General Discussion Thread

[Mélusine]

Kick, have you ever heard of NaNoWriMo? It isn't until November, but if you need a motivator for writing, it's fantastic (and it's also a ton of fun: I've done it for the past two years).

I've done it for the first time the past year and, indeed, it was a great experience (Something is telling me we'll be several here to do the NaNo in november.)

[Solovei]

but i've wanted to be a writer since fOREVER, in second grade, diary of a wimpy kid was all the rage, and i tried making my own. i found a notebook from forth grade with fanfiction (even though i didnt know it was called that at the time) for a game i was playing. last year, due to *wincing intensifies in volume* hetalia, i tried writing actual fanfiction. it didn't go well, and i actually ripped it out of my notebook and set it on fire.
and then i joined this fandom and started actually doing stuff.

like. stuff. i can't put it into words but you know the feel.

the 4000+ words i have written total? thats an achievement. that's a really big achievement for me.

_{i guess part of is that i'm writing something and it turned out like 20 pages long, and sTILL NOT FINISHED and then i had to cross out like 5 whole pages because they didn't really make sense and now i have no motivation whatsoever}


art was always something i wanted to do, but not the thing i wanted to do, basically. thats the summary of my whole relationship with art.


curry: i don't have much angixty about losing whatever skill i have- thank god, it just that i really want to do writing but i never write

actually talking about this helped a lot i think i have something resembling motivation now.

I agree with what Melusine said, but also: I firmly believe that writing is about quality, not quantity. If you can write 20-page-long epics, that's great, but sometimes just 100 words can get that same feeling across as 20 pages. I'm one of those people that tends to write shorter things, to be honest. When I'm roleplaying and it's a good set-up and the characters mesh well together, I can go on for much longer, but writing by yourself is different and there I tend to err on the side of brevity.

And yes, it is absolutely about practice.

[Mélusine]

I firmly believe that writing is about quality, not quantity. If you can write 20-page-long epics, that's great, but sometimes just 100 words can get that same feeling across as 20 pages.

Oh, yes, that. That's very important to know too, thank for adding it

[Laufey]

Today I've gotten a little taste of the life of a cleanser. Well, kinda. My parents want another outhouse shed (they collect them). Since they live in a rocky cauldron at the top of a mountain this means we need to remove tons of solid bedrock to expand the flat bit. After trying a lot of techniques we decided to do it the old fashioned way and bake the rock. So we piled on a wheelbarrow of coal and several loads of wood and lit the biggest fire the North has ever seen (well, not really). So I've spent the day fanning the flames with a metal tray and shuffling red hot coals and firewood around with a pitchfork. It's been quite a sweatshop and I think my brain has been baked a little as well.

This might sound weird but this sounds like great times. I love bonfires etc. and would gladly have switched places with you, both for the fun of tending to a big fire and also so I could actually have felt useful today for a chance (I've done practically nothing since returning to Iceland - some panicky work-related catching up but aside of that, nothing)...

Kick, have you ever heard of NaNoWriMo? It isn't until November, but if you need a motivator for writing, it's fantastic (and it's also a ton of fun: I've done it for the past two years).

I'm going to recommend NaNoWriMo too! It's great fun although the results might need a few editing rounds before they're presentable. One of my NaNo projects still needs some heavy re-writing because I changed my mind about the plot many, many times on the way, but true to NaNo-spirit when you drive past your intersection the solution is not to turn back, just hit the gas and all will be ok in the end. Except you've no idea where you ended up and how or why but hey, a destination's a destination no?

(Btw never let me actually drive you anywhere. It's proven that I can hit two pillars and a parked car in one smooth move while trying to park.)

[viola]

I just went into the most amazing store!!! It has antiques and mythical creatures and magical objects and found items jewelry and old books and art work and a small selection of art supplies. It also has a large section of vintage and unusual clothing. Laufey, Haiz, and Mélusine, I was thinking of all of you while I was there. They have things I think each of you would love and if you ever end up on this landmass I'm bringing you here.

I found a really neat vintage dress there today, and I don't usually wear dresses a lot but this one was perfect, and I am very very excited to have it. 

[KicknRun]

to everyone who responded to me: whoops

i'm just turn on airplane mode so i don't waste battery and type up something and go from there, i guess?

[Laufey]

It also has a large section of vintage and unusual clothing.

You got my full attention at the word "vintage". Photos of the dress you bought maybe?

[Fimbulvarg]

This might sound weird but this sounds like great times. I love bonfires etc. and would gladly have switched places with you, both for the fun of tending to a big fire and also so I could actually have felt useful today for a chance (I've done practically nothing since returning to Iceland - some panicky work-related catching up but aside of that, nothing)...

Bonfires are never not fun. Unless they used to be your house or something. Or if you're being burned on one. Large bonfires are surprisingly hot to just be near. I quickly decided that raking red-hot coals while wearing plastic slippers was to err on the side of carelessness.

But if you like bonfires you shou --- Ah, no trees eh.

[Laufey]

But if you like bonfires you shou --- Ah, no trees eh.

The traditional Icelandic way of course would be to go burn your enemy in their house, apparently turf houses make for a great bonfire! Alas, I have no enemies in turf houses (and in any case burning people alive is a bit mean).

EDIT: no wait, actually we DO have a tree every year that we burn in a bonfire! It's the Christmas tree they prop up in front of the Parliament, the one that, oh yes, Norway sends us because you guys seem to understand we have a bit of a problem providing for the festive spirit on our own. Once Christmas is over it's firewood time.

[JoB]

oh no
please don't expect pictures
I... don't know what I would take pictures of

You could be the one who expands the English Wikipedia page with information on Brněnský orloj (which actually has a connection to Sweden) ...

[Solovei]

The traditional Icelandic way of course would be to go burn your enemy in their house, apparently turf houses make for a great bonfire! Alas, I have no enemies in turf houses (and in any case burning people alive is a bit mean).

EDIT: no wait, actually we DO have a tree every year that we burn in a bonfire! It's the Christmas tree they prop up in front of the Parliament, the one that, oh yes, Norway sends us because you guys seem to understand we have a bit of a problem providing for the festive spirit on our own. Once Christmas is over it's firewood time.

Reminds me of a certain other thing that gets burned every year...

[JoB]

Too late. I've already got an image of a house in the middle of the norwegian wilderness surrounded by outdoor toilets.

The Viking way to discourage revenge-return-visits, or just a sh---y neighborhood? We might never know.

(Or maybe the point was to have wannabe avengers tired out with a bit of thimblerig / whack-a-mole looking for the Norwegians to exact revenge on? "A ship! Quick, everyone into hiding! Only one person per loo this time, and remember, nobody blabs about the tunnels connecting the holes!")

[Fimbulvarg]

EDIT: no wait, actually we DO have a tree every year that we burn in a bonfire! It's the Christmas tree they prop up in front of the Parliament, the one that, oh yes, Norway sends us because you guys seem to understand we have a bit of a problem providing for the festive spirit on our own. Once Christmas is over it's firewood time.

Erm, yes, I'm glad you guys appreciate it. It costs like 22 000 euros to send it. I think it's a good gesture though that we send trees to old comrades in arms: the UK, the Netherlands, Iceland... Uh, actually the Iceland tree might be more of a pity thing. Like donating a lock of hair to a bald person.

Jokes aside, do Icelanders have christmas trees in their homes? I know there's at least some forests around nowadays.

Reminds me of a certain other thing that gets burned every year...

Some people must really hate goats.

[Mélusine]

I just went into the most amazing store!!! It has antiques and mythical creatures and magical objects and found items jewelry and old books and art work and a small selection of art supplies. It also has a large section of vintage and unusual clothing. Laufey, Haiz, and Mélusine, I was thinking of all of you while I was there. They have things I think each of you would love and if you ever end up on this landmass I'm bringing you here.

I found a really neat vintage dress there today, and I don't usually wear dresses a lot but this one was perfect, and I am very very excited to have it.

You know, Vi, I like you a lot, but your use of your emergency TARDIS have to be reconsidered. Please. Thank. (We need photos now.)

[Laufey]

Jokes aside, do Icelanders have christmas trees in their homes? I know there's at least some forests around nowadays.

I've seen some being sold but they tend to be tiny ones, ranging from tabletop size to one metre tall. Most people use plastic trees instead. The few forests that are currently growing are sort of out of bounds for Christmas tree chopping, with the exception of last year when a winter storm totaled the Oslo Tree the very night after it had been brought to its place and a new one had to be found in a rush. Last winter was sorta bad with storms, at least one storm warning per week (storm warnings here come with a "don't leave your houses please", if there's one it pays to take it seriously), and it actually became one of the few winters considered so bad that it was given a name. Alas I'm not sure what the name was buuuut one very popular suggestion was Fimbulvetur.