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A Blog, Written by Me, Now That I Can |
| Well, I have to write something for a premiere entry. |
| I'm not American, so I don't really make use of any specific special date to dole out thanks for things. That's the reason why this entry is on this seemingly random day, if you're wondering. The other, more important reason, is that some generous, anonymous benefactor has seen fit to gift me a whole upgraded membership for here on Writing.com. Thank you so much, mysterious hero! I've been a little slack on posting stuff here of late, but knowing that there's someone out there that cares will drive me on to stop dragging my feet! Thank you also to everyone else out there on this jolly internet that gives my infrequent writing the time of day, and to anyone that found themselves able to read through this blog entry's entirety! |
| This new interactive layout is certainly... something. Different, definitely. Adding a big box around choices is interesting, but one still has to click on the selection text anyway to open the link, so what use is that box? And a jpeg of an asterisk instead of a regular asterisk? Sometimes changes are made just for the sake of change, aren't they? EDIT: 'Hover for preview' and categories of searching on the outline page are nice additions, I must admit. As one hand must take while another gives though, the ability to see at a glance how many views each chapter has - to determine more popular directions - has now been removed. |
| So, I get notificatiosn every now and then where somebody had fan'd me, or an item of mine. This is nice and all, but is there anywhere on this site where it's possible to see a list of these people, or at the very least a numerical total? Otherwise, it seems pretty pointless to tell me, besides giving my fragile little ego a pat. Am I just an idiot, and there's a really obvious part of the site navigation I'm bumbling straight past? |
| Well, I'm prompted to make a blog post to give thanks to the anonymous benefactor who gifted me a membership! So kind, and I'm not sure what I've done to deserve such kindness, but I'll try my best to make good use of it! |
Wow, in a short couple of months, "Shrunken in an Exam"  will be twenty years old. Hardly seems as if there's anything to it, but thanks to everyone that contributed to it over the years! I'll try to add a little more in celebration, I reckon. It's still a fairly generic example of my first attempt at an interactive story, borrowing heabvily from its contemporaries, but I'm still pretty proud of several bits of it. |
| My twenty-first year on this site. Means I've been using it for over half my life. Has that been time well spent? |
| Well, I've done a lot more writing than I had thought I would over the past couple of weeks. I finally got the "Tiny Survival" 'main' (in that it's the longest path!) storyline to the end of that week of waiting. From "The Big Day" onward, the day tracking has ended, and the next phase of the tale can proceed. I doubt I'll get on that any time soon, unless everyone out there has a real clamouring for a certain direction to take it in.Instead, I think I'll run back along the path and add a few branches here and there, so it's not simply a railroad to my destination! Indeed, if anyone else out there wants to contribute to spreading the tree, feel free to do so! The unexpected part of my recent writing has been adding to "Shrunken Spider-Man" . A cursory glance may show it to be not up my alley, as a lot of the chapters are merely choices deciding between what the setting for the story should be, and many of the entries that DO contain actual writing have the characters acting out of character merely to force some sexual content in there.Still, I did find a little corner to dig out some room for myself. Branching off from the chapter "A Case of Mistaken Identity" (not by me) I write the Guardians of the Galaxy for a little bit. Maybe I'll return to progress it further, maybe I won't, but it was fun to dip into, certainly!Happy Halloween everyone! |
Ah, the big 1000! Thanks to rroll   for providing the entry "Amber decides to buy it" in "Tiny Survival" ! Quite a milestone, indeed! |
| For "Tiny Survival" , only 14 chapters remain before reaching the big one thousand! Not long now! Another milestone is reaching chapter 100 along a pathway. Not sure that I rendered it significant enough, but there is still more to come. "D7: Hard Landing" |
| Yesterday was the eighth anniversary of "Tiny Survival" ! Thanks so much to Ahomester for creating it, and to Will Soon Awaken for passing it across to me. Not only that, but the item crossed NINE HUNDRED CHAPTERS! Not long now to the big one thousand! Thanks to all contributors, and all speed ahead! |
| Yes, two days in a row! Just tooting my own horn in that I made several additions to Tiny Survival recently. Not only to the 'primary' storyline - well, longest, anyway; not far to chapter 100 on that pathway now! - but to several chapters written by others. I do like to see quality contributions from others, and will happily add to them. I just hope that no-one out there does not like me 'butting in' on their storylines - if that's ever the case, just let me know! Also, last week I finally watched 'No Time To Die'. While it does continue the convoluted nonsense that 'Spectre' gave us, it did get me in the mood for some 'Small Spies', which lingered longer without an addition than this blog did! That's saying something! |
| Well, I somehow forgot to write any blog entry here this year until we got April. Whoops. Well, plus side is that I'm adding a few more chapters recently, so productivity is up! When the baseline was so placid, any increase seems huge though, so, uh, guess that's nothing much to boast of! Thanks so much to the anonymous hero who generously gifted me an upgraded account! I wish I knew a way to repay you, but I'll settle for someone out there letting me know exactly what new PoWeRz this upgrade allows me to utilise. Well, it's a hollow promise but I'll try to update this more often! |
| Yeah, I've been pretty terrible with these monthly updates! So, here's a generic catch-all thank you to all that contributed to my stories recently! Also, today marks two whole decades of me being on this site. Yikes. Does the body of work - and pieces of other bodies sprinkled throughout - really seem like twenty years' worth? Merry Christmas! |
| I could go over what chapters were added to my interactives over October - and I probably should, if only for the consistency - but they're overshadowed by other news. Maybe I could go back at some point, but for now... The story "Shrunken at Home" has been entrusted to my care, and while it does have a different focus than most of the others it joins in the library, there are interesting paths throughout. |
| September! Not as prolific as August was, but still some good additions to "Tiny Survival" . Thanks again to everyone who contributed and all those who sent me gift points - I should be able to renew my upgraded membership this month! What did we get this month? FanOfSmall provided two chapters. In "Trek at Twilight" we return once more to the outdoor survival with the hiker girl. It's been a while! "The Fountain" branches another potential entry to city hall. More options and paths are always good. I myself have added to both these entries, and invite others to read and contribute themselves!TheReader   gave us "Caught by the Birthday Girl" , expanding the mythology of the shrinking technology with some serious implications. I've added myself to this, and look forward to seeing where it leads! "Negotiations" has a shrunken adult attempting to prove himself an equal to a young boy. "Uh O" gives us a classic death scene, but "Nothing to cry over" does provide a way around it, leading to another unaware adventure with a family.Heartache wrote two different approaches to the ear. One, "You climb to the outer layers of the ear, above..." is an unaware crawling around a head, and the other, "Try to communicate with Rachel, tell her you me..." reveals the shrunken adventurer to the Andersons: can that possibly end well for our hero? Again, as with all the (non-death!) chapters I've mentioned, I've added to these myself, and implore those who feel so inclined to pour themselves in as well.A few chapters from myself, unrelated to the brilliance outlined above: "An Adult Conversation" and "Not Big Enough to Stay" are two branching paths from the story where our protagonist has spooked the Andersons by leaving a note for them, and now tags along as they flee the house in fear of him. If they knew he was only 1/8" tall, they wouldn't be so scared..."A Trite Cliche Earns No Favour" , "Little and Large, On the Road Together" , "Rebellious Teen Titan" , "Laying Down The Truth" and "A Fine Line" are further discussions between a 3/8" hero and Dahlia Klitch, the teenager into whose care he's been entrusted. Can he talk his way into her good graces and earn his freedom? Five different paths, and some with more than one chapter along their length!"No Ant Left Behind" is back to the smallest of all, sitting at 1/32" in the neighbour's garden, earning the aid of ants."Sleeping In a Toe Crater" and "The Home of the Lifeguard" are at different stages of the beach adventure with different giants. Will our survivalist ever get any peace from them?Now, the future. Adventures with the Andersons and the beach family has me wondering if I should go back to the Gillespies (kudos to those who recognise the name off the top of their head!) and push those lengthy storylines even further. It's been a while, and there's lots of continuity, which is why I got kinda burned out on those for a bit, but having so many talented writers adding here, getting to bounce off their wild ideas, has given me a little extra energy! |
| Why not make use of this blog to look back and recap on recent writings here on this site? Especially since I've managed to drive how links are utilised into my stupid brain. August was quite prolific for "Tiny Survival" , not only for myself but for some other contributors. I feel that I should thank TheReader , for the continued, varied and interesting chapters. In the last month alone, "Family on the move" , "Photo Bomb" , "First Class" , "Aunt Lisa's" and "Safe...for now" were added, and I intend to make continuations there myself, at some point! They've been adding here and there for so long, and they deserve some credit for the sheer consistent high quality.Also, FanOfSmall , who gave us "Brave Little Ant" and "On the Wings of the Wind" , two chapters which give more attention to that 'survival' part of Tiny Survival, which I regret to say I'm been neglecting a little of late. Thanks for bringing it back to mind!Threads which have experienced significan expansion in the last month include: Growth for the relatively small restaurant section, with the introduction of a teenager's birthday party: "The World's Biggest Dinner Party" Revelation of the full selection of potential partners in the shrunken date section (see if you can spot where each of them is cameo-ing from!): "Two Worlds Meet" The Klitch family, following a scene which I consider a loving rip-off tribute to one of the most famous size-disparity stories of all, decide how to take care of their little man prize: "Meet the Family" Some death-by-sound, if you thought I was getting a little soft in my old age: "Rock Music Will Rot Your Brain" A new, culinary-minded giantess, purchases our main character from his predicament in the supermarket: "Flying Off the Shelves" Maybe at one point I'll institute a 'top ten chapters' spotlight in future blogs, but announcing such a thing would surely jinx me to getting fewer than that quantity in total! XD What do my handful of readers think? What sort of things should I write about here? I did contribute to a couple of interactives not owned by me, so let's show some attention their way: see if you can find my chapters, and even if you can't, enjoy what you do! "Giantess Amy's Room" "A Dictator and in Her Pocket" Of course, what would I be if I didn't add a little something to the venerable "The Evergrowing Fantasy" Two more chapters for that loveable psycho Sheena: "Ladies of Variable Size" Finally, I'm happy to report that I have enough Gift Points accumulated to purchase for myself another full year of Unpgraded Membership, to keep up the quality of writing to which I have become accustomed! It does pretty much wipe out my balance, but none-the-less: Thank you so very, very much to everyone out there that gave me Gift Points |
| What to do with this blog? Well, given that it's on a site dedicated to writing, I suppose it would make sense to discuss that. So, I think maybe I'll dedicate some time - hopefully at a semi-regular pace - to updating entries when I make additions to items on this here site. I add a chapter to a story, I'll mention it here, maybe with a little commentary. Someone else makes an addition that catches my attention? Yeah, I'll give 'em a shout-out (write-out?) if I can figure out this tagging business. This should help shed a little light on what I'm aiming for (and missing) when I'm writing, as well as perhaps bringing a little attention to some entries that the scattered few that read this may otherwise have missed. Sound good? Tough, that's what I'm doing! |
| Wow, another inexcusably long time between entries! No excuse, but I think the reason is close to the fact that I work better at this writing thing with a little back and forth. That'd be why most of the material I've done on this site has been part of an Interactive, where there's a chance to respond to the work of others, and delight in what paths they take my own entries down. Carry this principle across to solo writing efforts, like a self-contained story all my own. My mind starts somewhat blank with regard to where to start, and so a prompt or two may help. Dare I say it, fulfilling some form of commission?!? Yeah, why not offer to write a story for someone, to tailor it to their wishes in exchange for payment? I can't help but notice that the expiriation of my upgraded membership is approaching, and I should do something about renewing that, which isn't free! So, just to shout into the void, what sort of price would people out there be willing to pay, per word and so forth, to request a personalised story from my self? |
| Well, this wasn't the planned blog entry I was going to make, but it's something I only just found out about. The interactive story, 'The Pick-Up Challenge' is no more. https://www.writing.com/main/interactive-story/item_id/1332956-The-Pick-Up-Chall... It's gone. That's a shame, since the premise of the story was quite interesting. Centering around a character that is shrunk against their will for being too forward with women. The only way to restore their size is by finding something good in women besides their appearance, rstoring fractions of his height each time. Thus, in an inversion of the majoity of shrinking interactives on this illustrious website, voyeurism is not the goal, and instead something that the central character has to conquer and work to overcome. RIP Pick-Up Challenge. |
| So, six months without a post here. Truthfully, I've been somewhat at a loss as to what to write, let alone if anyone will even read it. So, let this be a simple request: If you read this, please comment. That way, I will know I'm not simply prorastinating into the void, and may even devote more effort to putting words of worth on this virtual page. Thoughts, ideas, musings... |
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