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Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

First day back to work and I'm already being asked to stay an extra half hour... I need to book a real vacation ASAP, get some genuine rest and recuperation in. Even if it's just a long weekend. I#ve started my daily writing exercises, and it seems only some of them are creative prompts. Some invite me to pontificate on this or that writerly topic. Maybe if some of it turns out interesting, I'll post it here! Not sure I'll get any DE done today, but I'd like to start churning it out again as soon as is reasonable.
 
I think I'd be more into daily writing exercises if I could actually constrain myself to just a short time of doing them, but I tend to start to want to go all out. Then I never work on my actual projects.

I'm kinda struggling with any daily things I want to prioritize in general, because there's a lot and trying to implement too many new ones at once is A Bad Idea. So far, I've managed to read 50 pages and do aerobic exercises for 20 minutes nearly every day for a few weeks (yes, before New Year's, blasphemy). Last week I started cutting off my eating time way earlier in my day, though now I'm sleeping like shit so I may need to rethink my strategy if it's because I'm too hungry overnight.

Next I'm gonna start diving into editing drafts, though I haven't decided when in my day I want to do it and how I exactly want to go about it. One page a day? One hour of work? Etc. My daily writing habit has always fallen apart about 2 weeks in, and I don't want that to happen again. The only time it didn't fall apart was with my 5 minute sprint idea, but that won't work with editing.
 
I think you might be a bit fixated on doing things daily. If you can't read something every day, then make a point of spending time to read once a week. If you can't exercise every day then at least ditch the car for some more short journeys and walk instead
 
I've tried that, and it's all fallen apart 100x faster than the daily habits. AKA I don't even make it past week 1. For the daily stuff, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, because beating yourself up over it not happening is a good way to lessen the chance of making the habit stick. But it's easier to get back into "tomorrow" than it is "some X days from now, as long as it doesn't exceed 7 days"... at least for me!
 
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@diamondpearl876 hey, I totally get all that. Different lifehacks and tricks work for different people. I like to set myself alarms for certain days and times quite often, and I make a daily to-do list most days where I have any kind of time to use.

My daily exercises are going okay. I missed yesterday's so I'm going to do it with today's. They're a linked pair, so it doesn't even feel that daft, ha.

Antibiotics are gross and awful, but at least I don't seem otherwise ill.
 
I'm starting to get back into writing every day, which is something I haven't been able to do for the past couple of months. Haven't managed to write at least a thousand words until yesterday, so I'm not quite back to my old self. Still, I'm nearly past all the difficult stuff to write in this chapter I'm working on. It's only hard because it isn't what the rest of the story is about, yet it is wholly necessary for the rest of the story to make sense. Didn't help that it hit me at the wrong time.

Regardless, I'm hoping to finally make an update later today, after I finish the chapter. Sundays will be my new update days, that way the entire rest of the week can be devoted to writing, and days like this can be used for catch-up or reviewing, which I definitely need to do if I want to get more attention drawn to myself. We'll see how everything goes.
 
Just something I noticed, but... Are we not having winter awards anymore? Did I miss a memo?
 
We gave the Winter Awards a break this year. Long story short, how exactly we're going to run the Awards has been a point of argument for some time, and we wanted to a) Try something new in the meantime (Hence the Secret Santa event), and b) Give ourselves, as mods, some time to properly discuss what we're going to do.

Some users may remember we asked the community for their opinions and thoughts about the Awards. We had a questionnaire for that last time, but if anyone does have any suggestions, thoughts, opinions, etc, then by all means go ahead and let us know.
 
Every now and then I do think about the awards, and sometimes I'll find the seed of an idea, but it's just a vast issue with a great many possible approaches. Thinking it through solo is a challenge.

I'm back to work as of last week and I'm almost through the antibiotics. Things are picking up. I've been too busy to do my daily prompts every day or start on Different Eyes again but it's a matter of time. I have more energy and drive every day this time of year, as spring approaches. Wishing spring vibes on everyone x
 
The other day, I was thinking about how the story of Ever Oasis didn't leave much of an emotional impact on me until I started thinking too hard about it, even though some pretty tragic stuff happens, when I realised: in a game with a silent protagonist, how much they emote can make all the difference. It's why 3D Zelda games resonate with so many people.
 
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It's a 3DS action-RPG developed by Grezzo, who also did the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask remakes. In typical Nintendo fashion, it's about cutesy characters fighting an eldritch abomination. That's not a spoiler, by the way; said eldritch abomination is explained in the backstory, and then appears in the first half-hour.

Ever Oasis has a few annoying quirks, but it's worth a look if you're into RPGs and want to support a new IP. My biggest problem with the plot is how underbaked everything feels; the backstory is far more interesting than the actual story, which is basically a watered-down Zelda plot of "collect the three mystical doodads, and then some more".
 
If I'm honest, the adult Links of the 3D Zelda games barely emote. Twilight Princess is a big offender - it's like the priority was to make Link as blank and beautiful as possible, and try to squeeze a facial expression in as an afterthought. It's not so bad in Skyward Sword or Breath of the Wild, as I recall
 
I was thinking mainly Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, and the 2D games with 3D graphics, and the cutscene in Ocarina of Time when Ganonspork kidnaps Zelda.
 
@Beth Pavell customer support is only about 5% of my job, but I absolutely feel you there.

Hi, all. Every time I think I'm gonna get some writing done, the job piles something else on me. My health has been solid since I stopped taking the antibiotics, so that's something, but we're in crunch mode somewhat at the office. Trying to find time to write on breaks, but I've been asked to handle additional tasks and responsibilities and to consider cutting my breaks to accommodate that. It can get a bit much. That's startups for ya!

Anyway, I'm more excited than ever to get back to writing, as the brilliant @canisaries has produced another outstanding illustration for Different Eyes, which I've spoilered below.

chatacter_art_prize__dusk_and_salem__by_wolframclaws_dcx1gyw-pre.jpg

Thanks again, Canis. Not only did you turn out a great piece of art, but you tolerated my indecisiveness and assisted in the development of the Perihelion badge. I really appreciate that.

Alright, let's see if I can get 15m of writing in this lunch break...
 
Speaking of fanart, I have a really good idea of what I want as my Flying in the Dark cover once the fic is finished and I get a personal bound version of it. I'd commission it now, but I think it'd be more motivating and rewarding to wait.
Great now I really want to do this when I finished Orre: The Desert, thanks DP now I have to do this.
 
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