h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The sale and migration of a website might have proven too disruptive for some, but h2g2 researchers are made of sterner stuff. In the face of adversity, researchers keep dreaming up new research projects. One group of researchers undertook a collaborative project entitled, What to do when things go wrong while you are traveling, soon to appear in Peer Review: A395589.

Here is a list of other new and ongoing research projects to intrigue, delight, and inspire:

1. Create is a new project which aims to promote endeavours in reading, writing, rhythm, blues, art, photography, and biscuits. Create can encourage you to greater expressions of creativity, more daring feats of research, and wilder fun. Create is going live on Monday, but you don't have to wait. Add Create as a friend now: U14992038.

2. National Novel Writing Month begins November 1: A87708739. Each year a few h2g2 researchers undertake the challenge to write 50,000 words of fiction during November, stopping only for drinking sessions at the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Researchers' Lounge: http://nanowrimo.org/en/forums/writing-groups-and-clubs/threads/2117.

Feel free to drop by the lounge and offer words of encouragement or buy the next round.

3. November is also h2g2's National Journal Posting Month. To accept h2g2's NaJoPoMo challenge, simply post in your journal every single day during the month of November. Oh, and don't forget to sign up here: A87709062.

4. Having trouble deciding between NaNoWriMo and NaJoPoMo? Do both! Post excerpts from your novel in your journal. Let a character in your novel be a prolific blogger. Or do both writing exercises, but in different months.

5. The Guide Editors invite you to visit Peer Review and offer helpful comments to fellow researchers. Be inspired to submit your own research to PR.

6. The Guide Editors also sponsor the Showcase, a collection of the best writing on h2g2. How do we know it's the best? We depend on you to tell us here: http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/A86099809

7. The Post staff and the Guide Editors have issued an Olympic challenge in honor of the 2012 London Games, A87706425. Submit your Olympic research to PR A385589 or The Post A86746053.

8. In addition to illustrating new Guide entries, the Community Artists are continuing to replace lost Getty images A86210958 and produce photos and illustrations for previously published Guide entries. A86529784

If you would like to participate in any of these creative projects, please follow the links for more information.


Tech Update
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h2g2's launch last Sunday stirred up a hitherto hidden nest of software bugs. The Technical Team has been hard at work battling bugs as they crop up. Pastey recently vanquished the dreaded Disappearing Name Beetle, and just in time for Halloween Anagram season, too.

If you find a bug, big or small, please report it right away to New h2g2 Feedback. A87706669


[Edited to remove those bizarre characters mentioned in post 10]

NaJoPoMo - NAtional JOurnal POsting MOnth? Woot woot. That's the one for me.

don't forget though: if you're doing NaNoWriMo and the journal posting thing AND you want to eventually publish your novel -

publishers won't touch anything with a bargepole that has been part (even a tiny part) or wholly published online.

(not doing either this year due to insane RL stuff )

True, and an excellent point. Many authors do have 'extras' (extra scenes and such) freely available though. And you could point to the threads off the journals to show that there's interest and appreciation for your writing/ story.

>>but h2g2 researchers are made of sterner stuff.

I'm up for NaJoPoMo

Hootooers, are you prepared for the sheer about of information you can get about Chez Zen?

Just to check, that is an actual new journal entry each day, not a new post in an existing journal, right?

Yup.

I'm absolutely up for it.

The loneliness of entering my polar sleeping bag..even though it be in a protective tunnel in November, in the middle of the night, with a torch to write some stuff, will be greatly helped.

Anyone else seeing the 
 in the first posting as an a with circonflex and a Euro sign followed by diacricticals

Yes, and I don't know how to pronounce it.

Like this: "
"

It's a sort of click and whistle I think. The dolphins are communicating with us.

I shall add something about being careful not to post the actual novel/ excerpts to the WriMo and JoPoMo pages, Sho. It really is a good point.

And clarify as per your question, Ben.

Glad you mentioned the "
" I didn't want to pint t out in the very first reply to this thread, so just ed and waited.

And Effers, you may win the metaphorical prize for the most unusual location for posting from. I look forward to that story.

So, who's going to do the double?

Not me.

I think I'm going to prefix my journal posts "Mrs Zen - NaJoPoMo" so people can avoid them easily in their conversations list! Seems the only kind thing to do.

somebody's been in to edit them out.

Someone got spoiled by the edit button on Noesis.

It looked decidedly odd. It#s what you get if you copy and paste from a word document.

I'm going to prefix my journal posts with clean simple dates eg 1/11/11 for the first one.