John Doe

Yes but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be or one wouldn't find any straight stories... I think it'd be good for others to find other types of stories here. We love people from all aspects of life here.

gah I watching the footages on the news channels (websites our national teles are focused elsewhere States here)... it's heartbreaking...

Oh I ike Kent. And sorry! Swedish isn't as lyrical as Finnish. Finnish seems to flow from the tongue. Swedish has the aspirations, as subtle as they are you can still hear it. They are two very different languages. Sweish is Old Germanic and Finnish is Uralic (in origin and yes I just looked it up ). Sorry language nerd here. Sometimes I feel like people don't understand or truely get what I'm trying to say when I talk about languages, so I hope you do.

What makes a good book different from a great book is its basing of the human experience. If you make your characters human, feel like people, live like people, act like people, AND make the readers see and feel this, then yes you'll be able to make people cry even yourself. I have cried over a work of mine. Because I know how that scene is suppose to be like. For others to cry at my work? I don't know. I've been told from people that they cried from my story Get There. I know I had made Nephy angry or at least frustrated with that story. And it's suppose to. I wanted to put readers in Kan's place. I cried when Kan left "home." That was the saddest part in the story for me. Because I could never do what he did (well I could but I would never want to be in that position). So yes I do, only because I know how that scene is suppose to feel.... though I can't speak for my readers reading my work.

sorry but when society goes to that place, it'll be a disaster. Chips really? there goes our free rights and stuff and the government will take control of our lives. They say they won't (if it ever gets to that) but people in power like power and they'll will keep and use any means necessary to keep and maintain control. If you think otherwise you are deluding yourself. Jeez I'm tired... need to explain myself... There will be white lies to the concept if it is introduced. Keeping track of chips is a very easy thing to do. Especially in this day and age. There are phone logs of your conversations you have on your cell phones. They can print it out. It's recorded. I have seen it used in trials to convict people (state employee). Yeah it'll be told as something great, but someone down the line will abuse the power. They will tell you the tracking will be used for the saftey of the public. They will propogate that its in your best interest, the media will add to the frenzy, to enforce that fear and people will easily accept it and before you know it you'll be living in a society that sees and determines your every move. The fact that you can't go anywhere without THAT single chip would make you a criminal. Really if everything you need is on that chip why not just have IDentification on that chip and you need id everywhere you go, so to go without one will kinda be illegal. Laws would be easier to maintain and UTOPIA seems to be in the horizon, people will believe it and what people don't understand is that there is no such thing as UTOPIA. That, for UTOPIA, to exist is to sacrifice something in return and that usually means your freedom. The freedom to choose something, the freedom to go places with free will and choice and with out someone watching your everystep. If its a micro chip they can GPS track you, much like a cell phone, or onstar for your cars. The freedom to decide if you want a piece of metal in you ro not. (This would be a great story idea.) I agree with James. Whoever is in power at the time, if they are kind will be kind if they are curel they will be cruel and you never want to put youself in that situation. Say you tell a friend you are gay. That friend someone else and these chips exist and then there's a gay hunt. They can track you. There will be no escape as they chipped ya. You'll be rounded up. Resistance is futile, you will be exterminated for the better society, for the majority. Not only that extreme but say a party falls from grace for good and it's bad to associate yourself with the opposite side. You won't even be able to do any protest since your every move is monitered. We have the freedom now to protest, to say what's on our mind. We have to abilities now to be able to come on here freely as we please. Our lives are better because brave souls and step fourth and spoke on our behalf. Many people rely on those single figures, because they know they will stand up for them. They/we can go support these figures who fight for our behalf because there's that security and releif that you can still keep your anonymity. With a chip that will be impossible. Forensic science added with a microchip will take away that security and those leaders who stood up and spoke for those who can't or isn't willing will be taken away and their supporter will hide away in shame never realizing the true power they had in numbers. (I know of stories of photographers being chased after because of pictures they took.) Many people only come out if they know they won't be ID'd. And with the microchip people will live in fear being "caught." People have voices because they rely on those who speak for them, because they know someone else will speak on their behalf, because they won't have too, because they can support from the shadows. To have the courage to do something against the belief of the majority grows with time and experience. A microchip would destroy that. Think about it. If this was introduced in pre60's or pre30's I think the colored minority will still be enslaved. Or even homosexuals. Thrity years ago homosexuality was considered a mental defect. Its stigma was worst than now. At least now we can talk about the "issues" surrounding the fact of people being gay. Then, very few dare to mention the word "gay." HIV was thought to be only associated with homosexuals. To have microchips would subject the minority to the majority. And if your thinking it doesnt matter if your not in the minority group when that time comes... then why would you, in this moment now, believe you deserve the same rights as those others that holds more than you? **I've been editing this multiple times... and the more I edit the stuff that don't make sense I find more... and when I'm done I submit done and reread and see that what I typed made worst sense or no more sense. I quit. All yall get what I'm saying though there may be errors. I'n going to bed!**

Nothing beats a book, but I like my Kindle for transporting. That way when i travel I don't have to lug around books. Since I read so fast and can go through books like delicious cake, I need a Kindle (or half my carry on bag would be books which would be a waste of space since they charge for having checked baggage now) and like someone mentioned the Kindle is not back lit like a computer screen or smart phone so it's easy on the eyes (so if you are reading in the dark, you'll need a book light still...haha) and yes you can add other works to the kindle other than amazin books.

I love Lady Antebellum... Basically if it's country I know it... Keitiba - I checked those group out... for some reason J-Pop doesn't equal the caliber of K-Pop music for me. To me it sounds too cute, adorable, bubblegummy. And I don't mean Kat-tun but the J-Pop industry as a whole. Kat-tun has that too. I do like Utada Hikaru... I have about 5 of her cds. I love her because she doesn't sound like traditional J-Pop music and is more edgy and more "serious" poppy. And maybe another part of it also has to do with the fact that I know and understand Japanese and I think Japanese isn't a "pretty" langauage. It's too syllabic. If that makes any sense. Kings of Leon, Darren Hayes, Rob Thomas, Daniel Bedingfield and Green Day - they are all on my library already Jenni Vartiainen - OMG I love her! Thanks for introducing me to her. I like the bluesy/blue grass music in some of her songs. Jippu - I like her voice. It's sutble and soft. And while I was surfing one of her songs for a movie is quite controversial. A black man with a white woman! God forbids! (actually it was just one person who was pretty stupid in her logic). PMMP is also another interesting good group. I'm adding them all. Don Johnson will take some time to get use too... and maybe then maybe not. I'm kinda ignorant but I'm assuming the language is swedish? I like the sound of Swedish (the langauge) there's a mythical enchanting feel to it, well when Jenni, Jippu, PMMP sings... that is if they are speaking the same language haha. HIM - I laughed when I looked them up. I know their songs!!!! I just never knew who sang it until now. Thanks! I'm kinda diggin The Sound. Don't love them but I know if I listen to them enough I will... 5ive! Westlife! Lol I haven't heard a mention of them since I was in middle school. One Republic. already checked. Same with Sara B. Neon Trees. I can do the wonder girl's Nobody dance! Of course! Haha. Laleh is interesting... indie kinda... and I found Andreas Johnson from that suggestion... Hip Hop isn't really my thing. Oh Freddy Mercury? So 70/80's... Thanks Everyone!

Happy Belated one more year!

I hate toy dogs and I dislike owners more for doing that to their toy dogs... nothing really against them just not my cup of tea...

Merry Christms! Oh wait wrong celebration... Happy Foruth of July! No that's not it either... Merry Borned day!

MAP HERE Woot. I feel accomplished today. I took my drawings and made them into digital formats so you guys can now enjoy them! The map I am adding is about 60 percent of my created world for Mages of the Academy. The other 40 percent will be up sometime, though I won't think soon, as majority of my story involves The Silver Island and inhabitants from the continents of Thysili and Antica. I do plan this world to be serialized as I have other stories planned for this world. This is the first story. The others I have plan probably may not be as "serious" but none the less a part of this world's history. This story's main plot device will touched upon throughout the series. At least that is the plan so far. And well we all know ideas change and morph into other unplanned things. But here's the map. Enjoy!!

Okay I finally got a stable computer.... currently working on chapter 8 and hopefully it'll be up by this weekend. My next semester of school is going to be light and I got laid off from one of my jobs and so more time for stories... so I guess there's a plus in that. I have a few characters to introduce, mainly from the Council, and then we're off. Though these extra characters are background characters they are kinda important to the inner workings of the Academy. Hopefully so far you guys have a glimpse or idea of how the Academes of this world of Micha, Yoru, Birgil, Susil, Merlorna, Adar, etc... () works. Should I give an ecyclopedic description? Like at the end of books detailing general things of the book.

Have a blessed birthday!

I know what I'll be doing this weekend some... thanks More please

Very important. Golden egg here. Knowing the beginning and ending isn't a strange thing. Most starting writers are like this. They know the beginning and ending. You aren't alone. Many of us write like this, me included. It makes sense though. Because ideas sprouts, gives birth to a beginning and when we get a beginning, something in our brains triggers for an end and we get the ending. Point A to B. The middle is the hard part. When I wrote Get There I had that issue. And the story in its format now I'm not satisfied with, but I love it nonetheless. One day I'll edit it and removed about 100 pages from it (its about 420 some pages). That excess of 100 pages was the result of poor planning, though many of my readers love everything about it. I know better. If I did an outline (which I didn't) I would have gotten a much better story. Outlines are a guide, not set in stone but they pinpoint major events in your story making it easier to link together, like Mr. James was hinting. Not only does it make it easier to link events, it also helps a writer focus on the important details of the story and trust me, focusing on a few details or key events in a story is better than having multiple events. When you read, take notice of when you skim... you skim because the writer has failed in selecting the appropriate moments to show and tell. They are just giving us filler scenes with little to no relevance. So in that instance the writer failed. You never want to give your reader the opportunity to skim. When they do, it means they had lost a bit of interest in your story. So I agree with the outline. Select and imagine a few key scenes/moments/events... and focus on the details on these moments... before you realize you'll have a novel draft in your hands/computerscreen. Also remember to read. Read. And read more. And just don't read. Take note of how that author is writing. Don't only take the "good" notes, take notice of the "bad" stuff too. When you take writing classes, I have this to ask everyone. When you workshop people's (your peers' work) who are you helping? People go in thinking it's for the writer. I disagree. Vastly disagree. Yeah maybe a little for that writer but for me workshops are a waste of complete time for the writer whose work is being critiqued. Why? Because people have this sense that they have to save your work. They say something is wrong with this part of your story when in fact there is nothing wrong there like how that person states. They suggest you to give more info on the missing father when the story has nothing to do with the missing father... I have sat through countless critiques and it always starts with me arguing against everyone else... regardless of whose story we are reviewing. Who are we to say that this is how the story should be? This is the detail you as the writer need to put in...well then why don't we write the story ourself. Workshops are meant for you, the person doing the editing. It's to help you to pick out things that other writers do - oh this was good I should do this in my writing.... hmm this is horrible, I shouldn't do this in my writing. Workshops are suppose to teach you to have a better eye as a writer. To analyze writing better. Not for the writer whose work is being reviewed because we don't know the writer's true intentions with the story and what they truely want the story to say. Sure we can push the writer in the right direction but most workshops are fruitless for writer. Sometimes writers takes these advice from workshop and they change their story to the suggestions and they come back with something worst than they initally started with and the reason being was that initally they had a vision, an idea, that was weak to begin with and that second piece was no longer an idea but a conglomerate mass of small details ckumped together. Details with no lead. Anyway that was somewhat off topic, but yes outlines are important. They may seem like a hassle, not important, too much time consumer, but once you do it you'll realize why they're useful.

Awesome... No worries here... I don't have to understand the langauage when I listen to it, knowing what it says is good enough. I didn't understand korean when I first listened to that genre of music but half of my library was made up of Korean music. And now you can throw me in Korea and I'll be able to get places with minimal trouble. Thanks. I'll check them out.

Yes people shy away from these topics because they are such emotional topics. And few writers grapple the tasks of handling such topics. I think writers generally don't write about such things is because they don't know how. Sure they can write wonderful stories but such topics has to have another layer of skills to make the story good. Hence writers who do wrestle these sort of topics risks their reputation on the line. Many writers know that they either lack the skills to write such a story or lack the perfect execution. With these topics they have to be done right, or else the writer will be seen as insensitive, careless, thoughtless, generalizer, who knows nothing about the human nature of responses to these types of ordeals. Some writer take Faulkner (as Kavrik mentioned) mention and lay it to readers at the end. It's ties the loose ends, so in essence throughout most of the story they avoid the taboo topic itself, with just minor references to it, so readers had no idea but when reveals it makes sense. Though here the facts has to be good and tight for readers to believe it and not scoff at the idea. This method is easier. The other is to basically talk about the taboo subject in an off handed way. A great short story that I can think of that does this is Mona Simpson's "Lawns." It's about a girl who was molested by her father growing up. There's a scene in the story where she (the narrator) states when she had her first orgasm: when she was nine and by her own father's hands. That in itself was an eye opener. When I read that part I felt sick to my stomach and yet I continued to read because the way the reader gave that information was so - hmmm can't find the words to describe it - different, unexpected that I read the story to the end to find out what happens. After reading that story I had to give Ms. Simpson kudos for writing on a topic so well. I probably wouldn't write the emotional aspect of these topics well, but the psychological aspect I can probably do... but when writing you want to to grasp the human connection, the human experience and many writers have trouble grapsing that close to situations of these "taboo" topics. Which brings me to my next thought... Japanese writers have long wrote about these topics. No topic is taboo for them. It's become like a phenomenom there. Take for example the topic of rape. It's spread over to comics targeted to teens and highly prevalent in gay comic (yaoi). It's a strange concept and dynamic. So here most Westerners would probably be offended by the concept but as I read more of the stories, and author interviews, there seems to be a concept there that seems interesting. It's hard to explain, but I can see their need to explore these types of things through characters that they create because no one would ever want to go through an actual rape experience or condemn or think for anyone else to. Yes some of us may fantasize about it (I admit it, I do) but that stays just like that: a fantasy and I would never want to live it in real life. Never. So I guess a small bit of cultural setting comes into play also. Though maybe small but some nonetheless. And I just don't mean like ethnic but how a person was raised and their experiences. I kinda touched upon this awhile back when I announced that I was going to write a story similar to these comics that I have read... though at the time I didn't ask what people's feelings were about tthe topic rather if they would read it and many encouraged me to write it. I written 10 pages so far and that was months ago when I made that announcement. I feel like I have to write in a way that is humanizing for both the agressor and victim and that initself is hard to do. So I'm curious to hear peolpe's thoughts on this...

Thanks! People got any more recommendations? Celes that duck swimming song was way weird... heh... like an acid trip on prozac... Funny enough I heard of Muse from Stephanie Meyers but avoided them because she liked them and I was like... what can she and I have in common, but they are a pretty good band... Also I think I found a new love in JLS... they are just like Korean pop bands... I have postal service in my music list already... good choice... Franz Ferdinand is a bit too punky in music wise for me but I do really like the lyrics a lot in that song.... and owl city too... they are similar to the group Mae which I have in my music library... and the wanted can I say HAAAAAWT! Adding them too... thanks for the recommendations... People got more?

Ditto. I read his story while I was still in high school I think, and it helped me survive holding the secret of being gay. Though I still hold the secret today, I hold it rather with pride rather than shame like I did in those days. (Long story...)

Tradiationally, oral tales that are told in my culture features orphans. It is said to be more emphatic because these kids have no parents. That is the saying anyway. In some stories today I say that is true. In others, I say it's just a means of getting rid of an equation in the story that would need eplainatioon.

I wzs 25 towards male. So less than average male but not woman... heh. My results is in the spoilers, so I won't clog the thread.

The age of boy/girl bands in the United States ended when the 2000's started and it was a sad day. I have to admit I love bands like that. Which is why I listen to Korean pop music. They have countless numbers of boy and girl bands to listen to. And then there's the occasional across-the-Atlantic findings. Like today, I stumbled across The Saturdays on accident on youtube and though I'm not in love with them, I do like them. And it's like this everytime. I find groups by accident. So I'm asking you folks here since you all live across the waters... what group bands out there would you recommend? I have an unoriginal taste in music. If they fall into pop music I would probably like them. If the lyrics are meaningful in more ways than one then I would love them. Hence I'm not too thrilled with American pop music at the moment. I could do less with bustin' caps in to people, or sliding credit cards down someone's bum crack, or making people's bed rock and super soaking the sheets. Stupid stupid lyrics in my opinion. Though some of the songs are fun to listen to becuase of the beat of the music and pacing of the lyrics like Sean Kingston's "Fire Burnin'" and C. Lo's "F#$* You." In American music today, if it's not like the said-mentions-befores, it's a repeated chorus or verse that makes a song up and that gets boring really fast. Hence I love country music because of their lyrics. I love the story telling in Country music. Yeah I'm a love junkie and I love songs about that too (or break ups), and girl/boy band groups would sing often about that, hence why I like them. Because I live in an American centric world I am oblivious to other countries' music for the most part. If I don't go out and look for myself I won't know what's out there. I found out about Girls Aloud years after their first debut (about 3 years ago) and I loved them, albeit a bit late, but still... new fan here. When I was in middle school to high school I came across The Corrs and loved them. I loved the celtic influence in their music. The instrumentals in their music seemed to speak to my soul. So now I love irish/celtic instrumental music. Any directions in that area would be great also. I do like the single artist. I'm a little monster myself (Lady Gaga) though I'm not obessive like some other fans. I like some Rhianna songs. Beyonce is a must. Cheesy Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, and Michael Buble I also love. So if you have a person you would recommend I would find and search for that person and test them out. I like rock bands too, though heavy metal music doesn't mix well with my head, though some metal bands have really nice song lyrics. Softer rock for me. I like some Seether songs,Nickleback, Daughtry, (the wussies stuff if you're a true rocker .... haha). I do like some Alice in Chains. So who would you recommend? Those of you in the markets outside the US... cause I got the Main market of US down.

Welcome to your <insert number> year on Earth!

Glad you came out between your Mum's legs! Congrats!

I'm am 100 percent of what I am (I'm not disclosing... since my world is very small). I will say that centuries ago, my ethnic race can be traced back to China, though we are not Chinese. We spoke a different language (and I don't mean dialect, completely different language) and have different customs. Ancient China persecuted us and as the minority group we went south. So these days when I get asked where in world region I say Southeast Asia though I have to explain in depth more cause my ethnic group is not Thai, Lao, or any of the major countries though we could be of those nationalities (not ethnicity). Today it's a general SE asia, from southern China to Burma, Vietnam, etc... Though I was born and bred in the United States. genology.com and ancestry.com is completely useless for me. As stated, as a minority group, my ancestors had to live in areas not liked to be habitied by the majority group, and that lives on today. The villages today don't have electricity still and they are still farmers and what not. I can go back about 6 generations orally. But I know that in the US (as with those in France, the UK, and Australia) those that are first generation born (like me) is it. The later generations are losing to the main culture and customs of their respective "host" countries. I have nieces and nephews who don't even know our "native" language. Studies have shown that by the 4th generation in US borns, the lagauage will be about 80 percent lost and I believe it. I grew up with struggling to be "American," had hardcore issues with it, clashed with my family, deserted many things which I am picking up again and putting value in... and it's not enough. I live in an area where I can't converse in my other native tongue and I find that I'm forgetting simple words... like the term for older sister, or a term for my cousin's wife or husband, or my uncle from my mom's side. There are a lot of these familial terms, ones I shouold know and did know but I forget them since I don't use them often enough. Tradiationally, it's used oftened. You never call your cousins wife by name but by that term and since I haven't lived near my family for years I lose what I don't use. Another popular thing these days is kids moving out of parents' home when they come of age, etc, which can attribute to a lack of lineage knowledge. Before in the old days families stuck together (in both eastern and western worlds) and thus the knowledge of one's heritage was well known. Also families stayed in one place for decades and even centuries. Hence I liked the South and small town New England for that matter. Old Mr. Johnson down the street has been living in his home for 80 plus years and that house has been in his family for 5 generations, etc.... and maybe I spoke too much here, but I like these kinds of discussion...