Lessons...
“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.” ― Gilda Rander
What a wonderful insight for how life works.
That would be so wonderful if you are able to do that. My mind started churning through everything that would be needed to get accredited and I have a good feeling you have some of those pieces in place already. Such as licensed writing instructors.
I'm looking forward to the day I can sign up for that course.
Janet Taylor-Perry wrote:That is one reason I don't read other reviews of a piece until I finish mine. I don't want to be influenced. But when 12 people do point out something (IF they haven't read each other's comments beforehand) then it is a point to look at closely. The hard ones are when 6 say YEA and 6 say NAY.
Right, Janet. If you read other reviews first, you tend to see only what other reviewers have pointed out. It's important to give your own fresh opinion.
This is so true. This is why I never read someone else's review before I do my own. In some cases I'm even reviewing a second or third draft, so those prior reviews are most likely irrelevant now, accept for what a review pointed out that they liked about the piece. So after I'm done, I'll skim through those types of comments to see what others liked about it.
Yes it sounds very familiar, Sol. Hmmm ... it makes me wonder if we should all get honorary M.F.A.s after we complete a year on tNBW, maybe even less then a year. I learned so much when I was on here from June 2006 to when I started my hiatus 2010 or 2011. And now I'm learning even more with the great changes you made to the site.
For me this list goes like this:
Jesus and God - I truly look forward to the day I can fully bask in their presence.
Moses - I have a ton of questions I'd like to talk to him about.
David - As a writer he is an inspiration to me.
This is my short list and the people I'd like to meet first when I get to heaven, but as you can imagine this is only a small handful of the people I'd like to meet. The other thing I look forward to is being reunited to my beloved pets and family members that have gone there before me.
For me the Dalai Lama and the newest Pope are high on my list of people I'd love to spend even just a few precious moments with, talking to them about their connections with God.
So who would you like to meet someday and have a conversation with.
Humanity...
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” ― Dalai Lama
How many of you would like to visit the Dalai Lama some day? I know I would love to do that.
Instead of having what our connections are reading and have published at the bottom why don't you highlight new member's writing? Or at least tag the first posting with new writer and give extra points for the first three reviews. Remove them from list as soon as they get three reviews. Also have a buttom at the end the way you do on the other lists we could click to see more new writers.
Great ideas! - Side note - I would love a like button for the forums so I/others can like the posts we really like. 
Hi Wren - I'm not 100% certain, but she might be thinking in terms of if you have your formatting in single-spaced rather than double-spaced, because if I were to switch the spacing I have for my novel to single-spaced what I posted for my 2nd chapter of my novel, would be about 5 to 6 pages in length.
Edit: I applied single-spacing to what I posted for chapter 2 and it's exactly 5 word-processer pages.
And that would be automatic filters for different types of works. Basically links for novels, poems, articles, connections, etc. that would take you to a page filled from top to bottom with the newest works each category has to offer.
This already exists. The orange buttons under each category on the homepage do this.
LOL!! If it was a puppy it would have bitten me on the nose already for not noticing him/her.
Okay, can we change the position of those buttons to the top of each category?
Thanks! I guess you must have missed when I had done my unblocks. It had been bothering me, because I don't want to block anyone. However, one person did end up causing me to re-block them, because I didn't want to deal with the negativity.
But with you I feel we have the ability to talk and discuss things. Even if the exchange might get a bit heated, which I would hope that it wouldn't, I feel we are both mature enough to see each other's side of whatever issue, topic or subject we might be discussing at any given time. 
Karen
Sol, it could also be worthwhile to rather give new members extra points say for their first 5 reviews of other writers as opposed to everyone on the site including members who has more recip reviews to get to than time and some may not even need the extra points (slow writers like me for example :-) ). I truly believe that part of the problem could be new members not doing reviews for whatever reasons such as being new to this etc. and expecting reviews without actively "looking" and trying to get something going? And something like this may nudge them in the "better/right" direction before they simply give up and leave?
Janet, this is a great idea! It would be a nice gentle nudge in the right direction for a new members.
Vern, I fully get where you are coming from. If Sol considers this idea I just have one tweak to add to it. And that would be automatic filters for different types of works. Basically links for novels, poems, articles, connections, etc. that would take you to a page filled from top to bottom with the newest works each category has to offer.
JP, I feel we started off on the wrong foot with one another. And I really want to read and review a couple of your stories that you are working on. Just because I want to and not because I want a reciprocal review from you. In fact, I have some great readers and reviewers helping me whip my novel into shape, so I'm perfectly fine if you don't read and review my novel.
So please unblock me.
Karen
I just purchased his newest novel, plus a copy of Static Mayhem. I can't remember If I had reviewed it when I was a member on the old site, but I look forward to reading it.
It's like going to a party. You know you're dressed right, and you took a bath and brushed your teeth, but nobody talks to you. You could go around and introduce yourself and strike up a conversation with everybody, but it makes things so much nicer when the hosts welcome you and get you started.
This is so true. You don't want to be the wall flower and just hang around the outskirts of the party. But if you are in anyway unsure of yourself that is what will happen.
I remember in the search engine in the old site you could search by new members that had less than three reviews on their submitted writing. I haven't tried out the search feature on the new version of the site, but is it still capable of doing that? Since I finished writing the first draft of my novel on Friday I can now focus on doing more reviews as I dig into the editing and revising of my novel and I want to help new members feel welcome and start to feel like their apart of this wonderful community of writers.
Courage...
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.” ― Anais Nin
The beauty of being a writer is that we are courageous. First by sitting down and facing a blank white screen (maybe it has lines on it) and filling it with our thoughts, takes courage. Then by sharing what we wrote with others, takes courage. Finally by publishing our stories for the entire world to read, takes courage. So you are courageous my friends.
That's how I look at series also. I have now finished writing this novel and I feel I did a good job completing a few of the main story arcs of this novel, but left plenty of things still not fully resolved or elements that people might think as they read this novel, but I want to know more about this. Or what about that. The thing is I'm to create worlds so rich and vibrant that people will want to keep reading about it as I develop more story lines to go along with the worlds I created. Think of Star Trek and Star Wars. In that way I can finish a major story arc that encompasses a certain number of novels, but still go back to those worlds and write new story lines about those worlds.
Thanks Anita, I'm glad you like the revision I did with those two sentences. I hope to have the next installment posted by Wednesday at the latest. Since I plan on reading your assignment tonight. Do some revisions to chapter two from that assignment plus from a recent review and discussion I had with my main reviewer of my novel.
Now that I've finished writing this novel this past Friday. Yep 2 & 1/2 chapters plus a short Epilogue flowed out of me Friday morning. It was a awesome experience. In fact I'm still 'Happy Dancing' because of it. I also cried as I wrote both the main ending and Epilogue portions of the novel. I'm hoping that means there good and not that they are bad.
One more thing - There are four major characters of this novel. After you've read this second chapter you will have been introduced to three of them. The fourth doesn't get introduced until about a quarter of the way into the novel. Plus a nice hand-full of supporting main characters and another hand-full of minor characters. So what I would like to know is if you get a good idea who and what those major characters are after reading chapter two.
Grrrr....sometimes I write too fast for my own good so I mistype the words I meant to type.
Those a pretty good. But they must have missed the defiantly for definitely, using bring when it should be take, the lay/lie death thing, and your/you're idiocy.
I defiantly say that I will definitely lay to rest the lie that I was laying down by your side because you're my friend. While I was taking a nap after bringing up how to use these words properly.
Okay that was the best I could with all that Janet brought up that people will use wrong in a sentence. - I do feel word check is partly to blame for some of these bad word choice incidences, because if the words spelled correctly it doesn't look to see if the word doesn't work in the sentence you wrote. Like diner versus dinner etc.
Okay - I reworked it a bit and combined that sentence with the next one:
Feeling her protective instincts for Jean kick in, even though Delana wasn’t that much older than her, she knew she’d have to act quickly to keep the other team members from noticing Jean’s reaction.
I also revised this section today:
“Hello, Dad,” Delana said when her dad appeared on the computer screen in front of her. His steel-blue eyes glimmered as he smiled at her. She noted that his black hair had a few more silverish-white hairs in it and looked a bit rumbled. “Did I wake you?”
“No, I had just gotten up when your call came in, how’s the research going?”
“Good. My research is what I called to talk to you about.”
“Is anything wrong?”
“Yes, something’s very wrong. There’s ice forming around the buoys in the Indonesian Sea.”
“Did I hear you correctly? Did you say ice?”
“Yes. What kind of data has NASA been getting from the sun?”
“That’s not looking good either. It continues to show signs of dimming and giving off less energy.”
“I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but…”
“I know it’s hard not to do that.” He shifted a little in the office chair he sat on. “There’s a mission coming up that I think would be great if you were a part of it.”
Here's how I reworked after Wren's helpful suggestion:
"We’re decent," called out a male voice.
“Is everyone here?” Delana asked as she stepped into their main living area connected to their separate berths.
“Yeah we’re all here,” Jean ran her fingers through her mid-length blond hair that was still slightly damp from her morning shower. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, this early in the morning?”
“Bad news, I’m afraid. Bill said we’re heading into a storm. We have less than an hour to secure the lab equipment. So let’s get busy.”
The jovial expression in Jean’s blue eyes disappeared making her appear younger than her twenty-six years. Feeling her protective instincts for Jean kick in, even though Delana wasn’t that much older than her. She didn't want the other team members to notice Jean’s fear of storms, Delana motioned for the team to follow her into the lab.
FYI - I changed the name of the EO to Bill because the President's first name is Richard so I felt it prudent that I change this minor characters name.
The most recent book I had read that I loved from start to finish was a book I purchased several years ago on a Thursday at the McCarran Airport. My now husband and I we're coming home from Las Vegas on a charter and had been informed we were being delayed for several hours. So I went to the newsstand and purchased Nora Robert's Angels Fall. I basically devoured this book, because it's that good. In fact I was nearly half-way done with it by the time we finally got on the plane back to Minnesota. I think I finished it that weekend - if not that Friday after I finished my long nap. From the opening scene where the main character is having car trouble as she nears the small town of Angel's Fist to Nora's recipes for Chicken Pot Pie, Flank Steak, Baked White Fish, Scalloped potatoes and Bread Pudding at the back of the novel is a delightful mystery / romance that kept me guessing and flipping the page. If you've never read one of Nora Roberts novels I highly suggest picking one up, because you won't be disappointed.
Her descriptive prose immerses the reader in the stories she writes. I can also tell she has a deep love for storytelling because it comes through on each well-crafted page.
In fact I aspire to create stories as well as she has.
I have discovered from my previous experience on tNBW that discussing a project helps in both working out issues in a story and to help find ways to fix those problems. And to open up new possibilities a writer might not have considered when they sat down to write their novel. I am very open to these types of discussions. So I'm going to open up the floor - so to speak - to an open discussion about the start of my novel. From this first chapter to the next thirty pages of my novel.
So far from the reviews I have gotten from this group I have started working on weaving more description into this chapter - starting with Jean, because she was the one my sister pointed out to me that she wanted to know better. So I've been thinking about her for a while now.
Here's how I revised how her first scene of the chapter:
"We’re decent," called out a male voice.
“Is everyone here?” Delana asked as she stepped into their main living area connected to their separate berths.
“Yeah we’re all here,” Jean a young lady in her late-twenties said. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, this early in the morning?” She ran her fingers through her mid-length blond hair that was still slightly damp from her morning shower.
“Bad news, I’m afraid. Richard said we’re heading into a storm. We have less than an hour to secure the lab equipment. So let’s get busy.” Delana saw the jovial expression in Jean’s blue eyes disappear. Not wanting to draw attention to Jean’s fear of storms, Delana motioned for the team to follow her into the lab.
****
As I continue to revise this chapter with added descriptions I will post those changes here.
Karen
