Jdonley75

Just posted my last chapter of The Discovery.

<tosses two pennies on the table> This probably isn't a popular take, but it's become my observation over time. First off, views are meaningless and I've gotten to the point where when I look at it, I know all it is is an indicator of how many hits the page that contains a chapter of my story got which translates to ads for the site. Beyond that, views are not an indicator of how good or not so good any given story on this site is. Secondly, unless someone comes at me with a bachelors degree in English and Literature to critique what I write, they can kindly 🤬 off with their complaints. This also applies to me. I'm not an expert in writing stories or what makes a good story or not. If I don't like something, I just don't say anything because I'm in no position to tell someone how to do what they enjoy doing. I'm not here to impress anyone. From day one, I agreed to do this with the expectation that if I get three people to read the whole thing, I'll take that as a success. That I got more than 3 people is nothing less than a blessing and I try to make sure all of those who leave comments know I value them. But I don't live or die by how many or how few people read and/or like it. I'd like it if the lurkers actually gave a little more reaction, but I can't and wouldn't force them to, so I do my best to ignore it no matter how irritating it gets. Finally, from what I've noticed, there is more activity on the authors clubs where everyone seems to hang out, which I don't get, but it's what they like doing, so okay. Maybe they don't know what stories are available. Maybe they just want to "chat" with people in the authors clubs and don't care. More likely than not, some people have only a certain author or small number of authors they like to read and won't consider anyone else. That's the job of the admins (or no ones) to get people interested in other stories. The admins decide which stories get attention and which don't. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's their site, they can do what they want. I also see a lot of other things on here, but I'm keeping those thoughts to myself. Mostly because I don't really care enough to put it into words. I'm just here to tell a story and that's it. How many views I get or reactions or comments are just little hits of dopamine that are nice, but they don't pay my bills. It means a lot more to me if someone takes something from the story and makes it a part of themselves. And that's not something they need to share with me or the rest of the world. Anyway, sorry to interrupt. I noticed I was mentioned and I felt compelled to say something.

The answer is, and always has been 56.

Very spot on. Madness is not something easy to write (unless you're insane yourself I would imagine) but I have ran across a few writers who pull it off rather well. One of the things I used to love about my old World of Darkness RPG books was the little bits of narrative in the chapters. Reading a story about a Marauder (an insane mage) or a Malkavian (vampire) from the perspective of the character really gave an interesting insight in the disjointed thought process that the character itself saw as natural and normal. Granted, Marauders and Malkavians are pretty much also stone-cold killers on top of them having a fractured reality. But it's a good starting point to get used to the idea of thinking on their terms for a short while if you intend to have an insane character in a story. The key word here is "research." Always research a topic you're unfamiliar with. People asked me how I managed to write Andy's troubles with his PTSD with such realism and the truth is, I watched hours of video of veterans talking about their traumas and how it's affected their lives. I read articles all over the place that I could find to learn as much as I could to make sure the character was true to his mindset. Nice read (I figured it would be good if all I saw was the word "insane" on my screen 😆)

That documentary was decent. But there's a lot more about the story of Robert. Supposedly, you can't take pictures of him without asking him first. If someone did take a picture of him without permission (cameras have been known to suddenly stop working in front of him) then the person usually gets a series of bad accidents happening to them that can only stop when they write Robert an letter to apologize for not asking his permission. Robert is currently in a museum in Key West. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/robert-doll I first heard of him when I was listening to the "Spooked" podcast from NPR. Because I love scary stories. Not so much print, but spoken.

100% agree. Finding that balance makes a big difference between a good story and a great story. The slow build can give the author more time to develop the characters and give the readers insight into their feelings and how those feelings can dictate their actions. Give the readers a reason to fall in love or fall in hate with a character. Make them as real as possible and the reader is invested in them and the outcome of the story. I would only add that sometimes, a red herring or two can keep the reader entertained if done right. Sometimes, readers enjoy trying to figure out the puzzle of a good mystery before it's properly revealed towards the end. So, adding a few dead ends can go a long way. Just don't make a habit of it or else it'll become too transparent or too frustrating for them. If you're really feeling sadistic, you could draw some secrets out over the course of several books and even then keep them more suggestive than just hitting the reader over the head with the "truth." Not that I would ever do anything so mean....

It wasn't my plan to write flashbacks in my first book, but it really filled out the characters and gave me a chance to get to know them while also letting the readers see them as teenagers and adults simultaneously. To see the changes in appearance and personality while keeping the narrative moving. I didn't intend to do it like this, but when I read it over again, I realized I had unwittingly put a kind of mental link between present day and the flashbacks. Like when Kyle is having dinner with his friend and his son and she brought spaghetti (for a three year old!?) and it ends up getting spilled halfway through dinner. But the meal itself triggers the flashback of Kyle having a spaghetti dinner with his friend Andy when they were teenagers. I'm a big believer in that if you're going to have flashbacks, you should make a clean break in the narrative before getting into it. Flowing from the present to the past without a pause of some sort can confuse a reader without some kind of prompt.

I'm about 8 chapters into Dragons of Deceit, the newest DragonLance novel by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman that came out in August. I'd be done with it already if I wasn't busy working and writing.

1. Scrambled. I tend to go beyond what normal people call "scrambled" in that I keep them in the pan until they're a little brown. It's just how I was raised, I think. I also pair them with Sausage patties that I practically burn. 2. "Tuesday Staff Meetings" by @Thirdly 3. I read "Gordy Comes Home" on another website and it affected me for days and I ended up writing the author @sojourn who sent me a link to his stories here. 4. "You Can't Make This Shit Up." 5. I'd have to go with french onion soup. I know, I know. I'm not generally a soup person but you put me in a corner on this one.

From what I've read and heard in interviews of other fantasy writers, the primary goal when beginning the story is to create a world that feels lived in. Give it a history, even if only you know about it at first. Slowly bring it to the forefront when parts of it are relevant in the moment of the story. Don't get bogged down in the minor details, those will work themselves out as you go along. If you are going to have magic in your world then you should decide on a source for that power. Is it inherent in the world itself? Is it a natural thing that some people can intuitively tap into, or does there need to be an education involved in order to access it? Maybe it's divine in nature? If so, maybe there should be different gods that give different kinds of magical talents. What if those gods don't get along? Do their followers come into conflict? Deciding on races, religion, geography and the general political landscape of a place isn't something you need to bash a reader over the head with. Just slowly introduce the idea into the story through exposition or friendly dialogue between the characters. Just remember to not overdo the world creation. To quote one of my favorite fantasy authors... "We could, of course, just as easily had the sun rise in the west on this fantasy world, but it would have served no purpose and would have been just another oddity for the reader to remember. The point is that you don't need to change everything ... in fact, changing everything makes a world less accessible. You need a lot of familiar to identify with the story." Tracy Hickman. (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, annotated edition) Eventually, I'll be getting around to my own fantasy writing (once I finish what I started) so, I'll be hip deep in gods, magic and demons before too long. I would suggest maybe reading some different fantasy (or sci-fi) role-playing books or fantasy novels to help you get an idea of what kind of details you want to include in your own world. Remember, good authors borrow from other authors. 😉

Very well done so far. For some ungodly reason, I kept hearing "MacArthur Park" in my head while reading this.

Where I learned the term Bivouac

Hm... Obfuscate. That's a Nosferatu discipline. Along with Fortitude and Animalism.

The crux of this is the term "highly attracted to." One would imagine that if it's a physical feature that attracts you to them, you could get over that easily. How many times have you gone up to a smoking hot guy to hit on him only to have the illusion shattered when he opens his mouth and begins to speak? Looks are great and all, but they never last. Eventually, crows feet, grey hairs and sagging manboobs set in and if that's all that attracted them to you, then yeah, that can be slotted into the "friendzone." But, I think you're angling more towards the personality of the person. How he carries himself that gives you an indication of his level of confidence. The way he smiles or how his eyes glitter in the light that makes the blackened little cinder in your chest thump a couple extra beats. Some quirky thing that he likes that you also like and how is it possible that you find that one person in the world who loved "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" as much as you did?! All that and he loves playing pinochle and watches silly stuff on YouTube and when he laughs it makes you swoon on the inside. You're planning a wedding in the back of your mind complete with white linen tablecloths, what your colors are going to be and how wonderful it's going to be when you take your honeymoon to St. Vincent for two whole weeks where all you plan on doing is laying on the beach whenever you're not in your bungalow swapping DNA. And then you find out he's straight. I had a crush on this guy once. We met through a mutual friend at the time. I was 21, 22 and he was 25 (oh, so mature and everything) We clicked almost immediately and I was just smitten with him! I wanted to spend as much time as possible with him and I flirted and he flirted back despite his proclamation of heterosexuality. I was young and full of myself and so sure I could bag this guy (it wouldn't be the first "straight" guy I've ever f*****) and we would be awesome together because when we were together we would laugh and have fun doing all sorts of stuff and even my friend was like, "dude. You are totally in love with ****," and I'd be all, "No I'm not, tee hee." He worked on cars and I had a car and he replaced my break pads and I will never forget how sometimes being around him would make my pants get so uncomfortable but I managed it. Months of this cat and mouse game and in the end, nothing. And the harsh light of reality hit me right smack in the middle of my face when I was forced to laying there, feigning sleep in the dark at my friends house while listening to him and some... girl going at it ten feet away from me. How I managed to lay perfectly still and not utter a sound is beyond me. But, I maintained the friendship. And it was due to the fact that I loved him. In the end, I wanted him to be happy. And if that's what he was into then I have to accept it. Having to look across the room at that one "friend" you always wished had been more is never really all that easy, but it does get easier over time. Once you accept that that's just how things are going to be, you make the friendship the best friendship it can be and be thankful for it. Because someday, someone's going to break his heart and it's going to be you he turns to for some level of comfort. And he doesn't need your baggage and your unrequited feelings. He needs to know he can depend on you in his moment of weakness. To be an arm around his shoulder. An ear for him to bend. Or someone to snuggle up with and know that he's with someone who cares about him in the way only a real friend can. And over time, those feelings you used to have for him (or her) will evolve as your friendship means more and more to you over the years. When they are elevated in your heart beyond that simple title and the feelings evolve so that it feels more like family than just a friend. Yes, maybe once in awhile the memory of those more "passionate" feelings might creep into your waking mind. But they'll start to feel less and less important compared to the bond you've developed over a span of decades. That's my take on it, at least. Good question, though. tl;dr yes.

I feel that marriage is an important institution and commitment between two people to combine their lives in both a legal and spiritual sense. I think the flaw in the concept of marriage is the people who treat it as a formality or those who impulsively rush into it without really feeling deep down in their heart that this other person is the one they want to spend the rest of their life with. More over, that feeling should be a mutual one between the two people involved, regardless of gender or gender identity. I can understand why some people would find the idea of getting married repugnant. Far too often, we hear about marriages falling apart. That two people fall out of love, one cheats on the other, or worse, one becomes physically or emotionally abusive. That could dissuade anyone. There are also those who prefer to have a polyamorous relationship with multiple partners. It is my opinion that a marriage arrangement wouldn't fit properly in that kind of relationship. Legally, marriage confers many benefits beyond just the usual issues of inheritance and property rights which are too numerous to mention. On a more spiritual level is where I feel the truth of marriage lies. It should only be entered into with no doubts, hesitations or concerns on either party. There is a reason why there are vows and that the person officiating requires each of them to acknowledge, in front of witnesses, their commitment to each other. It should always be a binding pact that should be the last great step in a relationship. It should never be entered into lightly, nor should it be tossed aside carelessly at the first sign of trouble. If you are that certain in your love and commitment to each other, then you should both understand that it is for life, not until you have your first fight and communication breaks down between you. If you believe in a higher power no matter what form you comprehend it, you owe it to that god or goddess whose name you invoked that you will stay committed to each other. And if there is any doubts you might harbor beforehand, then you should speak up and deal with them rather than stay silent and let it slowly eat away at the life you decided build with a person you loved. If you have a boyfriend and you get along great and have a lot of fun together but don't really take it all that seriously and know that if he left tomorrow you'd be broken up about it for awhile but eventually move on from it, then obviously, I'd say marriage isn't in the cards for you. If you like your independence too much and you don't want to be weighed down in your life with someone else and you'd rather just go from one person to the next just for the occasional fun, some affection and great sex, then you should do that. Don't get married just because people around you say you should. Don't get married because your religion says you should. Don't get married to make your parents happy or your friends who've been wanting to throw you the biggest, greatest bachelor/bachelorette party the world has every seen. But if you find someone who you know completes your life... Who makes you feel emotions that make the word "love" feel inadequate to the task of describing them. If you spend every day feeling like it's been a better day because they were there with you. If you find yourself thanking God for having them in your life when you never believed in God to begin with (or Allah, or Zeus, Odin, Hera, Athena, Bridget, etc.) then perhaps, you should ask them how they feel. And maybe you should go find a priest. Just my opinion.