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Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

Surprised to see nobody has asked this question yet. It's November, so that apparently makes it National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo). Who's taking part?

My GF/best friend (don't ask) has started a novel. I haven't gone down that route - I've cheated slightly, and committed to finishing anywhere between 6 and 12 of my existing short stories. At the moment I'm nearly done with one Nosleep story and this year's Marneus Calgar Christmas special, a rather insulting spoof of the He-Man and She-Ra Christmas special done in the 40K universe. I'm planning to finish off three very long-neglected Horus Heresy stories (Judas Gospel, Survivor Stories: Death Guard and Survivor Stories: World Eaters). I'm also hoping to substantially re-write and complete an existing 20K story (On Eagle's Wings), finish another (Faithless) and write at least two new ones (Gods and Daemons, Supersymmetry).

In three days I've managed the best part of 6,000 words, not including editing and re-writing.

How about you?

EDIT: Don't sign up on their website. Until Nanowrimo started they sent useful advice and encouragement, but now the event has started they're sending at least four begging letters a day asking for substantial donations (eg £25-£50)!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/11/05 14:32:21


Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Twisted Trueborn with Blaster



Ottawa

I'm doing it right now. I'm writing a choose-your-own-adventure story about a Schola Progenium student who discovers a Chaos cult at his institution, and must choose to either uproot it or join it. Unfortunately, I started the project woefully unprepared and am already hitting a wall when it comes to the plot.

In fact it's possible I'll start another choose-your-own-adventure story from scratch. I welcome any suggestions for settings: e.g. a boarding party exploring a space hulk, an Inquisitor who investigates a series of murders, a young soldier caught behind enemy lines, a spaceship captain fighting piracy in the Elysian sector, etc. One thing is sure, I want my protagonist to be an unaugmented human being.

Cadians, Sisters of Battle (Argent Shroud), Drukhari (Obsidian Rose)

Read my Drukhari short stories: Chronicles of Commorragh 
   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

Your ideas sound really interesting! Shame you couldn't sell this kind of thing on Android and iOS as an interactive choose your own adventure. Imagine the potential that might have! But you can still release it online for free.

Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in be
Jealous that Horus is Warmaster






Brussels, Belgium

I've been doing the nano every year since 2008, but I've never dived into a 40k fanfic, even if I started one to flesh out the fluff of my joint inquisition army...

This year I'm writing about a superintelligent computer that is controlling the fate of humanity and the humble psychoanalyst that are desperately trying to keep the machine sane...

Your ideas seem very interesting, and I might just dig into my inquisition story after I'm done with my 50k for the year...

Work in progress p&m blog :
United Colors of Chaos , Relating my ongoing battle with grey plastic...
2022 hobby running tally: bought: 71, built: 45, painted: 17, games played: 3
10000pts 4000pts 5000pts 1500pts  
   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

That's an interesting premise for a novel. What is making computer insane - the contradictory nature of humans?

I would urge anyone who's too intimidated by writing 50,000 words of a novel to look at their existing (and planned) fiction. What has been left unfinished? What have you always wanted to write? Set yourself a target of short stories eg "3 minimum, I'll aim for 5 but 8 would be nice" and hammer them!

I've finished a Nosleep story, a 40K story that dated from 2014 and a Horus Heresy story dating from 2015. I'm about 1,000 words away from finishing a second Heresy story that also dates from 2015. Clearing your backlog like this does wonders for your confidence, not to mention your sanity!



Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in gb
Liberated Grot Land Raida






Northern Ireland

I have another large grot fiction on hiatus that might need a kick in the pants to finish. I've no idea about current word count or what it would take to finish the thing as its been written entirely chapter by chapter on iPhone note pad which doesn't count words for you.
I've heard of nanowrimo years ago but never done it. I've also never written anything set in a universe of my own creation. I'd really like to try that but never had a great spark of an idea for it.

   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

Writing is like running: you need to warm up first. Working on your fiction, even if all you do is edit what's there, is a fantastic way of unlimbering your mind. Respect for writing it using a phone - that must be somewhat frustrating!

Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Lord of the Fleet






Halifornia, Nova Scotia

30k and counting. First serious attempt in almost a decade. Writing a sci-fi, inspired by my many games of Stellaris.

Its awful, but a hell of a lot better than the novel I haven't written!

Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress

+Spaceship Gaming Enthusiast+

Live near Halifax, NS? Ask me about our group, the Ordo Haligonias! 
   
Made in gb
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'





Dorset, England

I didn't realise that November was writing month tbh, maybe I should try to finish my Ork story off.
   
Made in gb
Liberated Grot Land Raida






Northern Ireland

Thanks to your prompting I've been having a tweak at my Grot-fic, which otherwise wouldn't have got a look in probbably this year. So thanks, I'll try and keep it up over November at least. I'll maybe even get another chapter sketched out by then.

Also, really looking forward to this year's Marneus Calgar Christmas special. Always a highlight of the dakka fiction calendar.

   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

Good luck Blacksails! 30K is a formidable word count, well done! Are you going to try to get it published? And it sounds like Stellaris is worth playing. I got it in the Humble Bundle but haven't tried it yet, due to other commitments.

Kroem and theCrowe, sounds like some much-needed Ork fiction is on its way! Surprisingly, considering Orks are the most warlike and numerous race in the galaxy, hardly any published fiction deals with them as the primary threat. Are there any BL novels where Orks aren't simply name-dropped? The final Last Chancers novel and Fifteen Hours are the only ones that spring to mind.

Thanks theCrowe, your comment about this year's Barmy Army is really heartening. This year's story is a total epic which took a lot out of me -- it'll be up in early December.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/11/19 21:43:49


Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Lord of the Fleet






Halifornia, Nova Scotia

 NoPoet wrote:
Good luck Blacksails! 30K is a formidable word count, well done! Are you going to try to get it published? And it sounds like Stellaris is worth playing. I got it in the Humble Bundle but haven't tried it yet, due to other commitments.



Just broke 40k last night. Staring down the last 7k, which can be done in two days of solid writing, or three days of average writing. It'd take a year of self-editing, plot hole fixing, and character re-development to even consider the notion of maybe talking to someone about it. For now its just a fun challenge. I'll probably leap off of this to writing regularly at r/writingprompts.

Stellaris is excellent. If you've played any other Paradox games, you'll know what to expect, but if you haven't then know that the game will only get better as it continues to get patched and expanded. In the coming month or two we'll get 1.9 or 2.0, which will dramatically overhaul a lot of the weaker mechanics in the game.

How goes your writing this November?

Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress

+Spaceship Gaming Enthusiast+

Live near Halifax, NS? Ask me about our group, the Ordo Haligonias! 
   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

They're still developing it? That's impressive considering it's been out for a while yet. I'll have to start playing it next month after nanowrimo. Are there any good Star Trek mods? There is a rather epic Trek mod for Sins of a Solar Empire (which I also haven't got yet). I've got about three different versions of Hearts of Iron 2 but just cannot get into it - the complexity is massive and playing as Britain is borderline impossible for an ADHD-wracked brain like mine.

How appropriate that you broke the 40K barrier. How long do you spend each day writing? And THANK YOU for the writingprompts mention, I've passed this on to my friend who's working on her first novel as we speak.

Since you asked, I might as well offer a teaser about the upcoming Marneus Calgar's Barmy Army 2017 Christmas Special. The story needs its ending rewritten, as I've decided that Abaddon rams Macragge with the Vengeful Spirit.

Marneus Calgar's Barmy Army Publicist wrote:“A great and terrible evil has come to the 41st Millennium,” Tzeentch said. “A force whose influence is spreading, firing the hearts and minds of humans everywhere. It will undo the fabric of our universe.”

“It is a reboot,” Blackheart groaned. “Well done, Abaddon.”

“Shut it!” Tzeentch snapped. “This force represents a great evil, bringing peace and goodwill. The Realm of Chaos is becalmed. Half of my daemonic legion are watching a family comedy about an ingenious child pursued by bungling burglars. My realm is defenceless.”

“What is this new evil?” Abaddon asked.

“It is called the Christmas Spirit. It must be extinguished. No quarter, no mercy. Untold rewards shall be heaped upon the one who accomplishes this.” He held one hand palm upwards and an image of Guilliman's Finger appeared above it. “Destroy this ship at all costs. Then take your fight to the source of its corruption – the Ultramarine home world, Macragge.”


Join Marneus Calgar and his Barmy Army as they once again fight for the right to enjoy a merry Christmas, in an adventure ranging from the Tyranid-haunted depths of Macragge to Tzeentch's Impossible Fortress. Destiny has seen fit to make Lord Calgar miss Home Alone 2 once again. Can he rescue his friends from the Eye of Terror in time for Christmas Day? Grimace at the destruction of your childhood in this insulting parody, loosely based on the He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special.


This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/11/20 16:05:27


Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Lord of the Fleet






Halifornia, Nova Scotia

 NoPoet wrote:
They're still developing it? That's impressive considering it's been out for a while yet. I'll have to start playing it next month after nanowrimo. Are there any good Star Trek mods? There is a rather epic Trek mod for Sins of a Solar Empire (which I also haven't got yet). I've got about three different versions of Hearts of Iron 2 but just cannot get into it - the complexity is massive and playing as Britain is borderline impossible for an ADHD-wracked brain like mine.


Paradox releases a full game on launch worth the price tag, then spend the next 5+ years constantly patching and releasing expansions. If you buy in early, the cost of the game is manageable; somewhere around $60CAD, then $10-20 expansions once or twice a year. The expansions generally alter the game pretty dramatically, improving it significantly. There have been some outliers with Europa Universalis IV, but Stellaris has had very well priced content.

There is in fact a popular star trek mod. I can't vouch for it as I'm not a big trekkie, but it is one of the most popular mod on the workshop.

All of their grand strategy titles (Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Victoria, Hearts of Iron, Stellaris, in order of timeframe) are pretty complex at first glance, but you quickly pick up the big stuff. Plus, once you play one of them, the mechanics in the other ones make a lot more sense. My knowledge of EUIV greatly helped me play Stellaris. The various subreddits all have amazing guides with full wikis of everything you need to know. Paradox will develop each of their titles for normally 5-ish years, then either stop developing it, or release a new version (I think Crusader Kings and Victoria have stopped development and are in need of sequels).

How appropriate that you broke the 40K barrier. How long do you spend each day writing? And THANK YOU for the writingprompts mention, I've passed this on to my friend who's working on her first novel as we speak.


I spend anywhere between 1-3 hours of fairly steady writing. I throw a show or movie on my second screen and zone out and hammer out a mimimum of 2k words. A lot of it is gak, but for me the challenge is putting stuff on paper. I figure any writing is better than no writing, and I can always go back and edit/delete later. I'm normally too hard on myself and overly critical which works against me in actually writing anything. Its been sort of liberating just writing whatever and hoping it all comes together (it mostly came together).

Since you asked, I might as well offer a teaser about the upcoming Marneus Calgar's Barmy Army 2017 Christmas Special. The story needs its ending rewritten, as I've decided that Abaddon rams Macragge with the Vengeful Spirit.



Well colour me pleasantly surprised. Not at all what I was expecting, but sounds like a fun, family oriented, heretic cleansing good time!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2017/11/20 16:40:01


Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress

+Spaceship Gaming Enthusiast+

Live near Halifax, NS? Ask me about our group, the Ordo Haligonias! 
   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

Blacksails wrote:All of their grand strategy titles (Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Victoria, Hearts of Iron, Stellaris, in order of timeframe) are pretty complex at first glance, but you quickly pick up the big stuff. Plus, once you play one of them, the mechanics in the other ones make a lot more sense. My knowledge of EUIV greatly helped me play Stellaris. The various subreddits all have amazing guides with full wikis of everything you need to know. Paradox will develop each of their titles for normally 5-ish years, then either stop developing it, or release a new version (I think Crusader Kings and Victoria have stopped development and are in need of sequels).

That's refreshing in this day of games that are in alpha (at full price) for at least five years. Games used to be finished before they could be sold!

Blacksails wrote:I spend anywhere between 1-3 hours of fairly steady writing. I throw a show or movie on my second screen and zone out and hammer out a mimimum of 2k words. A lot of it is gak, but for me the challenge is putting stuff on paper. I figure any writing is better than no writing, and I can always go back and edit/delete later. I'm normally too hard on myself and overly critical which works against me in actually writing anything. Its been sort of liberating just writing whatever and hoping it all comes together (it mostly came together).

Every day? Your discipline is formidable! It is definitely better to just write and then edit later - editing can bog a story down and you'll end up rewriting the same stuff five times while the rest of the story stays in your head! Editing is possibly the #1 reason why most of my work has either been unfinished or unwritten -- it's too easy to put yourself off. Nanowrimo is a fantastic, but somewhat humbling way of learning important lessons!

Blacksails wrote:Well colour me pleasantly surprised. Not at all what I was expecting, but sounds like a fun, family oriented, heretic cleansing good time!

I don't think this Barmy Army is like anything that's come before. Previous stories have taken a couple of days to write. This one had dominated much of November. There are the usual amount of immature poo jokes and sentences to the nerve-glove though. Tzeentch gets a line that makes this squarely NOT a family friendly story! It's done now and will be up on or around 1st December. And oh, yes, the heretics do indeed get a Season's Cleansing.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/11/23 15:09:23


Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Lord of the Fleet






Halifornia, Nova Scotia

 NoPoet wrote:

That's refreshing in this day of games that are in alpha (at full price) for at least five years. Games used to be finished before they could be sold!


I hear ya. I can't say enough good things about Paradox, both as a developer and as a publisher. You buy a pretty solid grand strategy game, then it grows into an amazing grand strategy game with every iteration. As a publisher, they worked with Colossal Order on Cities: Skyline, and that game has had a very refreshing take on DLC content and pricing.

Plus the modding scenes for Paradox games are very well developed.

Every day? Your discipline is formidable! It is definitely better to just write and then edit later - editing can bog a story down and you'll end up rewriting the same stuff five times while the rest of the story stays in your head! Editing is possibly the #1 reason why most of my work has either been unfinished or unwritten -- it's too easy to put yourself off. Nanowrimo is a fantastic, but somewhat humbling way of learning important lessons!


I'll grab a pic of my daily stats when I'm done (hopefully today after work), but I wrote a consistent 2k a day except for this last weekend. Took a bit of a break with visiting family, but made up for it with a 5k Sunday.

The editing list for this is long and almost more daunting than simply writing a whole new novel. I've learned a lot though and it was a really good experience to finally finish. Definitely pushed me to write more often, even if only a little at a time.


I don't think this Barmy Army is like anything that's come before. Previous stories have taken a couple of days to write. This one had dominated much of November. There are the usual amount of immature poo jokes and sentences to the nerve-glove though. Tzeentch gets a line that makes this squarely NOT a family friendly story! It's done now and will be up on or around 1st December. And oh, yes, the heretics do indeed get a Season's Cleansing.


I look forward to seeing it then!

I really should make an effort to read and post here more often too. Writing 40k fiction is always a fun exercise.

Winning Edit I'm done. It's over. It's finally over. 50k+ done, and a little to go to actually conclude the novel.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/11/24 00:17:03


Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress

+Spaceship Gaming Enthusiast+

Live near Halifax, NS? Ask me about our group, the Ordo Haligonias! 
   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

All hail Blacksails, the Master of Nanowrimo! Congratulations on your epic achievement - you've proven that you've got what it takes to be a novelist! Hopefully you'll carry on and get it completely finished.

For Nanowrimo, I finished a number of stories which I then printed out. The Barmy Army special didn't actually take that long to edit using pen and paper, but going back through it on the computer made me want to put my foot through the monitor and send Jervis Johnson the bill. That was "only" 31 pages long. I honestly don't envy you having to edit 300+ pages! Don't do it all at once is all I will say. Oh, and listen to relaxing music while doing it.

Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Lord of the Fleet






Halifornia, Nova Scotia

 NoPoet wrote:
All hail Blacksails, the Master of Nanowrimo! Congratulations on your epic achievement - you've proven that you've got what it takes to be a novelist! Hopefully you'll carry on and get it completely finished.

For Nanowrimo, I finished a number of stories which I then printed out. The Barmy Army special didn't actually take that long to edit using pen and paper, but going back through it on the computer made me want to put my foot through the monitor and send Jervis Johnson the bill. That was "only" 31 pages long. I honestly don't envy you having to edit 300+ pages! Don't do it all at once is all I will say. Oh, and listen to relaxing music while doing it.


You wrote your stuff on paper? You're braver than I am!

I think my first Nanowrimo attempt was initially paper based. Putting it through the Word later was, as you mentioned, incredibly frustrating. Do you just prefer the more intimate feel of writing traditionally? I kind of wish I could write that much in pen or pencil, but being left handed makes it incredibly illegible.

I type in font 10 (TNR) from an old university habit and I've got 66 pages in Word, single spaced. I figure I'll add somewhere in the vicinity of 5k more to conclude the story.

I'm not even sure if I'll edit to be honest. The more I read through the beginning and some of the middle parts, the more I think that so much will require a complete re-write anyways. At that point, its almost more logical to just write a new novel entirely. Plus, I can't say I'm really fond of the plot, but I'll chalk that up to not planning one iota. I think my characters change colour based on the day I write.

Thanks for the congrats though eh. It was a lot of fun. I'll try and poke my nose around this subforum more often now.

*Edit*

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/11/24 01:58:57


Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress

+Spaceship Gaming Enthusiast+

Live near Halifax, NS? Ask me about our group, the Ordo Haligonias! 
   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

No, it was all done on computer, I just found it easier to print the finished first draft and edit that at the same time as I read through it.

I agree that typing will never replace the feel of pen and paper - there's a more spiritual feeling, a sense of connection, when you physically write. It's like a Kindle or a computer screen has failed to replace books and if anything book sales are up (in the UK at least) because reading from a screen lacks any sense of personal connection to what you're reading.

A related tip: It is MUCH easier to have a note pad to hand with the names/ranks etc of every character written down so you can refer to it at a glance. For example, there are a lot of characters in 20K as I chose not to go down the "Captain, enemy vessel detected" said Helm/"Sir, enemy are hailing us" said someone from Vox as this is the absolute laziest, trashiest form of writing. How could a captain not know their own bridge crew? Without my own spreadsheet of characters, it would be impossible to write stories of any depth or realism.

This also applies to stories with fewer characters. It's surprising how easily you can forget your own characters' names (especially the spelling), or forget they are in the story at all, particularly when writing without editing or working over a long period with many gaps in between.

If this month's Nanowrimo has taught me anything, it's that a first draft is like a computer game: an untested alpha that is full of bugs, delivers only the vaguest impression of what the final product is supposed to be, and should not be delivered to the general public. There is usually a lot that needs fixing. Sometimes this means abandoning the project if it's beyond redemption; "throwing good money after bad" is an error of logic - you don't have to spend another 100 hours on a project just because you've spent 100 hours on it so far.

I have been reading my old Barmy Army and unfinished 40K stories. At the time I thought they were awesome. Now some of them look like a confused nightmare, as they were effectively first drafts with the merest bit of editing, and I was suffering severe ADHD which is now under control. I've more or less abandoned an old story called Freeze as it will simply take too much time and effort to make it work, time which is better spent working on new stuff and living life to the full.


Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Lord of the Fleet






Halifornia, Nova Scotia

All excellent points. I found myself doing the lazy 'helmsman reports X' and 'random Lieutenant said Y' then bother giving them names. In reality, being on a ship of ~300 people, I knew almost everyone that I saw on a daily basis (the engineers who worked in the control room were a total fething mystery though) by name, which was easily a third of the ship, so it wouldn't make sense for one of my characters (the ship's XO) to not know everyone on the bridge or in the ops room. The next time I write I'll definitely have some sort of scratch pad for notes of characters and their relationships and names, as well as basic information. Part of the challenge is coming up with names that make sense, especially for me in a sci-fi where the names of one species/faction all have to sound somewhat related to distinguish them from another species/faction.

You are 100% on point with the first draft comment. I have two stories I've posted here that re-reading now feel pretty weak. I thought they were great at the time, but they're just so flat. Granted, that's how I feel reading some of the professional 40k fiction I've read (mostly the Salamanders series, marines make for pretty flat characters), so I can't exactly blame myself if I'm writing bolter (lasgun?) porn.

You're kind of convincing me to make a serious attempt at editing just to take stock of all the errors I've made and really let them sink in. I may also just write an entirely different story instead. Who knows.

Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress

+Spaceship Gaming Enthusiast+

Live near Halifax, NS? Ask me about our group, the Ordo Haligonias! 
   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

With naming characters, it comes down to whether or not you are overloading yourself and the readers. What I do is, if a character hasn't been mentioned for a while, I state who they are or what they do. It might seem slightly clumsy, but it's necessary, and when you're posting a story online for free it's not like you have to outdo Stephen King with every sentence. This is an example taken from "On Eagle's Wings" which is almost finished (but unedited):

“Report!” Whyte yelled.

“Gravitic waves emanating from dead ahead, sir!” Mahtam called back. “There's something out there!”

“Put it up,” said Whyte. “Ordnance, bring torpedo launchers online. Load conventional explosives, but stand ready with first-stage nukes.”

“Aye, sir,” Tarrant voxed. “XT weapons loading now. Preparing two ATs, four kiloton warheads. Target?”

“Stand by.” Whyte cut the vox-link. “Show me something,” he told his helmsman.

“Trying, sir.” Mahtam battled with his console. “Definitely a xenotype starship based on size and attitude, but I can't lock on.”

“Captain,” O'Malley voxed from the Science department, “if we disable a few non-essential systems, I can boost power to the aileron, improve surveyor resolution.”


Handling multiple characters in the same scene is also a skill I'm working on.

You served on a ship? Navy, I take it?

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2017/11/25 11:00:24


Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Lord of the Fleet






Halifornia, Nova Scotia

 NoPoet wrote:
With naming characters, it comes down to whether or not you are overloading yourself and the readers. What I do is, if a character hasn't been mentioned for a while, I state who they are or what they do. It might seem slightly clumsy, but it's necessary, and when you're posting a story online for free it's not like you have to outdo Stephen King with every sentence. This is an example taken from "On Eagle's Wings" which is almost finished (but unedited):


That's a good way to do it. I'm always afraid those background characters will be either be overdeveloped for their role, or undeveloped, being just a name and a position.

Spoiler:
“Report!” Whyte yelled.

“Gravitic waves emanating from dead ahead, sir!” Mahtam called back. “There's something out there!”

“Put it up,” said Whyte. “Ordnance, bring torpedo launchers online. Load conventional explosives, but stand ready with first-stage nukes.”

“Aye, sir,” Tarrant voxed. “XT weapons loading now. Preparing two ATs, four kiloton warheads. Target?”

“Stand by.” Whyte cut the vox-link. “Show me something,” he told his helmsman.

“Trying, sir.” Mahtam battled with his console. “Definitely a xenotype starship based on size and attitude, but I can't lock on.”

“Captain,” O'Malley voxed from the Science department, “if we disable a few non-essential systems, I can boost power to the aileron, improve surveyor resolution.”


This is quite good. I have a few scenes that are similar in nature, but not half as good. Mine had a lot of "the Lieutenant said this" and "the comms operator said that". I might at least edit those parts for practice.

You served on a ship? Navy, I take it?


Air force, oddly enough. Maritime helicopters off the back of HMC ships. Wife is in the navy though. Write what you know, eh? One of my characters is the ship's XO, and the other is a gunship pilot, because I'm super creative.

Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress

+Spaceship Gaming Enthusiast+

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Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

Thanks! Hopefully the whole story will be popular, but the fiction forum seems borderline dead these days, so it's hard to imagine anyone reading and commenting on a 20,000 word story! Any input you have on it would be hugely appreciated - it should be up within a week. The problem with 40K fanfic is that it seems to have died a death. It's hard to stay motivated when you think that days of hard work will not even get any feedback.

Books that tell you how you should write a novel or short story will always say "Don't have too many characters!" Every writer has to find their own balance. To be honest the "how to write" books are a waste of money - join a halfway decent writing course, watch a lot of films, read a lot of books, pay careful attention to what you're seeing, read forums where people criticise and praise things. You'll very quickly get an idea of what people want to see.

Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in gb
Liberated Grot Land Raida






Northern Ireland

Writing for posting on a forum isn't like writing a novel though. Or the format shouldn't be the same at least. You can't just drop a wall of text online and hope anyone will take their time over it.
Its like you said before, the difference between personal connection to books, pen & paper and screens. A reader's brain works differently on screens than with a book in hand so you have to make allowances.

I've found I can only take short installments, maybe up to 1k at a time on a forum posted story. That's if its gripping and has me interested enough to keep reading.

You have to allow for the fact that the reader is clicking around and browsing all sorts of info and your story is just one of a bajillion possible distractions right now.

And not only does each installment have to be shorter than a regular paper book chapter but it has to look appealing to the eye. Lots of space. Plenty of paragraph breaks. No giant blocks of flat text or the screen-reader just glazes over and clicks off no matter how good your writing is.

That's what I've found anyway. So I try to keep my "chapters" short. I find writing on my phone helps. Its like as if my story is coming from and staying within its native environment. Its by no means ideal of course and I wouldn't expect a serious writer to work this way. Not with publishing in mind certainly.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/11/26 00:56:51


   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

That's good advice. Someone else once said the same thing: that any distractions will stop the reader from finishing your story. She recommended to avoid posting links to other stuff in the story (although successful Nosleep writers with a portfolio do this, but right at the end of their stories). There are plenty of avid readers out there, it's just not clear how many of them are 40K fans.

I'm treating 20K as a chance to exorcise some old demons and prove to myself that I can write a single, coherent work of such length in preparation for writing full novels. If people enjoy it then that's brilliant; if it gets no comments, well at least I did it. If you look at Youtube videos, even the very most popular videos are only liked or disliked by the smallest percentage of viewers. There's no telling who enjoys your work without rating or commenting.

A few years ago on Facebook, I started getting messages from "friends" (more like acquaintances, but aren't 95% of people in our friend lists?) who I hadn't spoken to in years. They said they'd been following my Facebook posts for a year or more and had been willing me on -- but they hadn't liked or commented on any of it. So I spent all that time thinking I was friendless and unappreciated, when in fact I wasn't. Who really knows what's happening on the internet? All we can do is just keep writing, build up our own portfolios and our own reputations. And this means finishing what we start.

Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'






There’s so much to comment on, the fact that I missed this thread entirely shows how futile my attempt to do much of anything in November really is.

Grats and good luck to everyone finished and still working towards their goal. I’ve only managed to get a few hundred words added to a story that’s been put off twice for other stories over the course of this year, but that’s words that didn’t exist before so I’ll take it.

I’m a hand-cramper myself, so I guess technically anything that makes it to getting typed is in second draft. That’s what I tell myself at least. I am making an effort to type more so I can work on my phone when I’m out, but pen and paper just feels so right, and I’m old and change scares me .

I’ve finally gotten around to checking out Scrivener, and if you’re the type who likes an accessible list of things like characters, you should check it out. It’s like having a notebook on your monitor; you can keep notes, research and such all in front of you without having to keep a bunch of windows open. There’s a free trial, and if you registered for NaNo, winners get (I believe) a 50% discount.

Last but not least, if 40K fanfic and fiction is your thing, thebolthole.org .

   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

Congratulations for at least doing something! The point of Nanowrimo is to get something, anything, written. If you plan to go for it next year, be very wary of giving them your details. Before Nanowrimo starts they send you a ton of encouragement and ideas. After it's started they send four begging emails a day, borderline demanding that you give them money as this will somehow help you write better. When you reach halfway, they send you a "congratulations, now please donate" message. I ended up blocking them.

Don't you find it a nightmare to copy them from written form to computer document? That's the part that always drives me insane

As for the Bolthole, thanks for the link! It seems the BL have dared to open a forum again. Thought the GW gave up on official forums nearly 20 years ago!

Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'






I honestly don't find the emails that bad. There was a blitz leading up to their main fundraising day, but it died off after that. Plus, it's not like it's just a money grab, they run literacy programs and teacher support programs and such with it.

The only time I hate transferring from paper to screen is when I'm up way past my bedtime trying to meet a deadline. Especially since "past my bedtime" is late into the a.m. when the monsters of the house are up and running, stomping about overhead as I work away. Like I said though, it's kind of an instant edit where I can fix the most obvious problems like ridiculously overwrought wording. I write NaNo style as much as possible, which is to get it down and fix it later.

I see you've made a trip to Bolthole. They're not official, but are run by those who inhabited the GW forums, with a fair bit of interaction with BL writers.

   
Made in gb
Raging Rat Ogre





England, UK

Yeah, sorry, I thought they were an active forum but it's deader than here! Got some useful feedback though - thanks for your input. I'd be scared to post 20K stories on there in case the BL tries to shut it down, although it's hard to imagine them caring one way or the other.

What monsters are you referring to?

Well, Nanowrimo ends Thursday at 11:59:59. It's been a hell of a journey for everyone who's participated in one way or another and I look forward to next year's!

Upcoming work for 2022:
* Calgar's Barmy Pandemic Special
* Battle Sisters story (untitled)
* T'au story: Full Metal Fury
* 20K: On Eagles' Wings
* 20K: Gods and Daemons
 
   
Made in ca
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'






Yeah, they seem to have gone through a couple periods of resurgence and dying off. I heard about them through Gav Thorpe's blog, as they're trying to drum up some new interest.

Monsters? Did I say monsters? *whispers* "I've said too much!"

   
 
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