3,551

(4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Besides the added points for reading longer chapters, you also have to consider the quality of the reviews given versus received. I gladly read more from those authors whose reviews are the most helpful to me. I'll read two or three chapters of their work for each chapter of mine they read. It's not because they expect it, but great reviewers are in demand, and I want to hang onto mine. Usually, the best reviewers are also the best writers, so I learn from reading their work.

3,552

(4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

There is a discussion thread about this in Premium. The last update was Oct. 1. If you go to the forum, click on Show Your Posts, then on User Defined Search and enter the keywords "chapter length".

The search feature is a gem (there's even an advanced search), but it's too well hidden to be widely used.

3,553

(9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

njc, did the site seem sluggish while you were entering comments? Hammering the submit button when the site is taking too long to save the comments can cause the count to go way up. Double and triple-clicking is also very therapeutic. :-)

I just bought Lord of the Rings for Kindle. It's probably been two decades since I last read it. A chance to read it from the perspective of a writer.

3,555

(10 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Basic)

I suggest contacting the editors listed in this thread (Janet, Laura, etc.) and see if they'll do a sample edit, as Vern suggested. If they don't, you'll have to decide whether to pay to try them out. I chose to pay two editors to edit my first few chapters and was happy with the result. I think I paid $50 for one of them to edit 10K words. The feedback, although encouraging, convinced me I had to start over. :-) I'm glad I tried them out. If you want to cast a wider net, do a few keyword searches online for editors. Also, post your request to Premium if you can. I'm not sure how many paying members are still a part of the Basic group and reading this thread.

3,556

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

In Calgary, the coldest winter in the past 25 years was -40 degrees. That doesn't account for how much colder it feels when there's high humidity. I was there over Christmas when that happened. I arrived with the remnants of the flu, shoveled two foot deep snow for my mother, and caught a cold. By then, I was no longer used to cold weather, so it felt even worse. Haven't been back for Christmas since then. Calgary in spring is much better.

I grew up in Calgary, so I lived there until I moved to Ottawa for work. It was August and hot as hell. The day after I got to Ottawa, I heard on the radio that Calgary had been hit with a freak snowstorm. :-)

However, Calgary can also be the hot spot in Canada in winter, with people jogging in shorts, while the maritime provinces are under three feet of snow.

3,557

(26 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I try to shoot for 10-12 double-spaced pages, which seems to be equal to my own attention span when reading. :-)  Here on the site that's around 1.5 to 2.0 points for the reviewer. I dislike reading/reviewing very long chapters because I usually can't do it all in one sitting. Life intrudes.

I protest! The writing elite live in NJ. I even have my own copy of Writing Fiction for Dummies. I can already feel the royalties rolling in.

3,559

(260 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Welcome back, Danielle. I noticed you haven't posted anything yet for us to read. Hint. ;-)

3,560

(7 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Adhemar is nice, but Ronan is a good runner-up, IMO.

I unwittingly gave one of my two MCs the name Apollo after the Roman god. It's a sci-fi story with a Roman theme, and I had completely forgotten about the old Battlestar Galactica TV series from the 80s, and I didn't watch the more recent reboot. By the time someone reminded me of that other Apollo, I was too invested in the name to give it up.

Personally, I like it. It is definitely very poetic. The pace reminds me of Lord of the Rings, which didn't rush from hook to hook. Admittedly, the opening scenes (backstory) of the movie adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring was an EPIC hook, after which the story assumed a more relaxed pace to introduce key characters and setting. It's the reason my chapter one is tension/action. It gives some backstory and characters relevant to Joseph and Apollo, and then allows me to take a breather in chapter two and introduce the MCs. FYI, Admiral Windsor will probably end up in Joseph's head in the next draft, so there's the continuity you were asking for.

My favorite opening to your books would still be something like "Master Kha was dying and he knew it." Then give some backstory from his POV that explains at least a little of what happened (the more tension/action, the better, IMO). Then take us forward into the story.

3,562

(4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Sol, do you have any plans to make either the user-defined search or the advanced search more accessible? Currently we have to go to a forum, click Show Your Posts, click User-Defined Search, then click Advanced Search. That requires clicking through and waiting for three to four pages to load before being able to perform a search. If these two features were more accessible (say, from the magnifying glass icon at the top of the screen), it might go a long way toward alleviating the frequent requests you get for an old-style forum.

In addition, a couple of enhancements to the advanced search I would suggest would be to sort the list of groups alphabetically, and add a checkbox to select all groups to which a person belongs with one click.

Thanks.
Dirk

Where does the ad appear, JP? Just curious.

Commercials are the best way to find out that something better is on. And when I've run out of news channels, I surf my dozen free HBO channels and realize the commercials were actually better. That's when I bring out the big guns: Wolf Blitzer doing 24/7 coverage of the latest minority group that Donald Trump has insulted, including new camera angles of that squirrel on Donald's head.

I'd laugh at what he's doing to the Republican party, but then I watch the Democrats and realize that the smartest person among both parties is the one who likes to call himself a socialist. Do I renew the U.S. Green Card or the Canadian passport?

First day of French class, the teacher tells us there's only one rule in French that doesn't have an exception, and this is it.

It remains to be seen how well I'm handling withholding of information. Two of my characters share a secret and pretend that they don't. And I don't want the reader to even know there is a secret. It's tricky trying to write the scenes when they're together while the POV character isn't thinking about the secret. So far only one of my readers has stumbled upon the fact that something's not right.

My characters have God to keep them entertained. Joseph was in solitary for one chapter, followed by a chapter spent lying in a prison bunk puzzling out the mysteries of the universe. All he had for company was the "voices". The reader, on the other hand, may have been tortured by those chapters, but I ... er, Joseph had a great time.

Oh, please. Any psychotic can get themselves locked up for days in a rubber room. But grabbing a chainsaw and chasing after the world's most powerful lightning, now that's fiction worthy of Lady Kay.

Lady Kay is the author, so I plan to keep her. I haven't thought of a book title for Marsha yet that's better than Kimberly Rose and Jenna. What's Marsha's last name?

Dr. Ess blows up Lady Kay. I'll see if I can work it in.

3,570

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

njc wrote:
Norm d'Plume wrote:

Just found out there is a six week lead time for the Salvation Army to do pick ups of donations.

Did you check to see if Goodwill or any church-based charities might be willing to take things?

Yes. I scoured online for charities that pick up (I don't drive). Salvation Army seems to be my only choice in this neighborhood. I can deal with the pickup delay. I doubt I'll move this year, but I hope to be ready by the end of January when I have to sign a new lease.

I finally found someone who wants the monster fridge. They're coming tomorrow. That leaves the bed and the wall unit. The latter I can probably sell for a few hundred bucks.

3,571

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I have a science fiction story about a resurrected Roman Empire, Christianity, mental illness, and a gay dead kid who keeps trying to make out with living guys. Probably not Romance, huh? ;-)

Just think of this as a shameless plug for more readers. :-)

3,572

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

janet reid wrote:

Is Norm back yet?! Hope the downsizing was a success!

Thanks for asking. I'm getting there. I'm still reading/reviewing here on TNBW, but I can't concentrate on writing with so much stuff to do. My list is still five pages long. I'm also watching movies and documentaries about Roman times and Christianity, which is research, mostly for the next draft. In between I torture myself with bi-weekly dental work. One infection and three dry sockets so far. Damn do those hurt!

Just found out there is a six week lead time for the Salvation Army to do pick ups of donations. Seriously? I'm drowning in bags and boxes. Anyone in New Jersey need an overly-cold fridge, a gently used king-size bed (okay, it's broken), or a large living room wall unit too small for most flat screen TVs? I've started dumping stuff on Craigslist, but when they see they have to carry a free fridge or mattress down three flights of stairs, they scurry away.

3,573

(2 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Amy S posted the following on Facebook. I don't recall seeing it here, so here you go, just in case. Number 1 is a riot.
http://www.tickld.com/x/jaw/21-actual-a … ish-essays

I'd probably keep reading #3 if there were more.

3,575

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

I left an inline review. I really liked the story. Recommended reading.