I got my passport for work and there's still not a single stamp on it. 
One of these days...
Nice list, Amy. I'll be following most of those, except that I don't have any friends that live close enough to assist in moving. That, and it's going to be about 20 degrees (Farenheit!) this coming weekend. Pizza might be a good idea. lol
-Elisheva
Hahaha! There is a slight possibility that I love this site far too much. 
Between moving apartments on Wednesday, and Thanksgiving after that (Turkey!! Wheee!), then my birthday immediately after that, I really doubt I'm going to get my next chapter posted anytime soon. I'll sure try, though!
No cattle prod, K! Not unless you want to come over here and help me move boxes. 
-Elisheva
It won't necessarily be explained to the readers, but I want to make sure I have it laid out for myself. I also want to put the date on the top of the Human PoV chapters (cause Dragons really don't care what day it is), so it needs to make sense if anyone decides to actually analyze the dates, etc.
-Elisheva
In Wiccan terminology, a moon day is when you bleed for your period. Not positive but pretty sure on that.
Haha, just my luck. I figured the calendar should at least be partially based on the suns & moons, but pretty much everything is based on the elements. Wicca seems to be the closest example.
Maybe I just won't use the term "moon-day".
-Elisheva
I even did the math and the above calendar makes for 336 days in each cycle, which isn't too far off Earth's calendar. 
I also thought of making a celebration between seasons or at the end of a cycle for Life and Death, but I'm not entirely clear on that yet.
-Elisheva
I've been playing with calendars (Wheee!) and I'd like an opinion (or twelve).
So, the days are named by the moons and suns (sun-days being equivalent of our weekend while moon-days are work days, for nobility at least) like this:
(Suns)
Ixult's Day
Ceul's Day
(Moons)
Ateir's Day
Keusoh's Day
Yoph's Day
Raith's Day
Essentially, weeks are numbered. For instance, Ixult's Day in the second week of the month is called "Second Ixult's Day". (Yay! Simplicity!) There are fourteen in each month. The "months" themselves are actually seasons, so there's only four and they follow in line with the Elementalist religion. I followed some Wiccan guides for these (Yes, I do research on occasion):
Fire Season (Summer)
Water Season (Autumn)
Earth Season (Winter)
Air Season (Spring)
Then comes the year (cycle). Since nobility are the ones who will be truly paying attention to the calendar, I'm naming the cycles by the noble house currently on the throne. Prior to the Empire, they went like this:
Twenty-Sixth Cycle of House Rosenward
At the beginning of the book, it looks like this:
Sixteenth Cycle of The Empire
The Empire isn't half bad, but the full House cycle names are quite the mouthful, so I was thinking of the slang term being "Rosenward's Twenty-Sixth". In conclusion, this would be the full name of a particular date:
Third Ceul's Day, Fire Season, Sixteenth Cycle of The Empire
So my questions are: A) Does it make sense? B) Any loopholes? and C) General opinion before I dive in and change all my chapters? (Which I totally haven't done already. 
)
-Elisheva
I'm probably only half-way through chapter 9 and keep getting distracted by rewriting previous chapters. I've added 500 words to my prologue alone. Is this normal? =P
-Elisheva
Oh, wow. I love you.
I think I could spend my whole day on that site. lol
Elisheva Free wrote:It's 9:30PM for me, but if it wasn't my day off, I'd be leaving work in half an hour.
Darnit, Janet. I need to catch up on reviews!
-ElishevaMe too! I've got four I really need to do, and another seven or eight if I want to catch up.
Sounds like you're working table service hours.
24/7 tech support, actually.
amy s wrote:It's 1130 PM here. I'm just about to have lunch. What is this 'late' that you speak of?
Enjoy lunch! I just posted the chapter I didn't think I would post today, take that K's cattle prod!
1130PM is late. It's all relative?
It's 9:30PM for me, but if it wasn't my day off, I'd be leaving work in half an hour.
Darnit, Janet. I need to catch up on reviews!
-Elisheva
Let me get serious for a moment. I suspect I have a couple of years on Amy, and that I'm at least twice EF's age (and maybe three times; I can't tell).
I am just a couple of weeks away from my 23rd birthday. I know I'm a newblet in life as well as writing.
Once I get moved into my new apartment and visit some doctors (eep!), I'm hoping to take some literature classes, as well as some other subjects. Eventually, I'll understand all your references, njc.
-Elisheva
njc wrote:Watta' place! I don't even hafta toot my own horn!
I have to say, these days I'm like, should I even bother to google it or do I just save myself the time and hassle and post it straight here? You guys are that good!
See? I'm not the only one.
Classy. However, Janet and I both have 2 boys each. Farts are part of waking up and daily conversations. Better than Folgers coffee in the morning.
I have four brothers and will be sharing the above statement with my mother later. lol
-Elisheva
Anant the review: not sure what flattery will get you, but it's good for something, I'm sure.
Haha, not intended as flattery. Just amazed at how you pinpoint the exact word I'm looking for. It's fantastic and very helpful.
-Elisheva
Why is it inappropriate?
It's not necessarily "inappropriate", but it does feel awkward when I type it out. Safehouse just makes me think of some 007 kind of situation and this isn't like that.
I think I like den or shelter. I may also have to use "snuggery" later. That is a fantastic word. Thanks!
-Elisheva
Alright, so I'm trying to write the next chapter with Maya leaving the Scofflaw's "safehouse" and I am having some serious issues with the word "safehouse". It doesn't seem appropriate for the fantasy/medieval genre, but I can't think of another word! Even thesaurus.com's recommendations aren't cutting it.
Help!
-Elisheva
I'm always worried about continuity, so please have at it. I'm writing a very dialogue-filled chapter right now that will likely need some work. I am much better at descriptions than dialogue.
I'm usually on every day, but I haven't had much time for reviewing. In the middle of moving myself and my grandparents. Yikes! Anywho... I'll be busy for a few weeks.
-Elisheva
Ahh, that makes sense. I can see why the chains would clarify that. I'll have to squeeze them in a little sooner.
Hey Rebecca!
Regarding Judicious Hazel, chapter two, you should most definitely keep the boy. He's too damn adorable. Maybe add in a little more panicking on the mother's part, though? Or, if that's against her personality, possibly another female figure? Personally, I would either A) freak out, B) protest, or C) grip my husband's hand, cover my eyes, cry out when the arrow looses, or some other squeamish reaction.
-Elisheva
corra wrote:But the cup is hot?
Why? Does it depict Lady GaGa wearing nothing but a staple through her midriff?
So, on Mars and in Georgia you'd always say;
'A chilled glass of wine,' rather than 'a glass of chilled wine?'
and
'A cold can of beer,' rather than 'a can of cold beer?'
and
'A hot plate of food,' rather than 'a plate of hot food?'
and
'A full room of people,' rather than 'a room full of people?'
and
'A steeple with a church', rather than 'A church with a steeple.'
and
a 'knocker on a door' rather than a 'doorknocker?'
Are you a cart horse or a horse and cart type? '
In my opinion, it is that degree of confusion which has led to you people eating nothing but this https://letsblogaboutamerica.files.word … oodusa.jpg
A chilled glass of wine, a cold can of beer, and a hot plate of food are more commonly used in the US, though I do see your point. It makes far more sense when you say it the other way. As for the rest, a room full of people, a church with a steeple, and a doorknocker sound more correct to my American ear.
-Elisheva
I have the same connection request issue, but it's been on my account for ages. It would be fantastic to get it fixed.
New chapter! Yay!
I've been spending most of my time packing up my apartment and house hunting, so I haven't had much time for writing or reviewing. Hopefully I can catch up here soon!
-Elisheva
Elisheva Free wrote:In my opinion, the apocalypse is a trend just like anything else these days. It's become so popular that people are throwing out random facts to get their 15-minutes of fame when in all reality, we know very little about our own world, let alone how it's going to end.
In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my little creative corner with my cat and hide from the general populace.
-Elisheva
How brilliant! No one would ever suspect an aspiring writer with a cat to be planning the downfall of the human race and earth as we know it!
Just hide from the internet, for all the good it has, it has also given people I was able to avoid/ignore IRL a platform to yell from loudly and consistently.
Hahaha! No kidding. To be honest, I don't even pay attention to the news (internet or TV) and usually hear about things through family members who are much more educated than myself. It's like having a filter for all the bullcrap. It's great.
In my opinion, the apocalypse is a trend just like anything else these days. It's become so popular that people are throwing out random facts to get their 15-minutes of fame when in all reality, we know very little about our own world, let alone how it's going to end.
In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my little creative corner with my cat and hide from the general populace.
-Elisheva
Dill Carver wrote:Although, seriously (a genuine enquiry); I've recently been working in a regional extremity of England (South-West) where the dialect or common use of the language has some subtle differences. One mannerism that prevails amongst the locals is the tendency to end a sentence with a re-affirmation (If you’ve seen any of the Harry Potter movies, Hagrid, the large fellow with the beard plays the part with this accent).
They'll say things like:
"It's a nice day today -- it is."
or
"We were thinking of going down the pub -- we were."
or
"You'll regret that in the morning -- you will."or one I heard this morning:
That's not right that isn't.
Within my own writing I'm always looking for dialogue traits or manners of speech that might add more character or dimension to the dialogue, but by using proper words (used differently) within mannerisms and ‘turn of phrase’ rather than spelling out the accent phonetically.
So, what is the 'correct' or best way to punctuate this reiteration dialect?
That’s not right that isn’t.
That’s not right— that isn’t.
That’s not right, that isn’t.
That’s not right; that isn’t.
I own a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style and just glanced through it (quickly -- I'm headed to work), and it has nothing to offer on the topic. That means (so far as I can see) there is no standard on this question. In cases where there is no collective standard, you and your editor would just make a stylistic call and then be consistent throughout the document. If this is something you are going to be publishing, your publishing house may have a specific house style which would answer this question.
If I was writing this, I'd likely go with the comma, but I think the comma, the em-dash, or the lack of punctuation would be appropriate, so long as you're consistent throughout. (Bearing in mind that you can create emphasis within this consistency by breaking form.)
The comma would make the depiction of the reiteration more subtle (natural) than an em-dash. I think the dash would also be appropriate, especially if you want the reiteration to be pronounced. The lack of punctuation would run the phrase into the original sentence, as if it's so natural it isn't even noticed by the speaker -- as if there's no need to pause. It depends on what you want the punctuation to accomplish.
I am in complete agreement with Corra here. I think punctuation "creativity" enters the picture when multiple forms of punctuation are grammatically correct, but you choose one of them based on how you want to portray the scene, dialogue, etc.
Anywho, that's my two cents on this lengthy subject.
-Elisheva
