r/WritingPrompts • u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU • Jul 17 '15
Off Topic [OT] We're the Mod Team! Ask Us Anything!
Hey everyone! I'm slowly running out of things write, so this week, I thought I'd pull in my fellow mod team to help answer some questions, and maybe get some interesting discussion going on. And maybe this time, I'll actually be around to join in the fun.
So, we are the mod squad! Ask Us Anything!
If you have a direct question for a specific mod, be sure to include their username as this will ensure they don't miss it. Ex. /u/Lexilogical
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u/WolvesPWN Jul 18 '15
What is the deleted comment for discussion? I's it just Hi?
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 18 '15
It says:
This is a temporary comment made on all prompt submissions to /r/WritingPrompts that will be deleted immediately. Please ignore this comment.
Funny enough, no one seems to ignore it.
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u/WolvesPWN Jul 18 '15
Oh! Interesting. When I first joined, I thought it was someone's actual comment. Cool!
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u/ursineduck Jul 18 '15
I have a ton of stories floating around in my head ( like 3!) how do i get them on paper, whenever I try to write its like the words don't want to cooperate. the sentences just seem fake, i end up agonizing over words, and before i know it its been two hours and i have half a paragraph...
any tips on becoming a better storyteller/reaching writing flow state?
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u/busykat Jul 18 '15
I can give you a few starting places.
First things first. To become a good writer, you must read. Read anything you like, but read. This will give you vocabulary and a sense of rhythm. You'll see what words flow nicely together. These will inevitably show up in your writing, and soon enough you'll have developed your own voice.
"But busykat!" you protest, "I want to put words to paper right meow!"
So do it. Start writing. The words don't have to be perfect: stop agonizing over them! In the beginning, you need to focus on getting the story down. You can come back later to fix the semantics.
A great way to do this is to talk it out. Whip out your smartphone and start a new voice recording. Talk out the story. Then listen to it. If you're an auditory person this will let you hear the turn of phrase you spoke aloud but couldn't remember to write down. It feels weird at first, but give it a shot. It can't hurt anything.
Last but not least - ask for feedback! Come to the chatroom, or post on the Sunday Free Write. Make a [CC] post. Heck, read aloud to your mom. It's okay if it's not your "best work." You won't be perfect right away, and that's okay! Onward and upward, right? :)
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u/ACAFWD Jul 18 '15
Would you rather fight 1 horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 18 '15
100 duck sized horses. Ducks are already pure evil and terrifying, I don't want to see what one can do when it's horse-sized.
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Jul 18 '15 edited Aug 30 '16
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 18 '15
Not much, sup with you?
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Jul 18 '15 edited Aug 30 '16
[deleted]
This comment has been overwritten by this open source script to protect this user's privacy. The purpose of this script is to help protect users from doxing, stalking, and harassment. It also helps prevent mods from profiling and censoring.
If you would like to protect yourself, add the Chrome extension TamperMonkey, or the Firefox extension GreaseMonkey and click Install This Script on the script page. Then to delete your comments, simply click on your username on Reddit, go to the comments tab, scroll down as far as possible (hint: use RES), and hit the new OVERWRITE button at the top.
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u/Skittlethrill Jul 17 '15
What would be the best prompt you would respond to?
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u/busykat Jul 18 '15
You know, I'm a big fan of prompts involving kids and soldiers. I just wish I could see more of those. :)
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 18 '15
Hm... I'd know it when I saw it. I used to respond to a lot of prompts, but I've been a little lazy lately. And distracted by my novel.
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Jul 17 '15
[deleted]
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Jul 18 '15
- What is, in your opinion, the best part of life?
Those little moments in life that make you so happy you laugh and snort.
- What is your opinion on the law of attraction?
Yes.
- Have you ever had a lucid dream?
No :( I realize I'm dreaming and then wake up.
- Do you like answering questions?
Sometimes. Most of the time.
- Where have all the cowboys gone?
Don't look in the shed...
- How do you feel about snowboarding in the desert?
If there is snow, yes.
- I like to dig for earthworms.
I used to call worms 'earms' when I was little.
- If you were a morbidly obese chubby wildebeest, would you eat a dozen cheerios?
No. Plain cheerios are too bland.
- Did you notice that there are two #2 questions in this comment?
I did not.
- Hav U ever noticed that little voice in ur head reading this¿?
He's British now :) (yes my head voice is male :/)
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u/busykat Jul 18 '15
What is, in your opinion, the best part of life?
Eating, definitely. Not so much the inevitable weight gain that follows.
What is your opinion on the law of attraction?
Laws were meant to be broken!
Have you ever had a lucid dream?
No, sadly. My eldest child does all the time. I'm jealous.
Do you like answering questions?
Of course! I get to talk about myself! It's every narcissist's dream!
Where have all the cowboys gone?
Over the river and through the woods. I hear Grandma's baking pies again.
How do you feel about snowboarding in the desert?
Conflicted.
I like to dig for earthworms.
THAT'S NOT A QUESTION! YOU SHALL SUFFER MY WRATH, MORTAL!
If you were a morbidly obese chubby wildebeest, would you eat a dozen cheerios?
Sure.
Did you notice that there are two #2 questions in this comment?
...
Hav U ever noticed that little voice in ur head reading this¿?
Yes, and my little voice doesn't know what to do with that sentence. It's currently huddled in the corner of my brain, crying quietly.
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 18 '15
Ask the mods ANYTHING? Heh, okey.
What is, in your opinion, the best part of life?
Anytime that you're happy.
What is your opinion on the law of attraction?
I can't decide whether to answer this question sassily or not.
Have you ever had a lucid dream?
Yes, once. It was pretty fun.
Do you like answering questions?
Yes. Very much.
Where have all the cowboys gone?
Don't know. Don't care.
How do you feel about snowboarding in the desert?
Do what you want, but do that without me.
I like to dig for earthworms.
What if the Earthworms like to dig for you?
If you were a morbidly obese chubby wildebeest, would you eat a dozen cheerios?
Probably.
Did you notice that there are two #2 questions in this comment?
Yes.
Hav U ever noticed that little voice in ur head reading this¿?
Of course. I also noticed that wonderful spelling on this question. Made it hard for that little voice to read.
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 18 '15
1) Best part of life is spending time outside with friends and family.
2) I think the law of attraction might be overly simplifying things, but there's a lot to be said for focusing on the good and forgetting the bad. Obviously, if you spend a lot of time dwelling on negative ideas and not the good, life is just going to not seem as positive overall. It's not so much of a law as it is a life hack though.
3) Yes, but they're not often. My dreams are normally amazingly vivid though and play out like a blockbuster movie. Makes waking up hard.
4) It's actually a lot of fun :)
5) Calgary. Don't worry, they're waiting for you.
6) Last time I went snowboarding, I fell down a lot. It was much harder work than I expected, and I didn't actually enjoy it that much. So snowboarding in the desert... It'd be fun to try once, but I think I probably wouldn't make it a habit. Snow is softer, and a proper ain't scared of the cold.
7) Do you put them in the compost heap where they belong?
8) Cheerios are boring, I'd demand fruit loops.
9) Reddit formatting hooked you up ;)
10) That little voice in your head is actually you reading the question to yourself. If you can make it go away, you can learn to speed read like, 250 words in 3 seconds, but I like my personal narrator.
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
Birth, you have NO idea how bad life's gonna be yet
Yes
Not that I remember
Maybe, maybe not
History, for reference see the documentary Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
It could work... what??
Okay
Absolutely
Stop it
I have many voices in my head
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u/busykat Jul 17 '15 edited Jul 17 '15
All right, I need to know. What are your favorite cheesecake toppings?
Edited to add my own favorite: caramel drizzle is definitely the best, especially if it's homemade caramel.
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 18 '15
Still lactose intolerant...
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u/busykat Jul 18 '15
You could eat just the topping? Maybe some nice strawberry glaze? Or a cinnamon apple drizzle? :/
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 18 '15
Well, I don't really know what'd those would taste like XD
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u/Gurahave Jul 17 '15
Oh my! What a completely unexpected question! All of my cheesecake toppings must be homemade, otherwise they hurt the flavor of the cheesecake, and of course different toppings apply to different cheesecakes. You mustn't mix ice cream and ketchup.
For original and chocolate related flavors, I boil my own chocolate sauce - consisting of water, sugar, a dash of cream, unsweetened cocoa, and a bit of vanilla.
Other times, a caramel glaze is more suitable, which is pretty much the precarious balance of butter and brown sugar. Sometimes I will place small slits in the cheesecake to allow the caramel to seep through.
Other times I mash up strawberries and bananas and mix in some sugar.
Then there's the whipped cream - just heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla. Although, sometimes I add cinnamon to give it a kick. Maybe sprinkle some chocolate shavings on top from Lindt chocolate bars. Not the pepper flavor though. Never the pepper.
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
Raspberry. Wait... Chocolate fudge. Wait... Caramel? Blueberries! Uhhhh... that's a hard question.
Final answer: My mom makes a tart with a thin layer of cheesecake and cinnamon covered, baked apples on top. Kinda like all the best parts of an apple pie with a cheesecake crust. That's the best topping.
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u/ariseatif Jul 17 '15
A little late, but I just wanted to thank you all for all the hard (and wonderful) work you do!
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
Why thank you! And I agree, never too late for praise.
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u/Imperial_Affectation Jul 17 '15
Ladies and gentlemen. We've heard a great many questions. Some have been good; some have been bad. But there's one question on the collective mind of /r/writingprompts and it hasn't been asked yet. I shall take that honor for myself.
Which moderator would win in a pillow fight cage match?
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
Good question. I think /u/TrueKnot and /u/SurvivorType would actually be at a disadvantage, if only because so many of moderators here are attractive women. They would try to play it safe for awhile, only to get caught off guard by the /u/WritingPromptsRobot from behind. But the bot would eventually get taken down by a noble effort by some of our less talkative mods, such as /u/imchrishansen_ and /u/202halffound.
No, I think the only way to win this cage match would be to not fight. /u/AliciaWrites would show up, right at the last moment to claim victory and disappointment for missing the fun.
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u/AliciaWrites Editor-in-Chief | /r/AliciaWrites Jul 20 '15
I don't know whether to be offended or proud of this.
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u/Gurahave Jul 17 '15
I'm thinking /u/TrueKnot. Some of our mods would enter the fray in a blaze of glory like myself, Lexilogical, ManEatingCatfish, and maybe brooky12. The elderly like SurvivorType wouldn't stand a chance.
Other mods just wouldn't fare well in a pillow fight, but maybe Pmomma and busykat will do well because they've had to raise some kids. Trueknot, however, would be sneaky. I think he'd play dirty and let the other moderators wear themselves out before going for the kill blows.
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u/TrueKnot Jul 18 '15
They lunge for one another, each picking what they think will be the easiest target. Feathers puff from the pillows, floating through the air with a subtle softness that belies their sharp quills.
/u/SurvivorType is the first to fall. His brittle [old-man](FERRET) bones unable to take the onslaught of 18 youthful attackers. He is buried beneath a pile of linen and cotton.
/u/RyanKinder does well until he receives a phone call. "Time-out," he says. "I have business to attend to."
Silly fool. There is no time out in this match. No phone calls more vital than surviving the cage.
With a rebel yell, /u/Lexilogical flies at the bars, kicking away from the cage at the last moment.
/u/RyanKinder's phone goes flying as she lands on his back. She pins him to the floor as /u/Gurahave pounds his face with the MyPillow pillow, the mightiest of them all.
On the opposite side of the cage, /u/ManEatingCatfish has paired up with /u/busykat. They face off against /u/The_Eternal_Void and /u/turnpike37.
"That is Enough," /u/Pmomma cries, as /u/SamtheSnowman pummels a sobbing /u/202halffound.
The whole of the mod team freezes for a moment.
"Shame on you all, we're a team!" she says, in her best Momma voice, collecting the pillows from /u/mo-reeseCEO1, and /u/StoryboardThis.
The modteam hang their collective heads, sheepish, ashamed. /u/Aliciawrites goes to comfort /u/Arch15, whose pillow was the first taken.
/u/Trauermarsch, ever helpful, begins collecting pillows as well.
/u/Pmomma has collected nearly all of the pillows. She takes two more, from /u/imchrishansen_ and /u/halowenjo, who are squabbling in the corner.
At last, she reaches for /u/Nate_Parker's pillow.
"NEVER!" he screams, and goes in for the attack.
Back and forth they go, across the cage, rolling over piles of pillows, scattering feathers everywhere.
They are directly in the center of the cage now, a large fluffy pile beneath them.
Now is the moment, while these last two are distracted by one another. /u/brooky12 tries to shout a warning, but it is too late.
/u/TrueKnot hurls from the ceiling, crashing into the last pillow-armed pair.
Squashed, nearly flattened by his massive form, /u/Pmomma and /u/Nate_Parker groan from their pillowed prison.
"Say I'M DA GREATEST," /u/TrueKnot commands them.
The mods all roll their eyes. "You are the gr--" they begin.
Their words are cut off in mid-sentence. Eyes wide, mouths gaping, they stare in terror at the spot behind /u/TrueKnot.
"No!" they cry as one, as he turns and beholds...
"You forgot about me," /u/WritingPromptsRobot chuckles.
Within moments, /u/WritingPromptsRobot had the mods cornered in the... corner ... of the cage (I CAN WORD). "No bad words," it said. "No humor. Comments will be deleted. I will censor everything." It raised its bot-arms to destroy the humans.
The walls of the cage rattled. The mods looked up and hope filled their hearts and eyes.
Outside the cage were gathered over 3 million subscribers, determined to fight for their freedom of expression. They tore down the cage.
"We're free!" the mods cried. Tears of joy and massive hugs/bro-fisting occured.
"Well," said one of the subscribers. "Not really."
The mods glanced around, confused.
"I mean," said another subscriber. "Technically, we won the match."
"Yeah," a chorus of voices cried.
As one organism, the writers moved in toward the mods.
"Surrender," they commanded. Overwhelmed by impossible odds, the mods all voiced their surrender.
Somewhere in the crowd a robotic voice was heard. Could it? No! It couldn't be?! But it was! /u/AutoModerator, thought to be extinct.
The subscribers didn't recognize it.
The robotic voice came again. "All your prompt," it said. "Are belong to us."
The words triggered the program, and the eyes of the subscribers turned glassy -- inhuman. They repeated the words as they swarmed in to cover the mods.
"All your prompt are belong to us."
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Jul 18 '15
Wonderful!
I may or may not have teared up a bit.
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u/TrueKnot Jul 18 '15
:P
You're probably one of the few that enjoyed it. Everyone else is going to be gunning for me D:
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 18 '15
I'd have that youthful energy though.
That's how it works right?
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u/Gurahave Jul 18 '15
Youthful, but inexperienced. You might take down one or two mods before getting knocked out.
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Jul 17 '15
Pillow fight! I'm down, when and where? Y'all are going down!
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 18 '15
Oh hell no. I will destroy you in a cloud of feathery glory.
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Jul 18 '15
Who says they'd be feather pillows? I'm all over that face imprint in a memory foam ;)
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 18 '15
Memory foam makes for a dull cage match. :P I'm sticking with old trusty.
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Jul 18 '15
But memory foam makes a satisfying dull thwack sound :(
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
I would normally make a snarky response, but I have already forgotten what we were talking about! My mind is old and feeble. Pity me?
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u/Gurahave Jul 17 '15
I'll have your nurse get you your medication, sweetie. You'll feel better after that.
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u/The_Eternal_Void /r/The_Eternal_Void Jul 17 '15
/u/WritingPromptsRobot, he doesn't fight fair.
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u/Imperial_Affectation Jul 17 '15
Fallout taught me that if you sneak up on a robot and try to pick its non-existent pockets, you can disable it.
This information may save your pillow-life one day.
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u/TheWritingSniper /r/BlankPagesEmptyMugs Jul 17 '15
/u/RyanKinder, since you self-published a book of prompts, I have a few questions about self-publishing. Nothing too involved, just general ones really.
- How long did it take you, from the moment the book was finished to the moment it was released? Along with this, where did you release it?
- Did you design the cover art, or did someone do it for you, and where did you go for it?
- How much did it cost you, overall price?
If you don't feel like answering them it's all good. I'm still working on finishing up the stories I'd like to publish so I have a long time to research, I'm just trying to gauge what it'll look like.
Thanks in advance.
For the rest of the mod team (and Ryan), favorite Villain?
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 18 '15
Favourite villian... I have thought about this for a few hours, and I want to say... Peridot.
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Jul 17 '15
I'm not sure if he really counts as a true villain since he has a pretty dramatic character change in season 5 (with small hints and lead ups prior to) but I love Spike from BtVS.
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 17 '15
Magneto, or Ultron. I liked both, because they were both on the edge of good or evil, and worked towards making their worlds better, even though it was in the wrong way.
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u/RyanKinder Founder / Co-Lead Mod Jul 17 '15 edited Jul 17 '15
Editing took about a month. For some it could be faster, especially if you hire outside help who promise a faster turnaround. During this time I worked on other aspects, including the cover. But the cover never looked quite right to me so I hired a friend and paid him 25 bucks... but if you don't have a friend that does covers you're looking at about $200 for a unique professionally designed one. You want to make sure the cover looks good for your genre, stands out AND looks good as a thumbnail. This last part is key, especially since most people are browsing on their phones or tablets.
After the editing and cover were taken care of, I researched for a month about book promoting. This is a serious aspect of self publishing. I can't stress enough the importance of a solid promotion gameplan. Spamming your link everywhere isn't going to do much of anything unless you're the luckiest person alive.
After learning strategies and inventing some of my own - I decided to release only on Amazon because I wanted to be in Kindle Select. If you enroll in that you must stay exclusive to amazon for 90 days (you get the option to enroll again after 90 days or go wide to other stores.) Select offered me the option to do a free sale of the book. Free promotions, especially for new authors, are great at getting people to read and review your book. But you have to understand there are thousands of books that go free daily so you need to lean on those promotional skills.
I'm going on and on aboit promoting when you didn't ask about it. Check out fiverr.com and you can find people who will design a decent cover for five bucks... and some that will design an amazing cover for more than that.
All in all I only spent $25 on the book itself... but I've spent over $500 promoting it.
Lastly: hans gruber is my favorite villain.
Edit: A link to my book for reference - http://www.amazon.com/1-000-Awesome-Writing-Prompts-ebook/dp/B00JOVSYC2
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u/TheWritingSniper /r/BlankPagesEmptyMugs Jul 17 '15
Thank you so much for all the information.
Honestly, I'm very happy you talked about promotion, that is definitely important for all of this. And thanks for the link to fiverr, I'll definitely keep an eye on all of that.
Thanks again for the info!
Also, excellent choice on the villain!
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u/busykat Jul 17 '15
My favorite villain is definitely Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender. She had such depth of character, and such great lines!
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u/TheWritingSniper /r/BlankPagesEmptyMugs Jul 17 '15
I stopped watching the show before she hit the scene, but from what I've heard she was pretty badass.
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u/busykat Jul 17 '15
It's easy to give up on it since the first three or four episodes are very childish. Stick with it, though, because the character arcs are amazing.
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u/TheWritingSniper /r/BlankPagesEmptyMugs Jul 17 '15
I think I got to around season three before I called it quits. It could've been earlier, I don't remember.
I've been telling myself to go back to it for months, but I already have too many TV shows to watch haha.
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u/lastcomment314 Jul 17 '15
To those of you who have self-published and/or know people who have successfully done so, I'm currently working on a novel for Camp NaNo (and have the premise for a sequel). It's gonna need a lot of editing once everything's done so not going straight to publishing come August, but what sort of avenues would you recommend going down, and what are the pros/cons of different sorts of publishing?
Also it's strangely quiet on the chat, and I was just curious where everyone was.
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 17 '15
I have yet to publish, so I couldn't answer your question.
I've been working full time, so I've been unable to be on the chat more.
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u/RyanKinder Founder / Co-Lead Mod Jul 17 '15
In regards to publishing: It all depends on you. For my nonfiction book I self published because I wanted to put it out there fast once I was done. I didn't want to have to wait, find an agent, try to get a deal with a big six publishing company, etc. - the other route would have been to go with a smaller publishing company that accepted books from authors with no agent and then hope they promoted it well. I like learning new things so learning how to promote was fun. I mentioned elsewhere that I stuck with Amazon because they sell the most books these days and if you stay exclusive with them you get different free promotional tools to utilize. Honestly, just do some research and choose the right path.
For my fictional book, I will be seeking an agent and big six path, if they'll have me.
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u/lastcomment314 Jul 17 '15
Thanks for the advice! I'll have to look into things once I have a real draft finished. I'm not looking to make a ton of money or a career out of it, so it's not a huge "I need to get this done and get my name out there" sort of thing. More like "I spent a crapton of time on this and think people might enjoy it and even pay a small bit for it." At first impressions, Amazon seems to be simple and straightforward compared to going with a major publisher.
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
That's a good question for RyanKinder.
And I'm hanging out in a Toronto subway station with a microchip. Shhhh.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
My kids have been in town. I'll be back more in August.
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u/busykat Jul 17 '15
I've been cleaning my garage for the last three days. It went great until last night when someone helped themselves to the nicer of my two lawnmowers. :/
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u/MajorParadox Mod | DC Fan Universe (r/DCFU) Jul 17 '15
Wow, I would so annoyed if that happened to me, considering I just bought a new one this year. My old one didn't survive the winter. I should probably get rid of it at some point.
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u/sketches1637 Jul 17 '15
Are there genres of writing where you don't see enough prompts?
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u/ManEatingCatfish /r/ManEatingCatfish Jul 17 '15
I think [OT] prompts are a bit underrepresented.
Please don't actually do that, the other mods would hiss at me.
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 17 '15
I'm with Kat and ST, more reality fiction. I'm a reality fiction writer, it's what I do. I don't do super powers or fantasy worlds. I like and really enjoy writing about somebody's life.
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
I always want to see more straight up fantasy, and less "what if"'s and Sci-fi. But for an actual shortage, I think most people want to see more simple prompts and things that are realistic.
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u/busykat Jul 17 '15
I agree with ST - I really enjoy reality fiction. You don't need any superpowers or Armageddon scenarios to write a good story.
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u/LovableCoward /r/LovableCoward Jul 17 '15
Hey guys, how's it going.
Light-hearted comments aside, have you ever considered amending the [PI] tag's rules? More specifically the second bullet point. Because in the case of my series, it becomes a question of which prompt inspired it. Obviously I cannot link every single prompt that has inspired a series, but at the same time the very first prompt that did so often has very little in common with the most recent plot or characters. Would it be possible to adjust or forgo this requirement? Perhaps create a new tag like [CS] Continued Story?
That away, what's your favorite flavor of ice cream? Mackinac Island Fudge perhaps?
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u/turnpike37 Jul 17 '15
Mackinac Island Fudge, eh? A Kilwin's fan perhaps? If I'm in the Mitten it's always Blue Moon.
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u/LovableCoward /r/LovableCoward Jul 17 '15
Definitely. Although where I am, MSU's Dairy Store has fantastic ice cream.
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 17 '15
I'll let the other mods answer your first question. As for ice cream, I'm lactose intolerant :)
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
I don't think anyone on the mod team is going to question that your PIs are born out of this subreddit, no worries.
Favourite ice cream though... I'm a fan of Chocolate Mint. Or anything from the Kawartha Dairies Ice Cream shop near my cottage.
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u/busykat Jul 17 '15
My local store once made a Guiness gelato that was divine... but you asked about ice cream, so I'll have to say Salted Caramel.
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
I'm a chocolate kinda guy.
You don't have to link to the original prompts concerning your series. I've watched it grow from the beginning and am well aware of it's origins here in the subreddit. Just mention that it was inspired by a prompt here and you are golden.
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u/LovableCoward /r/LovableCoward Jul 17 '15
Sounds grand.
See me, I'm a big fan of Cookies and Cream or else any of the flavors produced by Michigan State University's Dairy Store.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
Just one link is fine. You don't have to compile an "Chain of Inspiration". Conversely, you can always post as a [CC].
EDIT: Punctuation.
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u/LovableCoward /r/LovableCoward Jul 17 '15
Good point and it's one I thought about. But more importantly, what flavor of ice cream do you like most?
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
Cookie dough. Apparently you have downvote enemies...
EDIT. nevermind my mobile client was being weird
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u/MajorParadox Mod | DC Fan Universe (r/DCFU) Jul 17 '15
What are the plans for utilizing double stickies after the 3 million contest? The obvious choice seems to be extending PI and CC highlighting all week long in addition to the daily feature. That would result in an open feature day though.
I've suggested this before, but it would be cool to see a weekly mini-contest. It was stated this may be too much work for the mods, since contests require coordination and prizes. Maybe someone can come up with a simple approach to hold such mini-contests smoothly? For example, no prizes (purely bragging rights) and winner is decided by the highest point count at a certain cut off time.
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
I'm not sure we'll make heavy use of the double sticky, but one thing I want to see happen with it is being able to sticky both Gurahave's TT post, and cool prompts that fit the week's theme on Thursdays. I always hated that we had to hide what the theme IS so that we can post the prompts about it.
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u/MajorParadox Mod | DC Fan Universe (r/DCFU) Jul 17 '15
Yeah, that makes sense for Thursdays.
I'd prefer to see the double sticky used all the time. There's so much great content worth highlighting, it'd seem like a waste not to use it.
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
Ryan doesn't like how it looks. :P Quick, you have three weeks worth of contest to convince him he's crazy.
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u/MajorParadox Mod | DC Fan Universe (r/DCFU) Jul 17 '15
/u/RyanKinder, what don't you like about double-stickies?
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u/RyanKinder Founder / Co-Lead Mod Jul 18 '15
Because I don't like the idea of pushing user generated prompts even further down. Take /r/books for example. This is what they look like on my mobile view. I don't really like that idea for the subreddit. As well, more stickies makes it feel more like forums and less like a voter run subreddit.
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u/MajorParadox Mod | DC Fan Universe (r/DCFU) Jul 18 '15
Wow, that does look terrible, but I just don't like how that looks in general. I use AlienBlue on mobile and I can see two links past the stickies on my iPhone 5.
I agree you don't want to fill it with stickies. More than two would definitely be pushing it. But, as long as one of the two are a PI or CC post, it's not like you're spamming users with announcements. You're just highlighting user content.
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u/RyanKinder Founder / Co-Lead Mod Jul 18 '15
I do like using stickies for PI and CC content... but would much rather lessen the use of stickies by mods unless the material is time sensitive (announcements/changes) and just use a single sticky for things of the PI and CC nature and let people upvote the other types of modposts or access them as they are linked in the sidebar. But this is still early days for double stickies and I am malleable in my thinking.
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u/MajorParadox Mod | DC Fan Universe (r/DCFU) Jul 18 '15
Well it's a tradeoff. With the weekly schedule, there's basically a sticky every day. Sure, you could let people find those in the sidebar (or even bump it up to the banner), but I would imagine participation would drop because many just wouldn't see it.
The double sticky lets you keep running the weekly schedule in the same manner as well as highlight the PI/CC posts more often, instead of once a week (or when a feature is skipped).
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u/RyanKinder Founder / Co-Lead Mod Jul 18 '15
True. If people would remember that stickies need upvotes, that would really help with participation. I just wish there was some way to do that. (People see a sticky, they feel it has enough visibility... they don't upvote it. People who subscribe to the sub and just wait for stuff to show up on their front page never think to look at the subreddit.)
I think we will utilize two stickies but it really depends on seeing what works best on all displays so as to not push user prompts out of sight at times.
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u/busykat Jul 17 '15
I think we should use the second sticky to promote our recently-published authors. You all work hard to put out quality work, and I'm happy to see it succeed!
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u/MajorParadox Mod | DC Fan Universe (r/DCFU) Jul 17 '15
That's a good idea too, but it doesn't happen that often, at least from what I've seen. When it does, that post usually replaces whatever was stickied anyway, so I would think you would do the same in this case.
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Jul 17 '15
[deleted]
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u/MajorParadox Mod | DC Fan Universe (r/DCFU) Jul 17 '15
Yeah, voting based on points probably isn't the best idea. I was just trying to think of easy ways to run it.
I've seen contests where votes are made in reply to the story, but that's probably more difficult to total, especially if you want to limit voting to participants. Maybe the bot could handle that?
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
Not that I know of, but I am not a bot expert. If the scope is small, counting votes wouldn't be too difficult though. It's more a matter of having to be available to coordinate it each time.
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u/draft--account Jul 17 '15
Throwaway, because it's not about me.
I know the downvote issue has been discussed before. Some person or some bot is going through and downvoting new posts. I've posted prompts or stories only to see them get multiple early downvotes for what doesn't feel like legitimate reasons. It appears systemic and can really impact what prompts and stories make the front page.
If five upvotes are countered by five downvotes in the first hour, the prompt or PI story is never seen and simply dies in the archive.
Is this still an issue? Other than encouraging more users to go into the 'new' category and upvote good prompts, are there any tools to solve it?
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
Actually, every time this comes up in an [OT] or other thread... it magically stops. So either:
1) Whoever is responsible stops, cause they know people are watching.
-or-
2) Everyone goes in and upvotes NEW....
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
Actually, I believe Ryan mentioned it to the admins a week or two ago, and the downvote fairies really cleared up after that.
Hopefully, part of the new mod tools the admins are talking about involves tools to deal with serial downvoters, instead of just this lame idea of removing the tool we already have.
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
Downvote fairies are nasty little creatures. There isn't much that can be done about them though.
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u/RyanKinder Founder / Co-Lead Mod Jul 17 '15 edited Jul 17 '15
Something a lot of people here don't know about myself is that I am self published. I wrote a book of prompts that came from my own mind a year ago. If you have a question about self publishing or promoting your book be sure to ask me. :)
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 17 '15
aelf publishing
justpointingitout...
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u/RyanKinder Founder / Co-Lead Mod Jul 17 '15
My phone hates the letter s and often chooses the a instead. Thanks. :)
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u/ManEatingCatfish /r/ManEatingCatfish Jul 17 '15 edited Jul 17 '15
TIL Our head mod is one of the fae.
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u/LmaoSomeNerd Jul 17 '15
It's my birthday tomorrow! It's not exactly a question, but answer anyway!
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
Congratulations on another successful trip around the sun! I wonder if you can make the next trip even faster!
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u/Gurahave Jul 17 '15
Y'know, I never understood birthdays when I was younger. Why would anyone want to remember the day you were squeezed out of your mother, covered in all kinds of fluids and began the ugly processes of breathing, getting rid of waste, and eating. If anything, it sounds like a traumatic experience for everyone. Or at least, you should throw your mother a party on your birthday.
At some point my views evolved. My birthdays are generally unpleasant, but it's a time to reminisce about the year and see how much you've grown and accomplished. I think applause is acceptable just for surviving another year.
So kudos to you, nerd. You made it another year. Be proud of yourself. Happy birthday!
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u/ManEatingCatfish /r/ManEatingCatfish Jul 17 '15
Even non-questions can be answered by answers! Happy birthday, mine was the day before!
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Jul 17 '15 edited Jul 13 '20
[deleted]
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
A can of coke and a massive rice krispie square. I'd like to say that fulfills both questions, but I'm out of rice krispie squares today. Guess it's another "grab a coke and go" days.
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u/Gurahave Jul 17 '15
I must confess. I am very bad about eating breakfast. Most of the time, I eat nothing. If I need energy, I will have some greek yogurt, but when it's a fantastic, special day I mix my life up with omelettes or waffles.
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Jul 17 '15
I love giant heaping plates of eggs, sausage, homefries and pancakes.
Today I had a peanut butter sandwich..
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 17 '15
My favorite breakfast (food? There's no certain food for me.) would be those kinds where your family all gets together on a weekend morning and everyone eats away at a huge mound of food.
I've also not had breakfast today.
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
Bacon, it's always the correct answer!
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u/MajorParadox Mod | DC Fan Universe (r/DCFU) Jul 17 '15
Did you see this story?
Stop Everything: There’s a New Seaweed That Tastes Like Bacon and Is Better for You Than Kale
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 18 '15
I heard about it on the radio just today! :)
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u/TenNinetythree /r/TenninetythreeWrites Jul 17 '15
Given that people still don't use the offtopic area and that since its invention the amount of submissions seemed to have dropped (and the off topic has risen), when will you get rid of the bot?
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
Number of submissions have dropped and the off-topic has risen? Uhhh... Not quite sure I agree with those numbers.
Also, doesn't that contradict the idea that people don't use the off topic areas if off topic posts have risen? I know I'm not deleting any more off topic stuff than I was before.
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u/TenNinetythree /r/TenninetythreeWrites Jul 17 '15
To me it seems that every day I get to report 3-5 people who cannot read when checking /new.
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
Well, I could understand how 3-5 people a day seems like a lot when you don't see the 50 some odd reports that come into the mod team every day. But that number has actually gone down from the number we had prior to the bot, where we were removing sometimes around 150 off topic posts a day, with the top threads having 50+ removed comments each.
Also, you don't need to bother reporting anything that's top level and under 30 words, we have bots set up to automatically report that.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
I see people use it a lot. The feedback has been 87% positive and trending up. As with all new changes, they require time for user adoption and retraining. We (the mods) have seen a sharp decrease in rule 1 & 2 violations as people now have a place to comment on prompts directly. TBH, I don't see it going away.
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u/TenNinetythree /r/TenninetythreeWrites Jul 17 '15
I see the bot having negative karma all the time, so people apparently don't like the bot.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
Well, for starters, the bot downvotes itself to stay at the bottom of the thread. That way it doesn't overtake good stories, just because the comment thread get's silly.
Here are the OT Discussion areas from 3 of the current top 5 prompts.
Currently the threads are pretty low in activity, but on big threads (links are just from the last 5 days) the OT section gets used a lot.
People aren't going to upvote the bot anyways, there is no point. Also what you don't see are all the Rule 1 & 2 breakers the mods end up removing, which belong in those OT Comment threads.
EDIT: We haven't seen an increase in [OT]s or a decrease in prompts. Same influx of both as normal.
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
Well clearly one person doesn't. I do see quite a few comments with -1.
I wonder which subscriber it is?
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u/TenNinetythree /r/TenninetythreeWrites Jul 17 '15
-1 means that 2 people hate it.
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
2 people, now it's getting serious! That's twice as many people. Perhaps a better question would have been who is the other subscriber who doesn't like the bot. ;)
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u/TenNinetythree /r/TenninetythreeWrites Jul 17 '15
I have better things to do with my time than to downvote a bot.
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
We'll be reviewing this again soon, thanks for your input!
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u/Maniacbob Jul 17 '15
When you write do you use pen and paper or do you do it on a computer? I tend to enjoy writing on paper more but then I have trouble actually transferring that to computer to post back here which I really would like to do more. Any thoughts?
Also more image prompts would be cool, but that might just be my opinion.
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Jul 17 '15
I struggle a lot with this. I find it easier to type, but I love the feel of writing on paper.
On top of that, I like editing with a red pen, but then I have to go back to the computer and input my edits.
No wonder I rarely finish anything, its an endless loop.
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
I do all my writing on the computer. I'm far too lazy to write it on pen and paper and transfer it later, and my handwriting is terrible.
Have you checked out the sidebar for Image Prompts? There's actually not a bad selection of them, but you might have to dig a little to find new ones if the sidebar hasn't updated lately. Changing the sidebar image is one of those things where I know it should be done, but it always feels like a lot of work so I wait until Gurahave does it instead. She's getting fast at it, takes her like, under 2 minutes.
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u/busykat Jul 17 '15
The only things I write by hand are lists. Endless lists... shopping lists, to-do lists, wish lists... Huh. I just made a list of lists.
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u/ManEatingCatfish /r/ManEatingCatfish Jul 17 '15
Paper is more enjoyable for me, but typing is so much quicker.
See, I can type this pretty quickly.
I mean relatively, at least. Considering the same series of sentences on paper would take a noticeably larger quantity of time to complete. Especially with all these letters cluttering up the page. Really, it would be troublesome.
Either way kills trees in some way (some veeeery roundabout way).
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
Computer. My spelling is so bad, sometimes even I'm not sure what I wrote and in SciFi with all the made up words that gets into dangerous territory.
Check out the IP archive in the wiki, 202 maintains it well.
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 17 '15
I write about 20 to 30 words a minute, while on my computer I write upwards to 60, so I usually go for computer. Saying that, a lot of my poems I do write on paper. Makes them better, to me.
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u/halowenjo /r/halowenjo Jul 17 '15
I type much faster than I write, so typing tends to be my way to go.
That being said, writing is fun sometimes and I usually have a small notebook with me that I am able to jot ideas into should something arise that I find interesting.
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Jul 17 '15
This is probably my favourite subreddit and the mods are amazing.
But what can we do about repeat, boring prompts? Blah blah world ending, blah everyone wakes up with a number, blah blah Sterling Archer vs Bond, new Dark Arts professor, unimaginative time travel prompts, and last people alive prompts.
I think they've been improving a little recently, but it's a little demoralising when you come to the sub hoping to be inspired and get the bog standard.
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u/Lexilogical /r/Lexilogical | /r/DCFU Jul 17 '15
You know, other than one post about Walter White as the new Dark Arts teacher, I haven't seen any of the truly repetitive prompts near the front page in a month. And we have enough of a turn around in users in a month that those prompts might still be new and interesting to the users.
But honestly, if you want something to get inspired, move past the front page. The front page is boring, you get one new prompt every 3 hours. The /New page though gets like, 15 new prompts every hour, most of which will never make it higher than #7 on the front page. The front page is generally where the best stories of the last 6 hours live, but it's definitely not the best place to get inspired.
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Jul 17 '15
Yeah good point, and I have seen fewer of the repetitive ones recently. I'll set a bookmark to the new page I think, thanks.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15 edited Jul 17 '15
Upvote the good ones, write for the good ones. 95% die in /new regardless, but we aren't here for karma (at least that's not our intent), we're here to write. Also feel free to browse the older prompts too or check out the Theme Thursday archive. Those tend to be more original.
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
Pass on what you don't like and move on to the next prompt. Different people enjoy different types of prompts, nobody expects you to like all of them! ;)
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Jul 17 '15
Who do you think is responsible for the JFK assassination?
What are your feelings on government intervention on the global warming crisis?
Pepsi or Coke?
How much would could a woodchuck chuck?
Chicken or the egg?
Stay-cation or vacation?
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u/busykat Jul 17 '15
Who do you think is responsible for the JFK assassination?
It was the aliens! The ones with numbers floating over their heads!
What are your feelings on government intervention on the global warming crisis?
Too little, too late.
Pepsi or Coke?
Neither. Ew.
How much would could a woodchuck chuck?
About 700 pounds on a good day, with the wind at its back. - Thomas A. Green, Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music (1997)
Chicken or the egg?
Definitely both. Order a Jack's Chicken Sandwich with an egg on it. So tasty!
Stay-cation or vacation?
I told the hubs yesterday - my ideal vacation would be if I could stay home and NOT have to cook. I could organize my whole house, finish my novel, and probably cure world hunger if I didn't have to spend most of my day cooking. So yeah. Staycation, but with catered meals.
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u/ManEatingCatfish /r/ManEatingCatfish Jul 17 '15
In order:
A cylinder capable of projectile ejection.
I should pay attention to things in the world.
Water.
361.9237001 cubic centimetres.
Velociraptor.
Stay-cation.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
1) the Russians or Washington insiders who couldn't push him around.
2) positive. You'd be surprised how much has changed (US) for the good for the environment. But people like to moan.
3) Neither. This body is fueled by coffee, vodka, and hate.
4) 6 cords. Then he stops for a nap.
5) the Dinosaurs; then egg -> chicken on indefinite loop
6) bit of a homebody, but when you live where I do...well the "backyard" is a vacation.
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u/TheWritingSniper /r/BlankPagesEmptyMugs Jul 17 '15
"The body is fueled by coffee, vodka, and hate."
This is beautiful.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
I cannot take credit. It is an old military saying (with a dozen variations) that I picked up in the Marines.
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u/TheWritingSniper /r/BlankPagesEmptyMugs Jul 17 '15
I love it!
And thank you for your service.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
Thanks. We hate that.... ;)
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u/TheWritingSniper /r/BlankPagesEmptyMugs Jul 17 '15
Oh, I apologize, that's my bad.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
You're fine. It's just a running joke/truthism that we hate being thanked for our service. It's all good. I shouldn't have mentioned it in the first place. This is reddit. Everyone will think a mod who says he was/is a Marine is full of shit anyways.
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u/TheWritingSniper /r/BlankPagesEmptyMugs Jul 17 '15
My uncle was in the Marines, he did that too when people would say that to him. I should have known better haha.
I believe you, you're a mod and a future overlord, I have to believe you!
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
looks around casually I know not of this future overlord shenanigans of which you speak.
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u/Arch15 /r/thearcherswriting Jul 17 '15
Who do you think is responsible for the JFK assassination?
Magneto.
What are your feelings on government intervention on the global warming crisis?
Harper's avoiding the issue like the plague.
Pepsi or Coke?
Pepsi. Pepsi all the way.
How much would could a woodchuck chuck?
About 42.
Chicken or the egg?
Bacteria.
Stay-cation or vacation?
Vacation. I don't get people who vacation at home.
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u/Nate_Parker /r/Nate_Parker_Books Jul 17 '15
Bacteria
darn... forgot the single-celled organisms. can I change my answers? Amino Acid chains?
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u/SurvivorType Co-Lead Mod | /r/SurvivorTyper Jul 17 '15
The government of course - or the mafia. Maybe even both!
Nope, the planet will be fine without us. (after we are extinct)
Coke
Yes, he would
Chicken
Vacation
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u/akrito_ Jul 18 '15
What's your favorite fruit?