NiaD Episode VI: Return of the NiaD

[gr]

By my count, the Pigster has another hour and a half. Doesn't he get the same hour extra that the writers got at the get-go?

gr

P.S. Well, if we are all comparing word count sizes , mine came in at 3,333. Strange phenomena gobble up words like the word 'cannibal' does.

[Rollerdiva]

Almost there now - just a handful of chapters still to come in before I can start the magic of compile and upload.

How has everyone found it this year? Has it been fun?

Sorry I'm one of the offenders.. looking forward to reading it!!

Have loved the freedom of this one Piggy dear boy.. it's going to be really interesting reading how far everyone has ventured with it.. Thank you for organising again, you are and continue to be a complete genius.

ps how do I get my little NIAD signature thingymewhatsits.. I'd like to wear me medals!! xx

[Rollerdiva]

By my count, the Pigster has another hour and a half. Doesn't he get the same hour extra that the writers got at the get-go?

gr

P.S. Well, if we are all comparing word count sizes , mine came in at 3,333. Strange phenomena gobble up words like the word 'cannibal' does.

He should get the same hour! Justice for PF! Found mine easier to streamline this time.. 1551.. normally I spout such a load of shite..

[BethCutter]

Public apology to Piggy and all other contributors: Even though I signed up, and was very much looking forward to being a part of NIAD again, I failed to write a chapter.

I totally forgot today was Saturday until about a half hour ago. I know that sounds unbelievably stupid, how can you not know what day it is? But due to my mother's illness, I've been off work since last fall and without the routine of work and deadlines, well, the days just blend together.

When I finally realized what day it was I thought I could still whip something out -- Yes, in my panic I forgot about the five hour time difference.

Even though Piggy re-sent me my brief right away when I wrote him, and gallantly offered me an extended deadline, there's just no way I can write something worth reading in an hour or so.

So... I screwed up majorly. Sorry to everyone, especially Piggy, for putting him to extra effort at the time when he must be swamped with editing and compiling duties.

[pigfender]

Not a problem, Beth. Sorry to hear you've had bit of bad luck, and best wishes for it all to fall into place soon. Hopefully see you for the main event in October!

ps how do I get my little NIAD signature thingymewhatsits.. I'd like to wear me medals!! xx

Great question.
You can edit your post signatures by going to your User Control Panel (via the little drop down button next to your user name at the top of the page) and then Profile followed by Edit Signature.
You can read about the links to enter here: viewtopic.php?f=51&t=28574&p=191541#p191541

Note, I won't be uploading the badges for today's event for a few days because: sleep.

[Jaysen]

Excuses excuses! You don't need sleep!

Piggy... looks like you pulled off another successful NiaD! Congrats

[devinganger]

I just got mine sent in. As I suspected, I had trouble figuring out what to write, not actually writing it once I figured it out.

I have some feedback on what parts I found painful, but I'm sure it says more about me than the process, so I'll wait and ponder before sharing it (if ever).

[pigfender]

Anyone looking for a new book to read?

HUGE thanks to everyone who took part this year! I had great fun! You can download the books, scrivener project and compile settings from this page:
viewtopic.php?f=51&t=38591

Grateful for all feedback how it went. Comments on the event itself can go in this thread, and comments on the book / story can go in the book thread linked above. We also have a Feature Request thread for suggestions on other things to include or incorporate.

[Jaysen]

Whoop whoop! I've got some reading!!!

[hjordisa]

*hides under the desk and looks at the books suspiciously.* I'll try reading them tomorrow. Or start anyway. I'm a bit of a slow reader. Good job everyone, and especially piggy, for making this happen.

[nom]

Thrilled that, despite everything, I was still able to participate this year. Lucky really. After a long day, I opened my briefing pack to see what might have been... and thought, "Well, why not start and see how far I can get." Four hours later it was 2am and I had a chapter – written exclusively on Scrivener iOS on my iPad.

Apart from over-using dialogue yet again (what is it about NiaD that has me using dialogue so heavily?) I have even less idea than usual regarding the quality of my writing. This time, however, I wasn't worried. Maybe it was because of personal events in recent days, maybe it was because I saw an "in" straight away, but whatever the reason I was able to just let go and write. I had a blast with this one.

Anyway, congratulations to Pigfender for organising another spectacularly successful NiaD. I think his initial idea for NiaD was a stroke of brilliance, and I greatly admire his ability to develop a plot, characters, and setting that still works as an overall piece despite the enormous diversity of writer's voices (and the inevitable continuity errors and minor inconsistencies that will creep in). Despite his humble assurances that anyone could do it, I am aware of my limitations and know that I could not do what he has done 6 times now. But then he adds the challenge of sending out brief link packs, receiving dozens of chapters, editing and compiling multiple versions of a finished book and publishing them all within a few hours.

A massive thank you to Pigfender for his efforts. I hope that this year was less stressful on him and that he has enjoyed it as much as we have.

[Evil Overlord]

Anyone looking for a new book to read?

HUGE thanks to everyone who took part this year! I had great fun! You can download the books, scrivener project and compile settings from this page:

Many thanks to you for organizing this (every time). While I didn't feel that spark of inspiration this year, I had a good time wandering Lucas around my old Marylebone neighbourhood, and and I covered the brief on time, so I count it as a success. And hey, it can't be genius all the time.

Re procedure, I received my brief oddly late, I think (evening EST), though it didn't make any difference to my writing time, since I was at work before then, and may be down to some glitch at my end.

[KB]

Indeed, let me add to the chorus thanking Pigfender for organising such another amazing event, and for all the incredible work he does in working out the plot, putting together the briefs, sending it all out and then compiling it all into a book. I enjoyed taking part once again, and Literature & Latte were very proud to sponsor it again.

Thanks, pigfender!

[ConradG]

A massive thank you to Pigfender for his efforts. I hope that this year was less stressful on him and that he has enjoyed it as much as we have.

So say we all!

With the process fresh in your mind, Pigfender, I wonder if it's time to seriously think about splitting up the work. None of us wants you in a position where 'real life' and NiaD collide again. Surely there are parts of the process that you could parcel out to lesser mortals to act as your deputy/deputies? I am in awe of the way that you come up with plots and characters and give them as gifts to us — few people could and would do that. But collating chapters as they are returned — that's something others of us could commit to do. Are there things like that at the beginning as well? I could imagine you having a single deputy to take some of the tasks; I could also imagine appointing a veteran of NiaD to each colour edition to be the collator/editor of that version of the novel to split the work even more.

I also want to say thanks and yay! to my fellow writers in Blue. What a hoot! And also my fellow chapter 6 writers! How interesting to browse what others did with the same brief!

Finally,

Literature & Latte were very proud to sponsor it

You did much more than sponsor it, for which we all thank you, but wrote software which we all love and which facilitates this event and our writing — and you took part! (I loved the stuff you did with Edward's consciousness of not having a body especially, out of continuity as it turned out to be, since I went the same way!)

[pigfender]

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

And, yes, LL definitely do a whole lot more than the word 'sponsor' suggests. Aside from kindly hosting the event here, they develop Scrivener, which is the engine that powers the whole process from planning, development, producing packs, tracking input, through to producing the final books. NiaD would be impossible without it.

Speaking of which, I've just had to recompile every single format of every single version because some idiot (me) put a type on the cover (so there are new versions available now, and I've fixed some of the links that weren't working). It took less than half an hour for 12 books, with completely different content (including front matter that changes between versions and formats), formats and metadata -- which is pretty amazing!