Now Sugar Free!

Because if the Blog was just too sweet for you before, rest your worries, the writer has given up the junk food.

A bit of personal disclosure, don't mind anything that might be a little fuzzy inside the blog, I have not had any real amount of carbohydrates in about 4 days (putting myself into Ketosis), and it is making my brain funny. I feel foggy, and man do I have little patience right now. Fortunately, nothing is making me feel like raging while I write this here blog, so all of my thoughts are mellow and smooth, and not focused on murder! At least not yet, but hey, things could change in a flash. ;)

Either way, welcome back after our two week hiatus, where we skip the week where the newsletter is supposed to come out (*Ahem*) and let previous thoughts simmer for a little while. I hope you're back for more, because I got more to dish up.

Go figure, I made at least a few food references above. Can you tell I am craving carbs or what? :P 

What's Happening Valucre?

Pirate Role-Play- Avast ye role-players, are you looking for some pirate action? Well now, this here be the place to be getting yer fix! Head on over to this thread and take it up with the lass who seeks someone willing to put a little elbow grease into their posts- that is, er, write a few paragraphs and make sure they're cohesive and such. If you got yer sea legs and think you got what it takes, come swig of the rum and head out to sea, you scurvy dogs.

Gang Warfare- Much is happening down in last chance, and all at once, it is coming to a head. Five major gangs shall clash in an all out war, determined to rip the resources of the other from beneath their feet, and take control of Last Chance's criminal enterprises once and for all! The thread author seeks at least 5 to facilitate the guild leaders, but others can join in differing roles as well. Care to join the war?

Body Snatchers in Dougton- As dark and dangerous as it sounds, the residents of Dougton are succumbing to a plague of Body Snatchers taking over the entire city. If no one intervenes soon, the entire city shall be under their nefarious control. These efforts will be resisted of course, and to top that off, you have to deal with the public's inability to suspend their disbelief. This quest is described as hardmode, so be prepared for things to go wrong- very wrong in fact. Up for the challenge?

Death and Other Things- In need of some very specific services... such things that are best not discussed out in the open? Think you have someone you need to take a fall, and quickly at that? Well, there is a man who is willing to do anything, from a simple NPC to an actual Player Character to burning down a school- nothing is too much. Your contact is found in the destroyed Temple of Biazo, and goes by S.

Rebuilding Izabal- Part of the ongoing storyline detailing Orisia's recovery from the attacks of the North, Izabal was a particularly affected port town who needs some IC TLC to get back on its feet. While the rebuilding occurs, there are planned complications involving battles and more, so don't assume this is only on for the story of rebuilding a city. There is much more to it, if you look.

Demon Hunter- Escape the Caverns- Once again pimping out an awesome resource for finding your fix of Terrrenus based RP. If you are having a hard time locating something, it always pays to check this out. Take a look over this way.

War of Guilds- In a world built up by guilds, where once there were many but now only a few remain, a war continues to rage between the groups. How will you fit in with all of this? Well, that is for you to decide. Do you befriend one group and become the bitter enemies of others? Are you seeking peace and the end to all this frivolous war? Perhaps you have some personal agenda that you seek to fulfill. Whatever it is, this an RP with some great potential, and is advertised as for older players, as it will contain violence, adult situations and (hopefully) tasteful/mild sexual situations.

Question of the Week!!!

Hey, if you cannot improve, at least remain consistent, right? This week, I have two answers once again, but I will take 2 over 1 or none, that is for sure! I'd like to see more getting involved, but I am not sure what it will take to do so! Anyway, on to last week's question:

"Which do you prefer to read/write: A character driven story, or a plot driven story?"

Response One: Neither.

Kidding. Except not really. Let me try to explain in my simple uneducated way. The plot is only as good as the characters and the characters are only as interesting as the plot. I can develop a character, make him an extremely interesting character, by having him do nothing but sit around and think. After awhile the reader is going to get bored with it. On the other hand I could have a super bad ass plot filled with triumph, pain, and conquest and have a completely two dimensional character that does not evolve or change. A character that is completely see through and just does for no real reason. This is a character I will never connect to and because I cannot connect I will not be interested in the story.

Like many things in life I seek a balance. High top speed, good cornering, decent acceleration, acceptable mpg. Because lets face it a Prius isn't any fun to drive and a Lamborghini burns through gas too fast. Kinda off topic now but you get the idea.

tl;dr: Needs both otherwise the story sucks, imo.

Response Two: I've always been more of a plot-driven writer. My basic plot and basic characters usually materialize in tandem, but I almost always develop the rest of the story before I go into further detail about my characters. When a story is too plot-driven, I've found the writer sometimes forces their characters to act in ways they normally wouldn't in order to get to the next plot point. I find this annoying when I read it, so I try not to fall into the same trap.

Things are a bit different in roleplay. Even though I do still tend to plot my stories a bit, the character usually already exists, so the plot is based on the character's personality and goals as opposed to just something cool I'd like to see happen.

Hey, it is only two answers, but two good answers are better than one or none, and I'd venture to say that two good answers are better than a handful of 3 word sentences, ha. Anyway, let's get on to this week's question:

The next time we want to hold a writing contest, what theme would YOU like to see, and do you think this should continue to be free form, or we should hold a contest that is specific? 

Let us know!

Writing Contest Results!

As promised, I said I would reveal the winners first via blog, and then at a later time (probably 12hrs or so from the time of the blog posting) on the forum itself. If you want to know who won... well, you're already reading this aren't you?

The contest had a clear 1st place winner, with second and third place pretty close together. Without further fluffing and ado, your third place winner is...

Subtlerfuge, with "I Went In That Way".

Congratulations on winning 200vb!

Alright, that leaves us with two others, one who got second, and one who got first. Can you feel the tension yet? Are you nervous, waiting with bated breath? Bah, I'm terrible with this climaxing stuff (oh, there's an opportunity for a 'That's what she said' joke, ha!), so let's announce them. 

Second place winner is...

Critias, with "The Skeletal Watch".

Congratulations on winning 350vb.

Now, we all should know which submission got first place, but whose is it? Ah, now that is the question, isn't it? Well, now I do have your attention. :P

Without milking this any further, your undisputed winner of first place is....

Nameuser, with "The Serpent's Side"

You have just won 500vb, and a book, should you be willing to make the necessary arrangements (i.e a shipping address). 

Congratulations to one and all- your VB should be coming within the next 24hrs, and I will touch base with Nameuser via board PM at about the same time. :)

Now, if you never read these submissions, and you want to check them out, you can take a peak over this way.  

New Members and Returns!

Welcome, Chachi

Welcome, RebelliousPeace

Welcome, Soaringarrow

Welcome, RyuuKen

Welcome, Althaea

Welcome, Canderstyle

Welcome, Regnante

Welcome, Shyama

Welcome, Theunknownwriter

Welcome, Antika

Welcome, ZadocFish

Welcome, Deviant

Welcome, DeadFeesh24

Welcome, Saskia

Welcome, Phaeos

Welcome, Heracles

Welcome, Susanna Wraith

Returns:

Welcome back, CreatorKai

Welcome back, Punklin

Welcome back, Havoc

In total, 17 over the last two weeks, a decent, solid number if you ask me. Having three people return to us is always a great thing to, so in total, we have netted 20 members these last two weeks- sounds great to me! Welcome to all those who are knew, welcome back to those who are not so new. We hope Valucre has all that you are looking for!

Other Highlights?

Profile Database and Character Creation- This one comes up sometimes, so for all you knew folks out there who are unsure of what to do with your characters, I thought I would point this out. We have a character database which you are free to use to house any character, whether they be in the canon world or alternative only. Characters DO NOT need to be approved by someone before you can use them, assuming the role-play you are joining is open. Semi-open implies that there might be a restriction, closed/private means that there will be much firmer rules. Otherwise, make any character you want, and just realize that going out with a character beyond MP, and then blowing up cities- is not going to be recognized as canon.

The profile database also has a couple other nifty resources. One is sheet templates people are willing to let you use, and the other is a repository for character images. Perhaps you can find the right one for your character. ;)

Did You Know- About the front page message called Writer's Refuge? It gives an overall statement that hightlights some of the goals of Valucre, and what we hope to instill and foster. Give it a read, if you haven't yet. As always, find more of these did you knows by coming over here. 

Closing Thoughts?

I guess you could consider this another one of my ‘follow-up’ pieces, where I take a thought I have already done and write something akin to a sequel piece. A while ago, someone asked me to write a thought pertaining to time management; how do you organize your time so that you can accomplish more in a day. I went through and outlined things I have done to help me stay on track, working the hours I do while still getting errands and other important tasks completed. I even manage to squeeze in a weekly tournament (mtg) and a night of D&D as well. Despite this, I am guilty of the excuse, “I don’t have the time.”

It is a classic excuse, one I have heard come from my own mouth and from others as well. It is such an easy fallback that we use it to excuse our lack of effort in getting around to doing something. If I look at my busy schedule, and see all that I need to do as it is, I find I can easily write off doing anything that I am not as motivated to do, using the excuse- “I don’t have time”- and believe me, I am speaking from experience.

I do tend to be a very busy person—I work a lot. I also make time for other things, and that squeezes my schedule further. This means that I tend to push things off to the side. I should make better food to take to work- but I lack the time. I should be going to the gym more often- but I lack the time. I should spend more time trying to write, since I aspire to be a published writer someday- but I lack the time. The same excuse comes up for each one, and I feel justified in using it because I really do have limited resources when it comes to having time.

That is, until I really started thinking about it. We say we never have the time, but we find pockets of time to do things both silly and mundane. When we really want to do something, we will go through many efforts to find a way. If we want something in the immediate situation that badly, we will find a way to get it accomplished. Given that this is true, should we not be applying that to all aspects of our lives? The realization that there is usually some bit of spare time we can allow ourselves, in order to pursue something important to us, should mean we can apply that elsewhere.

In fact, apply it to all aspects of your life- and I am working on that myself, so as not to be the hypocrite here. ;)

I always say I don’t have time to prep good meals, yet I managed to get an hour in on Saturday to prepare a large part of what I need for the work-week so that I would not have to try and get it done before going to work. I say I don’t have time to go to the gym, yet I have found a way to make time every day this week so far. I say I don’t have time to write, yet I have managed to plug away at my Writers of the Future short story entry a bit at a time- slow going is still going, after all.

The truth of it is, it is easier for us to brush off something with the excuse, “I don’t have the time” then it is for us to find the time and then make it work- and in most cases, we really could have found the time. I think we get caught up in the idea that there is always tomorrow, forgetting that tomorrow is no certainty, and that time has a way of creeping up on you. Every year, I find the new year slips through faster than the last, making time fly right by you. Before you know it, you will have thrown away years of opportunity.

Do yourself a favor: Make the time.

Sorry for this one being so short, but I am running on 2hrs of sleep and a lack of glycogen, whoo!

See you next week folks :)

- Acies

"It only takes one person to change your life – you." 
 ~Ruth Casey