The Overlook Hotel - 2013-06-25

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Q: Is the stylized writing [of this piece, 3K] successful or gimmicky? does it read smooth or choppy?

He sat on top of the highway. City on a hill. He was looking down at the cars, but not at their metal chassis. He was concerned with their existence, and their heavy weight in our perception of time. The cars moved so fast, they didn’t intake information at the same rate as he, standing still. Th...

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7:13 AM

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Q: Can Anybody Write an "Unauthorized" Guide?

I've seen several "unauthorized" guides for popular media. For instance, there is Finding Battlestar Galactica: An Unauthorized Guide. The impression I get is that by being "unauthorized", it is made without the permission of the owners of the material. Assuming that definition is correct, can a...

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Q: How to tell if a fiction workshopping site protects my rights?

There are lots of websites for getting feedback for my writing. But since posting something publicly on the internet can count as "publication," I'm worried that posting my work there might prove an obstacle once the work is done and I'm seeking publication. How do I know whether or not posting...

copyright writing-groups

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12:20 PM

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Q: Non native English speakers contributions

Writers Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for authors, editors, reviewers, professional writers, and aspiring writers. It's built and run by you as part of the Stack Exchange network of Q&A sites. With your help, we're working together to build a library of detailed answers to every...

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Where are the crazy people when you need them?

@KitFox /me raises hand, right here?

Oh. Hi.

Feel like doing writer's chat today?

@MattЭллен Chat today?

I'll have to get the EL&U folks from the other room. Most of them haven't been here lately.

Matt Эллен

hello

yeah, sure :)

Who else? Meta and Mr.Shiny?

12:28 PM

@KitFox maybe. Gotta see what work looks like and how I'm feeling.

I've got to do some stuff this morning, but I thought chat would encourage me to write the thing that Matt wants.

Matt Эллен

is so demanding

1 hour later…

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

1:35 PM

Hello, I'm game for writing later on.

Need to get back into the groove, or else sedimentary-rock-forming processes will cover it and only a paleontologist will be able to discern that I ever wrote stuff.

2 hours later…

3:51 PM

Hi people!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

hey

is the chat at noon or one

Whenever you like.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

okay. Imma grab some food, brb

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

4:20 PM

i'm back.

Hullo. I have to wash my bowl. I'm writing a less/fewer article for Matt. It's in draft form on the blog if you have access and want to read it.

brb

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

don't forget to point out that the less/fewer distinction is arbitrary and mainly a rule for rule's sake.

Stop. Not you too.

Frig. I forgot about the erotic cake story.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@KitFox I used to be a believer but someone posted something... either here, or on Language Log, and I decided that the rule was made-up. However I still follow it since other people are so judgey.

sighs

Much are called, less are chosen.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

4:31 PM

no... I don't think much/many works the same way.

It ought to.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

have you seen the wikipedia article? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_vs._less

Yes. scowls

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

and the language-log posts?

Like there's something wrong with separating the wheat from the chaff.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

4:37 PM

Here is a good article that explains it in a nutshell.

Not listening. lalalalalala plugs ears

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Glad I could help :)

Why you gotta take all the fun out of things?

I thought you knew me well enough to know that one of the few things I enjoy in life is my elitism.

And anyway, you can right a rebuttal.

Should we wait until @Matt comes back?

Do you want to write now?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

what time does he usually get back?

I'm not sure. It's usually about an hour after he leaves.

So I think around 1?

Eep! That notification startled me. Apparently I scheduled the event for 1pm.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

4:47 PM

let's wait then.

maybe some others will appear too? summoned by the arrow-thwonk.

Are you working at home today?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I work at home every day.

Huh. I thought you were office sometimes. I guess that's Rob.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I used to have an office, but not since april last year.

Money saving.

4:49 PM

hai

Hey.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yeah it saves tons of cash

how goes it?

I am finding new and creative ways to mess up my database. You?

@KitFox ooooh, can i help?

can't concentrate, cosplacon starts in 2 days

4:51 PM

I didn't know you were into cosplay.

@KitFox i am a bit

this will be my first cosplay and costume. was in a larp group for a couple of years

Cool. What's your costume like?

@KitFox i'm dressing as harry dresden from the dresden files. specifically book #2

I had a friend who used to larp, some zombie apocalypse group.

canvas duster, wax wood staff, dow rod as his blasting rod, pentacle necklacke

4:53 PM

Harry Dresden is more interesting.

Matt Эллен

hello

that too fewer time than nromal

@MattЭллен hello!

Matt Эллен

Hello!

Well, look at us. It's like old times.

Matt Эллен

indeed

4:56 PM

:-D

Matt Эллен

saucy!

Sorry.

Matt Эллен

stops inserting

I'm really very focused on this chat right now.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

me too

4:58 PM

I'm not trying to do two things at once.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

focused. oh damn, the vpn just came back online.

that was my excuse for not working.

Actually, three. Chatting, working, and lying about working.

Rats.

Matt Эллен

Mice

In the corn.

So. Who's writing these days?

looks @Matt

Matt Эллен

I am looking down the barrel of my daily limerick right now

I was also going to finish off that mythology thing later

5:01 PM

@KitFox i posted a new blog post last week

Oh let me peek.

@MattЭллен Remind me. I remember you said about the Mars event, but you had something else you were writing for world building and then I forgot.

Matt Эллен

Oh, @Kit what do you mean about making the purpose of the post clear at the outset for my EL&U blog post?

what sort of thing would you add?

@KitFox yeah, about why people sleep — because of people in the clouds

@DForck42 Hey, congrats! That's really exciting.

@MattЭллен Oh, that's right!

@MattЭллен Um, something to put my feet on the ground. I didn't know that you were going to talk about when to use comments, chat, or...um. The third thing.

But that's the whole post.

Matt Эллен

OK

@KitFox :-D

5:05 PM

@MattЭллен Or maybe I'm crazy. I might be. It's really hot in here.

I took my shoes off.

And my socks.

I don't think I have anything else I can take off.

@KitFox ... til kitfox uses the computer naked

I do that sometimes, but I'm at work.

Matt Эллен

luckily for me, I'm at home

I should have stayed in the conference room, but I hate not having two monitors.

I'm such a baby.

Matt Эллен

nah. I would hate it too

5:08 PM

@KitFox nah, 2 monitors are really important

Matt Эллен

although I only have one at home. but it's quite wide

But it's 89 in here. whines

@MattЭллен Width is arguably more important than length.

@KitFox length makes a difference for some things...width for others :P

Things!? I'm sorry, but I stand firmly for stuff.

@KitFox I use them interchangeably? I'm gonna pick the one that sounds the most dubious in context :P

5:11 PM

Stuff-Things Dichotomy Committee

Jan 4 '12 at 17:50, 12 minutes total – 41 messages, 4 users, 0 stars

Bookmarked Apr 24 '12 at 18:13 by aedia λ

Matt Эллен

stuff/things limerick

(not today's, just related)

in English Language & Usage, Aug 18 '11 at 15:56, by JSBᾶngs

down with things! up with stuff!

@MattЭллен giggles

So you see, @Waxeagle, there is a long-standing thing about stuff.

@MattЭллен nice

@KitFox naturally. there are lots of long standing things about language.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

in English Language & Usage, Jan 4 '12 at 18:03, by Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Also I expect your executive summary in the form of a limerick

It's about time!

brb

someone at the door. but she was looking for my neighbours.

Matt Эллен

5:15 PM

LOL

better late than never?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

indeed

so what is our topic today?

Sorry, I was reading our humor.

We are funny people.

Um. The topic today for writing or for talking?

Do we want to write?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

both topics, I guess.

I could use a good 10 min exercise

Let's start there then. I have to get my page ready.

brb

OK. Are you all ready?

Matt Эллен

I'll catch up

5:24 PM

We should ping @MετάEd. He likes these, I think.

Matt Эллен

yeah!

@Mr.Shiny You ready?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

ready

what are we doing?

@DForck42 Are you in?

@Wax?

if I don't get distracted I'm writing

5:25 PM

Here is the topic:

The quality of mercy

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

um. my brain is kinda melting.

OK, that's an acceptable topic as well.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

no, I think I've managed to hold it together.

Time's up.

foxfirekitty.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/lightning-rounds-15

I hate mine. I just want to say so now.

mine came out odd: docs.google.com/document/d/…

(warning: reflects religious sentiment)

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

5:37 PM

mine needs 2 more minutes.

less story for me and more musing

I didn't know you lost a child.

My deepest condolences.

I picked "the quality of mercy" out of the ether, but it reminds me of JSB's short story. Let me find the link.

The Judge's Right Hand

@KitFox thanks. Was a rough time, but a lot of amazing things happened around it that made it an experience I treasure.

It's funny how death transforms us.

@KitFox nod death has had a huge impact on my life and marriage in good ways and bad. We lost my mother in law right after we got married, and that kicked off four straight years of losing someone every year.

5:43 PM

I want to reflect those things in my second novel. Mercy, transformation, the intimacy of human connection, the unbearable lightness of being

@waxeagle Yipes.

@KitFox all on my wife's side, mom and both grandmothers, then our little girl.

What happened to your girl?

@KitFox her kidneys failed to form

You have a son now, right?

it's a defect called Potter's syndrome. They were able to diagnose it at 20 weeks, but it's not fatal while the baby is in the womb

@KitFox a pair :)

the the little girl was in between

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

5:47 PM

Okay here is mine.

I had a friend recently who had a baby with a hole in her heart. She carried her to term even though they knew she wouldn't live after she was born.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

It's not as good as I'd hoped.

I thought that was very brave.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Cute.

@waxeagle I also have two.

With a miscarriage in between.

@KitFox yeah, the option to terminate was put on the table for us, and it's certainly not an option we would begrudge someone if they took, it's an incredibly hard thing to carry a doomed little one to term.

I don't know what I would do in that situation. Glad I don't have to know.

5:50 PM

@KitFox just got back

@KitFox I can tell you that it's heavily altered how my wife and I think about it. It's no longer black and white to me.

@DForck42 Go write!

@KitFox can't, lunch

You only need one hand for lunch!

@KitFox no typoe ibe hand well

5:57 PM

I see.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

It's been a while since I've written a writing exercise that I feel should be put up on my blog.

Yeah. I'm out of practice.

We should do this every week!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

what a good idea!

yeah I haven't written anything that's not an email/FB/chat or SE post since probably Nov or so

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

If only there were a place where we could gather, and discuss writing, and write stuff.

8

5:59 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 if only

Wait. Oh, wait! I have an idea!

There's this place where on Tuesdays, they write and discuss. On other days, they discuss and write. All are welcome.

4

We should totally do it there!

I mean, how else am I going to be prepared for next November?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

so anyway, Kit, I liked your piece, how the girl saves the paper at the end.

It echoes a sentiment I've often felt, that is, the sadness of the loss of a character when their story ends.

That was the idea, but I felt I lost it in the execution.

The good news is that the test data look like they loaded OK, finally.

I felt the same about yours. There was something in the moment between parent and child.

A reminder that they are young and learning.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

and always listening.

Remorse. Something I wish my little son would learn.

And listening, yes. And wondering and thinking.

And trying to put it all in a context they understand.

I was explaining betrayal to my eldest yesterday.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:10 PM

yeah how do you teach remorse? I have no idea if I'm doing it right. But at least sometimes the kids imitate the behaviour I want them to imitate, so who can tell if they are genuinely sorry, or just faking it?

He has been fixated on Anakin's fall. I gave him a sanitized version of Revenge of the Sith, but he's not satisfied with it and keeps pressing for more details.

Trying to explain the depth of the word betrayal is pretty hard.

You need whole novels for that shit.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

it would help if Anakin's story had been better-told.

Well, true. But this is the abridged version, so I can tell him whatever I want.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

yeah

Damn.

I hope somebody wrote about the koala tea of mercy.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:24 PM

there's still time

Matt Эллен

some story

hee hee hee

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MattЭллен I note that it contains a fox, and meandering, both of which featured in today's ELU chat. Well, the fox always features.

Matt Эллен

:D

I did steal meandering from the chat

I was going to say "rabbit hole", but foxes don't lead people down rabbit holes

Not always!

I've lead people down rabbit— coughs

Matt Эллен

6:31 PM

:D

Boy, look at the...this code is just...

Pizza tonight!

Matt Эллен

mmmm

I had pizza last night. It was good

I added rocket to it, too

@KitFox pancakes for us

Rocket?

@waxeagle Opie meal for the mini-me.

And probably a hot dog for the maxi-me.

Matt Эллен

yeah, the leafy green that is kinda spicy. I don't think kids would like it

6:34 PM

I've not heard of it.

Matt Эллен

Eruca sativa (syn. E. vesicaria subsp. sativa (Miller) Thell., Brassica eruca L.) is an edible annual plant, commonly known as salad rocket, roquette, rucola, rugula, colewort, or, in the United States, arugula. Salad rocket (arugula) is sometimes conflated with Diplotaxis tenuifolia, the perennial wall rocket, another plant of the Brassicaceae family, which in the past was used in the same manner. Salad rocket is a species of Eruca native to the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal in the west to Lebanon and Turkey in the east. Eruca sativa differs from E. vesicaria in having ...

arugula, apparently

@MattЭллен a arugula, thought it might be as that's the only one i can think of that's spicy

Oh arugula!

AROO-gah

Matt Эллен

:D

Why am I so dumb sometimes?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:38 PM

@KitFox you're an American. Can't help it.

Matt Эллен

because you're human?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

ducks

No. No. Unacceptable. I can hardly maintain my seat on this high horse if I am like hoi polloi.

My ego cannot withstand these assaults.

Matt Эллен

:D

Kitfox is only human! Kitfox is only human! points and laughs

growls

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

6:40 PM

Yeah, get with the post-singularity post-humanity already.

It doesn't bother me though.

Look at my face. Do I look bothered?

Is this a bothered face?

It doesn't bother me.

Matt Эллен

:D

good

@KitFox are you the doctor?

(that's not that one though, is it?)

I actually picked a bad one for it.

I love when he's all Scottish and shit.

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