Community Thursday
Apr. 23rd, 2026 11:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vriddyCommunity Thursday challenge: every Thursday, try to make an effort to engage with a community on Dreamwidth, whether that's posting, commenting, promoting, etc.
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Cursed Witch: proofreading complete
Apr. 22nd, 2026 07:41 amvriddyI just finished proofreading the latest draft that has aaaaall the changes that came from beta-reader feedback *stares into void* As usual, this is the only step of my process in which my word count gets smaller, although not that much (just by 1%!). Final (#2) draft stands at 58k words.
Unfortunately I've also reached the stage where I hate everything because clearly I'm a garbage person who can only write garbage stories etc etc etc *sigh* I wish that wasn't part of the process. Every time I finish reading a book and the author in the acknowledgements goes "Thanks to my spouse for talking me off the ledge whenever I started hating this story/stopped believing in it/etc" I grumble "WHERE IS MY SPOUSE!!!" lol. I'm going to wait a couple of weeks for the yucky feelings to scatter before contacting the kind souls who volunteered to beta-read. I was thinking of giving folks 5 weeks to beta again? I realise this might be smack-bang in the middle of end of academic year shenanigans for students and teachers though, so I'll have to ask and see if I should wait to align the timeline... I would prefer that over getting the feedback at random times over many months if possible, because I know my brain is going to start working on stuff as soon as the feedback comes in.
I also have a pretty graph!
I'm never tracking daily again!! Lol. I guess it's not really actionable. It reflects the rest of my life more than the writing. "Here I wasn't home... here I was sick... here something stressful was happening..." I like the idea of weekly tracking more, just like I like yearly challenges likegetyourwordsout more than once-off events like NaNoWriMo: even if it never feels like I'm doing enough, it's good to see that consistency even small pays off over time. Daily tracking is never consistent!!
You can also see how I went crazy last weekend, like "Fuck the plaaaaan I'm finishing THIS WEEKEND even if it KILLS ME LEROYYYYYY JENKIIIINS" and then it killed me and I wasn't anywhere near finished, but really burnt out instead. I did One Last Push this morning because the end felt so within sight. But the bad feels are still here :C And I had to change the graph to add more days and I'll have to write myself a tutorial about that because I fuck things up every time I try to tweak something.
What comes next? Well, for the witch, contacting beta-readers, getting feedback, praying there are no more structural issues lurking (but if there are, so be it), let the feedback simmer. Starting in a couple of weeks.
More immediately, I'm taking a few days' breather then I'm going to start on the Soul Thief structural edits. I have the detailed plan, what needs to change, what needs to go, 15 new scenes to write for all the missing bits... I'm guessing it'll take a few months. I'm looking forward to it, though, and hopeful I'm truly solving the major problems early before any beta-reader takes a look!
I find it interesting, carrying the hopelessness of the Cursed Witch together with the joy/excitement/hope about the Soul Thief. Obviously, that one is incomplete so it still could be anything. This is one of the reasons I always want to find ways to write more. It's not just because "moar words moar better rawwwr", but if I have other projects in various stages to immediately lose myself into, I don't dwell as much on the bad, nor feel it as much. In 2020 and 2021, for Several Reasons (tm) I was writing about 20k words/month, and I think writing so much really fed into itself well: like, sure, damn, that story didn't work out the way I hoped it would. But rather than think "I am This is crap" I could simply believe that the next story would be better, because I'd already started it, and if nothing else I wouldn't repeat the exact same mistake(s) with it.
Unfortunately I've also reached the stage where I hate everything because clearly I'm a garbage person who can only write garbage stories etc etc etc *sigh* I wish that wasn't part of the process. Every time I finish reading a book and the author in the acknowledgements goes "Thanks to my spouse for talking me off the ledge whenever I started hating this story/stopped believing in it/etc" I grumble "WHERE IS MY SPOUSE!!!" lol. I'm going to wait a couple of weeks for the yucky feelings to scatter before contacting the kind souls who volunteered to beta-read. I was thinking of giving folks 5 weeks to beta again? I realise this might be smack-bang in the middle of end of academic year shenanigans for students and teachers though, so I'll have to ask and see if I should wait to align the timeline... I would prefer that over getting the feedback at random times over many months if possible, because I know my brain is going to start working on stuff as soon as the feedback comes in.
I also have a pretty graph!
I'm never tracking daily again!! Lol. I guess it's not really actionable. It reflects the rest of my life more than the writing. "Here I wasn't home... here I was sick... here something stressful was happening..." I like the idea of weekly tracking more, just like I like yearly challenges like
getyourwordsout more than once-off events like NaNoWriMo: even if it never feels like I'm doing enough, it's good to see that consistency even small pays off over time. Daily tracking is never consistent!!You can also see how I went crazy last weekend, like "Fuck the plaaaaan I'm finishing THIS WEEKEND even if it KILLS ME LEROYYYYYY JENKIIIINS" and then it killed me and I wasn't anywhere near finished, but really burnt out instead. I did One Last Push this morning because the end felt so within sight. But the bad feels are still here :C And I had to change the graph to add more days and I'll have to write myself a tutorial about that because I fuck things up every time I try to tweak something.
What comes next? Well, for the witch, contacting beta-readers, getting feedback, praying there are no more structural issues lurking (but if there are, so be it), let the feedback simmer. Starting in a couple of weeks.
More immediately, I'm taking a few days' breather then I'm going to start on the Soul Thief structural edits. I have the detailed plan, what needs to change, what needs to go, 15 new scenes to write for all the missing bits... I'm guessing it'll take a few months. I'm looking forward to it, though, and hopeful I'm truly solving the major problems early before any beta-reader takes a look!
I find it interesting, carrying the hopelessness of the Cursed Witch together with the joy/excitement/hope about the Soul Thief. Obviously, that one is incomplete so it still could be anything. This is one of the reasons I always want to find ways to write more. It's not just because "moar words moar better rawwwr", but if I have other projects in various stages to immediately lose myself into, I don't dwell as much on the bad, nor feel it as much. In 2020 and 2021, for Several Reasons (tm) I was writing about 20k words/month, and I think writing so much really fed into itself well: like, sure, damn, that story didn't work out the way I hoped it would. But rather than think "
Festivids Vid Recs
Apr. 15th, 2026 10:49 pmimpala_chickFinally watched the vids in the 2025 festivids collection! Here are my favorites:
Blush | Challengers | by BlueshiftOfDeath
•Ahhhh the way the vid builds momentum with the song is so good. I love the way the vidder mixed in the hotel scene with everyone at the Challenger - like it was Tashi's turn to be impressed and she was not disappointed.
A Good Son Never Dies | Hades Video Game | by hartknyx
•The play-throughs are so pretty! The editing is really clever and I loved how the editor worked with the music. And Meg and Than make appearances too :D After watching, I really wanted to go play the game again.
Take A Chance On Me | Hacks (TV) | by periru3
•This captures Kayla and Jimmy and their hilarious relationship and its progression over the course of the show. Jimmy's face journeys crack me up.
who wants to live forever? | 17776: What Football Will Look Like in the Future - Jon Bois | by magsintherain
•I was so impressed with how the vidder was able to use text and football montages to convey the spirit of the source material! This one had me deep in my feels about the human spirit. And I believe the source mentions 2026, so what a perfect year for a vid about it!
Turn Tables | Multi-fandom/Civil Rights Movement | by eruthros
•A vid that got me deep in the feels about the human spirit, but in a completely different way. Please mind the tags. I wasn't familiar with all of the sources in the vid, but the editing is overall very uplifting. The power is with the people!
The Greatest | Pole Vault RPF | by Isagel
•I had never heard of Emmanouil Karalis until I watched this, but he seems like such a joyous person! I love the vid intro, and then all of the camaraderie among the pole vaulters was so great to see. I can't stop grinning the entire time I'm watching this.
festivids collection! Here are my favorites:Blush | Challengers | by BlueshiftOfDeath
•Ahhhh the way the vid builds momentum with the song is so good. I love the way the vidder mixed in the hotel scene with everyone at the Challenger - like it was Tashi's turn to be impressed and she was not disappointed.
A Good Son Never Dies | Hades Video Game | by hartknyx
•The play-throughs are so pretty! The editing is really clever and I loved how the editor worked with the music. And Meg and Than make appearances too :D After watching, I really wanted to go play the game again.
Take A Chance On Me | Hacks (TV) | by periru3
•This captures Kayla and Jimmy and their hilarious relationship and its progression over the course of the show. Jimmy's face journeys crack me up.
who wants to live forever? | 17776: What Football Will Look Like in the Future - Jon Bois | by magsintherain
•I was so impressed with how the vidder was able to use text and football montages to convey the spirit of the source material! This one had me deep in my feels about the human spirit. And I believe the source mentions 2026, so what a perfect year for a vid about it!
Turn Tables | Multi-fandom/Civil Rights Movement | by eruthros
•A vid that got me deep in the feels about the human spirit, but in a completely different way. Please mind the tags. I wasn't familiar with all of the sources in the vid, but the editing is overall very uplifting. The power is with the people!
The Greatest | Pole Vault RPF | by Isagel
•I had never heard of Emmanouil Karalis until I watched this, but he seems like such a joyous person! I love the vid intro, and then all of the camaraderie among the pole vaulters was so great to see. I can't stop grinning the entire time I'm watching this.
Community Thursday
Apr. 16th, 2026 07:07 amvriddyCommunity Thursday challenge: every Thursday, try to make an effort to engage with a community on Dreamwidth, whether that's posting, commenting, promoting, etc.
Commented oneverykindofcraft.
Commented on
everykindofcraft.
Fic: still haunted by the weight of those eyes (Merlin/Gwaine)
Apr. 13th, 2026 09:33 pmimpala_chickTitle: still haunted by the weight of those eyes
Fandom: Merlin (BBC)
Pairing: Merlin/Gwaine
Rated: Teen
Word Count: 7,770
Summary: Merlin and Gwaine and their missed moments over the years. Lucky for both of them, they get a second chance many years after Camlann.
Tags: POV switching, canon compliant, missing scenes, getting together, pining for years, Gwaine knows about Merlin's magic, resurrection
A/N: For the Merlin Reverse Big Bang 2026, based off of this Merwaine fanvideo by tigereyes45.
Fic on AO3
( Fic under here )
Fandom: Merlin (BBC)
Pairing: Merlin/Gwaine
Rated: Teen
Word Count: 7,770
Summary: Merlin and Gwaine and their missed moments over the years. Lucky for both of them, they get a second chance many years after Camlann.
Tags: POV switching, canon compliant, missing scenes, getting together, pining for years, Gwaine knows about Merlin's magic, resurrection
A/N: For the Merlin Reverse Big Bang 2026, based off of this Merwaine fanvideo by tigereyes45.
Fic on AO3
( Fic under here )
planner update: i caved ✷
Apr. 11th, 2026 08:55 pmhexcursedso i caved and got the hobonichi cousin, but i'm actually doing really well with it. some back filling for all of april so far, and experimenting with what the vertical weekly can be like as far as memory keeping, but it feels...better? i think part of my concerns were the storage, like, the archival process of storing my entries. i do not want to have a bunch of rings storage binders, but notebooks, i think i could like....just have the storage be contained in the one notebook. now there are some trackers and things that i do want to add, which i may have to do with additional pages taped in or something, but beyond that? it's feeling good!
it being a spring start copy as well is less daunting than trying to back fill three additional months.
it being a spring start copy as well is less daunting than trying to back fill three additional months.
PSA update regarding the Dreamwidth notifications
Apr. 11th, 2026 05:23 amvriddyI was growing really antsy about the missing notifications because day after day the tickets were piling up yet the problem didn't seem to get acknowledged anywhere (not in the known issues on the support page, not on ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png)
dw_maintenance, no replies to those tickets... I even went to check the dreamwidth github issues but crickets there too :C).
Anyway, behold! A few of the (many, many) tickets about notifications were updated with the following:
I can't wait! Thanks to the "Recent Comments" page which I'm checking first like a kinda inbox, I'm fairly sure I'm not missing anything posted anywhere on my journal. Unfortunately, because I have a couple of active posts at the moment, the "Recently Posted" page isn't as useful to me and if someone replies a couple of weeks later to a comment I left on their journal, which is usually one of Dreamwidth's strengths, I'm unlikely to see it if the notification gets dropped :C
Glad a fix is on the way and hope it's coming to us soon!! To all the chit-chat and associated notifications!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😆 (Yes I'm constantly trying to get my inbox under control but not like this 😱 XD)
Edit: There is adw_maintenance post about it, now. One of the subthreads asks to share new, recent comments in which the notifications went missing.
dw_maintenance, no replies to those tickets... I even went to check the dreamwidth github issues but crickets there too :C).Anyway, behold! A few of the (many, many) tickets about notifications were updated with the following:
"Our developers have been looking into this and finally figured out what was going on. There's a fix in, and notifications should start flowing again. I can't say if you'll get the old ones, but new ones should be fine."
I can't wait! Thanks to the "Recent Comments" page which I'm checking first like a kinda inbox, I'm fairly sure I'm not missing anything posted anywhere on my journal. Unfortunately, because I have a couple of active posts at the moment, the "Recently Posted" page isn't as useful to me and if someone replies a couple of weeks later to a comment I left on their journal, which is usually one of Dreamwidth's strengths, I'm unlikely to see it if the notification gets dropped :C
Glad a fix is on the way and hope it's coming to us soon!! To all the chit-chat and associated notifications!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😆 (Yes I'm constantly trying to get my inbox under control but not like this 😱 XD)
Edit: There is a
dw_maintenance post about it, now. One of the subthreads asks to share new, recent comments in which the notifications went missing.