I think I'm gonna skip NaNoWriMo this year. (School's way too busy~)

I don't have the attention span to write a novel, especially not one in a month. So no Nanowrimo for me.

Definitely no NaNo for me. Same lack of concentration problem KTC has. Heck, I can't even finish ONE CHAPTER of my fanfic in a month, much less a whole novel.

Does anyone know what a thesis extension is all about?

In Graduate school when you are unable to complete your Thesis within the time span you were originally slated to complete it in, you may be allowed to extend your time but not by too long.
From the Harvard Econnomics Website:

http://www.econ.rochester.edu/Grad/extension.html

Thesis extensions are for a limited duration. They are not granted lightly. To request a thesis extension your advisor must send a letter to the Director of Graduate Studies containing the following information:

1. A statement giving the current status of the thesis: This must include an outline of the progress to date, an evaluation of its quality, and an indication of what remains to be done. A prognosis about completion should be given.



2. A statement giving an expected date of completion :
This letter will then be forwarded on to the Dean of Graduate Studies who makes all decisions about whether or not to grant an extension, and if so, for how long.

For more information about thesis extensions, see the Graduate Secretary at your University.

I'm doing Nanowrimo, but my progress is pretty slow. 50,000 words ends up being a lot of pages...200? 300?

Was that this month? Dang... I was thinking about it earlier this year... Oh well. There's always next year.

@ Overmoon - it really is only about 130 double-spaced pages. Not so much really

Oh - it really isn't that much when you look at it in those terms. I guess the whole "50,000" made Nanowrimo appear more daunting than it really is.

link spam!

Weapon
http://www.myarmoury.com/features.html
http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewforum.php?f=1
^people seem nice enough to help you out if you need weapon pics.

writer's block:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/567/01/
http://www.writersblock.ca/
http://community.livejournal.com/ljswritersblock/
http://phatpuppy.deviantart.com/art/Writer-s-Block-183210544

Anyhow, I got a major writer's block that is bugging the heck outta me. Overloading on the school work isn't helping too. Teijal/Rhen are yelling at me but I can't seem to put what they want on screen without looking like a clueless sloth at a keyboard. Hopefully this weekend where I got some free time I'll be able to write something fanfic related cuz writing school essays just aren't fun at all.

Write On, ktc!

I am back to 'normal' with my writing too, and am doing a 4th complete rewrite of my first novel. I am changing it so that it no longer reads like a walkthrough for an rpg. I am over half way there, and should be done in a week.(sigh).

But I am writing the synopsis as I go so that will be done when I am ready to fine tune the 4th rewrite.

Apparently it takes 4 to 6 rewrites to work all the bugs out of a proper novel. Yay! (I think)

By the way I just want to congratulate Stardale and all the other Nano writers who were winners this year and actually completed their 50000 word novel in a month! It was a lot of fun and I would never have known about it if not for Stardale.

What? Stardale won the NaNo? Wow, that's cool. Congrats Satrdale.

I have a question about first person POV stories. Is it us hopping a ride in someone's head and we experience what they experience, or is it the "I"/narrator blah-blah-ing to us about what they experienced?

I also have problems with describing stuff that are only relevant to that particular universe. For example, the narrator has... an X species pet that is fuzzy, green and round with yellow legs and eyes that take up its entire body. X species is something that is not unusual in the particular universe.

How do I describe it? Is it okay if the narrator take a "moment aside" to explain to the readers just what exactly X species is and what the pet looks like or should I somehow incorporate the descriptions in narration? Maybe something like this:

When I entered my bedroom, [insert name here] waddled towards me as fast as his clumsy yellow feet would allow him to then launched himself to my chest. I caught him mid-air and stroked his head, noting that his green fur was getting long. I have to remember to take him to the pet care centre soon.

So, which is it? Is either one okay?

I'll probably end up just using it for fanfics and stuff, but hey, even fanfics need to be well-written, right?

@agas: imo, doing first person is putting yourself in the character's shoes. Whatever they're feeling you're feeling, their past is yours, etc.

As for the pet thing: I think you should try to incorporate it into the narrative rather than give an info dump. Makes the story more dynamic.

@ d_a - Stardale did indeed win the nano and so did I. This was a huge year for NanoWriMo and there were many people who won this year.

I am so proud - I just recieved my winner T-shirt in the mail.

I agree with ktc about the information dump thing - the way you describe the crature in the paragraph is really good, because I have a mental picture of it and and I am not bored by a landslide of words.

The creature thing was just an example, not something I'd actually need to describe. Anyways, the [insert unknown object/creature here] is a daily stuff in the story's universe, but for YOU GUYS it's something you have no idea about. It would be like me trying to describe, say, and ice cream cone to an alien audience who never saw it before...

So, still no lengthy infodump on stuff? Okay...

@agas: Even describing an ice cream cone can probably be described in a narrative way, not an info dump.

I'm personally against most info dump because that's when my eyes start glazing and my mind wanders.

@stardale/connie: congrats for winning nano!

Alrighty then. Thankies

Thanks guys! At least I can clean the dust off it now. And congrats to you too, Connie! It's an achievement~

And KTC, I'm going to add those links on the first page...perhaps when I get back from court.

Hey guys, I have a question. Suppose I reuse original concepts I introduce in my Aveyond AUs in my original stories, would that be plagiarism and/or land me into trouble somehow? I've heard of how Cassandra Clare got criticized for reusing elements from her fanfiction in her published novels. I don't get it.

See, things like the demon language, the history of the daevas, the demon hierarchy and pretty much how the demon realm works are my own original stuff that I apply on the Aveyond universe. If I remove all reference or connection to existing Aveyond canon, those stuff cannot really be considered as any part AV canon. Would I be wrong to use them on original works I may publish in the future? Because if it IS wrong, I might as well halt/remove all my fanfics that refer to or make use of those stuff and save them for my original works

Good Question d_a -

Stardale? Any idea about this?