Unless you have a family like mine (three growing boys in the house). Then the turkey's gone two days later. I think we might be getting a bigger bird next year. 
Good luck in the snow, Janet! We've got a teensy skiff of it this morning., but it's supposed to grow through the day.
As a new writer myself, I've never found formulas or bullet-point lists to be helpful. General advice? Yes. Specific comments on my work? Yes. Lists/formulas/rules? Not so much. They might work for other writers, but I think my own writing method is far too chaotic to implement a formula.
The most useful tools that I've found for improving my work are reviews on tNBW and general writing advice by my favorite authors. (Ex. http://www.brentweeks.com/extras/writing-advice/ )
That book looks very interesting though, njc. I might have to grab one. 
Chapters 1-30 have officially been outlined! (roughly) Now I just need to down some coffee and actually write all 30 chapters before I decide to make MAJOR changes, yet again. Crossing my fingers that I can make some serious progress this month, especially since I have a week off for Christmas.
On another note, I have a chapter on my to-do list that seems rather daunting. I need to introduce at least one character, make them sweet and lovable, then tear out the reader's heart as that character dies next chapter. 
I'm not sure my writing skills are good enough to accomplish this, but we're gonna go for it anyhow!
Thanks so much for all the reviews and pointers, njc! It's really helping to kick my bum into gear. Let me know if you want me to poke at some of your chapters.
Sorry I'm lagging behind, everyone! My entire family caught the flu, then that flu developed into bronchitis for my dad, a sinus infection for my mom, and strep throat for me. It's safe to say we've had a "fun" couple of weeks. Today's the first day I actually have some energy (despite the antibiotics), so I'm gonna be busy disinfecting the house and finishing projects that I couldn't do while sick. Gah! Hopefully I'll get to finish at least one chapter this weekend.
Hey NJC, no worries on the connection bit. I just found it curious that you weren't listed as I love reading your work. Review of Ch16 is complete! Hope it was at least a little helpful.
Anyone else wanna get poked? *evil grin*
Good point. Review of Ch16 is in process...
How on Earth are you not on my connections list, NJC? Which chapter is it? Happy to look it over. 
Alright, guys. I need a kick in the arse and I think a review is the perfect spark to get me started. Who wants to get poked?
Elisheva,
I thought the story would speak to 16-20 year old boys/ men. It's a surprise that you are such a fan, but a good surprise.
To be fair, I'm only 23 and I generally get along with men better than women. Also, I absolutely love clever characters, male or female. I can see your point with the MC having next to no faults, though. Most of his hardships are situational or by outside influence. Still, it's one of my favorite novels.
Ok, I'll stop hogging NJC's thread now.
I am learning so much about covers and book-blurbs...
Anyone else looking for a review buddy? I would like 4 or 5 eyes on this and will be happy to reciprocate.
I would love to acquire another review-buddy for Colorless Dragons, but first I need to get my chapters fixed so they show the right timeline. I made major PoV and setting changes in the early chapters. Maybe another month before I get them fixed? *crosses fingers*
I'm reading Patrick Rothfuss' book, 'The Name of Wind'.
Ahh! This is on my shelf, along with 'The Wise Man's Fear', and I am seriously dying in anticipation of book three. 
Fangirl squealing aside, these books are more of a fantasy biography and they focus less on the magic than you might think. In fact, there's a whole section where the MC is learning martial arts and another where he's learning politics and medicine (can't recall which of these are in which book). My favorite part about these books is the various cultures the MC explores. One considers it rude to express emotions on your face (expressing them through hand gestures instead) while another has this intricate system of exchanging coins with messages to show one's status.
Ok, I'm done fangirl ranting now...
The first one is pretty straight-forward, so I don't think there'd be any issues there. The second one might get confusing for the reader, not for the concept, but for the fact that there are four characters shoved into one short paragraph. De-mystifying this paragraph would entirely depend on which of the characters have already been introduced earlier in the chapter.
That's my two cents, at least.
Hope everyone had an awesome Halloween! Mine was spent running around the office in a corset (which is great, since it's literally impossible to slouch or eat too much food).
So anywho... I finally got a good bit of writing done and my computer decides to just randomly crash while my writing program is open, corrupting the file my work was stored in. Luckily I had a backup, but now I gotta figure out what the crap is wrong with my computer and cross my fingers, hoping it doesn't crash again while my work is open. I'm gonna go run some file system tests now...
Congrats, Janet!
Marshmallows!! Now I have a sudden craving for S'mores... Thanks, Amy.
The "cold" weather has already begun for me. It's been raining non-stop since Thursday and temperatures have not gone above 55. Luckily, my ice dragon muse has finally come out of hibernation and I'm writing again. Yay!
It means we're the fun group. 
lol! Apparently, ER visits and dragons are my trademarks. This is worrisome.
Oddly enough, I've actually managed to get some writing done this week. Unfortunately, I keep writing scenes that are a few chapters ahead of what's posted here. I have the late shift next week, so I'm crossing my fingers that things are light and I can write while I wait on progress bars and frustratingly slow satellite connections.
For my fellow rant-lovers in need of a giggle. I was laughing so hard, there were tears.
I've tried using present tense in stories before and made an absolute mess of things. I am literally incapable of using present tense without going over whatever I'm writing about 18-billion times and still, I won't get it right. I have the same problem (though not as bad) with writing things in first-person. Both of these seem to be very popular in books lately, especially Young Adult novels. As both a reader and a writer, I prefer past tense and third-person. Anything else just feels funny.
Unfortunately, I don't have any advice for you, Miss Midnight. I've avoided present tense like the plague, so slippage is a rarity for me.
Yikes! Sounds like you had a 'fun' hospital trip. Feel better, njc! *signs Janet's virtual "get better soon" card*
I started a spreadsheet that's a slightly modified version of K's three-node outline and I finally realized why Maya is so difficult to write. This girl literally has no goals in life. She sews, learns archery, and she follows Merrin around. Normally, this would mean that the character is completely unnecessary and needs to be removed, but she's completely essential for the mechanics of the story. She simply doesn't have anywhere to go in the ending. I can shift things around and split Vierra/Noi's goals so that Maya has a purpose at the end, but it bothers me that it wouldn't be anything unique to her character.
Hallo Akhere! I reviewed your first chapter and I can't wait to read more. The story looks really interesting! Just be wary of magical props popping in out of nowhere, or disappearing mid-chapter (Amy has taught me this lesson). Like the purple book at the end. I pictured Kate holding it in the crook of her arm, but then suddenly pages are flipping and she's putting her hand on the cover (is that even possible at the same time?)
Good luck!
Elisheva is a charming gal who writes her novel only while visiting people she loves in the Emergency Room. She's made quite a bit of progress this past month, and (for now) her family seems to be surviving her learning curve.
Your descriptions make my day, Amy. Believe it or not, my little sister went to the ER again this past weekend. *sigh* One of these days, I'll get some writing done.
a) Name, WIP --- Elisheva, The Colorless Dragons
b) Favourite genre --- Fantasy! Especially stories involving dragons.
c) First character ever written and their modus operandi --- My VERY first character was an amnesic cat named Shadow who solves a murder mystery while also trying to figure out who she is and where she came from. No, this story will never see the light of day. I was twelve when I wrote it.
I don't recall a holodeck in Voyager.
Whaaaaaat? It's only a staple for multiple episodes, especially those including the Doctor. See "Notable Appearances" here...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodeck
