Entry 600

[virgo186]

...wow, really? Huh.

So it's been a while since the last post, but luckily not as long as some of my other breaks have been. My birthday was two days ago, and it went rather well.

The 'rewrite' gang surprised me with a lunch meetup and gifts, which I really didn't expect...especially on the actual day! I thought for sure they'd both be too busy.

Nothing fancy for lunch, we did pizza and I got to bring home the leftovers. :)

While we were out, we decided to go browse the toy store, and I bought a few new pony blind bags. Five new friends for my display shelves!

As for what the girls brought, well, I'm sure I won't have to worry about buying more starlight mints for a long time, haha. I also got a bar of really nice chocolate (dark with raspberry, sounds wonderful~) and a small bottle of sparkling apple cider.

The crowning glory, however, is the wonderful Princess Twilight plush they created with love for me at the local Build-A-Bear. She currently sits in my room, staring happily at my well-stocked bookshelves. I think she'll enjoy being here. :)

(Hey, with our group? I'm the Twilight, so it all fits.)

Not only did I get a party offline, but I got a party in my Animal Crossing game too! Rather fun to get gifts and celebration from my villagers. Quite a day~

In other news, the house we've been working so hard to clean out? Finally done! The last truckload was brought home this week, so we're officially out and the new owners no longer have to deal with us being around. I finally have my lamp, which I plan on giving a nice coat of paint to and a new plug before I bring it in and set it up.

Also, I've been working on my writing more. It feels good to be spinning stories again, and when I feel ready, I'll start posting chapters of this latest piece to FDD. Things have been quiet in there again, so I suppose I should get back to it. Even if nobody else joins or posts anything, I rather like the fact I've gained enough courage to post my work online. It feels like a step in the right direction. :)

Oh hey, this is another milestone post! Like with the others, I declare this an open-request post. Maybe we can get to high comment counts, maybe not, but if anyone has questions they want answered or just want to chat, or request ficlets, or whatever, drop a message.

Let's hope I can keep going for a long time!

~Virgo

Comments

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

Happy belated birthday! I'm sorry I wasn't on, but the temp job has been making me a crazy person. I request chats when you have a chance, please. :) I won't be on AIM tonight, but I will be in the next day or two because I have off from work. So, I'll hit you up or if you see me on, please feel free to IM.

[virgo186]

Hopefully the temp job is bringing in the money you need!

If we don't cross paths on IM, feel free to have a chat in here. I go back to work this week and may not catch you, but I check here every day. Good luck!

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

I'm getting a lot of hours so far. :) And sure thing. Do you have any photos of your new plush?

[virgo186]

I didn't even think to take pictures of her since I don't have a place online to store them. I'll have to see. :)

Hours are good! Any idea what the pay-per-hour is, or is this an odd sort of job setup?

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

It's a bit above minimum wage. If you're looking for a good and free place to store photos, maybe try Photobucket? I've used it for years and never had a problem.

[virgo186]

I'll have to think about that. I'm still a little wary about posting things like pictures.

Sounds like some decent money! Hopefully you can find something permanent that isn't just a sequel to hell-mart.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

I can understand that. I feel badly now that I wasn't sure when your birthday was because I want to do something for it.

[virgo186]

Well, that's why I posted this. :)

If you have anything you want to do, it's not too late. Questions, comments, ficlets, anything. If you have stuff, go for it!

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

New thread because things. Yeah, I don't really want to be involved, but since I'm here when I'm not working, I have to be to a degree. It's starting to get more than a little annoying. That and having zero ideas that are halfway decent for adapting my characters to something original.

[virgo186]

I wish I could help on the idea front, but I'm barely able to come up with original things myself. My current projects are mostly canon crossovers. I can at least cheer you on, if you want?

Totally don't blame you for being irritated with family drama. I'd be more surprised if you weren't, honestly. Is it super-private, or do you want to rant on the drama here? If not here, maybe when we cross paths online again. It's up to you if you even want to talk about it, though.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to adapt my former OSW characters into something more original, but I'm kind of lost on where I want to set it (our world versus a world a lot like ours but with magic always having been there to one degree or another, yet still pretty modern). Cheering on would be appreciated.

Without getting too long-winded, the basics are: my aunt died without leaving a will or appointing a power of attorney, so there's been a free for all on who gets what and why.

[virgo186]

Ooooo damn, that is some major family drama. No wonder you're dealing with a bunch of crazy people. Hopefully it all gets settled fast, so you can be out of the mess.

I can do cheering on very well! I've done it for Lan a lot. :) I'm more than willing to cheer you on. If you need someone to bounce ideas back and forth with, we can even do that in here.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

Sure thing. I hope so too, and work had me work close tonight, and open tomorrow, so I'm tired and not too coherent right now. There's so much I need to do for my own writing that it's stressful and I don't know where to start.

[virgo186]

Hmm. Do you have an idea to start with? Characters you want to work with? Those are usually good starting points. I know the feeling on the stress, I actually have a few current ideas in-progress that I shoved aside because I just have too much stuff to fix on them before I continue.

I've also found that with characters, if I draft up profiles I can figure out better what sorts of details I should include in the actual story. At the very least, you can keep track of names and all. Format is up to you, computer document or physical notebook pages. Whatever feels most comfortable to you! :)

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

I do, but the settings aren't coming together and neither are the plot conflicts. I have no idea what to do to fix those, so I want to give up. People try to be encouraging, but I think each struggle is unique to each person, and while the encouragement can be good, it doesn't help me overcome the obstacles, be a better writer, not feel like a hack, and so on. I have the characters and have had them set up for years, so that's not my problem. Neither are their conflicts. It's just the settings and wider plot arcs and the motivation and finding time and life that's sucking the will to want to work on it and not think it's garbage that are issues.

[virgo186]

Those do sound like tough issues. So basically it's the really major "threading everything together" stuff, not the nitty-gritty details? Man. :(

Motivation is always a hard thing to work through, I know this. Stress will take a lot of time and energy away from everything, so hoping all the more that you're able to escape the high stress levels very soon.

...I wish I had more I could do for you, besides offering you a place to rant, and someone to rant to.

[virgo186]

Oh man, that cake sounds awesome. :)

So yes, new thread open for topics. Shows, story ideas, games, anything. Let's get conversation going!

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Urban fantasy is still a thing.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

And it isn't being as explored as I'd personally like. Reading rehashes of 'it's our world, but with vampires/fairies/whatever,' does get old for me after awhile.

[amylan.livejournal.com]

>>; Considering that my Magda novels are basically like the Dresden Files except less infuriating... I think I'd mostly just like it if we steered away from supernatural romances.

Or at least turned them into supernatural thrillers.

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

I'm willing to read things like that if they're done well or subvert tropes. I usually am willing to give things a go unless they sound awful from the first few sentences. Other than that, yeah, I'd like to see people try something more daring with the genre.

[amylan.livejournal.com]

Maybe try BlazBlue? *whores the series out to EVERYONE*

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

Is it a game or an anime?

[virgo186]

Now it's both! 8D

[fic-for-all.livejournal.com]

Is it me, or does the way LJ stack comments just make them harder to read? I want to be in a private chat more, but recently work has me running 9-day marathons without a day off and coming on at night is very difficult. It should be easier after Halloween and the store closes. Then I'll just be spending my mornings helping them pack up.