NaNoWriMo 2009!

For those of you who don't know, November is National November Writing Month. It's a yearly event where people sign up, sharpen their e-pencils, and spend the entire month WRITING A NOVEL. And I'm doing it this year.

Basically, you've got 30 day to write 50,000 words. If you're smart, you've already prepared a story outline in October and got all of your details worked out, so you'll be ready to do nothing but write the story in November. If you're not smart, you'll have to write like your hair is on fire to make the deadline on November 30. Guess which category I'm in?

*looks up at her flame-wreathed head and sighs*

Don't worry about writing a GOOD novel. Unless you're a pro or unless you write a lot on a regular basis, you're probably going to write 50,000 words of really awful stuff. It's okay! You only have to keep one thing in mind: FINISH.

Write and write like a crazy person every day and just finish. That's all! You can fix it later, if you want.

So what do you get if you win? Just the chance to say that yes, I have written a novel! Definitely worth it for me.

BTW, needlessly naughty student outfit courtesy of:
Dress: [L3ASH] Knit Argyle Mini Dress [Blue]
Hair: Calla Myrtle (Black Fire)
Armwarmers: [Sassy Kitty Designs] Sassy Belted Armwarmers Black
Collar: *Curious Kitties* Elegant Lace Neck Bracer - Black
Glasses: -NALA-*Gawky*
School Accessories: Reek - Reeker Keeper, ~Scribble~ Jelly Pens (Black)

The Horror Of Nightmare Eden

If you do anything in SL to celebrate Halloween this year, go to Sn@tch's Nightmare Eden Event.

At it's heart, Nightmare Eden is a story-driven, sci-fi haunted house attraction spread over 2 sims. It's set aboard a fictional station known as New Eden. When you arrive there, it becomes frighteningly obvious that something has gone terribly wrong. You interact with clues and puzzles that have to be worked out before you can work your way deeper in search of the truth.

The puzzles aren't complicated, but you WILL have to think...but don't worry, they are fun! There are gifts hidden throughout Nightmare Eden, some harder to find than others. My favorite has to be the New Eden Uniform--its awesome not only because it looks good, and comes in both female and male versions, but you can wear it during your nightmarish visit which makes you really feel like part of the story!

Take your time, turn off your lights, turn up your volume (headphones make it extra creeeepy,) and set your Environment Settings to Midnight. And don't forget to use the Nightmare Eden screen HUD. You don't actually interact with the hud--what it does do is provide a "widescreen" cinematic feel to your experience and really increases the tension you feel. You can see the HUD in my screenshots.



Ivey Deschanel said it was a "labor of love" and it really shows. Gratz to her and the entire Nightmare Eden Team! I'm really thankful that they put the effort into providing such a deep and entertaining event for everyone in SL. It will last until November 15th, so you've got plenty of time to make it.

I think I'll sleep with a light on tonight....

Lovely, Dark, And Deep.

I was hopping around the interwebz the other day and found out about one of the most beautiful and eerie placed in Second Life: Bentham Forest. Words just don't do this build justice. Take the SLURL I gave you, set your environment settings to Midnight, and go. Now ^.~

Several forests I've visited in SL make it very hard to suspend my disbelief. There is usually too much bare ground, the land is too flat, and there are not nearly enough plants and trees. And besides that, apart from looking around the build isn't very interactive.

In contrast, walking through Bentham Forest makes you feel like the woods are closing in around you. The trees are huge and knarled, and there are bushes and moss and other plants that cover the rough terrain. You'll be climbing over hills and cliffs, wading through streams, and marvel at the shafts of dim light that barely cut through the treetop canopy. There are creepy lights everywhere, and sometimes you catch a brief glimpse of eyes in the darkness. Yes, in a place such as this, you can't expect to find yourself wandering alone ^.^

What tickled my fancy the most was the fact that this build isn't just for looks. There are 3 quests (that I know of) you can do while visiting Bentham Forest, if you can find the magical beings that offer the quest to you. I don't want to give too much away, but as will all quests you can expect to be rewarded for your perseverance and your bravery!

My favorite place in Bentham Forest? It would have to be here:
Have fun!

The Slayer And The Sea

So what have I been up to lately? I guess even vampires enjoy the holidays because the past few weeks have been very quiet. It gave me the time to hang out with friends and enjoy the more peaceful parts of Second Life.

Lately, I've been fishing...playing the 7Seas fishing game in SL to be exact. I guess it appeals to the part of me that likes pets and finding cool little baubles. For 7Seas, all you really do is enter a command (or use one of the those gestures that lets you auto-fish for a bit,) sit there, and wait to see what kind of goodies you fish up. They can be mundane fish, or silly ones, or swimsuits, or parts to make fishing items like boats, etc.

Some 7seas fishing spots (run by other players with the 7seas equipment) have unique items ("custom catches") that you can only catch at that specific location. The place I'm at right now is called SkyBeam Tradewaters in TempsPerdu, home of Twilight Fishing/Twilight Creations. I have no clue what's around the sim besides the dock because honestly, right now I'm just here for the fish. Well really, for the mermaids.

There is a mermaid themed fishing rod called the Mermaid Undersea Fishing Rod that you can only find at Twilight. I've been trying to fish it up for the last three days, with no luck. I've fished up the Nebula Star Fishing Rod (in the pic above,) the Ensorcelled Bone Fishing Rod, and the Pyroclastic Lava Fishing Rod, but apparently the cruel gods of the sea enjoy giving me everything but that which I really want. I guess because it's a SuperUltraRare find, and my fishing skill level is really, really low--I thought I was doing well when I reached level 6 today, until just a few moments later a fellow fisher next to me hit level 33. Sigh. But that's okay, because here at Twilight I've also been hauling up other custom catches like their mermaid pets.

Now, for you more sensitive fishers out there, I feel I have to tell you that these mermaids are healthy gals. And by healthy I mean busty. And by busty I mean they swim around with back-punishing sets of chest cannons that would make Dolly Parton proud. Twilight puts disclaimers into the mermaid boxes when you fish them up and labels them as "Rated R". I felt a little naughty hauling them out of the water, but just a little. But for those of you that know me or have just seen my pics, well, you know. Glass houses and all that ^.^


So, this particular mermaid to the right is the Puffermaid in the Red-Gold variety. She's chatty and has silly things to say every now and then, which you can turn on or off. And speaking of things that can be off, she can go topless. Also, being a Puffermaid, she share something in common with the puffer fish, in that she can puff out parts of her body when she is scared every so often.

I'll let you guess which parts she puffs. ^.~

My favorites are the MerMilkMaids and the Naughy Schoolmaids, which I definitely can't post pics of here. And if you can fish up the blueprint and the parts for it, you can even make a MerMech Cybermaid.

As I type this, I'm still trying to catch the Mermaid Undersea Fishing Rod. I guess I should take a break. Sitting on this dock crate is making my butt sore.