Krista

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

I skim when the scenes become repetitive in nature. Also, sex scenes that go on and on, slow building, etc. If something is happening that is exciting or tense in a portion of the book - I tend to skim the... side dramas that aren't all that important, that for some reason, the author decided to add to those scenes moving the book/story at the time.

No, I tend to sing the exact lyrics that the original song/singer sings when I'm singing along. Although, I'm mostly making up most of the song unintentionally as it is.. lol. I've seen singers do it well with covers, although some of them sound corny, as some songs are made structurally about the love of a man or a woman and to change the gender, you change the entire meaning/point/tone of the song.. and it may fall flat. (Any Man of Mine - by Shania Twain, for example) change the gender to that song.. and it just doesn't make sense as the song references all the "argue inducing" mistakes that men make in relationships with women. But to be honest, I have no issues with singers that don't change the gender of songs and keep it original to the originally written piece.

Lol.. well you know, in the moment where does the mind go? Not on cameras.. *whistles* so I don't blame him for that leaving his mind.. haha. Yeah, he wanted to tell Ally himself, when he thought he could without doing any harm to the people around him. I can see why their relationship could be a problem moving forward definitely. That's part of the reason why I'm in a bit of a funk, I want to do it... justice, but not make it too polarizing or central. Toby's Mom is a piece of work. Poor Toby. He's definitely hurting more about his mother than he ever lets on. Thanks! Hopefully not! I've been in a bit of a funk with the story.. even though I do like the characters and the idea/premise still. Putting it all to paper the way I want is the problem right now. I've done a few starts and stops on the new chapter.. a complete deletion of it and start over.. as well.

Glad you like the story so far! Sorry that it is on a bit of a hiatus/delay until I find time to work on things...

Aww, I'm glad you enjoyed this story and my writing. (Not to show too much favoritism, but Standing in Shadows is my favorite story that I have written as well). I'll always have a soft spot for Corey and Jenny, those characters really pushed the writing of the story for me. The Father character as well, for different reasons. This story actually began as a Hetero story a long long time ago, back in High School, when creative writing was something I was really into, but didn't know how to do it. Starting from scratch and making it a different story at the right time, I feel made the idea/backbone of the story better. Mind you, as a hetero story where the main character was a girl, it would have been a lot different... maybe I will write it one day just to see how different it would be.

Welcome back Cj! And aww... I can't think of good goat joke right now..

Happy Birthday Steven. I would give you Bday spankings.. but 1. You wouldn't appreciate them much coming from me.... 2. My hand would be too sore from all the beating I'd have to do just to count that high..

I watched C.R.A.Z.Y for the first time this year as well. It was a bit slow moving, but the characters were interesting enough to keep me watching.

If it fits within the context of the story and characters, then you're only writing the story you want to write. When readers start dictating where and what your story is, then it is no longer your work and it most likely will not be finished. Earlier in my writing, I let readers dictate what they liked... and that sort of writing nearly drove me to quit completely. To a point, if you want your story to be a lesson for living, as there are movies/films, novels, and such that do that. Then yeah, you are a bit morally obligated to tell a certain story. If you are writing a story that you want to tell, but not put yourself on any soapbox, then no. You owe the readers no such thing. You can't stay within everyone's comfort zones, there is just no way to realistically do that. One of my favorite published YA authors second novel in a series felt like a Social/Political statement, with a little fiction mixed in. To me, that is far worse than characters that live outside of some people's comfort zones. It would have been fine. as well, if her first novel went along those lines, but it didn't. She lost the entertainment factor and what entertainment she put in it (so far, I haven't finished the book) has been pointless. So if you're writing what you want to write... then I wouldn't worry too much.

Happy Birthday!

Well.. you wanted a response.. lol. That was the only one I could give you. Haha. I guess you can rest assured that I don't have that many evil intentions for my characters with this story.

You'll have to wait and see.

Happy Birthday!

Yes, I liked all the characters with substantial screen time. It was a very low-key well done film that I think I am appreciating more after a bit of time after watching it. Being 17 is another one, although I thought it moved a bit slow. Those being the two more recent films that I watched. I'd definitely recommend both though.

Thanks for reading! Yeah, a nice little high, and some really unfortunate lows for more than just Jackson this chapter. Toby's small story line was planned from the beginning, I just hadn't really thought of a way to incorporate it into the story until now.. especially after all the "Christmas," talking that went on in the last chapter or so. It just made sense that something like that could happen. The ending came on the fly as I was writing.. I kept thinking, 'this could be the spot where...' well you know what happened.. lol. So I just hope everything flowed and went nicely, made sense to the story, and cleared up a few things, introduced a few things, etc. It was definitely a roller coaster to write, hopefully the next one won't be as bad for the digestion. lol. Thanks for reading! Yeah, I could only imagine reviewing last night's surveillance and seeing that... then having to handle it. Not a place I'd ever want to be, for sure. Toby is a really nice guy and yeah, he does deserve a better mother. We'll also see what Ally does with her new information/realization. I think it was definitely a shock to her system, maybe someone will calm her down before she makes it all worse for Jackson and especially Luke.. who has some very valid fears at this stage, I think. Jackson has the great Mom because he finally decided to meet both his parents half-way instead of going completely against them. He realized, that they were right in a lot of ways.. and the parents, Mom especially, thought that some of what he was doing was okay as well. It just shows that the relationship of Parent and Child isn't a one way street.. of.. Parents are always right.. and Children aren't.. that whole.. "You are supposed to be seen and not heard," idea comes to mind. Thanks for reading! Just for you Benji, I will write the next chapter.. then date it to publish when the next Eclipse happens. His life took a turn fast, but maybe not all of it will be bad? In a way, he is now out to what ever he is, to his Coach, out to all of his friends, and closer than ever to his parents. That can be a very good support system in place for the most part. Then with Heather and Ally, he will know where they stand and there won't be the secrets between them causing everyone to strain and censor themselves to keep it. Jackson has also always took that stance of, "I'm not gay, I don't know.." I think it is still realistic for people to be on the fence with their sexuality, no matter what they've done or who they're currently with. So he may not know himself. He talked to his mother about that a couple of chapters ago. I hope to manage that aspect of his character in a realistic and good to the story way. I don't think I'll get a chapter out before, 'Neptune Opposition,' day, but it could be a goal to set? Thanks for doing the research and attempting to put me on a deadline, lol! Thanks for reading! Luke did take a risk. I'm glad you liked their interactions, I'm definitely taking my time with their growth as a couple, I think the story needs it to go slowly? I also didn't want their first time to happen in a locker room.. lol. Their awkwardness about kissing and sex, I hope I'm not the only one, but I find it endearing to both of them. They're both learning at the same speed with one another... neither of them more practiced/experienced than the other. They're equal. The story, I feel, needed a kick in its butt to move things along. Some things happened that were bad on the surface for sure, but there could be a silver lining, like you said. It is up to me, but it is up to what is best for the story as well... hopefully I can find that before I start on the next chapter.. lol. Thanks for reading! I'm glad you think it is consistent with growing pains and teenage angst. The characters are still feeling things out and it all won't be easy, clean, or good. Growing pains is a good word for what Jackson is going through. He's changing this year, his senior year, and it has been a quick one. One that he didn't really see coming and fell into anyway. Toby's relationship with his mother... you'll just have to wait and see what happens with that. It does seem like Jackson has the only sane mother in town, but I assure you there are good mothers besides her living there... lol. I just haven't really talked about them much. I'm happy you think the ole Coach handled himself well during that whole thing. I am in love with Jackson's relationship with his mother as well. Thanks for reading! Poor Toby is right. I was struggling with when and where to introduce this conflict for his character and the Holiday season of winter/christmas seemed like the best place for it. Their relationship will definitely highlight something for the story's end, if I can pull it off. Thanks for reading! I'm loving your insight on Ally and Jackson's confrontation and their relationship as a whole. It made a lot of sense to me and lessened some of my worry that maybe I had rushed the interaction or made it clunky or goofed entirely. It was a difficult chapter for me to write, managing all those characters, their interactions, and for some, their own stories like Toby. I like seeing Jackson as good friend. He may have totally shied away from Toby's pain earlier in the story and focused on himself. So definitely some growth there with him, it would be so hard to be in that situation, I'd feel helpless, there's nothing you can really do there. Jackson's Mom... oh, you saw that. *whistles innocently* Good question. We are getting a one sided view of Ally, they haven't had very many positive interactions for us to really know how she will respond to this.. or if she is who we think she is. I think it will be fun to write Ally a bit in the next coming chapters.

The acting was really good. The one Teacher, both leads, and the headmaster were really well portrayed and done. It is definitely worth the watch. Gay films are either so unsteady acting wise, fall into so many cliche' and stereotypes, move either too fast or way too slow, or end in a death/tragedy. It was nice watching a film where none of that happened, you're left with something good.

“Shit, I better hit the road, I scheduled the pool for tonight,” I sent after pulling my eyes away from the tiny screen for the first time in hours. I wasn’t running on a whole lot of sleep, Luke and I had talked away the entire night and most of the next day. He still had to hang out with Cindy some during the day and meet with his teacher. Being grounded and Cindy not knowing that Luke had a brand new toy, allowed him more time to text than he probably would have if Cindy hadn’t started holdin

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

No, I don't use anything like that - although, I do find it interesting how theories and such are created based on star, planet, birth month.. etc. is concerned.

I saw that short, then I watched the Elders React version. Very sweet short film. The reactions was very nice as well, since they're from a varied spectrum of people who grew up in a, "we know it happened, but we didn't see it or talk about it," generation. I wouldn't mind seeing an animated full feature film within this genre/style for sure.