Trumpet Thief
has fought their fair share of battles
Sky Blue Sky
Recognized Member

I tried 'rape panda' once and the less said about that the better so I think sex panther is too close for comfort

i daren't risk it

I am secretly scrounging this forum for members of a new world order. We shall rule the weaklings with an iron fist. And there will be cheese and crackers for all.

There are many a time where I've thought some random battles would go real nice in here. Something I aim to work on in the future but getting straight narrative can be hard enough xD

I know what you mean about music too. On a couple of pieces i've made playlists to listen to while writing, or sometimes just been like I need something sad or perky to help set the mood. I think I'm a "method" writer though, my mood can really change depending on the mood of the current focal character or just general tone of the story. Always write better darker, more intimidating scenes when it's raining too

From that point, it's usually just motivation that's the killer. I'm either running out of steam and quit, or hating the section I'm writing and make it choppy and then feel bad. Sometimes I'll notice a continuity error or something that just doesn't work. For instance, in this one I'm posting excerpts from, the idea was for two of the squad members to defect. My problem was that these big scenes were coming up and I had no idea how to get from Point A where they're still on the team to Point B where they have to be defected. Those keep me up for hours but finding a solution feels great.

Talking helps, though. I got a mate (Timekeeper on here) who is not a writer at all but is great for bouncing ideas off of. Just explaining stuff is good. I get excited about my work and he loves my stuff too so it's a nice combo. The fact he is brutally honest and will critique stuff properly helps too!

I use a number of different techniques because I don't know what works best for me yet. Ideas can come in a variety of different ways. Dreams are a big asset, but generally I will either have a character pop into my head that I want to write, a scene that I want to write, a trope that I want to explore, a writing technique or just some thematic stuff that I build from. Sometimes combinations. Sometimes I just get divine inspiration. But from there I will generally think about a couple of key events that I want to happen and a possible ending. I signpost my way there, but everything in between is left vague so magic can happen.

tbc..

Oh man, there was this story I started writing in high school and I developed it extensively and really fell in love with the characters, due in no small part to the fact that they were heavily inspired by real people. Not consciously though; someone else actually pointed it out to me and I was like "oh yeah makes sense." I'd had some trouble with it going missing once and then being corrupted another time, so I'd written the 30-odd thousand words nigh on three times already by the end of '10. As much as I hated it, there was so much calling me back. Last NaNoWriMo I started it again, from scratch, with the other open beside me as a reference (plus other guides). Felt good, but I cannot remember my endings and trout because I am so familiar with the first half of it Wanted to edit it earlier this year but uni got busy so maybe I'll have a read of it and think about polishing it and/or writing the sequel. Shouldn't plan sequels until I'm happy with the original though >_<

Those co-ops sound like a really damn good deal. I stayed with Goldenboko for a week over spring break and he was talking about his co-op stuff as an engineer and how they're basically rolling in dough immediately afterwards until they blow it all on booze. Our internships here are good experience but unpaid so it's not quite the same

I know what you mean about the cringing, every six months I write off everything done prior and "start again" but sometimes there's more to a story than just how it is communicated. There's that underlying sense of adventure that you just have to capture, a good concept can do more than the pages its written on. I don't know I was trying to be poetic there but I'm kind of too hungry to focus xD

I've been busy! Lots of things happening for me, lots of changes! I just finished my whirlwind America tour after my semester studying there, and now I'm about to start my last semester at uni so soon I will be one of those "working adult" types. Not if my creative streak can make me a millionaire before then! I'm looking forward to seeing what you produce, because your work has always managed to kidnap my attention. I don't know what it is but you get me, man, you get me

So what's doin' in the land of Trumpet Thief? How've you been, man!?