Greetings, from Valucre

Here we stand again, fellow members of Valucre, and all those who have yet to resister among us.

It would appear that while my ambitious nature tells me I show post here weekly, I am finding that keeping to that schedule is harder than it would first appear. However, I am proudly putting up a third update in the month of July, and that is doing well for myself. While I have yet to get myself down to a solid update every seven days, getting them in with less than two weeks in between updates is still a vast improvement. Just throwing it out there, not that I want to divert your attention from Valucre to little old me. ;)

Nevertheless, I will continue to work on getting more regular with these posts!

So, What's Happening Valucre?

Supernal is taking a vacation: Hey, everyone needs a little R&R, and the top brass of Valucre is no exception. He plans being gone for a week in the first part of August, and so the board will have to continue without him. Fortunately, Valucre is an environment of highly driven and self sufficient individuals, with lots of go to people who can help in the interim. Let the man have his vacation, and we'll promise to return his site to him in the same way he left it... not saying we are going to have a huge block party or anything, right??? ;)

Shine City is experiencing growing pains: Shades of Grey, who took over control of Shrine City through Genesaris' rulers and activity offers (see last update), is fleshing out a great deal of lore and potential NPCs. They are seeking active and productive members to help fill some of the roles within the city, so a collaborative effort can get underway. If you've followed Orisa Isle's Masquerade, you can see there is a potential for activity take off for those investing in their cities. Give a hand, get involved, and perhaps you may be a key player in the next big plot. Check it out in the water cooler. :)

Amassing an army to take the cold mountains: The IC thread The Looming Omen of the Ice Dragon has started out a little slow, but the promise in this water cooler thread is quite large. Many are interested in participating in the carving of the Cold Mountains within Genesaris, a massive range expanding across the continent. Much peril awaits, and there is a lot of potentially good role-play waiting to happen. 

Dragonmerge: A while back Morgan put some work into a long-term plot idea called Dragonmerge, where characters would seek out an artifact that would eventually tie them to a Dragon. A lot of work went into it, and many of the initial people backed up, so now version two has come about, seeking new players. A lot of potential character development here, awaiting your interest in the water cooler. 

Other Highlights?

As always, I like to toss out some other random tidbits of information for all of you out there- new members and old, to remember is available to you!

Nominations: Under forms and requests, you find a plethora of different forms and requests we use for the site, and at the top of this are three nomination forms: Player Highlight, Role-play Highlight, and Award Nomination. The first two pertain to our about monthly newsletter, in which you the members can nominate a particular person or thread for getting a mention during the newsletter. The last is a drop down of awards that you might nominate for someone- the one most likely to be put through at any given time is an activity award- just make sure you nominate someone who is VERY active. Otherwise, if you are unsure- get them highlighted in the newsletter!

Bounty Lists: Hey, did you see someone do something IC that you think should earn them some negative notoriety? Well, nominate them for the bounty list. Link the character profile and the thread, and explain why you think, canonically speaking, that person should have a bounty on them. Done correctly, this can add some real flavor to the role-plays- if someone murders multiple people in a city, it's only natural that someone will send bounty hunters after them!

Closing Thoughts?

As always, this is my section where I wrap up with a bit of RP advice. You can be sure that all of these will *eventually* end up in that RP guide I am always promising (and must continue to promise as this is not ready!). Today, I want to address Meta Gaming- Deus ex Machina.

Look, it can get tempting at times to use knowledge outside of an RP within an RP, but this is perhaps one of the most looked down practices in all of online role-playing. Use of information that a character could not possibly have is unfair and frustrating to those who have worked hard to maintain integrity within their role-play. Further, using it to gain advantage over others is just wrong on many different levels, especially when you use this outside knowledge, or other forms of outside help, to write yourself out of a situation that you wrote yourself into in the first place.

Dues ex machina literally translates to ‘God out of the Machine’, and used to refer to plot interference during a play by means of stage hands lowering a ‘God’ onto the stage via a crane, during Greek Tragedies. Today, we use the term to describe finding a solution to an impossible situation through means that are contrived and quite difficult to justify. There are different ways this problem may manifest- you just happen to have the right power manifest, you luckily have a character happen to be in the area when you need them most, you get ‘lucky’ and happen to step out of the way of a powerful T-1 attack by sheer coincidence.

These are highly frowned upon- if your extra character is not written to be following allow for some plot related purposes- then they need to stay out of the rp. If your character has no way of knowing the weakness of another character, they should not be having a sudden revelation that tells them what they need to do. And by no means, should you ever get out of a T-1 attack because you got ‘lucky’ (short of maybe your character having some extraordinary luck power, on their sheet before hand- that would be a rare, and odd, exception).

The use of these Deus ex machina make people rather upset, and they truly aren’t fair. If you write yourself into a bad spot, it is important that you find a graceful way to write your way back out, or considering it a lost cause. Generally speaking, it is better to admit defeat, than to create poorly written material, especially when your employed ‘interventions’ are unfair to the others you write with.

And that is my take away this week.

Until next time, you great member base.

-          Acies

“...This type of ending is a special instance of deus ex machina, known as the folie adieu, which is French for "Are you FUCKING kidding me?” 
― Howard Mittelmark, How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them--A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide 

Valucre, Charmed as Always

Hello members of Valucre, and all those who just don’t know they’re a member yet! 

It looks like this time, I am going to get an update published in a timely manner, and I feel proud of myself! Enough about me, let's focus on Valucre. :D 

So, what is going on Valucre?

Genesaris Lore: A good chunk of the lore for Genesaris was completed and should be up soon, meaning that nearly all parts of Genesaris have some relevant information for you to play off- this does not mean you cannot have any creative input, only that there is available information to use!

Orisa Isle: That masquerade has really taken off, and perhaps at a rate far greater than any could have seen coming. If you are looking for somewhere to get involved with activity, this thread has activity tied up in a back corner and is looking to keep it there for a while, with or without its blessing. Seriously, go check it out. :-)

Valucre Status Day: Valbullion is offered to any who get the word of Valucre out into the public! Yes, drop us a screen cap of you putting Valucre out into the digital world, or provide photographic confirmation of you pushing Valucre into the community (PLEASE KEEP IT LEGAL), you get Vb. Not a bad deal right?

Some other random highlights?

Sure, you want me to work, don’t you?

Well, for those of you already circulating Valucre, or those of you who are just thinking about it, you may wonder what you can do if your role-play starts running a little… dry. Well, a little while back, Supernal (the boss guy) pushed out a couple neat threads called randomizers, where you can do one of two things:

Use a thread randomizer, to have your thread added to a list of threads in need of a random event. This means any user can stop by and drop some sort of reasonable random occurrence for your characters to have a reaction. After they do, they post up that it was done, and people move on with the next thread.

Another idea, is to use a self-randomizer, where you can find yourself a dice roller site, roll a 1d50, and see which of many odd occurrences could happen to you or your party members.

Both are fantastic ways to add a little excitement to your thread, without causing any long term changes to the overall plot.

These are both stickies in the watercooler. I would link them, but the comp I am on makes that impossible. Sorry, just go the water cooler and look at the stickies! :P

Closing thoughts:

When we write, it is our job to paint a picture, and no one wants a picture that is made up of words telling them what they are supposed to see! No, we want a lovely picture that we can gaze upon, and then decide what we want to take from it.

The same applies to writing.

Simply writing that a character became angry because of someone’s hurtful comment may convey the main point, but it does little for me the reader, or my imagination. I want to be drawn into your characters, I want to see depth that makes them seem and feel human. Rather than telling me that they are angry, show they are angry, and do so in ways I can identify with.

Instead of angry, describe the signs. Tell me about the sudden increase in his breathing, the way his chest puffs up and his face skin turns a deeper shade of red. Tell me about his inability to form clear sounding words. I want to read about his racing heart, clenched fists and grinding teeth. All of that is interesting to me!

Just don’t tell me he is angry- it's generic, and it forces me to see things a certain way, and who wants to be told what to do.

Paint me a picture, and let me see if for myself.

That’s all I got this week, we’ll see if I manage another update next week.

- Acies

When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature. ~Ernest Hemingway

Hey Valucre!

Happy 4th of July to our United States member base, and a Belated Happy Canada day to our neighbors of the north!

Well, a little time has passed since I last gave you all an update, and for that I apologize. It's just that there has been soooo much going on, I have to work on keeping up and trying to drop you fine readers a line or two. Let me highlight just a few areas for you:

Roleplay Organizations:

Rulers and Leaders are Still Needed in Genesaris- Looking for an opportunity to have a little say in the way a city operates or the way the lore writes itself beyond the basic setup? Well the Hummingbird invites anyone to put in their request for a position of power among the cities and lands of Genesaris. This is your opportunity to get a foothold in the lands and to perhaps stir up some trouble on a grander scale.

OIC- having had a few flakey members culled from their ranks, OIC is recruiting again, looking for active members who wish to contribute to the far reaching criminal enterprise that is poised to eventually have their fingers in everything. If being a part of a Valcurean mafia sounds appealing, you should check them out in the water cooler.

The Daily Weekly is Still Hiring- Yes, Carlos is still seeking applicants for positions as staff writers or freelancers for the daily weekly, an organization that is meant to be an IC means of reporting what is occuring in the world of Valucre. One could perhaps cover... The Siege of Marboro Keep?

Role-Play Events:

Zompocalypse- This DM based horror survival game has just begun, and unless you can get a last minute character submitted within a day, the openings are temporarily closed. However, anyone wishing to follow along is welcome, for a chance to join in opens again at the next stage, when (and IF) this group makes it out out of the downtown area.

The Masquerade Gala- A new section has been carved out in Genesaris, and a lot of work has been put into the development of an order of knights, who now cordially invite all members of Valcure to come be a part of their gala. The thread will not impose any sort of posting order and is meant to be an IC celebration of the hard work put in by all participating members in getting this section to become a thriving part of the board. If you are looking for some casual fun, or a way to throw some support, go check it out.

Tavern of Legends- The Tavern of Legends officially debuted last month, as a way for new members to come in and get their feet before adventuring out into the sometimes a little overwhelming world of Valcure. Experienced staff members utilize 5 core staff in this Tavern to help teach people the dynamics of role-play, as well as information about T-1 and the world itself. If you are a new member looking in, this is a great way for you to get a taste of the action.

Now, what is popular this week? 

"I want to get to know you beautiful strange people a little better."-is really taking off, perhaps you can contribute in what ways you might be a little.. weird. :P

Alright, I planned on updating this much more often than I have, but projects as of late keep piling on me faster than I am able to keep up with them. However, I intend to make these updates more regular, and to resume work on the RP guide for those new users who aren't entirely sure if they want to dive into the RP world as of yet. Until then, I leave you with this parting tip:

Sometimes, it can be hard to get a post eked out because you don't feel 100%. Hell, if we only posted when we felt 100%, we might get posts two to three times a month from the MOST ACTIVE members, no telling what it would do to those who are not so active. Here is what I tell people I work with in regards to coming to work not being 100%, knowing that we deal with difficult clients who just may want to hurt you:

You will rarely be 100%, so be prepared to settle for something less, but make sure that you do what you can to keep yourself restored.

Same applies here. You are not going to always be 100%, so don't expect it. Not every post is going to be a masterpiece, or even necessarily decent. However, people might depend on you to show up and post (as in our work place, show up and work well with the patients), so we just have to do the best we can. I think that most of the time, someone would rather have you give them a 'subpar post', than make them wait days and weeks longer for a 'great post'. We talk about being writers, and sometimes a part of being a writer is simply sticking to our guns and writing- even if it hurts.

I challenge you to stick to your commitments, and post even if you think it will be ugly. You'll keep the story moving, and I bet you might just find that drive coming back sooner.

Think about it. ;)

Until next time-

Acies

You fail only if you stop writing ~Ray Bradbury

(I know, two in a row, but it fit so well!)