Cia

I got to know Stephanie a bit off-GA and was quite happy to see her bring her writing here! Great interview and story review as well!

I hope you had a great day hun!!

Cool link! I moved it for you.

Have a great day, hun!

Thank you! I do try to be unique. My goal is always to make the characters seem real and relatable. Thanks so much for the review, Daithi.

Oh, so much is coming! I hope you continue to enjoy the story, Daithi. Birch is taking things well, but he's known Sayer his whole life. Plus if you add in the magical 'we share souls and have for a long time' part, he's got some reason to be sort of... accepting of everything. That doesn't ever seem to last though, right?

This was the discussion outcome that we'd had in chat and what we all agreed were good ways to work with a flashback. You don't have to agree with them, or use them, nor are they the only way to disseminate information, of course. I agree with that. I prefer not to use them, but I've been told I suck at giving readers backstory anyway. We'd talked a lot about different writing techniques beyond flashbacks, but this blog post focused on this usage. I guess I did use the word rule there in the third line, but I've never been one to tell a person that something HAS to be done a specific way, and only that way, when it comes to the creative aspect of writing. Stating your point of view, when you have one that differs, is great. This opens up discussion. Just... try keep it discussion. Like the ideas, don't like them... but watch how you say things. I've recently been reminded again that is important. As most people in chat and the Writer's Corner can probably tell, I absolutely love to talk about the craft. It's how we grow and make up our minds on what works for us and what doesn't. I wrote up a lot of my own take on writing, techniques, tips and so forth for FSO. They're just that though, my opinions, observations, and experiences. The great thing about GA is that we have the activity over here to further the discussions. Also, unless I'm quoting actual literary sources... I should mention I use the word rules rather loosely. Those were the 'rules' we came up with, which I also called guidelines. I tried to make this blog post be very obvious that it was about what we discussed and decided ... who's to say how they might have read differently if the chat room had different users there that time?

First off a few points: 1) The system cannot separate likes from the Forums and Stories. We use them, or we don't. As our system does require the likes to separate out new authors for the moderation queue, we need the likes. They're here to stay for that aspect. 2) Take a look at a post or story you liked. Do you see how the button now says unlike? Check it out for yourself, it works. 3) Negative rep points sucked. They created issues between members when they didn't know for sure who was doing it... can you imagine how people would react to someone saying they didn't like something with that but not saying why? We'd have a ton of mod issues, and we are always trying to avoid that. Written 'abuse' can be reported and it's not subjective. We can see exactly who is saying what. 4) Why is it important to hide the number of posts made or not made? What does that say, other than a member does or does not post much? Also, for reference again, once a member makes 501 posts they can change their own member title to whatever they want as long as it doesn't violate our content guidelines (profanity, sexual commentary, etc...) 5) Moderation warning points on your profiles are visible only to staff and yourself. Saul Stranger or Betsie Best Friend cannot see that information on your profile. The points serve a purpose, not just as a visible reminder of a moderation directive from staff, but different # of points can be assigned for different issues, with different time periods. For instance, if a person posts a nude image we can assign points to ensure they cannot make a forum post without staff approving it first to ensure they don't do it again, and we can control for how long that happens. 6) Validating is an important level as it affects the ability of members to access certain areas of the site. If a person can't validate that they're a live member, who intends to be here, well... we don't want them to be able to do everything active, contributing members can. This is a social site. Social sites have various groups/areas/ways to differentiate people. I don't think I've come across anyone going 'I'm better than you, I'm a gold member and you're not, ha ha!' and meaning it. They're ways to encourage interaction on the site to see what comes next, gain a level you like, get new banners (if we do those)... If that doesn't matter to you, then it doesn't. If it creates a problem for you, tell us. If someone is abusing the system, we'll find out eventually and correct it. Now, as for the like levels and the member ranks ... please remember when you make suggestion that members come and go. Some people go 'Domaholic? What's that?' just as many have no idea what the Kitty remark references to (and again, you don't want to know). So if you make suggestions, please remember to keep them generic as much as possible. They're meant to be fun and if people don't 'get it'... how is that fun?

Sayer let out a long breath. He picked up something from his lap. Birch stared at his outstretched hand which held out the gold box. “This is yours,” he said softly. The air was charged between them yet utterly still. To Birch, it felt as everything waited for him to move, like the whole world stood still for this one moment. Birch studied Sayer’s face, looking deep into his ice blue eyes. His hand trembled when he carefully picked up the box with its clumsy bow. Birch’s heart pounded relentle

I say... bring out the silent and deadly!

I don't have to tell anyone, you just did! I'm glad you liked the story and the characters. Sometimes names just jump out at me when I pick them and that really fit him. Thanks so much for the review Slytherin.

Been Affleck's chin is SO not his best feature. With that costume? No. no no no.

That was a Cia is an idiot mistake that Rob caught and I then fixed. The prologue was not from his story. Sorry for any confusion!

Ahh, but if hope is preserved for mankind in the box ... were those evils not preserved for mankind while in the box? Why did they need to be released to affect us then? Or is the hope within the box to be viewed in an evil light, such as if it had been released we would have hope twisted in such ways to hurt us the most and never be a relieving force as it can be viewed (as in bad things are happening, but we still have hope good things could happen instead). That's the confused and dual nature of the hope within the story that is never really clear. I wanted to play on the dual nature and show it during the story I wrote as well. As for set ups, no they usually aren't easy, especially when dealing with a person that has some self-esteem issues like Ayiwyn did. Thanks so much for reviewing Aditus.

I know... lots left to tell about the romance that would have been lovely to tell. However, as the point of the story was not getting involved with someone, but making that leap from hoping that the person you like returns your feelings, I didn't write it. See, that hope can be good and bad. You can view that hope with a positive light and decide to make the leap or you can view that hope with a negative light and believe that it is in vain, and not make that leap. The scene I showed was all about Ayiwyn deciding how that hope would play out for him. Would he take a chance on the cafe hottie or wouldn't he? Anyway, thanks for reading Asamvav, and for reviewing too!

I think Sasha's goal in this is not to teach them how to write, but make them want to write. Yes, you need to know the rules when it comes time to edit if you want to produce quality work. Authors shouldn't rely on their editors solely, but in this case I really believe that the idea is to encourage the kids to enjoy writing for itself, show them they can take the story in their head and get it on the page. As a parent I've learned that my kids, and their friends, learn best when they are engaged, having fun, and are able to use their imagination. Yes, the rules have a time and place, but the passion must come first if you want the lesson to sink in and create a lasting impression.

Dr. Aron Adler is ordered to take part in a rescue mission to a research colony located on an uninhabited planet in the outer rim. He is to immediately report to the U.S.C. Cassini, which will take Aron, two other scientists, and a unit of Union Marines to the colony. Once there, they are to assess the situation and retrieve any data or specimens. Formerly a scientist in the Union Navy, Aron was dishonorably discharged following a court-martial for failing to obey orders. Stepping foot on the Cassini brings up old feelings he would rather forget. Shunned by the crew of the Cassini, Aron finds comfort in the arms—and bed—of Marine corporal Kane Robertson. Upon reaching the colony, it becomes apparent that not everything is as it seems. Once again, Aron is faced with a difficult decision: follow orders or follow his heart. Read It Now!!

Thank you Ron! I did want to make this 'believable' and not over the top drama. Those moments of 'does he like me?' can hit all of us in the beginning, and a young college guy with a few personal image issues--which just about everyone has--was an idea character to show how hope can have such a dual nature. Thanks again for reading!

Thank you! I do exhaustive research when I write, because well... I'm a geek! lol There is such ambiguity within the original poem based on the word structures. Hope can truly be a dual-edged sword. It can be a good thing and a bad thing, depending on the situation and how you view it. It can motivate you or it can stall you out completely. So many of my anthologies could turn into longer stories, but I have so much on my plate I can't imagine writing more of these guys anytime soon. Sorry!

I did want to stay true to the original myth and not make a correlation in a twist. I'm a huge fan of ancient religions because I find them fascinating. It tells so much about how a culture viewed the world around them. Thank you for reading, and enjoy your Classical Studies!

Yay! Someone understood the echo in the scenes with Ayiwyn and his crush with the theory for the paper. I was hoping someone would. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, Ieshwar!

*shrugs* I have brothers who are identical twins and my dad is an identical twin. I don't even want to think about them being intimate with each other, because ew, they're family. I guess I just can't see people like that. I think it happens beyond blood relations, because I couldn't imagine that with my half or step-siblings and some of them I didn't meet until I was older. My best friend, who I've known since I was six, is exactly the type of woman I'd be with if I were with a woman. Yet, I can't imagine doing anything intimate with her at all. I love her, but I couldn't be in love with her. That's a personal preference though, and in the abstract, if an incestuous relationship is written well I have few problems reading it. I will say that I think bro-cest is way more accepted than other versions but all you have to do is look at other sites and you can see that the genre is alive and well. You see a lot of mother/son which grosses me out as a parent, but *shrugs* I just don't read it. Some people are narrower in their acceptance of content. I don't like to read teens having sex but many, many authors and readers on here have no problems with it. Other sites any sexual content involving minors is forbidden whereas other sites even allow sex between minors and adults which is strictly forbidden here. Some readers think bdsm is deviant and wrong, yet others like it... In the end all you can do is write what you want to write and accept that not everyone is going to read your work if you do not follow the 'cultural norms'. Then again, who knows what acceptance time will bring? Gay fiction is on the rise and has been for some time, and at once upon time it'd been a major taboo subject too.

The non-consensual act is not portrayed in a positive light. The dubious-consensual acts ... those are trickier. There is some reluctance on the part of the bottom, who is the main character, in at least one of the situations but the act was unavoidable and their choice. It's so hard to decide for another person where the line is between what is acceptable and what is not. This story is very Roman-ish, so if you consider some of the elements of that culture, especially the military and legal societies, you'll see the correlation to the morals and overall culture. It's dark and raw in places, but fascinating and real as well, with a lot of loyalty, dedication, camaraderie, and even love. To get a better picture of the plot and other elements, you can follow the title link to the Goodreads page for Scorpion. I try not to give any spoilers in my reviews, but a lot of reviewers do give good in-depth synopsis type comments that might give you a better idea of whether or not the story is for you.

Well thank you dear, and thank you for taking the time to help me search out those pesky typos. I think we can all have moments when it is hard to remember that the things we hope for can turn out well, even through the potential for them not to come true is there as well. Thanks for the review hun!