Cia

If members mention governmental policies, political bodies, parties, organizations, etc.... they will be moderated for political commentary outside The Pit, and this topic will be moved. To avoid that, let's keep the discussion more in the line to conversations about the realities of societal expectations, perceptions, and the realities faced by different fields, the wage issues being faced by those dealing with increased expectations without due compensation from changing technologies, the constant shift away from middle-management increasing responsibility on the average worker without training and/or compensation, the blue-collar worker challenges of companies down-sizing for various reasons both industrial and economical, etc....

Like Matt, I abhor the way society views our education system in the US. I value education and volunteered for years before my kids hit middle school and I went to work... in the education field. I saw it, over and over. Parents who came in to the school and had nothing but negative or dismissive things to say about the effort I saw teachers make because I spent hours at the school trying to help a little. Let's talk about this damn misconception about all the "breaks" teachers have that make their job so cushy. I can't think of a single teacher I know that doesn't spend at LEAST 40 hours a week prepping, teaching, and grading. Breaks aren't time off for most teachers. Breaks are used to catch up on that work that just gets pushed aside--the "this is the new writing curriculum you have to use this year, or this is the change the state is making in state testing standards for this and that, so please structure your lesson plans to...." that requires planning and forethought because each and every lesson and each and every year the teaching is BUILDING on what they've learned before. You can't just expect things to change and for it not to create a lot of work. Teachers also have a lot of continuing education they have to do. They work after the kids are out of school and before they go back. While they are on a break, they're often learning these new lessons themselves, learning new teaching techniques, following up on technology changes, attending district trainings, and more. I don't have to do those, but because I'm a giant nerd, I attend as many trainings as I'm allowed and I have a ton of educational books, accounts for sites where we get our math, reading, writing curriculum, etc... I work as a paraeducator for special education resource students, which means I'm not a teacher. I don't even make a third of what they do here, but I'm required to know the material the teachers are teaching for each class I visit through the day (elementary, so I visit to push in assist students or take out for small groups in 9 classes with 20 students in grades K-5 for math, writing, reading, and behavior support) as well as adaptive techniques or lesson plans for those lessons. I have to know how to scaffold the learning for the students based on their individual IEP needs and allowed accommodations and how to document progress for their IEP goals. In one group, I work with eight 4th grade boys from 3 different classes for writing for 45 minutes. Usually they are all doing different versions of a "similar" assignment, but with different requirements. *pulls out hair* I do all our filing, print/track our behavior students progress files, keep our room fully stocked, and make any copies my boss needs for packets along with my own. At the end of each day I shut down computers, wipe down our room to kill all the kid germs, and take out our garbage/recycling. That's a lot to expect of an hourly-wage employee who makes only a couple of bucks more than a person who flips burgers. Now let's talk about what I also do because I CARE, just like the teachers I work with. I usually go in to work 20-30 minutes earlier than my start time. I switch out all my morning papers for all my afternoon papers on my 15 minute break. During my lunch break my boss and I either sit and chat about our students/lessons, advice I need, etc... or I sit at my desk and eat while putting together lessons or finding worksheets online in case one of our behavior students is sent up. Last week I stayed an extra hour two days prepping because there isn't time to get it all done by the end of the day, since I only get 15 minutes before school and 20 minutes prep time towardt the end of the day. One night I also spent an hour online gathering supports to help some of my 2nd graders learn place value. We work in the education field because we care about learning and about kids. We don't do it to get rich. But across the board, those of us in the trenches with students are underpaid, undervalued, and overworked. Which is super sad.

“The sub-routines I just blasted were to keep him from becoming autonomous, even if he was self-aware. A glitch would be introduced anytime he tried to question the motives or directives of the people giving him orders, and he’d get stuck in a loop until he stopped. His brain would eventually figure out the pattern of the sub-routine, the triggers, and work to avoid them.” “Someone’s very smart,” I said. “Yes, but I’m better than smart.” Freska touched the back of her hand to Danie

Did you have a chance to read Dolores Esteban's science fiction story, Sumeru featured in this month's CSR? What do you think? Is the truth out there? More than we know or is it all just a bunch of bad t-shirt, retro hat conspiracy theory claptrap? Hmmm... how about you check out the story and find out? Or share your thoughts below if you already did! But first, enjoy this interview with Dolores Esteban! Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla. If you had 30 minutes of free time, what would you do? I would probably read an online article. Thirty minutes is not a long time. What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story? I'd travel back in time to Ancient Egypt or Ancient Sumer. We share a love of science fiction, it seems. What do you like best about writing the genre? I love to create new worlds, visit places in space and explore unknown things. Do you have a favorite science fiction story that you’ve read (online or published)? The Songs of Distance Earth by Arthur C. Clarke. I loved the novel. In Sumeru, the crew is supposed to travel to a planet in the constellation in Scorpius. Is there a special reason you picked that constellation? No special reason. I picked the constellation probably because it contains deep sky objects. How about the meaning behind the name of the spacecraft, “Shiva”? Shiva is a Hindu deity. I read articles on Hindu mythology. The texts inspired me to write Sumeru. The Vedas, texts originating in ancient India, contain concepts that are similar to concepts from modern science. That's the background of the story. Scientists learn from the texts that extraterrestrials visited Earth in the past. They send a ship to the aliens' system of origin to investigate. The spacecraft is called Shiva because of the Hindu texts that revealed the ancient truth. Did you like trying the infographic style of Sumeru as a plot device or do you find a more classic story format flows better for you as a writer? I started the story three times in three years. The first two attempts were plotted as classical stories and they failed miserably. I changed the approach and tried the infographic style. It worked out for the story Sumeru. Do you have a favorite part of this story? I actually like the whole story. After several failed attempts, I was happy when I had finally managed to finish the story. In a reply to a review on the last chapter, you said you like to ask questions. Are you pondering any deep thoughts lately that have prompted any new story ideas? I read about coherent quantum states and quantum decoherence. A very interesting topic. I've just started a science fiction piece. Quantum states are an element of the story. The writing so far is a mess. I jump between scenes. Definitely no coherence in writing. LOL. The editing process will be a pain.

Freska’s face underwent a series of expression changes. I didn’t understand them all, but Captain remained tense beside me. I turned my body toward his and curled into him, needing the contact. What she was doing reminded me of what I’d felt meditating with Lakshou; that connection with another being, the sharing. It wasn’t nearly as intimate as what she was doing with Danie, their whole bodies touching, parts of her actually inside him, but he’d been inside my mind too. The difference be

Monday I brought you the Classic Author Feature for this month, Shadowgod's A Shot of Bourbon. Did you catch it? You can download a copy of the banner if you want to add it to your signature. If you missed the feature, never fear, we have more to pique your interest today with an excerpt from the story that will whet your appetite for more! I picked this excerpt because I wanted to show just where the inspiration for the image from the banner came from, plus it's a great scene to showcase the interactions and back and forths between Bourbon and one of the other characters... Want to read more? Click here.

How can November be half over? Seriously? 2018 is just a few weeks from ending, and I have no idea where all the time went. Well, we read a lot of great stories this year, and here's another one for you to enjoy! A popular story in its day, A Shot of Bourbon is a teen coming of age story full of full-throttle fun, hormones, and more than a little excitement that comes with all of that. Length: 35,309 Description: The classic tale about a boy and his dirtbike. You know the one; boy meets bike, boy falls in love, bike hurts boy... yadda... yadda... yadda... If you want to spread the word about shadowgod's story, download the graphic below and add it to your signature! Make sure you come back on Wednesday to see the excerpt I chose to share!

Oh, it definitely has something to do with it. Thinner skin, areas close to the bone, etc... are more painful. Right up against my inner elbow was sensitive. But you have to consider those of us who have tattoos and piercings probably have a natural high tolerance to pain, or the ability to block it out, or just enjoy it. I live with enough daily that to me the pain is relatively minor. Tattoos and piercings and stretching my ears are recreational because I really enjoy the process/outcome in much the same way of a good workout releases all those feel-good endorphins.

@clochette If pain bothers you, when you get a tattoo they can put on some numbing foam that helps A LITTLE. It can affect how the color takes, just an fyi, which is why I avoided it especially since I had a lot of blending that needed to be done so my artist was going over many areas multiple times. Hurt like a SOB, but the color came out great, especially after the touch up (which is post-picture, that was just the initial tattoo). My best friend got a got a quote with watercolor-style decoration around it on her forearm, though, and the lighter colors and less blending was much faster and didn't require all the shading with extra layers on top of already tattooed skin.

Yep, I have both. Line outline of a lion with some color in the mane on my right ankle and a big inner forearm tattoo on my left. That one I just had done last summer as it represents what books mean to me, both as an educator and as an escape I desperately needed growing up. I also have double lobe piercings that are stretched to a size 8 and have a tragus and daith piercing in both ears as well. I do like my piercings balanced but don't really care about the tattoos.

I held onto the table that separated us, staring at the thing. It. Him. Danie. Whatever it was. My stomach roiled when I touched the ports in my head. “Like… mine?” “What?” Freska’s eyes widened. She whipped around the table and pushed my hand aside, exclaiming when she saw the ports. A light flicked on and flared past me. She nudged my head this way and that, mumbling. I gripped the table with both hands, my knuckles white, and stared at my hands. What was I? What had Captain boun

Thanks for the heads up, I've fixed that. I do a read through with these, but it's usually just a single edit after I write so I miss things. Readers are usually kind enough to alert to me to the mistakes I make though, so you this has already been given a pass through by the ones who often send me fixes. It's hard to see the mistakes when it's your own words making up the plot since authors tend to see the story, not the make-up of it.

His comment is to Ritch to be careful, as he is leaving him alone in the car. Ritch's reply of "You better" is in response to the "I'll be back just as soon as I can." not the be careful. Ritch is ignoring the admonition to his own safety because it's negligible by comparison in his opinion.

Comment all you like, Will, and I will try to like and respond as I can. The bigger issue is finding the notifications in my list of so many different things or finding the time to reply.

“Captain.” “Freska. It’s good to hear from you. It’ll be even better to get out of this shuttle. Is your location secure?” Captain sat in his chair, and I sat in a chair at an unused station nearby. “It is. It might not be for long though, sir. We’ve been pursued by Frijul’s and Elliard’s conspirators because we discovered something significant.” “Oh?” Captain’s eyebrows rose. “And that is?” “I’d rather tell you in person, sir.” “You’re afraid a system you control might be in

Absolutely! And, since I have known or worked with a variety of SPED students, what I've seen when they switch medications or they overdo them it's just as bad. Then you have zombies in school-kid form. It's also drives just as crazy when people judge kids with legitimate behavior disabilities versus kids who 'act out'. Yes, there is a difference. Yes, they can be helped but no they can't always help themselves. No, not every kid being a little stinker in class or who doesn't want to do a lesson has a behavior problem that is a disability. GAH!

Happy November! I know many authors are focused on Nanowrimo, but there's also time for reading this month, right? There's always time for reading! Still, I picked a story on the lower end of the word count this month, but one that is right up my favorite alley--science fiction. Dolores Esteban writes excellent stories in all different styles and genres, and Sumeru is a real thinker. Have you checked it before? Now's the perfect time! Sumeru by Dolores Esteban Length: 35,981 Description: Operation Shiva is the biggest spaceflight mystery of all time. The spacecraft took off from Cape Canaveral on August 8, 2068. According to official statements, the craft reached its target in the constellation of Scorpius, but hence was never heard of again. What happened with the ship and the crew? The truth is out there. A reader said: OMG............The End?????? (now much wailing and gnashing of teeth) Thank you for a story that had a unexpected twist..........The truth is out there........... ~Jeff1 Don't forget this month's Discussion Day will be Monday, November 26th.

Excellent article, Comsie! Last week I was helping my small group of 5th graders as they wrote a narrative story using dialogue and also looked for a single character trait exposed through dialogue in their 20 minutes of daily reading for homework each day for their Friday RACE paragraph writing assignment (This character's trait is 'such' shown by this scene setting and "exact quote" on page #, repeat with 2 more quotes, final sentence sums up why those 3 pieces of evidence/quotes prove the reasoning that 'such' is the character's trait.") Anyway, one of the things I explained to them about learning how to expertly write dialogue is that first you must learn how to be an expert listener. (*snorts* Hard for ANY kid!) But, in truth, we must be observers of the world around us at all times. Authors are all eavesdroppers and peeping toms and tomasinas because if we don't pay attention to how real people move, talk, and interact, then our characters won't come off as real people (even if they aren't really people) in a story.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by this, @watcher This is something you would need to direct to the author, perhaps via a PM. The Help forum is for questions that are for site-related help or technical site help (like a bug) questions, not story-specific plot thoughts or something an author needs to fix unless they are an inactive author and it's something site staff would need to address. In that case, you could PM me.

“Oh.” I let out my breath on a long exhale. That I could see. Every single particle of my being was energy and, as I moved, the energy ebbed and flowed all around me to mix with Captain’s energy. He was cool blue and green, pale gold and a thin ribbon of shiny black that blended with the purple, orange, and shining white of my aura. That shiny black linked us, and I realized it was the synthgar’s venom as it throbbed with our matched heartbeats. Captain shuddered in my arms

Writing is an evolution--I think we forget that, as authors, our imagination and storytelling skill doesn't necessarily equate to our grammar knowledge, learned sentence/paragraph structure, and ability to follow comma rules. And, while we can improve older work, it can also inspire us with raw creativity that might have gotten lost along the way or push aside for the polish. Of course, when you pair it with more advanced technical skills, you can turn good ideas into great new works.

On the first Monday of the month, I announced the CSR Feature was Carlos Hazday's series, Atlantis Shift. It features two stories, Tidal Power and Detskoye Porno, but check out my interview with Carlos to see his thoughts on writing in general, those two stories, or if there might be more to come! He always gets to ask authors questions and share the answers, so enjoy this chance I had to turn the tables on him! When it comes to reading, do you have a preference for paper or eBook/online books or stories? I’ve read on both but have realized I prefer printed over digital. Ten years ago, when I sold a large house and moved to an apartment, I gave away several hundred books. A few favorites I replaced with electronic versions and enjoyed reading on my tablet. Over time, I’ve recaptured the love for the physical presence of a book and the delight of turning pages and folding a corner to mark my place. It’s also a great sleep aid. Reading on a screen can interfere with dozing but falling off with my glasses on and the weight of a book on my chest is a thrill again. What do you like to do when you’re not writing or collecting questions & answers for Ask an Author? Riding my motorcycle! I own a 2010 Harley-Davidson Road King. For anyone not familiar with scooters, that’s a BIG touring bike meant for more than speeding down the highway or bumming around the city. Over the past ten years, I’ve ridden in 41 of the 50 states and a small corner of Canada. In all kinds of weather. The feeling of freedom is infectious. If on a busy road, I’ll blast the sound system; if on a quiet one, I’ll let the engine roar and the whistling wind blowing through my hair be my soundtrack. And no, I rarely wear a helmet. It’s the rebel in me. What’s one location you haven’t been to that you’d love to go to research for a story? Brazil! Although I’m almost fluent in Portuguese, the South American giant is a place I’ve never visited. I can imagine a story straddling the beaches of Rio and the Amazon jungle. Exotic locales alone could be a great inspiration. The danger would be that when you throw in sultry weather and half-naked hot men, I may just forget about writing. What do you think the most valuable advice or piece of education you’ve learned about writing is? Patience. Something sorely missing from my personality, but what I advise new writers to develop. Too many good story ideas are wasted in the rush to publish. It takes months for a chapter of mine to see the light and, even then, I often find errors. Only a fool thinks they can offer a quality product by themselves. I’ve been lucky to have a few talented individuals work with me. Particularly @Mann Ramblings. I’ve benefitted from his experience working with professional editors when publishing his books. I also know at times he’s consulted @Renee Stevensand @Cia when in doubt, so my gratitude to all three. Things he corrected at the beginning are no longer an issue. I’ve paid attention to what he fixes, internalized, and hopefully improved my writing. What’s the first thing you do when you start to write a story? (Plotter, pantser, get in a particular place to write, have your coffee/tea/drink ready to go…?) Look up hot men on the internet to model my characters after… Nah, not really. That comes later in the process. I’m a chronic planner. The spark may be a location, a character, or an event. I generally will jot down whatever it is, and then flesh it out into an outline/timeline. Once I have a beginning and an end, I sit at my desk and start working. Since most of my writing’s done in the early morning, a mug of coffee is always by my side. Did you do any particular research for the fantastical aspects before you wrote Tidal Power and Detskoye Porno? Not at all. I researched locations for both stories, power generation for the first one, and kiddie porn for the second. Dolphin anatomy was also in there. As far as the fantastical aspects, I relied a bit on previous readings. Anne Rice’s vampires, Rob Colton’s werewolves, and Cia’s were-creatures all floated around in my head. But I wanted something different, so I used those as a starting point to create my own myths. What do you think the best parts of these stories are? (scenes, characters, particular aspects of the writing, etc…) The concept. The emergence of shifter dolphins as a result of Atlantis sinking into the ocean. It‘s something different and opens up a world of opportunities for water-related stories. Being born in Cuba and raised in Puerto Rico and Miami, the ocean’s always played a huge part in my life. The Atlantis Shift series were written and posted a few years ago, and writing is an evolution. What changes do you think would improve the stories from your viewpoint as an author now? Where to start? Tidal Power was an experiment in dialogue-driven storytelling. No narration and no speech tags. Somebody slap me if I try that again. The second story’s a bit better but not much. Both would benefit from additional descriptions of locations, characteristics, and action. Written when I was getting my feet wet in the authorship business, I thought I knew what I was doing. Fool! Do you have any ideas, plots, plans, or thoughts you want to share with readers about the Atlantis shift series to come? Yes, I do. My idea was to follow the dolphins through different adventures where they would team up with other fantastical creatures. So far, werewolves, vampires, and dragons have been featured. I have blurbs involving witches, Santeria gods, and elves amongst possible characters. Each story would deal with a real-world situation where the dolphins team-up or face-off with the other beings. A new series installment is on my list of 2019 projects. Please share any other inside tidbits about your current works, your stories those who enjoyed these stories might like, or special sneak peeks of works to come for readers here! I’ve concentrated on the CJ series in the recent past. Currently, book ten is in the works. The story about a wealthy, Hispanic, gay teen with political aspirations will conclude with his graduation from college. It’ll begin posting in January. The list of future projects includes a children’s story or two, further adventures for the Key West biker in American Steel, fleshing out flash pieces of Colt and Tony in Chelsea, and potential CJ spinoffs. The pantheon of character in that series is rich, and I’d like to explore a few of them in more detail. Either flashbacks or future events. I do have quite a bit written on one dealing with Chipper, the musician in the group. And there’s always the possibility of further CJ stories following his work in the State Department and his rise to prominence in the US. But I need a break first.

Woohoo! We made it. Well, I sort of did. Sorry these are a few hours late. But for those of you who are just about Halloween-ed out, this week's prompts should prove a welcome break. Now, I'm sure you could find a way to spookify them if you want, but you can also go in another direction (outer space, my fav!) with the following ideas brought to you by our prompt guru, Comicfan! Prompt 712 – Creative Tag – First Line “What can I tell him?” Prompt 713 – Creative Tag – Meteorite The station has been exploring deep space for years. The docking ships have created a sort of trade that has allowed the occupants to thrive. Now there is a massive meteorite hurdling directly at the station, faster than the steering rockets could possibly move it. As the head of security it is your job to save the station. What do you do? Did you write a flash piece last week? Post a link in the comments!

This challenge was so popular two weeks ago and we have another open blog today, so I thought we'd have some more Halloween fun. It's almost here! It's a super simple challenge that helps get your creative juices flowing... write a caption for this image below that tells a story and share it in the blog comments. You have just 30 words or less to share what you think is happening in the picture. Narrate the scene, give a spooky reason why those jack-o-lantern's are clustered there, or give us a peek at the events about to happen... Are they about to get revenge for the carving? Eeek! You tell us! CAPTION THIS Remember, authors, you can get featured in the site blogs with several author features but you have to sign up for them! Story Critique: Open to all GA authors. Sign up here Story Recommendations: Open to all GA authors & readers. PM your recommendation and why you recommend it to a Site Admin.

The Captain’s quarters also became his war room. I had nowhere to retreat to be alone, and the stress of it was wearing on me. I went from being alone and desperately wishing for the touch, sound, and scent of other beings to freedom that was bearable only because of my small quarters, to the bliss of sharing a room with Captain for a short time. Now, as I tried to find some small way to handle the crowd by curling into the corner of the room so two walls surrounded me and my back was saf