The 2023 Geek Pride Story Event: Official Support Page

[Duleigh]

The only thing I'd be concerned about is that you will have to edit and proofread the whole thing. I tend to take a break of a couple of days maybe so I don't have to read it all over again too quickly. I suppose you have a enough time to do that.

I mentioned how film editors and directors have to see the same scenes over and over again, and they start to lose track of what it's all supposed to mean. I've never quite gone that far, but I have thought: now I have to read this again?

Every morning I edit what I wrote the day before and what I wrote yesterday so I can proceed, This morning was tough because I wrote over 7K in the past 2 days, but I'm just having FUN with this story. I got to poke a lot of fun at a country called XXXX which reminds some people of Australia and a university full of wizards is just a ton of fun to write about.

Since I discovered that Sir Pratchett did not mind fan fiction in life, I'm going to make him sorry that he missed this one. This story is going to lead to another big project for me, I can feel it.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Every morning I edit what I wrote the day before and what I wrote yesterday so I can proceed, This morning was tough because I wrote over 7K in the past 2 days, but I'm just having FUN with this story. I got to poke a lot of fun at a country called XXXX which reminds some people of Australia and a university full of wizards is just a ton of fun to write about.

Since I discovered that Sir Pratchett did not mind fan fiction in life, I'm going to make him sorry that he missed this one. This story is going to lead to another big project for me, I can feel it.

That's one way to edit it, although I wouldn't trust myself to submit it until I finished and read it again. I suppose Sir Pratchett has passed, but I've never heard of him.

 

[Duleigh]

That's one way to edit it, although I wouldn't trust myself to submit it until I finished and read it again. I suppose Sir Pratchett has passed, but I've never heard of him.

He was a humorist of the finest sort. He decided to make fun of the swords and sorcery genre and got so good at it they knighted him. His final book was written to be his final book and I can't bring myself to read it.

As for editing, when I get to the point where I can say "Done!" I click "Read Aloud" and listen to my story. Greatest editing device EVER! Then save as .doc and submit.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Since I discovered that Sir Pratchett did not mind fan fiction in life, I'm going to make him sorry that he missed this one. This story is going to lead to another big project for me, I can feel it.

Pedantic correction: the title Sir (or Dame) is always used with the first name, not the surname. So Sir Terry, Dame Judi (Dench), etc.

The rules for Lords and Ladies etc are more complicated and depend on whether they are being referred to or addressed. Formal speech and use of Miss/Master and surname depends on whether the child of the house is the eldest son/daughter (Miss/Master Surname) or not (Miss/Master Firstname).

 

[Duleigh]

Thank you, and that part about Lords and Ladies wasn't covered in Lords and Ladies at all. Not a glaring omission, I'm sure Sir Terry can be forgiven.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Thank you, and that part about Lords and Ladies wasn't covered in Lords and Ladies at all. Not a glaring omission, I'm sure Sir Terry can be forgiven.

There will always be an England.

 

[Duleigh]

Up to 30.5K words. Took too much time out for gardening.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Up to 30.5K words. Took too much time out for gardening.

That's close to three times longer than what I've done, and it's the longest stand-alone story I've done so far. Do you intend to read the whole thing through again when you are finished?

 

[Duleigh]

That's close to three times longer than what I've done, and it's the longest stand-alone story I've done so far. Do you intend to read the whole thing through again when you are finished?

Of course! I will click on Read Aloud in my word processor and read along with my machine.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Of course! I will click on Read Aloud in my word processor and read along with my machine.

Which word processor do you use?

 

[Duleigh]

Which word processor do you use?

Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2305 Build 16.0.16421.20000) 64-bit

 

[gunhilltrain]

Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2305 Build 16.0.16421.20000) 64-bit

That's a nice feature to have. I have yet to hear it in action - but then I don't know that many people right now! (I don't just mean people with newer computers than I have.) Can you adjust the way the voice sounds, say male or female? Not that it would be that important.

 

[Duleigh]

That's a nice feature to have. I have yet to hear it in action - but then I don't know that many people right now! (I don't just mean people with newer computers than I have.) Can you adjust the way the voice sounds, say male or female? Not that it would be that important.

There's only two voices, compared to MS Edge it's pretty lame. The MS Edge web browser does a VERY good job of reading stories on Lit

 

[gunhilltrain]

There's only two voices, compared to MS Edge it's pretty lame. The MS Edge web browser does a VERY good job of reading stories on Lit

I guess two is adequate. Most GPS systems have a single voice - I think - and it always seems to be female. Maybe there are adjustments that I don't know about, because I've never owned such a system. It might be fun to have celebrity "voices" - I don't know, Humphrey Bogart (shows you how old I am).

Do these read-aloud devices ever get confused by something out of the ordinary? I've noticed that automated bus announcements sometimes mispronounce things. Decatur Avenue doesn't come out as "Dah-kaye-ter" but as "Deck-a-ter."

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Do these read-aloud devices ever get confused by something out of the ordinary? I've noticed that automated bus announcements sometimes mispronounce things. Decatur Avenue doesn't come out as "Dah-kaye-ter" but as "Deck-a-ter."

I use a text to speech app on my phone called T2S. It has an option that allows you to correct pronunciation. For example "cum" is pronounced "coom" so you can edit it to pronounce it "come".

I proof-listen to my stories all the time. (However the app does not handle formatting, which can be an annoyance).

 

[EmilyMiller]

Couple of flights this weekend mean I’m now up to 26k words. Think it will most likely be 28k when done,

Em

 

[Duleigh]

I guess two is adequate. Most GPS systems have a single voice - I think - and it always seems to be female. Maybe there are adjustments that I don't know about, because I've never owned such a system. It might be fun to have celebrity "voices" - I don't know, Humphrey Bogart (shows you how old I am).

Do these read-aloud devices ever get confused by something out of the ordinary? I've noticed that automated bus announcements sometimes mispronounce things. Decatur Avenue doesn't come out as "Dah-kaye-ter" but as "Deck-a-ter."

A little bit but they're getting much better, I use them quite often to find out how to spell words so they project a speakers accent to a reader. One of my characters has a deep southern accent and it comes in handy for that. To me it seems that if it's in the spell checkers dictionary, it can pronounce it. A few years ago Façade came out Fa-kade, not any more.

 

[Duleigh]

That's it for one more day. I got 5k done today raising the total to 35K, and sadly, the end is in sight.

 

[gunhilltrain]

That's it for one more day. I got 5k done today raising the total to 35K, and sadly, the end is in sight.

There is always something new to write beyond that.

 

[Duleigh]

Yeah! Part II!

 

[gunhilltrain]

Yeah! Part II!

But only Part I is going is to be in the event, right? You would have to be writing like crazy if II was in it.

 

[Duleigh]

But only Part I is going is to be in the event, right? You would have to be writing like crazy if II was in it.

Last year I wrote my Gate Trilogy A New Green Man Appears 27K, Elvish Has Left The Building 31K and Going home 25K, the first two made the event, the third part missed it by a day. I have no idea how I did it, and they need a good editing but I loved every paragraph.

 

[gunhilltrain]

It's so intimidating seeing everyone's word counts lol.

Also, as long as the story falls in the realm of "geeky" it counts, right? It doesn't have to be explicitly sci-fi or fantasy? Can it be about geeky/nerdy people?

Yes, of course it doesn't have to be science fiction or fantasy. Usually "geek" means someone with a lot of esoteric knowledge, to the point where it may hinder them socially. The "pride" part may mean that they have stopped trying to hide it. If it helps, my word count (completed) is only about 11,700.

 

[Duleigh]

It's so intimidating seeing everyone's word counts lol.

Also, as long as the story falls in the realm of "geeky" it counts, right? It doesn't have to be explicitly sci-fi or fantasy? Can it be about geeky/nerdy people?

It can be anything you want as long as YOU consider it geeky. Me - my favorite geek-dom is trackside watching the trains go by, HO scale, O27 scale or 1:1 scale prototype monsters... but there's never any sex in that, not unless you're riding the train.

SF/Fantasy just turns me on, I love it, it's fun and once a year the creative juices really flow. I had to stop tonight but I hope the creative writing finishes tomorrow and we go to editing and clean/up

 

[Blind_Justice]

Well, that's a nice belly rub. Got into the top ten of the Clitorides with "Mud & Magic". Not bad for a desperate something I cobbled together for 2019's Geek Pride event.