Dabeagle

I read Craftingmom's previous foray into something with some similarities, All In. While it was a good story and presented well with difficult themes, I found it hard to read and even more difficult to praise the hard work because of the content. The best I could say was that the story reminded me of how I felt - how a lot of people felt - after movies like 'Training Day' and 'Brokeback Mountain' where you watched a really good movie, but couldn't watch it again. Even though I am curious, I know reading this will drop me down a rabbit hole.

Nice job and an unusual way to handle a story like that - very relevant.

Cute, I liked the twist.

I find writing to an outline to be near impossible. Frequently something will simply occur as I write with the emotion of the scene - something said or done that I hadn't anticipated. For instance, I had someone reading a recent story and he came back with 'that really pissed me off, what the parent said there'. And I had to say, 'Yeah, pissed me off too - I didn't see it coming.' Sometimes a great scene will come to me and I'll jump ahead to write it before it leaves my head and then fill in the gaps. I find I work best with a general idea where I want to go and then build the connective tissue to get there. This doesn't work for everyone and I think whatever works and gets your story done is the best way.

Some parts of this were incredibly hard to read. You did a very good job, and I know for a fact I couldn't have written some of the things you had. Hats off to you.

What an absolute...kick in the stomach. I'm not sure I can get through the rest of it. Brad is proof that we don't need the supernatural - humans are evil all on their own.

I saw your name in a thread on another website and picked this up to read. I just want you to know, you're killing me, here. I have grown completely attached to Devyn - I can see him in my minds eye and, even with many chapters to go, I wish someone would put a stop to it. I want to reach into the pages and put a stop to it myself.

Ow, ow, ow! Oh that was not fair! You did a great job and the end was bittersweet. Still, not fair.

This was a very, very interesting concept. One of the things I liked was how it fired my own imagination. However, feedback from me is rarely all sunchine and roses. I'd have liked to see this longer with more tension from the search. It was a nice short story that had potential for a lot more.

Not the oens in Zombie's post, James.

Hmm, not quite Zombie. I'm notoriously bad about going to message boards but, with teh kind comments SS was getting, I decided to look about and see if it had spread anywhere else. You know, making sure I'm not forgotten

Benji - As a heads up, to address that very problem, I am only posting complete works. Serial novels will be completed offline before posting begins, punctuated with 'short' stories. Zombie - All of those stories are available on my site, not Awesomedude. SWHouston - I'm glad you enjoyed the story :-)

Extending wishes to all our friends at Gay Authors for a safe and happy holiday season and a healthy successful new year from all of us at Dabeagle's Doghouse.

Just a quick note to wish Myr a happy holiday and a safe new year. Thanks for the friendship! Dabeagle

Good topic, Com. I wade through lots of stories on Nifty, and hit the <back> button so many times, if it were a physical key the markings would be worn off it. I like a story that grabs you with an opening line, something that gets your attention. NOthing gets me backing out faster than being late to school or running into someone in the hallway. Even moving has to be handled carefully, just cause it's been done so many times. I like humor in my reading, one good smartass character can make a story. One thing I am finding form a writers POV is to write ahead so that you can maintain a reasonable posting schedule. At one time, before boyfriends and retail management, I could write a chapter or more a week. Now, I can go quite a while before getting back to something. I did come to the conclusion that if I write something down just so I don't lose the idea, I keep it put aside until I really have time to work on it. Sex is one of those things that, honestly, I tend to skip over more often than not. A good sex scene is tough to find, and ot my mind that means we don't finish the erotic, sensual tenderness with something like the term 'dick snot'. Call me crazy, kinda breaks the mood. Contractions, spelling and grammar also play a big part. I once read the beginning of a story, was pretty good, except every blessed line of dialogue ended with an exclamation point. I used word to 'find and replace' 178 of them in a single chapter. So! There's my overstated response. Hey Com, how's My Only Escape coming along, eh? Keep up the great work! (BTW read the Secret Life of Billy Chase today, one sitting of course. No one does it the way you do.) Dabeagle

I know when I first started, I too got a lot of email. Now I get more mail for home mortgages, herbal viagra and penis pumps in one day than I get reader mail in a week. Does it make you wonder? Well, it gets to me sometimes. In my blacker moments I think of just dumping it all together. OSm estories I have written I really loved, and was saddened to see little or no reaction from people. I have become one of those sites that carry more than one author, so it does help to keep new blood flowing, though it's nice to see some feedback too. I enjoy the friendships that develop, the chance to help people sometimes or just to have fun. So, what am I saying here? Does it affect me? Yeah, it does. Is there a cure? Sure, I'll change my name to Comicality and get tons of email. Then again, maybe he woudln't appreciate that....lol