TNTOS

Awesome! I'm a little higher than you so far (15,556 according to my word processor's word counter), but that's still very good for the second day. Keep it up. -TNTOS-

1) I used to keep a word counter on my blog, but this year I'm not doing daily updates on my BZP blog. Just don't feel the need to, but it's a good idea for people who are motivated by public scrutiny. 2) This is good advice. 3) While research is usually a good idea, I think it's better to write about something you're already familiar with during NaNo, mostly because you won't get stuck as often or feel the need to look up every obscure little fact when you get stuck. 4) I've never done this myself, but I could see this working for some people. 5) I get up and walk around every hour to get my blood pumping. Not sure it helps me with writer's block, but so far I haven't been blocked at all during this story, so I'll keep doing it. 6) This I disagree with. I think it's a lot more fun not to know the ending than to know it, but I guess this is something that varies from writer to writer. Agreed on taking notes, though, especially if your novel is fantasy or sci-fi (I have a basic text document on my computer that has everything from character bios and descriptions to basic worldbuilding facts and am constantly adding to it as I come up with more ideas) 7) More good advice. After all, the point of NaNoWriMo is to get 50,000 words (or more) of a novel down. Not 50,000 words of planning and thinking. Just write! -TNTOS-

The most important thing is to keep going. Try not to get too discourage if you fail to reach your daily word goal. Just get back to it as soon as you can. That's the important thing, especially seeing as this is your first time doing it. Have fun! -TNTOS-

Congrats for writing nearly 3,000 words on the first day. It's always easier to win when you get a big headstart like you did. If you can keep this pace up, then you'll reach 50k in no time. -TNTOS-

Got a good start. Current word count is 8,206, which is about how much I expected to write today. Don't expect me to update this blog too often this month, though, because I'm going to be very busy with a lot of things (not just my NaNo novel) and this blog is not high on my list of things to update or maintain. Though I probably will make a post here when I hit 50k or complete the novel, whichever comes first. How's everyone else doing so far? -TNTOS-

Yeah, that's about how it usually goes around here. Maybe this year will be different with so many people doing it. We'll see. -TNTOS-

Like many of my fellow BZPers, I am going to be participating in NaNoWriMo this year. This will be my sixth year, I believe, as I first participated in 2008 and have won every year since and don't see that changing this year, even though November is gonna be a busier-than-usual month for me, I think. On a side note, I think this is the most BZPers I've ever seen say that they will be participating in NaNoWriMo. Seriously, most of the time NaNoWriMo just sort of comes and goes around here, even though I'm usually not the only one participating. I always assumed that most BZPers either lacked the time or interest in participating, but I guess this year is different. Good luck to everyone participating this year. May everyone reach 50k and beyond! -TNTOS-

I am also participating in NaNoWriMo this year (as I do every year), but unlike you I am not going to record it on my BZP blog. I used to do that, but this year I think I'll be too busy in November to blog about it on BZP, mostly because I'll have a bunch of other things going on next month that will eat up most of my free time. As for planning, I'm doing something a little different from what I normally do this year. I'm writing a bunch of short stories set in the novel's setting to help me worldbuild and get to know the characters better, which I've heard other writers recommend but which I've never done before myself. I must say that, so far, this is infinitely superior to my original method of worldbuilding, so maybe I'll make this part of my normal writing method (at least when I'm writing in a new world). Anyway, good luck with your novel, Jalina. NaNoWriMo is always tons of fun, especially if you succeed. -TNTOS-

Even so, I still don't like Orlando as much as Brendan (Anna's not bad, but I still think of her as May). Like I said, though, it's probably more out of nostalgia than anything. It doesn't bother me one way or the other, but I did expect to be able to choose who I wanted to play as. I hated the rollerskates. I only used them when I had to. The rest of the time, I either ran or used the bike. I will not miss them in the slightest. -TNTOS-

As some of you may know, Nintendo is distributing codes for the demo for the upcoming remakes of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, called Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which are coming out almost exactly one month from today. In the US, you can get these codes by signing up for their Pokémon Trainer Club Newsletter. When you get the newsletter in your email, you take the code and put it in the Nintendo eShop to download the demo onto your Nintendo 3DS system. Since I thought Ruby and Sapphire were fabulous games and I have been eagerly looking forward to the remakes ever since they were officially announced, I signed up for the newsletter and last night received the demo code in my inbox and proceeded to download the game onto my 3DS. Here are some of my quick thoughts on the demo: -Brendan is for some reason called Orlando. I liked Brendan better, as Orlando makes me think of Orlando Bloom. I'm probably just used to Brendan's old name, though it doesn't matte either way because when I get the full game I am going to use my own name, as I usually do with Pokémon games -I would have liked to have received Mega Steelix rather than Mega Glalie, mostly because I like Steelix better than Glalie -Loved Matt and Tabitha's interactions. Matt is especially funny, mostly because he seems like he's there to have a good time -Mega Swampert and Mega Sceptile as pretty cool from what I've done with them. Won't say anything about Mega Blaziken, as Mega Blaziken has been around for a while and I'm pretty sure everyone already knows about it -I like the 3D Mossdeep City. It looks like Mossdeep, but in 3D. If this is an example of what the other towns and cities are gonna look like in 3D, then I can safely say that they are going to look great That's all for now. There's still some more things to do, I think, so I might update this post later with more thoughts if I remember or feel like it. -TNTOS-

Sounds awesome, TN. Glad to hear your life is going well. There's a lot of bad news in the world today, so it's nice to hear that some things are going well in the world, at least. -TNTOS-

About the only Premier perk that I regularly use is my blog. The others are nice (like more space in your PM inbox), but I never really use them except for every now and then. -TNTOS-

As of today, I have officially been a member of BZP for eight years. Eight years of fanfiction, watching BZP drama from the sidelines (and occasionally participating whenever the stupid struck me), blogging, geeking out over colorful LEGO action figures, entering contests, making friends, not making enemies (hopefully), and having a ton of fun all the while. Here's to eight more years of BZP and Bionicle fun!* *And drama. Can't forget the drama. -TNTOS-

'Cause a giant planet-sized robot is TOTALLY hard sci-fi. In all seriousness, though, I agree with this post. I honestly expected a lot of backlash from the fans of 2001-2003, but surprisingly few of them have complained or criticized the 2015 sets as much as I thought they would. Most of the backlash does seem to come from fans of the later years (though as a fan of the later years myself, I am not at all critical of the 2015 stuff, mostly because it looks really awesome so far, although I guess that could change as we learn more about next year and see how the story unfolds). -TNTOS-

There. There it is. The inevitable comparison to MegaBloks. I can now rest in peace. -TNTOS-

OOOOOOH MY GOSH I FEEL LIKE A KID AGAIN TAHU IS AWESOME KOPAKA IS AWESOME ONYA ONUA IS AWESOME GALI IS OKAY LEWA IS ALSO OKAY POHATU IS SORT OF OKAY-ISH AND WHO IS EKIMU AND MAN THAT MUST HAVE HURT WHEN HE SLAMMED MAKUTA IN THE FACE WITH HIS HAMMER AND GEARS AND PURPLE AND AND AND- *hype train crashes* *Crawls out of the wreckage, dusts self off, takes a deep breath, and tries to act like the mature, responsible adult that he is* All right. I think Bionicle 2015 is gonna be pretty good. And yes, I know I said I was done with Bionicle fanfics, but I'm starting to get ideas for a new fic set in the Legendverse (Mata Nui vs. Ekimu, anyone?) and maybe do The Biological Chronicle: 2015, too, though both probably will not come for quite a while since I am so busy with my other projects. But there's a very real possibility that I will do both sometime next year. Why can't 2015 be here already? -TNTOS-

I'm same as you, Sumiki. I notice spelling and grammar errors almost all the time (especially spelling errors), but I've reached the point where I never feel the need to correct anyone's misspellings or grammar unless they 1) ask me or 2) are so terrible that I literally can't understand what they're saying. I just realized that constantly correcting others' incorrect usage is a losing battle and kind of makes you (as in generic "you" here, not as in you specifically, Sumiki) look like a pretentious jerk. Way I see it, strict grammatical and spelling standards only really need to be upheld in professional contexts (such as in book publishing, for example). Otherwise, as long as you have a grasp of the basic rules of English grammar and spelling and aren't too sloppy, it doesn't matter in less formal or professional contexts (like a blog post on a website dedicated to a LEGO toyline, for example). -TNTOS-

If I had umph dollars, I'd use it to revamp my author's website, get a good cover designer for my books, and pay for some kind of book promotion. -TNTOS-

Until I saw this topic, I had forgotten that Universe was a even a thing. But to answer the question, no, I did not play it, not even when it was free to play. Just never had the time or interest. -TNTOS-

Nice to see you guys are working on it. I think the current design is kind of clunky and unwieldy, but as others have said, it's only transitional, so I'm not going to complain just yet. -TNTOS-

Just saw the movie today. It was really awesome, probably the best X-Men movie yet. It was even better because I just watched First Class like a week ago, so I didn't have to go back and rewatch anything to understand what was going on. Really loved Young!Charles and Young!Erik the most, TBH. Their actors are just really good. Definitely looking forward to X-Men: Apocalypse, which is coming out in 2016. If it's gonna be anything like Days, it is probably going to be awesome. -TNTOS-

Reading this post, I'm glad I write books rather than make movies. Fewer logistical problems . -TNTOS-

That'd be cool if Greg got to write them again, but honestly I think it'd be interesting to see another writer's take on Bionicle. Maybe Greg could do the web serials or something (assuming they bring those back, of course). In either case, this is great news 'cause I really loved the old Bionicle books and think they were one of the best parts of Bionicle back in the old days. Glad to hear they're returning. -TNTOS-

I'm just waiting for the first official images of the new sets to pop up and for people to complain that they look like MegaBloks figures. -TNTOS-

Choose Mudkip. Then, as soon as you can, trade over a Treecko from one of your other games or trade for it from a friend or from the GTS. Problem solve . -TNTOS-