Welcome back, Danielle. I noticed you haven't posted anything yet for us to read. Hint. ;-)
3,652 2015-09-25 03:19:59
Re: HELP! Character Re-naming (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.
3,653 2015-09-25 02:22:17
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
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.
3,654 2015-09-24 02:00:05
Topic: forum search enhancement request (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
3,655 2015-09-21 22:29:48
Re: Reporting the offensive/inappropriate (2 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Where does the ad appear, JP? Just curious.
3,656 2015-09-16 05:46:32
Re: Awesome TV shows you should be watching (8 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
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?
3,657 2015-09-16 05:16:34
Re: Kurt Vonnegut: Eight rules for writing fiction (20 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
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.
3,658 2015-09-14 00:21:34
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
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.
3,659 2015-09-13 18:33:03
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
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.
3,660 2015-09-13 09:41:28
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
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?
3,661 2015-09-13 02:13:37
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Dr. Ess blows up Lady Kay. I'll see if I can work it in.
3,662 2015-09-13 01:45:27
Re: Northern Skies - Janet! (520 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
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.
3,663 2015-09-12 05:11:33
Re: Romance Group is recruiting ... (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. :-)
3,664 2015-09-12 05:01:01
Re: Northern Skies - Janet! (520 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
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.
3,665 2015-09-11 23:59:47
Topic: high school essay analogies (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
3,666 2015-09-10 22:28:12
Re: Funny: The the best BAD opening sentence for a novel. (5 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I'd probably keep reading #3 if there were more.
3,667 2015-09-09 16:11:50
Re: The Price of Nightmares (4 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
I left an inline review. I really liked the story. Recommended reading.
3,668 2015-09-09 16:04:25
Re: Site Bugs 2 (342 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I just got burned by a bug I reported a few months ago. I did an inline review, wrote up extensive closing comments, then clicked on x-line to review my comments before submitting. When I switched to x-line, the closing comments were wiped out. Also, the closing comments field in the x-line review is not a normal formatted text box, but rather a tiny field (about 1" x 2") that is a view into the database itself. I should be able to switch to x-line without losing my closing comments, and the closing comments field should be an appropriatedly sized formatted text box. These two problems are reproducable.
I'd love to know if there's an ETA for these.
Thanks.
Dirk
3,669 2015-09-08 12:07:18
Re: Repost Chapters? (7 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Matthew, for a comprehensive search, go to any forum, click on the "Show your posts" link (on the dark blue line at the top of the page), then click on "User defined search", then click on "Advanced search".
This feature really needs to be on the home page or somewhere else more visible. I suspect few people even know it exists.
Dirk
3,670 2015-09-05 01:45:24
Re: Faulkner 2015 judging has begun (3 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
Two this time. Nicely done.
3,671 2015-09-04 02:13:48
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Lotyie sounds older? If you want old, call her Edna or Gertrude. When Ross and Rachel were trying to name their baby girl, Rachel vetoed the name Ruth. "Are we having an 80-year-old woman?"
3,672 2015-09-01 22:04:34
Re: Northern Skies - Janet! (520 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
No need to panic and post the next... you got time before I get on your back. I have others in my cross-hairs right now (*cough*Norm*Judy*cough*)
Norm's out of commission until the household has been downsized by about 90%. Word of advice: don't ever buy those rolls of packing tape with the builtin plastic dispenser. I could've sworn I checked the Amazon reviews before buying it...
3,673 2015-08-30 00:33:49
Re: UI suggestion (8 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
I agree with NJC's suggestion. Replace the IL Review button with a Reviews button that takes you to the bottom where one finds both the regular and inline review buttons, as well as all of the existing reviews. It's not a huge inconvenience as currently implemented, except for scrolling through long chapters, but it isn't consistent UI design. Having the inline button at the top constantly causes me to leave inline reviews for new members without thinking about whether they can read them. They then ask me to do a regular review instead. And *that* is a big inconvenience. Naturally, you may get flak for changing the IL Reviews button to a Reviews button as suggested here. It's one extra click to start an inline review. It would, however, be useful and consistent.
3,674 2015-08-29 02:05:08
Re: emotional scenes (62 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)
The audience today has heard every joke. They know every plot. They know where you're going before you even start. That's a tough audience to surprise, and a tough audience to write for. It's much more competitive now, because the audience is so much more - I want to say sophisticated.
You weren't surprised at the end of Atonement?
3,675 2015-08-28 04:20:34
Re: Acts/ Dictates/ Mandates/ Mantle - Amy's Thread (1,905 replies, posted in Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi)
Why? Is she called Kay?