PicoWriMo

And since I'm here already, let's report the funny (?) thing that happened to me. A couple of days ago I took the time to translate several pages for the next chapter of The Sins of the Mothers (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12468508/chapters/28377308), my original Star Trek/Original BSG crossover. Today I decided to start pico with typing up that part. And what did I discover when I opened the long-unused document? That save for the very last couple of lines, the whole thing has already been translated and typed up years ago. Why it doesn't show up in my hand-written pages, I have no idea, but I've definitely did the thing twice. *is annoyed*

Anyway, snippet:

Dr. Mulhall fingered her tricorder nervously, while looking after the retreating backs of Decker and Ser’hath’trov’dab. The tall, thin man in his burgundy-and-black uniform made an odd couple with the unusually large, ebony black Dairu who still barely reached to his chest. The astrobiologist smiled faintly, forgetting her concerns for a moment… but only for a moment.

“You have no reason to worry,“ Leila Kalomi said, knotting together her long, straight black hair on the nape of her neck. “The XO can take care of himself... and we are, at least, not alone.

“I know,” Ann Mulhall sighed. “And yet… despite the fact that I’ve participated in dozens of planetary missions, I’m more nervous than ever before.”

“Perhaps because this time we can’t count on the reassuring presence of the Enterprise in geosynchronous orbit,” the botanist suggested. “Most Starfleet officers are used to have a starship as back-up, whatever they are doing.”

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"“Most Starfleet officers are used to have a starship as back-up, whatever they are doing.”"

Should be HAVING a starship (?)
:^)

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It should? I don't always get these differences in English. So, how would the sentence sound correctly? Used to having or used having? I really don't have a clue.

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'Used to having' maybe sounds a bit better, although I didn't think 'used to have' sounded wrong.

Of course, the more you say them, the more they all sound wrong!

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elmey.livejournal.com

"used to having" is correct in this case. DO NOT ASK me to quote the pertinent rule though ;)

You should check your papers, perhaps you translated even more and forgot :) How long has it been since you started translating?

Edited on 2019-11-01 07:19 pm (UTC)

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English has rules? That's new to me. I always thought the deciding factor was the weather, what day of the week we're having or one's religious devotion. Or something equally illogical. *g*

I've started translating this particular story a little more than two years ago. It was originally finished in 1999, at a time when my English was practically nonexistent, so it was written partly in German, partly in Hungarian. Of course, it couldn't be published like that anywhere, but translating from two different languages into a third one is so tedious, that's why I have such long breaks in-between.

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The problem has to do with TENSE.
This is an action (star fleet officers are "used to having") that's always been going on and will continue to go on.

I recognized your mistake but I'm finding it very difficult to explain it to you, sorry.

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I'll never, ever understand English tenses. Not even if I live a thousand years. It's hopeless.

I'm Hungarian, and our language has exactly three tenses: past, present and future. Everything else is context. It works like a charm. I grew up with German as my second language, starting at the age of 3, and I can handle German tenses without problems. They are logical. Hell, I could even follow French tenses in the half year I was learning French for the heck of it. No problem. English tenses, though...

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Want me to let you in on a little secret?
There are a lot of native English speakers here in America who never master all the tenses either and they get by without them--more or less.

America's schools have really gone to seed in the past quarter of a century thanks to their trying to make school easy enough that everyone can pass and get a high school diploma.
:^\

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Hey, I think you do great work. I can't handle English as well as you do.

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Don't be ridiculous, you're a native speaker! You feel these things by instinct. I have to learn them. And some things are simply beyond me. Like English tenses.

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There are a lot of English teachers who would disagree with you... but, thank you.

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Did you get a different result each time? That could be interesting to see, like one of the academics at my old job who marked the same project twice and didn't notice :-)

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Actually, it was just a couple of pages, and the results were fairly alike. My brain seems to be consistent, when it doesn't come to mark actual facts. *g*

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Not a pleasant surprise to find the translation already done:( May I suggest that somehow the pages with the translation to English were accidentally put on the transporter and sent to Deep Space Nine?

I have nothing to offer regarding English verb syntax except my sympathies as you endeavor to unravel its mysteries.

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The only progress I've made is that I reached deep down into my gizzard and I pulled out an IDEA.
An idea that sounds good enough to use to write something.

Such a little thing but for me it's often half the writing battle.
:^)

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Ideas are the beginning of every story. Go you!

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elmey.livejournal.com

That's an excellent start! Half the battle :)

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That's a huge step. Keep it up!

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Ideas are the hardest thing.

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I wholeheartedly agree. Getting the idea is half the battle!

I have a dark, dusty drawer filled with dried-out pens and crumpled scraps of paper containing illegible words and phrases which, I dimly recall, were once ideas. May I borrow your gizzard? Hee!

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Thanks! I started the day by asking for Christmas prompts. My Halloween prompts ended up at nearly 30,000, so that isn't too bad. Let's see what Christmas brings.

Thanks for keeping us together!

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I'm looking forward to your stories. They are always fun.

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You are very kind - thank you!

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That is the honest truth, sister!

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Well, then I thank you two-fold.

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30000 whats??

I hope the Christmas version goes well :-)

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Words, my dear words! :D Glorious words.

Thanks!

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Ooh, I see. That is good going!

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Thanks! I'm trying to keep up the flow.

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I see you have begun a Twelve Days of Christmas project. So that's twelve stories on top of your Down the Chimney story! Busy as ever:D Good luck with all the writing!

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I have. Tis the season to be insane. :D

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adafrog.livejournal.com

Only writing comments today. Trying to get ready to leave at 4 for a riding thing this weekend, but I have no motivation.

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That is a shame. No motivation is the bane of our existence.

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Hey, we do the best we can. Best of luck!

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Comments are good - think how pleased the recipients will be :-)

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I agree with

ylla. It's good to hear from you. Better days ahead on your writing projects! I hope you're having an enjoyable weekend.

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adafrog.livejournal.com

Thanks. :)

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livejournal.livejournal.com

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A one hour session today on a very old WIP, not the one I worked on during the last time.
I'm using it as a warm-up exercise, to get my wheels greased before I choose a story request for the MFU Down the Chimney exchange.

It ain't prettied up, it's just streaming words:)

(Reflection on the episode in which Napoleon) is caught in a wind tunnel and nearly killed.)

Working Title: Scar

He sat up in bed, covers thrown back, with the sense that he was about to be torn to pieces. Pulverized. He’d taken a chance and turned on the ceiling fan. So romantic. So Casablanca.

Fucking fans.

He got out of bed and crossed the room to the wall switch. Flipped it off. Went to the kitchen. Took the water glass from the sink. Cracked some ice from the tray and dropped them in. Carried the glass to the living room and picked up the whiskey bottle from the drinks cart. Brought it all to the couch. Poured two fingers. What the hell, make it three.

Some injuries don’t leave a scar you can see.

Pico Goal: 60 Minutes over 30 Days for a total of 1,800 Minutes
Progress Meter: 60 / 1,800 minutes. 3% done!

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Some injuries don’t leave a scar you can see.

That is a great sentence!

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That will be the last anyone sees of 'Scar' for the foreseeable future;) But it was a nice little change of pace for a day.

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Poor boy. But well done you :-)

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I'm not sure where this will lead. And it will be a while until I look at it again, if ever. But it was enjoyable thinking about this little WIP for one hour:)

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a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com

Och...no words. But I thought about words!

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You have to think about them before you can write them :-)

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When you catch yourself thinking about words, grab the nearest pencil and paper and capture those thoughts!

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I nearly fell at the first hurdle, due to hectic running about - 110 words, written in the 10 minutes before midnight!

An odder memorial is the one built into the window of the co-op nearby - a clock like a globe and a rather elegant explorer against a background which is presumably intended to be African, but looks more like a Scottish island with added palm trees.

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