WritersBlock404

I love medieval period stories. Especially with bonus vampires 🙂 Can't wait for more chapters! I do hope the long-term-hold will be lifted, by 'royal decree' 🙂

Another amazing start to a new story!

As the boys returned to Jasper's room, they could hardly keep their hands off each other. They had kindled a passion that would not just dissipate. Sitting on Jasper's bed, they continued kissing passionately for well over fifteen minutes. Finally, Jeremy scooted back a little. "I never took you to be such a… passionate… guy," he said, stealing another quick peck. Jasper shook his head, "Me neither." Something had really been awakened in Jasper. At the same time, it felt so new, and, i

When Jasper returned to his room, he found Jeremy sitting at his desk in front of his computer. On his desk were a couple of printouts with snippets of stories Jasper had been attempting to write, most of them not getting past the first chapter stage. Jeremy was rummaging through them, reading bits and pieces, here and there. "Did you find anything Pulitzer Prize worthy in there?" Jasper asked, pointing to the now jumbled stack of papers. "Pulitzer? Maybe not yet, but I do really enjoy

Jeremy wiped the last of his tears away and just hung against Jasper. They were still in the boathouse's small indoor training area. It was completely enclosed, with only a few high windows allowing sunlight to shine in. Weights, benches, and, of course, rowing ergs, which no good rowing club could do without, were present. They were sitting next to each other on one of the weight-lifting benches. The soft covering of the bench was indented where they sat, the faux-leather of the bench stic

Magnificent conclusion to this story!!

Thank you so much!!

Now that's a word I had never heard of before! Then again, my knowledge on golf terms is limited to ducking when I hear "Fore!"

So glad to hear that! Thank you!

Working hard on it 😉

The shock of accidentally sharing so much of his personal information had been a rather rude wake-up call for Mike. He was usually pretty careful with what he shared online, especially as he was not ready to come out to his parents or too many other people. Or even worse, to be found out by stupid, Stupid, STUPID mistakes like these! His already frayed emotions had gotten another big jolt from all of this, and Mike felt he was all kinds of jittery. He couldn't sit still for a single moment,

Thrilling chapter!!

So happy for Trev! Finally catching a break!

It's past 1 am, I should be sleeping... but I can't, as I want to read 'just one more chapter'... for the third time. This story has me hooked!

Hahaha! I must admit, the thought crossed my mind as well when I heard that one 😄

@drsawzallThank you! It's always a challenge to try and find a more or less unique concept 🙂 I hope that what I have in mind for this story will be appreciated 😄 And a sci-fi story is something I've always been wanting to try my hand at, I love sci-fi!

Hi all! Now, I hope this will work, I want to share a Youtube video with you all that I found extremely helpful and informative on how to apply proper dialogue punctuation in a story. I hope you will find it just as useful! The mentioned cheat sheet in the video is included below: How to Punctuate Dialogue Cheat Sheet Commas with Dialogue Tags Place the comma inside the ending double quotation marks. Do not capitalize the dialogue tag that follows, which is a phrase that features a subject (e.g., he, she, they, the captain) and a speech-related verb like “said” or “whispered.” “I’m trying my best,” he said. This dialogue tag remains uncapitalized when paired with a question mark or exclamation point. Don’t include a comma after these forms of punctuation. “Are you going to do it?” she asked. “Yes, I will!” he shouted. If the tag comes before the dialogue itself, the comma goes after the tag. She said, “You should really pay attention to commas.” If the tag interrupts the dialogue and the character continues their sentence, then a comma appears inside the end quotation as normal. A comma is also used for the end of the tag to indicate that the sentence continues. “I don’t know,” she said, “but I’m going to try.” However, if the second phrase is a new sentence (indicated by a capital letter), then the dialogue tag should end in a period. “I don’t know,” she said. “But I’m going to try.” Action Beats Remember that actions aren’t dialogue tags. As such, they need to be formatted as separate sentences with a capital letter. “I forgot your name. Sorry.” He shrugged. She laughed. “It’s not a big deal.” Actions that interrupt dialogue are formatted with em dashes outside the dialogue without commas. “I forgot your name, so”—he shrugged—“sorry about that.” Often Acceptable Dialogue Tags Dialogue tags feature speech-related verbs. Actions like “sighed,” “trailed off,” “laughed,” and “giggled” are typically treated as separate sentences. “Said,” “replied,” and “asked” are fine to use frequently as dialogue tags, but below are other options that can be used occasionally. added announced argued began begged blurted boomed chimed in commanded complained continued cooed cried demanded elaborated exclaimed grumbled hissed interrupted mumbled murmured muttered purred sang screamed shouted snapped snarled spat went on whispered yelled Direct Address Use a comma with the name, nickname, or role of a person when another character is addressing them in dialogue. “Hey, Diane.” “What’s up, bro?” “Mr. Anderson, we need you to come with us.” Interrupted Speech Whenever a character cuts off another character mid-sentence, or a character stops talking abruptly, use an em dash. “What the—” he began. “It’s not what it looks like,” she said. Speech that trails off can end in an ellipsis. “I have no idea what happened . . .” He trailed off. Quotes within Quotes If a character is quoting someone else, or they’re reading text aloud, use single quotes within the double quotation marks. “The note says, ‘Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.’” Single quotes can also be used for “air quotes” indicating sarcasm within dialogue: “I guess he thinks he’s ‘all that,’ huh?” Within the narrative itself, though, you would use the standard quotation marks. She had mentioned something about “taking her time.” Monologues If the same character keeps talking across paragraphs, leave off the quotation mark at the end of the paragraph, and include another quotation mark at the start of the next paragraph. Only use the ending quotation mark once they’ve finished their monologue. These open quotation marks signal a continuation by the same speaker. Here’s an example from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: [opening quotation mark] “But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal— there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court. It can be the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest court in the land, or this honorable court which you serve. Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal. [no ending quotation mark] [opening quotation mark] “I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty.” [ending quotation mark] Summary of my tips for punctuating dialogue: If a tag comes after the dialogue, a comma goes inside the quotation mark. Don’t capitalize dialogue tags when they follow the dialogue (e.g., she said, they asked). If a tag comes before the dialogue, a comma goes after the tag, outside the quotation. Omit dialogue tags where possible. Treat actions as separate sentences. Add variety by using action beats instead of dialogue tags. Draw unique action beats from the specific scene setting rather than relying only on basic body language. “Said” is not dead, and you can use other dialogue tags in moderation, if they add to the volume or tone. Use em dashes for interrupted speech. Use ellipses for speech that trails off. Semicolons and colons should appear sparingly in dialogue. If you’re quoting something within dialogue, use single quotation marks. Character monologues include open quotes (but not closed quotes) for each new paragraph. Break the conventions when you want, but know why you’re doing it and understand that some readers might put your book down because of it. Be patient with yourself as you learn new skills. You won’t catch everything the first time—that’s the purpose of learning to self-edit.

@MrsgnomieAww, thank you! Hearing that is really motivating to return to the story quickly!

@Mawgrim Thank you very much! I'm glad you're liking the details, I was hoping I wasn't putting too much in there. And yes, well caught, I couldn't help but throw in a bit of a future Facebook in there 🙂 Some things will just never change 😉

Mike was sitting on a crate, full of his personal belongings, still unpacked. It was the last crate he had to empty, but he was having a hard time getting it done. Unpacking that last, final, box meant he was done moving. It would be 'official', he would truly be a 'Loony', a Lunar Colonist. He had hated having to leave earth, like any sixteen-year-old would. He had his friends, the school he was so familiar with, heck, he even liked most of his teachers! But then, his mother just had to ta

Remember how people used to write letters to each other? And had to wait days or weeks to get a reply? It is hard to imagine in this modern day and age where almost all communication is instantaneous. At the time of this writing, we are living in the year 2222, a very lucky number, at least to Chinese astrology. Mankind has begun spreading across the solar system. There are a couple of colonies established on the moon, and a thriving Mars colony has just celebrated its 75th anniversary. And

It's 2222, and Mike finds himself a very reluctant, sixteen-year-old new inhabitant on one of the lunar colonies. Bored out of his mind, he ends up writing with someone all the way on Mars. But exchanging messages takes, forever! The transmission delay is huge. Will a friendship be able to even form in all of this? Let alone blossom?

Looking forward to their meetup!

How funny to see so many children's books here. I loved many books and stories, and I have special fond memories of the Tarzan stories, read to me by my father. But I think, for me, the first, cannot-put-this-down-book, that made a huge impression on me, was 'At Swim, Two Boys', by Jamie O'Neill. If you haven't read it, I strongly recommend it!

I'm late to discovering the story, but I must admit, so far, I really love your writing style and how this story and the characters are developing. Big thumbs up, I'll keep on reading!!