[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon I

(This is a thread from Mizahar's fantasy roleplay forums. Why don't you register today? This message is not shown when you are logged in. Come roleplay with us, it's fun!)

The player scrapbooks forum is literally a place for writers to warm-up, brainstorm, keep little scraps of notes, or just post things to encourage themselves and each other. Each player can feel free to create their own thread - one per account - and use them accordingly.

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Gossamer on October 29th, 2016, 1:00 am

Plot Scopes & Snags


So there's something I've been meaning to talk about. That something involves Plot and more importantly Plot Scope. Plot Snags are things that we have to avoid ruining our plots or writing ourselves into a corner. First, lets define scope. It's relevant, I promise.

scope for y
skōp/

noun
noun: scope; plural noun: scopes

1.
the extent of the area or subject matter that something deals with or to which it is relevant.

"we widened the scope of our investigation"
synonyms: extent, range, breadth, width, reach, sweep, purview, span, horizon; More
area, sphere, field, realm, compass, orbit, ambit, terms/field of reference, jurisdiction;
confine, limit;
gamut
"the scope of the investigation"
2.
the opportunity or possibility to do or deal with something.

"the scope for major change is always limited by political realities"
synonyms: opportunity, freedom, latitude, leeway, capacity, liberty, room (to maneuver), elbow room; More
possibility, chance
"the scope for change is limited by political realities"
archaic
a purpose, end, or intention.
"Plato maintains religion to be the chief aim and scope of human life"

verb
verb: scope; 3rd person present: scopes; past tense: scoped; past participle: scoped; gerund or present participle: scoping

1.
assess or investigate (something).
"they'd scoped out their market"
set the scope of (a projected undertaking).
"it is important that a project is scoped correctly to ensure the budget can be accurately defined"
2.
North American informal
look at carefully; scan.
"they watched him scoping the room, looking for Michael"


So what I really want to talk about is what your Plots entail IE the extent of the area or subject matter your plot deals with or to which it is relevant.

There are two types of plots when we are discussing Mizahar.

The first type of plot is a micro plot that involves just the scope of the thread and the second type of plot is the overarching plot that involves the whole story of your character. Most people develop the first type, micro plots, as they conceive of threads and execute them. So we have a whole host of micro plotting going on.

Overarching plots get ignored. There are some players that have fantastic overarching plots. Don't get me wrong. Many of these people are the kind of PCs that hit the HD when they first start and actually begin to get approval for major things that happened pre-creation. I love those types of pcs because honestly the story just seems to flow out of them. Why? Because they have overarching plots that drive along the micro plotting and everything works towards a singular goal.

Lets use an example.

All this is like a train. The entirety of the train from the engine to the caboose and all the cars in between consist of the overarching plot. Where it travels is the plot scope. And the individual cars are the micro plots. The engine to me seems to always been the Character Sheet (CS) and all the initial ideas that players develop around the character. If you just have a CS there's nothing much there. If you have a whole train, its something beautiful. It's something people will rave about and want to thread with and that will inspire them to gush and shout and maybe hop along or travel the same tracks for a while. It gets super duper exciting when its all there.

Every thread should count towards plot. Every thread is a car on the train. Every thread can be different but they all contribute bit by bit to the overarching plot and give hints at what is to come. If you aren't tying in your overarching plot into the micro plots, your missing out. It's like cooking a five star meal and forgetting to add any seasoning. Why do it? Why ruin something that could be so amazing?

I'm tired beyond belief of threading just for the act of threading. I can barely get them started and keep them going anymore if they involve a PC. I want, no crave, no ... that's not even a strong enough word. I DEMAND that there's a more overarching plot involved in threads I'm doing for my PCs from here on out. I think Plot and Plot Scope is one of the major reasons PCs experience what I consider failure wherein players get bored of them and cast them aside. It's not the PC's fault. It's the writer's fault. It's as if a player thinks that just by the very act of creating a PC they will automatically generate some huge overarching plot that will sweep up their character and keep them longing for the next stage, the next thread, the next meetup, etc. This isn't the way the RPG world works. You have to manifest your overarching plots. They are blood sweat and tear scenarios where you have to work your ass off ooc to really conceive of something ic to form this metaphorical train. Plots aren't out there floating in the great wide RPG nothing ready to be plucked like a ripe apple off the branch of a loaded tree.

You need goals! What goals? It doesn't matter. There are no 'wrong' goals, just awkward impossible ones. You just need some kind of reasonable goals, an overarching one is good. Smaller ones link bigger ones. Goals pile onto goals and birth plot somewhere down the line like some massive writing orgy.

I want to start this 'project' out in Syka, on a small scale, though it would be open to anyone who would be interested even if they aren't in the city. I want it to be focused on the Writer's RPG aspect of Mizahar where we create a micro community of support.

This community would be focused on not only the writing, and by that I mean the act of writing, but on the act of plotting as well. What I mean by 'act' entails so much more than just thinking about doing it. It's a whole act of making that promise, to ourselves more than anyone else, that we’re going to make this whole thing work and that we are going to follow through with it. It's also a 'held accountable thing' by that community. And its perfectly timed with NaNo, now isn't it?

This community is also a promise would entail that we are going to succeed because we can't fail with all the support. And it also includes the fact that the plots we make are going to be cool because we’re putting effort into them. And the community is also help. Lots of help. So that when we don’t know how to do something or if something we want to do seems impossible to make work, it’s okay to seek help, a second set of eyes, and ultimately more opinions. It's a risk, putting our ideas out there, but there's no stupid or bad ideas. And if we don't know how to accomplish our goals it doesn't make us stupid or bad. Such a thing would help us tremendously all get more thorough characters that are created so thoroughly that we know who they are.

This lets us factor in a whole bunch of aspects people often don't want to factor in. Pasts. Past Lives. Bloodlines. Curses. True evil. Utlimate nemesis'. The list goes on and on. All we need to do is avoid Plot Snags and we are golden.

This scrap has dragged on though so I think I'll make Plot Snags a second installment. A Part Two. Tell me though, if you don't mind, what you think of such a thing.
Image
BBC CodeHelp DeskStarting GuideSyka
User avatar
Gossamer
Words reveal soul.
 
Posts: 21137
Words: 6356204
Joined roleplay: March 23rd, 2009, 4:40 pm
Location: Founder
Blog: View Blog (24)
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Lore Master (1) Artist (1)
Trailblazer (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
Hyperposter (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) Power Fork (1)

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Karin on October 30th, 2016, 4:53 pm

This community would be focused on not only the writing, and by that I mean the act of writing, but on the act of plotting as well. What I mean by 'act' entails so much more than just thinking about doing it. It's a whole act of making that promise, to ourselves more than anyone else, that we’re going to make this whole thing work and that we are going to follow through with it. It's also a 'held accountable thing' by that community. And its perfectly timed with NaNo, now isn't it?


I have already written in the Syka OOC, but I will just write here and say that I love this, especially the part I've quoted above. Having a place to talk about plots and the formation and execution of plots would be wonderful, and I feel very helpful. Sometimes this happens on chat, sometimes it happens via PM, but that's sporadic. I'm not quite sure if you're suggesting an actual sub-forum, or just a community who follows these ideals, but either one sounds good.

Personally I worry that most people will find my plots boring. But that's just me being silly. xD

I'm looking forward to the next instalment. ;)
Image

10/7/17- All my threads are marked [open] and as such are open to all. :)
User avatar
Karin
Ocean gazing
 
Posts: 568
Words: 384298
Joined roleplay: July 7th, 2015, 10:05 am
Location: Riverfall/Syka
Race: Human, Svefra
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 2
Artist (1) Overlored (1)

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Gossamer on October 30th, 2016, 9:48 pm

Plot Scopes & Snags II


So first let me talk about mindset that derails the ability to plot.

We have all these preconceived ideas in our heads, in regard to writing, but also about life and all it entails. We are taught to 'succeed' at all costs. And the definition of success is often linked with trying harder or doing more or having more than the next guy or the 'masses'. This equates in the world to having a good job, your own home, 2.5 kids, a great first marriage, etc. Who the hell cares if you are a twenty something global corporate startup that runs his business from a beach in Hawaii? You aren't successful if you don't drive the right car, have the right education, or wear the right clothes.

Bullshit. We all know that's not true. But society feels it is true. Before we can really get things going in what I consider the right way in our brains, we need to change some of these mindsets.

What does this mean on Mizahar? Word count higher? SUCCESS. More posts? SUCCESS. Bigger stats? SUCCESS. Again bullshit. Who defines what is better? Do we? Does our fans? No. Whomever defines who or what is better is technically whomever we let define it including society. The truth is a brand new player can have just as much impact on the game as a veteran of 9 years. It's not a stats game. It's a writing game. If you can write the shit out of something you can make it work if you use plot, avoid plot snags, and really master the art of overarching stories connected by micro plots. Remember the train? Keep that in your mind.

Now, I'm still on the mental issues. We all have them to work through. Here's another issue.

When is enough enough? It's almost as if being content with what you have or your lot in life is completely at odds with success itself. Society tells us if you are content, you have been battered down or have given up on the vertical climb. If you can only post every tues and thurs, that's not failing mon, weds, friday and throughout the weekend... yet thats how society conditions us to think. We should instead be thinking of how much we win on tues and thurs when we get to post. So what we have are people who are scared to create things bigger, larger, stronger than what they have at the moment because they might be judged harshly (called a metagamer, a godrper, etc) by the rest of the whole.

Again bullshit. Define your own reality. Think about how powerful those words are.

Define your own reality.
Define your own reality.

Decide what you are winning and loosing at. Make your own rules and start by breaking one of the most damaging detrimental cycles out there when it comes to writing and even when it comes to life.

Break the guilt cycle.

Guilt is a huge snag in any plotting. We hate guilt as individuals, as a society, and even as a planet. We really do. Guilt is like the weight of an anvil on your chest pressing down on you and making it hard to breathe. Yet we get in this cycle where as if we don't post, we feel guilty. We don't celebrate when we get to post, we just think 'Yea! I posted.' Guilt vanishes, and then when someone else posts and its your turn again we panic because between work, job, eating/sleeping/watching Friends on TV there's no time to post until a later date. And boom... guilt has returned. That's probably the number one reason why people quit writing and quit playing characters. There's a reason this is a 'guilty pleasure'. This is the absolute wrong attitude and it drives people away from playing. It drives me insane. If there's more guilt involved than the pleasure of a good post to reply too, then you are doing something wrong.

But again, its only something you can control. You are the one inside your own head making decisions and thinking these thoughts. You are even the one thinking that's what others are thinking. Unless other people are actually voicing displeasure or some other sort of nonsense about how dare you not post or not play or not do things the same way they did... don't assume they are.

And don't think that about them. Its making gross assumptions!

To me those are the two biggest mental hangups for not being happy on this website. A. Definition of Success. B. Guilt. The third is tied to B, but its actually more of a category of its own.... C. What Other People Think. You'd be shocked at how many times people start out a HD ticket or say to me... "I know your thinking __________." And it drives me nuts. First, its not very often that someone gets that statement right. And more often than not what they assigned me automatically thinking about them is so far off the wall its not even funny or realistic... and yet THEY BELIEVE ITS ABSOLUTELY TRUE.

Hasn't anyone told you that your inner critic is a sonofabitch and probably the worst sonofabitch alive? Yea. Ignore that fucker. Its just that voice that protected you as a little kid .... you know that one that said stuff like 'Don't touch that hot burner on the stove, Johnny.." All grown up and pissed off and jaded by life. Who needs it? You smell fine when it tells you that you stink. You are more often than not beautiful when it calls you uglyass. It rarely says nice things. And truthfully it needs to get out more and relax... date... maybe take up drinking as a hobby or learn to meditate or some such shit.

Okay so that's definitely D. Our Inner Critic is A Sonofabitch.

Recapping here's the list.

A. Definition of Success Needs Changing.
B. Guilt Sucks. Why Do We Guilt Trip Ourselves.
C. Stop Caring What Other People Think.
D. Our Inner Critic is A Sonofabitch. Ignore That Fucktard.

So those are the mental things. Lets move on to the physical things in writing we do to fuck ourselves over and then ultimately give up on writing or give up on finding the pleasure in writing. I think I'll do that in a part III.

Image
BBC CodeHelp DeskStarting GuideSyka
User avatar
Gossamer
Words reveal soul.
 
Posts: 21137
Words: 6356204
Joined roleplay: March 23rd, 2009, 4:40 pm
Location: Founder
Blog: View Blog (24)
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Lore Master (1) Artist (1)
Trailblazer (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
Hyperposter (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) Power Fork (1)

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Gossamer on November 1st, 2016, 5:20 pm

Plot Scopes & Snags III


So with mentality discussed and scope defined, what else can we work on as a group or as an individual in writing on this website and even on our own projects? We need to start avoiding plot snags. We do this by knowing what they are - understanding what they are - before we ever begin plotting.

I hope I'm coming across well enough. Define your plot. Whip you mind into shape. Avoid pitfalls that snag up your plots and hold them back.

Good writers get tangled up in snags on a regular basis if we aren't mindful of them. Being mindful means being able to separate ourselves far enough from our writing to recognize and defining these 'snags'. It's virtually impossible for me to actually define all of the snags possible on Mizahar in regard to plot. However, I can point out a dozen or so of the big ones out there and get them on your mind. Perhaps others can identify more? And while snags can be applied to any writing project, I'm going to tailor them to Mizahar since this is our context.

1. Your Plot Is Predictable.

It happens! It especially happens when you've plotted with overused themes or you write in a way that means your making the direction the story is going super obvious. Sometimes this can be offensive to readers because in a way it implies that they need help navigating your super awesome plot and huge glaring road-signs to get from point A to point B. Yea. When you give them too many hints and make things obvious, its the same as calling them stupid. Don't do that. Be mysterious! Be elusive. Drop hints but not sledgehammers upside their heads. They will move on to an author that seems a whole lot less assuming of their readers IQs.

2. Your Plot Is Too Complex.

'If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out' - George Orwell The same can be said of plot. How do you know if your plot is too complex? There's actually an easy litmus test. Try this. Explain your plot to yourself out loud. If it takes a while or you stumble trying to explain it then it is way too complex. If you can explain it out loud to yourself in a short and sweet and completely non-stumbling manner, you've nailed simplicity!

Remember, just because a plot is short and sweet doesn't mean its less clever. A lot of people confuse complexity with cleverness. Don't be one of these people.

Simplification also involves 'events'. Can you accomplish the same thing you had planned for five battles in one battle? Do it if the answer is yes. Can you learn all the information you need to learn from one conversation rather than multiple conversations with an NPC? If the answer is yes then do that as well.

Also remember that too many subplots and divergent storylines will bog your plot down and destroy good writing. Cut them if you can and streamline to make your writing stronger. I would personally keep a list of my subplots and trim them as necessary... limit them to a specific number so you don't feel weighed down or overburdened by juggling all of them. If a new subplot comes in that you are interested in pursuing then cut out one of two more by wrapping them up. Honestly, just keep your A+ subplots that make your main plot more interesting.

3. You Don't Let Your Plot Breathe.

ACTION ACTION ACTION ACTION just kills the joy for a reader/viewer/etc. Lets talk about The Walking Dead Season Premiere. Intense right? If your a fan you saw two of your favorite characters die and the main hero get physically and mentally tortured the whole episode. A week passed then another episode comes on. Was it more of the same where everyone's heart was pounding and all across the world people were shaking their fists at the tv? No. It was a feel good episode with Carol and The Kingdom. The writers of Walking Dead were letting the plot breathe, giving the viewers a break, and drawing them back into the humanity of the show. This Sunday you'll get hammered with ACTION ACTION ACTION again. The break will be over.

Fillers are important. Fillers can be any type of downtime. Fillers can be conversations, characters introspectively reflecting, eating, flirting, or doing their jobs and they can GET THINGS DONE too. Use these types of scenarios to punctuate the action - battles, confrontations, discoveries - and they are important in their own right because you can use them to move plot if your again that word clever.

4. The Plot Is Frankly Boring.

"My parents were killed by bandits. Now I'm out for revenge!" Sounds familiar doesn't it? So does the whole "I was so traumatized in my past that I now have two personalities." These, at least in my mind, are yawnfests out the gate. Why do you have to write a plot that's so boring? Boring is the paving stones that make up the whole 'path to predictability'. Is there a way to make a boring idea a more interesting idea? Oh... wait... your parents were the LEADERS of the bandits and fell in love and gave up the bandit life when your mother became pregnant with you.... and wanted out. Only once a bandit always a bandit unless death parted the posse?

Now we're getting more interesting. We've wrapped a romantic tragedy into the past instead of a predictable one line statement. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is take your ideas and turn them into wild far fetched ideas and then dial them back to more workable elements in your plot. For some reason, its easier for us to come up with far flung extremes than not come up with ideas at all. Just avoid boring... it's a PC killer. A boring PC will soon be an abandoned PC and that will be entirely your fault.

5. Your Plot Is Frankly Shallow

I'm going to be brief here. Some writers feel free to sacrifice plot in the name of other things... things like witty dialog, sugary sweet metaphors, thick symbolism, etc. They stand on what they think is cleverness to make up for the lack of plot. Have plot. Don't just fly by your pants and make it up as you go along. PLOT PLOT PLOT. Give your characters a chance. Let them grow, change, and go through shit in their day to day lives. It honestly makes the writing worth while.

6. Your Plot Isn't Original Enough

"Nothing is ever original." That's what people write and say routinely. I cry bullshit. I honestly read two to five books a week usually sacrificing sleep. I read new ideas all the time. I think that "Nothing is ever original." Is a battle cry to the lazy, weary, and uninspired. They cling to it like toddlers cling to security blankets as an excuse for not being able to think of great plots. Don't let this be you. You can also litmus test your plot by writing it out on notecards and then looking at each element and seeing if you can see it in popular books, tv shows, movies, etc. If there is a 'mimicry' how can you make it different? What twist can you give it? Think about all these things. You are a writer here... a plotter... a planner... a coordinator of events. You don't get the same pleasure as a reader who gets to be entertained. Writing is work... work on this one.

7. Your Premise Sucks.

Google defines Premise thusly. "“Premise” comes from two Latin words, meaning to put before. ... Thus premise is the underlying idea of your story-the foundation that supports your entire plot. If you can establish what your premise is at the beginning of your project, you will have an easier time writing your story." So, naturally, there are good premises and bad premises. The weaker the premise the worse the foundation to your plot will be and thus the worse your plot will be.

A sucky premises consist of anything that is weak, lacks interest, or simply doesn't compel the reader to want to see where the story goes. A premise can be a transformation journey, a survival story, living under the shadow of cruel masters, etc etc etc. Mizahar's whole premise is 'post apocalyptic world rebuilding'. That is NOT a plot in itself. It is an abstract that sums up what will be the backdrop during the plot. But in and of itself, premise is not plot. Your premise should be compelling and make a reader curious about what could happen.

8. The Destruction Of Suspension Of Disbelief.

We are fantasy writers here. We have to set aside the real world rules a great deal of the time. Wikipedia defines the SoD as "The term suspension of disbelief or willing suspension of disbelief has been defined as a willingness to suspend one's critical faculties and believe the unbelievable; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment." We do this as readers ALL THE TIME. However, there is a line in the sand. There is a critical point where instead of asking a reader to suspend their disbelief, you ask them ludicrous amounts of trust and they finally shake their head and say 'that's stupid' and cast you as a writer aside.

The thing is, you can push the SoD a lot further if you prep the reader for what's to come by dropping hints or prepping the canvas so to speak. Many writers don't do that. Many just ask for the reader's belief cold turkey without giving them anything to go on. That's nothing but bad writing. Pave the way for readers to believe the impossible. For example, does the bad guy repent in the end and do the right thing? Why would they off the cuff with no reason behind it. People won't believe that one bit. Changes of consciousness almost never happens unless the bad guy has a series of things happen to him or her to alter their mindsets. Think of the movie Despicable Me. This was the perfect set up for a stretched SoD.

9. Your Sequence Doesn't Work

Sometimes your plot elements get out of order and the whole plot feels jumbled and awkward. That's why when plotting for a PC go ahead and do what most writers do. Note your major events on an index card and put them in the order you want to write them out as. If they don't work, feel free to rearrange your events (ie. Your index cards). Keep working them until you get a spread that works for you. Don't give up. Sometimes it might take an addition or subtraction of a plot element to make the rest flow together well. Just play with your index cards and make sure they work in your mind and more importantly make sense.

10. Unsatisfying Conclusions

This normally isn't an issue on Mizahar since we are an ongoing collective collaborative storytelling situation. But when you write a conclusion, make sure you make it satisfying so the reader can sit back and proverbially hug the book in joy at a good story well written. This is the one place where sometimes more is better. More anticipation. More romance. More suspense. More anxiety. More rage. Sometimes you just need more.

Image
BBC CodeHelp DeskStarting GuideSyka
User avatar
Gossamer
Words reveal soul.
 
Posts: 21137
Words: 6356204
Joined roleplay: March 23rd, 2009, 4:40 pm
Location: Founder
Blog: View Blog (24)
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Lore Master (1) Artist (1)
Trailblazer (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
Hyperposter (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) Power Fork (1)

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Gossamer on December 26th, 2016, 1:33 am

Skip The Confessionals Please


So already this year it has started. I hate it. Please skip it. If you've ever lied on this site about your age, your identity, your sex, your location, or what you ate for breakfast it is really not my problem. Don't later come to me and confess your 'sins' as part of some utterly retarded personal goals of making things right. I'm already getting those yearly PMs filled with this sort of drivel. And honestly? Confessing it to me means next to nothing to me. If you own up to the fact your a douchebag in your scrap or something, that means a whole lot more.

You know, deep down, pretty much no one is going to believe me if I let it slip you are a liar. But if you admit to the pbase you are, then its hard to refute. Confessional PMs are utterly safe, somewhat cowardly, and just utilized to make YOU feel better, not me. To me, a lie is a lie and an apology doesn't really erase the lie. You're still a liar. And it just backs up my current philosophy that RPers tend to be a little more dramatic than the usual internet crawlers and embellish almost everything.

It gets so freakin' old. I know you don't have Cancer. Your vanishing wasn't a lengthy hospital stay and a fight for your life. I know you aren't a gay guy pretending to struggle through life with all the hardships the LGBT community faces. Its pretty easy to figure out you're an immature teen girl that's screaming out for attention instead. Your dog didn't eat your homework because your lazy ass never did it to begin with. Your abusive husband/boyfriend/father didn't put you in the hospital... he is probably actually really nice but since he works so hard to provide for you and your family he doesn't have the time to give you the attention you need. We aren't a substitute.

Seriously.

And to tell you the truth, I believe about exactly 30% of what I hear on the internet. I believe it less if snopes.com confirms it. You should too. That goes for rumors about players, about happenings, and even rumors about me. Sure there might be kernels of truth in there somewhere, but for the most part its a delicious cake buried in sickly sweet frosting five inches thick.

I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt when they apply for things like ST positions or Graders. Only you and your closest friends know the truth of the matter. The rest of us? Well, mostly we don't care. I want you to be a certain age to join certain groups on the site due to maturity issues. And if you are not, usually its telling in just a short time that you aren't up to the challenge age wise.

So... enough with the confessional PMs. Don't even bother. You aren't righting wrongs by sending them. You're just basically affirming already firm core beliefs.

I know it sounds cold hearted, but by the time you've owned up to your shit, the damage is already done and its water under the bridge.

Rage quit saying its my fault when really you just wanted to play the newest shiniest site out there without feeling guilty? Okay. Skip the rage quit and fade away like everyone else does that gets distracted by real life or new fun things they want to try instead of the same old same old. We'll still be here if you eventually decide the grass wasn't greener. And we are all far happier without the drama.

But if you want to confess something? Don't crowd my PM box with it. Post it in your scrapbook like a man with a real set of testicles.

Goss


Image
BBC CodeHelp DeskStarting GuideSyka
User avatar
Gossamer
Words reveal soul.
 
Posts: 21137
Words: 6356204
Joined roleplay: March 23rd, 2009, 4:40 pm
Location: Founder
Blog: View Blog (24)
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Lore Master (1) Artist (1)
Trailblazer (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
Hyperposter (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) Power Fork (1)

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Draven McNiel on December 26th, 2016, 2:27 am

Well ahead of you! :p
3 days ahead actually
User avatar
Draven McNiel
Player
 
Posts: 86
Words: 79666
Joined roleplay: December 7th, 2015, 7:13 pm
Location: Zeltiva
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Gossamer on December 26th, 2016, 4:12 am

I appreciate the manupping more than you know. Now hopefully the rest will follow suit.
Image
BBC CodeHelp DeskStarting GuideSyka
User avatar
Gossamer
Words reveal soul.
 
Posts: 21137
Words: 6356204
Joined roleplay: March 23rd, 2009, 4:40 pm
Location: Founder
Blog: View Blog (24)
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Lore Master (1) Artist (1)
Trailblazer (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
Hyperposter (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) Power Fork (1)

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Gossamer on January 10th, 2017, 6:44 pm


Sorry for the down time folks. I know it's rare here. But when we are down like that often it means waiting until our beloved coder can get off work in Italy to get us back up. If you have a moment you might pop over to Tarots scrap and say thanks. He's unbelievably busy with work, a new wife, and a tight knit family. I'm very thankful every time he gets us back up and running in times like these.
Image
BBC CodeHelp DeskStarting GuideSyka
User avatar
Gossamer
Words reveal soul.
 
Posts: 21137
Words: 6356204
Joined roleplay: March 23rd, 2009, 4:40 pm
Location: Founder
Blog: View Blog (24)
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Lore Master (1) Artist (1)
Trailblazer (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
Hyperposter (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) Power Fork (1)

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Gossamer on February 13th, 2017, 12:33 am

Absence
Sometimes if your presence isn't appreciated, the best bet is to give someone the gift of your absence.


Many apologies for not being here the last few weeks. One of those weeks the Pacific Northwest underwent a storm of epic proportions and we got a foot of snow in about 6 hrs. The power went out all over as trees came down and we were caught in a catch 22 of sorts. The power company couldn't fix the lines until the roads were cleared. The roads which were littered with cars in ditches couldn't be moved until the roads were cleared. The plows woudln't come through until the cars were moved. And no one had power for a very long time. I was one of those people. We survived on a generator for a while and then I basically lived at work for people who could not make it in. I missed last monday completely because I was one of those with a car in a ditch.

I'm fine. I walked home. People got cars out of the ditch on our road with 4x4s and tractors. A jackknifed Semi-truck finally got pulled out by a big wrecker after the roads were finally cleared (day two or three after the storm). We still had no power... forever.

And the week before I was working 12 hr shifts solid with new equipment we could not keep running. And that new equipment was beating us the hell up because as fun as it sounds, driving something brand brand new kinda kills you. I felt like a city slicker that decided to go on a three month trail ride and couldn't walk for the first week. I would literally stand there looking at a chair and trying to decide if it was worth the pain to sit down in it knowing I couldn't get out of it without help. I ate advil and muscle relaxers like they were skittles.

And in the middle of the whole of it, we went just hours before the storm started and picked up a puppy at the Airport in Seattle that was 5 hrs late coming in (that was a fun wait) because she had to change planes in Houston TX the day before the Superbowl. So in the middle of all of this we've been housebreaking a very precious black chow chow puppy named Voodoo.

I know this sounds whiny, but it is what it is. Busy doesn't even begin to describe how crazy things have been.

Things are more normalized now and I should be able to log back in since we have power and internet back. I haven't been on AIM either because for some reason the program wasn't working on my new phone.

Goss
Image
BBC CodeHelp DeskStarting GuideSyka
User avatar
Gossamer
Words reveal soul.
 
Posts: 21137
Words: 6356204
Joined roleplay: March 23rd, 2009, 4:40 pm
Location: Founder
Blog: View Blog (24)
Race: Staff account
Office
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Lore Master (1) Artist (1)
Trailblazer (1) One Thousand Posts! (1)
Hyperposter (1) One Million Words! (1)
Extreme Scrapbooker (1) Power Fork (1)

[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon

Postby Ball on February 13th, 2017, 12:53 am

Goss,

I am glad you are okay and safe. I can only imagine the weather and crap that last week gave you with all that weather. I can honestly say I have been a day or two without electricity when I live in NY and it sucked and it was in the mid Spring time so it wasn't awfully cold, but having no electricity in the dead of winter after that much snow just had to be purely brutal.

Since moving to Arkansas I haven't dealt with that kind of weather dangerous and I don't want to, so there is that.

Hopefully things get back to some kind of normalcy for you (I love using that word -- normalcy). Here's to the rest of your winter season to being pretty mild for ya.
Avatar CreditsMy lovely Avatar was drawn and created by the most awesome Nivel

Graders Please Note :
As Ball is getting closer and closer to maxing out Pyken as a skill, I would like to request that in places where Ball is not doing enough to constitute Pyken XP if Pyken technique lores could be issued instead.

Examples of proper XP level for Pyken would be: Ball developing or refining his technique by adding new thing against an actual moving target, not a dummy.

The use of basic skills alone are not enough to accomplish XP at Ball's current level of Pyken.

Thank you.

I will be handling all Ball related posts on Mondays @ 1800 my time *
User avatar
Ball
Ser Ball -- Pycon Knight of Syliras
 
Posts: 1323
Words: 460478
Joined roleplay: January 31st, 2012, 4:52 pm
Location: Syliras
Race: Pycon
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 3
Featured Contributor (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1)

PreviousNext

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests