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Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

After struggling to think of a Newverse story (mainly because I wanted to write an underwater one, but every concept I came up with felt bland), I finally settled on an idea about a human-turned-Pokémon being adopted by a group of Sneasel. Except there's a catch: the human in question became a Pichu. Also, deer are involved. Unfortunately, The Best Gift Ever won't be getting a home release until the end of this month, and the channel My Little Pony airs on in my country is determined to make itself as inaccessible as possible.
 
Some bastard's gone and hit my car with a bloody firework! That's a big crack in the windscreen and a bloody claim on the insurance, and I've only had it a month!
Ouch! Sorry to hear that. Maybe paying for the new windscreen yourself is cheaper?
 
I've not been writing much lately, mainly because I never feel like I can imagine anything for my stories. It's rather depressing, but I think I've narrowed down why I can't seem to write much now: I'm without my writing space.

I've been in a college apartment for a month-and-a-half now, and in that time, I've only written about a chapter. Back home, I tended to write in some sort of reclining chair, especially the one I had in my bedroom. It wasn't always like that, but the sparse decorations visible in there, along with the feeling of isolation I obtain in my writing bubble, led to me being able to write for long periods of time.

Here...well, there's hard plastic chairs like what you'd find in a gymnasium. There's a comfy couch, but it doesn't support my neck as well, so I can't write so well on that. It's a fine environment for school work, but I can work well anywhere for that. My writing space just became a few select spots around my house, and now that I'm seperated from that, I think I've lost my touch.

There's also the fact that I rarely feel how I do back home. There, I tend to be in control of my environment and am able to eliminate clutter and distractions. I'm living with four other guys here, with one being my roommate, and their stuff is everywhere. I can't wrangle it back into select spaces and keep it from sight, creating a nice, distraction-free zone to work in. They tend to be gone in the middle of the day, sure, but I can feel their influence everywhere.

And...well, I miss my pet parakeets. They lived in my room, and sometimes I'd just watch them as I thought up my net scene; it was especially nice if they were singing or playing with each other. It was a nice, relaxing thing for me to do. They're being taken care of by my brother now, since no pets are allowed in the apartments.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I have to create a new writing environment like that one so I can get back into my system. There's too many visually distracting elements and no comfortable place to work. I guess I'll have to figure out something.

On that subject, do any of you have particular writing spots, and if so, what about them helps you get into that mood?
 
@lucarioknight56 Sorry to hear the writing's going rough. Transitioning to college is a stressful thing in general, really. Good luck with both!

To answer your question, I've never lived in a place I was really comfortable in or that had a "writing zone" for me to work in. This means I had to get creative, or learn to write everywhere and anywhere. I'd switch things up whenever I was in a writing slump. I'd bring my laptop outside on campus in college, 'cause there were plenty of sitting areas, plus sunlight and wind helped keep my mind sharp. I'd write in the campus cafeteria in between classes. I also think writing in a library itself is really inspiring... or finding a cafe with a soft feel to it, like Starbucks or Panera Bread, or local ones. I also wrote on my phone when riding the bus or when waiting for an appointment to start. I'd even write during class itself if I was particularly bored out of my mind. : ' )

None of those writing places were really my own, per se, but there was no real outside influence to speak of because I didn't really know anyone who frequented the same areas I did or shared the space with me in a personal way, if that makes sense. And some writers get inspired by being surrounded by people they don't know. The idea for me was that being in a new environment, or one I'm not in a lot, stimulates my brain and gets me motivated enough to write -- or at least have the energy needed to write. But sometimes I just had to write at home, in the midst of a million things happening around me and people talking loudly around me, if I wanted to get anything done. Or ruin my circadian rhythm by staying up way past everyone else's bedtime so I could get some peace and quiet.
 
I remember back in my school days, there was one tiny computer room that I absolutely loved to use for writing. There were only about seven computers, and one of them was on a desk on its own. I used to go there almost every lunchtime, free period, sometimes even after-school sessions that I'd set aside for doing essays, and it'd nearly always be empty except for me and my writing. Never thought I'd say this, but god, those were the days.

Yeah, I know what you mean, once you're used to having one perfect writing space it's not easy to adjust. Otherwise, I guess I can write kind of decently in my room, and I try to get a bit done on the trains into college. But I don't have anywhere like that old computer room anymore, it's a shame.
 
@Beth Pavell, @lucarioknight56, I'm sorry to hear of your respective troubles.

I don't know about having a particular writing spot that's absolutely perfect. When I used to be prolific, I just used my school's IT suite, which wasn't special in any way at all. When I last lived with my parents, I did my writing mostly in the upstairs lounge when it was sunny, or the outside study shed when it was dark. Both were pretty cosy, and the study was great for sipping whisky and feeling like a Legit Author. I do most of my current writing either in the lounge, or during my work breaks at the nearby cafe, which is pretty cute and has nice food and drink. We have a study now, but it was very cramped and basically a storage space with on wifi until very recently. Now that it's tidied up and there's wifi I might start using it.

Feeling alright at the moment, if a little worn out. Work is less intense but I still have weeks that feel long. Partner is doing okay with her course and volunteering at the local toolshare. Health and diet are improving. Just had my parents round to see the local market, have lunch together and come over for a cup of tea. Our cat is going mad for our new laser pointer. All is well.

As for NaNo, Partner and I are co-authoring a CYOA novel on Twine about rewilding dragons.

It begins, "Re: Your Application to Raise a Dragon"...
 
So, there was a big tournament for the new smash bros game in japan, and most fighters got a ton of footage of high level gameplay, so it's super great to look at and see how the game is going to work.

...except the one character I most wanted to see. Dark Samus has only one match that I can find, and it's someone who plays like a level three cpu. Curses.
 
So, there was a big tournament for the new smash bros game in japan, and most fighters got a ton of footage of high level gameplay, so it's super great to look at and see how the game is going to work.

...except the one character I most wanted to see. Dark Samus has only one match that I can find, and it's someone who plays like a level three cpu. Curses.

... here's a scary thought. What if the player is good, but Dark Samus is just that terrible?
 
... here's a scary thought. What if the player is good, but Dark Samus is just that terrible?

I mean, given Samus's history in the smash series, I'm by no means expecting DS to be anything higher than mid tier. That being said, I would think whiffing almost every attack and not even attempting to follow up on any hits in neutral comments more on the player than on the character.

@Z-ARC Wait, Ultimate is already out?

No, there was just a tournament with a new build in Japan. It's not out yet.
 
Back at the time when I was productive with my fic, it was mostly at places where it has absolute isolation. Note that it is not necessarily alone free of people, but rather completely free of distraction.

Most of the time it was in my personal bedroom, but when no one is at home anywhere inside the house is fine. I also used to write my fic in the university campus, but it has to be either a lecture room that has no people, or a study desk in a quiet corner inside the university library where I know no people or limited amount of people will come, and even they come close by they won't distract me nor even peek at what is on my laptop screen. I also wrote when I was at my parent's workplace, but it was limited to the hours of no-customer and also my parent were busying with their work where they don't have time to deal with my personal leisure.

To me personally, human distraction is the main reason for my unproductivity. I can't stand the noise and sound of nearby human conversation where I can hear their dialogues legibly, I also cannot stand the eyesight of anyone that is constantly staring and watching at my activities. The exposure to such things can easily distract my delicate attention.

Within the recent years since I started working and move out to live in a shared house, I just wasn't able to write anymore due to all the never-ending human distraction. Hopefully I moved to a new private apartment recently, that should help my concentration. Now I will just need to recapture my loss writing vibe due to the long halt.
 
Well, I used to post several times a day, but I can't manage that now that I work full time. I just have so much on my plate! I'm still invested in this community, of course.
 
@Nitro Indigo It's probably more conventional to write things like sign, other languages, and telepathy as italics. This is only my personal convention.

Note that irl written sign language has a number of notational conventions involving special characters not found on one's standard keyboard!
 
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