Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful...

And Valucre is so Delightful...

Since there's no better place around, we're Valucre bound, Valucre bound, Valucre bound!

Welcome back ladies and gents, to your weekly installment of the Valucre blog. Can you believe how fast this year has gone by, and how a few sparsely done updates have now turned into pages upon pages of a routine issues coming your way. It's been a heck of a ride, and now that it's become such an ingrained routine, I expect that many more will come. You can think of it as my Christmas gift to you, my fellow readers. Now, I realize that it's probably right up there with that gift from Aunt Clara, but hey, what can you do? 

Now, for those of you who enjoy reading along, let's get to rolling out this final edition of the Valucre Blog for the year 2013! That's right, your update before Christmas is the final update for the year, and we'll be seeing you again January 3rd!

On with the blog!

What's Happening Valucre?

The Isradis Cure- First up, we have a user submitted thread, which takes place inside Morgana of Orisia Isle. Rumor has it that scientists have been hard at work trying to create a process of incredible healing, up to and including bringing people back from the other side. They work with the

Isradis stone, a gem with more history to it than most relics within Valucre. Their research is bringing them painfully close to a breakthrough, and soon they will need to take this work to the next level. The thread is open and if you have a local character with a bit of brains about them, you might want to check it out. 

Gensaris Dragon Hunting- The interest seeker of this potential quest is a lore contributor to Genesaris, providing a new species of dragons for the people to work with. Now that they are set and out wandering the countryside, you can imagine the kind of havoc an aggressive species of Dragon might wreak upon the common people. This interest check is put out there to recruit some help in curtailing these populations back down to more manageable numbers, so that the townspeople can feel safe in their homes and out on the road. There is a great deal more information loaded over this way.

Family Drama- Shades of Grey is looking for people who might be interested in role-playing the dynamics of a very strange conglomeration of family members. If you think you have some messed up family out there, this might take the cake. While the alcoholic and the cold-hearted woman might seem like standard fare, being related to a werewolf and a necromancer might be a bit outside the norm! If you'd like to take on what of these roles, you can come read about it here. 

We Go in the Night- This seems like a neat little idea that hasn't quite garnered as much attention I thought it would. The premise is that a tribe of humanoid people who reside in a dark forest are attacked by an evil wizard who slaughters many, including an important shaman. Using forbidden magic, he stole the man's soul and has left the tribe in a terrible predicament. A gathering of people have come together with the intent of seeking vengeance and salvation, through a journey that will take them across the expanse of Terrenus. I think it deserves a glance. 

Rebuilding the Academy- A little while back (not so long canonically speaking) a terrifying force of evil came through the academy, destroying buildings, unleashing hordes of undead and unnatural creatures, killing students and staff and creating a great disaster. In the aftermath, cinders and ashes remained, mixed amongst the debris and carnage left in the wake of this terrorist act. The school has pulled itself back together, but they are in great need of help in rebuilding all that was lost. If you have a prospective student, or a traveling wanderer in search of work, the Gaian academy is a place that could use your attention. The current thread is here, and could use a little life given to it.

The Sword and Board Tavern is Open for Business- Though the Sword and Board Tavern opened some time ago, it's taken on some periodic bumps to try and entice some folks into coming along. I'm an old sucker for these sorts of RPs, hell, every single D&D campaign I've ever done started in a tavern. If you are looking for some light role-play with the potential to become something deeper, this might be your place to check. You can still make the grand opening!

Orisia's Winter Ball and The Fortune's Spiral Tournament- A reminder for all you folks out there, that the big Winter Ball event is underway, and while the tournament entries are now finalized and closed, you can still come be a part of the role-play action taking place. Many events are happening and certainly plenty of interactions await. You never know how one of these things might spin off into something longer term- I know the last one did for me. ;)

 Question of the Week!!!

Unfortunately, no last minute entries came through this week, meaning that my total entries for this week amounted to just one. Only one answer, that is all I can give you! On the fringes of Christmas, I must walk and present you with the bare minimum. I feel like a scrooge, like the man who canceled Christmas, like someone being over dramatic.

Well, I am being over dramatic. :P

Anyway, there was only one response this week, so let's get to it:

The Only Response: If your asking questions about how your blog is, than I have to say I love the whole thing. The humor you put in it makes it easier to read all the way through. The set up is also great as it flows together like milk and cereal. The subtitles make it easy to refer back if I'm wanting to read something again. Highlights show me all the main events happening. I have to say though that looking at the highlights as well as this week's closing thoughts it makes me wonder if we could have something in the blog that helps advertise a thread that might have died sometime ago and had potential.

I'll be honest. I find it annoying when a thread is going great and something happens to kill it. (Even I'm to blame for that sometimes although I try not to.) And thank you for the advice in your closing thoughts :D  

Hey, that one alone was good enough to make me feel real good! Well, with that settled, let's move on to this week's question. Remember- if you want your shot at the monthly prize, this is your last chance to get in on it. Be sure to get those answers in. 

Question of the Week: If you do New Years resolutions, do you have any that pertain to writing or Role-play, and if so, what are they?

Let's see if this can get me some good responses. :)

New Members and Returns!!!

So, this is like the first time I have seen this happen. We nearly have the same amount of returning people as we do new people. Now, this comes from having a heavier than normal return week, and having one light week for new member registrations. I'm guessing it has something to do with the holidays, and that's perfectly alright- I'd rather people spend the holidays with their families than come carouse new RP sites. However, they best come check us out afterwards!

New Folks:

Welcome, Pinkypromise
 

Welcome, Redmist

Welcome, Fantastique

Welcome, Haelstrom

Welcome, Kingkong

Returns:

Welcome back, Navana

Welcome back, Nameuser

Welcome back, Darkfiremoon

Welcome back, King Serperior

That wraps this week's group, hopefully we'll see a substantially larger one after two weeks!

  

Speaking of New Folks...

I'm always looking to expand the readership here, so here is a bit of competition. We have new members, and we have members who just might ignore the thread updates. ;P

See how many people you can get to start reading the blog. If you get someone to start reading, have them send me a PM at least 'saying' they are subscribed to the update thread, and have them give me a blurb about what they like in these blogs (or at least the most recent one). For each new reader who messages me, I'll give them 50vb. The person who refers the most by January 1st, I'll work out a prize with you, that can include any of the following: $10 e-certificate, $10 in VB, free items from the Genesaris shop, or special favors IC that you might want one of my characters to do (please, keep your mind out of the gutter 0_o)

Announcement! 

Sometime in the next few days, we are likely going down for maintenance and upgrades. This means that for a few days, Valucre will be inaccessible. It's a shame, I know. However, in the meantime, we are going to throw something together for people to do. What that is- well, we're still working on it. But you'll have a link on the page that says Valcure is currently down. Stay tuned!  

Other Highlights?

Tis the season of giving, and since I am someone who loves to give, I am going to pony out your highlights this week without a single complaint. That's right, an easy to obtain set this week. Wait, what's that? You got nothing for me? Well you.... nevermind.

New Blog Entries- Hey, if you like to read the member blogs, and want to see what is new, look no further than the 'New Blog Entries' button under What's New. Just go to What's New, and then look beneath it- that easy. Of course, that won't find you this blog though. :P

Did you know?- Community Quizzes: What are beginner quizzes? Why, quizzes for beginners! Each quiz is five questions, each question is worth 10 VB. Answer the questions correctly for both quizzes and you get 100 VB just for knowing stuff.

You can find the rest of this one here.

You can learn more here.

Closing Thoughts?

Let me preface this by saying that, while terrible, tragic things have happened this week, I am not going to focus on that this week. It feels too much like exploitation of tragic events for writing fodder, and I do not want to make light of what happened there in any way shape or form. All I ask is that, when you have the chance, take a moment of silence to think about the lives we've lost this week, and make it about the victims, not the shooters.
That's all I have to say on that, and so I am going to move on.
This week, I thought I would talk about the importance of occasionally writing outside your comfort zone. Much in how exercising the body creates new growth, exercising the mind is a necessary part of developing those mental skills- one namely being writing. If you confine yourself to a box, where your movement is limited, and your boundaries small, you are never going to reach out and explore beyond your confines. How are you going to grow as a writer if you never step outside those bounds and dabble in something new?
Admittedly, stepping outside those comfort zones is a difficult task; after all, you've defined yourself as a writer by a basic set of premises and then went on to write within those boundaries day after day. You built yourself a niche, got comfortable, and now coming out into the open might seem a little scary. What if you do a poor job of it? What if you don't like what you write? What if it all goes terribly wrong, and you become the laughingstock of the RP world?
Well, strike those fears away. Nobody is going to laugh at you as you try something new, especially if it is far from your normal comfort level. The title 'laughing stock of the internet' is reserved for one person, and that person is not you. Because if you are a Valucre member reading this blog, you've already proven that you are not the person I am thinking about- bonus point to whoever gets it.
Aside from that brief departure onto a tangent, the thing to keep in mind is that a great way to improve your writing is to write something well outside your standard fare. If you like action only RPs, go do a romance. If you normally do the hot and heavy romantic tales, perhaps you should go out and join a war thread. I'm not saying you have to suddenly decide to like it, only that you are willing to try and get through it, so you can gain some potentially important experience.
As you go through these characters and settings that are outside the ones you normally feel most comfortable with, you should see a rise in your understanding of these other genres. You can pick from them the pieces that apply to your writing, or better understand the interactions your characters might have between each other. The more you expand, the more you take upon yourself.
Alright, unfortunately, that is all I have for you today. I nearly spaced doing this, so I am getting a late start and still trying to finish relatively close to the due time. Also, I'm falling asleep at my desk, ha ha. You all have a safe and wonderful set of holidays. We'll see you the first week of January, assuming the world does not end.

- Acies

Engrave this in your brain: EVERY WRITER GETS REJECTED. You will be no different. 

~ John Scalzi