NaNo Day 1/30

[keiliss]

End of Day 1 and I feel, as I told Huin, like it's first day back at the gym. It HURTS. Tomorrow will be worse. Next week will be better (I hope) It doesn't help that the first couple of scenes are necessary rather than exciting to explore, but as I've never been able to write unconnected sections of a story and join the bits after, I'm stuck with it *g*.

I'll update Sundays, which is the day I've picked on my (purple and yellow, very restful) NaNo calendar for my weekly targets. Tonight's just because it's the first day and a good place to start the tag.

1893 / 50000
(3.79%)

Used LJ's beta friends page today. They're wrong, you know - I won't get used to it. If I dislike Tumblr, imagine how much I hate this thing? Guess where I'm posting from? :)

Comments

[minuial_nuwing]

**cheers the beginning** You are a brave woman. ;)

I'm over here decorating. :P Hate the 'friends feed' idiocy. HATE IT.

**hugs**

[keiliss]

Don't know about brave. Lindir has Intentions, Glorfindel is hinting at a devious streak, and Gildor will be inviting himself to the party, he says. I think I should run for my life from this monster!

I'm also playing over here *g*. I even bought 2 months paid time so I could have the same icons both sides and spent ages looking for a skin. Now if they'd just fix my comments...

I cannot believe what they're doing to LJ. It feels like an April Fool's joke, but it isn't.

[minuial_nuwing]

I think I may have to buy a couple months, too, just to move my little twins in and get the feel of the place.

I wish they would stop fooling with LJ, but if they don't I hope the people who matter can reconvene over here!

[scarlet10]

I am following your footsteps in answering.
Not a clue is this gets also to LJ comments.

Anyway, good luck with nano.

[keiliss]

Oh, hey, you're over here too? That's great :) And thank you - I need another day or two but I'm starting to slide back into the story.

[tuxedo_elf]

I tried the new feed, it broke my LJ. Freezes up and crashes. So I'm slowly starting to move everything over to DW.

Good luck with NaNo! I haven't even managed to finish the Amras fic yet. lol.

[keiliss]

Oh I wish you'd go on with the Amras fic, it's unusual and I liked what I read.

Laptop's not happy and my little, baby netbook cries and crashes the browser at the new friends feed and my internet connection isn't too fond of it either. I notice mood themes don't work on it either. I think that was the last straw for me. I love my old say_aye mood themes.

[tuxedo_elf]

Oh I am working on it. Just really, really slowly. Maybe I should set myself a deadline!

Glad it's not just my computer that can't cope. I might have got over the sheer ugliness of it, but I can't keep fighting with the constant freezing and crashing. Need to get in the habit of posting here instead though!

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the venture. But you are an old hand at this by now.

I agree with you on the friend page. My problem is that I am not wild about Dreamwidth either. And I have a paid LJ account for the moment anyway. Boohoo!

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

Thank you :) I wrote and I wrote and then I checked and found I'd done barely 300 words --- so not used to this, lol!

I'm currently having a small technical problem with DW and they don't have quite the selection of styles LJ does (did?), but I'm very impressed by their attitude and the way they interact with their user base. I even bought 2 months paid time(no small thing when you're on the wrong end of a 8.7 - 1 exchange rate) so I could load all my icons and get a sense for how I like using the site more regularly. I have about half a year left of my paid LJ time, after which I'll see. I just find their manner very unsatisfactory - very my 'my way or the highway'.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

LJ is delusional and has a terrible business sense as well. They are providing a service and had a base a one time which they have driven away by their policies. They think they are clever, but their user base is declining because of them trying to court the wrong users instead of pleasing the people who liked being here and do not want to use it as though it were Facebook, or Twitter, or Tumblr. I have all of those and use them spottily for what they are intended to be used for. LJ is my writing journal which I want to share with like-minded friends.

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

Facebook is where I keep up with family (like most South Africans, I have family all over the world), Twitter I follow on my phone, but never tweet, lol, and Tumblr is the thing I tried and did not like. LJ has been my fandom home since 2004, somewhere that I could dress up to reflect my mood or the season and where I come to write or read or just touch sides with people I like.. I am outraged that they want to turn it into a pale copy of Tumblr. I have no idea who this is meant to be pleasing (ONTD?) Apparently the Russian user base isn't happy about this either, so they are ticking off everyone and seem not to give a damn about the consequences.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to say that ONTD occurred to me! One very popular site! It's ridiculous.

I just learned how to change by header on my page! How dare they!

I have been ranting on their threads also. The bums!

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Good luck! Some scenes just flow while others feel like getting blood from stones I've found.

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

Thanks :) I am terribly impatient about setting things up - blood from stones sums today up really well, lol. Kind of 'Are we there yet?!'

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Well I know the feeling LOL!

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I feel extremely fortunate that I can and do jump from POV to POV and from timescape to timescape. I am writing this in chunks and they are starting to join together but it's a crazy project and I won't know how good or bad things are until it is over. I know you'll do great.

As for LJ-s beta friends page - it TOTALLY SUCKS! I absolutely HATE it. (Strong feelings, yeah?) I've commented negatively to them on every forum I can find. How could they ruin something so badly?

- Erulisse (one L)
jumping backflips for your NaNo success

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

Great work on your good start! That is such a confidence booster, isn't it? :) I've tried the 'do the bits that talk loudest first' approach, but it's counter intuitive to how I write. I (usually) know where I'm going but haven't a clue about the details, and if I jump ahead and find the answers I lose interest. Following the trail to the end works best for me.... just days like today I can do without *g*.

I can't believe what they're doing to LJ. I can even less believe the way they're doing it. I've worked with the public in one way or another my entire working life, and this is just not how you treat your customers!

[engarian.livejournal.com]

Thanks :-) Everybody writes differently. I usually move from point A to point B in a straight line. I'm using the software to allow me to jump from scene to scene and chapter to chapter and I'm liking the way it's allowing me to work on this novel.

I hate what they're doing to LJ. I noticed that they're back peddling a bit, but I still hate it and have let them know once again *sigh*. If I gave customer service like this I wouldn't have any customers (although there certainly are times when I can be a total snark).

- Erulisse (one L)

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

So it's like writing lots of scenes and snapshot ficcies out of context and later joining them up and making them into a single entity? Interesting. Not easy with a character-driven storyline but if it's mainly plot with a very solid outline I can see how it would work. Sort of like putting a puzzle together at the end and smoothing the edges?

They are back pedalling a bit: we will now be able to turn the scrolling off and use our own background image --- what does that even mean? I've been in jobs where I'd have received a written warning for attitude like theirs.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

I think of it more like movie filming. Although I sometimes will do several scenes in a row, I'm just as apt to skip to a scene ahead or behind just to allow myself to get the setup prepped where I want to move next. In the editing room I will do the daily rushes and the final edits, coming out with something that is theatre quality and, hopefully, won't just go immediately to RedBox.

I still hate the new friends page. My own background image. I'm afraid to tweak it at all at this point for fear that I can't return to the old format which I love. ARGH!

5876 words so far...

- Erulisse (one L)

[melusine6619.livejournal.com]

Excellent start! I'm sure you'll be in the swing of things soon. Go you!

*hugs*

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

Have to sleep, get up, do it all again tomorrow. Oh dear! LOL!

Thank you, Mel :) *hugs*

[spiced-wine.livejournal.com]

Best of luck. I admire any-one who does NaNo, though it seems like an alien world to me.

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

You write with so much love and respect for your story and characters that I can imagine rushing an idea out like this would seem utterly foreign, lol. It's not something I'd do every year because I mostly like to take my time and enjoy what I'm writing, but NaNo's taught me some good lessons about trusting my instincts and finding ways to push through a block if I have to.

I'm not a competitive writer - I've never got how that works - but it feels good to push hard now and then, to see if I've grown and find what's hiding in the weirder corners of my mind. The first part of this story, also written for NaNo, ended up winning a MEFA, so I suppose some part of me's curious to see if the second part holds together or if that was chance.

Eish, sorry, I'm rambling, lol. Thanks for the good wishes, love :)

*hugs*

[spiced-wine.livejournal.com]

Ramble away! (: If NaNo has taught you to trust your instincts and work through blocks, then that of itself is a good reason to do it.

it feels good to push hard now and then, to see if I've grown and find what's hiding in the weirder corners of my mind.

There is this about writing a lot, and fast: sometimes it's better not to over-think and over-analyze. While I went from hammering through stories to the slow lane, to spend more time picking flowers, I do miss the rush at times, because I didn't slow down enough to doubt things. It's like writing in 'the zone'. Almost impossible now, since I need a good run-up, and working on three stories now, I don't get that time.

You write with so much love and respect for your story and characters that I can imagine rushing an idea out like this would seem utterly foreign, lol.

We all write with love and respect I think, or at least the authors I follow. I do not fall in love with plots when reading, but I do fall for characters (:

[chaotic-binky.livejournal.com]

I am cheerleading from the side here - you can do it :D

My bigbang is very slow - unlike me.

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

Thank you :)

Your Big Bang is a really big, intricate story. I can imagine it taking some time to sort itself out for you. Mine will have to wait till after November now - poor thing, written straight after NaNo, lol!

Please remind me about ten days before my ficcie's due for your awards. I'm worried I'll forget. I have an idea outlined but haven't written it up yet.

[chaotic-binky.livejournal.com]

It is due by the end of November :D