Graeme

A belated Happy Birthday, Comsie!

I voted for both my significant other and my children (was I supposed to be allowed to vote for more than one?). My significant other, because I know how badly it's affected me when I've said something or done something that's upset my wife. I'm not talking small things, but big things where I've cause her a lot of pain by being unthinking. My children, because I just can't imagine myself without them. That will change when they become teenagers, I suppose, but for now, they are the centre of my life.

I haven't seen it, but it was one of the few movies that I was considering seeing. I'll have to think about that some more, after your comments.

Everyone is different (as I keep telling my boys). Everyone has different likes and dislikes. I've heard of twenty-year-old guys who are turned on by elderly women. I remember reading some advice to one such guy to get himself a job in a retirement home, where he can make lots of people very happy.... While appearances are important and useful in creating an initial attraction to someone, anything long term has to look below that surface to the person underneath. I remember hearing a comment made about the choice of partner of one of their friends: "I couldn't see what they saw in him... until he opened his mouth. Then I understood." The guy in question is, to be honest, on the below-average side in looks, but he has a wonderful personality and an absolutely fantastic speaking voice. If you went on outward appearances, most people would never have considered dating him, but I would challenge anyone to not be fascinated by him once they hear him speak. Don't get too caught up with outward appearances unless you're only interesting in a passing relationship. That's my view, though I do appreciate how important that initial attraction can be in forming a close friendship.

I disagree, because that phrase ends with a comma, not a period. It is connected to the following dialogue and would logically apply to that dialogue. I agree that it could have been written more clearly, but it seems obvious to me that it applies to the following dialogue, not the preceding.

Welcome, Dravenn! Don't forget to contact Joe (JSmith) to ask to be added to the Author group That will open up a few more forums for you. Good luck with the novel, too! I think it's the dream of all the authors here to be published, though most of us will never do much about it. I hope you succeed

Returning to an earlier discussion, the full quote is:

Because two people got half of the solution -- one solved the problem of the missiles and another solved how to get the plane down.

I thought the title corresponded to the cliffhanger/cloudhanger dilemma at the start: there was death above (the missiles) and death below (crashing on landing from running off any normal airstrip) and both needed to be avoided.

Chapter 38 is now up....

There is a simple answer, but it doesn't explain it fully. Geese can't count. Random distribution between the two wings of the V results in the pattern we see, but it is unlikely to distribute them evenly, so one side is usually lopsided. How this helps work out what's going to happen in chapter 38, I don't know, but I hope it helps....

If the offensive content is out of context, then it's wrong. If it's in the context of the story, then I don't see a problem with it being included. Having said that, you need to be aware of your target audience. If it's a group of no-holds-barred readers, then you won't have a problem. If it's for a group of romantics who want a luvvy-duvvy story, then you need to be oblique in your references. You don't write horror stories for a romance audience, and you don't write romance for a horror audience. If you want to write for a particular audience, then you have to write appropriately for that audience, because it's writing in-appropriately that makes something offensive. If you don't care who your audience is, such as if you are really just writing for yourself, then don't worry about it -- just write and don't be concerned if someone may find the content offensive.

G'day! Feel free to ask if you've got any questions. Otherwise, just have fun

Excellent! I haven't actually seen CJ 38 I read an early draft of chapter 38, but that's different. Okay, so my guess is....

Happy Birthday, Dhruv!

G'day, Dion! I get stared at all the time -- now I know who's been doing it Seriously, welcome! If you have any queries or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact anyone on the moderation team.

I, on the other hand, didn't feel nauseous with nervousness. I trust CJ enough that he will do the right thing by the reader. What I couldn't work out is HOW he'll do the right thing. Though I have to say he's developed a habit of killing off popular minor characters: first Vladimir and now in this chapter. My only question is what other popular minor characters will go before the ending (and who wants to pick which ones are minor....) Low Flyer, I have to say that normally I wouldn't comment on being a beta-reader, but I had to make an exception here. CJ is a good friend and I was careful to follow the same guidelines he's used previously when doing similar things. I also know he was online at the time I posted, and was able to delete the post if he thought it inappropriate. Having said that, my copy of chapter 38 is open for sale... who would like to start the bidding at, say, $20 billion and half the gold in Fort Knox?

I think I read that ALL plots can be summarised as "Someone/Something strives against Someone/Something". I agree with corvus -- if you look at any plot at a high enough level, there's nothing new. But if you go down low enough, they are all new. The implementations of the various basic ideas of conflict (good vs evil, person against their own fears, person growing up) are many and varied... and all new.

Rather than moan or admire, why don't we come up with some ideas on how they can get out of this? I should point out that I already know what happens next as I've beta-read chapter 38. I think it's fair and reasonable to say that Eric does NOT learn to play the harp though I'll it to others to decide is that's a likely instrument for anyone else in the band But seriously, how do people think they can survive this? I'll be honest and say that I didn't work it out when I had the chance.

I'm not surprised at the no flyby. They have a aircraft suspected of carrying a nuclear device towards Las Vegas. The transponder signal indicates a hijacking is in progress. If they do a flyby, they may lose any chance of stopping the device from being detonated. I'm not sure if they realise that the device in Australia was a very dirty bomb (the cobalt seeding means it produces a LOT of radioactive fallout), but even if it is exploded outside Las Vegas, the fallout will probably still kill a large section of the population. I also think it is wrong to call this a mere or even evil cliffhanger. All the cliffs in this chapter are WAY below where the action is taking place. This is so much higher than a cliffhanger that maybe we should call it something else.....

A belated Happy Birthday, Vance!

Happy Birthday, Dave! Keep playing and keep writing

A belated Happy Birthday, Dio!

Happy 18th Birthday, Kurt! Congratulations (commiserations?) on your coming of age!

Happy Birthday, Lugh! I hope you have a great day.