Submitted by acmfox on Mon, 11/01/2004 - 11:11pm

anneliese: Hi CM!
anneliese: I'm up to 735 words!
System: davek joined us. Cheers!
anneliese: Hi Dave!
camidon: Hi Anneliese
davek: Hi guys
camidon: Good start!
anneliese: Have you started yet?
camidon: If the first million's the toughest, than the first thousand is even tougher!
anneliese: lol
camidon: Yep, I'm a little further along. My last word count was 2222. \
camidon: How's it going, Dave?
anneliese: Yea! That's fantastic!
anneliese: brb
davek: Same old same old.
camidon: Any good writing?
anneliese: (back)
davek: I'm working with this startup so that's taking a lot of time.
camidon: As long as your having fun, and it never hurts to make a little money, right?
anneliese: I hope it's worth it.
davek: I try to wirte in my journal everyday so I'm at least keeping a bit in the game.
davek: Thanks for the pointer to the nanowrimo group. I'll have to sign up and see who is local to me.
camidon: What's your 735 words (so far) about, Anneliese?
anneliese: Well, it is a story that I have written and rewritten and dumped many times. I figured I'd give it one more chance, since I've invested
anneliese: so much world building into it.
camidon: There's at least 10 people signed up in the Fort Collins that have posted on the board, plus I'm betting a whole bunch more. They have get togethers, which I may try to arrange sometime. The only catch is I don't know if any would be scifi related--but if you post on the bboard, you'll probably find out.
camidon: (posted in the CO: Elsewhere, region section of the bboard that is)
camidon: Do you have a working title, Anneliese?
anneliese: There's at least 40 in CT and a whole host of activities planned.
anneliese: Title is "Chrysalis" It is a kind of heroes journey.
anneliese: Or is that hero's journey
anneliese: What are you working on?
camidon: There were 7 pages of CO folks, and I think like 20 on a page, so like 150 folks maybe? Most likely more.
camidon: Book IV: The Elevator to the End of the World, "The Fall of Imagination"
davek: How many have signed up total?
anneliese: 33,000
anneliese: Give or take.
camidon: I finished Book III a few days ago, in Oct, and decided instead of writing a whole new scifi related book, I'd finish of these children's novels so I don't leave anything hanging.
anneliese: Where did you find the list of CO folks?
anneliese: Sounds like a good plan.
camidon: I did an author search, under location: Colorado.
davek: Do I have to pretend that I'm going to be writing?
anneliese: The NaNo site is very slow right now.
camidon: I hope Mike and Elizabeth find some time to enjoy this challenge. I haven't been so motivated in a long time. Whenever I had a free moment today I was writing.
anneliese: Do what your concience dictates, Dave,
anneliese: Mike and Elizabeth are signed up.
camidon: Don't think so Dave. I'm sure there are folks who sign up that don't wind up writing anything for one reason or another.
camidon: Yes, Annelies, but will the find the time to write those first 735 words.
anneliese: I couldn't do any writing until after supper, but I thought about it a lot.
camidon: Because I finished Book III before Nov, I had a few days to plan Book IV, outlining, which gave me a good running head start. I hope to break 3,000 today
anneliese: I'll probably stay up and at least get to 1,000 today.
anneliese: Hubby is sick, so he's in bed already.
camidon: So you're free the entire night! 4:00AM here you come! Well, probably not if you have to work.
camidon: Did either of you two pick at the 100 word intro story challenge?
anneliese: Yea, that work thing is a bummer. And I do have to be up by 7am.
camidon: One day at a time, Anneliese, one day at a time.
anneliese: I'm hoping that if I can get at least 1K words a day during the week, that I can catch up over the weekend.
camidon: Or should that be one word at a time, one word at a time?
davek: No. I'm trying to find out where all my time goes. Today our email provider caused some kind of mail loop and all our email was screwed up.
anneliese: Plus, I'll be waiting in the doctor's office much of Wed. afternoon. Should get some writing in then.
anneliese: I pretty much know how I waste my time. Carving it into different priorities is the problem.
camidon: After I got tour message on the NaNo site, I sent one to Mike. You probably did too?? As a little encoiragement.
camidon: Did you get snow, Dave? I think it's snowed every Halloween in Sterling for the last 3 years.
davek: I'm trying to use it as a stroy idea. So far I have the government using "idle" minds by subliminal TV messages.
anneliese: I think I did. I know that I sent one to you and Elizabeth. but I was guessing at what you all used for login names.
davek: Just a few flakes. Nothing on the ground but a little in the foot hills.
camidon: Time Wasting= checking email 4 times between every sentence.
anneliese: Wonder if the government could use idle minds for anything else?
camidon: We got about 3-5 inches, but it's mostly melted.
anneliese: We had a stunningly gorgeous day, in the upper 60's.
davek: I was thiking that the government used them to search for patterns but now computers are so cheap they are "unemploying" the minds. It causes problems with too many people just hanging around.
camidon: I looked for Elizabeth, but didn't know enough to pick her out definitively. I decided against sending a random message, and then getting a "Who the hell are you back"
camidon: Mike's is EmptyKube, at least, I couldn't image anyone else using that screenname from the NE.
anneliese: I think you might have something there, Dave...keep going with it.
anneliese: Yep, that's it, and I did send Mike a message.
anneliese: And Elizabeth is using MacBethI
camidon: Run with it, Dave.
anneliese: At least we are all predictable!
davek: Thanks Annaliese. I'll probably work on it a bit more.
anneliese: Did the gov't have some two-way tv connection in which to employ the minds?
camidon: I was right. I found her screen name then, but the last name drew a blank so I balked. Oh well.
anneliese: Hardage?
camidon: Yep.
anneliese: That's her.
camidon: Good to know. We didn't have a topic tonight did we?
anneliese: Not unless Greg showed up.
anneliese: I was kind of hoping that Elizabeth would have distributed the challenge subs.
davek: I wasn't thinking of a two way link. More of like SETI at home. We get info downloaded to us and process it and then send back a brief found it message if it applies.
camidon: Ah. Is Bruce really back, or did you just swap out his email addresses?
anneliese: I like that, Dave.
davek: Any luck with Mark on the old site?
camidon: That's a cool idea, Dave
anneliese: I'm not sure about Bruce. I think he's lurking right now.
davek: I'm great with ideas, I'm very poor about following them through.
anneliese: Bob, it seems, is back, though. Don't know what happened to his email address.
camidon: random tidbit of info: Some government employee lost his job in Ohio for using a government computer to decrypt the SETI at home stuff. It wasn't even during work hours, it was after hours, but apparently that was a no-no. Ugh.
anneliese: I haven't heard anything from Mark...I cc'd him on the November update as a gentle reminder, though.
camidon: That's why were here, Dave. To prod you into action every once and a while, because when you do get a story out, it's usually pretty good.
anneliese: Darn good, even!
davek: Usually?? BUt thanks. I don't know why I'm so non-writing right now.
anneliese: Of course, you too, CM. I am amazed at how your writing has improved over the years.
camidon: I noticed Mike made a small reference to SFWW in one post on the NaNo board, but I still think we need a topic about it in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section
anneliese: We all go through non-writing phases...for a bunch of reasons.
anneliese: I agree. I thought Elizabeth volunteered to do that. Which is why I was holding back for now.
camidon: Yeah, we all do. For a few months a few years ago I disappeared from writing, but then I came back.
camidon: Thanks, Anneliese
anneliese: My non-writing stints are usually much longer than that...years, unfortunately.
davek: I do have another idea - it is for a modification to one of those skocking dog collars. I just don't know how to have it do a critique of my writing.
anneliese: LOL Dave, does it need to be able to critique as well as prod?
davek: Unfortunatly this November is when this startup is trying to get going. It screwed around all summer and now it wants to get going.
anneliese: My experience with things like that, Dave, is that they never go as quickly as they say.
davek: Well, the shock is proportional to the number of words and how good they are.
camidon: Well, I've recently put in for permanent jobs with the Park Service, and if I get one, my writing will slow to a trickle too. Unless your one of the lucky few who breaks out and starts selling lots of stuff, writing is always a secondary thing, sometimes much lower then that sadly.
anneliese: If the say they are *going* to start up this month, then they *might* actually get it done next month.
camidon: LoL, Dave. There's those good idea.
anneliese: If you aren't fully entrenched in the startup right now, you have time to write. amazingly, it will all work out.
davek: They have been saying it for months. This month we have a letter from another company so if we want some help from them we need to move.
camidon: Maybe just have it adjusted so it only shocks you if you check
camidon: your email too many times. That's what I'd need.
anneliese: We're starting a new web service in my company. We thought we9;d have customers by September. Got our first last week.
davek: OK, different plugin modules for your specific needs.
anneliese: How much responsibility do you bear wrt the startup process?
davek: Only a month off. That is pretty good.
camidon: I think the big thing about the non-writing periods is to staying in contact with actve writing folks. Then there's always that reminder, and always some one to talk to or email. When you lose all correspondence, then it's clear writing has fallen completely off the radar screen.
anneliese: Damn good, but it is only one customer and we need at least 2/week.
anneliese: Exactly, CM, which is why I stayed with SFWW even though I have been unable to write anything for several years.
davek: Good point. Fortunatly, I'm very much a creature of habit so once I start something I do keep going.
camidon: If I don't have to pay, I'll be a customer.
anneliese: Hey, I'm still doing some pro-bono work for the old portfolio.
anneliese: Which is why I had no regrets doing the SFWW site.
camidon: Simply geting SFWW emails while I was non-writing kept me interested. That's why I didn't want to cull the heard right away, but eventually... That's why I like that "sabbatical" category.
anneliese: I'll be interested in if some of the herd responds to my last update.
davek: Good point. I'd like to change my vote about dropping the non-participators.
camidon: I still want to do more stuff with the links page, and other asundry things with the website, but not until it's visible.
anneliese: I agree completely. I'm going to try sending out the "please update your link" letters again.
anneliese: And I am getting a nibble now and then from the SFWW group page I started.
camidon: Who's "Tere2251@aol.com"? I was wading through my inbox wasteland and saw a random crit, but she hasn't done one since, nor any for months before that as I can find. It's always so weird to have people pop up for like a week, then disappear again.
anneliese: She used to be very regular, then dropped off.
anneliese: Never submitted much, but wrote pretty good crits.
camidon: What are you changing your vote from Dave?
davek: I want to keep the non-workers. Maybe they will eventually get back into it.
camidon: Ah.
anneliese: Some will return. Others have definately moved on.
davek: I am working on writing a business plan. Maybeo only 50% fiction.
anneliese: 50% that's pretty good. Usually they're about 90% fiction.
davek: But we need new members. I'm hoping the nanowrimo will generate a few.
davek: I wasn't counting the boilerplate.
anneliese: LOL
anneliese: At least you're trying to write a business plan. Too many try to skip that step, or short-shrift it.
camidon: I'm lost, What do you mean business plan? 50% fiction. The boilerplate? I missed something.
davek: Hello. Did I freeze up?
anneliese: not to us
camidon: I don't think so. I just lost the strain of conversation.
anneliese: I think he was referring to the work he is doing with the startup.
camidon: Oh. That helps. OKay, but how does that relate to the boilerplate? I feel so dense at the moment.
davek: Yeah, a business plan is the description of what a company is trying to do and how.
anneliese: There is a certain amount of introductory and supporting material that goes with a business plan that is pretty standardized text...never changes...hence, it is called boilerplate.
camidon: Thanks, Dave, I figured that much out! lol Ah, now, that sheds some light, Anneliese. lol.
anneliese: It might be how long the company has been in business, bios of the principals, mission statement, etc.
camidon: I've learned something new. Not only are these chats entertaining, they're educational!
davek: I went to the library and got a few books. They made me the expert.
anneliese: Yes, but what do you really want to know...the dull stuff of business, or fun stuff like caves?
anneliese: That is pretty much all you have to do, Dave, the books will give you the format, then you fill in the blanks.
camidon: Well, the business side is more profitable... But I get the shivers just thinking about it. Yes, caves are much more fun. And writing.
anneliese: Definately writing
anneliese: I'm toying with a blog or journal to track my writing progress this month.
davek: I can write I just can't re-write or edit.
anneliese: Probably a waste of time, but it might be another motivator...not sure.
anneliese: It took me many years to understand the concept of rewrites, Dave.
davek: Or a sink of time. I would say just use a column of nuimbers.
anneliese: I'm still a neophyte, but I think I finally understand the difference between a first and second draft.
davek: And rewards at every 10000 words.
anneliese: Ooo, rewards. I hadn't even considered that!
camidon: Give it a go, Anneliese. Never know unless you try, Good way to organize your thoughts, and those of us doing NaNo can keep up on your progress through that
davek: Next story I write I get a new expresso machine.
camidon: and through procrastinating im's over the nano board...
anneliese: I was thinking of either doing something with the wiki, or, since I have to set up a blog for the business, using that.
camidon: Ah, now that's a fantastic idea, Dave.
anneliese: Actually, I could probably set up the blog on the SFWW site so any of us could use it.
camidon: I'll I got for my finishing my III book was a slice of pie. I think I need to think bigger.
anneliese: I like that idea, Dave...but I already have an espresso machine...if hubby hasn't given it away.
anneliese: You definately need to think bigger, CM
camidon: Maybe a car... Hmmm... Can't think that big... Maybe a caving trip--wait already doing that. Hmm, this is hard.
anneliese: I still owe you a crit for your last sub.
camidon: Yes, for being so imaginative with words, I find it much harder to be imaginative in other facets of my life.
anneliese: From what I understand, a typical problem of most artists, including writers.
anneliese: I'm thinking about rewards such as washing the windows, or finally painting the bedroom.
anneliese: Whatever my reward is, it has to be cheap...I'm pretty broke right now.
camidon: Ah, washing the windows, what a reward. I think I'd prefer a slice of pie.
camidon: At least it tastes good!
anneliese: I really can't stand looking out of my windows, though, so having them clean would be a reward.
davek: It must be a "girl" thing.
anneliese: Problem is, I can't do it without help.
anneliese: LOL maybe it is a 'girl' thing.
davek: Somebody claims to have proven that men can't see dirt the same as women.
camidon: Hey, whatever works for you! That's my motto. Until my waist line increase, I'll stick with pie slices, or maybe entire pies.
anneliese: Go for the whole pie! Maybe a pie festival!
camidon: Mmmm, pie. I should stop mentioning that. Mmm pie.
anneliese: I think that men and women see most things differently.
camidon: This hour has been great fun, but I'm ready to to do a little writing.
anneliese: I agree. I really enjoy our times together.
davek: Somebody claims to have proven that men can't see dirt the same as women.
camidon: Hopefully, Elizabeth can get out those challenges if she's not to booked.
anneliese: I hope so too...haven't heard much from her lately.
camidon: I'd say, I'd be back next week, but next week is AOL. Perhaps I'll come here anyway.
davek: I'm having link trouble. I may have to say good night.
System: davek leaves the channel. goes to channel: group
camidon: Well, that's good timing on Dave's part.
anneliese: I guess so.
anneliese: I can try to show up here as well...perhaps a bit earlier?
camidon: Good luck with your writing, Anneliese. If you need some motivation, don't hesitate to email and I'll be glad to procrastinate for a while writing an email/im response.
anneliese: Yes, we should continue to nudge each other. I'd appreciate it, anyway
camidon: Sure, I'll drop in around 7:30MDT, or 9:30EDT
camidon: If no one's around, no biggie though.
anneliese: Sounds like a plan. Also, if you have AIM, I'm trying to keep it on: acmfox.
anneliese: See you later, then...it's back to writing for now!
System: davek joined us. Cheers!
camidon: I've band ICQ and AOL; I never got ANYTHING done with them; but I'll check out the NaNo site often.
camidon: SOunds good, gnight Anneliese.
anneliese: Niters, and wb, Dave.
camidon: Welcome back, Dave, we're just saying our goodnights!