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Note: closing points on my last article are at the end of this one.

Do you guys care about NaNoWriMo? Do you know what it is? Well, let me give a quick overview of it, and then you can decide for yourself. Visit http://www.nanowrimo.org/ for more details and to sign up.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. This has been going on for a couple of years, and I first did it when I was just 16 years old, three years ago. I didn't finish that year, but I've finished every year since. In order to “finish” NaNoWriMo, you've got to write 50,000 words. This can be anything. Ideally, you want it to be something which contributes to a novel idea. However, in practicality, no one's going to finish a polished novel with plot and everything in one month. Anyone who claims that they can has obviously never written a novel before. The real goal of NaNoWriMo is to write as much as you possibly can in a short period of time.

The reasoning is this: writing, and writing well at that, is a skill which is useful in any profession and to anyone. Doctors write charts and before that have to write essays for their MCATs. Office workers write reports. Mothers write excuses for their children. Hell, even construction workers shoot their bosses an email if they want to take a sick day. How do you improve at something? Through practice. This is a platform which encourages writers to hone their art and non-writers and non-English folks to hone a skill which is still relevant to them when they otherwise might blow it off.

So the goal is to write anything and everything, even if it's nonsense, just to improve your skills. I started NaNoWriMo this year with the intent of finishing a story for one of my classes and turning it into a novel. When that story eventually went nowhere, I sat there, desperately trying to come up with something I could work on. I just started writing. I started maybe six short stories before I came to one which I loved. I started developing it, and I’ve since then been working on it exclusively. About half of my current word count is devoted to it and the notes I’ve made about it (brainstorming and stream of consciousness count!).

That being said, it’s not too late to start NaNoWriMo. 50,000 words is quite a bit for someone not used to writing, I’ll admit, but it’s definitely possible. I’m shooting for 75,000 words this year, in fact. Even if you don’t finish, it’s still a good exercise, and I recommend it.

So, in short, for participants of NaNoWriMo, the goal is to practice writing by aiming to write 50,000 words in the month of November. I hope you'll try to join! Here are some tips for first-timers (and veterans)!

1. Don’t write for long periods of time. I know that this might not make sense, but take my word for it. If you’ve been writing for an hour straight, get up and take a break. Talk on the phone. Watch TV. In the same way that studying is most effective in short bursts, writing is most effective that way as well. Not only will you hate your story if you’re forcing yourself to write for long periods, but you’ll also be producing something of lower quality. Listening to music is also recommended as it keeps you from going insane, in my experience.

2. Take breaks. This goes along with my first point, but it’s important enough to state again on its own. I like to go out and eat in the middle of my writing. I like to leave my computer and go out with a friend. I like to play video games and watch funny shows. Lately, I’ve been sketching religiously every day. Hell, I sometimes even work on homework as a break. Shocking, right?

3. Don’t hesitate to start something new. Most of my friends who participate successfully in NaNoWriMo write a compilation of short stories. You don’t have to be a novel writer to be a writer, and you don’t need to be one to participate in NaNoWriMo. Not every plot bunny in your head can be turned into a 50,000 word novel.

4. Don’t delete. Don’t edit. If you scrap a story, don’t delete it. Not only does it count for your word count, but you may also want to come back to it. You never know. And editing wastes time. Being able to proofread and edit is not a wasteful skill; it’s just very time-consuming if done properly. Don’t worry about it. Chances are, you probably won’t publish or like all of what you’ve written, and editing wouldn’t make a different in that case.

5. Network. This may seem unnecessary, but I definitely think someone to talk to about NaNoWriMo, your progress, and what you’re working on is a motivator. I talk to Miko just about every day about how my story’s moving along and how my word count is coming. Tweet updates, post blogs, go to the writer’s lounge in AF, etc. It doesn’t matter how you do it, but I think the NaNoWriMo experience is one that is much better with friends around you.

6. Stay motivated, but don’t compare yourselves to others. If you look around and notice that it’s almost the 25^th and you’ve got 1,000 words written, you’ve been doing something wrong. Try to keep up with the set daily goal. You can access this by going to the official site and looking at your word count statistics. Try to stay with the suggested amount at least, but if you’ve got the suggested amount and your friend has twice as much as you do, don’t get discouraged. Not everyone is working toward the same goal. Just do your best, and NaNoWrimo won’t go to waste.

Something to keep in mind is that your story doesn’t have to be posted anywhere. You can write about anything and everything, and if that is something you’re not comfortable sharing, don’t. Last year, I wrote a miscellaneous group of works, some of which were fan fictions which I then posted. Some were stories I scrapped in the end. One turned in a novella which I’m still working on. Don’t be hesitant to try something out of the box, because no one will ever have to see it if you don’t want them to.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask if you need more information or help!

-GenericWit

Pictures: NaNoWriMo homepage with my word count, my iTunes, and one of my sketches.

Note: Mikodragonfly had a contest going which rewarded participants, but sadly, her generosity was blatantly being abused. I hope that those participants are still participating, even without the opportunity to win a level 10 card or thousands of points.

Closing points on “Dear Licensors: Learn to Play:”

I think after hearing some feedback and doing some research, there are some unknowns which might explain why official subs are awful.

1) Are there only one or two people doing a full fansub: EX. One person to translate, and the other person to time, encode, typeset, etc. That might explain the lack of experience in everything. I'm not sure how people getting into the subbing business for official companies or what programs they use, but some of them might just *not* be trained at all.

2) What kind of a time crunch are subbers under? Instead of being paid by the hour employees who take their time, are subbers receiving commissioned pay? If that's the case, they might be rushing through to do a "passable" job so they can get paid more money. Alternatively, are they rushed through to do as many subs as possible because of the risk of getting fired?

3) Is subbing a monopoly? Well, I'd say the answer is yes. It's the same reason gas in the middle of nowhere is so much more expensive than gas in a city. People have no choice and so they buy it regardless. If that's the attitude licensors and distributors have, that might be why subs are so awful.

4) Is it possible for a company to hire an non-unionized worker to sub for them? What're the implications of hiring a fansubber? I know for a fact that there are one-man fansubbing teams who could sub better than official ones in probably less time.

In the end, I think it's how much do licensors care vs. how much do licensors NEED to care AKA how much are we willing to put up with for DVDs to still sell?

It's a rather pathetic question, but it's the way business works, I guess.

There's a new Ai No Kusabi preview posted on http://ainokusabi.jp/ . To find it, click on "special" along the bottom of the main page and then click on the bottom link on the left hand side, I believe it says "PV". It's not subtitled obviously but damn it is HOT. Enjoy!

Author's note: I don't condone or recommend illegally downloading a licensed anime. I just want to educate the curious folks here of the process of fansubbing (or a generalized version of it, anyway), and gripe about licensed anime.

I’m going to take a guess and say that every single person who is reading this has watched at least one fan subbed anime in their lifetime. A fansub is some sort of video with audio in a language different from the viewer’s native tongue, which has accompanying subtitles in a language the viewer understands. The most common form of this is anime with English subtitles. The difference between a fansub and a licensed sub is that one or more individuals not paid to translate have made the subtitles.

For example, Shinsen-subs is comprised of a team of people who fansub anime without getting paid. A fansub group is usually comprised of many people who each have specific jobs. The quality of the subtitles depends on the training and experience of the team members. Most jobs require training. I’m going to give a quick overview of how anime is subbed to English.

The first person who participates in the fan subbing process is a raw provider. A raw is basically a rip of the original anime, whether it aired on TV or was taken from a DVD. The raw is handed off to a translator who listens to the dialogue and translates from Japanese to English. The text is broken up into phrases. Usually each line is separated by a pause, the end of a sentence, or when a different character speaks. Usually, this person is more experienced with the Japanese language than the English language. That’s why there is at least one editor who takes this unrefined translation and makes it understandable and less awkward to read for the viewer. The translation checker is usually called in before or after editing to make sure that the text is as close as possible to the original meaning while still understandable to the audience.

After the script is finished, it is given to a timer. The timer’s job is to line up the text with the speech. They generally work with the audio only. Each group’s standards and guidelines for this process are different in terms of things such as fading in and out at the beginning and end of the lines. This process is eased by the fact that the lines are already split up based on dialogue. The timer doesn’t need to have knowledge of Japanese. In some group, a fine timer goes back to edit the placement of the lines.

Once the timer is done, the roughly timed episode may be handed off to yet another editor who gives it a once over. The next person to receive it from there is a typesetter. The typesetter has many jobs based on the skill of the group. First and foremost, the typesetter’s job is to style the font to something pleasant to read. As subbers are also anime watchers, they generally have a pretty good idea of what looks good and what doesn’t. The typesetters also insert signs, things which are written in Japanese in the video, so that they look like they were originally in English, and so that the audience can understand what is written.

Every time an opening or closing song is changed, or when there is an insert song, a translator may translate the song, provide the kanji and the romanji, and a k-fxer (karaoke effect subber) may come in to give the cool sing-along effect many groups like to provide.

The sub, which is close to being done at this point, is then handed off to a quality controller, someone who has a good eye for everything and usually can do all jobs, to make sure it is up to standard. The sub at this point is in two versions, the video, and the subtitle. It is sent to an encoder, who either soft or hard subs it. Then, the fansub is released.

This process, depending on the skill of the group and its members, can take anywhere from a day to a week or more.

So, here’s my question: if people are willing to do such a good job for free, why do licensed versions of anime have grossly wrong translations, bad grammar and mechanics, and highlighter yellow font? And when this happens, how dare do these money mongrels, their eyes filled with greed, tell the groups to remove their good work from their sites?

I understand that it is a good thing to support the creator of the original anime. Sales are considered when deciding whether to renew a show or not. However, they usually consider sales figures of their original Japanese DVDs. If you understand Japanese, you have absolutely no reason to download a bootlegged copy. If you don’t, and your only mode of understanding is the subs, why should you pay for horrendous subs? Because you have no other option? That’s a pathetic argument, and licensors/distributors should feel ashamed of themselves for treating their consumers like this.

The only positive aspect of this is that you can keep your fansubbed anime if you buy the licensed version.

For the sake of not being whiny, however, I have a proposed solution. Anime licensors should hire and pay fansubbers for their work. Since fansubbers do it for free/the cost of website upkeep, I have no doubt that they would work for next-to-no compensation. This would be positive in many ways. Large companies wouldn’t have to field complaints about their below-average subtitles and wouldn’t have to pay a separate translator. Also, anime fans would be pleased with quality subs, and there would be less people acquiring illegal subs of licensed anime.

I realize that there are factors I'm not considering here such as costs for contracts, how flakey some groups are, etc. However, I think this would greatly improve the relationship between consumers and the industry. So, why not at least give it a shot?

Questions? Leave a comment, and I'll get back to you.

Closing notes: I'm settled into school now, so I'm hoping to get an article out once a month now.

As many of you are anticipating the release of Maiden Rose (aka Hyakujitsu no Bara) OVA 2, we want to make sure that you have the correct release date. The DVD release date was changed to 2009/10/16. There will be no RAW available to watch prior to that date, nor any subbed version. As always, we will make sure to sub the episode ASAP.

As for the 1st DVD based on Tarako Kotobuki's Love Pistols manga is to ship this winter, according to animenewsnetwork.com.

Ai no Kusabi 2009 will be released sometime this Fall.