It's Quiet...

Too Quiet... 

It’s not that our numbers for recruits are down this week (SPOILER ALERT: We got 9 new faces and two returns, which are in fact good numbers) but that the interest checks in the water-cooler are way down- like waaaay down this week. I actually about flipped when I went to look up the new threads for the week, because I only found one. No joke, in the last week we have only had one new interest check come through and that one was just yesterday! Well, I looked into the RP numbers and those are about average, so at least the RPs are sticking around- it’s just an utter lack of new stuff for me to advertise.

Guess that means we have a review week folks. Hope you don’t mind the second run of multiple topics, because the only new material had for this week is something I wouldn’t normally add to the blog. Here’s the left overs. 0_0  

Mmmm Tasty

What's Happening Valucre?

The Chosen Goes to Round Three- Round three is well under way, with two out of three matches in full swing. One is actually quite active, while the other has seen some decent level of activity. Unfortunately, no one is quite sure of what is going on in match number three, so that might be a bit of a wash. Given how the numbers have been winding down, this stuff is starting to get serious. Go in and root for your favorites inside the lounge. While you're at it, you can bet on these matches too. If you are the gambling sort, you can take your VB to the bookie inside this thread.

Role-play Adaptation of a Classical Play: Pick the Play- The voting is over and we have determined a winner. Assuming we get enough people interested to take over all of the important roles, the play in question shall be, "King Lear", a Shakespearean tragedy. Stay tuned for further details and casting calls.

Hail to the Glorious Contenders- This is starting to gain some traction and I have seen some well known faces join up to participate in all three events. Remember, you have one based on luck, one on logic, and one  based on skill [Joust, Potion brewing, poetry]. If any of this strikes your fancy, you can join them here.

Legends of Adaviel: Looking for Characters- Just an FYI, the creator of this new land just got funded, so if you are interested in participating in a new land as it starts from the ground up, be sure to look into the character roles she has available. Also, if you like what you see, she needs a handful of co-signers to realize these endeavors as well.

Order of the Valiant Sky Recruitment- This thread just got a bump (using an interesting little animated gif no less), so it looks like this group is still seeking some new members to fill their numbers. It's been a while since I featured this one- I can tell, because it lacks one of my interesting little Meme comics, ha. Anyway, this a mercenary group looking to fulfill missions and obtain bounties, all while developing character stories. Give it a look.

Seem a bit short? Give me some more material then. At least I didn't serve you something like this.

I think it just waved at me...

Featured Read of the Week- There is some powerful writing here and it drew me into the story in such a way that I felt I had dived straight in rather than gradually immersed myself. Honestly, I think some of the best writing I have seen come from some of these individuals is written within the posts of this thread, and seeing as how more than one person has accomplished that for themselves in the same thread as others... well, the combination has spun a masterpiece. Two weeks in a row I am able to offer not just good reading, but phenomenal reading. Congratulations to Hopelessly Hopeful, Thaiis, Fairess, and Lilium for being the participants in this week's featured Read.

Because I Could Not Stop For Death- 

Chartreuse is dying and the Prince of Orisia will do anything to ensure that she shall live. Lucis' reflection on death creates poignancy that reaches down and grips you from the inside, for his inability to face a dying friend makes him seem very real. Grief is a funny thing and how it changes a person's thinking is an interesting study in real life, and here in RP, it is examined well. Switching to the perspective of Chartreuse, we see outlined the process of acceptance, the realization that death approaches and nothing can be done to stay his arrival. As she reflects on life, things she had wished to have done, memories of old, there is just this sadness that flows from the post and captures your heart. The perspective of Circely rounds out the first part of this thread, with a women grappling with her own developing feelings for the increasingly illogical Lucis as well as her beliefs of shortcomings. All things factored together create a powerful scene. It is later that Lilium enters the role-play, playing the perspective of the doctor who suffers the verbal abuses of Lucis while trying to make sense of his odd requests and the situation unfolding. I feel that there is a lot more to this doctor than what is currently shown on the surface, and I look forward to seeing how this one continues. 

It does make for an awesome sammich

Ha, that was some good fresh stuff- think of it like leftover thanksgiving meal instead of the usual leftovers turned casserole surprise. ;)

Lore of the Week!

This Week's Feature: Biazo, Terrenus

At a Glance: 

• Leader:  Viceroyal Psychopomp, Vrishchikam
• Population: Constructs, Humans (Primarily poor & tourists/scientists visiting the nearby coral reef), military personnel of Terrenus. It once had 900,000 people, but that number is more likely between 500,000 and 600,000, due to past events.  
• Defenses: 
• 500,000 golems who were formerly people, but had become unnaturals until saved and turned into golems. Their size alone makes them formidable, and many are former soldiers, making them that much more so.
• 200 rangers from Marboro keep who keep an eye on Biazo on rotation based duties.
• Peacekeeper Devan Lemaire. 
• Hot Spots: 
• The Bell Tower: A building that serves a dual purpose, it acts as a lighthouse and it contains a specially blessed bell that when rang, causes pain to unnnaturals. Due to its protection, the houses around it remained intact, and thus this is where the rich reside. 
• The Sill Bird: A generic tavern that serves really shitty liquor! 
• North-Eastern Scar: Formerly a gaping maw with Unnatural activity, some canonical events have reduced the danger to a trickle versus a gushing wound.
• The Black Tarantula: A club propped up as a fish and bait shop, but it contains a magical building that hosts a nightclub the size of a small town with its own unique distracts and fantastical sights.  

Canonical Occurrences by Members:

• Biazo was destroyed. It's rebuilt now, but in shoddy shape except for the houses around the Bell Tower.
• In "A New Home" two shinobi are responsible for dealing with the overflow of Unnaturals in Biazo, mostly.
• Driax deals with a warforged marauder that is raiding nearby camps and settlements. After taking care of the warforged and his band, Driax also took care of the remainder of Unnaturals left over from the necromantic scar in the Sentient Stone. Driax also prepares to rebuild the temple.

Available Quests:

• Vrischikam, the mayor, is offering a reward for those parties who can identify anyone involved in Biazo's catstrophic destruction.

Brief Summary of Lore:

Taken from Lore: 

Biazo was originally a single Research and Development facility in the woods at the end of the Marlboro peninsula, north of the Hills of Lost Hearts. Terrenus was interested in two factors: mining for phoenix coal, which burns clean, and studying trees that occur only in that region; these trees have sap with stunning medical applications.

Once a road was built, other facilities popped up. Scientists and miners moved their families to the area and remained there once retired. Soldiers at Marlboro Keep did the same. Eventually, Biazo became a town and the road became a highway; people immigrated from all over Terrenus to get a piece of the pie or to have a fresh start in a new, flourishing city.

Its zenith was approximately 900,000 people. Then, a few years ago, Biazo was destroyed. Everyone was killed in the blast. The tip of the peninsula was even severed from the mainland. It was later found that many of those in the city could not return to Gaia; they were trapped in the barren haunting grounds until they would deteriorate into Unnaturals.

That was until the enigmatic viceroy arrived. Vrischikam cast a spell on the trapped townsfolk, one by one, that put their souls in stasis. He placed them in golems pieced together from the wreckage and began rebuilding Biazo on an abysmally low budget.

Research into restoring its people is ongoing. 

Well, at least this was a heaping helping of something warm and tasty, versus cold and questionable. 

This looks tasty. 

Is that a meatcake? 0_0

New Members and Returns!

Welcome:

Malka:
She's new, she's shy, and she goes by 'Lo'. She's looking for friends but admits to having some difficulty with making them so send some Valucre love her way and fill her inbox with requests to become her stalker... er friends. ;)

Ethereale:
A busybody with some RP background from a variety of places, this newcomer is looking for some fun RP and a great story. Seriously, Etherale wants a story. Someone ought to deliver!

Zer0:
They guy whose name is a number and ends in a number- clever! He's here because his previous site caught a bad case of the explosions- nasty stuff, that. Anyway, he's newer to RP and definitely new to the site, so welcome him in and help him find some RP friends. Actually, he's already been quite busy in the Tavern of legend. :)

Khan:
New to the site, an avid watcher of anime and a fan of Manga. Khan is looking forward to the RP life, and has too found his way around the Tavern of Legend. G'day Khan! 

Ephemeral:
New to Valucre, but an experienced RPer already whose come out to give warm greetings and request a bit of help. Ephemeral is interested in learning about skills that you can apply to a character, so give some suggestions. :)

Kestrel:
I think this person is into birds. Bird name, bird avatar... I am surprised that there is nothing else birdish about, unless I missed some clever subtext- oooh I would be a sad blogger if I did. Anyway, Kestrel is new here and looking to get out there and experience some RP outside of those good-old fashion MUDs. 

DarkWreach:
They said hi, and then a bit more on being happy to be here and looking forward to the role-play. These short messages make my job difficult! Am I to craft an introduction and greeting from nothing? Alas, I shall have to cut this one short of its potential glory, because I have nothing left to give. ;-;

Akise:
Unlike the last person up there, Akise gives a lot- like, a whole lot. If he were writing for everyone, he'd have enough to cover this whole section and still have a bit leftover. Way to go! Anyway, he feels that first impressions are really important and so he gives his all. He shows us himself in true form, giving way to edits so you can get a taste of his self described 'parrot ways'. Well, this new member also goes by Dizzy, looks forward to RPing, and needs links to help get around. :P

Dippyeggs:
I'm busy trying to figure out what precisely dippy eggs are, but beyond that, this new person is here to RP and says they have some plots available for those who are looking for new things to do. If you are interested in checking out some fresh blood's ideas, send a message ;)

Returns:

Fon:
Not sure if he was going for the shortest time away himself, but if he was, he missed the mark by a bit. He's back, claims to be sexier but likely looks the same, given that, you know, he was gone for like a week. :P

Alexander Cruz:
Back from a lengthy hiatus, he's checking things out and looking to get back into the mainstream of things. Also, he wants to know who missed him. Anyone, anyone???


9 new members and 2 returns, not bad numbers for a standard week. At least I didn't have to present any leftovers for this one.

Other Highlights?

Oh, how I wish I could serve up nasty leftovers for this one. Something that looked like it was growing teeth so it could eat your face! Yeah, that'd show you for making me carry on with this section week after week.

Incentive Programs- Looking to make some VB? Well, why don't you check out the Valucre Incentive Programs. It's listed under the General tab and tells you all the ways you can make some Valbullion. Also, you can follow this link :P

Did You Know- About the Forum tips and Writing tips put up by Carlos? Yep, he put up some info to help out those looking to improve their craft as forum RPers. Check out the Did You Know here. To see all the Did You knows, go here.

Closing Thoughts?

This is an area I was interesting in covering for a while, but I have had some hesitation due to not being sure on how to explain it. This particular focus is the area I received the highest marks on during our state testing and frequently heard as positive feedback in writing. It’s an important tool I think, one that I am using right now even as I write this.

Today’s breakdown is about Voice.

Voice can really make or break a piece of writing- your conventions are important when you are trying to maintain readability, your organization helps make sure everything you present makes some sort of sense, and the word choice you use can help change the way someone takes a situation or whether or not they can even take you seriously. All of those are important, but to me, if you lack voice, your paper can be perfect in all regards and still fail. Voice brings in the reader, it draws them into the story or the subject you are writing about and if that voice fails, you might as well consider yourself presenting a polished turd.

A good voice in your story sets a mood, makes the reader feel like they someone is acknowledging them and considering them. It connects them to your piece; they feel interest and thus feel inclined to follow along. If you are writing an expository, you make the person reading your story willing to hear out your opinion. Given that we are talking about RP writing and actual creative writing, we really want to ensure that we have that voice so we can connect with the reader. If we connect with them, we get them involved in what we have to say, in that story we plan on telling and then we have accomplished what we seek to do.

Lastly and perhaps most important- voice gives your writing its uniqueness. Only you have your voice and while you can try to emulate another’s, it is of the utmost importance that you develop one of your own. Find that style of writing that fits you and the way you want to tell a story. Think of it as the way you brand yourself.

What makes for good voice? Let’s look:

Distance: You need to write from a perspective of appropriate distance. Getting into a background part of the story takes pulling back a ways, as would be a requirement of writing an academic sort of piece- you don’t want to come off as too involved or it becomes subjective rather than objective. However, when writing a general narrative or an opinion piece (journalism), you do want to come across as close and involved. With opinion, this is your opinion, your presentation. Are you connected, invested, involved? With writing of general fiction, you want to be close because this is a story you are sharing between you and the reader.

How do you do this distance? Think of it like conversing with a person versus just talking aloud. It is a bit hard to explain, but if you think about it, you are going to use different phrasing when you speak with a few people or if you are just talking in general. One way to distance yourself is to get into passive writing. If you are working to be distant, to remain objective, you want to describe what someone is doing.

Example (Very Distant): A man walked to a store quickly, sometime in the evening.

Example (Closer): Tom walked to the store quickly, just before his suppertime.

Example (Close): Tom walked the store hurriedly, hoping that he could get back home with the milk before it got too late.

Example (Very Close): Always running out of things, never remembering them until it becomes important. The food is on the stovetop and time is running out, yet here goes Tom, on his way to get the milk he forgot earlier in the day.

As you can see, we pulled in closer and closer with each example. We would use these last two for certain individuals in third person, with the first being one that we would use specifically as a tool, or in something that requires distance. The idea behind the first is to be objective, keeping it simple so we can expose some information, or talk about a subject neutrally. As we dive in further, we are becoming more intimate, hoping to share the experience with the reader.

This process is known as narrative distancing, and I think this lady here explains it better than I could hope to. 

Portrayal of Feelings: No, I don’t mean that you have to wear your heart on your sleeve and express all your feelers- if that were the case, we would have far fewer male writers. What I am talking about is how you portray the feelings of emotions inside the piece- are you carefully using your word choice to get me to feel anger when the story should make me feel angry? Are you using subtle wording to make me feel at ease when you want me to feel at ease, or likewise scared with the sense of foreboding written into the story.

Read what you have written. Is it eliciting anything in you- and of course not just because it is your writing and you know what is going on, but is it actually making you feel something for it? Think about that as you read what you have written, when you intend to create some potent feelings.

Example (Weak): Tom felt scared of the great big beast.

Example (Intermediate): Tom felt terrified as the beast stood in front of him, fangs bared and its eyes fixed on him.

Example (Strong): His heart raced and his teeth chattered; he felt warmth spread down his leg as his bladder let go. Looming over him with a mouth full of glistening teeth, its breath warm and sticky upon his face, the misshapen monster stared at him with black beady eyes.

Do you see the difference? At each level, I have changed it up to put you more into what he is feeling, to increase the palpability of his fear, and what caused it. Now, I am drawing upon your empathy, as well as your feelings if you a similar situation were to present itself to you. ;)

Connection: Are you connected to this writing? Do you display conviction, a willingness to stand by what you are presenting or portraying? Does your more distant piece show firmness and confidence in those observations?

Write definitely; avoid fluffing it down. Thomas did not ‘perhaps walk quickly because he is running late’- no, he did walk quickly because he was running late for dinner. Avoid weak words and phrases- Aperion (Stone) posted a great link to David Farland’s take on the word ‘was’- take that to heart! Certain words weaken your statement and thus hurt your voice. Be proud of your opinion, feel confident in your observation, draw in that reader.

Toss out was where it is unneeded.

Someone might have ‘went to the store’, but I could tell you how they did it. Tom walked to the store. Tom sprinted to the store. Tom skipped daintily while listening to dubstep while going to the store. Let’s give a definite picture.

I could go on with this for a while, but I found you a great article that points out weak words that hurt your conviction and connection. Check it out. 

Kick Conventional: How are you writing in your own unique way if you always write like everyone else? Part of voice is developing and enriching that voice of your own that already exists. Avoid using clichés, avoid writing something exactly the way someone says you have to every time- it’s okay to break some rules here and there. Of course, the difference here is that you should follow them before deciding to break one for the purpose of style. DO NOT take this as a reason to use shitty conventions.

Example (Cliché): Any friend of yours is a friend of mine.

Example (Unique): Anyone you call friend shall be mine as well.

Example (Convetional). Thomas went to the store, but there was no milk left.

Example (Unconventional): Thomas hurried into the store, eagerly searching for the milk. But, to his dismay, no milk remained.

In Unconventional example, I used the word ‘but’ at the beginning of a sentence- a generally disallowed act. However, if this case, I used it purposely so, for the sake of style. Style lends to my voice.

Vary it up and experiment: The final piece of advice I can give on this subject is to play with your sentences, vary the way you write them and search for what makes them both unique and feel like your own. At the core of your writing, you have your own voice. Maybe right now it is a bit weak and having a hard time speaking up- well bring it out and make it shout! Practice, develop, and see how you want to shape it. If you do not yet have a strong voice, you are at a place where you can begin developing it, and decide how you want to make it your own.

Alright, this is what I got for this week. I’ll see you next week you wonderful Valucreans. ;)

-          Acies

"If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write." ~ Somerset Maugham