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Writers BlockHey folks! HM here with more tips and helpful input for you so that you can become the best writers you can be. Were gonna take a break from dialogue this week and talk about something I think will really help EVERYONE out there. This week we will talk about writing exercises to help you brainstorm and keep the ideas flowing. This is a good way for you to write everyday and perfect your style, as well as get over that shady monstrosity that is writers block (not the well-informed and entertaining article in your lovely City Scoop). So! Where to start? Well I suppose we should start at the beginning, as it is a very good place to start. For those of you who didnt get the "Sound of Music" reference, your souls are far better off than my own and of those who DID get it. The beginning for writing and writing exercises deals with pretty much, just writing. Pick six words out of the dictionary, any six words. Try to stay away from anything like "antidisestablishmentarianism" or anything like that though. Remember, this is an EASY exercise. Do you have your six words? Good. Now arrange them in any order you want and try to make a sentence out of them. There doesnt need to be a specific number of verbs or nouns or adjectives, thats where the writing comes in. You need to fill in the gaps yourself, which makes you more comfortable in filling in the blanks with your own writing. Examples of gaps? Well I thought you would never ask! Say you have a story and a beginning and an end to it. Got that? Now say there are specific events that you want to tie in or specific lines that you just think are so amazingly epic they have to be included. This exercise prepares you for finding out what goes in between all of that. It also helps you to dip into that infinite well-called Imagination, and really helps the creative juices to flow. I know its pretty basic and you think "How do six words help with that?!" but trust me, if you can fit "meiosis, carcinogen, xylophone, simile, jaunt, and aardvark" together in one sentence you can pretty much do anything. I have faith in you. Now that youve become a master of "Six-Word Fu," you are ready to take on another exercise. Pick a character. Any character will do really from any book, any movie, any comic, or any videogame. They can be created by you if you want as well, but for this exercise it may be better to pick one already established. Find a scene, instance, or moment in that characters medium and write out that scene in prose. Say you think the movie "Max Payne" was friggin awesome, try and write out one of the fight scenes. "Max Payne" not your type? How about "Gladiator" and the scene where the Emperor confronts Maximus in his cell? No? Youre not really into that action stuff? How about a scene from a comedy? Romance? Sci-Fi? I present a challenge to you right now if you do tackle sci-fi. If you can make any sequence from "2001: A Space Odyssey" more interesting on paper than the entire film, I will give you all of my in-game Influence. NO LIE. As for the purpose of this exercise, here it is. Writing for characters whose motivation and story you already know is easy. You know their emotions, what gets them riled up, and their reasons for who they are and etcetera. If you can write for an already established character, you can then start writing about someone you make up completely on your own and go wild with them! Now these two exercises may help you a lot, or they may help you a little. Depending on who you are and your writing style they may also prove challenging for you. No matter what though, dont get discouraged. These are here to help you get better at what you love to do. They arent a test, and no one will laugh at you if you dont get it the first time. Have fun with them and use them for their purpose completely. And most importantly: write on! | Fan Fiction SpotlightAshes |
City FictionThe Redeemers"Alright Lets see what weve got so far " Mortiganen murmured as he looked over the reports, "Judging from the group members Agent Wild had to bail out of jail for disturbing the peace, and the reports that indicate who rejected our requests and those who accepted, were looking at around an eight percent total hero population that is helping us with this. The rest, well, lets just say were not quite as popular as Freedom Corps expected us to be." "Pft, uppity blowhards," Harold Danesti barked, "They think theyre so big just because they never got caught racketeering " "Then theres this issue with the Paragon Protectors," the wizard continued, "Im sorry, Thomas. I was hoping theyd leave you alone longer, but it seems well have to deal with this as soon as possible As a group." The scrapper nodded as he held an ice pack to his hip. "I heal pretty fast," he muttered, "not as fast as that Caid guy, but its pretty quick." Garm was looking over his own notes and chewing on the end of his pen in consternation. It didnt make sense to him. This massive creature just showed up out of nowhere, decimated the home of one of the most notorious villains in the city, and then disappeared. It smacked of the sort of conspiracy that involved a living weapon. "Since the Hollows were the last place this Grendel was sighted, we should focus our search there. That weird guy, the one with the clockwork-like cybernetics, Tickin Clank, or whatever his name is, he said his crew found a bunch of dead fish people on the coast of the Red River. The Circle never seems to bother with them, and the Trolls have been steering clear of em, too Plus, according to the report, it looked like their bodies had been crushed in quick succession and laid out like some sort of message, so Id say its a good bet that our mystery monster was the culprit." "I agree," Mort rasped, "But that means he could be in the Hollows, Skyway City, Atlas Park, or even head out into the ocean and make a bee-line for Talos Island." "So, what do we do?" Danesti asked, "Stage patrols anywhere that borders Eastgate and hope we catch a glimpse of this twelve-foot beastie?" | "Thats probably our best bet," the wizard replied, "Im sorry, Thomas, but until the end of this, Im afraid Ill have to keep you here in the base until we can get more teams focused on your case. I dont want to risk another group of Protectors or Creys favorite acquisition squads trying to capture you again." "I understand, boss," Redshadow groaned, "I could use the R & R, anyway." Skyway City was no stranger to the Troll menace. Every couple of nights, a group of their rowdiest and roughest would pick a warehouse and start gulping down gallons of the concoction that made them what they were in the first place. If one dose of Superadyne were enough to alter their bodies and physiques beyond recognition, multiple doses were bound to have more pronounced effects, and they did. The so-called Supa Trolls used to be a massive, insurmountable menace in Skyway City, blocking up traffic for days until a few heroes took it upon themselves to spend a few months clearing them off the streets every time they held a rave and started disrupting the city. Nowadays, the Supa Trolls were wary of the bombs, bullets, lightning bolts and so forth that the heroes would turn on them, so they often turned in as soon as their brains got even a little less foggy during the course of their depredations. The normal Trolls remained in the open, however. This was still their city, and they protected it from all incursions, whether they were dealing with the Outcasts, the Tsoo, or even the Lost which had consumed much of the south side of the city with their access to bizarre technology. While they sometimes had pitched battles that spilled into the streets, they normally just posed in their favorite hangouts to show that they still owned the streets. Favorite hangouts included the pit under the Yellow Line train station, the construction yards, a couple basketball courts, and especially the rivers of the Gruff. It was like they were drawn to it. It could have been considered some sort of sick joke on their part, as a reference to classic trolls from childrens stories, but few who ever dealt with the Trolls for any length of time would actually believe them capable of such parody. It could also be considered that they simply wanted quick access to a bountiful water source. Whatever the reason, the Trolls ruled the drainage rivers of Skyway City. At least, they did. None of them could have known what was bubbling under the surface of those waters. None of them believed the rumors that had been circulating their gang. Nobody could have done that to Atta and his crew. Nothing that powerful existed. Sure, there had been heroes that single-handedly busted up his place when he had a skeleton crew, or groups that took on the armies he could keep in his warrens, but nothing ever single-handedly smashed his house down around his ears while his whole band was there. Theyd assumed it was a power play from any number of the factions within the Trolls. They never considered that it wasnt ambition driving the rumor, but fear. It had been a long time since the Trolls had ever been afraid. Today was the day theyd relearn how to fear. With a mighty roar, a great gray bulk burst from beneath the river of the Gruff and rounded on the nearest cluster of Trolls. They stared, dumbstruck, at the beast that had chosen them for its next meal. If they had run, perhaps they would have lived. Shortly after the guttural roars of battle and the agonized screams of defeat ended, the drainage waters were running red with Troll blood. |
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Because I have to look at you...My friends and compatriots... It is I again, the Esteemed Arbiter Reginald Fabulous, here once again to dispense wit and wisdom to you all, and assist you in what to wear for the week, because... looking at you, you obviously have no clue. I have brought a few more letters to share with you, hoping that the struggle and strife of a few of my wretched fan base will assist you, the better people who need only the smallest of hints, to REFINE that look. But how I sound as if I detest them, which is the farthest from the truth. I love my adoring masses... from my condo... at a distance... waving... by proxy. Well, one thing I am wanting to do is to start showing more of those lovely before and after pictures, but I do not have many folks sending me what they look like... for which I count my blessings. But I digress... if I am to help my masses, I must see what they are calling clothing these days. So, without further ado, I present LETTERS!  My dear sir, I am a displaced Fae, foundling by birth, and raised by mortals over a course of some 900 years. At least, in this life. For various reasons that I will omit for the sake of brevity, I have an affectation for Victorian era clothing. However, the mortal called "Surge" insists that "steam punk fairies" are "all the rage these days." Beyond the issue of his incoherence, he longs to robe me in fishnet and eyeliner. This is unacceptable, as my fair skin tends to react negatively to hose and makeup. Would you have a suggestion of a modern look for a time tossed individual such as myself, which is both stylish and still allows me to blend into the mass of humanity? I may wish to disappear, but I do not need to clothe myself in the remnants of the street. Your servant, D[/b] Dearest Tinkerbelle, GOOD SHOW! First off, steampunk fairies, while the rage, are the sort of rage one sees after a favored hockey team loses and vans start getting overturned... It's been done, over done, beyond done, to the point where the wizards of retro are looking at it and saying... nah, lump it with Jellies and Monchi-chis. However Victorian era was a bit... stark, and I LIKE that, don't get me wrong, but ruffle it up in some Edwardian too, and no I don't mean put in fake fangs and glitter like a DISCO BALL... I mean Edwardian, the time frame. I see an over-sized top hat, in a nice gold, bit of sparkles, but none too much... Go with a showy jacket, ornate sleeves, but let that midriff show! Slacks and shoes to match and you are set... think Carnival or Mardi Gras... it's the closest you'll ever be to your homeland here. Thinking Good Thoughts, Arbiter Fabulous! Our next letter did not have a return address on it, so I must assume it's from Paragon. Strangely, it's something that try, as I might, I cannot blame on Filthy Serge. I know, it saddens me too.... Yoyoyoyo, waddup, dog! Nickles, here. got an issue I need hlpe with. Long time ago I accidentally (honest) put on this thing that turned out to be magical who knew? So this thing (its shoulder armor( is alive or sometfhin--hey its got teeth so I guess it is, ouy know? Anywways, I can't take it off. So I'm alwasy TOUCH NOT THE MANTLE OF THE HIGHWAYMAN, FOR THE CROSSROADS WAIT FOR NO MAN, AND THE ROAD IS sorry, as you can see it jacks my head sometimes. Long story short, i have this armor on my shoulders at all times and i can't take if orf or it will kil me or something. really lame and a drag, ruind my best leather (prolly fake) jaket. So waht can i waar that is pretty kicking looking, will help me (seriously I need help) with the ladies, and won't piss off the magically sentient armor that has sybyoticially atached itself to my spyne??? plz help because if you dont THE WAY CALLS, AND THE HIGHWAYMAN MUST ANSWER Guess I hafta go now, thnks! Nick Throway[/b] ...I have no idea what you just said.... Is that... Pig Latin... or Canadian... what? Fine.... Dear Sentient Armor that's possessing someone who can't speak English, | All right, first off, we need to get you to MAGI; their security is lackluster to put it mildly. Azuria, lovely lady that she is, is too busy predicting the future to see what is being taken from under her nose today. Basically, see if she has the rest of you. I assume you must be a set of armor that's been split up over the course of several years, blah blah blah.... If nothing else, you can find the Sockgag of C'thulhu and stuff it in your host's mouth for me. Essentially, you seem to be the best part of this man, and you need to further develop. Continue to have your influence spread and bring him up to par with the rest of us, but also, incorporate his strengths into you; he may have SOME knowledge that could be beneficial, as well as an ear for urban trends that could, honestly, go well with a nice medieval look. Love, Arbiter Fabulous. Oddly enough, dear Azuria once mentioned that her visions are mostly just her, astral projecting near a future self who cannot perceive her, screaming at herself as schoolchildren make off with her jewelry.... Salve, my fellow Soldier and superior Arbiter, and Strength Through Undying Loyalty; My Lord, I come to you humbly, and ask your mediation on a topic that has vexed me greatly: that of the proper attire for a Soldier of Our Lord Recluse when his Arachnos armor is unavailable. Were I able to wear my shining white armor of glorious Arachnos at all times, I would gladly do so -- but in order to maintain the proper appearance, it requires dry cleaning several times a week. One cannot proclaim the beacon of hope and bastion of culture that is our beautiful nation of Etoile whilst spattered in debris or biological-derived grime. I am concerned that a traditional "suit coat" would represent sympathy with the boorish American culture, and would fain die before intimating that another culture was superior to our own. Also, the cybernetic spider legs grafted to my spine make coats look bulky on me. What is the appropriate attire of a Crab Soldier when not in uniform? Please impart your judgment on a lowly but pure child of Etoile and servant of Arachnos. Honores, Justitia, Imperium: Arachnos Vale, Alexandre Innocente Dieudonne Operative Honores[/b] Dear Did I just read this right...? Shining WHITE armor on a soldier? Oh my my my.... It seems one of my fellow Arbiters seeks my advice... delicious. Well for starters, you can consider yourself reassigned as of this moment to the Bowl and Doily Division, comrade. Readers: you must understand, some would ACTUALLY consider my place in Arachnos to be trite... or silly... but he's wanting a favor, and it comes at a price. His price is obedience to our beneficent leader by working for ME. Suit coats are a universal good thing; many cultures embrace them, it's fine. The added legs change your silhouette, so you'll want to augment them with a nice shoulder piece. Honestly, some of these recent advancements in armor that fit well with many established sets do well too. Mix and match a bit and you should be fine, dear friend. But what looks best when you are off duty won't be something you will have to worry about soon as most of my people are on call 24/7. I hope you like espresso.... Toodles! Arbiter Fabulous Whoo! Well I know there wasn't as much to this week as in previous, but I have been working my little buns off on putting a stop to those filthy little monkeys who have been making the cheap knockoffs of the Cabal inspired designs that we saw on the runways, that will be soon available to you all. If you see them before their release, make sure you report them. Clothing that good needs to be paid for, honey.... Now then, I am going to change things up a bit. I want you to do one of two things: 1. Write me a letter, with a picture of yourself included, and I'll try to give you a nice makeover as a response. 2. Tell me which Vigilante with no legal standing, or Misunderstood hero who is hated because they live in the "Rogue" Isles, you would like to see me makeover, for perhaps a nice CELEBRITY edition! Essay format please, dearies! Love and hugs, Poodles! ArbyFab! ((You can send your letters to Equation on the COH forums with the heading "Dear Arbiter Fabulous...")) |
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PARENTAL ADVISORY VILLAIN GROUP | |||||||||||
Q) What is the name of your group and what made you choose it? A) Parental Advisory, we chose this name due to the lack of adult oriented Groups Q) What is your base designer's name? A) Underworld Overlord is my main toon, in game Global is @Barron, on the forums you can reach me at Barron_ Q) What server is your base on? A) Pinnacle (GO ALCOHOL! And we have Mr. Paragon City, grats Keyblade) Q) When was your super/villain group established? A) February 24th 2008 Q) What is the approximate value of your base? A) 7,978,430 to date, and growing everyday! Q) How much time have you/your designer invested in your base since you started building? A) To date this base has had over 100 hours of construction on it so far, and in my opinion, there is no such thing as a finished base. Q) What is your/your designer's favorite base item? Least favorite? A) Fav would be accent lamp for stacking at different levels; least fav is doorways due to the fact that even though you can place them you can NOT place any decor inside of them. Q) What is your/your designer's favorite thing about base editing? Least favorite? A) The best thing about base editing came after the release of I13, and has to be the ability to block items and no longer have raid pathing to worry about as a design flaw, my least favorite is the scale in which base items are moved and placed I would rather a more free flowing movement (and everything should have a bottom no matter what it is!) Q) Did you get your inspiration from anyone specific or was it right from your imagination? A) My designs came right out of the black hole in my mind! Q) If you/your designer could give just one piece of advice to a new base editor, what would it be and why? A) My piece of advice would be to never touch the keyboard, for the keyboard is the BANE of Base editing. If you need to move your toon use the mouse buttons. I hate hitting delete to change my view and mistakenly deleting an object. Also, if you haven't already, I suggest you join (BaseBuildersInc.) channel, an extra pair of eyes can be more help than you know. |
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Vol. 2, Issue 33
February 9th, 2009
The City Scoop a publication for Supers by Supers! Read the latest publication and then join in on the community discussion!
If you have concerns regarding the content of the Scoop please direct your comments via PM to Ex Libris.
If you would like to do a feature article, have an event covered, or join "The City Scoop" team please PM Snow_Globe
If you have a Classified Ad you would like included or join "The City Scoop" team please contact: Marcian Tobay
If you have an interview please contact: EmperorSteele or HumanMiracle
If you need some Advice contact Lady_Athyna or would like to Ask The X contact LiquidX
If you have a base you would like featured, please contact EnnVee
Finally if you have a Recipe you would like included please contact: MistressNoire
The City Scoop
Behind the Walls
With GM Lloyd
5. Keeping in touch
It used to be that MMO Game Masters largely communicated with players from
within the game world, using the same means players had available to keep in
touch with each other. In some MMOs, that might still be true, and veteran
players of the genre carry their experiences between worlds, and might even be
used to talking to in-game GM characters.
It used to happen in City of Heroes a lot more often than it does now. Now, the
primary means we have to talk to players about anything, anytime, is e-mail.
Not in-game e-mail, though that is always an option available to us. I mean the
regular kind of e-mail, the kind you need an Internet account to use, just like
you need one to play online video games.
We like conventional e-mail because we have a software database that tracks
them. It plugs into our support database, and petitions sent through the
in-game Support tool (that I described in my third column, if you didn't know
how it works) are tracked the same way as e-mail messages. There are all sorts
of reasons we would need to contact players in a timely manner, not limited to
disciplinary measures (column 4) or account disputes (to be covered later.)
NCsoft has telephone support, but the first thing our phone-support
representatives have to do when someone calls is ask questions to confirm who
they're talking to, and then they usually have to refer to a separate
department -- back to the e-mail based database, again. (More importantly,
they're only set up to answer questions about billing or technical support, and
cannot answer game play questions at all.)
With e-mail and the in-game Support petition system, it's much easier and faster
to verify everything we need to know. So we'd rather players use either of
them, unless they're completely unable.
The fastest way to get hold of anyone in Game Services (and this includes any
game published by NCsoft, including GuildWars and Lineage II,) is through the
Knowledge Base site. Once there, click My Stuff and
log in with your contact e-mail address and
PlayNC Support Account password, not your City of
Heroes account password. Once there, you'll be able to click on any ticket
you've ever submitted, read everything we've told you, and everything you've
told us.
Side topic: Sometimes were going to be slow getting back to
you. Well still get back to you in some way, in due time, but that time might
be a little longer than we usually expect.
Times you can plan on include:
[*]
Patch days. New Issues, particularly, but also incremental
patches for fixes and tweaks. Anytime City of Heroes changes significantly,
there will be a period of uncertainty. Part of it is players not knowing how
new stuff works, and part will be the stuff that works improperly. The degree
to which players get their expectations changed is the degree of extra work GMs
get (Testers and Developers too, usually).
[*]
Special in-game events. This includes Double XP Weekend and the
seasonal events. They dont last very long, but they always carry uncertainty
with them. Sometimes theyre over before the uncertainty ends.
[*]
Promotions, including expansion packs and new product rollouts,
such as the new Mac OS X client and associated perks, as well as the Cyborg
Pack last fall.
[*]
Holidays, at least the ones in late fall and winter when
workin folks take time off. We stagger our vacation time to cover everything,
but its not always full strength.
[/list]
Here's where I ask you to make sure you do something. Two things, this time.
1. Keep your contact information current, especially your
e-mail. If you ever change your e-mail contact address, be sure to log into
PlayNC Account, click
Manage My Account and change it there, too.
2. Whatever e-mail address is in your account, check it
regularly for new mail. While it's certainly possible to register and use a
City of Heroes account with a "throwaway" e-mail that you check once and forget
about, it's no good for what it's really supposed to be for so we can get
hold of you if we have to.
This is definitely a "tell your friends" kind of thing. For the majority of
players, it's not an issue, but we always worry that there are some NCsoft
customers who don't keep their account info current. These are the people that
need to read this column.
You're all telling your friends about this column, right?
Vol. 2, Issue 33
February 9th, 2009
This Issue:
Community
Writer's Block
Fan Fiction Spotlight
The Redeemers
Fashion
Base Showcase
Sudoku
Masthead
Snow Globe by Projectionist
Ms. Frost by Zairyo
Frost Elf D by EnD-Reitanna