C James

Thank you Sasha! Yes, I do indeed use foreshadowing, and lots of it, regarding future events. But just becuase something is a future event, does not mean it is a cliffhanger.

ROFL!!! Cliffhanger JAmes!! What a thing to call someone who never uses cliffhangers!

Congratulations, Tiger!!! Thank you for all that you do, your posts are a delight to read, and often incisive.

Don't give Shadowgod any ideas! He'll have high explosives in it! Agreed, and Shadowgod is most excellent at that. That was a very large part of what made LiS so great, IMHO.

I think I am seeing a pattern here... Wildone's declaring a "cliffhanger" finally made me realize what is going on. Yes, I think that what we have here is CDSS (Cliffhanger Delayed Stress Syndrome). Readers suffering from mental trauma from a truly devastating cliffhanger (I'll name the one in a miniute) are now seeing them everywhere, even in their serial! The only cause of this, of course, could be Shadowgod's famous (infamous?) Mother of All Cliffhangers in LiS 26. Therefor, it is clearly and unequivocally Shadowgod's fault that people are seeing cliffhangers everywhere (Even in my stories, apparently!) Well, I'm glad to get to the bottom of this! However, what is the treatment??? AAAAnd, I think it is time I mentioned the upcoming chapter title; Reunions. CJ

First off, I'd like to remind everyone of the source here. Shadowgod, after all, is known by many names, including the Lord of Darkness. It is well known that Satan can, and does, distort and disseminate, and here above we see him doing so. I really don't understand why Shadowgod keeps bringing up that exclusive GA committee (BTW, you forgot WST Team Lead). I do, of course, maintain said comittee's anonymity, but I do hereby vouch for tyhat fact that the vote was both unanimous, and enthusiastic. Shadowgod is indeed sneaky. Did I send him a PM claiming I wanted his title? Yes. I admit it, I did, and I was attempting reverse psychology, I wanted him to defend his title! He has steadfastly refused to do so. I believe this to be one of his Eeevil ploys to lure his readers into a false sense of security. As a beta reader for Shadowgod, I'm not supposed to blab about upcoming chapters, but I'll give one little taste; Chapter 12 of his new story, Dreams and Cliffed Wings, whoa, what a CLIFFHANGER! And that thread? It was merely a chapter-by-chapter review of LIS's cliffhangers, done purely out of the goodness of my heart. And yes indeed, there is always next year, and I hereby begin the campaign to RESORE SHADOWGOD to his THRONE! RST! RST! RST! Cast out the unscrupulous, scurrilous userper C James and put Shadowgod back on his throne! Yes indeed, I hereby inaugurate RST, to begin the honorable and just cause of restoring our once and future King of Cliffhangers, Shadowgod, to his throne! Let the revolution begin!! :mace: :battleaxe: :chris: :fire: :2hands: :battleaxe: :axeman: :sword:

I'm late in reading (It's been a hectic week) but I've had an inkling that that story might be coming to a close now that the takeover has been defeated. Cray is where he needs to be, and things are looking good. I can't answer the question on 24 as I don't know what is in it, but I thought 23 was a good chapter on its own. CJ

No problems, and no need to worry! I very much welcome all criticism becuase it helps me. In this case, the scene in 28, which i have a hunch will please critics of the video, wouldn't be in there had you not raised the issue. In other words, you improved the story and I owe you my sincere thanks. Okay, now some general things for everyone, BTW, another item that was mentioned was Helen's words to the press regarding Brandon and Chase's "girlfriends". She never lied; in fact, she told the truth. She said that Brandon and Barbra were "just friends." Sure, she knew what the press would make of that, but she told them the truth and let them leap to the wrong conclusions. One issue I wanted to mention was that of the press, and the paparazi in general. I've had freinds (entertainment industry) who had to deal with paparazi, and one thing I can say is that the hate instinct has for them is not in excess of reality. In fact, it's probably understated. Imagine, if you will, being stalked day and night, and never having any privacy. Remember how Princess Diana died (chased by Paparazi) and how many celebs have gotten in hot water for taking swings at them, throwing things, etc. Most celebs have mixed feelings about repurters, but by and large their hate for paparazi knows no bounds. CJ

Okay, regarding the "carlisle Island" video shoot. Time for a confession on my part. There was, originally, mention made in that scene of the concept of the video. But, I was worried that the story was getting boring due to too much extraneous info, so I made a bad call and deleted it prior to anyone on my team seeing it. I don't (out of fear of the Echidna) discuss upcoming chapters, but in this case, due to it being an issue, may the Echidna forgive me, I will; I've added a scene in Ch 28 that discusses the video, and should answer all questions on it. As for Helen's managerial behavior, I will weigh in on that one. She is, after all, the manager, so it behooves her to act like one. True, she has become a substitute mother to the guys, but her job is that of manager, and a manager's job is to make the band money. She's paid a percentage of that, but they get the lion's share. What others have said above is true; fame is all too ephemeral. That's why it's been mentioned that she insists the guys invest most of their proceeds;

Wow, thanks everyone! I'm a bit rushed for time (My internet connection keeps fading out) so I'll just adress a couple of points for now; Shadowgod has it right on the "hotel" Joe Clump was in. A dive like that doesn't check ID, or ask for names. As long as they are paid in advance they don't care. Its a flop house, just like where Brandon was staying before joining the band. Thanks Gary! I didn't think of it at the time, but you may be right about the island video shoot. I was thinking of similar "skin exposure" videao I've seen, such as the hotter members of a band shirtless, or even in bed, and also rolling stone's penchant for "showing skin" of its hotter cover guys. I also recall that Mick Jagger did a cover of RS nude, with his hand over his crotch, a few years ago and he was around 50 at the time. And, i know its going back a few years, but remember Guns n' Roses, Axl liked to perform in his underwear, and there was often a lot of skin in their videos. I'm not current with music videos, so I don't know what the style is at the moment. I do remember some hot videos a couple of years ago, but, a jungle one? Okay, I must, in honesty, concede the point; that may have been going too far on my part. Hellen's motive, though, was money; its her job to market the band, and a lot of younger talent does appear frequently in teen mags, etc. Blame me for this one, not Helen. BTW, I always welcome criticism; things like this make me think. Thank you. Good point. I definitly DON'T want instinct coming across as any form of boyband, so I'll be more careful of that aspect in future. So far, they've had the RS photoshoot, and that was quite "normal" for rockers, and after than the music video and photo shoot was their next PR type event. Hrmm, wait a sec, I'm forgetting something. Ahh, in the "when in Rome" chapter, it mentions in passing a TV special they had done, but gives no specifics. Are there other aspects beyond the Carlisle Island shoot that make them look "Boybandish"? If so please let me know so i can fix it. Thanks!!! CJ

Congratulations, Krista!!!

I'm afraid I did that the second I heard the results, and before they were announced. I even suggested that the winner was an unscrupulous cad who had used unfair campaign tactics and should thus be disqualified. But, the recounts (there were four, I think) didn't work,, nor was my suggestion accepted. I think Shadowgod must have had a hand in this somewhere. But TL... Come now, Haven't you heard me say that I never use cliffhangers?

YEs! Not harming the Goat is in the lead!!

Wow, thanks everyone! I wasn't expecting the "Best Anthology" award! My sincere thanks to everyone, and remember, my stories are a team effort! There should have been many names on that award; Emoe Shadowgod Graeme Captain Rick and Bondwriter. I also wasn't expecting the other award! ummm, is now a good time to remind everyone that I often say that Shadowgod sneaks any cliffhangers in during beta? Just so y'all know, I had a deal with Shadowgod (Umm, does that mean I made a deal with the Devil? ) Well, in this case, the deal was simple; if one of us won King of Cliffhangers, the award would go on our site index page. So, ummm, I had to add it to mine. I'm really shocked by this turn of events... Y'all know I never use cliffhangers... Right? Thanks everyone!

Congrats to GA: 5000 members!!!

Congratulations Graeme!! Well deserved, and a very fine story!

Congratulations Steve; Very well deserved.

Ahhh, but Graeme, I have done my best to keep this thread focused where it belongs; on Shadowgod's mastery of the cliffhanger! And, umm, BBQ? Uhoh.... Ahhh, but what do the individual post totals for this thread have to do with anything? YES!!! :worship: Of course Shadowgod is the King of Cliffhangers! LiS 26 is, after all, known far and wide as the Mother of All Cliffhangers. Ummm, now Graeme, we can't go off-topic here in Shadowgod's forum, so we should really stay focused on the topic of this thread; Shadowgod's cliffhangers, and not stray into other subjects that might occur in other forums.

Awww, I'm just trying to be my normal, always-helpful self/

Har-Megiddo is the Hebrew name for the ancient city of Meggido, and literally means "hill of Meggido" and it's ruins sit in the Jezreel valley in Israel. However, Har-Megiddo has become corrupted due to translation to English. In English, it is called Armageddon. In the beliefs of some, it is where the armies shal gather prior to the final battle between good and the shadowy forces of darkness. Yes indeed! but you should know that a goat would never have anything to do with a cliff.

I've heard nothing regarding any member's choice poll that would indicate, one way or another, whether Sovereign of the Malevolent Precipices is preferable to the more-descriptive but less eloquent Sovereign of the Malevolent precipice-danglers. This, my dear shadowy one, is merely a question of verbiage.

I loved the mural painting too. Very symbolic and evocative. Cody was great, but he didn't tell Jacob that he was being investigated. BTW, if you liked cody as much as I do, check out Shadowgod's new Dreams & Clipped wings, Cody is the central character. It's great, and we are already finding out a lot more regarding Cody and what makes him tick. Seconded.

Wow, this is one busy thread! I think this is clear proof that Shadowgod really is the Soverign of the Malevolent Precipices. Or, should that be Sovereign of the Malevolent precipice-danglers? Personally, I think the first version sounds better, though the second one is more accurate. Hrmmm, I'm sensing a poll coming on!

ERRR. Uhoh. Please tell me the bad guys weren't on motorcycles? Because if they were, that's a dead ringer for a certain chase scene (Blackheart and company, above Honolulu in "for the Love") However, even if it's the same, I didn't take it from that TV show; I never copy stuff, I don't believe in it and I prefer doing my own. Though, I think my scene had a garbage truck, not t dump truck. That would be annoying; a cliffhanger before every commercial! Yipes! I'm delighted to say that even Shadowgod, the King of Eeevil Cliffhangers, doesn't use them that often. (and his chapters are free of commercial breaks ) Totally agreed. Our of curiosity, I had a look at the post before Wildone did any experimenting, and there had been no editing done at that point. I promised I'd stay hands-off on these polls, so I have. I'm just shocked.. 40 to 4? I mean, how could that be? Everyone knows that I never use cliffhangers... Or don't I say that often enough?

Lol... Yes, i meant I was halfway through Ch 31. As for how many chapters LTMP will have, i really don't know, other than that I can't see it going past the upper 30's. However, My original estimate for "For the Love" was twelve chapters (it ended up as 40, if you count the prologue and epilogue) and my estimate for "Let The Music Play" was originally 15 chapters. I know the plot, of course, and most of the minor details, but I stink at predicting size. Some scenes I had figured for a chapter end up being a few paragraphs, and the other way around too. And oops, I was about to give an example but it would have been a spoiler. Also, changes happen during the writing; sometimes new aspects occur to me, and sometimes the plot changes as a result. BTW, I know Ch 26 was a little on the dull side. Sorry about that. There were reasons for everything in it, but they won't be apparent for a while in some cases. CJ