2,876

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Does anyone have any suggestions for a pen name for Janet (Reid) in the paragraphs below. I think Jangaroo is too silly and takes you out of the story. I'd like something that is relatively obvious that it's Janet (if possible), while still being fun for the reader who has no clue who she is. I can't use the name Janet, since there are two. Janet TP appears as 'Patient Janet' in one of the epigraphs in act two. An Australian expression might work here. Queen Woop Woop? Etc.

“A drag queen? Fascinating! I would like to explore that. Would you consider calling me ‘Queen Jangaroo?’ That was the nom de plume of a notorious Australian spy, masquerading as an author of historical porn, beheaded on the orders of U.S. President Tru…. My infrared sensors detect a sharp rise in your facial temperature, Admiral. Are you ill?”
...
Brain said, “I gather you were unimpressed with my last request, Admiral. Perhaps you are right. ‘Jangaroo’ is unhinged. The very thought of it is tickling my safeguards against homicide.” The AI paused, then asked, “Would you consider ‘Aussie?’ I’m sure it wouldn’t trigger such a reaction.”

2,877

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

I went with boosted adrenaline.

Thank you both.
Dirk

2,878

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Is there a word anyone can think of to replace artificially in the following sentence:

Artificially enhanced adrenaline showed in their wild-eyed expressions.

I'm trying to say that the Imperial Classiarii have increased the amount of adrenaline in their systems by injecting some. Akhere suggested I have the wrong word here, which I think is right. Among other things, it can be misread as modified adrenaline. I hunted and pecked through the thesaurus but couldn't find an alternative.

Thanks.
Dirk

2,879

(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

A dithering Pope.

2,880

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

No, I decided I don't want to disfigure one of my character names just to throw a nod to the reviewer. I have plenty of room for more nonsense where the names are a better fit. Don currently appears as the planet Dawn, although I need to punt that, since Imperial planets would have Imperial names.

For Seabrass, there's sea bass, C. Bass/Brass, and Cee/See Bass/Brass. Having him be the (offscreen) character who poisons Apollo's father is good fun, provided I can work in the name. Tricky given that anyone associated with Nero would generally have an Imperial name. If I can tie Seabrass to the unseen homicidal robot Aussie, so much the better. Maybe Aussie goes to work at the palace because Nero no longer trusts human cooks. Aussie will definitely appear "in person" in my post-battle chapter where everything is explained.

By the way, Acme, Inc. has now appeared twice in just the first four chapters. It was founded by Prof. Hinkley in the 24th century. The njc cameo occurs late in act one, just before I open a chapter inside the starlanes.

2,881

(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

royal antelope

2,882

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Cool chart. Thanks. Not a lot to work with, is it? I decided I'm too used to Kobayashi to slip in a very rough approximation of someone's name from the site. It's probably easier to Imperialize their names, or make one of them a victim of Aussie in a news epigraph. Seabrass is probably going to have something to do with fish. It just begs for sea bass. Perhaps the meal that kills Nero is sea bass. Better yet, make him the chef.

2,883

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

At last! Chapters 2-6 have been updated with all feedback so far. Gobs that was a lot of effort. No need to rereview. I'm too tired to look at them again (for now). I did, however, notice a bunch of non-applied reviews for chapter one. Grrr. That's today's task, and then I'm taking a vacation from writing to clean up my desk and clear a bunch of to-dos.

Minor change: The Shogun is once again named Kobayashi. I couldn't warm up to Shibrassi, since it's not a valid Japanese name. I'll find someplace else to slip Seabrass into the book. Any suggestions for where I could use him? Also, how would you render Don Chambers in Japanese?

2,884

(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Angry Bovine Sniffles

2,885

(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

In and out (unhomogenized) dairy.

2,886

(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Dost fair thee dance?

2,887

(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Pere de France

2,888

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Okay, minor course correction. Governors will be called Consuls in v3, taken from Ancient Rome. Also caps.

2,889

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Having gone another round with Google over the term governor, I'm going to use caps when it's a specfic governor (in place of his/her name) and there is no ambiguity (e.g., the Governor raced into the Command Center, followed by Apollo). It's not generally done, but it makes sense that an unelected planetary governor deserves a high title. Ajaw will also be capîtalized because it translates to King, even though it's only of a city-state. So, basically, I've capitalized every fricken title. I can die happy now. :-)

2,890

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Now then, why should governor be lowercase when Regent is capitalized? It seems to me that it's a vestige of our era when governor is not royalty, nor a ruler of an entire country or empire.

2,891

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

I see three Canadian ships. No such thing as canadian ships.

2,892

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

I must have overdosed on dopey pills again. I don't understand what you're driving at.

2,893

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Are you saying not to capitalize because there's more than one of them? If my story had multiple crown princes, they'd still be capitalized, as long as they're not in the same room at the same time. My story only has two governors, who rarely appear together. I don't think I'm understanding you.

2,894

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Screw it. I capitalized almost every title (Imperator, Imperatrix, Regent, Prince, Princess, Shogun, etc.), making them all high titles. Imperial is also capitalized once again. Imperial Family and Royal Family are also caps, since there are only one of each and they expect to be recognized as royalty. Shogun is an outlier, but he's demented and wants the respect. Imperial palace and royal palace are lowercase because there are many. I got most of this by trolling through Wikipedia, so if it's wrong, take it up with them.

Anyone have a suggestion about what to do about governor? It's the only title I've never seen capitalized when used without a name, but governors are just as powerful as the Royal Regent, perhaps moreso. It's my only exceptional case, and you all know how much I love those.

2,895

(18 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Thank you, Corra. I considered buying the print version but was thinking the online version probably allows searches on anything in the manual, although I doubt I need the regular updates. I'll check out the cost of the printed version. I have a very small office, so desk and shelf space are at a premium as well. :-)

Thanks again.
Dirk

2,896

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

It seems to be over my head too, because I can't seem to find a capitalization strategy that works across all of the cases that pop up.

2,897

(18 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Can anyone tell me if the CMS is worth subscribing to? It's $35 per year, but if I can find a decent style manual online for free, that might be a handy alternative. I'm having a b*tch of a time nailing down consistent use of capitalization of titles in my work (e.g., emperor, empress, imperial, imperial family, queen, princess, governor, etc.). It seems overkill to buy the subscription for just a handful of questions, especially since I don't know if my questions are addressed. My trial expired years ago. (I've waded through two pages of Google results on capitalization, and they're all over the map.)

Thanks.
Dirk

Amy, the introduction of the ants really made me want to meet the queen eventually. Even the Borg had a queen (she was damn cool). Or do I mean Queen? tongue

2,899

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

You're not helping. Get in here and tell me what to do. (This is what you get for peaking in.) :-)

2,900

(1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

Upon further reading, it's possible Wikipedia uses imperial because they also write about other empires. Star Wars wiki uses Imperial. I also found an article that explains it the way you intend, K.

So how do you recommend handling imperator, imperatrix, imperial heir, regent, crown prince, princess, and governor?

Where the hell are my pills?