2,051

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

This week's episode of Gilligan's Island had everyone sneezing and itching when they came near Gilligan. Pathetically poor fake sneezes by some of the actors. The funny part was the Skipper. His sneezes were so severe he repeatedly blew out candles, blew open the hut's door, and knocked over a palm tree. At one point, he tried to hold it in and his cap went flying straight up from his head. When it seemed like he was about to let loose a titanic sneeze, everyone ran for the jungle, followed by ... nothing.

I'm pretty sure they used up all the matches (for relighting the candle) in one of the first shows, but what the heck. Perhaps the Professor made some. At one point they went through all of the women's makeup and perfume trying to find out what was causing the allergy. I never knew women needed that much perfume for a three hour tour. And let's not forget the Howells. She brought out a large diamond collection to see if it was the cause. She also had four different types of furs (mink, sable, etc.) with her. In Hawaii? In 90 degree heat?

Did you ever notice there was no discussion of building a latrine on that show? They must have been pooping all over the island. At least they had plenty of palm fronds for toilet paper.

2,052

(14 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Can someone please help me with the following sentence:

Teresa thought they might have more landing areas closer to the centre, but couldn’t make any out.

Unless I'm mistaken, the second clause is dependent. So why the comma?

Thanks
Dirk

2,053

(14 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

In 2007, it's under word options/proofing/auto-correct/replace as you type.

2,054

(14 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

My version of Microsoft Word (2007) replaces three periods with an ellipsis symbol. It looks almost the same, but it's one character. I can't recall if I configured the software to do that, but I'm sure they have the same feature in newer versions of Word.

2,055

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Thanks for responding, everyone. I'm going to try two scenes per chapter (one per story thread), which gives me the flexibility to further split those scenes as the need arises. The planning is just as much work as if they were chapters, but it allows me greater flexibility. It also forces me to make the end of each scene compelling enough to keep the reader going. The only minor nuisance is that I'll have to post each major scene as its own TNBW chapter to keep the length of the posted material short enough for most reviewers. Seabrass did the same thing with his Maiden story.

Thanks
Dirk

2,056

(5 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I'm wondering how others decide how many scenes to include in a given chapter. In my first book, I interleaved two related stories, each with a main character (Joseph and Apollo) and alternated back and forth between them on a chapter by chapter basis. For the most part that worked and kept the chapter lengths short enough that someone could review each in one sitting. The main problem with that was one of timing. For example, I had a major battle at the end of act 1 that spanned three chapters (Joseph, Apollo, then Joseph again). There was a lot going on, and it would have been better to have a lot of small scenes back and forth than my chapter-by-chapter telling made possible.

I'm starting to run into the same problem with my new story. There are two main story threads, but it's too early to tell if alternating back and forth at a chapter level is going to cause problems. There may even be other occasional side threads, although I haven't planned far enough out to be sure.

How do other people deal with this? In beginning to think I should include one scene from each of the two stories per chapter. That leaves me the freedom to flip back and forth more often between the two stories at a scene by scene level, rather than at the chapter level. It also allows me to include a third or fourth thread in some chapters, as needed.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Dirk

2,057

(9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Handy info. Thanks.

2,058

(9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

An overload of names was my concern too. I have the option of giving them first names when they address each other. Still mulling that.

Just spent the better part of a day researching the Italian police (I need detectives and a CSI team). I spent almost two hours trying to find reliable information about Italy's two national police forces, the state police and the Carabinieri. They have a lot of overlapping duties right down to responding to civil crimes. They are the result of Italy's dysfunctional political system. The best comparison I can make to our police is that the state police are a civil force while the Carabinieri are a military force. The Carabinieri are somewhat like the National Guard. Since they both have command stations in Rome, I needed to know who's in charge when a bishop or cardinal turns up dead. Finally found an article that said the state police are ultimately in charge in large urban centers, but the Carabinieri may be the only police force available in rural areas, so they're in charge in those areas, rather like the RCMP. Both the state police and the Carabinieri are truly national police forces, unlike us where each major city has its own independent police force.

Pretty slim pickings online about Italian law enforcement and even less about their CSI functions. I may have to borrow a few North American concepts. I have yet to figure out how to kill off a large number of clergy in serial killings without making it redundant or overly gruesome. Worse, a serial killer ought to result in a major taskforce, with all kinds of different police functions cooperating.

I also can't figure out what the damn Italian equivalent is of a detective, since they don't seem to use that title. They follow Interpol-like command ranks.

I hope CSI is available on Netflix.

2,060

(9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Thank you, folks.

Sol, have there been any recent reports or fixes of bugs related to notification emails when a connection posts a new chapter? Don Chambers posted over a dozen chapters on the site in a story of his that I was reading, yet I received no emails. I thought he had left the site. I only realized today that he had written more when he announced that he had published it.

How do you protect/open the airway? Is there a medical doohickey that you push into their mouths for that?

EDIT: Found the manual resuscitator online. Since they know he's an epileptic, they'll keep one in his nightstand for emergencies. The nurse brings a syringe with valium, but he's already recovering by the time she arrives. He happens to recover just as Connor is saying a powerful prayer for him. Coincidence?

Thanks, Amy.

2,063

(9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

I'm wondering if it's necessary to give my minor characters full names (first and last). I have a Father Gregorio Altera who is a main (POV) character, so he naturally gets a full name. However, he interacts with Father Calebrese and Sister Fontana, neither of whom will play a large role, nor will the story include them as POV characters. Should I give each minor character a full name the first time they appear? That has the potential to result in a lot of names, many of which will never be written or spoken about after the first time they appear.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Dirk

2,064

(3 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Marilyn, I went to site and, when I tried to sign up, it said the site was free to use for 15 days, after which you either have to subscribe monthly or yearly. I couldn't find a free version.

Amy, I have a scene with a boy in an orphanage who is experiencing an epileptic seizure, including convulsions. His form of epilepsy is resistant to medication. Other than hold him down, is there anything else the people around him can do? Also, is there a medication that can be injected into him to reduce the severity of the convulsions (e.g., a tranquilizer)? What would they do for him if he was in a hospital? Once the seizure has passed, is it common to take him to a hospital for further observation?

Thanks
Dirk

2,066

(14 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Congratulations, Don.

My outline for scene 1 of Saving Connor is done. I had originally planned on three scenes in the first chapter, but that makes it too long for reviewers. I'm debating just splitting all scenes into standalone chapters. That'll force me to come up with more chapter hooks, which is probably a good thing. There will be two interwoven threads running through the story, so it'll probably be similar to my Joseph/Apollo chapters, only I hope they'll be shorter.

2,068

(13 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Dr. Jorge B. Francis is messing with the spacetime continuum again. Try an Acme keyboard and mouse; they're immune. You can get them shipped from New Bethlehem by Mama's Little Shipping for twenty-two terras.

2,069

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

I'm rereading Dune and discovered that Frank Herbert all-but gives away that Maud'Dib triumphs. In one of the early epigraphs attributed to Princess Irulan, she comments how the Duke's light was dimmed behind his son's glory.

I've often thought that the story would have been better if the reader didn't know the details of the Harkonnen plot and Huey's betrayal before they occurred. All of that could have come out later.

2,070

(9 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Yumpyyum wrote:

Right now my biggest fear is that I'm not good enough to write because I have read a lot of amazing books and comparing mine to them is pretty pale in my eyes. Is it just me or does anyone ever feel this way?

Welcome, Yumpyyum.

I've been writing the same book on a part-time basis for six years, and just as I was nearing the end, I concluded there is no audience for it, so I'm going to shelve it for a future rewrite. My writing has improved tremendously over the years thanks to thoughtful reviews from others on this site and from critiquing their work in return. Nevertheless, even when I thought I was finished with the first chapter (after six drafts and dozens of reviews), someone came along and suggested numerous ways to improve it. I have several favorite published authors in my genre and I still think my story doesn't stack up compared to them. However, these days, when I reread their work, I do so from the perspective of someone who wants to learn from their writing, rather than just wanting to read a good book.

Key item: don't forget to reply to all reviews. Many site members put in a lot of time reviewing the work of others, and the reply is an important way to thank them for their time. Obviously, if you like their work, critique them, and you might develop a reciprocal relationship between them and you. Naturally, not everyone likes to read every genre, so it may take a little time to find interested reviewers for the long haul as your write and post your work. As already noted, a very small number of people give blunt reviews. Don't let them dissuade you. One of the best reviews I ever receive was from someone who told me to start over (and why). He was right, so I did.

2,071

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

This evening's episode of Gilligan's Island featured an impostor pretending to be Mr. Howell back on Wall Street. He promised that after resuming his position as CEO of Howell Industries he would sell his Amalgamated stock. Upon hearing this on the radio, the real Mr. Howell runs into the lagoon and attempts to swim to Hawaii. Gilligan and the Skipper stop him. Mr. Howell offers one million dollars to whichever castaway can devise a scheme to get him of the island. Gilligan makes a pair of wings and leaps off the top of the hut. It actually works until the Skipper tells him it's impossible, followed by a Wyle E. Coyote-like crash. They settle on a pontoon boat powered by peddling on a bicycle-like contraption from a previous episode. The professor gives Mr. Howell a flare gun and tells him to fire off a flare if he gets in trouble. I should note that they used up the last of their flares in an episode in season one. They push the pontoon boat into the lagoon and it promptly sinks, taking Mr. Howell with it. A hand reaches out of the lagoon and fires the flare gun. Eventually the impostor falls overboard from a yacht and washes up on the island. He knocks out the real Mr. Howell, switches clothes, and pretends to be the real Thurston. After being discovered as the impostor, the fake Howell takes off and swims to Hawaii, where he is rescued. He refuses to say who he is because the police are looking for him for impersonating the real Mr. Howell. This episode begs the question why he never offered a million before now and why they didn't try building a pontoon boat sooner. After all, they've been on the island for two years. I like the choice of Amalgamated for the stock. They previously used Consolidated Acme, also good.

2,072

(15 replies, posted in TheNextBigWriter Premium)

Kdot wrote:

I imagine cobs can't be the best tasting food of all.

You'd be surprised. Just add ketchup.

2,073

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

Andrew is going to have a blast when Joseph can't respond.

2,074

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

Technically, since the ghosts are a manifestation of the mind, they are an optical illusion, and there's really nothing stopping the MC from thinking at it and getting a nonverbal reply. I'll keep that handy in case there are situations that can't be addressed using the other techniques I listed above. This is going to be a huge improvement for representing the ghosts.

2,075

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

I'll have to scan through the chapters to see if there are any places where Joseph or Apollo must use mind speech. There probably are, which sucks because I really want the ghosts to be fully realized beings. Perhaps I can change the conversations so that the ghosts speak through their mouths, but Joseph/Apollo respond by their actions, pretending to think out loud, or actual verbal responses to the ghosts when no one else is listening. I can use accidental verbal responses to cause people around Joseph/Apollo to wonder about their sanity. That's primarily dangerous for Apollo. Joseph is technically free to admit he has Archangel Syndrome. It's a common enough occurrence among the elite and it's not dangerous as long as you ignore the archangels, which Joseph doesn't do. He's convinced the archangel is real.