476

(37 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

j p lundstrom wrote:

You want to discuss writing?  I intend to be courteous and helpful, but I really think someone needs to teach the principles of writing somewhere on the site.  I have just spent an evening trying to find something to read.  The short stories aren't stories--mostly they're editorial opinions, and that's not to say that editorials are bad, it's just that I like to read stories.  How can I be polite and helpful when I can't tell what the author is trying to say?  Okay, that's round one.  Would somebody like to start a group or forum called Writing 101?
P.S. And yes, there were threads on the old site forums that offered instruction--I learned some things there.

Jp if you are looking for a really good short story to read I recommend Sycamore Flynn's The Howling Of The Banshee.

I also vote for a Recommended Work forum thread. dags:)

477

(342 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I don't know if this is a site bug, but one of the authors I reviewed from the free group told me they couldn't read or respond to an in-line review.

jack the knife wrote:

Ah, Cobber's icon has now been replaced with Sol's smiling visage. Hmm. Did I stumble upon a secret and now must be eliminated before the TNBW world can go beserk?

I think I over heard cobber talking to Luke about you...fortunately Luke turned him down... wink

479

(9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Merry Christmas everyone I have glad tidings of great joy to share with the TNBW family, something I've hoped for has come true. After a hectic month of will they or won't they, of being on pins and needles I am pleased to announce:

You don't have to go to a theater to see The Interview, or wait a second longer to watch the stoner comedy that brought democrats and republicans together. Soni is streaming it online, just go to seetheinterview.com to rent it for forty-eight hours. It's only six bucks and you'll be putting a middle finger right in the middle of Kim Jung Un's fat face.

See ya at the movies! dags:)

480

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

John Byram wrote:
Seabrass wrote:

Change the version number.

How does the version number differ from the draft number?

I did that last night and it didn't show in my groups so I  made a whole new version and post it instead and I have two versions of the same essay. What am I doing wrong? sad

I think you did an excellent job here, Sol. All the trouble I had was because I didn't understand how the site worked. Thank you so much for all your hard work it was worth the wait. dags smile

maxkeanu wrote:

I published the most profound avant-garde science fiction novel in the history of the Internet (PRUNELLA) through an Indian publisher in serial installments. Even though I never finished it (illness), a year later I found it being hocked on sites from evil terrorist lands to used car dealerships in Canada.

One note: I now understand it was just too avant-garde for the likes of tNBW (har-har). I also realize that dagnee, my only steadfast reviewer for this comic masterpiece, is a true genius!

I am a true genius...who knew? I remember Prunella...and her killer vagina....glad to see you, Max...  big_smile

j p lundstrom wrote:

Don't let those three old ladies fool you!  We were all smoking pot back in the day!  You couldn't go to a party without being smoked out of the place, and anyone who said they didn't inhale would have had to be dead!  Of course, I'm not speaking from personal experience.  JP

dagnee wrote:

Okay, this has nothing to do thrillers unless you think getting three grand mothers high is akin to one of Stephan King's novels...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/1 … 88430.html
It might not be thrilling but it is the funniest thing you'll see all day....

big_smile

Well...it's no secret that if I lived in Colorado I'd be one of the biggest sixty-year-old potheads in the state. Eight years ago when I was in Wisconsin, and got days off, I stayed baked until it was time to work again. I've tried alcohol, gone to the doctor for antidepressants, and nothing comes close to mellowing me out like some good gunja. Now that I don't get that much time off, I dream of a retirement in Colorado or the Pacific northwest.

big_smile
Here's another link to the funniest thing you'll see today: https://gma.yahoo.com/seth-rogen-james- … ities.html
But it's not the interview, it's the closed captioning. Put CC on and tell me if you were deaf would you know what the hell they were talking about???

John Sandford's Gathering Prey is due out in March!!! I can not wait!

SolN wrote:

Emails are going out sporadically for in-line reviews. They are not going out for regular reviews or if a connection posts content.

We have been working to upgrade the email system and you will start to see changes next week. Thanks for your patience.
Sol

I was just wondering about this, thanks, Sol. I really miss those contact notifications. smile

486

(217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Wilma Bailey wrote:

This is not a bug, but it bugs me. I don't know how to open a new topic on this forum, so I'll just add my concern to "Site bugs." When someone posts a large number of new posts in one or two days (12 for example) the "New posts from your groups" listing is filled with that person's posts, and one must go forward quite a way to see additional posts to find something by another author. Does this bother anyone else? The posts remain at the top of the list until those of us who are less prolific post our work. Currently, this is in the Poems and Short Stories sections -- three on December 9, and nine on December 10. The only solution I see would be to impose a limit to the number of new posts in a day, but that seems overly controlling.

Is it possible to put a drop down menu on an author posting many things at once? And maybe a message over the name: Author has multipliable posts...just a thought. smile

487

(217 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

This isn't a bug, but it bugs me and probably no one else. So if it's a big deal to fix or you don't think it's a big deal, I'll adapt. On the site the date is displayed yyyy mm dd. I am used to mm dd yyyy and when I see a date on reviews instead of catching it at a glance I have to stop and figure out what the date actually is.

Like I said if this doesn't bother anyone else and it's a big deal to fix, OR if I could fix it myself...please let me know. I'm easy. smile

488

(10 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

SolN wrote:

We released several changes to the site today based on your feedback.


The first is a prominent change to how the homepage now displays new content to review. The feedback we received on the homepage was that the images were way too big and you liked the way the old site listed new writing by type. So, we have done that. It still needs a bit of work, but this is the general idea. If it looks terrible, you may need to clear the cache on your device. To do this on a non-Mac computer or laptop, press the ctrl and F5 keys simultaneously. On Macs or iPads, etc. you should just have to refresh the page. I'm still working on the correct combination for Android devices.

The second change is that we made some tweaks to the replay boxes on in-line and regular reviews to hopefully resolve issues iPad users have been having.  Let us know if leaving comments is any better.

Lastly, we modified the code a bit so that your points totals on the homepage are updated across devices.


Thanks.
Sol

I just checked my home page and I really like the size of the covers, it allows more views per page. Thank you sooooooo much! dags smile

489

(6 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I am interested.

amy s wrote:

What do you think about a themed writing moment for the group?  I find that suggestions like that bring out a creative side.  They make me think outside the box. 

Would anyone be interested?  We could start the story with the same line and see what happens.  We could also make it so that we are writing our first memory, a story about a pivotal person in our lives (from their POV), or a giving personality to an inanimate object in our house. 

Weigh in, people!

A

Amy, I'm sorry I didn't see this sooner. I think that's a great idea, all though I would add a word count to it.
Once I read a short story written for a contest. The object was to write a five hundred word story about a black and white picture of a set of keys on asphalt. Perhaps we could have one photo or a group to pick from, then write a short piece about the picture. 500 words would be the maximum limit and I would set the minimum limit at two hundred.

When I was beginning to write in earnest, I was living with a patient who had beautiful water colors, and was drawn to one in particular. Painted by a Japanese artist on rice paper, it's subject a man with an umbrella walking in a snowy wood. As I gazed at it, I made up a story about a man walking through an apple orchard in the rain, carrying a bag of apples and an umbrella. It was a breeze to write and I had so much fun, I thought about doing a whole book of short stories based on paintings. Maybe after we do this exercise enough we'll have enough stories for an anthology.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on it. I really like writing from someone's suggestion, it's instant inspiration...dags smile

491

(13 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

SolN wrote:

...I assume we still have a 5000 word limit here.

FYI - there is no longer a word limit.

Thanks Sol...that's good to know!

492

(13 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Tom Oldman wrote:

On several other writing sites I have seen chapters that seem to go on forever.  Not so much poetry, which tends to be a lot shorter, but novels and even "short" stories.  I try to keep my chapters mostly from 1000 to 2000 words and short stories from 1500 to 2500 words.  Is that excessive, or about right?  I don't want to start off here on the wrong foot.

Tom

Tom I limit my chapters to 2500, too. A lot of people on the site do that, but I don't think it's a rule, and I assume we still have a 5000 word limit here.
dags smile

I will have to try Crais and since I like introspection too, I'll have to get The Last Coyote. I agree about James Patterson, but I did read his last one Invisable which had a great plot but really weak characterization.

maxkeanu wrote:

I DIED A FEW MONTHS BACK... from, can you believe this: constipation. Combine that with low blood pressure at the bottom of the body, and high blood pressure at the top; then I stood up. BAM! I went to the death and falling place. In the ambulance the blood pressure was 50/30. In the ER room they were confounded and unable to rouse me. I was going down for good. And I knew it! A major enema and 23 hours later, I came back.

When falling earlier, I hallucinated the mother of all horror movies. First person present seeing a film of ... I can't explain it!... 10000 words might try to explain it.  I think I saw into an exploding vagus nerve... somehow.

Now I fear constipation as much as I fear guns. You think I kidding, but I am consuming fiber with 100 fl oz of water to fight off this monster daily. I pop stool softeners like candy and I drink super espresso in the a.m. like an Italian.

I'm warming up for writing a horror story using this topic.  It is so unusual ( and real, Anatomic Hyperreflexia)... ooops, gotta go, I really got to go...

I can relate to your fear of constipation. I had a patient who suffered a blockage that resulted in surgery. From that moment on, they were terrified if they didn't have one BM a day.
Then I had a patient, which I think suffered in a lesser degree from Anatomic Hyperreflexia, if they sat a certain way on the commode they did exactly what you described. I called 911 thinking my patient was dying. By the time EMTs got there my patient had recovered.
I am so sorry you're going through this but I do admire you working through it by channeling your angst into a work of fiction. At any rate TNBW has your back, Max. We're all hoping and in my case, praying, that you'll just keep getting better and better! smile

Max wrote: The fear of actual deterioration of the physical body and death are profound subjects in literature: Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, the" 72 Virgins" thing in Islam, ghosts turning the screws, etc. I have to admit that writing fiction dealing with the termination of life is in some way macabre to me. The mystery of death and existence has puzzled all philosophers and soothsayers and holy men and lawyers for... well, forever.

While you see those works of fiction as fear of the deterioration of the body, I see them as 'life after death' wishes. Frankenstein, Dracula and the Mummy are all characters who were dead and came back to life. But they all could be stopped, they all could be killed again.

Then there's the character who will not die: the first time I saw 'Halloween', it terrified me. Michael Myers would not die. Just when you think Jamie Lee Curtis finished him off...she looks at the ground where Michael should be lying dead, to find...nothing. AND THAT'S WHERE THE MOVIE ENDED. It still gives me the shivers. 

There's the undead and the never-dead, both of which symbolizes our desire to evade death.

smile

496

(8 replies, posted in Thriller/Mystery/Suspense)

jack the knife wrote:

Yes! That's where I got the idea! Loved that book. "You got flies in your eyes, Yossarian."

I think I remember you telling me that...HEY...did you buy Sam's Piano? https://www.yahoo.com/movies/casablanca … 30542.html

In the comments down at the bottom a young jerk said he'd rather buy a new piano he could play. I told him the guy who bought it didn't buy a piano...he bought MEMORIES...catch you later...:)
PS Bear went to the door to be let out to potty for the first time today! big_smile

497

(8 replies, posted in Thriller/Mystery/Suspense)

jack the knife wrote:

In "The Sincerest Form of Flattery" I had an FBI agent named Henry ("call me Hank") Henry. Yeah, it can be fun fooling around with names. The James Bond girls' handles, of course, were often tongue-in-cheek double entendres.

Remember Catch Twenty-Two's Major Major?

498

(8 replies, posted in Thriller/Mystery/Suspense)

In Sandford's Virgil Flowers series Virgil has a friend named Johnson Johnson...having fun with peoples names is pretty common...remember Pussy Galore?

SolN wrote:

This is version 1 of the in-line review system. Rome wasn't built in a day and many of the features you see now will be built out further in the coming months. We didn't want to delay the site indefinitely as it already took too long to roll out. Thanks for your feedback.

So...I'm guessing the thumbs up isn't important.

I just want to know about the thumbs up voting...what are the votes for where do the go and who gets them and can we redeem them for money...AND did you know that an reviewer can vote for himself, giving himself a thumbs up...is that legal?

If this is not important let me know and the money thing was a joke reviewer voting for himself no joke....:)