Amy, are you already drinking the "prize money" from the Cop Shop short story contest?! I'll get to the rest of the review if not tonight, tomorrow lunchtime ... 
Congrats by the way! And I see you have a few worthy contenders for the title, including our own Medieval champ Adrian!
Good luck to both of you!
Janet, that is one hell of a fight- and one of the woman is pregnant too! Yes, at it stands now, it would seem to be a simple case of two women fighting over a guy. So if you make it more than just a fight as the story developed, it's good writing IMO - make readers think one thing, but missing what it really is about in the process!
I haven't heard of any other kind of catfight- all of them seem to be over one guy or another. Sigh. Not classy ever. And although it's (relatively) more acceptable for guys to fight, it's still stupid IMO.
Me either (as you saw via Facebook). Eh, I'd hate it if I was 25 again. Still had a lot of rough edges in my life back then.
My point exactly! You better get going and finish Dictates! LOL
I think we agree dags, this was my reply on another forum - I did mention in my review that I have never read of a catfight before and the question was asked in the reply from the author:
It's a much better look if a woman defends herself instead of being the one that starts the (physical) fight. IMO, the majority of female readers will not be impressed if the FMC resorts to violence (unless she has NO other choice), because we don't think it's classy for women to get physical with other women (it does happen in real life, but no one ever read a romance novel to be reminded of reality and frankly, there is nothing even remotely romantic about two women hitting and punching each other). In other words, women tend to sort out their differences verbally (well, not really, we know that for most women never forget
) and something like this might have your (majority) female readers question whether the FMC is really worthy of their admiration whereas the male readers will probably cheer her/them on.
I have never ever read a book where two women had a go at each other, in any novel, not only romance novels. I'm sure they exist, but only a few at most? And I'd be pretty confident that there would be even fewer in the romance genre (next to nothing if they do exist). This is probably an excellent question for the Romance Group.
The reason why I didn't come out straight and suggested to remove the scene as a whole, was for a very good reason (IMO) - if the antagonist starts the fight, and the protagonist who is capable of defending herself, do just that, it's a certain/very effective way to have readers dislike (hate) the antagonist even more (not that it's possible, she's been a really horrible - in other words, a really good - antagonist so far!).
Agree, this is a great place and it was a great post too John - my comment is awaiting moderation or moderating!
And all the best Max, I share John's view and hope the treatment works wonder for you - it's good to have you and your quirky sense of humour back!
Janet R - I don't write science fiction, though I may try my hand at it someday. There's a lot of overlap, though, between science fiction and fantasy; maybe not in subject matter, but in approaches to world building & story telling. And of course, the audience. Many readers of sci fi are also avid readers of fantasy.
The Campbell Conference, which is the one I went to, is hosted every year by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. They are very much focused on science fiction, but they welcome fantasy types as well. It's a small conference; pretty much everyone who attends is an author or teacher/professor or both. It's a lot of fun, especially because it's so small, and everyone is very friendly. The conference includes a mass autograph session at the KU book store that is well attended; I even managed to sell a few books, which was nice.
Truth is, I don't read a whole lot of science fiction, but Kage Baker's "In the Garden of Iden" might qualify as science fiction-romance crossover. With a heavy dose of historical fiction as well. Actually, having had a look at your work, I think you might like it.
Well, that makes a lot of sense - and explains why I also find it harder to review fantasy compared to crime/action/romance - it's still heaps easier than sci-fi IMO! And it looks like the conference has been a success on many levels too! whoo-hoo!
I've made a note of Kage's book - will be checked out one day. *sigh, work so interferes with my reading and writing!*
Glad to have you back, Janet.
My editor is looking at my adult fantasy (which is full of romance) and I'm trying to get Whatever It Takes ready for print in September. I've sent several cover options out via email. Have you looked at them?
Thanks Janet!
I have replied to your emails ... let me know if you haven't received any emails, and I will resend it again!
Hi everyone
Interesting question based on a review I've done this week where a romance novel contains a chapter where the female protagonist and the female antagonist got busy and resorted to a physical fight throwing punches (I guess I should've suggested including scratching and pulling hair should also be included).
I have never read a novel, any novel, not only romance novels, where this has ever happened.
Has anyone around here seen it before?
And what do you think, good idea or bad idea for a romance novel? Or does it depend, i.e. if the female protagonist doesn't have any alternative but to defend herself (and she can, she's a part-time boxer), will it be (more) acceptable?
NJC,
I'm going to do at least one big rewrite. Got to do a chapter of dictates first. Been slacking too long
Good ideas!
*drums fingers on desk* I'm not getting any younger .... *and then frowns*
Janet, I rewrote and reordered Mousetrap. Much better now. Thanks for your suggestions!
Had a quick look - you added a few nice touches to it and it does flow smoothly too. I'm relieved about the last one especially, I sometimes worry that I make things worse despite my best intentions! But yes, this version is much better.
And the first version was already really good - you don't make it easy on us, your slaves, sorry, reviewers!
Thanks Karin! So far so good - although I still can't get myself to update my FB and TNBW locations ... How silly is that?!
Science fiction? Does this mean you're going to venture into new genres or have you already written some SF? I have to say, SF and Romance feel like complete opposites to me. I find SF really hard to review and the few brave SF writers who returned the favour (I have no idea how that happened) had to read most of my chapters several times to make any sense of it - but they made really good suggestions despite their "handicap"!
Writer, flamenco dancer ... What's next, astronaut?! But that is really cool - I don't know anyone who dances, let alone flamenco! Do you get to dress up sometimes?
I have to read this one again, but so far I like K's suggestions (but please don't tell him, he's bad enough as it is! hehehe)
It's a bit belated, but please feel free to add to this thread what you consider to be great about the new site. I have seen some scattered messages around, but if we can have several threads dedicated to whining, sorry, suggesting improvements, we should also have a dedicated thread to let Sol and the team know what have achieved with the new site and that we do appreciate all the hard work happening in the background.
Personally, one of the best improvements is having the chapter I'm reviewing next to the regular review box and I don't have a lot of up and down scrolling to do any more. And I appreciate Sol's willingness to take our suggestions to heart and for listening.
Second, I'm thinking that this forum is pretty much like the old one. Different threads, each with a long list of responses. Since this is the main forum, I'd be looking in here for general writing tips, general marketing tips, general whatever, and the like. If I'm looking for something YA specific, I may look in here or I may look in one of the YA groups. (I hear there are some reallllyyyy good writers in there) And the same with thrillers or sci-fi, which I sometimes like to read, but can in no way write.MzP
*jumps on apple crate now that MrsPiddles made some room*
I don't think it's fair or accurate to imply that if anyone makes a suggestion to improve the new site, he/she has an issue with adapting to change or is unwilling to adapt to change. Sol has listened to a variety of suggestions to improve, for example, the in-line review format, with spectacular results. I mean, if njc is accepting in-line reviews, that's huge, isn't it?!
And what you're talking about is exactly what we're talking about - use the Premium Group as the main forum. But with a few changes: categorize posts so that we can find older topics of interest easier and making it easier to find the "trending" topics.
Here's a fun exercise: try and find all the writing tips topics in this forum as it is now. To do so, a person has to go through all 12 pages of threads. The fun bit is, try not to miss the specific thread from months ago you're looking for. Now repeat this exercise, but imagine it's 1200 pages instead of 12 ...
But we have a writing tips group I hear you say. It's not the point, but to answer that one - several topics of all kinds of things are all over the place, here in Premium, over there in another group I asked the question because I haven't realised we have a writing tip group as well as in the writing tips group by someone else and each thread has different contributors and therefore different answers and ... I give up to try and figure out where the hell the thread is I'm looking for and just post it again and hope Susie who gave me the best answer or someone else will be able to answer it again. It may work. It may not work. And not only have I just wasted how much time looking for something I didn't find, now I'm also wasting the time of others to answer a question that has already been answered ...
And I think it's time to start a thread to let Sol know what is just simply awesome with the new site, because yes, it may seem that all we do is whining about the thing, but I don't think that's any indication as to how much the new site has improved what we're here to do. Because we're using it.
*jumps off apple crate to start a new thread*
Hi everyone
Well, I have been quiet since I've moved to another continent on the other side of the world. Things have finally settled, and I'm back to writing, reviewing and procrastinating in the forums!
I know I have missed the site and had been lurking when I had a few moments do so.
This weekend my mission was to paint and put together a kitchen trolley. Painting is done (I'm waiting for the final coat to dry). So I'm nearly done, whoo-hoo! And then I'll have some time to write a little bit, I hope!
So this is enough about me. Please let me and the others know how you are doing?!
Hi everyone
Please let me know if you would like to see a specific topic discussed. It can be anything, romance or even not romance related!
Two side-notes:
(1) Feel free to support any proposals, but can we please not discuss the proposed topics in detail here?
(2) And by all means, you don't have to add any ideas here, you can just start a thread directly!
I hope to see some replies soon!
Thanks!
Janet R
Hi all
Unless we actively go and look to see if any new members have joined Romance Inc., we would have no idea who and when new members join. So please use this thread to let us know that you have joined the group, and if you want to, please tell us more about yourself, what you're up to, your interests and what you're writing at the moment!
Happy writing to all!
Janet R
Since I am so new here, I don't feel that I have anything I can contribute to what you guys want with respect to changing this forum, as I don't know what the old forum was like, BUT, I would TOTALLY hate it if we were to degenerate into political and/or religious flame wars. One of the best things about this site is it's about writing, and no one is trying to explain why voting for this person or that person will ruin/save
our way of life. The same can be said for religion, if I wanted to become embroiled in those discussions (I don't) I would go back on Facebook. I was just happy to come here and post some poems and get feedback. I don't know enough to comment on the technical aspects of how you want to set this up or change it, but as far as making it a free wheeling, anything goes in all aspects, count me out. There is enough stress in life, without having to deal with it on a writing site.
Just my two cents. Peace.Janet
I've also touched on this in my reply to Cobber. Just because the forums exist, does not mean anyone must interact in them whatsoever. But neither is the answer that there shouldn't be a forum because some don't want that on a writing site. On the old site, reading/writing/reviewing was completely separate to the forums, so that made that decision an easy one if someone didn't want to get involved in the forums.
What we are missing, is the structure of the forums at the moment that makes it hard to find the topics we want to discuss and be involved with. I can't remember exactly, but we had a single forum that was divided into "technical writing advice", "feedback on writing" (the new site probably makes this unnecessary), "talk about crap here just because we're a silly bunch", etc. So if you were looking for tips on writing, you didn't have to scroll through each and every feedback and crap stuff thread just to find something on writing - and in the process, probably miss the thread you're looking for too.
AND!!!! If we had that kind of forum, you could've started a thread about Facebook and how crap it is and not being used for what it was intended to be used for in the first place, and I could have agreed with you there instead of messing up the thread on fixing the forums!
The thread started constructively but has degenerated into the campaign of some to make this into a forum site. Is the forum all we can talk about as a community? I find it tiring and if so I'm leaving this group. I mean, aren't there a million other things more important? The last four chapters I have posted don't have a single review and all we can talk about is the forums?
I think reviewing and the forums are two separate issues. By wanting improvements to the forums does not mean, in my opinion, that we are not also passionate or concerned about reviewing or want to change the site into a forum site only and fixing the forums are all that we think is important. By all means, nothing prevents anyone from starting a thread on how to kick-start reviews again or on writing. The problem we have is that it's hard to do that with how the forum/groups are structured at present.
One can also probably make the argument that there is some overlap however. I know I have found, and by no means due to anything I have done, great reciprocal relationships on the old site because someone mentioned my name in a forum that made that person's "connections" on the forum look at my writing. I have been part of that group since that day and have received so much support, guidance and help, it's hard to believe sometimes. So IMO, forums are not all talking and no action around what we're here for in the first place - to write.
To me, having an effective forum and therefore an involved community have massive advantages and could even resolve some of the issues you have mentioned, such in getting reviewed and talking about writing. It can also have disadvantages of course. But I don't think anyone needs to leave any group because forums exist and talk about things they don't think is important or don't want to talk about. Even on the old site there were members that only read and reviewed and never visited or interacted on the forums. But by having an appropriately structured forum again, it would also meet the needs of those that were more involved in the forums and miss that component.
Just my 2 cents.
Ditto! Well done and a big congrats to all!
Janet
I whole-heartedly agree with this. The biggest plus in my opinion would be that it would give the new TNBW a community "feel" while retaining the capability to form separate groups for specific genres etc.
One issue I can see is that the "main forum" would need to be moderated and Sol will need to get help in that regard, he won't be able to do that on his own (unless he never wants to sleep again!). But I think there would be a willingness from TNBW members to be moderators on a rotation basis of a year or however Sol deem fit to cover this base?
Dagnee, they will realize one day that your review had been one of the more helpful ones. It will then be too late of course, but hopefully they will learn from the experience and avoid the whole nasty reply/revenge review thing with his or her new reviewers.
I also check from time to time to see if any of my reviews are unanswered. If it's someone I know well, or know would normally reply, I'd send them a message or a quickee to just let them know. Depending, I'll even ask if everything's okay. You never know.
As a side note, I have never put pool chemicals in a blender. But then again, maybe I'm just lucky that I don't have a pool. hehehe <--- evil laugh 
Hey Everyone -
I could use some fresh eyes on the prologue for Daughter of Aithne. I really want this opening sequence to crackle off the page, and am working hard to smooth out the prose & make it so. The link is here:http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/posting … ok-3-14180
I've reposted, so even if you reviewed an earlier version, you can earn points by commenting on this one.
Thanks!
Karin, I'll also try my best to review your prologue tomorrow, latest over the weekend!
Save your energy for the next chapter of Dictates. Won't be posting that for another week.
Whoo-hoo! Another Dictates chapter!!!!!! It's going to be a long week .........
welcome
Please let me know what I can pick up next ... I owe you a big one for a really great review!
