Dio

Objection your honor! Defense is leading the witness. I move to strike this testimony from the record. This may lead the jury to believe we are hampered by concepts like 'morals', 'kindness', and general 'niceness'. The witness has obviously never received a cruel and caustic edit from myself or TheZot. The Jury will disregard the witness' comments.

Right, so end this thread RIGHT NOW, and tell me who the heck stole my cheese. It was sitting here on my desk a minute ago. RAAA!

Don't laugh. Papercuts are the new threat. And they freakin' hurt man. I once knew a guy who got a paper cut from a stamp that he got from South Africa, and his finger turned green and yellow and started smelling like coconuts. Scccarrrrrry stuff.

And postage stamp collecting is an extreme sport. Or should be. Thank you, that is all.

We should organise a play-date for the two little tikes sometime seeing as they get along so well. If you bring your little guy over to my place we can sit by the fire and I'll teach you how one goes about not knitting and you can teach me how to tie cherry stems into knots with my tongue. We could go outside and build snow-men! Or...mud-men, seeing as we lack snow. Then we could end by baking cookies! Or just eating store-bought...that whole baking thing sounds like a lot of work. Okay! It's a plan!! You'll need to call my subconscious mind to confirm your reservation. He might take a while to get back to you--he has this weird tendency to get distracted by small shiny objects.

They're guidelines, not rules. No-one is dictating how you should write. Most of the 'rules' you'll come across stem from what has worked in the past. And, what I mean by that is--a book that sells. Rule Nazis are the publishers and the editors who have experience in the writing field first hand, or wannabes who think they could write your story better than you can. It takes all kinds. And hey, if you can find someone who wants to pay you for a book that doesn't follow any of those so called 'rules', then good for you. Generally though, following certain guidelines will help you get your stuff published. I'm not saying there aren't exceptions. I completely agree with you. But I should preface that statement by saying of all the times I've seen people try and mix voices, it's turned me off of reading the rest of the story. Although, I do enjoy the humour associated with a first person perspective switch mid-paragraph every once in a while. Hey, like I said, if you can pull it off then fine! Power to ya! Most people can't. And hey, I've seen an artist paint a red box on a white canvas and seen it sell for millions, so anything is possible. That's usually the answer. Although I wouldn't discount spite or a superiority complex. Okay...like I said, these are guidelines. Not rules. Follow at your own discretion. Nod nod. Readers get used to certain styles of writing. When you suddenly throw a kink in their line of thought, it can often detract from the overall enjoyment of the story. Again, I'm not saying you CAN'T pull it off, just rehashing that anything that makes it harder for the reader to understand generally does break some unwritten writing convention. Alas! Critiques can sometimes upset the mythical author ego. They like it the way they've written it and get upset when someone tells informs them it wasn't as good as it could be. Welcome to the wonderful world of OPINION. In the court of popular opinion, you are guilty until proven innocent. Everything is relative. It just so happens that the most weighty opinions happen to come from the people who shell out money for stories. And I get all itchy and scratchy here thinking 'narrative = pointless'. It's not to say it's wrong, or bad. It's an opinion. Having a bullet enter your chest...and then waking up in a hospital...well...there are only so many things that could have happened. Don't treat your reader like a moron. He can connect point A to point B. And what's preventing you from having 'worried friend A' come in and commiserate on how he found you, rushed you to the hospital, and stood around in the hall worrying...all in an intresting teary-eyed piece of dialogue that doesn't jump the reader out of perspective and cause tears out of boredom instead of empathy. Is my way better? Well, in my opinion, yes. Yours may differ, and that's okay. The idea here is not to enforce how other people should write, but to elaborate on other possible ways to increase story flow and improve the piece of literature. What I've just stated is no 'rule', but it does follow some guidelines I myself have picked up reading and writing something that readers enjoy. Unfortunately, there is no God of literature that knows all the rules. My advice is learn what you can from people you respect, and throw away what you don't like. I'm the same way. Next time someone shoves a 'rule' in your face, ask them to justify why! I do it all the time. It is well within your rights if they expect you to follow their advice. Good luck! -db-

DOH...you're four for four so far!

I voted other. It's a combination of everything: characters, plot, emotions, interactions...all the tools that an author uses to draw a reader into a story. Even the writing style of the author, and his mastery of his craft influences my like or dislike of a story. Sometimes an author's personal views even decide whether I'll invest my time in a particular story. There's nothing worse than getting alienated from a story simply because the author writes in a way that seems subversive, or manipulative. One of my peers has a favorite phrase. 'Good writing and good stories are simply the sum of many facets'. I tend to agree with him. -db-

You probably should have prefaced this post by explaining what the heck it is, first. But...meh. My roommate is obsessed with this show. I see it whether I like it or not. For those of you who aren't aware, this show is probably like what Harry Potter was to the literary world--but in Japan. I could see you easily making the plot...boyxboy. I think you'll get more attention though on a site like fanfiction.net, rather than here. But...that's just imho . I'd hate to battle wits with rabid fangirls myself, they scratch. -db-

I am again, astounded by the general ignorance of our population. This is a guy from New Jersey, btw. Responding to the article. So, apparently we a) choose to be gay b) have a problem c) can be gay, but only if we're reallly reallly quiet d) can only have gay parades in certain areas where people won't stone us Yes, Mr. Ethan Miner. I understand their anger too. They're brainwashed fundamentalists. YOU however, have no such excuse. I find it ridiculous that you even pretend in your response to be a tolerate citizen. You're clearly a homophobe with severe denial issues. THIS IS THE WORLD. AND WE'RE ALL HUMAN BEINGS. This has been a message from 'angry Dio'.

C'mon folks...it us this long to figure out he was gay? Just look at that smile. He's practically screaming it from the rooftops. I totally wouldn't let him near me in the showers smiling like that!

Oh? You actually ended up planning something? Good man! lol I copied this out of my blog: Novel Status Title: Sand in the Void Chapters: Intro(Complete) One (complete) Two (20%) Words inked: 8,801 It's easy to write chapters when you've already planned everything out. This feels almost like cheating ccompared to last year >_> Takes friggen FOREVER for the nano site to load and update my wordcount. They don't have enough servers to cope > So far I'm living on halloween candy and Tim Horton's coffee. It's been fun. Is anyone else aside from me, Camy and E2R doing this?

You already know what I think of your hard work hun Thanks for the time, effort, passion, and financial rescources you've dedicated to this site over the years. mwa!!~ db

I had the most enjoyable experience reading from chapter four (where i stopped to wait for a whole crap load of chapters to be posted) up to the current. In doing so I missed an entire night of precious sleep! Raaaa, I should've held out a little longer. I wub you Dan

Hey jhom! Long time no see. You tend to disappear on us every once and a while! Open and strong, my inner strength But only to friends and people I trust Can't pick me out in a crowded room No shouting from towers Just the way I am! db

Certainly. But to save time I'll do it for you. Ctrl+A del

Are you reffering to that offbase concept of 'creativity'? I've heard of him, but I haven't seen the little guy around here as of late. Must be getting lazy. And, for something to be a path, doesn't it need to be well-worn in the first place? So maybe it's time to do some bushwacking!!! Or spulunking. Watch out for falling rocks. db

I hear so many people say they could easily churn out 50K words of crap, sign up for the event, and never end up finishing. And asking someone to write around 1.6K words a day is not perpetuating bad writing, or grammar, or anything like that. It's enforcing a good habit. Nor is the idea to churn out 50K words of crap. The idea is to stop slacking and sit down and WRITE. You don't have anyone to answer to but yourself. If you can only put out 20K words of writing in the same time period by your 'quality' standard, then by all means, go nuts! It's just a great way to hook up with other like-minded people, and get yourself motivated to write more. If you just sit there for two days typing nonsense, I can see how this might be seen as a great waste of time. (And, don't get me wrong, I've read several of these types of stories and they were just as entertaining to read as the more serious ones! Half the fun was sitting near them and feeding random plot events that somehow got turned into a coherent story~~) Your editing idea sounds very similar to what most nanowrimo participants end up doing AFTER the deadline, assuming it's worth re-writing and polishing. At any rate, the forums are a lot of fun to visit. And local organised write-ins are not only entertaining, but educational as well. I'm looking forward to this event this year. My roommate and I have already reserved a table at the bar where our local kick-off is happening. It's so big this year they had to reserve the entire room for the night. She's already got her outline written though >_> I gotta hurry and catch-up. hugz, db

Dan is an expert shredder. I highly recommend any author to submit a chapter to him, read what he has to say, and then attend one of those whiffle bat anger management sessions where you get to hit people. Surprisingly therapeutic. smootch db

Personally I think half the fun of writing is pushing myself to become better, probably because good is such a relative term. I guess it depends on what your ultimate goal is. If you're just writing for your own enjoyment of the story then hey, it doesn't really matter if you get better. I think that train of mind is pretty backwards though. Given the chance, who wouldn't want to better themselves? You should remember two things before you start to rewrite: 1) Often times, your worst critic is yourself. 2) Often times, your worst critic is right. Rewriting is all a part of the process. I've never heard of a good author who doesn't rewrite material every so often. If anything, sometimes it's worth it just to figure out that you had it right the first time. hugz, db

I missssssed you! -db-

My imagination! With maybe a dash of someone I know, and a cup of creative liscence.

James, did I mention you're my favorite person from mississippi? I bet you're a trivia KING! hehe

I guess. I'm also surrounded by lots and lots of air...friends...smelly laundry, arguments, debates, disagreements, love, life... the list goes on and on. Just because people die in real life doesn't justify its use in a story, especially the way many authors use it. That's an interesting way to look at things. Loss is a piece of a gigantic puzzle, but it is not the end-all of characterization. Besides, there are plenty of ways to show loss without killing off someone (see above posts), it just requires more effort and creativity to come up with them--something it seems many authors lack motivation to do. Conflict indeed creates a situation where hope is certainly something a reader might walk away with, depending on said character's actions, but conflict doesn't automatically mean death. Someone doesn't have to die to evoke an emotional response. What I believe, and it seems I'm not the only one *whew*, is that death is often the easy way to get a tear-jerking and emotional reaction, but sometimes it's for all the wrong reasons. I'm of the opinion that unless your plot somehow revolves around, or builds up to a death scene, it's often an irrelevant and lazy plot device. I'm not saying it shouldn't be used, but if it must be used, use it as a tool for some greater purpose, not an excuse or a copout. And if anyone is thinking 'well gee hey if I knock off aunty Edna I can get Jake to be adopted by Fred's parents and they can shack up all they want!!!!!!!!!' please stop now and reevaluate your sense of 'greater purpose'. Sorry to single you out there Shannon...hehe...your post made me think of some stuff. lub, db

Hiyas! Okay, so I decided to start a topic dedicated to the knocking-off of secondary and main characters. As I read many online stories, there are countless ones I come across where either the main character, or a secondary character gets killed. Okay...so you're thinking 'no big deal right, it happens all the time?' EXACTLY! It seems to be a common theme especially when parents and family members of struggling and abused gay youngsters are in the picture. To be clear, I'm not trying to say it doesn't, or shouldn't happen; but rather when does it become too much? Recently, and I'm not going to name anyone in particular, I've read several stories that I've put down simply because out of the blue, to move the plot along, someone randomly gets killed in some terrible accident and the result allows said character to move in with said lover, or some variation on that theme. Does this bother any authors out there? I'm sorta hoping for a mix-bag of ideas and views on killing off characters, or your own experiences knocking off Ed the protagonist. When is it acceptable, when is it being used as an emotional crutch...when is it just being lazy in the creativity department...that sorta stuff. huggggggggz Dio Beckstead