Main page up!

Posted: December 22nd, 2008 under Uncategorized.
Tags: 5-Rings, author, Five Rings, publish, published, style

Hum. I definitely see why people pay other people to make websites.

If you could, please visit http://5-Rings.com and let me know if it shows up correctly for you. I’ve done some testing and am fairly certain it should line up correctly no matter what browser you’re using.

Please also let me know what you think about the style and layout–I was thinking about also using that color scheme and style here at the blog.

Most of the links are dead at the moment. And the introduction paragraph might seem corny. It’s really hard to flesh out your front page when you’re an unpublished author.

Progress on Five Rings is stunted right now. I haven’t written much since that 2,000 word day; just ideas and fixes here and there to make the story more clear and realistic. You might notice the progress meter on the main page is at 20,000. I’ll concatenate my .txt files and get a correct tally soon.

I’ve also solved the non-visual technical problems on the blog. Comments are now Gravatar/Wordpress avatar compatible. And I correctly get Emails when somebody publishes a comment.

I’ve found a new job, by the way. It will be a pay increase and I should be starting sometime early January. So for now, I can just relax and enjoy the break. Having time off is much less stressful when you know you can return to a job. School will be starting up on the 20th.

« « The good news and the bad news | If you want to get something done… » »

12 Comments »

So… couple things I noticed…

1. Love the template. YES you should move the design over here. In fact, as soon as the page loaded and I glanced up, I said: “Ooooh.”

2. I use FF with a 1024 x 768 resolution and it looks fine here.

3. OMG I’M READING THE SAME BOOK AS YOU!!! Creepy… :P

Really looking good Nick. I likes. Merry Christmas(ish)!!!

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Comment by Steph No. 1 — December 23, 2008 @ 2:11 pm
cool! I’m about halfway through. What do you think of the book so far?

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Comment by Nick Enlowe — December 23, 2008 @ 6:50 pm
Funnily enough, I’m about halfway through as well (just don’t ask me how long ago I started it).

I thought it was a bit slow and annoying at first with the way it jumped from person to person, but once I got used to that (and started to figure out who was who) I think it’s amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a high fantasy novel that was so character driven before.

Actually, I could probably go on and on about how uniquely awesome this novel is, but I’ll spare you (and your blog) that.

What do you think of it so far?

[Reply]

Comment by Steph No. 1 — December 23, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
(fyi there shouldn’t be spoilers in here)

I was having trouble getting into it at first as well–how Martin loves to use the phrase ‘mother’s teets’ so often was off-putting, as well as the direwolves planted there to solve otherwise inescapable problems at the last second. But after I got a few hundred pages in, two specific characters had won my heart over: Mr. Snow and the dwarf.

I get mixed feelings reading this book. Opening it means entering a bleak winterscape; it’s not the most comforting story to snuggle with when there’s an ice storm going on outside. And all the characters are almost too purposefully morally ‘gray’, leaving the novel almost entirely character-driven to the point where it sometimes feels soap opera-ish.

But nitpicks aside, it’s painfully brilliant. ;)

[Reply]

Comment by Nick Enlowe — December 23, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
I was hooked at the point where ‘the incident’ happened to Bran. I really liked him. But other than him, I do very much like Jon Snow. And Arya. Ned’s chapters bore me to tears though — it’s all the bureaucracy combined with the flowery language that drives me crazy.

And you’re quite right about it not being a cozy fireside story though, which may be why it’s taking me so long to get through. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

Happy reading!

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Comment by Steph No. 1 — December 23, 2008 @ 8:16 pm
Yes, ‘the incident’ was probably the most amazing chapter. I also liked the dream that happened later with the crow.
Obviously, I’m quite fond of Bran :)

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Comment by Nick Enlowe — December 23, 2008 @ 8:48 pm
Hmm…

I’m being constructive here, so don’t think this is a mere critical comments, but I think you should try looking at some templates, some CSS and XHTML ones and getting a good idea of how to design a site.

It’s functional, sure, but I think you have stepped backwards in respect to your old blog layout – understood, it was a WP templates, but still.

I know a think or two myself, so I am happy to help in anyway I can ;)

[Reply]

Comment by RG Sanders — January 2, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
Apparently I cannot spell though…

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Comment by RG Sanders — January 2, 2009 @ 8:35 pm
Hm, where’d you go? :\

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Comment by Latrina — January 21, 2009 @ 9:06 pm
Maybe his brain exploded when trying to make a frickin’ style sheet work right… I know mine would.

Cir?

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Comment by RG Sanders — January 22, 2009 @ 10:38 am
Ain’t that the truth.

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Comment by Latrina — January 25, 2009 @ 7:07 pm
@RG – question: Are you talking about the layout of the main site or the blog? (Or both?) Either way, I’d love some criticism and whatever help you are willing to offer. Best way to get ahold of me is by email.

[Reply]

Comment by Nick Enlowe — January 29, 2009 @ 10:05 am