Graeme

Is this the same as last week's topic?

No. A cliffhanger should have a wider impact than just a few members in the forum. Something like... say... posting a chapter at Christmas time (eg. Dec 2007) where it appears that a much loved character has been killed while rock climbing.... Or maybe a chapter where a crippled bizjet whose pilot has been killed is being targetted by missiles, and no apparent way that they can survive the missiles and land safely. We should be looking for something like that.

It is technically possible for anyone to change any other person's signature. All you need is access to the underlying database and knowledge of SQL. At a different level, some staff members have the ability to edit user accounts. All of those staff members, however, are trustworthy and beyond reproach, and would never do that for nefarious reasons.....

Does this mean that you and I are in a fight for last place?

Will this be part of your Operation Hammerhead story?

A year already!?! Looking forward to seeing what year two produces

G'day, WBMS**! **one of many alternative names that he goes by

Welcome, Phoenix! If you've got any questions, please don't hesitate to ask

Australian's call them Hercules, too. As for the lemons, I still have no real idea. Your comment about making them look like grenades is as good as any others I've heard.

Comicality is the author, and you can email him at Comicality@webtv.net. You can also visit his forum here and leave a post

Welcome, selesia! There certainly a lot of great stories here, in a wide range of genre's. Don't forget to check out the various short story anthologies, and feel free to contribute your own story, if you like. We do anthologies each quarter. If you've got any questions, please don't hesitate to ask myself or any of other moderators

It's not quite that time, yet.... It is currently nomination time. Later on will be voting time. I think we can be assured that CJ will be nominated for King, and I think we can be confident that Let The Music Play will be nominated for best hosted story, though it'll be up against some tough competition. The Scar seems to be doing well in the nomination process for best Villain/Antagonist, though I've also noticed Eric being nominated for Best Hero/Protagonist for Changing Lanes. Since the rules state that an author can only be in the final vote in three categories, it'll be interesting to see what CJ chooses (assuming all the nominates make the final list).

It depends on what the artist is trying to achieve. If they are creating art for art's sake, then the audience isn't important -- it doesn't matter if the general public doesn't understand or appreciate it. If they are looking for public adoration, then they need to create something that appeals to their target audience. They will never create something that appeals to everyone, so they should look at who do they want to like their work and create accordingly. That could be an audience of one (themselves), or it could be wider than that -- that's their choice.

I missed that Thanks for letting me know! I've edited my original post.

I left corvus and AFriendlyFace off the list -- sorry, guys. Their stories have been added to the list above.

Since Anthologies are currently my responsibility, here is the list of new authors and stories from 2008. Please let me know if I've made a mistake. Some authors changed their penname so I may have some wrong. ComeWhatMay - Falling Slowly (Spring 2008) corvus - What Mrs. Gordon Learned (Spring 2008) D Writes - Whispers In The Dark (Spring 2008) Faust - Almost (Spring 2008) Lesfeuxdemoncoeur - Those Without Names in the City at Night (Spring 2008) Libby Drew - Sight of Stars (Spring 2008) Moonwolf - Our Time (Spring 2008) Myk - Stepping into the Light (Spring 2008) Rose Strailo - Finding Someone (Spring 2008) Tiffani Chin - Self Preservation (Spring 2008) Tiger - My Brother's Journal and My Secrets (Spring 2008) Tristan James - The Mother of All Assumptions AFriendlyFace - If No One Notices (Summer 2008) corvus - Hotel California (Summer 2008) Myk - Without You (Summer 2008) Procyon White - The Cafe (Summer 2008) Rose Strailo - Breaking Her Bonds (Summer 2008) Tiffani Chin - There Once Was A Boy (Summer 2008) Tiger - The Aimless Search (Summer 2008) AFriendlyFace - Giving Up (Anniversary Anthology) Anonymous - Choices (Anniversary Anthology) corvus - The Letter Chest (Anniversary Anthology) Kit - Just Two More Days (Anniversary Anthology) Tiffani Chin - The River (Anniversary Anthology) AFriendlyFace - The Most Dangerous Place (Fall 2008) Codey - A Ghost of Christmas Past (Fall 2008) corvus - A Little Company for the Night (Fall 2008) darkfoxprime - Strangers in the Garden (Fall 2008) Dion - Just Love Him (Fall 2008) G-Galloway - The Devil's Quill (Fall 2008) Kit - Chat Room (Fall 2008) Procyon - Messing With Time (Fall 2008) Rose Strailo - Writing the Past a Goodbye Note (Fall 2008) Sabat - When You Come Back To Me (Fall 2008) Tiffani Chin - Awakening the Devil Within (Fall 2008) Tiger - The World through Spectral Eyes (Fall 2008) wildone - There All Along (Fall 2008) Dolores Esteban - Till Death Do Us Part - A Play in Five Acts (Winter 2008) Jovian - In A Flat Spin (Winter 2008) Kanaye - Spin the Bottle for Seven Minutes in Heaven (Winter 2008) Sabat - A Good Hand (Winter 2008) Understanding Enigma - The Mark (Winter 2008) Lots to choose from

I've seen that one before, but the last paragraph was different in that he said that he still hadn't slept with her, despite numerous attempts, so the final answer was reversed. It's still amusing, though

If I was single, I think the answer would be no. However, because of the situation I'm in (married to a very understanding wife, and with two boys), I would probably take it. I know how much pain I caused my wife when I came out and I think I owe it to her. She's only asked one from me -- to be true to my marriage vows -- and taking such a pill would help me be the husband she deserves.

According to the wikipedia entry for Sodium Hydrochlorite: See also this article

In principle, Kit is right -- being in a relationship doesn't mean you've given up your right to privacy. You do give up part of your privacy, but not all of it. Where the line gets drawn is something that's specific to each couple. For example, neither my wife nor I hide anything on the computer so we're free to browse each other's folders (we both have administrator accounts, while the boys have restricted accounts). However, unless there's a reason, such as being asked by the other person to try to find a particular document, we don't do it. Neither of us would have a problem with going through the other person's call history, but both of us would be question the other if they were found 'snooping'. Where the new privacy lines get drawn is a matter for negotiation and discussion. Any time you want to stray into a personal area it's polite to ask first unless you have reason to believe there won't be a problem. Looking at a mounted photo that is on public display is fine. Even picking it up and checking the back to see if there are any notes would be fine. Removing it from the frame isn't.

I was part of Collision, too, so I know what James is talking about. However, that was a round robin, rather than a collaboration. While some of issues are the same (coordination, continuity, agreement on where the story is going and what the characters will do and not do), having only two people in a collaboration does make it easier to get consensus. I've thought of doing a collaboration a number of times, but the mechanics involved can get scary. Is it alternating chapters? Is it each person gets a scene? How much can one author suggest/make changes to the other author's work to make it all fit more seamlessly? Would it be two equals, or a senior and junior author? While it could be done electronically, I think a collaboration would be much more effective if the two authors could sit down together from time to time to work out issues in the story. Just my two cents (Australian) worth....

I knew they had nothing to do with each other. They are on completely different tectonic plates.... I believe lemons are used in middle eastern cooking, so my theory is that the general injects each of the lemons with Tequila and then sells them to the Iranians (for a tidy profit). I just haven't worked out how he'll stop the alcohol from evaporating during the cooking process. Maybe he'll be hiring himself on as the new chef... with the rest of the mercanaries going along to kidnap the existing chef.

Congratulations, Jonathan! I'm always pleased when I hear that someone is interested in publishing something an author has written. I hope it turned out well and keep us informed as you're able to Good luck!

Good luck and best wishes for Willie. I hope it all turns out well.

If the author truly believes that what they've created isn't flawed, they shouldn't be sending it to an editor. I also think they should probably see a psychiatrist or an optometrist, too, but that's another story I'm definitely in the camp of taking comfort from the safety net It's not the job of an editor to change things "to suit their tastes". Editors can only suggest. Of course, if an author rejects most of the editor's suggestions, then that's probably an example where the writer/editor match up isn't working. An author needs to trust their editor's judgement. They can disagree and discuss particular points, but most of the time the editor's changes should have the author nodding their head thoughtfully. I've highlighted what I consider to be the main problem with an author editing their own work. Not only are they the only one who knows what they want to see on the page, all too often they see what they expect to see on the page, and not what they've actually written. I don't know how many times I've read something I've written, only to have an outside eye point out a typo. My eye was reading what was supposed to be there, not what was actually there. An exceptional author could also edit their own work, but that outside, fresh eye, with no preconceptions of what's supposed to be there, can see things that the author can't. This is why top competitors in almost any sport use an outside eye to coach them. It's not saying that they aren't capable of doing the job -- it's because they can't see what they're doing wrong because they're doing it and can't step outside themselves to observe and critique what they're doing. An editor is an outside eye. The author sees the vision on what they want to say, and they interpret the words accordingly. The editor provides an outside eye to provide guidance on whether others will interpret the author's words in the way the author wants.