Snakenaps

My city has nobody tested positive with COVID-19...but that's because we literally have no tests. The local colleges have made classes online through the rest of the semester, and the elementary schools have closed for spring break and one week after, and may follow the colleges. As a substitute teacher, I'm probably out of work until August. Unlike most, I've been lucky and have been able to save up a little nest egg from years of extreme frugality, so I won't be happy, per say, if I am unemployed until August, but I'll still be able to pay rent. Just no more horseback riding lessons Shopping is fascinating. My local WinCo closes at 11pm and reopens around 8am. The line is about a block long and they only let 50 people in at a time. Toilet paper is indeed gone, but the supply chain is still working, so there's plenty of food (even if some of the available items aren't someone's first choice). I've met cattle ranchers, mountain folk, and all sorts trying to get groceries before heading back up the mountains. Great people to talk to. My city says if we get a single positive person for COVID-19, the city is going to go under shelter in place. Good news about that, is I'm still allowed to take walks and hikes under shelter in place. Bad news is, I'll only have my roommate and her cat for company, which stinks, because my roommate (who I adore) sleeps during the day and is awake at night. She may be a vampire. Anyway, due to her sleeping schedule, I'll pretty much be living alone for 4-8 weeks with no DnD, no public library, no farmer's markets, nada, zippo, nothing. So I'm making a list of all the things I want to do: Catch up on all the books I want to read before the World Fantasy Convention. I want to read a book from every single guest author going (already have Sanderson out of the way ) Not to mention, I have all of the excellent recommendations from when I did my introduction here. Book recommendations are ALWAYS welcome. Practice yoga every morning. I fell out of practice when the school year started. Learn how to bake bread. I've always procrastinated by telling myself it takes too much time. Guess what I have plenty of now? Paint and post more often on my Instagram @worldofalturas Catch up on all Writing Excuses podcasts (on season 4/15) in time for the World Fantasy Convention in October. Write. Write. WRITE. I want to be a professional writer, so now's a good time to pretend I am one. Time to get the stupid book revised (how I hate revising...) Walk. Map out the neighborhood. Listen to podcasts while walking. Walking a lot. Learn how to play more than one song on my ukulele... I'm a goal oriented person. I need a plan. So, in true Katie fashion, I'm making one. Heck, I'll schedule out each of my days if I need to. In all honesty, I really miss my kids. There are several classes I sub regularly for, and I'm really going to miss them. Even if they drive me freaking bonkers.

Welcome! I don't know about you, but I'm eagerly awaiting Friday for the newest episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Welcome! You've just stumbled across a bright new world! If you've only read Alcatraz, I personally recommend reading the Mistborn trilogy next (which is Kelsier's series). It's the series that introduced most of us to Sanderson, so it will give you something in common with nearly everyone on here, plus it's an incredible read and a part of the Cosmere. The first book is The Final Empire.

Hello! I hope you have fun contributing to the insanity here!

Welcome! I hope the Shard will be a great place for you to further your enjoyment of everything Sanderson!

Welcome! I hope you enjoy your time here! There's a little something for everyone!

Welcome back! Thanks for everything you do for the Coppermind!

Oh man, you got a good laugh out of me! Welcome!

My school district just announced school closures through March 27th. Our grocery stores have empty shelves. This is so different yet so alike from the fire that raged through my community last year. And, yet, despite it all, my DnD group - my miraculous, wonderful DnD group - is still meeting. I may have lost my income from subbing and tutoring, but now I suppose I have plenty of time to get caught up critiquing writing, and writing for myself. Not to mention all those books I've been wanting to read. Hope everyone who's being affected by COVID-19 (and who isn't at this point) is finding the bright spots of life right now.

Welcome! It doesn't matter if you are a chatterbox or prefer to hide in the shadows, we're happy to have you here!

Welcome! I agree with you on using this quarantine as a time to read! What a time to be alive!

I'm glad you found our advice and thoughts helpful! Can't wait to see what your next submission will be like!

Welcome! I'm sure you'll find more theories than here than in your wildest dreams, and I hope you'll have a blast contributing!

Welcome! I hope you enjoy your time here at the Shard!

Welcome! Enjoy adding to the pool of knowledge and theories!

Welcome! I hope you have a blast adding in your own theories and opinions to this passionate, friendly group!

Welcome! I hope you enjoy all the different types of zaniness we have to offer!

I'm a substitute teacher and the schools are preparing to extend spring break on a case-by-case basis. The local college is already extending their spring break by three days and is clearing out one of the dorms to use as a quarantine zone. Today while I had yard duty, I was watching these kids play tag. Except they weren't playing tag, they were playing Coronavirus. "Tag, you're it! You have the coronavirus!!! Ha ha ha!" We also had to have a talk about them stealing the hand sanitizer. Kids are special. If the schools get shut down, that means no subbing for me, which means, hey, lots of writing time but no income. Oof. @lizbusby I was homeschooled 2nd-8th grade, and as a credentialed teacher, I have a lot of lesson plans and resources if you need any. Just shoot me a DM. I'm not familiar with Washington's state standards, but they can't be that different from California's.

This thread seems to be half book quotes and half stranger quotes, but the most memorable quote I can think of not from a book came from my high school days. In high school, there was this particular kid, C., that was very good looking but... wasn't the sharpest spoon in the knife drawer. A 6'2" football player. Then there was Ms. E, our history teacher, five foot nothing, in her self-imposed uniform of grey dresses and blue blazers. She had a Chihuahua complex. Once C. called her a witch to her face, but that's not particularly quotable. There was this one day when C. said something so ridiculous that Ms. E came up to him and put a fist a foot above his head and began to tilt it sideways. We asked her what she was doing, to which she replied, "I'm watering his common sense seed." Won't lie, sometimes I wish I could water my students' common sense seeds myself...

Yup, we've had split the party before. However, this reminded me of Emerald Rose's "Never Split the Party" song (which is extremely corny and dangerously catchy): So let's modify this into: 381: Know the roles of each of your party members, and if you have someone with nimble fingers...never let that darn thief out of sight!

Welcome, @Killuthion! I am sure that you find many allies here of similar mind, and perhaps you will use your extensive knowledge to continue to aid us in spreading the lore of the Cosmere far and wide.

I'm a little late on critiquing, but maybe one more point of view will help. I did not read any of the other critiques, so I came in unbiased. Thoughts as I Read: Pg. 1 - first paragraph - My brain is instantly curious on what the deathless are...zombies, perhaps? Vampires? Demons? I had to reread "reverse sunset" multiple times because my brain kept going "doesn't she mean sunrise?" since you wrote that it was occurring in the east, and that is where the sun normally rises from. Limo brings salvation. I like this. Pg. 1 - second paragraph - Deathless look like normal humans, but are immortal. Our savior? Holy city...hmmm...the Villa. Are we on Earth, or a modern fantasy land? Alternative Earth? Future Earth? Pg. 2 - second paragraph - Deathless makes me laugh. Poor. Mr. P. Pg. 2 -third paragraph - Old Asian subcontinent. Cold no longer exists. Alright, we're at least 300 years in the future. (I went back after I finished and found out that our deathless does exist: "Throughout his career, Robinson has been responsible for the production of a broad variety of vaccines for both humans and animals.") Did you mean for that? Pg. 5 - Aw, fox! No, wait...lots of foxes. Ominous feeling dispels the happiness and curiosity I was feeling towards our deathless. By the end of this page, I am horrified that the deathless does nothing while the fire burns. That hits close to home for me, living in California. Emotional gut punch, followed by fury. Deathless is no longer on my good side. Pg. 6 - Moss is a nice twist on the Fountain of Youth. I like this. It is realistic enough to easily be believed, yet vague enough not to be picked apart by scientific readers. Pg. 8 - Hard hitter for me. I could picture this way too clearly with the memories I have. Something I'd like to mention, out of personal experience: ash and smoke. Even when the fire was more than twenty miles from my house, there was so much smoke that it leaked under the door of my apartment. You couldn't breathe. There was ash covering the floor of WinCo and the entire sky was this mix of bruise blue-purple and red for days. You couldn't see to the end of the block. Your eyes itch, your lungs ache, and you begin to believe maybe blue skies were just a dream. It's like the very air itself is dead, everything seems so quiet. Pg. 9 - first paragraph - Sally? Pg. 10 - fourth paragraph - "You have grown to soft." Overall Thoughts: I feel melancholy writing this. The fire touched me personally, which I count as a success from a writing point-of-view. Hurts from a personal point-of-view. The theme of death was simple but well-written, and felt like the gods saying "I think I'll take a nap now, you're on your own." Poor Mr. P.. I wonder what will happen to him next. I would have loved to know his reaction. Beautiful, simple, but hit me right in the heart. I'm curious to see what you could write if you do decide to do Writers of the Future.

I am still learning how to critique professionally, as I am more used to grading the stories of 4th graders and not adults. Let me first preface that I do not know you (except that you like DnD), but everything I write here is said in a kind and gentle way. It is hard to show the tone of voice when writing, and I want you to know that I'm here to critique, praise, and offer some slight advice. I generally try to critique reactively and not proactively, but I'm going to put on my teacher hat for a bit today. First of all, let me state, keep on writing, because I think you've got the beginnings of a good story and I want to see where you can take it. We have worldbuilding, where humans cannot perform magic, but that once there was a historical figure, A., who believed that humans could. We have two characters, K. and M., who are doing their best in a school that requires them to pass five tests, and a teacher who definitely hits the gym more than I do. What will happen next? Will they pass their tests? Only way for me to find out is if you keep writing Now, let me say that the largest stumbling block that I came across is actually simple to fix. Grammar in the way of formatting. This is where my teacher hat comes on. Humans need white space in order to read well. Our brains get intimidated and exhausted by massive paragraphs and need to breathe. From page 9-11, you have a nearly two page paragraph. Now, go pick up any book - even a textbook - and try to find a nearly two page paragraph. I'm willing to bet you're not going to find one. A single paragraph is not for a scene. It's for a single, quick idea. If I may recommend, read Paragraphs in Fiction. It's a little simple, but it covers pretty much everything. Comb through your writing with those tools from the article, and I think that you'll find that your prologue and chapter are suddenly going to much easier to read. When our minds aren't distracted by trying to sort sentences, then it is much easier to sit back and enjoy the author's world. Keep writing! I hope to see you submit again soon!

Now that I have the time to do my own research, the Church of Scientology is the only thing I can find as well. The contest is intriguing. I might have to try it out once I finish revising my current book. The Illustrator of the Future might interest my sister. I'm a good artist, but I don't think my art is quite the style they would be looking for.

I don't know a whole lot about it, except that Patrick Rothfuss won it in 2002 before he published The Name of the Wind. He mentions it in his acknowledgements. You have my curiosity sparked, though.