Secret Author Stories Contest 2024 Talking Topic

[Gary L]

4 hours ago, kbois said:

Omg.. any intelligence out there would bypass our planet in a heartbeat. Who the hell wants to deal with humanity. 

Now, intelligent, talking dogs... sign me up for the next interstellar dog house heading that way. 

@weinerdog are you with me?

Greta is reading your post as I type.  It’s only 07.39. Up at 06.00 to take for a walk - no idea that walks are for peeing, came back and has so far destroyed a training mat all over my bed and peed on bed whilst mattress protector is drying.. now fast asleep. These weinerdogs are hard work 😓 

[Gary L]

19 minutes ago, Cane23 said:

Well, here's my thesis:

IF @kbois = wrote ALL SA stories, AND

IF @kbois = @Mrsgnomie, THAN

@Mrsgnomie = wrote ALL SA stories!

Duh 🤪

[Cane23]

14 hours ago, Bill W said:

Ok, I take it today's story is up, so will someone please give me the link.  I signed up to follow Secret Author and still didn't get a notification.  Not sure what's going on, but I would appreciate a link.  

In the case you haven't solve the problem yet:

https://gayauthors.org/story/secret-author/for-ever-young/1

[Gary L]

And so to “Forever young”. No cats, dogs, alien beings etc. but a fascinating summary of a childhood to death relationship.  
 

I enjoyed this but I’m stuck, again.  Unlike the divine @Mrsgnomie,  whose hand is up in the air with all the answers faster than Hermione in Hogworts…. 
 

This is all great fun, thank you to all the authors for making this such a good Secret Author 2024. 👏 

[chris191070]

Forever Young is a hard hitting tale. Which brought back a few memories that I had tried to forget about.

No clue as to the author.

[Mancunian]

1 hour ago, chris191070 said:

Forever Young is a hard hitting tale. Which brought back a few memories that I had tried to forget about.

No clue as to the author.

I agree that it is hard-hitting, it is also a very moving story that leaves it's mark.

[Bill W]

7 hours ago, W_L said:

I prefer Terrans, like the Terran Empire (twirls evil goatee) 😛   

I think Sci-fi might have been in everyone's minds for some reason. I mean a recent Harvard paper, published in 2024, alluded to the idea that Aliens were possibly "hidden" amongst humans. 

A  nd all this time I thought it was skinwalkers that were 'hiddene' amongst humans.   🐻  🐺

[W_L]

Forever Young is a condensed biopic, which is hard-hitting and interesting, but it feels like we don't see enough of Carver, the objective character. Glimpses of someone like a blinking taillight on the interstate road at night only appear and disappear in a few words. I like the plot and characters, but feel like this format doesn't lend to a biopic, which needs more details, character insights, and nuances.

[kbois]

21 minutes ago, W_L said:

Forever Young is a condensed biopic, which is hard-hitting and interesting, but it feels like we don't see enough of Carver, the objective character. Glimpses of someone like a blinking taillight on the interstate road at night only appear and disappear in a few words. I like the plot and characters, but feel like this format doesn't lend to a biopic, which needs more details, character insights, and nuances.

I agree. This felt like more of an outline of what the story should be. I never saw a name for the narrator... there's no real feel for who he is. Friends for life are unique and share a long history. This felt like reading history...but in a factual textbook way. It needed way more depth. 

[Bill W]

4 hours ago, chris191070 said:

Forever Young is a hard hitting tale. Which brought back a few memories that I had tried to forget about.

No clue as to the author.

 As far as the author, I have a feeling that it's someone British, due to the language, yet it talks about Jr. High, which I don't believe the British have.  Could this be a Canadian author or Australian.  Both of those would have some British inclinations in dialect, but do either have an educational system that includes Jr. High?  Maybe someone else can answer that question for me. 

[Mikiesboy]

Just now, Bill W said:

 As far as the author, I have a feeling that it's someone British, due to the language, yet it talks about Jr. High, which I don't believe the British have.  Could this be a Canadian author or Australian.  Both of those would have some British inclinations in dialect, but do either have an educational system that includes Jr. High?  Maybe someone else can answer that question for me. 

We have junior high schools in Canada, Grades 7 and 8.   Grades 1 - 6 are elementary and 9 to 12 are High school.

[Mikiesboy]

14 minutes ago, kbois said:

I agree. This felt like more of an outline of what the story should be. I never saw a name for the narrator... there's no real feel for who he is. Friends for life are unique and share a long history. This felt like reading history...but in a factual textbook way. It needed way more depth. 

I feel the same way. Very high-level, like i was reading a report about Carver. I have no sympathy for any of the characters sadly. Some personal conversations even if remembered by the narrator would have helped. It could be a very hard hitting story but it needs emotion.

[Bill W]

5 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

We have junior high schools in Canada, Grades 7 and 8.   Grades 1 - 6 are elementary and 9 to 12 are High school.

Thank you, then I suspect the author is Canadian.  I know @Headstall  and @Mikiesboy are Canadian, but are there others? 

Edited August 5, 2024 by Bill W

[Mikiesboy]

1 minute ago, Bill W said:

Thank you, then I suspect the author is Canadian.  I know @Headstall  and @Mancunian are Canadian, but are there others? 

i am.

[Bill W]

1 minute ago, Mikiesboy said:

i am.

I know... my mind wasn't working and I clicked on the wrong author.  I've since corrected it.  I'm not sure if Mancunian is Canadian or British or even Aussie.  

[kbois]

7 minutes ago, Bill W said:

Thank you, then I suspect the author is Canadian.  I know @Headstall is Canadian, but are there others? 

Not to throw a monkey wrench into your theory,  but in the States it depends on the state and even the county or district. Most common is elementary from grade 1 to either 5 or 6. Grades 6 (some cases) 7 and 8 are either Jr. High or middle school. Grades 9, 10, 11& 12 are high school. 

Junior high is an older term leftover from the 50s, 60s and 70s that is still commonly used in some regions. 

Edited August 5, 2024 by kbois

[Cane23]

8 minutes ago, Bill W said:

Thank you, then I suspect the author is Canadian.  I know @Headstall  and @Mikiesboy are Canadian, but are there others? 

And they are not the authors I'm sure!

[Bill W]

5 minutes ago, kbois said:

Not to throw a monkey wrench into your theory,  but in the States it depends on the state and even the county or district. Most common is elementary from grade 1 to either 5 or 6. Grades 6 (some cases) 7 and 8 are either Jr. High or middle school. Grades 9, 10, 11& 12 are high school. 

Junior high is an older term leftover from the 50s, 60s and 70s that is still commonly used in some regions. 

Oh, I'm well aware of the educational system in the US, but I don't believe they'd be using British terminology.  Maybe they're a Brit who's relocated to the States, but I still have a feeling it mmight be a Canadian author. 

[Mikiesboy]

7 minutes ago, Bill W said:

Oh, I'm well aware of the educational system in the US, but I don't believe they'd be using British terminology.  Maybe they're a Brit who's relocated to the States, but I still have a feeling it mmight be a Canadian author. 

Secret authors can be tricky. They can write using British, Canadian or US English.  Grammarly can help with that and so can a good editor.

[W_L]

8 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

I feel the same way. Very high-level, like i was reading a report about Carver. I have no sympathy for any of the characters sadly. Some personal conversations even if remembered by the narrator would have helped. It could be a very hard hitting story but it needs emotion.

Exactly, a biopic story needs perspective based on experience. A reference point, like, Tom Hanks' portrayal as the slimy and corrupt Colonel Parker in Elvis gave us a good glimpse into the famous singer by offering anecdotes on why he descended into depression and everything else. I loved/hated the dialogue between Hanks and Butler about their symbiotic relationship, playing on Elvis' need for recognition and how his family relied on his continued fame for support, Hanks was truly villainous but Butler was not without fault. For famous people, you need an intimate reference point, whether it's positive or negative. 

[Mancunian]

42 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

 

44 minutes ago, Bill W said:

Thank you, then I suspect the author is Canadian.  I know @Headstall  and @Mancunian are Canadian, but are there others? 

i am.

 

I love this confusion, and just to clarify the point, my only connection with Canada is that my godmother lives in Vancouver. I am very definitely British and live in Manchester England, hence Mancunian.

[kbois]

40 minutes ago, Cane23 said:

And they are not the authors I'm sure!

And neither is @kbois

[Alexmugs]

I have to admit that today's Secret Author story need a lot more oomph. The author has a great idea for a story, but it needs to be well thought out before executing. It's almost as though whoever wrote this decided to at the last minute and then tapped away furiously on their keyboard. 

Overall though, I'm really enjoying most of the submissions. It's fun to read all the different takes on the hidden theme. 

Kudos to all the authors who managed to submit something. They still have more talent that I have. 

[quokka]

1 hour ago, Alexmugs said:

I have to admit that today's Secret Author story need a lot more oomph. The author has a great idea for a story, but it needs to be well thought out before executing. It's almost as though whoever wrote this decided to at the last minute and then tapped away furiously on their keyboard. 

Overall though, I'm really enjoying most of the submissions. It's fun to read all the different takes on the hidden theme. 

Kudos to all the authors who managed to submit something. They still have more talent that I have. 

In Australia we have Primary School - K to Year 6, High School - Years 7 to 10 and Senior High - Years 11 & 12.

[Gary L]

7 hours ago, Bill W said:

Thank you, then I suspect the author is Canadian.  I know @Headstall  and @Mikiesboy are Canadian, but are there others? 

@Dodger ???? But this isn’t his style, I think.   🤔