Dannsar

Oh dear! We're sooooo gonna have a conversation when this is over!

It's gone ... told you!

Good god ... 91 reviews ... thats like a ruddy story in itself Well, I suppose the first thing to say is congratulations on an excellent idea, an excellent story, and some damn fine writing. You took a set of characters and contrived something brilliant out of them. I was hooked for almost all of the time. Kynan I loved. Alan I loved. Aure I loved. Bryce wasn't made to be lovable, but I .... liked him a fair bit Duncan and Jacen I could take or leave lol. This is, of course, not to say there weren't problems. I think there may have been a character or so too many, even though they had a role. And the biggest issue for me was that you do not tell us who is speaking, a lot of the time. That is a failing, I am afraid. And when that is combined with two or even perhaps three settings (imagined within dreamscape within reality) it can get bewildering to know what is going on and who it is going on to! Something happened in chapter 25 about halfway through. I lost patience. I felt that you had actually come to fully inhabit the world and were forgeting that we needed to be guided through it, as we can only be knowledgeable of things you have told us. I am afraid that carried on to the end. It was especially difficult at times at the dawn battle scene in the cathedral, and very very difficult in the house demolition battle. I mean, it was clear that you were enjoying yourself. And it was further clear that there was a hell of a lot of stuff to get across. But perhaps you could take a little more time to explain some of it. On the other hand, these scenes were terrifically tense, and there was a superb sense of imminent and present catastrophe. One of your real strengths is the metanarrative, the stuff that is going on around that creates the backstory and the emotions. I feel you are pretty damned good at that. However, I was quite amused to find you going off at times from a real plot zoom, with lots and lots of pace, into the other stuff, but maintaining that pace. I suspect that all of that introspection could be dispensed with in those circumstances and just concentrate on the speed of development when events are primary, and the slower infill when context is useful. Overall, though, I think it is not unreasonable to award 9.999999999 out of 10. I really really really wanna stroke Kynan's feathers

I'm shite at poetry, and shite at understanding it too, so I kinda like it when I come across something I can relate to. The simple fact of the matter is that nothing matters. Truly. Importance is only a feature of existence. And when we die ... On the other hand, being as we are, we need to have reason to continue to be, so the idea of mattering slips down a level to our immediate cisrcumstances and how we can affect the lives around us. And if we didn't do that, we'd go back a paragraph nd there's no forward pathway there. Mattering is what you make it. The trick is not to be deflected by the hateful idiots in the world who like nothing better than to be brutal and self centred. The trick is to be you, and to be useful to others. And it seems to me that you are very good at that, sir. And that's all that matters. As Bugeye kinda inferred, reading this is a great kick in the ass to realise that there is another side to the dark. Thank you.

I kinda agree with Andy on this. The Levi thing was out of sync. I really liked thw whole dram stuff getting to the hospital and stuff. I think that worked really well. But the helicopter being taken over by someone who doesn't know how was a suspension of dis belief too far I'm afraid, and the chopper seemed to be the size of asmall to medium sized plane. That aside, I really loved the two guys in the story, and you also managed to make the whole camp thing utterly believable. I also liked the way the two of them got together in bed ... fantasy, but hey! Two thing I found a bit (good) weird ... I was sure it was the policewoman who was gonna be the spy, Allen was a bit of a twist there! And I honestly thought that Ruff was gonna be bugged somehow so Christian could keep tabs ... after all, he did emerge from the forest like Christian did later. But you left that wee dog without a stain on his character.

Is it ok? Well, too bad if it's not, I say! Actually, as you sound like someone who is more thoughtful, I'd suggest you go ahead and say what you like. Disrespect will be dealt with appropriately, but it doesn't sound like you're gonna do that. I'd suggest you look at the last two anthologies, and pay attention to my reviews. They are not uniformly nice, mostly because I can't be bothered with sycophancy lol. If I think something is good, I'll say so. If I think something is rubbish, I'll say so. Very rarely do I not comment. I note your comment on the freeness. In my very humble opinion, one of the best ways to pay the authors is to give them your thoughts. It's always a boost to get a review. It's nearly orgasmic if it's a good one. (i'm sure your mother warned you about giving away orgasms for free, though!) There is actually a thread on editing somewhere, where I point out that writers have to be wiling to take criticism. And, I think you'll find that the better writers on here are always happy to get constructive criticism. And if you want another example of a good reviewer, take a look at Cia's inputs. She is very direct, no fuss and nonsense, no buggering about with unnecessary flattery, just good old fashioned, plainly stated, honesty. Any writer who doesn't want that coming back at them should just switch the computer off. 5 posts? I take it you're a newbie! Welcome to GA

Crackin ... oops ... that's a pun

I like when the soapbox is chattery Dislike when it's just about battery From eejits and twits Who, for giggles and shits Drag it down into oodles of twattery I've been so wanting to get back in here, and then someone came along with just the right impetus

Lordy ... let me tell you this ... you can't take anything out with you from this life, not even happiness. So there is no point in constantly stashing anything, and you can't stash happiness either. The best you can hope for is that you are in a state of happiness when you go. And let me tell you this ... even if you're living on the breadline when you get to the exit, if you have tried, and have enjoyed yourself in the search or struggle for what you wanted to do, you are most likely to go through the big door with a smile in your heart. That's the philosophical bit Now to pragmatics. It seems to me that it is pretty easy to save £15,000 from a £50k salary even if you are in London. It's not about whether you can, it's about whether you want to. Live the life of a hermit and do the research and planning in that year. It will go past, and the closer you get to it, the less it will hurt. Plus, I don't know if you've noticed, but you have a pretty transferable skill. Remember that even when you do make the move, you can probably still pick up home based work to supplement income. Web development is not complicated and doing a bit of freelance work on the side will help keep the wolf from the door. (It will also keep your hand in at the programming etc, in case you have to go back). Chasing the dream is the only real option. If you don't, it will keep disappearing over the horizon. And when you get on in life, like me and Cutie ( ) you understand that the space left for options is much narrower. Better to crash and burn early, if it has to happen, and have plenty time to resolve it with the energy you have in youth, than to wait, and then find you don't have the energy or your motivating impetus had been strangled out of you. Finally. Money. Money is feck all. It is nothing. You can live on very little and be happy. Take the year, mr.. Then get the hell out. Enjoy it, even if the ride is bumpy. And good luck! xx

The Mod Forum? Didn't know such a thing existed. I'd like to be a fly on the wall in there!

How the blazes the man thought he was going to weather this storm baffles me. I've been saying since Sunday he was finished. As for him being gay? Well, not sure on that score. There have been strenuous denials over a long period, a marriage ( Werrity was best man, btw), and kids I believe. However, there seems to be an awful lot of snuggling going on too. Personally, I suspect he is bisexual. Oddly enough this is possibly the last sexual taboo in politics (leaving underagers aside). The problem with bisexuality in a married MP is that it automatically shouts infidelity. And yes, I know that sounds stupid, but if someone claims to be bisexual in this way, but remains faithful to their partner, then there is little point in declaring it, they are, to all intents and purposes, dead straight or dead gay. Who a person masturbates over is immaterial to the public. Any declaration of bisexuality more or less implies infidelity. A few MPs have admitted to gay relationships earlier in their lives. Michael Portillo was able to carry on, cos it was over a long time ago. But the last LibDem MP caught sucking cock while married with kids stood down at the next election.

Great story. Great characters, though I hate your naming strategies Cale an Marcus were lovely And I'm assuming you pitched Quent just right. I still don't know whether I love him or hate him. I also would have likedit if you had explained this best friendship between Q & C. It didn't seem to sit right. The age difference had to be assumed, soit was difficult to understand the best friend thing. Oh, and your sentences are the wrong size. Not the wrong length, the wrong size. Anyway, I liked it so much, I'm off to find another of yours:)

OMG, I've died and been delivered into metaphor hell!

Sympathies ... though I know that's not what you're looking for I think I'd just tell you that, in common with the 'you come into the world with nothing, you go out with nothing, you come in alone, you go out alone' sort of thinking, you are playing for Team You. At the end of the day, it matters not one jot what other people think about it. As long as there are some people who can be comfortable with it, and you can find them, and you don't inflict unecessary pain on anybody, it's all good. The actor John Mills was bisexual. As far as I am aware, his wife knew. Now, I don't know the calendar of events in their lives, but if she was able to cope with it as they went along, then he'd found someone who was comfortable with it. Seems reasonable to me. Of course, some people claim that bisexuals are a bunch of selfish bastards trying to play the field and have it all ways. But as we all know, that's just not the case.

Brilliant. Brilliant story. Brilliant writing. Brilliant all round. If anything, I think I'd collapse the last three chapters to one, perhaps two as they get ver contemplative and seem to slow things a little. But never mind that. Your writing style is like a crystal burn (stream) bubbling along with only the important stuff. Like me you write some very long sentences. Unlike me, you make them easy to navigate and a pleasure to read. Light and clear. Excellent, thank you!

I don't know! At least I'm not killing dolphins. But I've been editing recently (big job, btw ) and it has totally buggered up my ability with apostrophes. I used to be spot on with them simply intuitively. Now I'm so unsure, even if I can rationalise it as right I'm in a state of fear I liked the 'alot' example. A corrollary is 'awhile'. I liked the 'definately' example. A corrolory is 'confidant'. Although, I suspect definately might become a legitimate usage for an emphasised 'definitely' in time. He forgot past / passed. And lose / loose, while another bugbear, is curious. We have a dialect usage in Scotland, where someone might say loss. 'did you loss the kids when you were out?', 'I'm gonna loss the will to live'.

That's a bloody interesting viewpoint, and one I can relate to. Worthy of a whole new thread, actually. Best not to derail this one.

I've tried explaining a bit of this in the 'cheating' thread. Some bisexual guys actually need, very strongly, to express their mm side and have it assuaged. This is why I don't accept the cheat thing at face value. Sure some bi's can make do with one sex and possibly masturbation for the other. Everybody is different. Some people need both sexes in exactly the same way that most need one. It's a weird thing, but masturbation and mutual masturbation, otherwise known as non-penetrative sex, usually by frotting is equally intense as penetrative sex. But there is just nothing psychologically satisfying in the same way as the smooth, moist warmth of a back or front bottom. I can't explain it. It's just massively different and more holistic (to use an ironic phrase lol). I know that I can't go near my penis when I've come externally. It's agony. But I can go right through orgasm and out the other side no bother in penetrative sex. It's a damn good skill too! The point is that the different psychological elements are very deep, and it's just obvious to me that some people will need to be physically intimate with both sexes at different times in their lives. Expecting otherwise is like expecting a straight guy to fall in love with another man and be happy ever after. Daft.

You're a bad man and might well get your fuzzy balls whapped with a catgut racket, yourself!.

Sounds like bleedin envy to me ... I wonder ... was it written in handwriting? Is it scrawly? Methinks he had his hand under the desk fiddling with a fuzzy ball. Honestly! What do they thunk the whole sports thing is all about! Its a fairly well resesrched topic ... str8 guys enjoying looking at fit guys legitimately. The end of the world is ... Wimbledon .. let no man into Wimbledon who hasn't been screened for vaginal sex in the last fifteen minutes. I have to say though ... I'm always very intrigued by the way they have that bulge in their shorts till they fish out the extra ball and rotate the two of them in their hands ... I have to admit to narrowband thinking on that one. But if u really wanna see stunning guys in sport ... Formula one is the place to be!

Another brilliant story. Really liked this. Shame about what you did to Jacob, you bad man, but other than that ... well, I'm very disappointed thath I only have one more long story to read of yours. Get back to work please!

Oh yes please. That means just 12 more years. Fabulous.

Amen to this. But believe me ... being an iconoclast or an original thinker, or a visionary thinker is no bloody cakewalk. Even the great SJ got kicked out of his own company by wombles who then nearly destroyed it. I believe he was quite a difficult guy to work for or with. Well, good on him. At least he had good ideas and swept the numpties aside and demanded excellence, rather than the collegiate, team oriented claptrap we get today. Good interpersonal skills and team player are just euphemisms for lily livered, spineless, yes men. At least God can get an ipad now!

Hey, that was great. Not too overdone, or overwrougt, and two main characters to really like without all sorts of drama. Excellent. Thank you.

Planning is the ideal, but planning is not only about making lists and setting targets, although those are not invauable aids. I'd use a metaphor to explain this. I do most of the food buying for the house as I do the cooking. I go to the supermarket once every one or two months and do the big shop. If I have to go at other times, I do that too. However, I don't buy only what I need. I buy lots of bogofs of things I will need in the future. My husband doesn't get this. He thinks it is bad budgeting because it is buying stuff when it's not required, or to put it another way, spending money needlessly. But it's not. It's just bulk buying to get more for less money. As I am a cook from scratch person I can then vary what I produce, and I have loads and loads of options. So, what is the point here? Well, it's kinda like investment, buying extra time now, for use later. If you can do two things on the one trip, like Lugh suggested, it will give you time later. Yes, it's a fiddly wee addition, but the long term gain is damned good. Lugh's system of bags must seem bizarre and ridiculous to some people. I mean, look at the time it must have taken to dream that up, and go and find a set of bags with all the necessary requirements, eh? Well, no, actually. The level of time to institute the system is hugely positively disroportionate to the level of aid. And remember that not only does that solution mean he doesn't have to go looking for stuff etc, it also means that he doesn't have to use brain power in the process. And brain power is another word for fatigue-inducing-fannying-around. Furthermore, he is teaching his kids to be organised and independent. Otherwise he'll still be doing their laundry when they're fifteen or twenty. So, the couple of hours spent getting those bags reaps massive benefits over twenty years. Now that's good time management. Also, never do one thing when you can do ten. The lasagne paradigm from Rustle (I think) is one I use. I also use it for chickens, meatballs, steak pie. When I vacuum, I do the whole house. I have an ipad which I can use for business and pleasure and research and communication and loads of stuff. Damned wee package for a whole loada shit. Saves immense amounts of time. If I'm waiting for his lordship, I can write or edit wherever I am with a wee device I have in my bag. If you go into university for a lecture, go to the library at the same time, and arrange a meet with friends. One journey three tasks / activities. The fundamental thing is to do what needs to be done, but to do it when it needs done, or if at all possible, to do it ahead of time. When I did my undergrad (Bachelors degree) I reasearched and wrote my dissertation in the holidays at the end of the penultimate year, when it wasn't due for another eight months. I can tell you, that saved me untold amounts of time for the other projects, as well as for trimming the dissertation up from good to spectacular. My head of school said it was a pass when I showed him the draft in our first week, but that I now had time to make it excellent. The point here is not actually about planning. It is a little more fundamental than that. Time management books tell you to let the phone have three rings, then ring off if there is no answer. Fair enough, but it's going to save you seconds. What is more important is to arrange your ways of living so that you invest time and effort to save loads of it later, and give yourself options. Options is the point. When you have no options you are negatively stressed. When you are negatively stressed you slow down and make mistakes and waste time. Vicious circle. Doing something ahead of time means you encounter the pitfalls early, and have time available to sort them, rather than the whole project falling on its arse at the last minute because your mother dropped the iron on her foot and couldn't speak to your grandma to arrange that photo you were needing for that project (or whatever). Ask for the photo early, you'll have it ahead of time, you won't have to wait on the exigencies of someone else's disasters. Take a look at your life and activities and see how you can start making the negatives work for you, by doing more of them at once. That way you'll gain time, mental energy, and a greater amount of freedom for positive stresses. Like beer. And shaggin!