Jdonley75

For those moments when you need simple, quiet tranquility

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.

oops. Just pretend I didn't say anything then. 🤣

But see... I wouldn't be speculating. Because I already know.

What? No! I was talking about like @FanLit or @Geemeedee or.... you know... other... people...

Well, you can always speculate on what's going to happen next.... 😄 I don't confirm or deny any of them, but I'm sure there's plenty of others who're reading who have plenty to speculate about.

I've finished the first draft of chapter 31. So, with any luck it'll be ready Saturday.

At present, all of the available RAM in my brain is being used to run about 15 different personalities. Trying to add an entire high school would kill me. 🤣🤣🤣

I'm thinking something along the lines of, "if they wanna hire any women workers they need to apply for the job first." You do remember correctly that Tyler said he was outed at work... 😎

From his apparent age, I'd say he's still a "recent discovery" to his mother and father.

I have that collection too! Volumes 1 and 2! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I think comments and reactions are both kind of important. People comment and react more when you engage with the readers on here, I find. Reactions (the "likes, loves, etc.") are like the change in the tip jar in front of the street musician as he's performing for whoever happens to walk by. The comments are what tells you just how your story is affecting a reader, for good or bad. Both kind of work together to keep a writer encouraged to keep going. If no one had given me any kind of reaction to my first story in the first few chapters I likely would've just given up on it.

Just happened to find this little gem. Very well done. It always surprises me how many people I know who are like Mark. They always think the party never ends and that there's no consequences for their actions. And each and every time, it all catches up to them when they least expect it. Great story.

inspired by the stuff I'm writing currently.

I got my encouragement from my readers in the beginning. I still do. And I do my best to let them know I appreciate them. If you got the story in your head, some helpful criticism as far as how they write can be helpful. But, beyond that, It's mostly up to me to tell the story and hope it entertains a few readers.

I have a PS3 and a PS4 along with my SNES classic. I have them because I am archaic and buy blu rays. Xbox cannot read and play them but Playstations can. Also, I tend to just enjoy the playability on the PS3 and 4 along with the 2 I have in a box somewhere. The SNES is just a nostalgia item I use to play some real old school games that takes me back to my youth.

Well, since you mentioned it, lately on YouTube I was seeing ads for MasterClass Online. Kind of expensive in its own way but there's the option for a $15 a month and access to all of the classes. There are several writing classes but also other classes as well (such as an acting class with your teacher Samuel L. Jackson.) https://www.masterclass.com

It's not a bad idea to run it by a friend, however make sure that friend understands how to give constructive criticism and isn't going to just be a yes-man. Let them know you need an honest opinion and if they see something they don't feel works, they should say so. Their goal is to help, not hinder the process. As far as the seeking assurance and validation is concerned, I feel it's safe to say that every single author who's written ten words on this site is in the exact same boat as you are and if they say they aren't, they're more than likely lying to themselves. It's a huge rush when you get all those likes and comments coming in. I got more than a little overwhelmed on my first time here because I was totally unprepared for it. But I also remember (and am living through again) that strange feeling when you put something out and nothing happens. You get one or two comments that seem pretty tepid and a handful of likes and your first reaction may be, "what did I do wrong?" The answer, of course, is that you did nothing wrong. You're telling your story and sharing it with others. I am very serious that the first book I wrote, I expected like two or three people would read it. Five at most. And the response I got was not at all what I expected. Now, I have to remember what I told myself the first time. "Don't chase the attention. Let the work speak for itself." You did your part and you did it good. Now, it's up to the readers to either like it or not, comment or not. You can't make them so don't even try. Just put your story out there and just let it be what it is. None of use are writing the next To Kill a Mockingbird. We're telling stories to each other. So, be the storyteller you know you are and don't stress yourself or get bummed out by not getting the response you were hoping to get. You got this. You can do it.

Okay, I've looked at this three times now. This might sound mean or whatever, but I just gotta say it. He looks like someone rebooted Aaron Carter and removed all the malware on his hard drive. Yes. I know. I'm going to hell.

Oh, no doubt. You need to know your characters as much as possible and everything else is the scenery you need to give the story a foundation. I wrote up notes about all the "main" characters and keep it nearby whenever I need to go back and make sure I'm not having a character do something they normally wouldn't. Sometimes it was something as simple as delivering a line of dialogue (no, Jacob wouldn't say that to Troy, but Kyle would so I need to change who's saying that line.) Sometimes a character can have a big change in their life that changes them. You have to account for that as well. But keeping all that organized until you have it ingrained in your head goes a long way to finding your story.

Not wanting to jump on the band wagon here, but... Yeah. I'm with @Talo Segura and @Mikiesboy on that. My first book on here, I didn't post the first chapter until I had it all done. I didn't want to make something and not finish it. Originally, I was just writing it for myself. The story was playing over and over in my head everyday and the only way to get rid of it was to write down. Then it took me awhile to work up the courage to actually post it on here. Of course, I didn't think anyone would read it either. I will amaze you with my ability to agree and disagree with @CassieQ simultaneously. I believe an outline is a start to writing a good story. However, don't see it as a rigid structure that you can't break. You're the artist. Draw outside the lines if you want. I wrote out no less than three outlines to my first book. If you were to see them and read the book, you'd probably laugh your head off because the outlines do not conform to the story at all. But they gave me a structure and goals to work up to. As far as you feeling "stuck" or "uninspired" about your current stories that are still in process, my advice would be to... well.... ask your characters what they're going to do next. Have them play it out in your mind and then write it down. That's pretty much how I did it.

There is no such thing.

I figured that maybe I'd give everyone a place to rant and rave this time. Oh, and I guess you could talk about the first book to, if you wanted.

Could not agree with @Thorn Wilde more. There is never a right or wrong way to write your story. And you can write it. If I can do it, anybody can. As far as first draft being bare bones? Yeah, I can see that. My first run would be about 6k words or something like that and by the time I "edited" it, it would be closer to 10k. But there was things that had to go, or rather be changed to maintain the story. And, yeah, it sucks when you worked really hard to write a big section only to read it over later and realize it has to go. But you do it and in the end, you're glad you did it because it makes the story better in the long run.

My general thoughts on PDA's is that they were nice and sweet and should be done when the moment feels right for both persons' involved. I'm not one to be comfortable as long as it's tasteful (?) and isn't done for the express purpose to make others uncomfortable. If you're going for shock value rather than expressing your feelings towards your significant other, then you're doing it for all the wrong reasons. That said, I have no problem holding hands, hugging, kissing above the neckline or other things you can do with your clothes on in public. I also have no problem with groping or tickling in certain circumstances where it may feel appropriate with the atmosphere you're in. What I think goes beyond good taste (good taste is different for everyone. check your local listings, your mileage may vary, objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear) is when it goes from flirty, affectionate touching to outright foreplay leading up to a quick run to the public bathroom for a hot two minute screw in the bathroom stall and one of you is trying to keep your legs above the partition because you don't wanna be caught but it doesn't matter anyway because you're both giggling one second and moaning the next and you forget that sound carries and everyone else in the bathroom washing their hands can hear exactly what's going on and a few minutes later, after you worked each other up into a frothing sexual beast it's suddenly over and done with and you inevitably have to open the stall door and everyone's looking at you funny. And then you look in the mirror and see that you have "DNA evidence" on your cheek and it doesn't matter that you wipe it off, everyone in the bar watching you walk out knows exactly what just happened. ... or so I've heard. Point is, you do you (and do that hot guy in the bathroom if you get the chance). As long as you're not breaking any laws, then just enjoy the moment.