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(1 replies, posted in Writing Tips & Site Help)

I was wondering if someone could help me with this. I can only see three ways to write this sentence. Is there another that doesn't use "was", -ly adverbs, or had? It refers to a teen who has been wounded in battle.

    He moaned, and his breathing was ragged.
    He moaned and breathed raggedly.
    He moaned, and his breathing had become ragged.

The following is "okay", but changes the meaning slightly. In the above sentences, his breathing was already ragged when my POV character reaches him, whereas in the following, his breathing becomes ragged when the POV character is already there.

    He moaned, and his breathing became ragged.

Are there any others? I'm fine with changing the words to synonyms, as long as the meaning isn't lost.

Thanks
Dirk

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(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Norm d'Plume

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(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Decaf

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

Amy's edits for chapter 36 are done, too. (Collapses) Still need to clean up the Caligula chapter, but not tonight. I thought briefly that I had killed off too many Realm characters (they're pretty much all gone except for Joseph, Paul, and Christian). Fortunately, Apollo and his mother know what the Realm planned and why, so they can explain it all in the post-battle chapter.

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(1 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Never mind. Just found it on the Reviews page. That works.

I was wondering if it would be possible to show in the chapter view which of the inline reviews at the bottom have had their feedback applied by the author. The chapter view shows the applied button for regular reviews. We could really use some kind of indicator that an inline review has been applied, without having to open each inline review to check. That is going to be very time consuming when I come back around for the next draft and want to incorporate unapplied feedback.

Thanks.
Dirk

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

Yabba dabba doo! Amy's edits for chapter 35, Apollo's Faith, are done. Now to clean up Joseph's Sword, then Caligula, and then I get to write new sh*t.

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(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Dictionary

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(1,634 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Exlax

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(1,528 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)

njc wrote:

Did a couple of reviews.  I'll be tied up most of the day, but I thought of a plot element for later in the story.  I should begin laying the ground for it in B3 or B4, and the event probably should come in B7.  I need to find an hour or so to start writing up more serious notes.  Let's see how the day goes.

You're writing 7 books simultaneously? I'm picturing you clad in gold with Ewoks bowing ritualistically. I'm Wicket.

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

Never mind. It's done. Easier than I thought.

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

I'm planning my post-battle wrap-up and was wondering whether Earth's Governor Hadisius should have played more of a role in the past three chapters. His only appearance is a brief audio exchange with Lupus where he tells Lupus to fight the Ark and destroy Apollo. Other than that, he doesn't do much even though he has a vested interest in the outcome since he conspired with Lupus to overthrow Apollo. I was thinking I should have him take command of the first wave of ships when Lupus goes off to fight the Ark. He could then flee when Lupus is killed and Caligula surrenders.

Thoughts?

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

Amy, nobody gives better feedback than you and it's greatly appreciated! I'm not in your league. Please keep it coming.

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

Don't start with me, K. You were the one who complained about banking. jI'd have Amy's edits done by now if I didn't have to invent omnithrusters. You should see her edits, BTW. There are a few words of my chapter peeking out here and there from between her inline comments. :-)

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

I eliminated the word banking because it was causing confusion, replacing it with come about or circle back. That allows for the possibility of using maneuvering jets and omnithrusters to fly in circles or arc toward or away from the target ship. They circle next to the target ship, not around it. They arc in, fire a few rounds, then arc back out. The reason for "arcing" is to avoid becoming an easy target for nearby novas. I assume the reader understands that they are not running in pure circles, since that would allow the nova operators to predict exactly where the attacking starfighters will be before they get close.

Better?

You have an excellent memory. There are primarily two POV characters: Joseph and Apollo, and I alternate between them, usually on a chapter by chapter basis. The first chapter is an exception since it takes place before either MC was born.

We are in Joseph's POV when he feels himself turn beet red. I could say he blushed severely, which eliminates the problem. We all know when we are blushing and by how much (mildly, severely), even if we can't see ourselves in a mirror.

The entire book is 3rd person limited. Everything I, as the narrator, write is through the point-of-view character's lens.

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

amy s wrote:

Are you referencing the movement in terms of the largest visible object? When flying around their own ship, that becomes up and down. If there is a planet, then that beats the ship as largest object.

Didn't understand this. They're flying in circles along the side of the enemy warship, hammering a shield emitter to destroy it.

Just to clarify, the character turning beet red was in narration (Joseph turned beet red and looked to the marine for his reaction). It was, however, from Joseph's POV. It looks odd when written as dialogue.

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

I just updated the chapter (offline) to use just 'circle back' and 'come about'. Didn't even need 'arcing'. Now all I need is a design for an omnithruster. Sounds like a task for the Professor.

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

Turns out banking as we understand it for atmospheric flight does have a use in space. My cadets execute banking moves as they arc toward/away from the Actium's main hangar bay, trying to overload the shield emitter while minimizing exposure to cannons surrounding the bay. As far as I can tell, it's doable using jets and omnithrusters. It helps that omnithrusters can apply thrust in any direction. tongue  It needs a different name than banking, though, to avoid further confusion. Any suggestions? I was thinking arcing...

Thank you, CJ. Funny thing, I used to work on Wall Street. tongue

I agree absolutely. Blood rose into his cheeks is boring and in this case confusing. I can't tell if the character is embarrassed or angry. I have another one: he gave her a dirty look. I know when I'm doing it even though I can't see it. The latter has a good alternative: he glared at her.

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

I really regret not taking physics in high school and university. It would have been a great minor in addition to comp sci. Your explanation is over my head. Let me switch to examples. Assume a 2D plane to keep this easy.

Ship is flying at high speed in the direction of the sun. Pilot wants to reverse course. As far as his controls are concerned, he pulls hard to the left (or right) until his maneuvering jets line up the ship in the opposite direction, away from the sun.. Pilot stops pulling the controls left (or right). The computer then manipulates the big thrusters to completely counter the ship's momentum toward the sun and to provide forward movement in the opposite direction. There is a fixed amount of time when the pilot is facing away from the sun but his craft is still moving toward the sun, even though the thrusters are trying to overcome the momentum of the ship's previous course toward the sun.

Have I got that right? And am I using the term momentum correctly?

I'll add to the example in my next post assuming I got the above correct.

Thanks!

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

Correct me if I'm wrong, when you say turn to keep the big thrusters pointing in the right direction, the desired turn (humans pushing flight controller) is *not* the same as what the big thrusters are doing, since the computers need to adjust for the momentum of the earlier course. Yes?  (I may be using the word momentum wrong.)

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

K caused trouble on the playground today. He noted (quite rightly) that the flight mechanics in my dogfight look an awful lot like atmospheric flight. I checked through my old posts and realized I had never actually settled on a reason for why my flight mechanics work. Flight cocoons are no longer in the running. Too complicated. There are two remaining possibilites:

1. It's space opera. Deal with it. -- Not my favorite option.

2. A combination of specially mounted thrusters that can fire in any direction (including reverse), and maneuvering jets. Asimov would not approve, but he's dead, so I win. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since the thrusters can fire in any direction, the maneuvering jets are simply there to point the ship in the direction you're trying to move in. That keeps your lasers and missiles pointing in the right direction, even while your thrusters/computer are working like crazy to overcome the momentum from your last course and get you on the new one.  It's a little like ice skating. I should add that there's an inertial dampener ("splat inhibitor") so you don't turn into pancakes when the thrusters kick into a new direction.

Is option 2 possible? I have no intention of explaining it in detail, but would like to know if I understand it correctly. I can throw in a few buzz words in the story like omnidirectiional thrusters ("the omnidirectional thrusters canee take much more captin").

Thanks
Dirk