Lugh

two words -- JOB CORP they will help you get your GED, train you in a trade (computers is one of them) and give you a place to live and food to eat while doing it. Might not be perfect, but it's a choice.

happy birthday Viv!!

Herm... there is a line in my sig... there is a forum in the e-fiction forums... See, and I'm not all over the forums like Kevin. Which is probably why you don't know me. (grinz) What do you read? I've written a little of everything. There are over 100 poems of mine in e-fiction and 20+ short stories. I'm sure you will find something you like. If not the link will give you more options.

I'm sorry Zilar, I do not agree with this statement. The author should not have to "become visible", the reader should buck up and comment if they read the story. Besides, there are a few of us who are visible, but quietly so, and others who prefer not to attract too much attention (good or bad) for a lot of other reasons than writing. I write well. I know I write well. I shouldn't have to shove my stories in your face with huge banners in my sig line or other despirate means to attract your attention. Sighs... read if you want to read, don't if you don't, you probably won't like it anyway.

Heh... they are among my beta readers... so essentially I should be thanking them! AND I get their comments (sometimes) weeks before a story is posted, so I already know how they feel about it, usually in much more depth than what they post on the forums. What they put up on the forums is usually an attempt to intice others to read (and comment) and knock me out of my post-posted depression.

I for one know I do not get feedback for a variety of reasons -- the main one being my stories are geared to a very narrow audience, and of that audience very few persons wish to admit they LIKE that kind of stuff. That's fine. I accept any and all comments, private or public. I think one big thing that has me way down is that for the last couple anthologies I've written I've gotten almost 0 feedback. And no, Centaur, Rick, Snoopy, NOR the person who volunteers to critique it counts..... that has just bummed me out, so I don't even want to write any more. (I'm sure some of you are applauding, and others are growling, but it's true.) Anyway... as to how much I "review" most of what I have to say is said one on one or via PM / email ... so I don't have much of a "presence" on the boards for a reviewer... sighs.. such is life.

perfect environment for me? soundproof section of a basement, no noise, no windows.... no phone... NO INTERNET (hah).. yellow legal pads, blue ink (or a soft lead pencil) surround sound system with a huge tv moniter that I can play scapes on.... honestly I would love one of those virtual keyboards where you wear the goggles and gloves... then I could walk around or lay down or whatever and still "type"...

funny... I call that folder "stupid shit I wrote" and every so often I do read though it... some of it is funny and should be deleted... this is actually one of my favorites to revist when I think about writing political commetary: (please note this was written 8 years ago! before bush and as clinton was preparing to leave the whitehouse) The army uses them little green men... it's how come they work so well in the cover ups like at Roswell.. the Airforce is asked about the little green men and they refer you to the army... the army doesn't want everyone to know about their trade secret so it's classified... red tape is used because justice is blind... and truth is colorblind gay rights passed in the senate because every one should have happy rituals or was that ritual happiness? and the house approved it because the pursuit of happiness is a constitutional right... the original gay rights issue I might add our forefathers thought of everything... put a clause in and all skin-heads and rednecks got the right to bear arms... (and arses) the edumakated got the right to free speech so everyone could see how smart they were not...they separated church and state so that government would not include the ten commandments...and civics would not be civil... and then.... they granted freedom to the press so they could point out all the wrongs with the rights. what I don't understand is right wing and left wing politics... right is tight and left is liberal... now lets think about that... if the right is tight and the left liberal then why do both try to screw the common man? seems to me they are both after the same thing... to be top dog.. I say give both presidential candidates boxing gloves and a tube of KY the one who is left walking wins and the other one has to sit under the desk for a year to give... political advice yeh that

two reasons.... 13 year old boy and 13 year old boy who knows how to delete

first off: DO NOT DELETE open a new file, name it something different, and change what you want.... This is a little like versions... if you decide you hate what you have just done to the story you can "go back" one version and destroy it again... and again... and again... Also, I keep a bunch of folders on my computer -- password protected -- that have titles like "snips", "character sketches", and "story ideas" where I put those fragments that pour out at 3 a.m. but are not really part of anything I"m currently working on. This way I can go back to them later and read them when I'm between things. Sometimes they inspire whole new stories. The thing about the beta reader -- it has to be someone you can TRUST. You don't have to agree with them, or even like them, but you do need to trust them. I have problems with beta readers, then again I have trust issues, so it's all good. I have similar problems with editors -- there are very few people I can/will work with, so when you find someone you can work with, treat them right so you keep them around for a long time.

meh I'm never on time... happy birthday! it's the thought that counts anyway right?

Lying teenagers who continue to lie even when confronted with the proof of the truth.

Honestly I believe there are so many other things that could and should be removed from the diet before meat is considered... how about corn syrup? FD&C "color" #"whatever" (especially the reds!)? citric acid? anything a second grader cannot pronounce? at our house we do consume meat -- red meat, white meat -- however we do not eat processed or deep fried meat we also consume tofu, textured vegi protien, and lots of beans (and sprouts) not to mention a lot of green and not-so-green grown things -- my son actually REQUESTS brussel sprouts! I think the true key is moderation and variety -- but to each their own!

well that also depends on how old you were when you had those kiddos!!! DC will be 18 well before I'm 35 which will leave plenty of time to still "grow up" before my scheduled midlife crisis (and the subsuquent getting old)... ps congrats DK & Trebs

ok.. in two camps here... first -- parents should monitor what their children see/do/play more closely BUT second -- the people who sell video games should treat the labels like other items geared at the 18+ crowd and not sell them to minors without parental consent. My son will be turning 13 this week, he keeps reminding me that he is now OLD enough for the "T for teen" rated games, a concept the clerk at the local game store found extremely humorous when DC asked for a "T for teen" rated game just after christmas.. and I told him he wasn't a teen so put it back. The clerk actually said to me... most the kids who buy that game are his age (now DC looks younger than turning 13 -- been accused of being 11 recently). I personally don't care what the other kids are doing.. my house, my rules.. DC knows this and he put the game back and didn't bring it up again, until recently. I am one of the parents who rely on the game ratings to help determine if it's appropraite as I don't play them... but how many other parents have a clue? the clerk's attitude makes me wonder.

sighs.. you are over thinking it. forget all that crap you are learning in college -- and most of that crap you learned in high school... go back to first grade or second or third -- where you were learning the rules for spelling and for commas... and think about the pure joy you felt when a sentence "read right" or you spelled a big word that didn't follow all the rules, yet it made perfect sense to you... grasp that moment and put it into your writing -- the rest will come -- and you won't even have to think about it. ps.. I'll bet that 90% of the authors DID NOT give as much consideration to their final sentences as you think they did... I'll go on to say that MOST of them had one thing on their minds either "gads it's done" or "holy f*ck now I got to edit this b*tch"... meh... they might have considered both come to think of it.

well.... here is an interesting article on this subject.

ok... I think PDA's are fine (for all genders, ages, and combonations thereof) depending on the situation and the intensity of the PDA. Any two people holding hands or giving a QUICK kiss when meeting or parting is fine. Cupping your partner's arse as you walk the mall is a little over the top. Tonsil tag at a club is fine, at the mall is questionable. I think the defining factor to me is simple... who will see? IF it's all teens/adults there is more leeway than if there are small/young children running around. Maybe that's the parent in me.. who knows.

You can yell but not scream You can sleep but not wake up You can bugger your boss but not frolick with your best bud There is food, but no drink. You can attend dinner or supper, but not breakfast, lunch, nor snacktime. Ballgames have beer but no peanuts. And it is normally summer or fall but never spring or winter. The masses communicate wirelessly but there are no televisions or radios nor people to watch them.

congrats Kev... I like 111 or 1111 personally p.s. this is the 667th post to mark my 2/3 the way through to 1k!

personally I don't like "cold opening"s and if it's BEFORE the chapter title / number I generally don't read it... Personally I think you are worrying too much about openings... write the story... then go back and decide where the actual story REALLY started, cut everything before that point... there's your opening.

Happy b-day Dio-de

this site tells when many religious bodies were formed but not where they are... but you can rule out several that came into practice this way.... and this is not a map but it gives you a decent idea of where the largest clusters of relgions are, the info may be a little off, but unless you are writing a research paper, no one is going to quibble over numbers too badly. that might get you started.

No, I would not read that, even if it had kick ass cover art. The idea of an 18 year old who thinks they can sell their ass and save money is just ludicrist to me. Especially if there is a move to a new city involved where he has (presumably) no connections, no place to live and nothing more than he brought with him... if he has a sizible chunck of cash then WHY would he be selling his ass? Sorry.. just doesn't do it for me. Maybe, depending on how the first chapter reads, but I doubt it. The mention of the Templars would make me consider twice. The cover art better be interesting and the first chapter baited with yummies to hook me in.... Now, considering this is a series (from the MC being the same) I would read the first one first, but I might talk to my friends to see if any one else out there is reading this or has read it in the past. I would be more apt to read a book with some of this information in the blurb. Ie.. why is a Catholic young man who speaks fluent latin, went to a religious school... selling his ass in Philly? I'm wondering if there is a way for e-fiction to be "credit based" ie... you can read one chapter, but you must comment on it to get to the next chapter. Even "I liked it, reading the next chapter now" or "I hated it, not reading any more sorry." is better than NOTHING. Same thing with single chapter stories... comment or no more stories for you. sounds harsh.. but yeah 48 for a popular story is sorta silly. I know when Joey moved my stories they lost all the comments.. but only a handful of people have comment on them in the past year, although the read count is rather high. As for a genre going stale.. I don't think that it happens very often... I think the readers get bored, move on, get bored, come back... I know I like to read a variety of things -- not just gay fiction.

LOL it was the first... and I turned 29. Thanks everyone.