foeofthelance

This I'm going to disagree with. A chapter should be just as long as the author needs it to be, depending on what the author needs it to do. 3-10 scrolls, (I'm using the page down key to measure instead, since a wheel mouse is varaint depending on force applied) equals about 3-10 pages, based of what I've posted using Word and Processor as programs. For what I write that is fine, as I'm not trying to provide any sort of complexity to my stories, but I've had chapters go for as many as twenty two pages and as little as two. Part of that is a requirement of formatting. If an author is copy pasting such as I am then it makes more sense for them to place a gap between each line of dialogu, simply so that the reader knows someone else is speaking, or that something has happened in between lines. The same goes with the spacing between paragraphs. So what might have started as a simple half page of dialogue typed can become a page, page and a half posted material. similiarly, shorter chapters, where not as much is given but much more is left to the reader's imagination, can be more beneficial for foreshadowing than simply giving the reader every last detail of the wiocked witch's plan. The number of chapters is bound to a similiar code. Tell the story first, worry about the length later. People who want to read it will, people who don't won't. Trying to woo those who would rather not read your stories is more likely to lose those who are reading your work. Just like the story itself, the chapters should be coherent and straightforward. Have them stick to one thing at a time. This doesn't mean you can't have three forces at work at once, but give the reader a chance to visit each one before moving on. If force A is accomplishing five points a chapter, force B is only doing three, and force C hasn't gotten started, but all are interconnected, then you're reader is going to have some serious problems trying to mentally timeline everything. Resolution is the key there. Personally, I find it easier to break chapters down into individual documents. Not only does it make it easier to remember where I started for copying purposes, it makes looking up continuity easier as well. People aren't very fond of an author contradicting themselves simply because we forgot where we put something. Again, personally I'm not too fond of restricting a chapter's length based on the number of words, especially since Microsoft determines a word as anything with a space before and after, so a simple * counts. However, as with all things, remember to write to a style that bests suits you.

Foe's Note: This was taken as is from Baen's Bar, Ringo's Tavern, where Steve Yee regularly posts. If this isn't true, he made it up himself. Rather, a funny thing happened in the bookstore. I had to kill some time yesterday afternoon, waiting to snag two boomsticks that went on sale and the stupid sporting goods store couldn't do an FFL to FFL transfer right. So - I hit the local bookstore mega mart nearby. It was a great way (so I thought) to spend/kill about 40 minutes. I picked up some juvenile books for my son (when, oh when will Baen ever do GOOD juvenile sci-fi...PLEASE??? Traditional stuff for boys to enjoy!!!), looked at Mercedes Lackey's new book from Baen (with it's rather odd foil bound cover that was rather washed out), and I overheard an interesting conversation taking place nearby the new books section of the store. This middle aged woman (black hair, overly huge sunglasses, wearing a black swim coverall type thing and sandals) was talking to the information counter person about something her son wanted. The item title? "Insurgency Manual". Now, that brought up some hackles to my body here. Funny thing - a police officer (uniformed) heard the same thing. Stopped, turned around, and just watched. So did I, for that matter. He and I looked at each other, and we started watching the conversation. We were behind this woman the entire time she's prattling on. It basically went like this: "Hi....I'm looking for a book for my son" "Sure. What's the title?" "It's called the Insurgency Manual" (Bookstore Girl doesn't skip a beat - she starts hammering away at the keyboard) "Well, ma'am, some of the books with those keywords in that title isn't available through the normal means" "What do you mean, you can't order them?" "Well, one book in particular is in print, was just revised, but is somewhat of a limited distribution chain". "I can't believe that you can't get every book out there. Why can't you get this one" (again, credit goes to the bookstore employee - I bet if you asked her for books on vivid tantra yoga with all the applicable positions, she'd tell you in a no-nonsense format. She was cute too, in that perky tattooed bookworm kind of way with no glasses - she had one arm with a half sleeve and a nose stud, long black and bright red-streaked hair plus a curvy bod...but I digress) "Ma'am, there are actually two books out there of recent printings that contain the term "Insurgency Manual". One of them is distributed to the U.S. Army as a technical manual for Counter-Insurgency Tactics. The other is distributed in Pakistan only and is written in a non-english format and was written by members of the Taliban. That book is rather hard to get here in the United States". (Now this bookstore girl is either funnin' this lady, or she's good....or both) "Oh....well, I don't think I'd want my son going over to Pakistan...." "Of course, there are other books on counter-insurgency tactics....." "Well, my son's not interested in counter-insurgency, he's just interested in what the insurgents do, not how to prevent it. This is what he said, and since he knew I was going to the bookstore today, he wanted me to ask." (Is this mother *STUPID*?!?!?) "May I ask why? If this is for a school project of sorts, I'm sure we can guide you to the appropriate references he needs without causing any major issues (the bookstore girl looks at the cop, looks at me, looks back at the cop, then continues on, knowing we are watching this conversation with more than normal interest) "Well, he's interested in knowing how they work, you know, the insurgents. What they do to train, how they build stuff, things like that" (By now, the cop's hit his EM button on his radio. The EM button is a discreet warning button used for when the police officer needs backup, can't talk or is otherwise injured. When they start their shift, they register which EM radio transponder code matches with their badge number) "Hmmm....let me look a bit more. I'm sure there are some public domain items that your son could use...." (The bookstore girl starts hammering away at the computer. The mother doing this "innocent asking" has absolutely no idea what the hell she's asking for, how much of a trigger is staged on her head from a virtual standpoint, and I shift back a bit more and to one side, still remaining in earshot, but out of any firing solution. Either that, or this mother is one good actor and she knows exactly what the hell she's doing. The bookstore girl is clearly stalling for whatever reason, since I don't think she saw the cop hit his EM button on his radio) "Ma'am, there are some public domain documents that you might want to get, if you have access to a computer...." "Oh, that would be so useful. It's amazing, with all these things going on, that my son's taking an interest in building and stuff like he does now - but he says he wants to build stuff a bit better than he has before....and I love the concentration he's putting into these things he likes to build" (Now, this is September 10th, you have a mother asking for insurgency manuals, and everyone in Public Safety has been briefed on stuff relating to 9/11's anniversary. My workplace's Disaster group got briefed on Friday. Add to that some recent chemical bombs that have been created by kids in a neighboring city causing damage, and the cop's about ready to start pulling the mom aside here any second once backup arrives) "Ma'am, I'm kind of curious - what is your son trying to build?" "Something he calls a fay. He wants to cook it out of cocoa powder, of all things! I never knew that my son would take an interest in food." (Okay, this woman is now confirmed as an absolute total freakin' dumbshit in my mind. The bookstore girl seems to be a bit more on the sensible side of the fence, and continues asking...) "Well, what else would your son want to do with Cocoa?" "Oh, he's trying to mix cocoa and some stuff like my butane refills to create a fay. I don't understand these recipes they are working with nowadays, who would eat stuff like that I don't know. And what is a fay anyways? Sounds like an archaic cooking show" (Gotta give credit to the girl. Doesn't miss a beat. Sensible. She's gotta be one of those that reads everything from romance to milfic to sci-fi to Harry Potter. She's too good to work at B&N. If I wasn't married, I'd ask her out on a date. Heck, I might intro her to my brother....) "Well, ma'am, fay in this particular application stands for a fuel-air explosive bomb. Eff -ay-ee, for your reference" "Oh, my...are you sure? (By this time, 3 other officers have arrived. Radios turned down, they have basically snuck up on the lady. Bookstore Girl doesn't even acknowledge their presence) "Yes, ma'am. I believe that your son is making something somewhat illicit. And I also think these gentlemen behind you want to talk to you" Dipwad mom turns around - shocked to see 4 officers basically around her. They end up taking her (uncuffed) to the attached coffee shop to question her. She still has no idea as to what the hell she's in for. I'm sure that the son is ready to get his ass whipped and thrown into some military reform school for wayward boys when mom gets home... Bookstore girl? She runs out the front door, on the bounce, with her hand over her mouth. I go, pay for my two books, and find her out on the sidewalk, laughing her ass off so hard she's sitting on the ground. It seems that she left her radio (yes, some Barnes and Noble stores illegally use FRS radios with headsets for inter-store communication) on so everyone else could hear it. I don't know how anyone on that store staff kept a straight face. There are days where I miss working retail. This is one of them.

Great, my laptop died yet again. After two and a half years, it was finally did in by the bus ride home, which apparently knocked loose a ribbon. A ribbon I can't find to reconnect. Grr. The worse bit? All my files were there. Music, stories, movies, anime series, you name it. Someof it is backed up, though between the flash drive and the portable hard drive I don't know what, but the movies are gone, that much I know. So, geh! If I disappear for a few days, I'm rebuilding.

Hahaha, I'm glad people liked the rant. Sometimes I find the best answer for stupidity is even more exaggerated stupidity. That was actually the reason I specified the Jesuits, rather then Catholics. Sure there are a lot of Catholic schools, but the Jesuits have been teaching people for longer then the continent has been colonized, and on more then just God and his firey vengance at that. I fiugre all of that experience has to count for something, for why else would people keep letting them open schools? As for the other stuff, meh. Religion is religion, and at the end of the day I'll stick by it, just in case the preachers are right. I figure that way if the atheists are correct, we're all screwed, but if they're wrong, at least I can present a strong case in my own defense. Even if my defense is based on some very loose interpretations...

Honorverse novels, by David Weber. Rather fun guy, too. Vorpal Blade by John Ringo and Travis Taylor. One's fun, the other is a redneck physcist. A Desert Called Peace by Tom Kratman. Haven't quite started this one yet, but should be fun. The Philosophical Strangler by Eric Flin. Monty Python meets Tolkien in the best possible way. From talking salamanders, to God being invented by a man named Joe, its all fun.

I was actually surprised. The article was apparently written by a guy. At least, I can't come up with a girl's name that shortens down to Tim. Seriously though, what the flying fuck in a monkey's hot pants? We managed to go from boy's can be disruptive to boys being testosterone fueled monsters? Eh? I think someone might have been a wee bit bullied in school there! I'm a guy, and as far as I can remember, all of six years ago, I know its a long time, but fortunately not that long, the only effect testosterone had on me in school was to pop the occasional hard on when a pretty girl walked by. Admittedly, I was fairly distracted, what with my naughty thoughts and all, but I doubt it had much effect on the rest of the class. Well, save for that one time I started to lose focus mid-answer... So guys are disruptive huh? Ok, blatant sexism time! Girls, you are here by warned, I'm going to piss you off! I have come up with the solution! We shall simply...get rid of female teachers! Its obvious to me that the real source of the problem is that teachers cant control their students. Why? Because females are inherently weak willed, are no match for a stronger male, and should simply stay at home and cook! Pah, what do they know about discipline? Sissies! Wishy-washy namby pambies! (Pambys? How is that spelled anyway?) It takes a man to discipline a boy, only way to make it stick. I saw plenty of disrespect for the ladies in their tight skirts and transperent blouses (where do you think the testosterone surges come from, anyway?) but the one time I saw another boy try to disrespect a male teacher he was choked for it! And that brings me to my next point! Echtrae, where are you? Bah, why single you out? I've let the ladies have it, now its time for you pussy liberals as well. Yes, I'm looking at all of you! Spare the rod, spoil the child as they say. What's with all of this community building nonsense? Self esteem needs to be earned, not handed over on a silver platter! Let the weak fall, so that the strong, or those smart enough to avoid the strong, make their way to the front. All men might have been created equal (and I doubt that) but we sure as all get out don't end up that way! Stop with the equality bull shit, and try teaching those who want to learn. Who else? Ah yes, feminists! Those homewreckers! Dykes, the lot of them! So insistent that men don't need to be a part of raising their own children, and where does it get us? Boys have no one to teach them how to handle themselves, and then the feminists have the gall to blame boys for being boys. (I'd say they have the balls, but that just isn't true.) I know how to fix this. From now on, all daughters shall be raised solely by men! Granted, they might get pregnant a little earlier, depending on how good looking they are, but who cares? At least they'll have a working education! They'd be able to do everything from being able to throw up a drywall to changing their own oil and tires! Guess who else is responsible? You got it! Its those bloody atheists! There are many studies that have shown that Jesuit run schools make for the best students. But those godless atheists are so afraid that their children might be contaminated. Come on, its not like religion is like homosexuality or something! You don't just catch it, it has to be forced down your throat first. We already have In Ggod We Trust on our money, and its One Nation Under God, so why not let the Jesuits run the public school system? Then we'd really see some results! But just to make sure you don't think I'm some racist*, sexist, bigoted homophobe, I will take my final parting shot at the conservatives. How dare they! We give them the Bush Administration for two consecutive terms and the best they can come up with is No Child Left Behind? What bull shit is this? Why didn't they just round up and shoot all the democrats like they promised? They've squandered the power we gave them, they wasted their oppurtunities while we quietly ignored their scandalous behavior. All that scheming, wasted! Bah! It's enough to make a man vote for Mickey Mouse! * Actually, I never did manage to pin it on the blacks, did I? Eh, probably would have been easier to blame it on illegal latino immigrants instead anyway. ** If anyone took that seriously, I apologize. I could make some pithy comment about sarcasm and lacks of intelligence, but I fear it would be wasted...

Actually, I'm more then willing to accept her "I panicked!" explanation. It was probably not the question she had been expecting, and had probably been mentally going over answers to questions that she had thought she'd get. She screwed up, emberassed herself on national television, and is getting grief for it. Really not such a big deal, and she's hardly the first. If you think she's the last, well, I've got this wonderful bridge in Brooklyn...

Probably not. Most kids don't use school computers to look for porn, they use school computers to play online games. Those who do use it to look for porn generally do it as a one time "Hey, I cracked the firewall!" stunt.

Yeah, that'd be a Secretary position in the states, wouldn't it? Also, most public schools I've encountered actually do just buy McAfee or Norton firewalls.

Hmmm. Actually, Im curious about several things. Was this in the United States? I know the fact that it lists him as being from Melbourne doesn't necessarily make him an Aussie, but I've never seen a news paper refer to a student as being in Year 10 before. Normally it's either mentioned as the tenth grade or sophomore instead. Year 10 is something I normally see used outside the U.S., such as Britain, Canada, and other parts of the commonwealth. It also didn't mention the Senator's party and state, which is rare as well, unless its from a major player. Otherwise, yeah, what did they expect? Kids will always be able to outthink the tools meant to hide things from them, and nothing makes a child more interested than things that are taboo.

Actually, I do tend to write SF and humor laced stories...

Currently Waiting On: Vorpal Blade by John Ringo and Doc Travis, and A Desert Called Peace by Tom Kratman. While I wait for them I'm burning through the Honor Harrington books by David Weber.

Welcome to China! Please leave your common sense with the customs officials, you won't need it here. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20227400/site/newsweek/

Think that's bad? I can have entire four way debates in my head if the situation warrants, and the players can change as well. I don't suffer from multiple personalities though, is suffer from multiple ids, or what ever they're called. It makes making decisions really interesting at times.

People probably distrust doctors for plenty of reasons, but for me its basically a matter of the impersonal attitude that some doctors seem to have. Not to say that they're rude to their patients, but that they see everything in black and white clinical matters, and I fully admit that this is aimed most at psychXs. If you're depressed, its a matter of chemicals in the brain. So just pop these pills as we tell you to and you'll be fine! There seems to be no effort made anymore to determine the cause of such an imbalance. Is it dietary? Are the living conditions terrible? Or is the person just naturally imbalanced? Doesn't matter, the imbalance exists, we must correct this at all costs! The result? Well, a regular customer came in today. Apparently he's been prescribed some new antidepressants. So he randomly burst into song, couldn't maintain a conversation for more than a few moments, and was generally not himself all around. Not the first time I've seen something like this either, but for personal reasons won't go into them here.

I could probably be diagnosed with any one of half a dozne different disorders, seeing as how I reguralry talk to myself, can zone out for extended periods, hold long winded conversations in my head, and am convinced I serve as some sort of universal joke. This is essentially why I refuse to deal with a psychiatrist/psychologist. I know I'm crazy, and plan to fully enjoy it as long as it lasts.

We should probably start a different thread in plain Aimless Babble

Not sure it would draw in new members, but it might give a place for us to reference to, as well as explaining a few things better than we do

Hahaha, I actually read quite a bit of everything, with the exception of slash. Just doesn't do anything for me. *Shrugs* And I so write other things involving aliens and monsters and beasties, they just don't end up here. I've just never had any inspiration to write such, partly because as far as I can tell there's no difference. So what if the guy or gal suddenly develops a major hair problem once or twice a month? I live with four women, and trust me, what ever couple that is has it easy! So yup, plain vanilla!

Ok, now that I have to check out. anyone think we should craft one?

Anal/Slash. Yup! I'm one of the five plain vanilla hetero writers on the entire site. No werewolves, aliens, vampires, angsty incest, slash between any characters, none of it! I think I've written a grand total of ONE tent fic in my time here, and I don't know what Hiei did with it, but I doubt it's been put out. I write guys and girls getting on the good old fashioned way. Though occasionally the time and place can be a bit odd...

We're talking about wikipedia here. The only time it should ever be considered even remotely close to being a definitive source is when you're having a fan debate. Being shocked that there's people faking entries is like being shocked that some people put milk in their breakfast cereal. If one must use wikipedia as a research tool, the use it to find the sources that other people cite.

A good point, but look at it this way. If you're biggest advertiser was offended by my fic, or was recieving complaints about it for being affiliated with it, and they threatened to pull out, then you'd have to pull it wouldn't you? That's essentially the reason why AFF has an age verifier and LJ doesn't. Aff is a willing to host things most people don't want to know about or would be offended by. As such its also limiting exactly who would be advertising here. I would be shocked, utterly shocked, to see the likes of McDonalds, Gerber, or any other family brand advertising here. LJ, on the otherhand, does want as much big naming advertising as they can get. So I expect them to have a very vague set of rules on which one they could effectively kick or remove any form of content, all so that they can continously profit. We're a club. They're a company. Expecting them to not crack down on the things which can cause them to lose money is like expecting a hungry tiger not to eat meat.

Ack, that is today isn't it? *Takes SJ's adivce and flees for Greenville.*

Actually, the internet is tricky like that. It is a public venue, but the hosting servers are still privately owned. So as far as the government has been concerned they've been treating these kinds of sites as private businesses. If you say or do something that violates an agreement with the business, or behave in a manner that they see as jeopardizing their ability to do business, they can kick you off. Much the way you can get arrested for yelling "Fire!" in a theatre or starting a bar brawl.