comicfan

The ride back from lunch was pretty quiet. Food at the Deli Slice is always filling, and I found myself nearly falling asleep on the quick ride back. What was funny was, both Dan and Chris were almost silent until we were pulling back up in front of Krogers. “So, Jonas, what sort of weird stuff did you end up with in that pile?” Dan asked quietly, while watching me from the front seat. “Yeah, I mean I’ve seen some of the stuff people buy at the store. What more could people really want?” Chris

Happy Birthday Adam. Hope your day is a great one.

Congrats Cole. Expect to keep seeing great stuff from you.

Just wishing you a Happy Birthday Myr.

Glad you liked it Ron. I never know where the prompts will take me.

lol. Actually I based it off a bet a couple of friends had. The damn shorts look like a tux with little tails in the back and a tie on the crotch. Was funny as hell to see the loser in, but wouldn't have wanted to be in the bet they had either.

I do as well. Cheesecake is food nirvana.

“Here is to a nice meal.” Will lifted his glass in a toast to the other guests and to Ed, the host. “Here, here,” came the assorted voices from around the small table. Ed stood smiling as he waved his guests to sit. “It is just a small meal. I’ve made chicken la orange, a mixed green salad with watermelon and blueberries, cuscus, and fresh bread.” Lisa was busy taking some of the salad out of the bowl and turned to Ed. “Please, tell me you made your cheesecake for dessert.” Rick and Will nod

It is a case of Dr. Barron being a little gun shy. He was already part of a major scandal due to his ex. Of course, Travis isn't his student and is making his intentions known now.

The best laid plans of men often go astray - especially if a squirrel is involved. Very cute story.

Your characters grow more interesting as we see them. Nicely done.

Stepping out of the closet is scary as hell and doing it with someone you have a crush on doesn't make it any easier. Nicely handled.

I think we all long for someone who knows us and is willing to put up with our quirks and habits. Some are deeply ingrained, but the love of the right person can make everything better. Or so I believe. Thanks for reading and commenting Percy.

I'm glad you liked it. I just know from my master's level classes the massive change you see in the guys from freshman to going into these courses.

“Can I talk to you?” I looked up to find Tina standing in my office doorway. “Sure. What’s up?” Tina entered and closed the door behind her. She had always been a very conscience student and was due to graduate in less than a week. I knew she had big plans for her future and was already accepted for her master’s degree. “Dr. Barron, um, this isn’t really my place to say it, but someone has to do something.” I sat wondering exactly what Tina could possibly be worried about. I watched as she

Happy Birthday Graeme! Hope your day is a great one. Enjoy!

Prime was the first life of the cat. The others were various incarnations of seven. The old lady didn't want the kitten and tried to kill it. Hope that helps.

Happy Birthday Mark. Enjoy your special day.

That was really sweet and I enjoyed it.

Thanks Arazon. It is all up to Erik and what he does with his life. Sort of like all of us.

Thanks for reading Kitt.

The two get to relax for his birthday and they get to figure a way for him to honor his sister. Very sweet KC. Glad to see you getting back to this.

Exactly KC. Even smart mouth, I mean Mann, was from beginning very careful building his world for So Little Magic Left, so he too knows what I mean. World building is as much a craft as learning your spacing, commas, and all the rest.

Okay, lets forget the multiple titles and things I seem to have collected while I am a member here at GA. When it all is stripped away I am two things - a reader and a writer. When I first came to GA I came here as a reader. Off site, I was an English major so I read a lot of books. I read for school. I read for pleasure. However, any way you look at it I read. When I came here I did just that, I read the stories that appealed to me. If I enjoyed a story I left a comment. If I didn't, like any book I might not enjoy, i simply stopped reading and that was that. I believe in order to write, you need to read. However there are a few things I have noticed and being the big mouth that I am, I am going to comment on them and let people draw their own conclusions. When you write you create a world. You breathe life into characters and let them come to life for your reader. It is what a writer does, create worlds. There are different type of worlds and these worlds will need either little or major work so a reader can understand it. There are those set in the real world. Where the characters could literally be your next door neighbor. The world the writer has to create isn't so hard because the characters live in the everyday world. The reader knows stop lights, gravity, and basic laws so the focus is more on the characters and their relationships. Then there are the worlds where characters almost live in the normal world but they are the step beyond. Think superheroes or elves. Here these beings have powers, but are living in the normal world. Their powers have to be explained early on and kept consistent. You can not begin with someone as powerful as Superman, then increase his power tenfold adding a magic ring, power over the dead, the ability to control sea-life, and then giving him a sidekick who can with a glance force anyone they see to do what they want. One you have stretched the ability of the reader to the breaking point and two who on earth do you come up with as a possible foe? The elf can't go running around with a gun, because an elf can't hold cold steel. When you decide to deal with the major pre-created creatures of the night, before you put your spin on them you need to make sure you know the history of the characters. Werewolves, Vampires, Mummies, Zombies, and Elves all have a well traveled history. While every writer now wants to make their mark on these, they need to know the history before they make changes and they better be able to state why their creation isn't part of the norm. If your Vampire twinkles in the light like Edward of Twilight fame, then you better be able to say why he didn't explode and die in the sunlight. If your Zombie isn't shambling along at the speed of snail but running at Olympic levels after the main character, there better be a good reason for it or the reader is going to stop reading. If your elf is sitting in the middle of a iron office typing on a computer and making cell phone calls, well you get the idea. Other writers will create whole new worlds for their stories. Here new rules, lessons, and creatures exist. Some of the old might be applied but not all. Here witches can change men to kittens, Warlocks summon demons from the depths of a hell, and Gods walk among the men and women granting gifts that are going to go horribly wrong. The laws reasons for all are carefully explained and once explained the reader will follow willingly. The main thing is to make sure that the rules are explained and then not changed. Once the world is created and the reader has committed the writer has one last promise to keep - to make it to the end without changing the world. Nothing will tick a reader off more than accepting the world, falling in love with the character, only to find the author has written them self into a corner and changes the world to end the story. Suddenly the hero who has managed to fight everyone with his sword is surrounded and about to be swamped when his sword magically turns into a gun and kills all the bad guys. The reader stops, rereads this and is confused and angry. There have been no guns, and he has managed to climb walls, jump onto horses, or find a trap door every other time but now his sword becomes a gun? In plain English, the writer wrote them self into a corner and this was their way out of it. Only now the reader feels cheated because of the emotional investment and seeing what they felt was a great story suddenly fail. (Think of the television shows you loved that went on too long and the writers ran out of ideas. Like in Happy Days when Fonzie jumps the shark.) World building is an art and is an important part of writing. Readers know this from the stories they have read. Authors need to remember this as they write. Just my two cents and I hope it helps.

Reality You said you loved me for who I was I waited for you night after night Just seeing you gave me a buzz But that has come to an end I took each word and held it close to me Feeling lavished by you and wanted too Yet you had him and are his husband to be Why did I feel I stood a chance? The tower door had been opened happily for you And all my dreams were laid at your feet with my heart Still you smiled, still you asked, and I gave my soul too Now I drag this form back int