LJCC

Yeah, I didn't rewrite the story completely from memory. But I guess the plot was there, but had altered somewhat differently. I think it's better now, in a way

That is so true. To said friend, Great Back = Can weightlift 200 lbs, as per his description. Friend's a dumbass, my apologies. And you don't need long-winded explanations or descriptions of your characters, which is what I explained. Like great authors literally employed one-liners that are packed to the core to describe their characters: ” … Her skin glistening in the neon light coming from the paved court through the slits in the blind, her soot-black lashes matted, her grave gray eyes more vacant than ever.” - Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita. “His hand was over his eyes. He looked like a failed soldier. Dirt seemed so worked into him that the lines of his face were like writing.” - China Mieville, The Census Taker. And even this, this very simple description is actually A DESCRIPTION: “He did not look like anything special at all.” - Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything Is Illuminated. And honestly, one of my favorite descriptions: “But her will had left her. A strange weight was on her limbs. She was giving way. She was giving up…”- D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterly's Lover. I mean, you honestly don't need heavy-handed descriptions. Sometimes the most basic of it all, written in the most meaningful or sometimes gut-wrenching way that allows you to see a glimpse of who that character truly is in that moment, in that opportune time to see what your characters are made of, are the best descriptions imaginable.

Here I am, editing a story with: I don't know why I edit shit as a hobby for friends, but geezus christ. I'm such a great friend.

I had fun rewriting this: And yeah, very true. When I was trying to edit it, I had no idea which was which and who was who. Everyone was an enigma.

One thing I've found out today that annoys the shit out of me, talking heads. Let’s say you never mention what George looks like, and then halfway through the novel, you suddenly reveal that he was the only one who could crawl through the ventilation duct because he's a dwarf and super thin. (a) If there were no hints before, the reader probably imagined George as an average guy, and now they have to rethink every scene they’ve pictured so far. (b) The reader might feel like, "Oh, come on, now the author needs a reason why only this guy can get into the locked room, so they just pull this out of nowhere." But if you imagine a character with, say, a broad nose and a dark tan, and it never plays a role in the story, then sure, the author can leave it out. But if it does add to the immersion, then keep it, unless it adds to the clunkiness. If you skip a description, the reader usually fills in the blanks with something familiar to them or assumes the character fits the setting. Like if I'm reading a story set in Japan with characters who have Japanese-sounding names, I'd naturally picture them as looking Japanese unless you say otherwise. Currently editing a story that mentions several family members in the cast. None had a description. I was like... Where are they seated? What are they doing? What the hell do they look like? What the hell is happening in this story?

Yup, he's cute. HAHAHA. I've noticed that French athletes always have that extra oomph. Maybe it's that lackadaisical attitude or too much butter in their meals. But oui oui, I'll butter their toast if one must oblige.

He looks way sexier now that he's balding. Er, I mean, um...I don't have a type.

His bulge looks very defined. I meant shoes.

He got caught with two poles in that one. He was being offered 250k to have an hourlong jerkoff vid by some gay pornsite. Haha. I wouldn't watch that. *deletes search history*

I'm assuming you had more than a few stories stored in that USB drive. I mourn for your loss mate. 😢

I'm a basic ass bitch, so I use LibreOffice. I like the entire dark/black background format it has going. It doesn't strain my eyes too much. My word is expired—too cheap and lazy to renew. 😂

Yeah, I couldn't recover the lost files in my case either. The mac was just too old and gave up its life. But my current story: Mr & Mister Danvers Book II = Lost 50k+ words (Forever lost) The Longest Third Date = Lost 40k+ words (Currently written around 160k+ words) Derek's Bachelor = Lost 180k words (Forever lost) The last story was nearly finished. That took 3 years of writing, dipping in and out through the years. This was a hard lesson to learn. But yeah, I have backups now.

"Yes, my friend. You were never one for believing the nature of others. I am sorry to say my exploration proves my original hypothesis, my old friend." If someone calls me "my old friend,'' they're getting punched in the face. I think proper editing is very important to the context. To give an example: The limousine came to a stop in front of the building, the chauffer getting out, opening the door for the lawyer. He climbed out of the black car, his eyes going upwards, the building reaching upwards into the late day, smothering sky, his thoughts congealing together. FIRST EDIT: The limousine came to a stop in front of the building and reached upwards into the late day, smothering the sky. With the chauffeur getting out and opening the door for the lawyer, he climbed out of the black car, his eyes going upwards. His thoughts congealed together. SECOND/FINAL EDIT: SUSPENSE GENRE The limousine came to a stop in front of the building—a towering infrastructure reaching upwards into the late day, smothering the sky. With the chauffeur getting out and opening the door for the lawyer, he climbed out of the black car. His eyes went upwards as though his thoughts congealed together. SECOND/FINAL EDIT: ROMANTIC GENRE The limousine came to a stop in front of the building—a towering infrastructure reaching upwards into the late day, brightly dotting the sky. With the chauffeur getting out and opening the door for the lawyer, Taggart climbed out of the black car. For sure, he had to say it. Andrew had to know how he really felt. Was he too late? He blinked as though his thoughts congealed together. SECOND/FINAL EDIT: DRAMATIC GENRE The limousine came to a stop in front of the building—a towering infrastructure reaching upwards into an undercast sky. With the chauffeur getting out and opening the door for the lawyer, Taggart climbed out of the black car, knowing well what was about to unravel. He clutched his chest as though his thoughts congealed together. Pain. It was coming. I agree that flowery language is annoying. For example: The tall muscular man took the beautiful girl's slender hand and kissed it with his luscious full lips, until her wild beating heart fluttered with emotion. I've read so many stories that have the flowery cornucopia, that it puts me off so much too. It's exhausting to read a story like that, because all you're saying in your head is, so many words explaining one emotion. Get to the fucking point! And then there are some writers who are able to execute flowery prose that actually makes sense and has meaning, you read it again and again because of how beautiful it is. Even professional writers are guilty of this. This is an excerpt of Irene Iddesleigh by Amanda McKittrick Ros, and unfortunately, the only work of hers that’s been digitized and placed on the internet: Ah! the very thought of his embosomed and anticipated alliance made him nervously happy; and believing a bright and noble future lay in store for the lonely owner of Dunfern Estate, he resolved to indulge nature in a few hours of calm repose. If you’re wondering what he resolved to indulge nature in a few hours of calm repose means, it means he went to bed. It's a loopy style of writing, like a parody of her own writing. But it is an addicting read cause it's hilarious in the sense that Lewis, Tolkien, and the other Inklings used to hold competitions to see which one of them could read aloud the longest from one of her novels whilst keeping a straight face. Rarely did one of them manage more than a minute.

Your word, not mine. Ahihi. I was about to say, Young at heart... 🙃

Damn. You truly are an old member. 🙂

Me too. *reactivates dating apps* Yeah, me too.

AWW... This reminded of that Swedish Film, Patrick, 1.5. When the guy on the right said, "Hey honey, this is our kid..." I'm like, 'I want someone to call me honey too...' I'm gonna start walking up to teenagers and asking them, "Hey kid, you there? You need a family? You're my son/daughter now. Come with me. We'll find your papa. Haven't found him yet. You're not vegan, are you?"

This is exactly why I try as much as possible to post finished stories. The readers should not have any say in where the story is going. If they did, then they should be the ones writing it, not the author. Even as an author myself, I don't have that much control over how my characters live inside my head. IF they did this or did that, they are beings with character and quality who has control over their fate, as dictated by my subconsciousness. The moment you are forcing your characters to act a certain way against what your subconsciousness has built them to be, they become caricature versions of YOU, the author. For example, if you plan on killing a character and that character ends up fighting for their right to live and wins, yet you still kill them for plot reasons...you need a new hobby. Same with opinions that affect your own story. If one is serious about writing, NOTHING should sway you to think otherwise in how you write it.

Although a gay John Wick story would be awesome. Fueled by revenge, John Week began dicking other guys to revenge his broken manhood when someone left the condom on his dick that got him Chlamaydiaeasis when he forgot to clean his peen. So he began murdering a group of twinklings at a nightclub somewhere on Staten Island. Will his thirst for cum, and vengeance be satisfied by a thirsty bottom? Or will ninja assassins come for him while he's wanking in the bathtub? Either way, he's fucked. Literally.

I remember my individual behavior professor saying that in every human, there's this thing called a life-changing event. It may happen at an early age or later in life. These events shapes and changes a person's values. There are intrinsic values taught at an early age that moulds a person and these values are constant. However, with the introduction of such life altering event, these values shifts slightly to the left or right. They need to be powerful, dramatic factors that steers a person's core value to shift. For example: Marie, a 55-year-old English teacher, faces a devastating heartbreak when her 22-year-old gay son Tommy takes his own life. Torn between her devout Christian beliefs and her love for her son, Marie is shaken to the core, rejecting the religion that once brought her solace. Determined to honor Tommy's memory, Marie joins an advocacy group fighting against prejudice towards the LGBTQ+ community. It's there that she meets Zeke, a gay Muslim student at her school who is being bullied for his identity. Seeing the parallels between Zeke and her late son, Marie takes the young man under her wing. She teaches him about resilience, terrified that he might suffer the same fate as Tommy. In return, Zeke helps Marie on her journey of self-forgiveness and compassion. Through their bond, Marie comes to terms with the fact that she never hated Tommy for being gay. As a single mother, she had simply hoped for a "better" life for her son—a heterosexual marriage, a traditional future. Tommy's death made her realize the depth of her own prejudice, buried beneath her faith and desire for his happiness. With Zeke's guidance, Marie learns to embrace love and acceptance, determined to prevent another young life from being lost to the pain of intolerance. In honoring her son's memory, she finds the courage to become a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, ensuring that no other parent has to endure the same devastating loss. Arnold, a 38-year-old father of three, experiences a profound tragedy when his youngest daughter, Anabelle, is found dead near her college campus. Years later, the killer is finally apprehended. Consumed by grief and a thirst for justice, Arnold becomes an outspoken advocate for the reinstitution of the death penalty through the electric chair. He joins a 4-day rally outside city hall, determined to see the law passed in this "modern age." However, Arnold's stance is more complex than it first appears. While he professes his belief in "a life for a life," the reality is that he never truly believed in capital punishment before. It is only after the devastating loss of his daughter that he comes to see the electric chair as the only means of finding peace and resolution for his immense anguish. Arnold's quest is not simply a quest for the law, but a deeply personal one. He feels that only the execution of his daughter's murderer can provide the justice he so desperately craves. The loss of Anabelle has shattered his worldview, driving him to advocate for a punishment he once opposed in the hopes that it will finally bring him the closure he needs to move forward. Teddy, who has been with his partner Gary for almost two decades since the age of 16, is blindsided when Gary abruptly files for divorce, citing the monotony of their marriage. In a last-ditch effort to save their relationship, Teddy suggests an open relationship. Reluctantly, Gary agrees, and Teddy begins exploring intimacy with other men. Through these encounters, Teddy discovers a newfound understanding of his own desires and preferences in the bedroom. It's during this period of self-discovery that Teddy meets Tanya, a cisgender woman who is open to exploring unconventional relationships. As Teddy and Tanya's connection deepens, Gary realizes the depth of his love for Teddy and that he may have made a mistake. However, by this point, Teddy has come to a profound understanding—it's not the lack of physical intimacy that was missing, but the emotional connection and companionship he shared with Gary that have ultimately slipped away. Eventually, Teddy and Gary decide to proceed with the divorce, recognizing that their marriage has irreparably broken down. Years later, Teddy welcomes a child into their lives, while Gary finds a new love blooming on the horizon.

There was supposed to be an epilogue of book 1, which is meant to be written after I wrote book 2. But I did write Book 2, wrote about 40k+ words, then my laptop died and I never recovered it. I got so disappointed because I knew I had a beautiful start (like, really, really, beautiful start), so I took a break. I was also writing a mature rom-com called The Longest Third Date, which I also wrote together with Book 2 and also never recovered the files. That was around 25k+ words. I decided that the Longest Third Date was easier to write since it's 3rd person POV and because Book 2 of Mr & Mister Danvers was very heavy (also, I was still bitter that I never recovered the files.) So I began writing agani The Longest Third Date and currently, as of the posting of this comment, it's around 134k+ words and probably still needs around 50k+ more words before I jump to writing this. I don't know when this story will get finished, but I am sure to get back to it as soon as I finish The Longest Third Date.

Let's combine our powers and turn that into 100k+ novel!

I wanna join. But given how my mind works, I'll for sure exceed the 30k mark and it'll turn into a full blown novel. 😂 I have issues. Don't ask. I still have two months to think about this though. There is still plenty of time, me thinks.

I messaged him years ago about one of his stories, and he was kind enough to reply to explain some bits. I don't know him personally, nor have we had any interactions in real life. But, as an author, it's my great honour to say that he will be missed. His stories will remain imparted on so many of us—the gay children who grew up reading their stories, those authors who've passed and moved on—they'll forever be, it not, inspirations for us to write better. Wherever you are, mister, I'm hoping you're in a better place. I assure you, your stories will be read...By all of us. Thanks for the stories. Regards, LJCC.

Some writers confuse Western as in a novel with a setting from the West as opposed to its real meaning, which is "Cowboy, hot cowboys". 😅 I'm guilty of this.