Mike Carss

I'm intrigued, and a sucker for new shiny writing tools. Being an offline desktop program and everything saved locally is certainly a breath of fresh air. That said, I've been using Scrivener for well over a decade and very comfortable with the interface, despite it being clunky compared to newer tools like Penpoint. I'm not interested in participating in the beta, but I'll be keeping my eye on it. Thanks for sharing.

Nice! I'll definitely be checking this out. She has a plethora of other fantasy stories available for free on her site as well. Bonus!

Thanks very much. 🙂

I was wondering how much of a nightmare it'd be, technically speaking, to change my username? For example, if it broke existing tag links (such as @mcarss) in existing posts, I'd agree it's not worth the trouble. But if the only "downside" would be that those following me might be momentarily confused by the change, I'd consider that okay. I'd like to change it to my actual name (Mike Carss).

Another factor for higher views on chapters is comments. If a chapter garners many comments (with readers and the author coming back to reply), that will inflate the viewer count. Honestly, I'd prefer if the system counted one view per member, regardless of the number of times they visited a chapter. Yes, that would bring the numbers down significantly, but it'd also provide a truer metric. In any case, thanks for all the information, @Myr. I find this behind-the-scenes stuff very interesting. And I'm looking forward to the updated forum software being deployed. Do you have a planned time window to go live, or is it a "it's ready when it's ready" situation? I imagine there's no going back to the old software if something went catastrophically wrong, so cautiously rooting out any bugs is a prudent decision.

I assume it's just spitting out the complete "fixed" text, which includes the mistakes you're talking about? I use AI as a grammar checker as well, but I ask it to only provide the suggested fixes in a table format (snippet form, showing the original and suggested fixes) so that I can manually review each suggestion. I wouldn't trust copy/pasting a big chunk of text from AI, either. Try including that in your grammar check prompt. For sure. Take care of yourself.

An excellent essay. Everything you've stated is so important for any creative person to keep in mind. I get the impression you wrote this primarily for yourself -- akin to a mantra. While not quite on topic, there's an elephant in the room I need to address: HOW have you managed to write two chapters a day for a year? 😵 These aren't short chapters either. I commend your passion (your obsession?).

My first novel was written from the bad guy's POV. He wasn't inherently evil, but he operated on the wrong side of the law. From this POV, all the "good guys" were the antagonists. I wanted readers to root for the bad guy, and I think it worked. The novel is far from perfect, though. The good guys tend to behave too "evil". In hindsight, I should've toned it down, but it was a fun experience.

That's not a chapter, you maniac. That's a novella. 😆 Likewise. Most of my neighbours turn off their lights a day or two after Christmas. How dreary. Luckily, there are a few holdouts who still keep them going into this month.

After two days of flight delays and cancellations, I finally managed to make it home yesterday evening. I spent NYE going to bed at 8:30pm and sleeping for ten hours straight. I'm such a party animal. My best to everyone for 2026. 💗

It was purely for aesthetic reasons. I've played D&D for many years, but when it comes to the finer details as you've described, I'm pretty ignorant. I've learned something new today. 😄

While I've had an account here for well over a decade, I only recently started using GA in earnest when I got back into writing (2023). The community here is so active and encouraging. The upcoming changes look great (yay for site wide dark mode -- my eyes thank you). I'm also curious to see the changes coming to the story submission section of the site. I wouldn't call it difficult to use now, but there are a lot of tabs that can make it easy to miss something. Regarding suggestions, the only thing was the allowance of larger image sizes. I'd brought this up in the forum in the past, but IIRC, allowing this would've caused problems to the backend code and how the site rendered. Not sure if the upcoming updates will allow more flexibility in this regard, but please don't spend any time trying to make it work if it's just going to be a PITA. 😆 Thanks to everyone who keeps the site running: programmers, admins, and moderators. ❤️

When it comes to any form of art, there's no wrong reason to create. But what Jeff has said aligns exactly how I feel. It may sound self-centered or egotistical, but for me, when it comes to creating something (in my case, music and fiction), the audience is always secondary to my need for expression. This is especially true with my music. I've produced albums knowing full well that the majority of my listeners will bounce off it. But there's always the select few who seem to understand that need, and even if they don't enjoy it, they still support me. Talk about humbling. 🥲 So yeah, I've believe being true to yourself -- writing from the heart -- will result in your best work. Edit: @LJCC and I responded at nearly the same time, essentially saying the same thing, although his response is much more eloquent. 😅

@lawfulneutralmage, I know you're currently reading my novel Strength of Fate. Without spoiling too much ("demon" is tagged in the story) I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on my take of demons. They could be considered a metaphor for the prejudices people hold against others, purely based on their appearance or where they come from.

I'm a big believer in being true to oneself in all ways of life, and that includes creative endeavours. When it comes to any form of art, you're never going to please everyone. It's best to please yourself first (I know, phrasing 😅) because the best art is created when you're passionate about it. In the case of "A Queer Encounter", you state that the writing style is by design. While any creative should appreciate constructive criticism, it's up to you whether to accept it or not. Are the examples provided by Talo clunky to read? Yeah, kinda, but not because of the description itself. I think there's too many glue words, which in my opinion, make it difficult to parse. For example, your original phrase: It was as if he had dropped a line into still water and felt it hit something with a different density than fish. A simplified alternative: It was as though a line in still water met resistance different from any fish. Talo also mentioned flowery prose. Some readers will enjoy that, others not. Again, you can't please everyone. If it pleases you, then really, that's all that matters. 😊

Given my adoration of nature and trees, this one spoke to me. Lovely. 🥰🌳

Many people find the concept of total oblivion terrifying (religion exists partially for that reason), but I honestly hope that's what comes for us. Time will go on without us, and while grim to consider, it's comforting to know we won't be conscious of the fact.

Yeah, the stereotypical concepts of heaven and hell needed a makeover. 😅 Thanks!

Yup. Existential horror is a thought-provoking genre.

Yeah, I figured a few might be a little disappointed by the ambiguous ending, but this was partially inspired by Outer Limits and Twilight Zone episodes that end similarly. Glad you enjoyed it. 😊

Judging by Mitchell's experience, Elijah is stuck in that void, possibly for eternity. 😬

Nothing. Dave couldn’t think of another word to describe what he was experiencing at this moment. There was nothing to see, nothing to hear. He couldn’t even sense his body, as though his mind was drifting amid oblivion—disconnected, paralyzed. The sudden lack of any stimulus was as unnerving as it was terrifying. He wanted to scream, but didn’t know how. Then, at last, he felt something. A prickling sensation in his toes—the familiar sting of circulation returning after being restricted. I

Imprisoned in a featureless space, Dave must face what his last chilling memory suggests. Can he escape, or will he remain perpetually trapped?

An interesting thought. Are you referring to his dead squire? We'll learn more about him in part two.

Indeed. Sam's suffering has only just begun. This will playing an important role in his continuing story.