I gave up. Too many problems to address if Connor becomes possessed. I may try again next draft.

I was tempted to have Connor say, "Are you a demon or a vampire?" just before she bites him. It's actually combined with wolf-like growls.

In the revised ending, the demons will be visible as they transfer from the reverend mother to Connor. To differentiate my transfer of demons from the way it happened in The Exorcist, I have her grow fangs and bite into Connor's neck, at which point Legion passes to him, and the fun begins. Once he manages to expel them, they will whip around the room terrorizing my cast of characters, before fleeing under the door.

My biggest problem turns out to be that Connor argues out loud with Legion, but they both speak using Connor's voice. It's hard to write a conversation that way. Needs some thought.

I eliminated the shivering. As currently written, he closes his eyes, furrows his brow, and turns his head from side to side while the exorcist is praying. Half a page later, he throws holy water on the exorcist, who screams as his body dissolves to reveal that he's a demon in human form.

All edits are in, but I'm going to change the ending, not sure when. Rather than Connor casting Legion out of the reverend mother, it's better if Legion jumps into him and they do spiritual battle with him. It's a lot like The Exorcist, which is why I didn't do it this time around. Unlike the film, Connor will of course survive, so it just remains to be seen if I can make the battle sufficiently interesting to work. He's fighting a legion of demons, so I may be able to do it.

Rachel Parsons wrote:

Have a great Thanksgiving. And maybe post something on what you are grateful for.
I'm grateful for ... living in the best country in the world.

You live in Canada, too? :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMxGVfk09lU

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(15 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Temple Wang wrote:
John Hamler wrote:

you did say you're mostly in it for the money, so...

https://media.giphy.com/media/ZeB5RzwVdzO8M/giphy.gif

Demon horses. Cool.

As Connor's powers grow, he will increasingly become the central character, except for the point of view, which has to remain Romano's. It's a little like the Gospels themselves. They were written from the point of view of four different men, but Jesus is the central character in each. If it wasn't for that, Romano could be written out of the scenes. What I need to do is give Romano more to do. FYI, the prologue is currently written from Connor's point of view, but that's a temporary placeholder. Once I write that scene in the main story, it too will be from Romano's point off view.

Tentatively, I'm going with the following. I decided it's not so bad after all. The fact that he shivered tells the reader he's sensed something.

Connor closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. He turned his head slowly from side to side, then shivered.

I'll wait for Kdot to wake up before I finalize it. Kdot, what are you doing sleeping at 5 AM? :-)

POV question. Since the following is from Father Romano's POV, Kdot rightly pointed out that the second sentence is a bit of a POV slip. I've since made it worse by adding "in concentration" to the first sentence.

Connor closed his eyes and furrowed his brow in concentration. He turned his head slowly from side to side, as if sensing something that others could not. He shivered.

Technically, it's possible Connor is smelling a fart and trying to figure out where it's coming from, but that's not likely. How big a deal is this? And what would fix it? If I take out the problem parts, I'm left with:

Connor closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. He turned his head slowly from side to side, then shivered.

Doesn't really tell the reader enough until half a page later when Connor says he can sense many demons in the room. Or does it?

Suggestions?

Thanks
Dirk

Welcome, Ray.

Hmm. Those lines are three of most quotable from the Rites of Exorcism and allow me to build to the fourth (successful) line. The Exorcist used them repeatedly, so I cut my usage to just once. I read the original script this weekend, and there's only one other sentence of overlap, but it's not as important.

I think I found a fix. Connor's powers are still developing, which is why he doesn't understand when Legion says we meet again. Not perfect, but close enough.

P.S. Swiping with Android's Google keyboard is riddled with errors. Too bad Swype is no longer available. If you see me posting bizarre sentences, I'm either drunk, high, or swiping.

Kdot, I have a potential plothole I'm wondering about. When Connor is trying to drive out the demons, he says "God the Father commands you! God the Son commands you! God the Holy Spirit commands you!" That doesn't work. He eventually realizes that the right thing to say is "I command you!"

If Connor is Christ, which is what I'm hinting at, then the first three commands should have worked. It's one thing for those to fail to work when a priest says them, since some demons are too powerful, especially Legion, but when Christ issues those commands, they should have worked. In the New Testament, Jesus barely broke a sweat casting them out.

Thoughts?
Dirk

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(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Minor correction: when you post multiple chapters, it shows the most recently posted chapter, not the first one. It should probably show the first one posted.

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(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Stick with one book, Ray. The pick list of chapters shows reviewers which chapters they've reviewed and which ones they haven't. When you had your chapters in separate books, it required reviewers to remember which books they've read and which ones they haven't. Too unwieldy in a book with many chapters. As Randall mentioned, reviewers can see/access both newly published chapters in the pick list. Most reviewers know to check the pick list for earlier chapters that they may have missed.

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(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Ray, when you post multiple chapters in quick succession, the site only shows the first one. This change was made a long time ago because some writers post many chapters at once, thereby forcing other people's chapters off the home page/spotlight too quickly. Anyone who clicks on your chapter one will have access to both chapters from the chapter pick list in the book.

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(10 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I'll ask Connor to say a prayer for you.

Feel better.
Dirk

Even better: the mother superior jumped.

Thanks
Dirk

Question. I have a scene where Connor startles a mother superior, currently written as:

The mother superior gave Connor a startled look.

Is that the same as saying:

The mother superior startled.

I don't know if the latter is a valid use of the verb.

Thanks
Dirk

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(4 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

John, if you want it appear in the exact same place in the book (same chapter number) and with the same chapter name, then increment the version number only. You can also make the existing chapter/version inactive (unless you want both old and new to appear simultaneously for readers). Don't forget to cough up points for the new chapter/version, otherwise it won't show.

Work is ongoing. This week I've been making suggested edits to my older scenes. Picked up a new reviewer with excellent ideas (Ray). Unfortunately, he finds the site toxic/useless, so he's leaving. For some reason I can't delete that obnoxious thread. The rules for Premium must be different than for our group.

I settled on keeping the longer prologue. I don't want to make the reader wade through 200 pages before getting their answer to how the scene ends.

Next week I start writing the exorcism!

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(1 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

This is useful info, penang. Thank you for posting this. And cross-posting to Marketing will make it easier to find later.

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(38 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

How about the winner(s) get their main work spotlighted on the home page for a week? Could have a Contest Winners section up temporarily. Not too long since that would annoy Temple and Vern. Leave the cash in the bank to pay for ongoing enhancements.

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(38 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I agree, Temple. If they're not willing to shell out $9, then they're either not serious or they didn't see enough in the week-long trial to join. I'd still argue for a longer trial.