Sorry Everyone, I tried to get this in before April 30th was over... but between editing issues, rendering times and simply how the video itself is, it took me a bit longer than I hoped to get out. That said, it was Goblinization day when I recorded this so I hope you'll join me in saying that it still counts Chummers. I hope you all stayed inside!
All joking and Shadowrun references aside, I put together an interesting and educational video for you about the differences between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. It's a bit of a long discussion but it was wonderful to take part in and I hope you'll like it, too!Well, guys, I'm sorry that this is coming in so very late, but I finally got it all working the way I wanted it to. Which means that I finally have a YouTube channel!!! Woot!
My first video will be going up at midnight tonight (MDT -06 hours, I believe). I will update this page with the video link once it goes live, but until then, if you're interested in subscribing here's the link to the page!
I can't wait to hear what you guys think of it!
And here's the link to my video! Please, don't forget to like, share and subscribe!
I am so sorry that it took me so long to get back to you! It's that time of year when my tendinitis acts up and I've had more than a few days when my wrist has been way too swollen to write. Fortunately for me, a new video game came out which lets me use those muscles in a way that's easier on them than writing (and forces me to rest when the battery runs out).
Of course, I'm talking about Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town (SOS:PoOT. I'm not that far into the game but I am loving it so far. Then again, I got into the series back in the early 2000's When it was still known as Harvest Moon. Still, the series didn't hit its stride until they became Story of Seasons a few years back.
So, what do you in this game? Well, it's a farming sim, so on the surface, you're raising crops and animals. Generally, there is some helping of the nearby towns and some sort of spiritual connection to the land, usually through a Harvest Goddess, sometimes through a Witch, and once through the God, Inari. Still, this barely touches the surface. I love this game for the people you meet in the games, for clearing the land, raising the crops, befriending your animals... there's so much more that you'll never see if you just dismiss it as a farming sim. In this game there are multiple little islands of land for you to care for, wild animals to tame (like cows and chickens left running around from when your grandfather died years before) and a mystery to solve (so far shown in the guise of a young-looking woman in a torn black dress and a skull mask, decorated like the Día de Los Muertos masks. Also, in a new "twist", partially seen in Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (released last year), you can choose your pronouns (male or female) and wear any outfit/hairstyle in the game, allowing you to really customize a character to be your avatar. All of the marriage candidates are bisexual, meaning that whatever you choose, they are romanceable so long as you spent the time hanging out with them.
Which doesn't mean that they made a perfect game, no matter how much I am adoring the gameplay. There are a few noticeable bugs and the loading screens can run a bit too long, but there is only one item where they really dropped the ball (the dozens of maker machines need too much micromanaging to be fun). Also, the townsfolk really need more comments. So far, everyone has maybe three things to say in everyday conversation, plus the extra two dialog pieces that they use around the festivals, one for before the event and one for after. Still, the conversations in the cut scenes are fun, if a bit contrived. Now, the company has already addressed all of these concerns, promising that they already have the team working on fixing bugs, adding new dialog, and such. Right now, it means that I would give the game a solid 7/10 stars right now, most likely raising that higher when the updates start fixing these issues.
So do I suggest you run out and buy it now or should you wait for those fixes first? Honestly, I'd suggest running out to get it. Right now, it is very playable and the core fun of the game is obviously there. I can easily see myself spending a few hundred hours playing this game. Right now, I'm romancing two of the marriage candidates, the young traditionally Japanese lord, Iori, and the tourist information girl, Laura. One is clearly more carefree and fun than the other, but despite that Iori is definitely holding his own by having a storyline that includes ninja who seem to want him dead. Clearly, that is something that I'm looking forward to finding more about later.
And that's all I have for you today. Will you be picking up the game? Would you be interested in seeing a bit of a Let's Play for it? If you're playing, who are you romancing and what is your biggest project on the go in your game? I'm still trying desperately to clear my second island. See you next week.
Well, my first editing program was a bust, but I do have editing programs that I'm trying to learn. The first one I tried has a killer learning curve, but fortunately, I have other programs I'm working with. In addition to that, I've bought myself a few new toys to help record. Mainly, a new light, which is surprisingly important, even if you're never showing your face on the video, and a new microphone. Honestly, while the light is snazzy, I am much more excited by the microphone. I've never owned a real one that wasn't found at a garage sale and broken within days of getting it.
In addition, I've been accepted into a beta program for Animaze using my character which is the thing I am super excited about! Why, you ask? Well, I originally wanted to use Animaze to put out these videos. I had used them in the past under the name Facerig and knew that they were adding the ability to add your characters into it with the upgrade, which was originally what I was planning to use. Unfortunately, when they came out, while you could add characters to the system, you couldn't do it with a character from VRoid, where I'd made created my character. What does this mean for you guys? Well, it means that I am definitely planning on having a video up on Monday, even if its just a quick one using their system. It may end up just being me playing with the system and introducing myself.
Essentially, I do have an introduction to the channel recorded on a different program, but if the Animaze works, then I will be using that one. The most difficult thing right now has actually been the editing programs. I was hoping for an easy introduction since what I'm really looking for is a simple cut and paste program that I can add pictures onto. Not a very difficult list you'd think, but it still means that I have to go through the programs I can afford, spending hours trying to learn how to use the programs, to see if I can use them at all or if they're just far beyond my skill level. I'm not afraid of hard work, but at this point, I really want to get stuff out to you and I'll do what I need to get that going.
Of course, I'm still working on my novel. I'm about 75% of the way through this edit, which means that as soon as I can spend all my time on it again, I should have it finished soon. I'm hoping that at this point, I don't have a lot that's going to need to be rewritten from scratch again.
And that's what's been keeping me busy this week. It doesn't feel like I've done a lot of work, even if I can look back and defend every choice with reasons it was important. Meh. Sometimes, you just have to keep moving, trusting that you are making headway, even if it doesn't feel that way.
Oh! Also, I'm not going to talk about it here, but if you haven't already seen WandaVision on Disney+, my quick review is "Amazing, 5 stars, go see it." For more, keep your eyes peeled. I'm planning on writing a longer, more in-depth review later.
Sorry for the delay everyone!
I have been super busy getting everything ready for the
Youtube show I've been planning. I have been working on finding the right
technology to run the avatar, which also required finding myself a recording
program that wasn't attached to anything else. That said, I am exceptionally
excited to finally give the update that I am going to be starting the recording
process later today. To make sure that you get a good weekly experience, I'm
going to be recording a few episodes in advance to make sure that I always have
something ready for you!
That said, it has been a ride figuring all this out. When I
started this last year, I honestly thought that learning to use the program to
create an avatar would be the hardest part of the deal. Instead, my natural art
skill made that part fun and games compared to researching all of the programs
I could use, testing all of them out and figuring out the pros and cons of
using each would be. As it is, I'm still getting comfortable using it, but at
least that is simply using now, rather than constantly looking for
"how-to" and tutorial videos every time I open one of the programs
up.
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| Name Redacted is obviously not going to be the name. Anyone want to guess what name I have in mind instead? |
I am sorry. I don't normally miss doing my weekly blog. I've been having worse than normal headaches hitting, so I decided to take last week off. I feel so much better for the time spent off.
However, I'm not here to dwell on that. So this week, I want to talk about something near and dear to my heart that I haven't talked about in a while.
Motivations.
In my estimation, as an author, there is nothing quite as important to the construction of a novel as your character motivations. If the reason your character is doing something isn't well thought out or the answer comes down to some version of "they have to for plot reasons", then that isn't a good motivation. Think about changing your plot if you can't make the motivations work, or changing the character if you really need one who will work in your plot better. Why? Well, I find that it is usually incorrectly motivated characters that end up seeming to not fit in their worlds or they end up coming across as stupid, which is a faster way to kill any connection your character even when compared with a character kicking a dog after stealing candy from a baby.
So, how do you figure out the motivations? Look for reasons why your character is doing something. Talk to your friends about it. If at any point one of them tells you, "that's dumb, why would they do that", look long and hard at your characters and figure out what they really want and whether you have inserted the wrong character into this draft.
Personally, I take it a bit far, making sure that even my "mindless" monsters have a reason and motivation for their actions, even if the readers never end up seeing it. You don't need to go to this level for your book, but I can guarantee that taking it that far will only improve how realistic your characters seem.
Gong Hei Fat Choi!!!
Happy Lunar New Year!
As a pagan who has an appreciation for other cultures and a love of holidays, I tend to end up celebrating a lot of things multiple times. For instance, today is the first day of the 2021 lunar new year. Being that I'm Pagan and put a lot of emphasis on the lunar/solar calendar, I celebrate it, usually by starting my spring cleaning (I swear, one day I will hear about it more than 2 hours before the date and will finish the cleaning beforehand like you're supposed to) and buying something red or something jade. When I have money, I'll treat friends to dinner or pick them up a little gift if I see something for them. I also celebrate the regular western new year, usually celebrated by reading for the evening and maybe going out for dinner with my husband and friends. I also celebrate the pagan new years on October 31st. While most of that day is filled with preparation for the upcoming Nanowrimo and maybe giving away Halloween candy to the local kids, my hubby and I usually end up going out for dinner if we can. If we find a stranger in need of food or a meal, we do our best to give them cash and buy them a meal.
Basically, what this is saying is that I just love celebrating holidays. That probably comes with me being an Earth Goat in the Chinese zodiac. According to my horoscopes for this year (which as with any astrology thing, I follow till I forget about it in a few week's time) its going to be a year of improvement for me, which if nothing else means that I will be better equipped for the year afterward. While its a dim year for me, in almost every way but in the health department (which is amazing, but migraines will be a continuous issue if I read it right), it will be a better year than last business-wise, so long as I'm not trying to branch out into things I have no skill in.
Do you celebrate the Lunar New Year? If so, how? And what is your Asian Astrology animal?
Sorry guys. I have had migraines for days... the sort that makes you unable to think of your own name when asked. Apparently, the polar vortex hit and my brain was having none of it. Despite that, I managed to finish writing the two new chapters I needed to replace this week and, wonderfully, I got another order from Fiverr. I'm happy to say that was before the migraine hit (thank the gods I hadn't decided to put it off for a day) and now I have another satisfied customer. So even if the last few days have been kicking my ass, I can call this week a win still.
However, my brain has gotten silly what with it either hurting to the point of making me dizzy or a pressure build-up making me feel like my brain is soft and slowly turning to goo. How does this come out in my day to day life?
Well, this time it happened when I looked at the remains of our Christmas tree. I took off all of the ornaments earlier this week, but we haven't taken it down and boxed it up yet. Today, I have decided that it is a Schrodinger's Christmas Tree. It exists as both a Christmas tree and not until it is either redecorated or it is boxed up and put away.
So, do you have a Schrodinger's tree up in your house? Let me know.
So frustrating! I was hoping to have this out for you yesterday, but the programs that I'm using are giving me problems. I played around with it a week or so ago and got it to work just fine. Now of course, audio issues as well as other technical drama. I can say that the YouTube channel has already been set up, though there isn't anything on it yet. I'll share a link as soon as I start posting. I may eventually add a Twitch stream to it, but since none of you seem to use it currently, creating it and content for it has fallen by the wayside.
So, what am I going to do today? Well, I may not be able to show you the video I was hoping to, but that doesn't mean that I can't have an avatar reveal. Are you ready to see her?
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| The background is just a painting of mine from last year, though I'm working on drawing an actual library shelf for her to hang out in front of. |
Isn't she awesome?
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| Here's what the base character you're given looks like. |
I created her out of a program called VRoid. They give you a very basic system to create a character and then let you go wild. I created every bit of her from scratch, except for the ears. Trying to make them proved too difficult for my current skill set. I found these offered by a VTuber known as @CakeCatBoy on Twitter.
So, why did I make a girl with cat ears? Well first, they're fox ears, not cat ears. Second, when I was making an avatar there were certain things I needed to make sure she had. The first was a design that I found kawaii to the extreme without being chibi. I needed her to have colorful hair, mimicking the shades I turn my own hair. I settled on purple because I love the color and it works really well with the orange shirt. The last thing I needed was something to take her from reality to fantasy. I decided that while mermaid may be fun as heck, I'd much rather be a kitsune. One day, I hope to give her a tail as well, though I expect that will have to wait until I'm better at making characters.
So, what do you think of her design?
So... 2021 didn't explode in its first week? I'm willing to call that a win.
So, what am I hoping to talk about today? Well, I think I'll talk about my resolutions for one more week.
Normally, I would have a general idea of what I want to do for my resolutions by the first of January, even if I haven't set anything in stone. This year... it almost felt like I didn't want to jinx it by planning too far ahead. And while I think I still won't be planning the entire year with any exactness, I do like having an idea of where I'm going.
First, while I love staying home and writing, I think I need to get back out in the world. Last year I stopped looking for a job around February... a mix of pandemic and no jobs miring me at home. Now, it looks as though some of the job market might be returning, so I'm going to go back to setting one day a week and doing nothing but sending out dozens of resumes and looking over the job market in general. Personally, I'd love to see some sort of universal basic income but I'm not holding my breath for one.
Second, I will still be writing, even if I get a job. So, my writing goals for the first quarter are to finish editing Fox's Facade and send the book on to my editor and betas. I want to publish Fox's Facade tentatively during the summer, so I'll play with that and see where it goes with an update at the end of the first quarter.
Third, I am moving the "get healthier" option from last year to this year. Most of it will be a mix of RingFit and the Switch boxing game. Maybe not every day, but almost every day. I will be looking for healthier food options as well, but changing everything all at once doesn't work, so it will be little bits at a time, hopefully leading to a healthier me at the end of the year.
Finally, I will be starting a Youtube channel and maybe a Twitch channel... though I'm not sure about Twitch just yet. I am going to be reading my novel, Hunter's Gambit, chapter by chapter for you guys, hopefully, one chapter each week. And because I've always wanted an online avatar, I've created one to use! I will definitely be posting my novel reading to Youtube, but let me know if you would like me to start a Twitch channel, as well. I could easily read the novel out and then have a question and answer period, if that would interest anyone, and then put out better-edited audio on Youtube later. Then again, I think Youtube has a live function as well, so really just let me know. I'm not sure exactly what week it will begin, but it will be soon! I'm just testing out programs right now and seeing whether my current equipment will work for this purpose before I put it out. I should have pictures to show you of my character by next week!
Let me know what you think about the Youtube vs Twitch debate and I'll keep you all informed.
*Pokes 2021 with a stick*
"Is it safe to come out yet?"
Normally, I would say that another year has come and gone, but, well, this year has been horrible. As a Canadian, I was saved from most of the trouble. However, at the end of the year, everything started to snowball, even here. That said, I'm making this week a time of reflection, which includes looking back at what I wanted to accomplish last year.
So, last year the tasks I wanted to finish were
publishing Lord’s Curse, writing Noble’s Choice, Improving my health, open an account on Fiverr, open an Etsy shop, read 75 books, study Japanese and
Spanish, clean my house, and editing Fox’s Façade.
Of that list, I did okay, I suppose. First, my
successes.
I did publish Lord’s Curse during the warm
summertime. Working with my editor was awesome and I can’t wait to
do it again. Though my release was overshadowed by riots and rampant disease,
it was still published and that was a win. I also finished writing Noble’s
Choice. And all in all, I’m really pleased with how it turned out so far. I
can't wait to start editing it after Fox's Facade is done. While I decided
against opening an Etsy shop, I’m counting it as a win, since I made a firm
decision on it. When I open a web store I will probably create an account then and
put the necklaces and prints up there at the same time. I also opened a Fiverr
account. I got hired a few times, but things slowed down as the year imploded,
which I understand. I’ll be promoting it a bit more in the new year, so if you
have a bit of writing you need developmental editing on, consider using me!
I had a few things I worked on but didn’t succeed to a level of “success” as well, of course. For instance, I cleaned my house (office) and actually came really close to finishing… Before I ran into a month and a half of rush and had to stop. My office is a complete mess again now, but that’s usually how the year goes. The real difference for me here is that I actually have a place for most things now, which solves a lot of the cleaning problem. For my yearly reading challenge, I decided to try reading 75 books for the year. However, I found out that extreme stress makes it so I can’t concentrate on writing, which meant that I spent a lot more time listening to music than reading. Despite that, I did completely finish 65 books. While that total is low for me, I find reading speed very subjective, so I know that while some of you will give me shade for “only” finishing 65, the other half will be wondering when I find the time. It's not a win, but 65 books is nothing to scoff at either. My language studies are in here because while I think I’ve done rather well at identifying issues with my learning and have figured out better ways to learn in Japanese, I wrote at the beginning of the year that I wanted to work on Spanish as well. Since I dropped Spanish entirely, I have to count it as a partial win. The last thing in this list is my novel Fox's Facade. Even at the beginning of the year, I wasn't sure if I would have it done by December and the near-total rewrites did not help things. Despite that, I am halfway through my last edit before it goes out to beta readers and my editor, so we're on time for hopefully a summer release.
The one thing that I did not keep up is my goal to improve my health. I am still overweight and want better stamina, flexibility, and balance. This goal is getting moved onto 2021's wholesale. With the Switchfit game as my Yule gift from my husband and the Boxing game (perhaps updating to the new one when I have a bit more cash), I'm hoping to have a better response to this next year.
So, that's it. This is the beginning of a new year! Let's move forward bravely, but also carry a big stick to beat 2021 down if we need to. 💪
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| PenPen the Penguin rocking away listening to New Year's Tunes. |
