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convexicalcrow · 1 month

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Cub didn't care that his clothes were getting increasingly covered in dyes. That was to be expected. He had so much testing to do of the fireworks his factory created, to make sure he was only selling his best quality work. Did some occasionally explode in his face and shower him with dye? Sure! Came with the territory. It's why he'd figured out how to enchant his glasses with mending, so they didn't break completely when a firework went off too close to him. They didn't break anymore.

He couldn't really smell anything else these days except for gunpowder, flowers, and redstone. Did that matter? Not really. It was too much fun to play around with explosive fireworks. It was all he thought about. All he dreamed about.

So of course he didn't notice that that small patch of cyan dye on the back of his lab coat wasn't just cyan dye mixed with a little black. He didn't notice the little shimmers of light, the places where it was clear that it wasn't dye but skulk. Cub had other things on his mind. he wasn't thinking about skulk.

But of course he was always thinking about skulk. It had never really left him, just gone dormant, waiting for the right moment to reappear. He'd felt it in his bones towards the end of last season, as he was tending to the museum. Was he afraid of it? Maybe a little, in the same way he was a little afraid of the Vex when They decided to possess him. It never stopped him going to ancient cities though.

That said, it had felt strange to be in the deep dark on a new world. The skulk felt both familiar and not. It had been like that when they'd visited the Emperors too. The skulk there was particularly vicious and possessive in a way it hadn't been on other worlds. Perhaps it's why he was possessed. He was stupid enough to go into the fog and get himself possessed.

But the skulk back on Hermitcraft was...

Cub didn't really know how to describe it. It had still sunk its tendrils into his brain, he had willingly obeyed it when it had need of him, but it lacked something. And the skulk on this new world was... pensive. Curious. It clearly recognised the dormant skulk within him, but didn't know why it was there.

Cub sensed it when he touched the skulk, walked over it slowly, hoping not to disturb the place. He knew how sacred this place was to the skulk. How he shouldn't disturb the Mourner. He understood now. He knew now. Wordless memories, pictures of ancient times that Cub couldn't really interpret properly, floated into his mind. The time before. The time before there was mourning and sadness and a need to isolate. A time when there was light, and life.

Whenever Cub found himself down in the deep dark, he always wanted to sink his fingers into the skulk, making contact, even if the skulk didn't seem to care about possessing him this time. It seemed to think him... not tainted. Sacred? Chosen to host the skulk and give it a body? Cub didn't quite know how to interpret the feelings.

No. It wasn't quite that. It was more... a feeling of kindredness. Was that even a word? Cub didn't know. He just knew the skulk didn't seem to see him as an enemy. As long as he was respectful in the deep dark, as long as he didn't awaken the Mourner, made no sound at all, he felt safe there. Which was both a familiar feeling, and also a strange one.

Sometimes, he felt he was always in the deep dark when was working in the factory. It wasn't his fault that the skulk really showed off the fireworks really nicely. It was like a substitute starry sky, but he couldn't deny that having the skulk close brought him a little comfort. It wasn't whispering to him, wasn't really doing anything other than just being there, but it was nice to have. Could he have just used black concrete? Sure. But why use black concrete when skulk was right there and available? He didn't need to craft that.

And maybe, every so often, when he was cleaning out the testing chamber, maybe his lab coat got a little more skulk stained, and maybe it was hidden just as quickly by all the dyes he was surrounded by as he got back to the work of testing fireworks and seeing just how many different combinations he could make and sell. And maybe that was for the best, somehow.

#hermitcraft #cubfan135 #skulk cub #hermitfic #fanfic #750words #i'm very normal about cub's dyed skin #it's fine #i'm so fine about this

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katiestory · 5 months

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50k here I come! Not at the end of my draft yet in large part because I started back at the beginning after 18k words but I am excited to have the daily writing routine going as the days get dark and cold and miserable.

I've also started using 750words again which has similar motivating badges and stats:

The main thing is I am very invested in this new project, which was really the one important goal all along. Looking forward to writing the ending soon...

#nanowrimo #writeblr #writing #750words #writing tools

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consolecadet · 2 years

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Just hit 5 million words on 750words! I love that it happened on the summer solstice.

[Image description: A circular yellow badge with a cube on it. The cube has a question mark on the front. Below that it says "Interplanetary Archive / 5M words written / Over all time / 5,000,636 words written / 1,220 words per day"]

#boring text posts #750words #writing

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underlockv · 9 months

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apparently this is a hottake but I think everyone's writing process is different and reading a lot, making analytic breakdowns, spreadsheets and even researching the average length of a book before you start is pretty normal for some people, and not for others. Just because something isn't your process doesn't mean it's bad, unnatural, or something to sneer at. Yes, even making breakdowns of positive to negative word usages rather than just going by the feelings a work gives you.

I used 750words to try and get myself writing more regularly, it has a page that gives you an analytical breakdown of what you wrote based on certain metrics. You don't have to look at it, because 750 is a site that's sole purpose is just to encourage consistent everyday writing, but the breakdowns look like this:

(it isn't always super accurate either, but I assume the way these breakdowns are determined is they have a dataset to compare to. Especially the 'feelings' pie charts, which mimic a lot of what I see people mocking about /recent situation/. I've been using 750 for years, it much predates LLMs and modern machine learning)

All I really wanted to say about current writing world tools related events is the things to be focused on are the ethical acquiring of data, and how it is used.

Someone making analytical writing spreadsheets and datasets for their personal writing doesn't make them detached, robotic, or lesser of a writer if it's for study and analysis, even if they use tools like the above to analyze it, as that has nothing to do with feeding stuff into an LLM to spit out machine made writing. Someone being more analytical in their writing approach before they start just means their brain works differently than yours does.

Analytical writing approaches are just different than your own. It should not be something you mock people for. Getting a lot of "autistic people are so robotic and unfeeling" vibes from these types of comments when it comes to crit of that situation recently.

#creative writing #writing #writing meta #750words #mentions of possible ableism #I don't really use these tools #they don't benefit my own writing approach #I don't understand why that means I should mock anyone who does find analytical breakdowns useful #its not the same thing as using LLMs to write for you at all

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thisisstillme · 2 years

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I’ve finally found the perfect #morningroutine for me. I start my day by using 750 Words to get my thoughts out. Once I have cleared my head, I use @headspace to meditate for 10 minutes, I’m currently halfway through the acceptance course. I then do some self reflection using my @the_positive_planner When that’s done, I read the days entry of @dailystoic before finishing with 15 minutes of reading a self improvement book, which is currently The Last Law of Attraction Book You’ll Ever Need To Read. What’s your Morning Routine? ❤️ #mymorningroutine #750words #braindump #meditation #selfreflection #positiveplannner #stoic #selfimprovement #personalgrowth #selfdevelopment #lawofattraction #loa #manifest https://www.instagram.com/p/ChuC95VLyFC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#morningroutine #mymorningroutine #750words #braindump #meditation #selfreflection #positiveplannner #stoic #selfimprovement #personalgrowth #selfdevelopment #lawofattraction #loa #manifest

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taniushka12 · 2 months

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IT LIVES, IT LIIIIIIIVEEEEEEEEEES

#BOUGHT A NETBOOK CHARGER AFTER LIKE. almost a year???#one of the open tabs was a 750words page and it dates the 16th of april so yeah almost! GOD #tani's personal shit #ooooh my god beloved I missed you so much #expect more writing this way bc I love writing on my net <3 fave way to write <3

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gaslightgallows · 1 year

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Gee, it’s almost like I started looking at houses today. 🙃

#the life of gaslight #nothing i wrote on 750words today was actually about house-hunting #AND YET

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foxghost · 1 year

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btw, for those of you who write on a chromebook (I know I know I'll be off the chromebook in 2 days when a laptop equally portable with long ass battery life arrives) or use chrome, this is how I get any writing done

New Tab Draft (a chrome extension) turns every new tab into a text editor that can hold multiple text files, saved locally with cloud backup so every time you open up a new tab everything is still there. I used to use Slite, which did the same thing, but this is simpler.

wavemakercards.com, your free scrivener alternative that runs as a web app, saves locally, backs up to gdrive. It's in beta right now so it's a bit clunky, but I find it useful for tracking chapters and daily wordcount and it'll run on anything.

stackedit.io, an online markdown editor with a tree file structure that saves to cloud and exports html

750words.com, so I always meet my minimum. It also feels disposable so sometimes I just try out plots in it in list form.

#text tools #chrome #everything except 750words is free #this is also how i translated so many words on time #because a chromebook is always with me and I bust it out to drop in a few hundred words whenever #i wouldn't even be upgrading tho if kidlet didn't break their chromebook #i have to give them MINE #which is just fine and rather zippy

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convexicalcrow · 22 days

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Today's 750words.com entry. Cub musing about Vex magic. This will eventually go into the grimoire with little scraps of notes and other things, but this is what wanted to be written today.

Also I bought a custom domain for the grimoire website, so it's now found at libervex.org. :D I have a few tweaks and things I want to do with it this week, just to tidy it up and make it more navigable.

It's interesting to note how other Evokers talk about Vex magic. I know there are differences in how they use it, and as they aren't Vexes, it works differently. I wouldn't know, really. We're Vexes, through and through, they've been very clear about that. We're not Evokers, nor should we consider ourselves to be. But I find it very interesting to talk to them. They have very interesting ideas and experiences when it comes to how to use it.

The channelling is different, very different. For me, it very much feels like a current, like I've been struck by lightning. But I suspect that's just because I feel the raw power of it, whereas the Evokers are working with a softer current. It's not part of them as Vexes, it's another external power, and I suspect that makes it a different sort of power.

Also, the way they use it in their magic is super interesting. As Vexes, a lot of this is second nature to us. Using Vex magic is just like breathing. We don't really have to try. But the Evokers do these full rituals to cast their spells, otherwise it doesn't work.

I really must track down some witches and ask how they perform magic. I know they work a lot with potions, as have I. I'd like to exchange notes. The tricky thing is knowing how to approach them, as they're usually hostile, and aren't always trusting of Vexes when they approach. So I might have to find a good way to approach them.

I'm sure I'll figure it out. I'd really like to talk about potion brewing too. I'm sure they have some brewing techniques that I haven't thought of, and their potion needs are very different to my own. I bet they have their own recipes they've conjured up. Every good potion master has made their own potions. It's how you grow and learn.

I've come up with some really good ones. Some, not so good, too, but that's part of the process. Sometimes you fail a million times before you figure out how to do what you want to do. I don't mind that. Scar doesn't have the patience for it, but I don't mind. I like the iterative process of trying and improving until you get what you need. I've worked out all my potions that way.

Honestly, half the battle is getting the distillation correct. If you're trying to use oils or distilled liquids in your potions, you really need to get the concentration correct. And that's no easy task, especially for a new potion, as you have no idea what concentration you're looking for.

Like, for example, with the potion of withering. It took so long to get the concentration right. Too much was too fatal, too little didn't give the right effect, but I had no idea what those levels were when I started. I had to figure that out. All I really had to go on was this quote from a book on advanced potion making that said: 'the vitality of the wither rose is dependent on the amount of water used for distillation, which is related to how fast (or not) the roses grow.' It talked about a chart in another book, but I was unable to track it down. It would have saved me a lot of time if I'd been able to find it though, it would have given me all the numbers I'd needed to finish the potion without having to waste so much time.

Not that it's a waste of time, not really. It's all good practice, and sometimes, in the process, you discover something that you might not have worked out if you'd just worked off the numbers someone else had achieved. It's how I got at least one potion created. I was trying to make a sleep potion, and ended up with one for erasing dreams. Is it useful? Well, sort of. It's not one I'd have on hand at all times, but you never know when you might need it.

Though, to be fair, there are enough memory gaps in my brain from the Vex that a potion to erase dreams is kind of useless for me. If They don't want me to remember, then I won't remember. I gave up fighting that years ago. It's easier to just accept it. My body isn't mine anymore, hasn't been for a long time. Is it a problem? I don't know. Maybe. I guess that depends on how you feel about possession and sacrifice.

#hermitcraft #hermitfic #vex magic grimoire #cubfan135 #fanfic #vex cub #vex magic #750words

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writingquestionsanswered · 1 year

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I deleted the "telling the story from the villain's perspective" ask.

I get so many questions where people suggest ideas that don't work from a fundamental perspective, like, "I'm writing a 750k word story where nothing happens but a clown picking their nose, how do I make this work/believable/not cliche/balanced..." and the problem with these types of asks is that we have MILLIONS of popular stories in the world that tell us some basic fundamentals about how stories work, and 750k words where nothing happens but a clown picking their nose does not fall in line with what fundamentally works in storytelling. So then what happens is I spend ten, or fifteen, or twenty minutes trying to explain how stories typically work so that the person will understand why 750k words worth of a clown picking their nose isn't a good story, only to have the person retort that this just doesn't work for them because that's the story they want to write, now how can they do it in a way that works.

And... here's the thing...

Does a 750k word story about a clown picking their nose work based on the known fundamentals of storytelling? No. Does that mean it absolutely can't work? That it might not be the next most popular thing since the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where it's so popular that there's nose-picking-clown merch and countless movies and TV shows about clowns picking their noses... I can't tell you that because anything is possible. I can only tell you what has been true based on millennia of storytelling, and what I know to be true from my own experience with popular storytelling in the Western world, and western stories that resonate globally.

So, write the stories that you want to write. But if they are so fundamentally outside of how stories typically work, it's your job to figure out how to make it work/balanced/believable/not cliche. Because I have 30-something asks sitting in the ask box, not to mention critique partners whose manuscripts I'm reading, paid commissions I'm working on for other members of the WQA community, and my own stories to write. So it isn't fair to them or to myself to have to take even twenty minutes out of my day to figure out how a 750word story about a clown picking their nose could be made to work, be balanced, be believable, or not be cliche. If you want to tell that story, I encourage you to do so, because we can't push the boundaries of what's known to work if we don't write those stories. But it's also your job to figure out how to make it work.

I'm just here to help people write stories that work within the known and most typical knowledge about what currently works with storytelling. ♥♥♥

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quordleona03 · 26 days

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Hi, if you have time, I'd love to ask a couple of things:

How do you and your beta/proofreader share texts? Do you use email, Google Docs, or a different app? Just curious as someone who is starting to write and trying to get a feel for things. I'd also love to hear any advice you might be willing to pass on about posting and writing.

When I finish a section in All We Know, I send the latest version of the entire document (though once we got into dealing with March, and all the sections up til the end of January had been published, I split the manuscript into All We Know 1962 and All We Know 1963 - all of 1962 was now on AO3 if Jakrar wanted to check back with an earlier section.

On posting and writing, well: my advice is to sit down and write for an hour every day for ten years, and at the end of that time, you are a writer. (I use the site 750words to get my hour-a-day in, no matter what.) When trying to write a story: unless it is a very short story, plan it out ahead of time, chapter by chapter - what has to happen when. Let yourself be flexible, of course: sometimes the characters will tell you things about themselves as you write that mean the story changes direction. And then write: get the shitty first draft down, and then pause for at least a day - sleep on it, definitely - re-read, make what changes seem good to you, repeate - and finally, find someone to edit/proofread, and, hopefully, to beta-read. A beta-reader tells you their emotional responses to the story. Pay attention to their reactions. A sensitive reader picks up on what you meant, and what you want, and what they feel. The beta-reader's changes may be more difficult to introduce, more painful, but the work in doing so will generally make the story better.

I use LibreOffice, and save as a .doc file, and email that .doc file. For convenience, the .doc file is indexed with a table of contents and each section has a comprehensible heading, so that sections can be easily found.

Jakrar sends me back a .doc file with sections from my manuscript quoted, and her proofreading notes and comments underneath, identified by page number in the file.

What this can look like is (my original text in green, hers indented):

Mulcahy could have told Mrs Hunt he was going to see his sister - that was true: but he didn't think he could explain to anyone who knew what his salary was as a teacher, that he planned to fly to California tonight, and home on Monday. That hardly seemed real to him either, though their flight was at seven. He was looking forward to it with a wincing kind of anticipation, but beyond the flight, he had to meet BJ Hunnicut, who he needed to talk to, and Kathy, Maria Angelica, whom he both wanted and did not want to talk to.

In the first sentence: you might consider changing “that” in “that was true” to “it” I’d suggest changing the colon after “true” to a dash I’d suggest putting “(at least,” right after “anyone” in “could explain to anyone” I’d suggest changing “who knew what his salary was as a teacher” to something like “familiar with his teacher’s salary” I’d suggest changing the comma immediately following the word before “that he planned to fly” to “)”

Jakrar will also note contradictions in the text:

Page 368

Hawkeye got up when Mulcahy came in - paused a moment - presumably for Mrs Jamieson to close the door - and then came round the desk and took Mulcahy briefly into his arms. He let go, moved back, looked down.

At the end of the first sentence, delete the extra blank space following “briefly into his arms.”

Page 368

"Okay, wait," Hawkeye said, still holding on to him. "It did not escape my notice that when we flew up to Boston back in October, your ears hurt."

First, three paragraphs up, Hawkeye takes Mulcahy briefly into his arms and then lets him go and moves back, but here Hawkeye is still holding on to him. You need to change one or the other or have something in between where Hawkeye takes hold of him again. Second, they flew to Boston and had their interactions with Charles and Martine in November.

Sometimes, she'll also include comments on the text itself.

Page 431

"Fantastic," Hawkeye said, very cheerfully. "Lucky chance you knew that guy." "Never saw him before in my life," BJ said. "You knew him, didn't you?"

beats head on desk How have these guys survived this long?

Page 431

Hawkeye stopped short, turned, and looked at BJ. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows raised. "BJ? He's on the convention staff. I handed my dress bag in at the desk this morning, and asked them to find me at the mezzanine after my seminar, and take me to a room I could change in. He showed up with the bag and a key to that room, and I told him to come find me after the banquet. That is the sum total of our long-standing unacquaintance. When you called him 'Jack' I thought you knew him."

Near the end of the fifth sentence, delete the extra blank space after “take” in “the mezzanine after my seminar, and take” In the eighth/last sentence: put a comma after “Jack” (before the closing single quotation mark) I’d undo the italics on “him” (but leave the italics on “you”)

I used to be a stellar proofreader myself. But, since my glaucoma diagnosis, I've had to accept that I will no longer be able to notice if I've missed small issues in the text. Leading to comments such as these:

Page 432

BJ gave Hawkeye a beat of silence Hawkeye looked amused "Okay - "

Put a period after “silence” Put a period after “amused”

Sometimes, I disagree with Jakrar's suggestions (my comment text in red italics) and I often add notes on the decisions made in guiding the plot of the story.

Page 98 (from the AWK 193 doc)

"Hey," BJ said, calmly. "We couldn't invite all four kids, one of them a boy about Erin's age. We're not inviting any kids." And they had heard from Erin about that, at the top of her voice. "We just couldn't make an exception for Lorraine Blake. Anyway - "

In the fifth sentence, you might rearrange “We just couldn’t make an exception for” to “We couldn’t make an exception just for” The reunion just became a thousand percent better.

To me, the suggested placement of "just" sounds dismissive of Lorraine - "just couldn't" sets the emphasis on "couldn't for anyone". Does that make sense?

When I was discussing with Ajay65 how to plan the reunion at the end of the story, Ajay65 pointed out that if the party included children, the hotel had to be bigger, events had to be organised for parents-with-children, a sitter-service had tbe available for the banquet or the entire event had to be child-friendly - and I conceded the point and abandoned any ideas about a family reunion.

Page 398

Hawkeye was sitting bold upright and plainly indignant. "Beej, everyone there would know the circumstances."

In the first sentence, change “bold” in “sitting bold upright” to “bolt”

Page 398

"I didn't," BJ said. "And a lot of people who only remember Colonel Potter wouldn't either. Anyway, Hawk, if you'll cool down and listen to me, I heard back from Lorraine Blake, and she's now Lorraine Reynolds."

In the second sentence: you might consider rearranging “people who only remember Colonel Potter” to “people who remember only Colonel Potter” put a comma after “wouldn’t” in “Colonel Potter wouldn’t”

"And a lot of people who only remember Colonel Potter wouldn't either."

To me this (the above) sounds a more natural way of saying what BJ is trying to say than

"And a lot of people who remember only Colonel Potter wouldn't either."

The above comments are all editing or proofreading. Anyone experienced enough to know what correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation are, and with a good enough memory to catch glitches, can proofread your story. It is always easier to have someone else read your manuscript and catch errors than for you do it. This is because - unless you set the story aside for a few weeks - you yourself know what you meant to write, and your mind's eye will produce that for you on the page, even if that's not what you actually typed. A proofreader is only responsible for picking out the typos, punctuation errors, grammatical errors, and so forth: an editor will track things like "Hawkeye and Mulcahy actually flew to Boston in November". But in fandom, if you are fortunate enough to have someone who will be both proofreader and editor, they can and should do both.

But - when your editor/proofreader loves your story enough to read it with fannish appreciation, they will also notice things like this:

Page 471

"When did you tell him to go back?" Kathy said. She was beyond astonishment. That Ben might have been a voice urging Francis to return to the priesthood was not something that had ever occurred to her. She was bewildered, but she could not disbelieve him.

"A couple of times in Crabapple Cove. In New York...." Ben shrugged. "A few times. I don't remember. He told me to stop, last year. He told me he wasn't ever going back, they wouldn't let him be a priest, and I had to stop saying it, or he'd be angry."

"So you could get him to go," Sister Maria Angelica said, with delicate care, "if you weren't afraid of making him angry?"

It could be just me, but it feels like Maria Angelica's switch here, from the shock of realization back to manipulation, is a hair too quick and smooth. Maybe if there's a hint of pause at the start of the third paragraph, before she's all composed again, and delicately trying to get Hawkeye to see things her way...?

Jakrar was right. A beta reader notices emotional mistakes in the text. So I amended my text (new text in bold):

Kathy stared at Ben. She wasn't sure what to say. She moved her hands togeher under her scapular, and summoned herself to go on.

"So you could get him to go," Sister Maria Angelica said, with delicate care, "if you weren't afraid of making him angry?"

And sometimes, a good editor can save your life. On Page 516 of the total WIP so far (Page 210 of the 1963 version), there's this:

But it wasn't even seven in the morning in New York: the call rang out, with no one there to answer in the empty offices. Hawkeye stared at the San Francisco telephone directory, and thought of making prank calls.

It’s going to be three hours later in New York than it is in California. But if it’s about nine in the morning in San Francisco, it’s about noon in NYC, so maybe there’s a lunch break and no one is answering the phones at the office because of that?

I said "OH SHIT!!" out loud when I read your email, and M, who was passing, said "What?" sounding very worried.

I said, "no no, nothing important," and then correcting myself "nothing in the real world - I got the time difference between New York and San Francisco exactly BACKWARDS"

"Oh," said M, sounding very relieved, "oh well shame on you, tut tut" and went on downstairs to make more tea.

I don't have the red cloak and magical comic book powers to reverse the direction of the Earth and besides people might notice if I did, so i guess I have to rewrite that bit.

Thank you.

*sobs with relief*

Thank you.

Will send you corrected and updated version ASAP.

Love and huge appreciation

Result: But he ate, and asked the waitress where he could make a long-distance phone call. He might as well call Shirley Mason and get it over with. A man answered the phone. He said Miss Mason was at lunch. He did not offer to take a message. Hawkeye stared at the San Francisco telephone directory, and thought of making prank calls. He called Charles's office. The hospital switchboard passed him through without comment: Charles's secretary, who always reminded Hawkeye of a very well-bred robot but with less warmth, said that she would inquire if Doctor Winchester wished to speak with him. Finally, Charles's clipped Boston voice said, "Afternoon. What is it, Pierce?" "Good morning, Charles," Hawkeye said. "Pierce. What is it?" Charles paused. "Are you in California? What do you want?"

Ah, that's a question...

#writing #proofreading #editing #beta reading #how I write #all we know

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