ADD and so quite distractable but this way of working seems to suit me.

General outline is in my head. Recently, I've just made a basic list at the end of my text as to the things I want to cover so I don't overlook anything. I copy paste background research stuff into another document and if I feel compelled to write ahead, like sometimes I do, that goes in yet another doc...

Scrivener sounds good...

Modifié par Maria13, 17 janvier 2011 - 08:04 .

[catabuca]

I think the good thing about Scrivener (I'm not affiliated btw, just a happy user ) is that it's all there in front of you. Rather than having to open new documents in new windows or tabs, it's there in one window and you can switch between everything by clicking on it's name on the left, or have 2 things open at once split screen. And in the draft section, it encourages you to split your scenes or chapters up, and makes it easy to swap their order around.

I'm waffling - tis very good, anyway

[mousestalker]

I generally write everything into a black 'n red notebook, then revise and then type into OpenOffice writer, save as an rtf and post.



An office supply place that I haunt ordered a huge supply of the notebooks then found out that there is a difference between A4 and 8&1/2x11. They didn't sell, so they kept marking them down. I bought a huge number of them dirt cheap. Since it's for personal writing and not work, the size difference is actually a boon and not a hindrance.



Office supply stores and bakeries are my kryptonite.

[LupusYondergirl]

I don't think I could get into specialized software. I'm pretty attached to Word, though. It's gotten me through every paper I've ever written, my thesis, and half a million words of fanfic. (plus buying something else after how much I paid for Office makes my purse hurt)
I have writing ADD. Chapters are always left sitting open, I might pop in for a bit and add a paragraph or two, or I might sit down and write for an hour. I rarely do more than an hour uninterrupted, though. It's either bouncing back and forth between looking at something online, playing a game (I write mostly on my laptop but I have a desktop for gaming, so I sometimes have both going at once. My roommate makes fun of me), or stuff around the house. Put dinner on, write a couple pages, check dinner, write more, eat dinner, write more. That kind of thing.
I have the attention span of a gnat most of the time, though.
I use one massive file for each fic and will write ahead in the same document. Once a chapter is done I'll open a new document and paste it into that for saving and uploading.

(also, it is so cold I'm debating leaving the water running before I leave so my pipes don't freeze. Our heat is working but in a 100 year old building there's only so much the heat can do when it's below 0 outside...)

Modifié par LupusYondergirl, 17 janvier 2011 - 02:59 .

[Maria13]

LupusYondergirl wrote...

I don't think I could get into specialized software. I'm pretty attached to Word, though. It's gotten me through every paper I've ever written, my thesis, and half a million words of fanfic. (plus buying something else after how much I paid for Office makes my purse hurt)
I have writing ADD. Chapters are always left sitting open, I might pop in for a bit and add a paragraph or two, or I might sit down and write for an hour. I rarely do more than an hour uninterrupted, though. It's either bouncing back and forth between looking at something online, playing a game (I write mostly on my laptop but I have a desktop for gaming, so I sometimes have both going at once. My roommate makes fun of me), or stuff around the house. Put dinner on, write a couple pages, check dinner, write more, eat dinner, write more. That kind of thing.
I have the attention span of a gnat most of the time, though.
I use one massive file for each fic and will write ahead in the same document. Once a chapter is done I'll open a new document and paste it into that for saving and uploading.

(also, it is so cold I'm debating leaving the water running before I leave so my pipes don't freeze. Our heat is working but in a 100 year old building there's only so much the heat can do when it's below 0 outside...)

Yep, this is very much my own style except I do it all on my desk-top, write, research, check FF states, check BSN etc

I also have one master file and the split up the chapters for publishing.

[Raonar]

I pretty much do the same Word thing, only I have multiple master files (Part 1 through 6 so far). I usually start a new document when the current one nears 200 pages

[Mahkara]

Miri1984 wrote...

I'd love to know if there are people out there who can write a whole chapter at a sit down without being distracted. There are times when a chapter just flows for me and I don't stop writing, but they're few and far between.

I don't imagine it would ever be as interesting as watching an artwork go from lines to full colour and awesomeness, but I still think it would be quite fun

My writing process varies so much from day to day, depending on my mood, the subject, etc.

I've sat down and written 15K words in a sitting.  Even 20K.  It's rarely, but I can do it. (Then I have to edit out 90% of it, as usually it's crap, but that's another story.)  There are days when I can barely force myself to write a sentence.  Others where I just sit there fussing over each word.  So it depends. 

No matter what it is, I usually completely rewrite it at least once.  Sometimes far more.  (I think I rewrote one chapter 10 times. Yes. 10.  Like every word was completely redone.)  I tend to cut a lot too (as much as 95% of what I write).  TBH, I think that this process would be far more interesting to watch (for someone) than watching me type...

In fact, I actually really like seeing rough drafts, edit markings (along with concrit), then final revisions for good writers.  It gives me an idea as to what they see as being wrong with their writing, and what others see as off.  It's a really useful tool, and I sort of wish that there were more public concrits out there just as it's a super helpful learning experience.

[Miri1984]

Mmm, actually very tempted by Scrivener - I shall look into it.



Thanks for responding everyone - it's very interesting reading how everyone does things!