Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[Arkadelphiak]

YOOOOOOOO

TODAY IS MY FIRST BULBAVERSARY AND I GOT BEST NEWCOMER

BEST DAY EVER

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

I second Lugion's point. One doesn't have to have been declared the single best in order to be good at something. I'm still not absolutely sure how the awards system works, but the fact that some people voted for your work in the first place shows that it must be good. I checked the voting thread again now and, if I'm interpretting it properly, there were multiple stories by other authors in that category that weren't voted through, while one of your works was. So you could take that as a vote of confidence at least.

And as you said, you've won some awards in the past. Even if that was with the help of a co-author, that doesn't make the award all their doing - did you or did you not still have a significant role in the writing? Of course you did, so there's nothing wrong with taking some credit for it. A phrase (one that I admittedly don't like much) that springs to mind is "there's no 'I' in team" - that means it's not all the other person either.

All of us are flawed writers in one way or another - that will always be so, but that's not to say we can't get better. You say you've been writing for six years? Then compare your work now to something you wrote six years ago. No doubt there's clear improvement. I don't claim to know how much attention you've put into researching writing technique and suchlike, or if you've just kept writing and let the practice work for itself over this time, there will be some improvement. If you're not satisfied with how much you've improved, try some other methods of refining your technique. If you don't read many online writing articles, read some more. If you don't get enough practice, write something random to try to improve your weaker areas. Say, you expressed concern over your characters - so maybe try to write a short piece based around characters and their interactions. All easier said than done, of course, but anything's better than giving up. If you're feeling discouraged at the moment, do something else for a bit, and give it some time. Then get back to writing once you feel a bit better about it.

Well, I hope that was helpful, and I wasn't just rambling nonsense, or being overly preachy which it did feel like at times. The main point is, Kelleo, you are not a bad writer. I've read some of your work, and it definitely shows creativity and promise. So don't let one award dissuade you.

 

[jackatlasred]

Hmm awards really don't matter to me. I really love writing, and I like that other people like writing. An award really feels nice, but knowing people are reading what you wrote makes me feel the best.

 

[Kelleo]

I second Lugion's point. One doesn't have to have been declared the single best in order to be good at something. I'm still not absolutely sure how the awards system works, but the fact that some people voted for your work in the first place shows that it must be good. I checked the voting thread again now and, if I'm interpretting it properly, there were multiple stories by other authors in that category that weren't voted through, while one of your works was. So you could take that as a vote of confidence at least.

And as you said, you've won some awards in the past. Even if that was with the help of a co-author, that doesn't make the award all their doing - did you or did you not still have a significant role in the writing? Of course you did, so there's nothing wrong with taking some credit for it. A phrase (one that I admittedly don't like much) that springs to mind is "there's no 'I' in team" - that means it's not all the other person either.

All of us are flawed writers in one way or another - that will always be so, but that's not to say we can't get better. You say you've been writing for six years? Then compare your work now to something you wrote six years ago. No doubt there's clear improvement. I don't claim to know how much attention you've put into researching writing technique and suchlike, or if you've just kept writing and let the practice work for itself over this time, there will be some improvement. If you're not satisfied with how much you've improved, try some other methods of refining your technique. If you don't read many online writing articles, read some more. If you don't get enough practice, write something random to try to improve your weaker areas. Say, you expressed concern over your characters - so maybe try to write a short piece based around characters and their interactions. All easier said than done, of course, but anything's better than giving up. If you're feeling discouraged at the moment, do something else for a bit, and give it some time. Then get back to writing once you feel a bit better about it.

Well, I hope that was helpful, and I wasn't just rambling nonsense, or being overly preachy which it did feel like at times. The main point is, Kelleo, you are not a bad writer. I've read some of your work, and it definitely shows creativity and promise. So don't let one award dissuade you.

Yeah, you do make some good points here, Kyuubi. Actually, now that I think about it, I've been writing for about ten years. I just remembered that I actually began my Zelda fic in 05 before I rewrote it multiple times.

And you're right, the work I did with my co-author wasn't all his doing, but his help still feels like the only reason those stories were good enough to win. I feel like he's the one that deserves the award more because of that. I came up with the ideas in them, but his suggested revisions made them shine and helped improve my characters. I want to be able to do all that myself without his help. Not that I want him to stop writing stuff with me, no way. I love writing stuff with him. But I want to be able to make a good story without his help too.

The fact that my fic got voted to the next round though, does say something, you're right. I had honestly forgotten about that. And you're right, we're all flawed too. I'm showing it right now thanks to how easily I get frustrated and discouraged. xP And every writer has things they can improve on too.

Yeah, I'm doing something else at the moment (my tribute playthrough of SoulSilver for Satoru Iwata). I'm glad that I don't stay frustrated for long regardless of how frustrated I actually get. I feel better rather quickly.

No, no, you weren't rambling or blabbing nonsense at all! This was very helpful! Between this post and our PM conversation, Kyuubi, I'd say you're a really awesome person! Thanks.

 

[Arkadelphiak]

I second Lugion's point. One doesn't have to have been declared the single best in order to be good at something. I'm still not absolutely sure how the awards system works, but the fact that some people voted for your work in the first place shows that it must be good. I checked the voting thread again now and, if I'm interpretting it properly, there were multiple stories by other authors in that category that weren't voted through, while one of your works was. So you could take that as a vote of confidence at least.

And as you said, you've won some awards in the past. Even if that was with the help of a co-author, that doesn't make the award all their doing - did you or did you not still have a significant role in the writing? Of course you did, so there's nothing wrong with taking some credit for it. A phrase (one that I admittedly don't like much) that springs to mind is "there's no 'I' in team" - that means it's not all the other person either.

All of us are flawed writers in one way or another - that will always be so, but that's not to say we can't get better. You say you've been writing for six years? Then compare your work now to something you wrote six years ago. No doubt there's clear improvement. I don't claim to know how much attention you've put into researching writing technique and suchlike, or if you've just kept writing and let the practice work for itself over this time, there will be some improvement. If you're not satisfied with how much you've improved, try some other methods of refining your technique. If you don't read many online writing articles, read some more. If you don't get enough practice, write something random to try to improve your weaker areas. Say, you expressed concern over your characters - so maybe try to write a short piece based around characters and their interactions. All easier said than done, of course, but anything's better than giving up. If you're feeling discouraged at the moment, do something else for a bit, and give it some time. Then get back to writing once you feel a bit better about it.

Well, I hope that was helpful, and I wasn't just rambling nonsense, or being overly preachy which it did feel like at times. The main point is, Kelleo, you are not a bad writer. I've read some of your work, and it definitely shows creativity and promise. So don't let one award dissuade you.

Yeah, you do make some good points here, Kyuubi. Actually, now that I think about it, I've been writing for about ten years. I just remembered that I actually began my Zelda fic in 05 before I rewrote it multiple times.

And you're right, the work I did with my co-author wasn't all his doing, but his help still feels like the only reason those stories were good enough to win. I feel like he's the one that deserves the award more because of that. I came up with the ideas in them, but his suggested revisions made them shine and helped improve my characters. I want to be able to do all that myself without his help. Not that I want him to stop writing stuff with me, no way. I love writing stuff with him. But I want to be able to make a good story without his help too.

The fact that my fic got voted to the next round though, does say something, you're right. I had honestly forgotten about that. And you're right, we're all flawed too. I'm showing it right now thanks to how easily I get frustrated and discouraged. xP And every writer has things they can improve on too.

Yeah, I'm doing something else at the moment (my tribute playthrough of SoulSilver for Satoru Iwata). I'm glad that I don't stay frustrated for long regardless of how frustrated I actually get. I feel better rather quickly.

No, no, you weren't rambling or blabbing nonsense at all! This was very helpful! Between this post and our PM conversation, Kyuubi, I'd say you're a really awesome person! Thanks.

 

[FullMoon]

Oh wow I just realized I've been in Bulbagarden for one year and 3 months now.

 

[Lugion]

Try five years.

It feels so weird being one of the old men on campus.

 

[Kelleo]

Heh, that's nice of you, thanks. ^^

@RaccoonGoon; That's a tad harsh, but I understand your meaning. Although, once in awhile, I do find myself saying "that looks awful, must rewrite" and all. I guess that's not enough though.

EDIT: Wait, where did your post go?

 

[RaccoonGoon]

I deleted it, it was a bit harsh, really. Sorry.

 

[Kelleo]

Ah, well, I'm actually kind of glad you were a bit harsh. You weren't TOO harsh, but just enough. Normally, I hate any amount of harshness, but that's gotten me into trouble. I decided I needed to be able to handle harshness better, so you being a little harsh has helped me with that.

On a more positive topic, I scored a Palutena Amiibo from Amazon! She was exclusive to them here in NA and we were told exactly what time she'd be available, so it wasn't stressful. ^^

 

[AceTrainer14]

I have to say Kelleo, complaining about not winning is not in the spirit of the awards at all. It is disappointing to not win awards, but just because you didn't win doesn't mean you should come out and be so publicly negative about it. You haven't even had your feedback back yet: you don't know what the judges said about your fic of Lyrebird's, so you shouldn't presume that they think you are so bad you have to give up writing. You should be happy for the other author and take what the judges say on board rather than making a series of presumptions about the other story based purely on its title. I don't want to turn this into a big thing since its simmering down, but I also wanted to put my two cents out there: if you can't accept a loss and take the feedback on board, then you shouldn't be entering in the first place.

 

[Kelleo]

I can accept a loss, AT. This isn't the only time I've lost in the awards (LoZ: The Ancient Power lost the second time it was nominated). I actually lost once before and didn't say much at all, I was just like "aw, I didn't win... Congrats to the person that did though!" or something along the lines of that.

It's just that this time, it actually hurt me deeply and I cannot be happy for the winner since I didn't like his/her story myself (would you be happy for something you don't like? I doubt it) and apparently has a lot less experience than me (what if someone new came here, wrote something for the first time, and was given an award that you were entering in, AT? After how much effort and time you've put into your stuff? Doesn't feel good, does it?). Last time, it didn't bother me at all. And I haven't gotten any feedback for my entry from any of the judges, I don't know what you're referring to there.

I'm sorry, but this is how I feel. And like I said, I didn't want to win just to win. All I wanted was to see how good I am without my co-author's help, and this loss told me I have a lot more work to do than I thought. It still hurts, but I'll get through it, I guess. And I do apologize for making a mistake about what the story was about. Like I said, the title misled me. If you want to talk about this any further though, let's bring it to PM. I never intended for any trouble to start here and I still don't. So you're right, let's not turn it into a big huge thing.

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

If it helps move on the topic, I came across this video a while back, and figured anyone with a remote interest in the English language (including all writers by default of course) should watch it, but for some reason I forgot to share it with the good people here at the time. But here it is, assuming I can get the 'insert video' thing to work:

[video=youtube;liEgqDGPP3w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liEgqDGPP3w[/video]

It worked. Huzzah!

 

[Beth Pavell]

Ah, Lindybeige. Can't say I can listen to all his rants, but he does have some interesting things to say. I particularly liked his videos about medieval footwear.

Now to be pedantic! It's quite possible to "emblazon" in a very specific way. Nowadays the word usually means "decorated" or "marked". In heraldic language, however, "blazon" is the specific language used to describe a coat of arms - hence "emblazoning" is the act of copying arms onto something

 

[Arkadelphiak]

Ah, Lindybeige. Can't say I can listen to all his rants, but he does have some interesting things to say. I particularly liked his videos about medieval footwear.

Now to be pedantic! It's quite possible to "emblazon" in a very specific way. Nowadays the word usually means "decorated" or "marked". In heraldic language, however, "blazon" is the specific language used to describe a coat of arms - hence "emblazoning" is the act of copying arms onto something

Hey! This just occurred to me, but Pavell's Pedantry would be a fantastic title!

 

[Jersey Jimmy]

Oh wow I just realized I've been in Bulbagarden for one year and 3 months now.

>I've been here for three months
>We have almost the same number of posts

Come on step it up.

 

[jackatlasred]

Hmm how long have I been here? Also I think I have quite a bit of post.

 

[Persephone]

I've been here for fourteen months. So, yeah, I guess I've done a bit in that span.

 

[FullMoon]

Oh wow I just realized I've been in Bulbagarden for one year and 3 months now.

>I've been here for three months
>We have almost the same number of posts

Come on step it up.

I take part in 3 different communities (TV Tropes, Bulbagarden and Smashboards) I'm bound to give one of them less attention.

I've been in Smashboards since November of last year and I have almost 4000 posts there already.

I pretty much only visit Bulbagarden for this area now =V

 

[Misfit Angel]

Bit of an odd question, but is there any conceivable reason I get horrendously sick every Sunday? It seems to happen without fail, and I don't think I can be allergic to a human concept.