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I couldn't stop to make an entry about it this morning, because I overslept slightly --

Okay rewind: why did I oversleep?

Because this morning I spent about fifteen minutes trying to turn my alarm off with the power of my mind.

I was certain I could do it! I didn't know why it wouldn't stop going off! I was doing everything right!

Then I realised that the iPhone does not yet have a telekinetic neural interface, and had to pick it up to turn it off, which is when I realised it was about ten minutes past time to be getting up.

Still, no cranky today: it's casual Friday, everyone's happy, and I still caught a train early enough to have open seats. And I am one step closer to being able to turn things on and off with my mind!

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I COME BEARING LINKS. Links to exciting things!

bjewelled has written a Top Ten Pet Peeves list for Writers -- it's mostly aimed at fanfic, but it applies to writing in general as well. And is also really funny. As ever, if you go, please stay polite; you represent the cafe and have a reputation to uphold.

Number 10 in particular is endemic to the Torchwood fandom and makes me fucking nuts. As someone whose minimum standard for chapter length is three thousand words (and lately, as with In Another Life, I just push it to max posting size, usually around seven thousand) it immediately makes me stop reading when people post 500 word "chapters". Nobody is impressed; everyone is annoyed. And if you are in doubt as to your chapter size, bookmark a wordcount program.

I'm also fond of 10a, but you know me, I love lists that end in #a. :D

In other news, several people have contacted me to let me know that you can now remove old email addresses from your LJ account, as long as your current address has been valid for six months or more. I strongly recommend that you remove any addresses you don't have control of anymore. An old uncontrolled email address was the direct tool they used when I was hacked. Many of you already have security questions, but this is an extra layer of insulation against low-tech hacking.

Also, given everything, I'm very proud of LJ for instituting this -- in the past we've criticised them a lot for introducing new features we don't need and not addressing features we should have, so it's nice to see them reprioritising. Well done, Livejournal team!

And before you open a comment window: DO NOT ASK YOUR LJ TECH SUPPORT QUESTIONS HERE. Even if they're about the hack (ESPECIALLY if they're about the hack). Or if you do, do not expect me to answer them. Check the "picking up the pieces" tag (on this post, for your convenience!) if you need more info. You will find it all there, from friending bots to security questions to recovery techniques.

Emergency Lockdown Not Always As Tedious As Expected

Well, that's sorted.

Jack went down to sublevel six and had an argument with Mainframe's central core. We puny mortals aren't allowed to talk to her directly. I think he may have seduced her or possibly threatened to shoot her in whatever passes for a computer's central core's face. Either way, she tracked down the problem for us.

Of course, the faulty circuit was on sublevel two, which is mostly abandoned except for Myfanwy's nest, and it was in the crawlspace. Gwen was the logical choice, because she's the smallest, but I suspect Jack told her she had to go into the crawlspace because it involved a lot of wiggling and grunting to get her through to the circuit and she's been wearing very tight trousers lately. Also, lots of manly lifting on my part to help her into it. I'm sure he doesn't keep us around just because we're pretty but I suspect it doesn't hurt when he's deciding whether or not to throttle us when we occasionally defy his orders or go behind his back or shoot him. This is why I moisturise and always make sure my trousers are pressed. It's self-preservation really.

Although none of this happened until after Hub Emergency Preparedness Lockdown Drills 5 and 6. Given that an orgy was physically impossible and a threesome apparently off the table, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Jack still enjoys stopwatch games. It's nice to know the romance* hasn't faded from the relationship.

* For "romance" read "Jack's finishing power in a time-limited situation".

Gwen's gone home for a shower and Rhys, hopefully in that order given the layers of dust in her hair. I had better end here, as Jack's ten minutes are nearly up and he'll probably be wanting me to untie him. I do enjoy these little "LiveJournal Breaks." They're very calming.

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Before we get started, a note to all Gallifrey attendees:

Jean reminded me that the Cafe used to play a game with the lead singer of the Remus Lupins, seeing how many concerts we could arrange where someone would come up to him and tell him "Sam says hi" (we crossed paths briefly when he read for Remus in a radio play I wrote). She mentioned she was going to Gallifrey and seeing Gareth David-Lloyd, so I told her to tell him the guy who wrote the talking-cat fanfic says hi.

If you are so inclined, and you happen to be meeting him in a signing line or something, please feel free to tell him that Sam says hi. It's like a social experiment! Either that or we're going to totally creep him out. Or both.

Anyway, ONWARDS! To process notes for Nameless. This is from commentary on the Ch1 Process Notes and on Ch2 of Nameless. These are as much for myself as for you-all :D

Unlike the Ch1 notes there's no new info here that should have been in Ch2 and isn't; it's more a response to overall commentary, so it's not as necessary as the Ch1 notes were. If you don't want to have your objectivity spoiled in terms of knowing some of my intent, you're better off not reading, in fact.

( Ch2: Issues )

A final note:
Just remember with all these comments that we do all want to help. If I were you right now I'd be feeling a little disheartened by the overflow of advice.

I thought this was awfully sweet, and there are others who are concerned at how much crit I'm taking at once as well. It's okay; don't pull your punches, kids. I'm not disheartened -- I might occasionally be overwhelmed by sheer mass, and once in a while I fear your crit might not get addressed immediately, but I wanted it all. That's why I began posting. Even in these first two chapters I've learned a lot about what my weaknesses are, and these issue-posts are becoming helpful lists of things that I need to watch out for as I write in general, not just within the body of Nameless.

It's never easy to take criticism, but I think a writer reaches a healthy place -- as healthy as writers ever are -- when they no longer see criticism as an insult or a painful thing to face. My reaction to about 90% of all criticism I receive these days is "Aw, crap. Do you know how much WORK it's going to be to fix that?"

It's not pleasant to have to pull apart two chapters of work to fix the problem, but at least it's not soul-crushing and depressing to be told you have one.

(The other 10% is a mixture of "Thank you, but you're full of bullshit" and "Ouch". I'm working on it.)

(no subject)

Who's going onna trip? I'm going onna trip :D *does the Amtrak dance*

Next weekend I'm abandoning you all for folk music and storytelling. I suspect the tiny shiny will be getting its first road trip acid test.

In unrelated news, you all know how rarely I recc fic, but oh my god. Those of you who remember fondly my criminal AU "The Uncle" (Remus Lupin: Gangster!) will be thrilled to see that someone gave Torchwood the same treatment...

I give you: Get Jones, by valderys. It's one of those fics where I'm so jealous I didn't think of it first, but in all honesty I'm not sure I'd have done it as well. Ianto Jones is a career criminal, but he's about to have a narrow escape and a very very close encounter...

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IT BEGINS.

I am so rofl. Gareth David-Lloyd says hello!

Come on, own up, who dun it? :D