Disjecta Membra

Broadswords Chapter Thirty-Six The Preparation Elan lay in his bed, listening to the description Daegon and Kep gave of the man they had caught at the cave. If he didn't know any better, he would swear it was the same peddler that had sold him the Sanguistis. But it didn't really matter. What mattered is that his theory was right: there was someone keeping the dragons fed. Time was becoming short, too. They only had about a week and a half left before they would likely emerge. The

To be completely honest, quite often the POV and tense just come out naturally when I begin writing. I’ll start typing, and it either works or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t work, I scrap it or try another way. But when it flows, that’s what I stick with. I enjoy writing in both first and third. I find that stories with multiple POV characters always work better in third person for me, as it makes it much more clear for both myself and the reader. I have yet to write a full story in second person. I’ve dabbled a little, but it hasn’t produced a completed work. I think something like that requires a certain subject type and/or certain plot. I’ve read pieces before that have been in the second person, and it’s always been a hard style for me to get into. Besides that, I have no real preference for reading in first or third. As long as it’s consistent and well-written, I have no qualms either way. (Although I have read works in which the POV and/or tense have changed periodically throughout - that is an easy way to lose your reader, both to confusion and from finishing the piece.)

One way I resolve this when it does arise is by using it as an opportunity for character growth and development. If you can’t relate to your character, then certainly at least one of your other characters can’t either. Have that character try to get to know your unrelatable character better. As you said, sometimes you can’t get into their headspace before you’ve even gotten a chance to have them grow. But maybe that could be your starting point. The character is unrelatable to those around them, so use the other characters as an extension to accomplish just that.

Broadswords Chapter Thirty-Five The Attack There was no sound alerting him to the appearance of his sudden visitor, but Harmon felt the presence of someone within his room. He looked up from his desk, where he had been focused on his daily dose of independent study of the Tarragonian language, to find Birten standing there. "Birten?" A quick glance at the door confirmed that it remained firmly latched shut. Unless Birten had opened and closed it with extreme deftness, Harmon could

730 is getting my gears turning. I think I’m going to try to turn that one into something.

As a writer, I think the star rating for reviews is great. I look at it as a hierarchy; likes (or other reactions) are the first tier, and when you get one it’s fantastic. It means the reader has some kind of feeling about what you’ve written. It boosts your reputation, it’s accomplishing what it’s there for. Comments are stage two; to me, they’re more meaningful than a like because you see exactly what it is that makes the story/chapter so great. It gives you the feedback you need to keep truckin’. And finally, the review. I don’t expect them at all, but when one is given it’s very humbling. The reader could simply comment but instead they’ve chosen to write a review. When reviews are written, it’s someone taking the time to show the rest of the community exactly how they feel about what they’ve read. They’re putting their name on their opinion which could backfire if nobody else agrees. A review (especially the higher rated ones) means they’re really going to bat for the story. It’s like a blue ribbon when you get a five-star review, and I think the way it all works on the site has been executed quite nicely.

I agree that it really depends on the how the story unfolds. Just like with short stories, you might have one at 1,000 words or one at 10,000, that’s kind of how I view chapters in a chaptered novel. I do try to keep them similar lengths (I don’t personally like having a story in which one chapter has 500 words, the next has 9,000, the next has 2,000, etc.), but they don’t have to be exact. But if I have a story in which my chapters are roughly 2,000 words and a few of them are a little over or under, it’s not a big deal as long as the content is there and I’ve reached a good ending point.

No changes to the story, most of that was just corrections to typos I noticed while rereading through everything! Nothing that would have made an impact to what you’ve read so far, though.

They both definitely got hurt, but in very different ways. It certainly could have been avoided if Danny had been honest from the get-go, but there is still the question of how Jason would have reacted in that situation. He may not have taken it as hard as he did in the story, but at the same time, it's possible that he would still drift away from Danny as a result.

Broadswords Chapter Thirty-Four The Escape Breaking out of his restraints wasn't as hard as he'd expected it to be. Thanks to Deke's consistent desire to show Birten all of the artifacts he'd gathered on his travels, it was just a matter of sneaking the right item off the stone slab and into the waistband of his pants. On that given occasion, Deke had a countless number of items displayed before them. He went over each one with pride, explaining where he'd gotten it, what he had to do

Not sure how feasible this would be based on how all of the site mechanics work, but would there be any way to add an "epilogue" option similar to the "prologue" option that currently exists? Of course, we do have the option to add another chapter to act as the epilogue, but I think it would be a perk to be able to add one without a numbered chapter, especially if it's a short epilogue.

Broadswords Chapter Thirty-Three The Turmoil "How far could he have gotten?" Elsior asked angrily, pacing the room which had until recently been Birten's holding cell. Both Deke and Rea stood against the wall, arms crossed, watching him. He assumed neither wanted to be the first to speak. Unsurprisingly, it was Rea who finally spoke up. "It's hard to say, Elsior. We don't know exactly when he got out. He was here when I finished my session with him. I left sometime just after midn

I concur!

I almost always try to ensure my fantasy names are only one or two syllables, too, to ensure ease of pronunciation for the reader (and to make it easier for me to remember, too!).

It honestly depends on the story, for me. If I’m writing fantasy, I try to make up my own names that are more unique, yet are easy enough for the reader to figure out how to pronounce. If it’s a fantasy story with a lot of characters, I will try to make sure at least some of the characters have names that are a play off of names we already know in our world. Further, I try to give minor characters very easy names to remember - if they’re not super important, I don’t want to give them a name that’s not easy to remember, because what’s the point? For all kinds of writing, I do occasionally give characters names that mean something important to their personality, past, plot points, etc. I use this rarely, but when I do, I use baby naming websites as a guide. For non-fantasy, I try to stick to names that we’ve all heard. I feel like, in my head, it makes the characters more relatable. I also don’t like to repeat names very often. I don’t want to have eight stories with characters named John. So usually, to be honest, they just pop in my head and if it feels like the right fit I roll with it. I am not knocking when people use unique names or spellings (especially since I use them in fantasy), but in my own non-fantasy writing I find it distracting. When/if I use more unique names in non-fantasy, I try to keep them to a minimum.

Where do your plots come from? What inspires the stories that you write? Do you base them on real-life experiences, do you find inspiration in other works, do they just come to you? My writings are generally sparked by three things (though this is far from an inclusive list). Often, prompts/challenges/deadlines are actually super helpful in my creative process. If I know I have to write a certain type of piece by a certain time, it makes me fight through the cloudiness that writer's block sometimes offers and instead put my nose to the grind and turn out something worthwhile. Of course, I also have those epiphany moments where a plot strikes me and I keep adding more and more to it in my head until I can't help but scribe it out. Finally, there are those occasions when I'm struggling to come up with a concept and I just start writing. I pick a random name and a random locale and a random mindset and I run with it. Usually I get a couple paragraphs in and don't feel it, and I scrap it. But sometimes it's exactly what I need and it turns into something fruitful. I'd love to hear what everyone else has to say about the topic!

My goals are to attempt to get out at least a short story per month, finish my current chaptered work, and hopefully get a story written for each anthology category since I have yet to do one. Additionally, considering I've been on the site for 6-7 months now, I'd like to get myself more out there in forums, contests, etc.

It absolutely could have been avoided, had both of them taken the time to really talk things out. Danny let Jason drive most of the conversation and took the backseat. Although it was Jason's story to tell, if they had perhaps taken more of a back-and-forth approach to the conversation they might have prevented the end they had.

I think you're absolutely correct; they both hold some of the blame. Between Jason's gung-ho jump into the situation without allowing himself to ease into it, and Danny's passiveness to avoid causing bigger problems, they both acted on more of an emotional level than a logical one. Indeed, Danny did try to patch things up whereas Jason wouldn't even try. There is a lot that can be said about the way each of them adapted (or didn't adapt) to the situation.

Solace “Danny?” “Yeah?” I responded, not taking my eyes off the TV. It had been a long day and all I wanted to do was relax on the couch and put in a few hours of nonsensical reality show time. “You busy?” I shrugged, even though I didn’t know if he was actually looking at me. “Not especially. Just unwinding from work,” I said without much effort. “Why, what’s up?” “Can we maybe talk for a little bit?” Finally, I looked away from the TV. It wasn’t the kind of thing

When Danny's best friend Jason opens up to him about the secret feelings he's been harboring, Danny doesn't know what else to do but to lend his support. But he soon realizes that sometimes being honest is more important than being supportive.

Broadswords Chapter Thirty-Two The Stakeout Daegon eyed the stranger warily, but otherwise paid him no attention. After all, his main concern was Elan and what had happened to him. And of course, to fill him in on the events that had transpired over the past several weeks. While he wasn't keen on the royal family discovering where he'd been, he knew he needed to share the information regarding a brand new, magically-created breed of dragon with another slayer. The Elsior's Dragon was

I’m intrigued! Hagan’s kind of a dick, but it fits the character. I am curious to see how Gil will interact with this new world, so I hope you decide to pursue additional stories!

Broadswords Chapter Thirty-One The Plan "Kep?" Jeno stopped in his tracks as Kep entered the small building. Kep was nervous, having been out of touch with his old friend for so many years. While their relationship didn't end on a horrible note, it wasn't as if it had been the most positive experience either. But he knew that he had changed enough to where he felt ready to see if their friendship could be patched. "Hi, Jeno," he said softly. "I know this is out of the blue, but I

Anybody else purchase this and been playing obsessively since yesterday?