WarrenTheConey

The way I title anything I write, is with some type of reference to the story or some part of it's content. I like to give the reader as many hints as I can, about what my story will entail. I personally believe, that a title which is in some way faithful to the story’s content, will garner you at least, some good grace with a reader, even if, for whatever reason, they choose to avoid reading that story. However, I don't see any reason why an accurate title, can't also include a bit of humor. Maybe you should try 'playing around with' the two potential titles, just to see if it's possible to add whatever you feel is missing from them. But if you absolutely can't bear to change them, take a look at both and then pick the one that 'feels' best to you in that moment; As they say, the first response is usually the correct one.

The other night I was working on one of my many, (probably too many), short stories. I decided to move a folder that held the scene I was working on, and then attempted to save the document the scene was in. The document acted strangely and then I realized I had just moved the file itself, I double checked the file and found the thirteen hundred word scene I had just finished, had not been saved. Luckily, I keep scenes, completely separate, while I write, so I only lost one scene. Of course, being the surly, impatient person, I am, I decided to end my writing session for the evening. But this made think, it has to happen to other writers now and then, right? So tell me, what's the highest word count you've ever lost, when your work wasn't saved? The highest word count I've ever lost, was one thousand eight hundred words. I'm sure that's not much for the more prolific among you, but it's a lot for a featherweight like me.

Desiderius Price "I’ve learned to never say never when it comes to writing, usually because saying “never would” becomes an inducement to do just that." That's the absolute truth. It's because of that, I try to turn things I dislike, into challenges that broaden my imagination and world view. I also agree that writing about real people, is something that I would probably refrain from. However, with the rise of characters that are fictitious representations of real people, both directly and indirectly, there are even some shows, that I would rather avoid writing about, just because they toe, a palpably, unpopular grey line. For instance, I actually enjoyed the cartoon, The Prince, (I hate myself for admitting that), and I wanted to write a fan-fic to resolve it's cliffhanger ending. But I never wrote one, because I feel, that grey area, is essentially the same as writing about real people. And I'm not alone in the sentiment, that writing about characters who act as fictitious representations of real people, is essentially the same, as writing about those real people. I know that most people agree with me, since the decision to make prince George the main character of that show, was so overwhelmingly controversial, that the show's run, was ended, before the episodes were even aired.

Not knowing the characters makes it hard to know how they would react to a 'slight' of any kind. That being said, any mention of a broken promise during a 'make up', would probably turn into an argument or fight. So that should be avoided at all costs. Your best bet, at least I think, would be to show one fully engaged and committed to their love making, and to have the other show the slightest sign that they are not equally engaged. It would have to be something that can easily played off as nothing, like rolling her eyes at a sweet little declaration of love, or maybe letting out a noticeable sigh when she's asked to do something physical.

I agree that writers should be encouraged, but how best to do that, seems to be a point on which Desiderius Price and I will have to, 'agree to disagree'. 🥺❤️‍🩹 🤓 However, I'm sure we can also agree, that I am inevitably right, Desiderius Price is objectively wrong, and that someone with administrative authority should immediately lock the replies, so that I can have the last word, on my unquestionably insightful post. 😂

My goal of course, is to give anyone who is thinking of giving a review a simple base to start from. I would go so far as to say, my own review can be further broken down to a very simple core. --- Did you enjoy the story? What was one very notable aspect of the story, that made the work enjoyable to you? Why in your opinion, did that aspect, make the story more enjoyable? OR Did you dislike the story? What was one very notable aspect of the story, that made it difficult to enjoy? Why in your opinion, did that aspect, make the story difficult to enjoy? How would you, personally, change that aspect, to make the story more enjoyable? --- The above could apply to anything, characters, grammar, spelling, plot, etc. I also want to encourage people to leave ANY type of thoughts or reviews, whether they are 'positive' or 'negative'. As long as a thought or review is given, with logic and objectivity tempering that opinion, then that 'criticism' will always be 'constructive'. 'Constructive criticism', will always be a benefit to both readers and writers. Readers will have an idea of what to expect before reading, and writers will be advised on aspects of their writing, that may benefit from some level of improvement. I really hope people will see this post and feel encouraged to leave a short thought or review on the next story they read.

I have a sneaking suspicion, that people aren't leaving reviews, because they don't know what they should say in them. It's something that I asked myself about, when I wanted to leave a review on a story I enjoyed. I didn't want to just say 'good job', and I also wanted to avoid saying 'this is bad' or 'good', without being as objective as I could be. So, I sat down and thought about what things a reader and writer of fan-fiction, might want to know or should know, about a fan-fic. With this in mind, I wrote down a list of things that I may or may not put in a review, depending on whether or not I think it should be said. This is the list that I now use, when writing a review. --- Was this story good or bad overall? Could you recommend the story? Give at least a vague reason or example as to why, it was good or bad for you. Do the characters have, for the most part, 'clear' and 'reasonable' motivations that drive them to do what they are doing? If motives are in doubt, can you offer improvements to the motives of their characters? Is the story too, out of place, to be believable in the 'cannon' of that 'universe'? If it does feel out of place, can you offer an improvement, so the story doesn't feel out of line with the 'cannon' of that 'universe'? How is the wording and spelling? Is it difficult or easy to read through? If it is difficult to read through, can you offer a suggestion as to how the writer can improve on those? Does the story's title, description and tags, give the reader a clear idea of what the story may be about, without, spoiling the story? Can you offer advice on how to make these more clear, without, spoiling the story? What else, if anything, do you want the readers and/or the writer to know, about this story? --- These are of course, things that I felt would be important in a review, for both a reader and writer. I think this would be a good template for those who are looking to give an 'objective' review, but don't know where to start. Of course I'm always eager to hear other's thoughts and perspectives on the matter, and on the template I now use.

I posted my story with the proper tags, and a short description of what changes where made to the canon universe. I think I'll keep doing that from this point forward. Thanks for the advice everyone.

As an obsessive perfectionist, I find that I'm constantly over thinking things and constantly marring my work, by focusing on things that don't need the extra attention. In a few days, I'm sure I'll have the free time to finish and post a new story in the archive. I looked at the story codes and started thinking, (obsessing needlessly), about two tags in particular. GB - the gender bender tag, and OC - the original character tag. This really made me wonder, wouldn't a gender bender character, also count as an original character? I'm interested in hearing anyone's thoughts on what makes an 'original character', in the face of such a change. How much can that character change, before that character is considered, a different character?

I Literally made an account, specifically to reply to this post, so I hope you see this. I would say if you’re attempting to play with your reader’s minds, then it would be best to keep the mystery a surprise for the end. I would also suggest, leaving a few very small hints of things that seem out of place, but not drawing any real attention to them, hiding the ground work for the real story, in plain sight. If you do it like that, you can wrap up the first chapter as a fun, false start, for the mystery at hand.