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I do have a lamplight fantasy (sometimes called gaslight fantasy) I've been working on for years. I pulled it down some time ago but might repost. I'm a little too pragmatic for most of the typical fantasy. But I find lamplight fantasy has enough "real world" in it. It's hard to find much lamplight fantasy on the bookshelves. Good luck with your writing.

Alan

Just my opinion, but FWIW ...

I believe many folks do not post, except on isolated instances, for a couple of reasons. First, so many posts get sidetracked from the OP's question/comment that the post becomes unrecognizable  to its original intent. There's always a certain amount of drifting on almost all posts, but recently (the past year or so)  they seem to drift further and further into very loosely-related or non-related tangents.

Second, and the primary reason I don't post a lot, is no matter what you say, there's always someone who can't wait to tell you how stupid you are for saying whatever you said or whatever you asked. Polite disagreement is an endangered species. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a person disagreeing with you or having a different opinion. It's the manner in which they express it. A person with a different opinion than mine is welcome to tell me all day why - just do it with a little bit of courtesy and offer some reasonable suggestions for improvement. An intelligent and courteous defense of their position opposite mine is a strong tool to possibly make me reconsider my position. Maybe I'll change my opinion, maybe I won't. But I will listen.

However when you have nothing to say but "You're an idiot for thinking that way", "Maybe that works at the fifth grade level, but ...", "Maybe writing isn't your best option in life", "You need to throw this crap away and trying something different" etc. Why not simply say, "Well, I've found a few issues here that are important. Here are the problems I noticed and  I have a few suggestions that might help" - then offer those suggestions without first demeaning the person. Also, I give little attention to those who are rude, can't wait to criticize others but refuse to post any of their own work for review..

I've spoken with three other members here in private, and they all feel very similar about it. It's not a matter of thin skin or not being open to criticism. It's matter of simple courtesy and respect for your fellow writers.

Congratulations

Congrats to all! Good writing is not easy - those who excel at it deserve their well-earned recognition.

No chip on my shoulder - I just don't tolerate rudeness well.

My last comment on the issue.

Dallas,

RE:  My misspelling of "contest". I have focal dystonia in my hands - makes typing as close to impossible as can be. It makes my fingers curl into tight claws when I attempt to use them. Look it up if you'd care to. I typically have 60 - 70 typos per book page in my novels, which I go back and manually correct - often takes as long as two hours to do so - that's per page, not per chapter. In my novels, I make the effort to correct the errors. In my reviews and forum posts, I don't. If you would read my profile, you'd see where I mentioned this. I put many, many hours into cleaning up my novel pages because that's what's needed and expected.

It doesn't reflect particularly well on you to make light of folks who work very hard to produce what many think is good work in spite of those obstacles. I have a good sense of humor, but I don't use it to belittle others. Plus, I have a 72- year-old significantly disabled wife to care for. I don't have time to go back and correct everything other than the novels. Most of the regulars here know that. It's not a matter of "poor me - they're picking on me". It's a matter of simple respect and courtesy to a fellow person. Know before you speak.

Here's a definition of Focal Dystonia relating to the hands:  Focal dystonia is a neurological condition, a type of dystonia, that affects a muscle or group of muscles in a specific part of the body, causing involuntary muscular contractions and abnormal postures. For example, in focal hand dystonia, the fingers either curl into the palm or extend outward without control.

Alan

FYI:  It took me 28 minutes to correct the typos in this short message.

Thanks!

Sounds great, JP. I'll have to check it out this evening. Thanks for the post!

Alan

Bill,

That would be quite a task - going back to insert the "missing' commas. I find the serial/Oxford commas distracting, but it seems that's the accepted direction these days. And, like you, I use commas, as needed, to imply a pause in the passage. Best to you, sir.

Alan

Dirk,

Your point is well taken. However, the way you presented it, the waiter was verbally telling the customer his entree options, rather than the customer reading them from a menu. In conversation, I can easily see where there would be easy confusion.

But in printed text, as on a menu, if the steak and fried chicken were grouped together as a single entree item, there would have been an "and" preceding the word "steak", such that it would read " ... lobster, salmon, hamburger, and steak and chicken." Discounting a typo in the printing, written/printed as such, I think rather it's obvious the steak and chicken are a combined, single entree item.

if you see a fault in my logic, please let me know. Although I am not totally adverse to using a serial comma, I prefer not to. And I am willing to accept a convincing argument that disproves my logic. God knows I'm wrong on a lot of things - just ask my wife!

Anyway, I'll be curious to see what others think. I appreciate your input very much. Thanks!

Dirk,

I've never been a big fan of supernatural; but when you start posting again, I'll check it out. Going back to the link I provided in my earlier post, the article, as you note, is more oriented to bloggers/non-fiction authors, but there's a lot there for novelists to consider as well.

You have some excellent folks helping you tidy up Galaxy Tales - good choices and great of them to help! Best to you,

Alan

Hi Dirk,

I try to avoid them when I can. Following is my take on the short scenario you offered:

Joseph terminated the feed. “They’re insane! They just put the fate of humanity solely in the hands of Emperor Bastardus!” Joseph's words had barely left his mouth when an explosion rocked the prison. Everyone ran from their cells and looked for the source as a siren began to wail.

I also replaced "out of" with "from". I think it's more concise.

My opinion, for what it it's worth. Hope it helps at least a little bit. Good luck with your story!

Alan

PS:  Also, if you're interested, here's a pretty good article referencing transitional phrases. I use it when my own thought process fails me. You'll notice that of the many transitional examples they suggest/recommend, "just then" is not one of them:

https://smartblogger.com/transitional-phrases/