cu-kid9

There's a pinned thread in Aimless Babble, "New? Introduce Yourself!" where you can post this (someone may move it there). Regardless, welcome!

There may indeed be something useful in the review. In fact, I think it's pretty fair to say that in all bad reviews (besides those that just say "You suck") there's probably some small gem of good critical feedback. But it all depends on how the reviewer approaches it, too. I'm not saying that you should walk on eggshells when providing concrit, especially if the author has asked for it. But there's a difference between sophisticated, skillful concrit and boorishly rude drabble. If you're going to offer concrit do so, but do it clearly, concisely, and, as Shirotaka says, do it positively. This isn't to say that we should be sitting around a bonfire, holding each others hands, singing Kumbaya and trying to make sure no feelings get hurt, but antagonizing an author right off the bat is the surest way to get him/her to not listen to anything you have to say. Don't waste the author's time by making them search for something helpful amidst the negative words.

I inched across the finish line this year! I think I was only 70 words or so over 50,000. *wipes forehead* But I did it! I'm taking a well-deserved break from it and, hopefully, I'll be able to tackle it again in a few days, get all that connective tissue written. And, though it may not ever do anything but sit on my computer, at least I made it this year. Congrats on winning NaNoWriMo, shinigamiinochi!

I'm a girl, which I think surprises people given my kind of gender-neutral penname (my real name is just as bad ).

Eh, I have to agree with orleans on this one. I don't like winter, I don't like being cold -it can be 60 degrees outside and I still think it's chilly. The past two or three days we've had nothing but overcast skies. The first day it snowed, the past two days it's been freezing rain. I hate the constant threat of always falling and busting my ass too. I agree it's good for hot chocolate and staying inside and just veggin' out -but I've had to go out every day in the crappy weather, scrape off my car (which is more like a car-cicle at this point than anything else), and drive in it (the snow isn't as bad as the ice to drive in, but it still kinda freaks me out sometimes...mostly because other people don't know how to drive in it). The winters here tend to be bad anyway because there's nothing to stop the wind, which just makes it bitterly, bone-chilling, blood-freezing cold. BRRR! It's makin' me cold just thinking about it!

I think the point is that we're not looking for people to just say, "I don't like your story and I don't think you write well." We want to know why. If a reviewer can't back up his/her opinions with valid reasons, then there's no point of them even opening their mouth (er, you know what I mean). The actual point of concrit is to point out things that aren't working well, or technical problems in a way that will help the author and suggestions on how to go about changing or correcting the problems. Saying "Your story is awful" isn't in any way constructive, it's just critical. I think nikolatesla1 has a point: Why read it if you don't like it? In fact, why even bother to tell me that you didn't like it if you don't have anything helpful to say to me? We all have different likes and dislikes. If I happen upon a story that isn't particularly my cup of tea, even if it's exceptionally well written, I don't leave a review saying I didn't like it; I just move on. Oh, and as far as long (I dunno how good they are...) reviews without concrit -I can write them, trust me

"Every day's a holiday when you're pagan!" Not sure where I heard that, but I love it. Man, do I agree with this. I'm pretty much of the mind that most of my extended family should be put in straight-jackets and sent to a psych ward...and that's on just regular days. During the holidays, it gets even worse.

They started playing all Christmas music all the time now at the airport where I work! ARGH!!! And it will go on until the 1st of January...Tomorrow I get to listen to it for eleven, yes ELEVEN, hours To make matters worse (like they could be), there are these HUGE inflatable decorations over the revolving doors. The one closest to me has Santa on a train and behind him is a penguin that pops out of a box. I wish I had a blow gun and some darts. The only bonus this year is that the gi-normous boxes wrapped like presents that they usually hang from the ceiling have gone "missing" -which I think means someone stole them. Sweet! Oh, and totally off the subject: Hi, SFC Omicron! Glad to see ya here!

Weeell...it happens sometimes The review is here: Review It should be the last one on the page.

I was just wondering if there is a word restriction on reviews if you're not logged in. I left a review and, when I clicked review, it cut off half of it. I do admit to getting rather wordy sometimes in my reviews, but it's never been a problem in the past.

We have to border jump to get fireworks too (Indiana, since it's closer, and there's two huge warehouses of fireworks just over the state line ). I'm not sure what Illinois' laws about having fireworks are. I know we're not supposed to have them, but I think they let it go on the 4th -any other time, though, I'm pretty sure you can get fined. I hate chilly/cold weather and love fireworks, so you'd think that the 4th would be my favorite holiday. But there's something about Halloween...I love the decorations, I love carving pumpkins and making toasted pumpkin seeds, and going and picking up those crazy looking gourds and getting apple cider. My mother decorates for the Day of the Dead and she has a Day of the Dead tree in the front hallway with skeleton decorations all over it and these really cool light up skulls around the base -it's like a Halloween Christmas tree I love it.

I'm guilty of not leaving reviews after I read something. I do it for a variety of reasons (all of which are excuses). Sometimes the author already has, like, nine-ba-jillion reviews -these stories are usually my guilty pleasure stories, those stories that the author seems to crank out like they're nothing, usually quite well written, but all following the same basic plot with new characters. I try not to do the whole wait-to-see-where-the-story-is-going thing. Mostly because I think this is kind of bogus. I mean, if people did it with my story, I could be nine chapters into it before people start reviewing -and I would have wanted to pull the story six chapters prior because I thought no one cared enough to leave a review (currently experiencing this phenomenon. Lots of hits, four reviews ). If I like the story from the beginning, I at least try to leave an "I'm interested in seeing where you take this" review. I always tell myself right before I post a new story that I'm not doing it for the reviews, but I'm a total liar. I want to hear what people have to say -good or bad- that's kind of the whole point of me posting. If I didn't care about what people thought, or didn't want to have anyone else's input, I would just write, save the stuff on my computer and be done with it. What I think is great is when you get those reviews months after you've finished a story. I think I almost love those the most.

Halloween is my favorite, too, mostly because I like to sit around in the dark and watch scary movies (not that I wouldn't do that any other time, but around Halloween makes it seem scarier...like Michael Myers is going to come get me or something )...which usually ends up happening by myself because all of my friends are wimps. I wish my parents backed off when I had "that look" at Christmas. My dad thinks it's hilarious and starts making all these little antagonizing comments about me having bunny rabbits and rainbows coming out of my eyes grrr!

HAHAHA! I totally had to look this up. I dunno about this...Wiki's main article says: and one of their references goes on to say: I would like to know what the parameters for "over-ejaculation" are too. I mean, really, if you're jerkin' off every few minutes, then maybe you need a new hobby...

I do the rant out loud thing in public places too, but it's usually "It's not even FREAKIN' THANKSGIVING yet!! How do they already have CHRISTMAS decorations out?!" I think it embarrasses my friends The first few weeks I like to antagonize my co-workers by singing the Christmas songs -or humming them loudly. I'm surprised I haven't spontaneously combusted from some of the looks I get. Right around mid-December, though, it loses its amusement factor and I just get grumpy -especially when I have customers come up to me singing "Rudolph..." OOoooo! I just want to jack someone -and I'm usually a laid back kinda gal. I have my ballbat...I just need to find out where that damn radio in the airport is

Oh...it's not just the stores I work in an airport and the day after Thanksgiving is dreaded by all because we know they're going to start playing Christmas music that day. The first few weeks are okay. I like Bing Crosby's version of "Jingle Bells," like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, and the Rosemary Clooney version of "White Christmas" (none of these singers, obviously, are from my generation, but I grew up listening to them because of my dad). But, I'll tell you what, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day roll around and I walk into my parents' house where they're playing Christmas music and singing along with it...and I just shut it off. I want to pull my freakin' hair out if I hear one more version of "Santa Baby" or "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause." Luckily, they've decided not to play straight Christmas music this year (we'll see how long that lasts), but rather have chosen to intersperse it with 50's/60's/70's/80s/and early 90s songs...Yeah. Most of the time I can successfully ignore it, but I think they turn it up later at night (actually, the airport gets dead late, so that's probably why it seems louder -but I'd rather stick to my theory of they like torturing us). So I leave work with either a Christmas song or something like "Maniac" (you know, from Flashdance? ugh -always makes me feel like I should be running in place when I hear it) stuck in my head.

I did a Valentine's one-shot last year just for the hell of it. I was thinking about doing a Christmas story this year, but I have a lot on my plate in the next month, so I may or may not get around to it. Maybe I'll jot down some of it and save it for next year...

The first time I ever got a bad review (and it was a lengthy one, let me assure you, not just a "You suck, your story sucks"), I just stared at the screen... ...and the initial indignation roared up... ...and then I started laughing hysterically. Not only did the person most adamantly not like my story, but they took the time -and lots of it, considering the length- to tell me they didn't. My whole take on it was okay, you didn't like the story, but you sure did read it all the way through and then took more time to tell me...how am I not the winner in this? I agree, reviews like these just help me write more. It's almost refreshing to know that you can make someone feel something strongly enough that they need to tell you about it.

Normally I'm the same way. I participated last year and fell woefully short. This year though...jeesh! The first two weeks were agonizing because I kept telling myself there was no way. Fifty thousand in a month?! Most of the stories that I've finished aren't fifty thousand! What the hell did I sign up for?! Not to mention my characters decided amongst themselves, in some secret meeting that I wasn't invited to, that they were going to take the outline I had been mulling over in October, tear it to pieces, and do a little jig on it I'm kind of amazed at what I've produced, though. I mean, it's all crap, don't get me wrong -and not that "I think everything I write is crap" kind, but the set your teeth on edge and make you almost nauseous kind. However, it's been kind of nice to tell my inner editor to shut the hell up because I'm going to write as cheesy and awful as I want to for a month straight and there's nothing she can do about it! I'll let her take control in December -if I can stand to look at the novel after that. I'm around 42,000 words and the end is coming faster than I had anticipated (of both the novel and the month). Hopefully I can make it *crosses fingers*

Not to drone on about this...but does this mean that those things italicized that became unitalicized should return to being that way? (Who else found that confusing?) I think maybe I am confused about this whole thing because, if I look at something I posted and I see something formatted wrong, I go back to check on it. The code in the edit screen looks like this: <p class="Normal" style="margin-top: 6px; margin-bottom: 6px; font-style: italic; "> and yet, the text that that follows it is not italicized within the story. I have to go back and put the <i></i> around everything. Sorry to keep asking about these things! And thanks again for working on it!

*ARG!* I'm having this problem right now! Fourteen thousand words into a story that I really want to write and I've come to a grinding halt I usually just push through it. I write other scenes that come to mind and try to write the connective tissue later. In the past I've taken the "step away from the computer slowly" approach when I'm stuck. Recently, I've been writing in third person so, when I get stuck, I start writing scenes in first person to get the feel of one character. I have about five files for one story right now -one written chronologically, one with all the stuff that I come up with at random times that will occur later on, and two for each main character written in first person (sort of character studies). I too sometimes just sit down and write -it may be crap, but hey, at least I'm writing. My roommate is also my sounding board -she's the lucky one that gets to sit around and hear me rant about how I hate such-and-such character because he/she won't just act right and do what I want him/her to do. She's usually really good about bouncing around ideas. The thing with posting the story to get reviewer input can be tricky (depending on where you post and how loyal your reader base is). For the most part I've found that "I want more" isn't particularly helpful to goading me on (unless they've caught me on a particularly creative day), and the reviews that actually help me are few and far between.

I was just curious if anyone else around here is considering participating in the National Novel Writing Month this year...? I keep going back and forth...I suppose, seeing how I only have one real day left, I should make a decision Although, I've had some pretty persistent writer's block recently. Writing 1,000 words has been difficult -just thinking about writing 50,000 seems impossible at this point. For anyone who doesn't know about NaNoWriMo, check out their site: National Novel Writing Month You can join at any time, but you have to finish your novel by the 30th of November!

I upload everything as htmls. I figured the <em> would be something that was wrong on my end. If I'm working on another computer and using Word, everything is fine when I upload. At home, I use OpenOffice, so I just figured that it was my program that was messing up since this has been happening since I started posting here -and I just go back and edit the chapter and correct everything. The sections where a new paragraph has started with something italicized has always worked and has never been a problem until recently. Thanks again for looking into this.

The italics thing isn't really as big a deal as the \. I don't understand it either, though, because when I go back in to look at the chapter under 'edit' the html is showing that those sections should be italicized (you know it has <p whatever; whatever; italic>). I have always had problems with this, but only when the italics fall within text -and then whatever is supposed to be italicized is surrounded by <em></em> which I have to go back and change...which may just be me doing something stupid Anyway, thanks for taking the time to search for the problem with the backslashes. If I really feel the need, I can go in and fix the italic stuff myself

I think sometimes it might. I read a story on here a while ago where I had to change my character encoding to Korean so I could read it without weird symbols -and, fortunately, the author let everyone know in her A/N's that we needed to switch the encoding. I'm pretty sure that the \ thing is a recent occurrence, though.