It seems little Anikh will be returning in v3, having been totally dumped mid-story in v2. She's the girl Joseph rescued from the hospital who died in his arms and took up residence in his head. I didn't have a good use for her. Until Bill K. returned to TNBW! His review gave me the idea to resurrect her. Picture Regan from the Exorcist (her head all a twirling) in Joseph's head. Her new name in v3 will be Billie, naturally. Among other things, she's going to be the ghost who takes on the pedophile guard in King of the Slaves. No need for Joseph to do it when I can let her at him! I have got to rewatch the Exorcist! She can also take over in a TBD prison scene where Joseph is almost raped. She'll be off pouting when Joseph really needs her to kick the shogun's ass.
3,126 2016-10-21 05:29:49
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
3,127 2016-10-21 05:06:11
Re: Anyone want to play again? (60 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
She stared into nothingness, mind numbed by the effects of absinthe, but it was better than the alternative.
Bathe a Wookie?
3,128 2016-10-21 05:04:29
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Manticore-skinned Veethan? As Thurston Howell once said, "Watch your language! There are ladies present." And Amy's here, too. :-)
3,129 2016-10-20 23:29:10
Re: Anyone want to play again? (60 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Leia thought, Han is dead and the Wookie here desperately needs a bath!
3,130 2016-10-20 17:11:03
Re: Snuck vs Sneaked (186 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Norm d'Plume wrote:Why not just put armed snipers all along the border? It worked relatively well for the East Germans... Jobs lost to illegal immigrants? 0. Cost of capturing, arresting, housing, feeding, trying and deporting illegal immigrants? $0. Number of illegals who die trying to walk across the open desert? 0. It's pretty much win-win.
Armed Snipers?
Is there any other kind?
Whilst unarmed Snipers might be easier to train and cheaper to equip, you might also find them to be a tad less effective within their primary role.
Har! The East Germans were desperately trying to stop their own people leaving. An exodus to the West. I think that rather than a perimeter of snipers, they had an extensive physical barrier; a wall (and fence in places) that was manned by the military and the police. Sentries (armed ones), attack-dogs, minefields and barbed-wire.
I'm not saying that a wall of containment around the USA is a bad idea BTW. It's just that mass emigration is not perceived to be the issue. No interception by arresting or detaining for border infringement or transgression? No capture at all, simply gun everyone down from a distance and hopefully with a headshot? You say that this would reduce 'the number of "illegals" who die trying to walk across the open desert to zero (is this were the unarmed snipers make their killin'?). How many snipers to cover the whole border 24/7? It worked relatively well for the East Germans? Yeah, so well that their state, their country; the GDR, ceased to exist. LMAO
I'm glad you're laughing. For a minute I thought you took my post seriously. If it moves, shoot it! I should make that my signature.
3,131 2016-10-20 01:24:38
Re: Snuck vs Sneaked (186 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Why not just put armed snipers all along the border? It worked relatively well for the East Germans... Jobs lost to illegal immigrants? 0. Cost of capturing, arresting, housing, feeding, trying and deporting illegal immigrants? $0. Number of illegals who die trying to walk across the open desert? 0. It's pretty much win-win.
3,132 2016-10-19 02:39:20
Re: Snuck vs Sneaked (186 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Have you ever sneaked a Snickers as a snack while snucking a pair sneakers?
What do I win?
3,133 2016-10-19 02:35:51
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Found it on Google. That's the whole poem.
3,134 2016-10-19 00:17:02
Re: Say the first word that comes to mind... (1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Indoor outhouse. (My grandmother had one.)
3,135 2016-10-18 23:52:30
Re: Snuck vs Sneaked (186 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
within the context of you own vocabulary.
Did you mean your or you're? ;-)
3,136 2016-10-18 23:19:43
Re: NorthernSkies or NS - Janet (213 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
0C in western Canada today. That's 32F for you hillbillies. Loving it. I'll send out my own F**K post as soon as the first three feet of snow hits and the temperature drops to -40. Just think, that's 72F below the freezing point of water! In Nunavut, that's considered balmy. Unfortunately, I gave away my monstrous parka about ten years ago. I kept my "Canada" boots but find them rather slippery on ice, so I bought a pair of serious "man" boots and they slip as well. They're real purdy to look at, though, whenever I open the closet.
I moved to Ottawa briefly many years ago. Had a condo with outdoor parking. Went home for Christmas for just one week. In the meantime it snowed/rained/snowed/rained/etc. By the time I got back, my windshield wipers were buried in 2 inches of solid ice. I spent three hours with the car running on high heat, continuous rear defrost, and an ice scraper used more like a hammer to free the car. I'm not sure why I didn't try a real hammer.
Ah, the memories.
EDIT: K, should western in western Canada be capitalized?
3,137 2016-10-17 18:17:01
Re: Italicizing new words on first use? (2 replies, posted in Writing Tips & Site Help)
Thanks, Charles. Others have told me the same thing, so you're in good company.
3,138 2016-10-17 06:10:03
Re: NorthernSkies or NS - Janet (213 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I've been talking you folks up to Bill Kandiliotis who recently returned to TNBW. Some of you may remember him. Sci-fi writer. And then I read through the previous page of posts.
Run, Bill, run like the wind!
3,139 2016-10-17 03:25:25
Re: The Query Letter: short and sweet, or "Be my friend" (43 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Also, check out the Queries, Blurbs, and Synopsis group. I recall it had a few good posts.
3,140 2016-10-16 23:53:45
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Much as I would love to disagree with a unanimous opinion (I like italics), there are too many new words, and I can't italicize them all. And it's just weird to italicize words in dialogue just because they're new.
Thanks
3,141 2016-10-16 21:33:46
Topic: Italicizing new words on first use? (2 replies, posted in Writing Tips & Site Help)
Opinions, please. I'm wondering when to italicize new words. Following are four examples.
1) Tactical overlays showed their light nova cannons, heavy supernova cannons, and shields readying for battle.
2) “Warning, intruder alert!” Aussie said. “Imperial Classiarii are now boarding this vessel!”
3) "Gobs! The whole galaxy?" Joseph asked, his eyes round as saucers.
4) Apollo was sole Heir to the Imperium Romanum.
Number one seems correct.
In number two, the new word is Classiarii (it's a real word from the Roman Empire). Are new words in dialogue italicized? It could make it seem as if the speaker is stressing the word, rather than the narrator.
In number three, the new word is gobs (like gobsmacked). Same as number two?
In number four, Heir to the Imperium Romanum is a formal title. Should it be italicized on first use?
I'm also not sure what to do with all the other made up words in the book. Do I italicize all of them on first use?
Thanks
Dirk
3,142 2016-10-16 20:43:11
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Yes
3,143 2016-10-16 20:26:21
Re: The Galaxy Tales - Dirk B. (1,217 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Opinions, please. I'm wondering when to italicize new words. Following are four examples.
1) Tactical overlays showed their light nova cannons, heavy supernova cannons, and shields readying for battle.
2) “Warning, intruder alert!” Aussie said. “Imperial Classiarii are now boarding this vessel!”
3) "Gobs! The whole galaxy?" Joseph asked, his eyes round as saucers.
4) Apollo was sole Heir to the Imperium Romanum.
Number one seems correct.
In number two, the new word is Classiarii. I think this one should be italicized.
In number three, the new word is gobs. Not sure what to do with this one.
In number four, Heir to the Imperium Romanum is a formal title. Should it be italicized on first use?
I'm also not sure what to do with all the other made up words in the book. Do I italicize all of them on first use?
Thanks
Dirk
3,144 2016-10-16 13:41:37
Re: The Query Letter: short and sweet, or "Be my friend" (43 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I've been told that agents usually want to know the ending. Also, for your blurb, why is the labyrinth important? Also what is the zealot's agenda? You haven't said anything that would draw me into your book.
3,145 2016-10-16 11:59:53
Re: FUCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!! (27 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
The subject of this thread would make a great book title. Everyone who's anyone has peeked inside this thread to see what's going on.
3,146 2016-10-15 21:14:01
Re: FUCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!! (27 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I sometimes wonder what new members think when they read that.
And let's not forget those cases where someone drops a major F-bomb in the subject line of their post. 
3,147 2016-10-15 03:37:49
Re: FUCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!! (27 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I've been describing Trump as a train wreck in slow motion. You just have to look. Even my mother, who normally couldn't care less, now tunes in daily for an update. If it were a book, I'd end with a big reveal that he is in fact a lifelong Democrat, who hatched the whole plan to singlehandedly bring the Republican party to its knees.
I may be related to Trump. His family has German roots from the same township in Germany as the rest of my family there.
Go Trump!
3,148 2016-10-14 19:11:00
Re: The Sorcerer's Progress (1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Jersey City was small enough that you could take a taxi. Calgary is too big. Talk about urban sprawl. It cost me $100 to get from the airport to my mother's place on the day I arrived back in Calgary.
3,149 2016-10-14 18:41:36
Re: FUCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!! (27 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
So I married an axe murderer. I was staying with friends when that movie came out on VHS. That scene was so funny we watched it three times.
3,150 2016-10-14 06:19:33
Re: FUCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!! (27 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Leonardo de Caprio (or whatever the famous actor's name is)?! whoo-hoo!!! *tosses flares, wipers, towels, gloves and engine oil into the wind*
That man has an unusually large cranium. My own noggin has developed an atmosphere and a ring system as I've aged.
