Jdonley75

So completely true. A good story has those moments overlap and come together in sometimes unexpected ways. When I get to a significant moment in a story, I try to raise the readers perceptions of the characters thoughts and feelings as it plays out. I want to get them as close to being in their shoes as possible so they understand why all those good and bad times came before this one singular moment. A really good moment, done right, can have the reader feeling it days after they actually read it and can still feel the emotions that played out in that moment.

That bittersweet feel is evident from the beginning. The entire piece is very evocative and is enhanced by the purposeful way that not all the questions that are left are answered. Some memories are best left to the character (or author) instead of being laid bare down to bone for all to see. It gives it an almost ethereal quality that makes it better than what it could have been if there had be long explanations and line after line of dialogue. A very well done piece of writing, Gary. As always

If I had to chose one, it would be the one that brought me here in the first place. @sojourn has a couple other really good reads too if you're into more rural/western themes.

I've never given serious thought about turning it into a profitable skill. 🤔

It's a rarity for me to be so into a story that I read it all in one sitting. Much less laughing out loud enough to scare the cats away. I loved how you expertly melded the serious with the funny and made it all so real. This was a really terrific read and I'm glad I took the time to enjoy it. Great job.

So, I'm writing and listening to the "soundtrack" of my story. 1. Royals - Lorde 2. No Air - Jordan Sparks 3. Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri 4. Killing me Softly - Roberta Flack 5. Thank U - Alanis Morisette 6. Wicked Game - Chris Issac 7. This Masquerade - The Carpenters 8. Someday - Nickelback (shut up) 9. Uninvited - Alanis Morisette 10. The Kill - 30 seconds to Mars 11. Rolling in the Deep - Adele 12. Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots 13. Not the Only One - Bonnie Raitt Dunno why I always seem to pick exactly 13 songs...

I do kind of an equal amount of taking notes and outlining. I never do it at the beginning. When I start, I just start writing and then later on, when I need to start arranging all the images, ideas and scenes that have played out in my mind into a coherent story. The notes get changed and at some point, the outline gets thrown out because I came up with a better way to tell the story. Then another outline and some more notes. More changes, then rewrites and so on and so forth. But, those notes are the main thing that help make everything link together.

As tempting of an offer that may be, there would be a slight snag in the overall plan. I have no idea where he is. And I am perfectly fine with that. 😄

There are portions of this story that I was all too easily able to empathize with. It's takes a strong will to follow through to totally remove someone from your life. Trust. I'm well aware of what it requires. My ex is someone who's name is never said. I used to think about him every day. And now, I barely think about him and even that's with an indifferent shrug. He's gone and I'm glad he's gone. He never deserved me.

Good to hear. Looking forward to meeting this guy when it's time.

Oh, I had an entire soundtrack of sappy love songs to listen to while I was writing The Acquittal. Helped me through a lot of those harder scenes.

I'm just gonna leave this right here...

Well, it's your character, sweetie. You can do whatever you want with him. If it were me, I'd probably write up a character sheet on them and see what I can fill in and learn about them as I fill it in.

Think of yourself less like his parent and more like his god. Don't try to directly affect him. Opt to use the story and the other characters to affect him. Personally, I think your character just isn't quite ready to tell you his story yet. I've had a couple do that to me. Just have to be patient and coax it out of him over time.

There's nothing wrong with having an outburst. Especially when it's obviously warranted. The internet can be such a great tool at times. It's a shame sometimes people forget that there's a real, living, breathing person on the other side.

I'm looking at mine now on the shelf. I got it signed by both of them at GenCon about twenty years ago. The one and only time I turned into a complete fanboy in front of a celebrity. Oh my gods, so embarrassing... I think I managed to utter out like two intelligent words. Sure, I could hang with Gary Gygax at a lunch no problem or talk politely with Marina Sirtis for a couple minutes. But, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman? Total blubbering idiot.

Someone should have read Dragons of a Fallen Sun...

I'm trying to remember who all died in that book that could spark that kind of outrage. If you're referring to Tanis's death, then, yeah, I remember that vividly because of how... senseless it seemed. His was more of an ignominious death in my opinion. And after that happened, it was awhile before I read any new books. But, good thing I did because the authors kind of got back control of the series later. But, now there are no more books that'll be coming out anymore.

Reading this reminded me of the DragonLance Chronicles trilogy. In the second book, one of the main characters (a knight) died defending his troops to give them a chance to survive and win the bigger war going on. To me, I knew he was going to die from reading the first book and when he did, I just went with it because I knew it was a part of the story. Later on, in the third book, another character died but his death was just the ending of a long, full life. For some reason, that's the death that always moved me to tears reading. And every time I've read those books again (which I've done frequently) I barely register the heroic sacrifice made fighting the forces of evil but I still get tears in my eyes when the old grumpy dwarf takes his last breath. I suppose he didn't have to die and I often wondered why they added it into the whole narrative until many years later when I came to own an annotated edition of the book. And the authors (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman) explained it this way. Flint's death, unlike Sturm's, was not determined early. But by the time we came to this book, we wanted to show that someone who had lived a heroic life should be honored as much as one who had died a heroic death. - MW Most death in the world is quiet - which sometimes blankets the fact that it is the consistency of a person's life that brings meaning to our existence. Not everyone dies defending their country or saving children from burning buildings. Some of the greatest heroes I have ever known lived strong, supportive, and truly great lives in small communities. Their names may not have been heard beyond a hundred-mile radius, yet they are no less heroes. - THR Depending on the genre I would be writing, characters dying would happen when they need to happen to further the story along. All those points made are really good ones and I really dislike killing characters just for fun or for whatever reason George R. R. Martin cooks up every five minutes. If I ever decide to kill off a major character, it's to make a point about the importance of life and how it is lived. Minor characters are disposable though, when it comes to furthering a plot. I'll kill off those suckers without batting an eye. You always seem to post topics when they're on my mind. How do you do that??

Told you so. 😉 Congratulations on your newest story. I know how much effort you put into this and how important it was to you. You did great. Looking forward to the next one.

So cute and warm. It had a realness to it and the simple emotions that played out got me laughing then worried, then amused and finally touched by the simple story of their lives together.

Wow, that was an amazing story to read. She definitely has talent. If anyone else tells her otherwise, beat them with a frozen tuna.

Jonathan* Only people who were given a Romani curse or other similar situations of ill omen spell their name Johnathan. I used to fret over names so bad when I was younger and creating characters. Then I started working in jobs where I was bombarded with names over and over. Mostly, my names are maybe partially random and also names I tend to like for one reason or another. When I make a character though, they get the full treatment. First, middle and last name.

I think the thing I can't really get away from no matter how hard I try is music. A song or something with some significance that plays at some point during a story. Even when I was just running table top games I'd incorporate music just to enhance the mood for the players and use certain musical cues for some deeper meaning for them to figure out.

Don't give in to the feeling of guilt when thinking about going to a new doctor. If you feel that you're not getting the necessary treatment or empathy from your current doctor, no one will think less of you for it. It's ok to feel scared or concerned about what you're going through. But don't be ashamed or feel like you're a failure. You're having a really rough patch right now but, with the proper care, you will get through this. We are always stronger than we think, even when the difficulties in front of us seem insurmountable. Get the help you know you need. Ignore anyone else's negativity and focus on you.