Percy

Nice take on the theme, aditus. Good pacing to the story. Easy flow to it which is particularly impressive given that there was very little dialogue or even internal monologue. Glad you tied it out with a hope of a happy ending for Sam.

This investigative report writing style worked for the anthology, and the subject matter incorporated the theme well. Would be interesting to see what you could do with something longer. An epistolary style story might be a fun approach, something you touched on with the diary entries. Good contribution here!

Wow, this was a powerful little vignette with just the right emotional punch. Well drawn characters. I look forward to reading more from you.

A story poem! This was very enjoyable, Dolores, and impressive. I admire the way you so deftly create a medieval, fantasy world.

A fun romp, KC! I think we need the URL to this site!

This put a smile on my face. I think Jeremy (and the author who came up with him) has a fine sense of humor.

Lovely and well put together. I like the verse about ideas best, which can be hopeful and chaotic.

The 40s are a time of contemplation, for sure, and it sounds like your experiences have brought some sharply focused insights. Always good to get the updates of improvement from you!

Carrington is one of the best writers on GA and I'm glad to see you've highlighted this story, KC! One of the best aspects of Carrington's writing is that it doesn't fit easily into any specific genre. Characters are fascinatingly fresh, familiar and yet unexpected. Like real life, the characters in Man of Montana have mysteries that they continue to discover about themselves and each other. This is a really great read. Highly recommend!

Indeed! It's an easy recipe to adjust to taste.

I'm a big fan of single skillet recipes. Here's one of my favorites. Not sure of the provenance. Maybe an ex? Chicken Curry and Noodles Ingredients: 1 T sunflower oil 1 onion, sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 inch gingerroot, grated 1 bunch scallions, sliced Approx. 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into small pieces 1-2 T curry paste (depending on how hot you like your curry) 2 cups coconut milk 1.25 cups chicken bouillon Preparation: Heat sunflower oil in skillet and add onion, garlic, ginger and scallions. Stir fry until softened. Add chicken and curry paste. Stir fry until chicken is lightly browned. Stir in coconut milk and bouillon. Salt and pepper to taste, mixing well. Bring to a boil and add noodles. Cover, simmer and stir occasionally until noodles are just tender. Serve, adding fresh basil and lime juice, optionally.

:wizard: :wizard: :wizard: :wizard: It's your day, Trebs! ~Happy Birthday~

The only fan fiction I’ve read was in X-Files back at the height of the show’s popularity. A story was recommended to me by a friend and it was brilliantly written. The author certainly had a distinct voice but was similar in style to William Gibson. Clever, imaginative, crisp writing. I read everything she wrote for X-Files and also what she wrote for some other show that I wasn’t familiar with and never watched. So with the right writer, it’s certainly possible to produce a story with fully developed, interesting characters that holds the attention of someone who isn’t in the “fandom.” At the time, I tried to read other X-Files fanfic and all I thought of it was “Meh." This writer re-emerged on Livejournal in the early 2000s where she blogged brilliantly and tragically about her life on the streets and in the homeless shelters in the pacific northwest. Many of her fans reached out to her with substantive support. I don’t know how her life ultimately turned out or if it ended. And, being the internet, it all could have been a lie. Either way, she was a writer of tremendous talent. Setting aside the ethical and legal questions of publishing fanfic, I would say this genre of writing is the equivalent of the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew mysteries. Same characters in every book but different authors for the individual stories. When I was young and my brothers even younger (and thus under my control), I would write Batman and Robin scripts for us. We would tie beach towels around our necks as capes and I would make my father come shoot us with the movie camera. Sure fire way to make my family laugh until they have tears in their eyes is to watch these now. So yeah, fanfic, great for kids of any age.

Yay! Well deserved. Congratulations Cassie!

cycle

My boyfriend. and McIntosh Apples. Same question.

Stephen King's Dark Tower books which are strangely the only books by him I've enjoyed. When I was a kid there was The Great Brain series which long remained a favorite. That must have been when I was around 7 years old. Those and the choose your own adventure books are part of what made me love to read.

I hope the new day brings fewer worries, Bob. I hope, too, that these setbacks are temporary and you and your wife are able to return to your home and find respite there. As for the state of the world, I think each generation improves on the one before it. This Is true, I think, when looking at humanity as a whole and over a longer span of time then a few months or years. In fact, this perspective is one of the reasons I enjoy your memoirs so much!

As long as I’m making time to regularly engage in the writing process, I don’t get too hung up on volume. I'm a hobby writer. It has a place in my life as does my career, my partner, friends, reading and my fitness regimen. That’s my life – those are my ‘must haves’. Order of importance? Hard to say. They are, all of them, in a perpetual state of ascension or declension. I negotiate on behalf of each of them which means that I may sometimes tell my boss that I’m going to leave the office early because I want to get in an evening swim, or I may tell my partner that I’m not going shooting with him because I want to spend the morning writing. There are times when I give up a Saturday with friends because I’m needed at the office, or I shut down my kindle to watch a game with my partner. The thing I keep an eye on is that each of these gets my full attention for some period of time. They are each important to my well-being. When my work day is normal, it's anywhere from 7-10 hours plus an hour commute each way. The commute is when I do my reading or catch up on the news. I write 3-4 times a week and I try to make one of those sessions an intensive session – say at least 3 hours where I’m not likely to be interrupted. If my work day goes beyond 10 hours, either the workout, writing or family time gets cut from the day. If it goes over 12 hours, I choose one thing to do for some "me" time and that might be writing. It might be 1500m in the pool. It all depends on how I feel. If I go over 14 hours at work, nothing happens except work, commute and sleep. If I go over 16 hours at work for more than a couple days, it means we have a big project going and my firm will get a hotel room for the team near the office. This hasn't happened since the economic downturn. As many people above pointed out, the great thing about being a writer is that it's more than typing words onto the screen. It's reflection, it's plotting and it's observing life as you engage in it. All life's non-writing activities are grist for the mill.

Making cornbread, not paying close attention to what I was doing, I mixed up the measurements for the corn meal and the corn starch. If you ever want your taste buds to go on strike for a week, just suck on a mouthful of corn starch. Needless to say, I ended up bringing store bought corn bread to the party I was going to.

That's great, Wayne! Congratulations!

Another strong chapter. You write humorous dialogue really well. It sounds natural, not contrived. I also like that you have one of the guys, Chuck, who's really into the other guy, Dylan but Dylan's feelings aren't as strongly reciprocated. He knows Chuck isn't his "type" and were it not for the mugging, he may still not have noticed Chuck whereas Chuck has been aware of Dylan for a long time. Refreshing to see a dynamic that's true to life. Looking forward to more.

So psyched that you have a new story underway! Great start and your usual high quality writing. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens to Carl.

Strong start here. I'm pulled into the story and am interested in learning more about Dylan and his life. Good pacing and character development. Looking forward to more.

I hope things turn around for you and your family soon, Renee.