I have begun the next story. It isn’t nearly as disturbing as the last, but I realized there is actually a fair bit of grimness to it. When I first worked on it like 20 years ago, I resisted including some of the darker elements of professional sports. Now I find myself embracing them as important to the theme and character. Interesting how time changes stuff. And how most of the key story beats I knew still work. #plotting #writing
FOSS Advent Calendar - Door 12: Plotting Like a Pro with Gnuplot

"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
This quote fits perfectly for Gnuplot, a classic FOSS plotting engine that’s still alive, powerful, and incredibly useful for creating beautiful scientific and mathematical visuals directly from the command line.

Gnuplot can generate 2D and 3D plots, animate datasets, visualize functions, and export to nearly any format you might need: PNG, SVG, PDF, EPS, and more. And one of its greatest strengths?
You don’t need a whole Python stack, dozens of libraries, or virtual environments just to make a graph. Gnuplot runs instantly, scriptable, lightweight, and beautifully minimal.

Whether you’re analyzing experimental results, visualizing parametric curves, or just plotting a weird math idea you had at 2 AM (we’ve all been there), Gnuplot gets it done fast and clean.

Pro tip: try rendering a dramatic 3D surface plot or a festive math figure, like a parametric Christmas tree. Gnuplot makes it surprisingly easy to turn equations into art.

Link: https://sourceforge.net/p/gnuplot/gnuplot-main/ci/master/tree/

What’s a plot you’d LOVE to generate with Gnuplot, serious or purely nerdy?

#FOSS #OpenSource #Linux #CLI #Terminal #Gnuplot #DataViz #Plotting #3DGraphics #MathArt #NerdContent #AdventCalendar #OpenTools #FOSSAdvent #CommandLine #ScienceTools #Fediverse #TechNerds #PlottingMagic #adventkalender #adventskalender #DataVisualization #Science #Python #Research #Engineering #AcademicChatter #STEM #Tech #Physics #Chemistry #Maths #SciComm #OpenScience #Research

🎮 Random Retro Game:

Title: Plotting
Released: 1989-01-01
Platforms: Game Boy, NES
Also released on: Commodore / Amiga, Atari ST

#Plotting #GameBoy #NES #Retrogames

Plotting for Pantsers

Don’t kill your creativity. Pantsers hate outlines. They write freely, follow the characters, and let the story surprise. Without some structure, they get stuck halfway through or lose track of what the story is about.You don’t need a rigid plot map. You need a loose framework that gives you direction without boxing you in.One method that works is plot checkpoints, key moments you plan ahead.Just a few. You don’t need to know every scene. Just know where the story starts, where it’s going, and a

StoryAngles

After some wild mathematical hat rendering yesterday, kicked off by @scruss and @paulrickards, I've got John Brooks' ridiculously optimized 10 line Applesoft BASIC program running on the IIe.

(Time-lapse video; the hat takes about 9 minutes to render on the 1MHz IIe.)

The listing can be found here: https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.apple2/c/Uc4EmM3xX88

#BASIC #AppleII #AppleIIe #Applesoft #plotting #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #retrocomputers #apple2forever #CRT #CFFA3000 #video #geek #nerdy #programming #geometry #WhizKids #timelapse #ByteCellar

Typewriter Plotters: A collection of bizarre 80s and 90s printers. Pen plotters with keyboards attached, or other odd hybrids
https://biosrhythm.com/?p=2143
#via:lobsters #plotterart #typewriter #plotting #graphics #cool #art #+
» Typewriter Plotters

@paulrickards @scruss I've seen this on the Apple II as well, ofc, but I can't find the code out there. I wanted to run it on my IIe.

But I can share a little fun I had with ChatGPT and its attempt to rewrite the thing for Applesoft BASIC. This is after several iterations.

I think it got tired of all that crap and said, "BORING - I want to code some demos instead!!!" Who knew GPT was a scene fan? lol

#AppleII #demoscene #C64 #BASIC #hat #plotting #retrocomputing #ChatGPT #AI

https://www.storyangles.com/post/storyboard-your-novel-using-index-cards

Storyboard Your Novel Using Index Cards
A simple plan to bring your literary ideas to life.

#storyboarding #Storyboard #plotting #StoryAngles #writingtips #writer

Storyboard Your Novel Using Index Cards

A simple plan to bring your literary ideas to life. Storyboarding is a powerful tool for writers, allowing them to visualize and organize their thoughts, characters, and plotlines.By using index cards, writers can make this process even more manageable and efficient.Discover ways to storyboard a new novel using index cards.Gather Your MaterialsTo begin storyboarding your novel, you will need a stack of index cards, a pen or pencil, and a flat surface to work on.It is essential to have enough ind

StoryAngles

Drafting novels has become difficult of late. I used to be a happy pantser--leap in, and trust that my subconscious knew where I was going (and it did). I developed a habit of just-in-time plotting, where I'd plan out the next few chapters, have a guideline, and that kept me on track.

This worked for years, and multiple books, both original and fanfic.

#writing #drafting #plotting #plantser