Tesh

They're all so great!!! AHHHHH!!!

Yesyesyesyesyes. This sounds wonderful. *pops out of bush* Did someone say Lord of the Rings and swords? Pics?

Hm... Good point... Perhaps we start the evening in cloaks (or maybe mistcloaks?), and then when we transition to smores and stuff, we put on the sweaters. Because cloaks are just as fantastic as over-sized sweaters, in my opinion. (This reminds me, I need to learn how to sew so I can make a normal cloak and a better mistcloak.)

I've dealt with some depression. It hasn't been much of an issue the past year or two (thank goodness), but my anxiety is really being a pain. And I've personally really enjoyed 2020 for some reasons, but have also hated it. I mean, at the beginning of quarantine, I read about twenty books in two months. And then my birds died. But now I have Kaladin! Who is still sick. But we can't forget to mention that RoW came out! Or the fact that I've been in a constant state of terror and stress that school might shut down! Or that I've been more active on the Shard and am now far more comfortable interacting with people on here than I have in the past, making up for the fact that I am beginning to realize that my friends and I really aren't as close as I thought we were. But I also have realized that one friend and I are actually a lot closer than I have realized before (partly because we've both grown up a ton), which is super nice. I've also rediscovered how storming awesome swords are. All in all, some great things have happened, but at the expense of a lot of others. It doesn't help the anxiety, though. Yep. There's my thing, I guess.

I just reread that sentence. It sounds a little like I'm trying to sell something illegal. "It's super fun, I highly recommend them if you like some extra crispy drugs." Please note: I don't know how drugs work. Or, apparently, grammar. Um... Okay!

This is a very good question. Sometimes I'll be reading a book, see a thing, and then come up with another thing. I'll see an idea in a story, and then twist it. For example, I was reading The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper (super fun books, I highly recommend them if you like some older fantasy), and in the ending there was one of those situations where one character could embark on this awesome quest, but leave his family behind. But if he stayed, he'd forget about everything he had experienced that was magical and stuff like that. A very common scenario. And I decided it would be really interesting to see what would happen if they did leave everything behind. (I have read one story like this (The Conch Bearer), but it's been years.) From there, I also wondered what would happen if a character forgot everything, but then somehow became involved in it later down the line. Then there's also that situation like what happened at the end of tWoA where the hero has to chose between saving someone they love or letting them die (or something similar) and saving the world. (Except tWoA is a bad example, because Sanderson then proceeds to twist that trope upside down and stab it.) I was reading something, and I wondered what would happen if the character saved the person. So really just random stuff. I can't tell you how many ideas I have lost because I was reading when I had them but didn't want to put my book down long enough to write them down. But then I might also take some cool fact I learned in school or from a YouTube video, and adapt it to fit into some world or story. I also really like drawing maps, and so I can come up with a lot of ideas when placing trading cities or designing a landscape or deciding what the climate is like. I also have some random lines from songs in my notes. Just some stuff that I might be able to adapt into a story. Then I also have some really stupid stuff from a few years ago like, "You murder someone and they murder you back, and you're all dead together." "Person living in a garbage can." "Royal seat warmer." Oh, and, of course, I first installed this note-taking app when I first started listening to Writing Excuses, so I could write down ideas and notes while listening to them. And, of course, there are some random writing prompts as well. (I won't ever forget the neon sniper gnomes.) This was all over the place. I apologize. But thanks for making me go back through my notes!

A joke? How had that been a joke of any sort? Talnic pushed his annoyance to the side, hoping that Triage would keep his promise. There wouldn't be any way to be sure, however. He hadn't felt a thing when Triage had found his name. "Yes, we're going to find a dragon," Talnic sighed. "Every once in a while, I will give a prophecy, and then... This happens. I think one of the people down there has copies of it."

They said that if I wanted one, I'd have to buy it myself. And I currently do not have a job. Then yes, I would. Maybe. (Going into space is absolutely terrifying, but if I was sure nothing bad would happen, then yes, I'd do it.)

"Stay out of my head," Talnic whispered. "I will not be asking politely next time." He had too much at risk.

"How did you know it?"

Yes. I shall wear a suit of armor, though.

Talnic nodded, following Triage.

A sword. That's not happening, though. Maybe. I don't know. Depends on how much school I'd miss. Uh... I have no idea. I talk in different ways around different people.

We should do it in an alternate universe where Covid isn't a thing so all of us with anxiety issues can have a break. Assuming we can either a.) find Megan or b.) find a perpendicularity.

Okay, so, I'm trying to get one of the following short stories published in an anthology. I don't know which one I'm going with yet, so please let me know which one is your favorite and why. I need some regular feedback as well, and I figured this would be the best place to turn. I linked to the Google Docs so I could keep the edits up-to-date more easily, and so I could work more with the comments. Besides which story was your favorite, please also comment as you read on what your thoughts and reactions are as a reader, so I know what is working and what isn't. Thank you so much for any and all help. If you don't feel like leaving comments or anything like that, please at least vote on the poll as to which story is your favorite. To Forget This is the fourth version of this story I have written. It was originally a prologue to a story about Death wandering around without his memory as he ate random souls. Kind of. (I might return to this concept at some point, but lately I've been putting a lot more focus on some other projects.) But I think this also works pretty well as just a short story. This is the shortest one of the three. This was discovery written. Some things I'd like feedback on- ~Does it work well as a stand-alone short story thing? ~Was the ending unexpected and abrupt? With Stars Comes Awareness, With Snow Comes Silence This was me experimenting with romance a little. I don't really know how I feel about this one, although the concept is interesting, I think. I don't know how well I carried it out, either. This one is the second longest, and was vaguely outlined. ~Does the title work? If not, any suggestions? ~Does the romance work? ~Does the story make sense, specifically the situation with Edwin? ~How's the pacing? Here Be Dragons This one was really fun to write, especially at the end. Unfortunately, it's a bit too long, and I need to cut off a few hundred words. And dragons, you guys. This one is the longest, and it was very heavily outlined, although I began to deviate from my outline near the end. ~Where should I cut off the extra few hundred words? (I was thinking the beginning, somehow.) ~How consistent does Via's character seem? ~Do I need to keep the first scene? ~How's the pacing? ~Is the prose itself okay? Thanks again, everyone. I really appreciate it! (I'm sorry if this post doesn't make a ton of sense. It's past midnight, and I wrote about 2,000 words today. I'll look over it again in the morning to make sure it's at least slightly coherent.) Edit- Thanks for all the grammar and spelling corrections. I kind of suck at spelling, and am really bad at catching grammatical errors. I also frequently miss keys as I am typing. And so far, I've gotten a ton of great feedback! Thanks, guys!

What's fun is roasting tiny marshmallows on toothpicks over tealights.

Ah, yes, very good point. (And why I originally suggested the smores. But if they get uncomfortable, we immediately switch to the smores and give them a candle as a welcome gift.) Maybe we should be the Socially Awkward Bookworms Cult at this point...

Oooh, yesss... With stuff written in different languages including the Alethi women's script and elvish.

Yeah, that sounds fun too... But then afterward, we do smores.

Where can I buy these? (As long as no books were harmed in the making and subsequent burning of them.) Hm... For initiation... Candles and maybe some bonfires? And then we roast smores and talk about books and try really hard to just have a fun time?