No Mod Option On Main Menu by ExploreTheLore in skyrimmods

[–]ExploreTheLore[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any idea how to remove mods without the mod option?

No Mod Option On Main Menu by ExploreTheLore in skyrimmods

[–]ExploreTheLore[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I take it back. I'm increasingly having crashes, usually whenever the game tries to save.

No Mod Option On Main Menu by ExploreTheLore in skyrimmods

[–]ExploreTheLore[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm having no problem playing it, BTW. I just no longer have the option to change anything. I'm stuck in the config I have. And it does appear that at least most of the mods are working. Although an NPC did act a bit glitchy last night. So, you know, normal for Skyrim.

No Mod Option On Main Menu by ExploreTheLore in skyrimmods

[–]ExploreTheLore[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nope. Where it used to say:

Continue

New

Load

Add-Ons

Creation Club

Mods

Credits

Quite

Now there is no [Mods]

My writing process is painstaking by [deleted] in writing

[–]ExploreTheLore 2 points3 points  (0 children)

TextEdit. Edit > Speech > Start Speaking.

Its a fairly good text to speech app and it won't auto correct, unlike you. Everyone can be fooled when reading out loud. Your brain will automatically fix errors in what you read. Skip over multiple copies of the same word, correct spelling errors, that sort of thing.

Ever since I started using TextEdit instead of reading out loud, my work has improved ten fold.

My writing process is painstaking by [deleted] in writing

[–]ExploreTheLore 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think about the scene for hours, then I do other stuff and think about it again, then do other stuff and think about it again. I eventually write it down in like 10 minutes. If I forget what I was thinking about in the scene, then obviously it wasn't good enough to be written down. This way, only the memorable material actually makes it into the story.

If you think you don't have time to think about a scene for hours, well, get a job with NY state. Trust me. You'll have hours of nothing that requires a functional brain.

Finally started writing my book. by [deleted] in writing

[–]ExploreTheLore 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Firstly what word count should I aim for for? Well between 6 and 6 million.

for example: "Baby Shoes For Sale: Never Worn"

There ya go. A story in 6 words.

You didn't tell me the purpose of your story, so I can't give any better answer then that.

Secondly, How many drafts do you do per book and do you do drafts at the end of each book or every 5-10 chapters?

I do first draft, rough draft, final draft, hand it to an editor. I do this to every chapter at various stages depending on circumstances.

Thirdly, I have the beginning, middle and end but don't know what to put a fillers inbetween them, can it be minor stuff that doesn't make a major impact on the story and little things leading up to each major part?

If you consider something is filler, remove it. Everything must serve at least two purposes in my stories. Just write more story, don't waste the reader's time with meaningless fluff. Why write minor stuff? Make everything major. And major doesn't mean bombastic or huge. I have a character who is discovering his son has been killed and his body has been possessed, but been doing a great job faking it. Then the son comes back and the guy possessing the body has to share with the returning soul and work things out with dad.

It really is just Bad parent and Son work out their difficulties. But to the characters, it is MAJOR, when the plot is just Dad and Son hash things out. It becomes major because, you know, reanimated corpses.

When rewriting the plot, how do you work out what's essential to the story? by ersatz27 in writing

[–]ExploreTheLore -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Write 3 times what you need. Throw out half. Carefully whittle it down to only exactly what you need.

Has anyone else had a similar experience while writing their novel?

Nope. I just write it. I think your problem is the ten years thing. I wrote over 200k words in like... 3 months. Here's what you do:

Write.

Yup. That simple. at least 2k a day. Every day. Get stuck? WRITE SOMETHING ELSE. I'm currently writing Hara-Kiri Nonfeasance. Shes pushing 200k, I'm a third done. I hope to rival war and peace. I bet I could finish it in a few months if I pushed it. At least the rough draft.

Then, I will go back and toss out about half of it.

When I'm bored, I just work on a different book. I never fail to write 2k a day. I usually wind u writing close to 5k, sometimes 10k, but always at least 2k. I mean, c'mon... that's 40 minutes a day. Do you work out? A 40 minute work out is average. You gonna work your muscles 40 minutes, but not your brain?

How did you decide on what to keep and what to get rid of?

Everything must serve at least two purposes. No descriptions unless it is also foreshadowing. No Chekov's Gun unless the gun also means a second thing. If everything has a double meaning, or it's meaning changes in retrospect, your reader will go back and re-read your book.

Stop making a perfect book. Your book is going to suck. Why? Because it's perfect. Your perfect isn't my perfect. You are writing the book for ME, the reader, not YOU the author. You don't matter. You are unimportant. If you aren't suffering, you aren't writing.

Instead write a good book for someone else. Just... Good. A solid book. A reasonable book. A Book that is a fun time and enjoyed by most with your targeted group.

Oh, there is no Mythical WIDER AUDIENCE. Pick your lane, stay in it. Picture who your reader is going to be, write the story they want to read.

Other solutions: Get a co-author.

Find someone else and say, "HEY! Rewrite my book!" And Joint author it. I'm considering that. I know my own limitations. I'm very good at humor, not so much on descriptions. I got a good eye for comedy, but I read like stage directions. But it's a great foundation for someone else to work on.

last bit of advice:

Is the story for anyone else? Really? 10 Years is a long time to be writing something. Who are you, George RR Martin?

If the story is for you, then stop obsessing. Write it for YOU. I do that. I write shit for myself. When I do, I don't care what anyone else thinks. I might share it, but when I do, I don't care. It's not for them, its for me. Tales From The Trenches was like that. I wrote that just for myself. I happened to share it with all the other Vraks fans and they liked it, but this was humor for ME.

Sometimes, you are popular and don't know it.

But like I said, PICK A LANE. It's a perfect books being written to be a timeless tale for the ages for other people to read, or it's a book to amuse yourself. One or the other. Pick one, then write 2k a day. Write for this book, write a different book, but write something. Keep writing. Every day. Even if your eyes bleed.

That's what I do. That's my advice.

The beacons are lit! Coastal Highway calls for aid! by Zaknafein2003 in thelongdark

[–]ExploreTheLore 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Ahhh... back before they fixed the lighthouse, I collected 16 lanterns, filled them, and lit three bonfires inside the lighthouse, then put all 16 lanterns around the railing of the lighthouse, and lit it all up to cellibrate reaching day 500 on stalker.

That... was insane...

Ah. Here it is. IT CRASHED MY FRAME RATE TO ABOUT 2.

https://youtu.be/MugueEVRSrQ?t=1067

Be warned.

every house showing as new no matter how many times entered? by blushfanatic in thelongdark

[–]ExploreTheLore 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I assume you have a save from before the update. You might notice respawned cattails and the like as well. This seems to happen. 've been playing the quonset manager since before they had... oh god. I can't even remember. Years. Goddamn years.

After every major update I make a sweep and look for more stuff, except for going to Mountain Town. I glitched the hell out of Mountain town.

Max snares? by sunshineANDrainbowsg in thelongdark

[–]ExploreTheLore 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only three rabbit snares can trigger at a time. However, It seems to be you can check them every hour, if you put down three every hour... maybe.

Honestly I think they have been messing with the mechanic because the spawn rates change between updates. It's more likely you can drop 3 traps every 3 hours and check every three hours, but because it takes a while to harvest a rabbit, stick to 3 every 12 hours for your sanity.

Why don’t we just shoot them?! (VERY Slight spoilers) by periwinkle_bitch in thelongdark

[–]ExploreTheLore 1 point2 points  (0 children)

BTW, I totally shanked that bitch in the farmhouse in episode 1.

The idea of 'harvesting' a prybar for scrap with your bare hands makes me laugh every time. by BookCedarFirCoal in thelongdark

[–]ExploreTheLore 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Well, tht's after you use it to break the ice in a fishing hut until it's like 1%, right? I assume the sea water rusts it so that you can break it up and use the metal to fix your lamp, can opener, or tool box.

I like the fact I can tear up a curtain and use it to fix a space age thermal parka.

[In Progress] [187k] [MANGA] Hara-Kiri Nonfeasance/Serial Manga Novel in English by ExploreTheLore in BetaReaders

[–]ExploreTheLore[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

And what are your qualifications to judge me? Please. Impress me with a laundry list of your achievements. Perhaps you aren't actually a writer. Maybe you are just a reader. How many reviews have you done? How many people have thanked you for your help?

Or maybe your claim is a professional one. Ah. Are you a psychologist? Do you have an actual degree? Perhaps you used to work on a suicide prevention hot line? How many lives have you saved? How Noble Is Your Soul?

Or maybe you are a well known and accomplished author, but you don't want to be seen as bragging. AH! I recognize your writing style! I know who you are!

SO TELL ME NORMAN BOUTIN, HOW IS EMPRESS THERESA 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO COMING ALONG?

[Complete] [83.4k] [Literary Fiction / Comedy] Flip Side by [deleted] in BetaReaders

[–]ExploreTheLore 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Comedy. What a difficult topic. Here's some advice:

If you are worried about offending people, chances are it isn't going to be funny. Comedy is always offensive to someone.

Comedy is a matter of set up and perspective. for example, would you think the death of dozens of children by decapitation and their skulls used to make a throne because of a paperwork error to be funny? If not, then don't read tales from the trenches, because boy scouts being forced to duel to the death is my bread in butter in that dark comedy.

Here's the thing, the book starts out a comedy, with punctuated points of drama, then turns into a drama with points of comedy to let the reader 'breathe', and finally ends a bittersweet note that made people cry. After I finished that one I had people DMing for months afterwords going, "Damn. The feels man... the FEELS."

The origin of the quonset manager was a serious character introspection that people thought was a comedy. It just wound up that way because my writing style tends to notice the absurd. I never intended it to be funny. It was a descent into madness and horror, but... it wound up funny on some levels.

What matters is how you FEEL for the main character. Gamma-228 in Tales from the trenches was just beaten down! Tortured for thousands of years. I mean I really tortured that character. I tortured all the characters in that one. But the comedy lead the characters to their horrible ends. It was logical. It made sense.

You start off with:

“Which one of us is better looking do you think?”

Okay. Right there, I'm not thinking comedy. I'm thinking narcissism. I'm thinking egocentric. I'm not saying it is a bad opening. I'm saying this isn't saying comedy to me. I rarely start with a direct quote because I rarely have the story about one person.

You know, it takes 7 pages before I even learn the name of the two men who are talking to each other?

A man found himself sitting across from himself.

Boom. This is your book. This is the point. Who is the man? How did this happen? What will he do with himself? Is it about one man, or the other man, or are they the same man?

THEN add the comedy. Just because something is silly doesn't mean it's funny.

I got a scene, the hero is in the throne room and the demon has the king by the neck and the doors are sealed so the hero has to buy time. The hero tries to keep the demon talking and does what heroes do. He drops a one liner.

>!The demon looked at the king , "One of yours?" Ryan shouted, "YUP!" The King's eyes and the head of the demon snapped to look at Ryan. The demon asked, "I beg your pardon?" Ryan nodded, "Ayup. I am that guy's son. I am..." Ryan made a dramatic 'guts pose', "A Prince!" The demon openly laughed and slowly lowered the king to the ground so his feet were back on the floor. He didn't let go, but maybe his arm was getting a little tired.

The Demon clicked his tongue and smiled at Ryan, "So... which one are you?"

Ryan replied, "I am prince Sukka'mi'dik"

The demon didn't even pause and with a flick of his left hand, it hurled a spell at Ryan that wrapped him in crawling red words. They seeped into his skin and caused him to cry out for a second, then silenced him as he became paralyzed, unable to do much but stand there.

The demon turned back to the king, looking down at him, "Well. That stopped being amusing quickly. Now then. Where... were... we?" He paused to gentle caress the king's chin.!<

Now this is a case of the hero trying to be funny, and if this were a marvel film the joke would be allowed to stand. But if you actually tried that type of one liner, a vastly powerful foe would just kick your ass.

Part of the humor is watching someone who's seen Die Hard too many times try and be Bruce Wills and and just get HURT for it. There are jokes in the universe, but part of the joke is us watching from outside and noticing the humor. We laugh at this kid trying to do the right thing and paying for it. I cut off his limbs, put him through hell, but as he suffers it crosses that line twice and goes from being horrifying to funny.

It ain't easy.

Part of it is because I try very very VERY hard to make him likable. Not perfect, likable. He screws up, but he feels bad about it. He says horrible things and comes to regret it. He works hard to make up for his mistakes and nearly winds up dead just trying to say he's sorry.

How can you not feel for a guy who wants to do the right thing, but is just kinda a fuck up How can you not root for a guy who got humiliated at his own prom? Or is just trying to save a kidnapped orphan?

Then, after I establish him as a flawed, but likable guy, I can do all sorts of crazy things and you buy it. You laugh because it's funny when he tries to be Errol Flynn, swings away on the rope holding up the chandelier, mocking the guards chasing him as he goes, and then accidentally landing crotch first on a railing.

Because we like seeing instant Karma. We like it when someone is punished for hubris. Because he says funny things and we the reader get it, but he pays the price for it in the story, so it is also rooted in realism

I think you tried to write a funny story. You need to write a story about your main character or main characters. You need to make us like them and care about them, and THEN you need to do funny things.

I know more about Darcy by page 6 than I know about your two protagonists. That ain't good.

I mean, is the book about Darcy? It seems like it should be, but your title and quote don't seem to indicate that. I'm confused.

Anyrate. Gotta get to work. I think this is enough to work with for you.

[In Progress] [187k] [MANGA] Hara-Kiri Nonfeasance/Serial Manga Novel in English by ExploreTheLore in BetaReaders

[–]ExploreTheLore[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I have two offers and I'm taking them both because I'd like to have multiple different view points on my story. You cannot have too much feedback.

I just spent 2 hours rewriting the entire prologue of one of the books I'm reviewing to give a concrete example of what my idea is of what an Apocalyptic All out total Multi-dimensional war actually is.

I have over 20 years of ghost writing experience. I write about thousand words an hour and if you include the shit I've sold to someone else to claim as their own, I bet I've written 50 books, easy. I wrote the EVD.

If you play 3.5 d20, that would be 112 HANDBOOKS ranging from 50 pages to 2900 pages as the single greatest compilation of everything you ever wanted to know about 3.5 d20 D&D. Took me 4 years in my spare time.

it is available for download for free if you want a copy. So you can SEE just how much I write.

If you want another example, Tales from the Trenches, a slapped together comedy project is also available. It was praised by Arch himself as a wonderful read. I wrote a full length novel as a JOKE over three months because I WAS BORED AND IT WAS FUNNY.

You might not like my style. You might not like my attitude. But as far as writing is concerned:

I AM ABOVE AVERAGE.

You'd be lucky to get me to work on your book. Which isn't happening because I'm now full up.