Robinski

That's a really interesting idea, @C_Vallion. Not something I haver the bandwidth for, personally, but really interesting.

That takes some guts. Well done. The critical thing to remember is that the comments you get here, even if the seem harsh, are coming from place of wanting to help, of having gone before you into this sort of arena and opening up to the scrutiny of your peers (in the sense of beginning writers. If you ever feel that comments go too far, or cross over into the personal, don't hesitate too message @Silk, or myself. Given the present crew though, I'd be surprised if that were the case. Editing is hard, recognising and accepting there are faults with what you spent hours and hours creating is hard. Ask questions, ask for clarification if you need it, and don't feel that you can't ask for support. That is kind of what this is after all, a big old support group for folks trying to do the same thing, tell the story they want to the best way they can.

Sorry to hear that, @C_Vallion. Hang tough! Hi there, @mishmash55. You are in the right place . 16 alpha readers!! Whoa, that's a lot. Quick suggestion, you might consider saving some of these until you start subbing here. With the best will in the world, people who love you are less likely to you what they actually think. We have no issues with that, because it's what you need Also, @kais and @Ace of Hearts for Monday, so far.

That is indeed our thang.

You've earned it! Critting everything is very time-consuming, especially when not subbing to the group due to other writing priorities. A well-deserved 'break' is due, without a doubt

Just in case anyone was waiting, we have @RedBlue, @kais, @C_Vallion, and @Ace of Hearts for submission this week

Four for Monday, so far. One spot left. Any takers?

One down for Monday

So, we have @kais, @leapfrog, @RedBlue, @C_Vallion, and @Ace of Hearts for Monday submission.

As popularised by the movie and TV series All Creatures Great and Small, where Doctor Who Peter Davidson got his 'start'. Great show, and great books, by all accounts.

Maybe you need to be a hard rock/metal fan, but Lemmy's autobiography is hilarious. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/319464.White_Line_Fever?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=5lDQijJMwr&rank=1 Also, I am presently reading Stephen King's On Writing, and I find it completely excellent. The first half (roughly) is pretty heavily autobiographical--and that is very interesting too--but he does get deep into writing advice in the second half, and all of it is valuable and insightful, I think. I mean, consider where you get your advice on developing your writing at the moment. I guarantee you that none of your sources represents the volume of success in writing that Stephen King has had to date. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10569.On_Writing?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=NQ3q6qKeZc&rank=1

Well, that's five so far, so you're still on at the moment, @RedBlue.

So, we have @RedBlue, @Ace of Hearts and @C_Vallion submitting today.

Okey-dokey. Three and counting for Monday.

Two requests so far. I'd say you are both good to go on Monday. Anyone else?

Yeah, writing for profit is something of an oxymoron, I think, unless your definition of profit takes in the sphere spiritual wellbeing. I mean, in a sense I have written for profit all my working life, as my 'product' is technical reports on Transportation Planning, but writing fiction for profit is a bit like playing football/soccer for profit. Even if you have natural talent, and get lucky in the beginning, you have to work that really hard, develop it, nurture it, constantly learn new things, and even if you're really, really, really good, your chances of being anything that might be defined as a success are like one in a million.

It's really revealing. In the edit of a certain novella that I just finished before putting it up for critique elsewhere, every time I came to an adverb in a dialogue tag, I asked myself if I really needed it, and I'd say about 60-70% of them got the snip. LOL.

I find this very interesting. Another thing worth considering is how many said-bookisms one uses, like 'whispered' and 'shouted' instead of just saying 'said Katie'. That's one of Brandon's considerations, I seem to remember, the theory being that the word 'said' is invisible to the reader, so is often (usually?) better to use than an extravagant said-bookism. Stephen King, being old school, espouses the prescriptions of Strunk's Element of Style, and would say exterminate all adverbs. I'm trying this in my writing at the moment, and it really does work, I think. I'm finding that few of the adverbs in dialogue attribution are really necessary. King's theory is that they are a clear sign of the author's lack of confidence that their writing is communicating what they are trying to. Are any of your sentence improved by adding an adverb? Urgently, Katie whispered, "Look! These numbers are crazy!" "Look!" Katie said, suddenly. "These numbers are crazy!" "Look! These numbers are crazy!" Katie shouted, angrily. If Brandon's approach is taken: Katie said, "Look! These numbers are crazy!" "Look!" said Katie. "These numbers are crazy!" "Look! These numbers are crazy!" said Katie. (p.s. I think your description total percentage is 44%.)

The darlings...must be...exterminated.

Hey there, neighbourinos, So, it's Sunday again, and it seems that we have @RedBlue, and @Ace of Hearts on the slate for Monday. Any other takers? You two feel free to do the thing when the time comes

Hmm, yeah that bugs me, when books do not live up to the expectation created by their covers, or titles. Second person is an interesting choice. I like bold choices, provided that they are done well, and bit of experimentation never did anyone any harm (Are you sure?...Ed.).

Hi CV. On that basis (a) that there are only two other subs this week; (b) that splitting a short story would tend to be frustrating for the reader; and (c) splitting over two weeks would tend to defeat one of the main purposes of making it shorter, please do go ahead and submit For newer members, we don't like to make a habit of breaching the word limit but, sometimes, there are goods reasons to do so.

So, it looks like we just have @aeromancer and @RedBlue submitting tomorrow. Any last minute requests?

So far, it looks like we have two requests ( @aeromancer and @RedBlue ) for Monday, April, 5th. Three more slots available, unless I've missed something, which would not be the first time .

Hey, yeah, Ace. Go ahead. Sorry for the late response.