Now, a lifetime of experience has left me bitter and cynical.

[chicafrom3]

Oh, look, another adorable Star Wars shirt I wish I owned.


...why do I not have a Star Wars icon? Does anyone know of any good SW icon makers?

Comments

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Oh that's adorable! *nyu* Do you want this one instead of the other one? You can pick which you want if I actually have income at Christmas. :)

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

If you have the income, ask me to make a decision closer to Christmas. ;) Because they are both too adorable for words. ♥♥♥

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Okay. :) They are adorable. I like this one better though, personally.

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

I have Star Wars icons now! So that's exciting.

I'm leaning towards this one, yeah. Oh, C&H. ♥

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Yay! I was a little surprised, what your zillions of icons, that you didn't have any SW ones. XP

So hey, now I have to figure out what to write for NaNo. I would like to have a plot outline before 1 November. Any strategy tips, from someone who's done it before?

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

I only have 386 icons. >:{

;)

Hmm. I'm, like, not at all good at plot. So that's not really something I can advise about...my basic strategy is to have a concept and a set of characters and then sort of see what happens. And then if enough things happen I can pretend it's a plot!

From browsing the forums, I'd say don't get too married to a plot outline. Leave yourself enough flexibility that if things go in an unexpected direction it doesn't destroy all your plans. That sort of thing.

And definitely browse the forums 'cause there's a lot of helpful stuff posted there.

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Only.

I was kind of thinking about a closely-related set of short stories. Like Catch-22? I'm not nearly skilled enough to pull off something as brilliant as Catch-22 of course XP But the structure of it.

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

I have space for 414 so I think I'm doing pretty good on the ~restraint thing.


Ooh, that could work really well. And be significantly less stressful.

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Haha point taken. XP

Indeed. And if a particular story just wasn't working, I could scrap it without being set too far back.

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

Noooo, never scrap anything during NaNo. Although with that structure, if a particular story isn't working, you can just stop working on it and move on to the next one. And then delete it when the month's over. Which is basically the same thing as scrapping it but with a higher word count. *nods*

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Well, that's what I meant. But if I was doing a whole novel-style plot, if it wasn't working I would maybe have the word count, yes, but otherwise would be back at square one. This way I'd only be plot-wise back maybe one or two squares. :)

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

In that case, we're in complete agreement. ;)

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Excellent. :) Now, I have to decide if I should use characters I already have, or make new ones. I'm leaning toward new ones, because creating a new cast of characters should keep me busy until it's time to start writing. Otherwise I'll get antsy.

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

I have my main cast worked out (although oddly only one of them seems to have a surname and I'm not sure if that's going to be a problem down the road or not), so I'm mostly trying to figure out some semblance of plot. I have a handful of scenes and plot points are part of the story, but I've virtually no idea how it starts and how certain characters get involved. (Like the journalist. WTF, journalist, why are you involved in this story? How does a journalist in an era of trash journalism get involved in taking down a ~conspiracy? ...if indeed it is a conspiracy, which I'm still not clear about.)

Oh, plot. I don't understand the concept. :|

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Havemercy has something like two characters that have surnames, three if you count the one that is only mentioned and doesn't actually show up. Fans aren't sure whether this was just considered unnecessary information or if the characters really have only one name. Of course, some of the important characters didn't even get names, just titles-- the Esar and Esarina, and the chatelain, specifically. Anyway, it seems to have worked out fine, so you should be okay.

Fictional journalists have a long history of getting caught up in conspiracies by nosing about where they shouldn't be, possibly because they'll get fired if they don't come up with a story that will sell. Sometimes they end up staying involved because they want to 'do the right thing' or whatever, but I am personally fond of those journalists who stay involved even though they are just as unprincipled as they first appear to be. Reasons could be blackmail (by other 'heroes') or a threat against them (by the perpetrators of the maybe-conspiracy for discovering said maybe-conspiracy). You have another month to figure it out.

Did you ever finish your novel from last year?

I really want to do something steampunk. And if I do the short story thing, I can indulge in a lot of world-building. But I think that might involve too much research and thus make my project a rather onerous undertaking.

I could stick with something I've actually got a pretty good knowledge base of already (and leftover textbooks for reference). Post WWII Germany? I took a whole history class about it. And given how Hitler seems to get a... I'm not sure what the word would even be, but you know, mechasuits, crazy technology, possible supernatural or demonic powers... (I wanna give it -punk name, as a lot of the common treatments fit... what do you think?)

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

My MC is not a very pleasant person, so blackmail's a definite option. I still have to figure out whether it's a conspiracy at all and if so what the conspiracy is, but, well. ;)

I never finished Better Than It Sounds, which I get sad about since it's about 80% done, but then I go back and look at what I wrote and the trainwreck-y bits and the terrible terrible pacing and can't actually do anything about it. Er.

Ooh, post WWII Germany could be fascinating. I'm not sure what it'd be called; would that fall under atompunk? Although the supernatural/demonic influences would tilt it a bit more into outright fantasy, I suppose.

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

There you go. :) And I like the idea of sleazy journalist characters. Are the main characters are the ones involved in the conspiracy or the ones taking it down?

Aw that sucks. I know how that feels though-- rather just pretend it didn't happen than do something. I had a short story that I hated how it ended, but I didn't do anything about it for months. But I finally made myself fix it and now it's much better. :) But it would've been easy to leave it. Hey actually you read that one, I think! It's called 'The Lamp Was Off.'

Hmm could be atompunk. But according to http://diewachen.com/2007/08/all-sorts-of-punk.html it doesn't sound right. Neither do Nazipunk or Transistorpunk, because WWII ends, and the events of denazification still happen (Nuremburg as well as the smaller things like the removal of school teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc from their positions), and I'm thinking my novel will be set in the late 40s, early 50s. Immediately post-war, not in the 60s, and I think so far as Cold War type things, there will be more focus on the Communist side, with East Germany. I don't think there is going to be any actual supernatural things, just running with the fascination some of the upper-level Nazis had with it, and potentially they will have been doing experiments into harnassing supernatural forces, though probably without success.

Atompunk is, I suppose, the closest, but it's still not right. Might need a whole new name. The technology is not going to be ubiquitous. I'm thinking hidden labs in bunkers and experiments and such (on the sides of the Nazis and the Allies), rather than 'futuristic' technology available to everyone. Only of course the war ended, so the experiments have stopped (well, the Nazis have stopped). Maybe Nazipunk is the closest name? I don't know. Atomnazipunk? I think that will be my working label.

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

My guys are the ones taking the conspiracy down, I'm...pretty sure. They're a pretty disparate bunch; I can't imagine them conspiring on anything together. It's more of a "stumbled into it and now we have to do something" thing.

Atomnazipunk is an amazing label.

I like the idea of the tech being experimental and hidden; it exoticizes it, as it were, instead of normalizing it. And adding Cold War politics into that opens a huge amount of possibilities.

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Ah. Now we have to do something because it's the right thing to do, or now we have to do something because they know we know and might kill us, or perhaps because there is a pesky journalist hovering about, in serious danger of writing something?

It's really the only thing that works. Who knows? Maybe I'll start a whole genre. Well, the genre exists already, but it doesn't have a name. XP

Indeed. And practically speaking all research and resources would be going to the war effort (if ladies can't wear stockings they can't have mechasuits either). I also imagine that most of the people would be unaware of the extent of the experiments, since keeping the people informed as to their actions didn't seem to be a major priority of the Third Reich. The addition of the Cold War politics should be interesting. I don't intend to get so far as 1961 (when the Berlin Wall was built), or even much past 1949 (when Germany officially become two countries), but the reluctant cooperation between the eastern Allies and western Allies is quite interesting. Also the decisions on the part of some Germans themselves. Did you know that Stalin offered Adenauer (the chancellor post-war) the Soviet part of Germany? He was willing to relinquish the USSR's claim and allow Germany to be a single country, on the condition that it would be a neutral one, and Adenauer said no because he valued the possibility of a relationship with the West more.

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

Mm, more "Now we have to do something because if we don't the whole city could come down around our heads and all my stuff is here." ...my protags are, uh. Not the most selfless people around.

And at some point the people responsible for the conspiracy find out that ~they know~ and freeze Mila's personal assets so then it gets all "Now I have to do something because I am really, really mad."

(if ladies can't wear stockings they can't have mechasuits either)
Ahahaha. Yes. This.

id you know that Stalin offered Adenauer (the chancellor post-war) the Soviet part of Germany? He was willing to relinquish the USSR's claim and allow Germany to be a single country, on the condition that it would be a neutral one, and Adenauer said no because he valued the possibility of a relationship with the West more.

I didn't know that! That's fascinating. You could spin a whole alternate history just off of "what if Adenauer said yes".

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

That sounds suspiciously like Inara saying she wasn't going to leave Serenity because 'all my things are here.'

Anger is a good motivator.

Of course, they wouldn't had them before the war, so they're likely not going to attempt to look like they have one (like ladies drawing seams on their legs), but I still have this image in my mind now of magazine articles like 'Wie deine Panzerkostuem mit deine Shuehe koordinieren' ('How to coordinate your mechasuit with your shoes,' of course.)

I had to make my own word for mechasuit, but I rather like it. The base words are 'das Panzer' (armour), 'der Anzug' (suit, men's), and 'die Kostuem' (ladies' suit). Thus, 'der Panzeranzug' and 'die Panzerkostuem,' literally 'armour suit.' If you're especially paranoid you could get yourself 'ein Waffenpanzeranzug,'(/eine Waffenpanzerkostuem) as that is clearly an armed armour suit.

I could, but again with the research. XP I'm much better making shit up. But it would be interesting. Maybe a future project that I will have time to thoroughly research.

[chicafrom3.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but the difference is, Mila actually means it.

'How to coordinate your mechasuit with your shoes,' of course.

I get why it's not actually compatible with the 'verse as imagined but ohgod I love it. That should be a real article. Also, Waffenpanzeranzug just sounds so fun to say. Waffenpanzeranzug.

XD Yeah, that's an extended-deadline project, not a NaNo one. ;)

[riviyan-questa.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. :)

It could be compatible with the 'verse, just not pre-war. After the resources are no longer requires for the war effort (though a significant amount go toward rebuilding and such), and with the growing tension between East and West, Panzeranzugs could become quite popular.

I have this urge to make a retro advert for mechasuits. Obviously the Waffenpanzeranzug isn't a civilian model. I don't see them being terribly practical, as weapons would weigh down the suit and it would be bulkier. Much easier to have a Panzeranzug and carry a weapon. Though the Panzeranzugs are more lightweight and function more like a suit of armour, while the Waffenpanzeranzug is more like a real mechasuit. You know, mechanised. XP It's larger and has an internal power source.