CassieQ

Agreed, all is not fair. Here's the next chapter for you. Thanks for reviewing.

OMG, yes I did And dammit, stop crawling into my head and reading my mind! It's creepy!

“Tibial...psst wake up.” Tibial mumbled incoherently, pressed his face down into the mattress. He was tired, so tired, let him sleep for the Goddess’ sake. “Tibial! Wake up!” “Mwuh, what?” he asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. It was dark, after lights out apparently. He could barely see the outline of a figure outside his cell but he could recognize the voice. “Mia?” “Shhh. Someone will hear you.” “Mia.” Keeping his voice low, he crossed the cell, reached through the bars. Her cold ha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I'm out of likes for the day, but this is crazy good. From the beginning with Shay's illness to the end of Ch 1 with the boy, I am totally hooked. So many questions!

Chapter 9 is up. What awaits Tibial and Chad? Read on to find out! (And ignore MJ 85 and his booing )

Part Two: Trial and Error Tibial sobbed himself into a sluggish exhaustion after his father had left. He had shamed his father, his entire family and for what? A man. A man he loved deeply, madly, unnaturally, and one he didn't even know if he would be able to see again. Now Tibial was awake and curled up on his cot, his father's socks on his feet. A guard had come by shortly after Tibial's father had left to give him a late day meal and Tibial was again struck by how slow everything seemed

Thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying the story. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Which one to pick? It's a hard choice. Thanks for the comment

No flukes, I'm afraid. Answers to some of your questions in the next several chapters, even though I am not sure you will like the answers Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Happy Birthday Renee!

I'll try to make this as painless as possible. It's a tough thing for many writers to have someone criticize their work. But any writer that is going to be worth reading is going to encounter criticism eventually and how they take it can make the difference between improving your craft or giving up. In my mind, there are four types of feedback. Here are some examples of each type. Non-Constructive praise: This is so awesome! I just love it! It's such a great story! It's nice and not many writers mind seeing it, but it's not really helpful. Non-Constructive criticism: This is awful and I hate it! You should never write another word you talentless hack! This will do you no good at all. Throw it away. Both of these give you feedback, but it is not specific enough to apply to your writing. Constructive praise: I like this story. I like Caleb and I told you that Noah is a bit boring to me as a character (as a bf I would take him and lock him in and never let him go ) but he fits the story very well. I like the ending though it is dark and even with the intention you had, it makes the story very round and interesting with a BANG of a final! Great! This is good, because it points out the things that the reader likes about the story. In this review (a real one, given to me by my beta), I learned that he likes my characters, even though one is boring and that the ending was well done, which is something he knows I struggle with sometimes. Constructive criticism: Also from a real review from a rough draft for the legends anthology: Legends, myth and fairy tales rarely portray complex characters, backgrounds and sometimes even treat logic like it is something that happens to other. But they all contain a motivation for the doings of the protagonists and some kind of purpose or moral to the story. You, aside from a wonderful setting and beautiful language, have no complex characters (which is totally fine), no background, a medium lack in logic and no real motivation and purpose. What I think weighs heavier is the overall lack of motivation. It all seems so… random. After I finished the last chapter, it left me like “Um… That’s it? *figuratively turns the sheet to look for a lost chapter* Really? Wow. Okay.” It misses the wow-effect. If I had read that as the first story from you, I would think “Good style, nice language, lacks a certain feeling and profoundness.” I don’t intend to sound harsh, but I don’t know if ItD would make me look for more of you. And I know you have very good, very deep stories, wonderful characters, well-thought plots, self-made worlds and realities that are profound and fantastic. That is only a small snippet. My beta actually wrote a full page of comments, ripping on everything from my characters, to my plot and everything in between. This is the most valuable type of criticism that a writer can get. It is one thing to show what your strong points are, in constructive praise, so you can identify your strengths and develop them to make them even stronger. But the weak points of your writing are the ones that you need to develop. Readers will notice these, even if they don't comment on them. And you will never develop yourself as a writer if you don't take these weak points into consideration and work on developing them. Constructive criticism can be hard to take, especially from a friend or someone you are close to, so finding someone that is not familiar to you to look over your work is best. Of course, that has its own set of issues, because you need someone you can work well with. That is why having a good beta reader or editor is important. GA is great with the Writing Support in the Editor's corner. Make sure if you utilize this resource to mention what kind of feedback you want, and if you don't think you can take up front, blunt criticism, ask for someone who is gentle and tactful (but still honest) with their feedback. Don't get discouraged by negative feedback either. No one is perfect and especially in the beginning, mistakes run rampant. A good beta/editor will guide you through these early hurdles and the more mistakes they help you see and recognize, the easier it will be to avoid them in the future. And don't ever think that constructive criticism is a bad thing. It isn't. It doesn't mean you have a bad story, on the contrary, it actually means the opposite. It means that there is something awesome about it and that the person leaving the criticism wants to see more of that awesome. When I read a story and think it is no good, then I won't say a word. I won't review; I just leave it and go read something else. If it has potential, if it has something that is awesome about it, then I would want to point out what is good about it and what needs improvement. But only if the writer is ready to hear it. So you've got your constructive criticism. Now what? Well, when I would get rough criticism, I would need some space. I wouldn't talk to my beta until I had some time to think about it and contemplate it. A person's first reaction is to defend their work, or justify why they did such and such. That is not going to help you. Take some time, walk the dog, go for a swim, meditate, whatever. Do something to clear your mind and then come back. Try to be objective and listen to what the person is telling you. If necessary, try to contact the person and ask for examples or specifics if you still don't see the problem. If your feelings get hurt, cry or punch a pillow or do what you need to do let them out, but don't let them get in the way. If you really do still have doubts, run it through a second person. Again, find someone who can be objective. If they point out the same issues, then you need to address them. But do remember, you are the writer and it is your call. But if you receive constructive criticism and learn to use it to your advantage, you will be doing yourself, your writing and your readers a great service and eventually, you might even learn to like criticism!

Good. And I always have a plan...just sometimes people don't like them Oh yeah, and Chapter 8 is up now too.

Yes it was. Read on to see what happened next! Thanks for the review!

I hope this was soon enough and that you still have your sanity And I do love my cliffhangers, so be prepared to see them every once and a while I'm glad you are enjoying the story and that you look forward to the next chapters Thanks for the review!

Yes. I. Am. And don't you forget, especially if you're thinking about booing at me. Terrasa does seem a popular suspect, as does Mia. Thanks for the review. Hope you enjoy the next chapter

It got messy pretty fast and the mystery will be answered soon Thanks for the review, hope you like the next chapter!

Things get worse before they get better. Thanks for reviewing, hope you like the next chapter!

*** Tibial sat shivering in the empty room even though it was hot and muggy inside. He had bitten his fingernails down far enough to draw blood and had been sitting inside this room for the last hour. He was wearing his jeans and shirt, but they hadn't brought him any shoes, to prevent him from running he supposed. He knew perfectly well what was going on. Somehow people knew, somehow it had been found out and now... Tibial swallowed, felt tears pricking at his eyes and held them

Mind if I climb down there and join you?

Along with the topic of prayer, sometimes it is as much for the person praying as it is the person that is being prayed for. If someone I love is millions of miles away, or if there is some reason that I cannot see them, it can be very frustrating and makes me feel helpless. Prayer, or putting forth positive energy, is a way of overcoming those obstacles. I don't have the sources, but I do seem to remember reading some research that suggested that patients who had people praying for them tended to have a faster recovery with less complications. If it gives you comfort, then do it, if not, then don't. It does no harm and each person has their different ways.

It's not a bad looking building, but it looks like it is in the wrong place. It doesn't match the structures around it. It would look fine in NYC or Chicago amongst other skyscrapers, but sitting there alone it just looks odd and out of place.

I don't want to be in the pit. Not unless it is filled with pillows and blankets. Or hot naked people. .... What was I talking about again? So I am doing better now that I am back at work. It does really well at keeping my mind off of stuff. The downfall to last week was that I had a holiday off of work and I had too much time to sit around and think about stuff. Good luck with the finances. I doubt I would handle it much better than you would. I can't handle math OR paperwork...it would be hell for me. Yettie: Huge hugs to you. You don't know how much you have helped me out.

I am currently reading Game of Thrones, which is first of the Fire & Ice series. Definitely not in the "charming prince and slays dragons" class. I'm hooked on it. It was a little confusing at first because there are a lot of characters and quite a bit of intrigue and betrayals and plotting and all that good stuff. I highly recommend it. The other fantasy books I like are the NightRunner series and the Tamir Triad by Lynn Flewelling, but they are a little softer than what you have described liking to read.

It's been a rough week. Hell, it's been a rough year. I don't know how much more I can take right now. I miss Nathan like crazy. I cried for hours when I found out he was gone. I went to the fair Wednesday night with my sister to try to take my mind off things, but that only halfway worked. They had a fireworks display and all I could think about was that Nathan might have liked them and then I realized all the things that Nathan would never get to experience. I almost burst into tears there, but I didn't want to embarrass my sister by turning into a weepy mess. I've been worried sick about Roan. We finally have some good news on that front, but the thought of losing him too was nearly unbearable. I feel worn down and exhausted. Every time I try to pull shit together and move forward, it seems like something just knocks me back on my ass. I am ready for 2012 to be over and done with.