option

Can be tough going, but this story is gripping.

Dont know if this is something thats answered already: Why is Jan in a motorised chair? He has 2 arms & hands, so could presumably use a manual wheelchair.

Quick moan/whatever about fact checking for stories. Every so often when reading a story, on here & other sites, I come across some glaring factual errors that really interupt the flow. It seems to occur most often when people are writing a character that is completely different to anything they know. Wondering if it would be useful for authors if there was some sort of list of foreign/different terms & facts, with their translations/equivalents, or even a 'common errors' section. A reader might email an author about an error, & the error gets fixed, but that dosnt help other authors. eg; Auto (US) = Car (UK) Trunk (US) = Boot (UK) Pants (US) = Trousers (UK) The below is just an example ive come across today, its not meant as any criticism of the author This is said by a british character in a story: "I was five. Riding with me mum and dad on the motorway. They were arguing over something, I don't remember what, when another auto ran through a signal and hit us from the side. Mommy and daddy's heads hit each other and they died. I was in the middle and hit my head on the dashboard. There was no permanent damage except that I can't see. They don't even know why." in britain/uk, they arnt called 'autos' but 'cars' motorways dont have signals (traffic lights) motorway junctions are one-way slip roads, traffic joining the motorway merges/filters into the existing traffic, there arnt any side junctions, so side-impacts are very rare. seatbelts are compulsory in vehicles, & have been for decades, so any movement by vehicle passengers is minor. the vast majority of cars available in the uk dont have bench seats in front, they have a drivers seat & a passenger seat. rear seats are bench-like, but with seat shapes, & usually passengers sit in the left or right side, directly behind driver or passenger seat. seatbelts are also compulsory for rear seats, even the middle one.

by strange coincidence http://gawker.com/5627564/middle-school-worthless in the UK, some places have middle-school & others dont

2 pillows, on a double bed

Merlin: The Tears of Uther Pendragon pt1 Saturday 11 Sept 7:25pm BBC1

Maybe the answer is for an education system to be more flexible? We take children, with differences between each & every one of them, yet stick them in the same schools/classes/groups as if theyre all identical. They are discovering new interests, talents & experiences. They are physically, mentally & emotionally maturing at different rates & ages. Then you mix in the differences between the sexes! Some options: (?) single-sex schools, located on the same campus, sharing break/lunch times & some lessons mixed schools, but with some single-sex lessons

https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/topic/27825-my-one-true-weakness

The way I approach forums: they are a quick communication method, so rules of writing can be relaxed. Grammer & sentence structure isnt so important, though it must still make sense. Spelling remains important, as does using the correct words. If having a problem putting thoughts into a sentence, try a list or short notes.

bump would be nice to have some idea if this story will be finished (hopefully before steve jobs has the internet banned )

If they hit me, id either find a way of restraining them, or hit them well enough so that they wouldnt/couldnt hit back. (this assumes its a situation you cant get out of, eg being cornered) Equality isnt a pick&mix

If youve lived there before, & have family in the area, you wouldnt be such an outsider/newcomer. I dont know if one exists, but is there a gay parents group/org? If so, their members will have experience of what your doing.

I did read an article about the seperation of different groups between facebook & myspace, where facebook was predominantly white, whilst myspace had been left/became predominantly black & hispanic. Facebook is non-customizable, essentially a tool where the content is the important stuff, myspace is customizable, & so 'bling' can be added. I wonder if a mobile is seen as a status symbol? If so, to enable it to be seen/shown, it has to be in use, otherwise its hidden in a pocket or bag.

http://gawker.com/56...phone-addiction http://gizmodo.com/5...n-everyone-else using a mobile whilst in a class is just plain rude

fyi: im not american Are you not basing a lot of this on generalisations? eg; the idea that a city may be more accepting than a small town, yet a town in a state that allows same-sex marriage etc could well be more accepting than a city in a state that either disallows it or explicitly makes it unavailable. Hasnt Walmart destroyed small town america? Also, what of the childs needs, that you wont know about until theyre born, or even later? They may have a disability, & the resources available are likely to be greater in a city. In terms of education, things change over time. They wouldnt be starting school for 4/5 years, & middle-school for 11 years. Schools could, & do, radically change in those time periods. A small town may have no choice of schools, whereas a city does. Personally, I think for a small child, town/countryside is a good environment to grow up in, then as they become teenagers, the extra resources & variety of a city are better for them. I suppose the ideal is somewhere between the two, a town with good transport links to a city, or a city with easy access to countryside etc.

context is important, & also that the details are realistic to the setting eg; someone noticing/meeting someone else for the first time, A would be more realistic when/if theyre together, then B becomes more realistic also, both can be used when writing, A leading to B

Is there going to be any more to this story? thanks