Dolores Esteban

Well... E V E R Y O N E Eight villains effortlessly robbed your only nephew Edwin. D O O M S D A Y

You mentioned some good points. Thanks for explaining the difference between concepts and punchlines. I had never heard of the latter.

I was already wondering how they would leave the island. I was almost certain something unexpected would happen. Let's see where the boat will take them to. I like the way you develop the story. Again the chapter was written with love to detail. I like that the story is vivid and realistic, though set in a fantasy world. I can relate to the characters.

I'm glad Gary got healed. I was surprised to read that Gary will travel with them. I'm curious to know where you will go with the story.

The disease in the village was a surprise. They handled it well. I liked the part when they visited the temple. Very mysterious. I need to know more about it.

I agree. But often we just try the same method again and again. So it's good to learn how others create a story. Thus perhaps we find a new method that works better than the one we used. Many thanks again to everybody. Your posts gave me some thoughts. I will certainly think on some points more thoroughly. Writer's block is one of my major problems. I have an idea. But I'm just not able to start the story. So I sit and write: nothing. Thanks for some useful information.

Thanks for posting and leaving your thoughts.

Writer's block. I know this, too. Even when I know where I want to go with the story, I sometimes feel unable to continue. I suffered from writer's block a couple of weeks ago. I was not able to write a single line. It was frustrating. Sometimes, though, scenes just come to me. Often at night. I wake up, and the scene is in my head. Or, I know how to combine and connect some written drafts. Sometimes I get up at night and scribble down my ideas. Thanks everybody for posting.

I like the way you present information. I had never heard of those names. 'World' is not just another fantasy world. As you say, it's an Earth-analogue. 'World' stands alone. I love reading your stories.

I experienced a similar thing a couple of years ago. Out of a sudden, a scene was in my head. The plot, characters and dialogs developed. It was like I was watching a movie. I kept watching my internal movie for some time until I felt it was kind of haunting me. I thought: What's that? I must not allow a 'movie' take over my brain. That's definitely not a good way to cope with it. I finally sat down and wrote down the 'movie plot'. I considered myself the director. I focused on writing. I developed the plot. I deliberately changed it. Finally the 'movie' stopped, and I had written down a fine story. I think that's how the subconscious works sometimes. It demands attention. It can be quite disturbing at times. Good luck with your writings.

Don't forget Billy Idol.

I have a draft folder also. I recently cut my '1 big mess' novel into pieces. The pieces went to the draft folder. Lots of stuff there now ;-) I also listen to music when I write. I usually listen to one specific song. I sometimes listen to the same song for three or four hours. Poor neighbors! But so far no one complained. I was thinking about writing the ending first. You're certainly right. It worked well for me with two of my stories. I started a new story a couple of days ago. 'The Idea' came to my mind. However, I have not yet worked out the ending. I ought to. Else I produce another '1 big mess'. Thanks everybody for posting. I appreciate your thoughts.

I wrote down my review before reading your question in the forum. You see your story-within-a-story and that technique got my attention. I was entirely absorbed into the beautiful and sad tale. My mind was truly shaken when abruptly the tale broke off and the story turned to the tragic accident. A brilliant contrast. Towards the end of the story Jon and Tyler have to deal with an injured person in World. Thus we are reminded who they are and where they from. A good connection between World and Earth. Mistress Alice in chapter 5. I instantly remembered the quote in chapter 3: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. A connection also? Allusion?

lol Thanks, Mark, for reminding us. I usually have a sudden idea that I can't get off my mind. I then do the research and slowly an outline of the story forms. In previous years I wrote without an outline. I wrote chapter by chapter. Rereading these stories I found they often are somewhat confused. I lost track of what I had in mind first. Of course, I do not always stick to the outline. I also sometimes get rid of a character or develop a peripheral character. However, I found that I need an idea first, what you call 'The Idea'. A question perhaps others can answer is: What do you do when your muse is asleep? What do you do when you feel the urge to write, yet nothing comes to your mind?

We found a serious exchange of thoughts might help writers improve and develop their skills. Please share your thoughts with us.

I agree, 'stammtisch' is a good translation of the Old Elvish expression. It's easy to grasp ;-) Another good chapter that subtly conveys the message of Good and Evil, and Light and Darkness.

I very much liked this chapter. The story moved slowly and you provided answers and additional information. You have a talent to evoke images. I easily get drawn into the story.

Authors might also pick a theme for their stories and develop it over time. For instance, the story might start start in Ancient Rome and end in contemporary USA. Thus, the writers of historical fiction would have to start, while the authors, skilled in describing effectively contemporary events, would have to finish.

The Dark Elf's gone. The threat is not. What will happen next? When will George and David have to face the evil creature? I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

English is my second language. I don't write in German. I write in English since I find it easier to express my thoughts in English. Thus, I have to think about every sentence I put down. My English will never be perfect. In particular, punctuation is a big problem, I know. But the more I appreciate the readers who read and like my stories. I have not yet found an editor. I guess it's a tedious work for a native speaker of English to edit the stories of a non-native speaker of English. I agree, though. An editor can help improve the story. The basics - grammar, punctuation etc. - as well as character development, flow of story etc. I think the editor should have an interest in the genre. I write historical fiction. An editor interested mainly in Science Fiction would not be the best choice, I think. I put aside my stories for quite some time, months sometimes, before I read them again. It helps me to see the typos, mistakes and all the crap I put down.

I repeat myself. The Translator is an amazing and vivid story. I see the island right in front of me. We expected Phillip and Argon arrive in Argon's world. We did not expect the time shift. I did not, at least. Again you managed to keep me curious. Why did they arrive on the island in a future - or former? - time? I still think that there must have been a connection between Phillip's world and Argon's world in the past. Why do they use Latin words in Argon's world? Was Argon sent to Phillip's world? To maybe take him to World? Why? What is it about the dragon totem? Did Phillip's people originally come from World? I need to read on.

B A S T I O N S Ben asks Stephen timidly if orang-utans never sleep. F I R E W O R K

I'll see friends. We have fireworks also. We'll probably tell each other which habits etc. we will change in 2009. On January 1 we won't remember our announcements. Same procedure as every year.