Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[UselessBytes]

Does anyone here use a specialized word processor like Scrivener around here? I've been using Word for all my stories, but the level of organization possible with Scrivener is really tempting.

I just use google docs

 

[TRNatalie]

Does anyone here use a specialized word processor like Scrivener around here? I've been using Word for all my stories, but the level of organization possible with Scrivener is really tempting.

I use Google Docs. I don't know if that's the best word processor around but it's accessible on Phone which is the only reason I've been able to do as much for my story at the moment.

 

[diamondpearl876]

I once tried to use Excel to make really fancy, detailed notes for Phantom Project because my Microsoft Word notes were becoming far too scrambled, but I ended up scrapping the spreadsheets eventually. Haphazard notes in which I have to ctrl+f to find anything are the only kind for me, apparently, though for Phantom Project I do have a slightly organized Tumblr with tags to help me filter through and find stuff that I consult occasionally.

 

[Misfit Angel]

EditPlus is what I use. It's basically Notepad, but with tons and tons of features aimed primarily at programmers. I don't use a lot of the features, but it has a built in spell checker, a way to minimize information blocks, etc. The only thing it truly lacks is on the fly formatting like bold and italics.

 

[lucarioknight56]

Scrivener has a bunch of organizational applications, like being able to group all of your chapters into one file, then access them at will. You can add notes to the sides, indicating where you need to make edits or other such things. There's even a notecard simulator, where you can take plot points and other important things and connect them together. Character and worldbuilding files are also grouped in their own sections too. It acts as a browser of sorts for your story, so that you can open as many files as you need within the program. It's supposed to be able to have all sorts of text options too. If that doesn't sound nice for writing, I don't know what does.

Edit: It costs a tad bit ($40), but it could be worthwhile. It'd sure save me a lot of hassle for my final PMD story, Unequivocant, so that I can plan things out better while I write it.

 

[diamondpearl876]

Have you tried a demo for it? That's a lot of money for a writing program you might not potentially like, though for what it's worth, I've heard nothing but good things about Scrivener! It's just not my thing, personally.

 

[lucarioknight56]

There is a free month trial for it. Certainly worth a try though.

 

[kintsugi]

I use Word. @diamondpearl876 and I tried google docs for a hot sec and things backfired hilariously quickly.

 

[diamondpearl876]

I use Word. @diamondpearl876 and I tried google docs for a hot sec and things backfired hilariously quickly.

Yeahhh, I am very GoogleDocs illiterate... There's evidence floating out there proving this. I am ashamed.

 

[Misfit Angel]

I use Word. @diamondpearl876 and I tried google docs for a hot sec and things backfired hilariously quickly.

Something tells me this wasn't something that could be blamed squarely on Google Docs.

 

[diamondpearl876]

Something tells me this wasn't something that could be blamed squarely on Google Docs.

You're right. I blame memes. Blaming memes is always the answer tbh

 

[CrystaI]

One problem in using GoogleDoc, is that you need to connect to the internet every single second, and internet for me is too much of a distraction...

That's why I choose Microsoft Word.

 

[canisaries]

google docs comes with the annoying effect of all newlines being duplicated upon copypasting to the bulba text field. luckily, i'm a woman of the future and have written a simple python program to automate the deletion of the extra newlines.

might not only be gdocs that has that effect, but it's the only one i've used so far.

 

[UselessBytes]

God dang why is all the music in Explorers so freaking good

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Speaking of Explorers... recently, I've rekindled my idea of a video about my problems with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon as a whole. I've finally figured out my problem: every game (except the WiiWare games, which we don't talk about, and have little plot to speak of anyway) has poor pacing and a passive protagonist.

Every game begins the same way. Your protagonist wakes up, befriends the first Pokémon they see, then they faff around for a while, with vague hints at whatever's threatening the world, until the conflict comes to them a few hours in. The story is also bogged down by the repetitive and pause-filled dialogue. The protagonist lacks agency because Chunsoft always try too hard to make them a player surrogate, even though the protagonist of Explorers has a defined backstory. And what's the point of making all the protagonists "silent" if they internally monologue anyway?

I'll be comparing the series to the following games: (in order of release)

• Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil - The plots of Klonoa games are like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon plots before Pokémon Mystery Dungeon existed. Klonoa is a player surrogate who has a personality of his own, and all of the major characters are introduced in one cutscene. The conflict and goal (there's a vague threat that will be explained later, go and collect the four mystical doodads to stop it) are set up in one cutscene after the second level.
• Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia - Like Super Mystery Dungeon, it begins with a school. Unlike Super, the school portion goes on for one hour instead of seven, every character introduced there remains important, and it's directly linked to what the protagonist will be doing for the rest of the game.
• The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - A few years ago, I was playing this and Explorers at the same time, and was amazed at how quickly the cutscenes in Spirit Tracks went. The characters actually DO THINGS instead of just standing there gawking and repeating everything. While Link is the quintessential silent protagonist, he's very expressive and has some sense of agency.

None of these games are perfect, of course - Klonoa 2's English translation leaves a lot to be desired, Shadows of Almia's cutscenes drag on for as long as PMD's do, and there's no plot progression at all in Spirit Tracks between the first and third dungeons - but they're still good for comparison.

How about in the next PMD game, the protagonist actively seeks out answers as to why they became a Pokémon, right from the start of the game?

A couple more things:

1. It's not your aesthetics, it's what you do with them. Gates to Infinity is a fine-looking game, but the character models don't emote at all. One thing Pokémon Mystery Dungeon IS good at, though, is having music that not only sounds good, but also has thematic significance.
2. In my opinion, a good story-driven game is one that would still be fun to play without the story. I finished Children of Mana just to see if they'd ever explain what the "cataclysm" mentioned in the backstory was (spoiler alert: they didn't), which wasn't fun.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Guess who's back, back again
Acey's back, tell a friend
Guess who's back, guess who's back
Guess who's back, guess who's back

In simpler terms: hello all.

 

[Beth Pavell]

While Link is the quintessential silent protagonist, he's very expressive and has some sense of agency.

That, right there, is why I prefer little toon Link to the big bishie version. He actually has more than about four facial expressions - dear Hylia, Twilight Princess Link was a big offender

 

[UselessBytes]

That, right there, is why I prefer little toon Link to the big bishie version. He actually has more than about four facial expressions - dear Hylia, Twilight Princess Link was a big offender

Toon link best link

I might be biased seeing as phantom hourglass is my second favorite game of all time, but this is basically my opinion too. (Ironically, my least favorite Zelda is TP, what tons of others consider to be the best of the best)

 

[Nitro Indigo]

@UselessBytes I like both games!

What does everyone here think of my points for the video I'm going to make, though?

I think Cars 2 might be my metaphorical arch-nemesis. I want to like it, but I can never run out of ways to express why it doesn't work. I want to learn from it, instead of yelling "toy commercial!" from the rooftops to please the masses.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I might be biased seeing as phantom hourglass is my second favorite game of all time, but this is basically my opinion too. (Ironically, my least favorite Zelda is TP, what tons of others consider to be the best of the best)

It's not quite so prevalent in Breath of the Wild, but it's still there - Link as a beautiful blank. The various toon links react in a kind of silent cartoon way, on the exaggerated side, but you get some kind of personality coming through there.

I liked Twilight Princess a lot, but not for Link. Let's see, he has his neutral stare. His smiley face. His scowly face. And. Erm ... oh, yes, I think there was a shocked face in there as well