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Don't you hate it when you're nearly finished with a story,(of any kind)..and your creative brain just switches off !!*
:mad::mad::oops::oops::(:(
Now that I'm unemployed, again :( hopefully I'll finish the Fat Slave story. Plus crack on with the Crucifixion in the Arena,and I'm hoping to do a contemporary tale involving C.F members,for our 15th Anniversary.
Wish me luck.....!!
*(I know I'm NOT the only one......)
 
Don't you hate it when you're nearly finished with a story,(of any kind)..and your creative brain just switches off !!*
:mad::mad::oops::oops::(:(
Now that I'm unemployed, again :(hopefully I'll finish the Fat Slave story. Plus crack on with the Crucifixion in the Arena,and I'm hoping to do a contemporary tale involving C.F members,for our 15th Anniversary.
Wish me luck.....!!
*(I know I'm NOT the only one......)
Oh,and,(as we know) real-life gets in the way of things as well..... :(
 
Guidance

Hi everyone, I'm new here - just joined up. Loving it so far and today I made my first post


I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to post, where to post and how to tag so that exposure for the post can be maximised?

Any tips gratefully received.
Thank you
Foss
 
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We have a thread "New Threads" for announcements of that. Our staff is working tireless to update it regulary.
Yes, we announced Fossy's new thread soon after he started it.
'New Threads' used to appear automatically on the home-page,
we lost it in an 'upgrade', much to our chagrin, but actually I think we
(especially Wragg and I) quite enjoy spotting and signalling new threads -
however, there's nothing to stop members announcing their own new threads there themselves,
no need to wait for us to do it! ;)
 
any tips on how to post, where to post

Leaving an episode at a cliffhanger may provoke more speculative chat, and editing some of the other members' ideas into your stories shows you are interested in what we say, which in turn makes us more interested in your stories. This forum creates a lot of fun around our strange preoccupation.

The sub-section headings are self-explanatory, but no one gets very upset if wrongly placed. The Staff Members can move a thread, but they do a grand voluntary job, so don't ask them unreasonably.
 
Something for the writers here

I hope this isn't considered inappropriate, but there are many really good writers on this forum already, I thought at least some people might find this useful. I once had a boss who used to say, "When you stop getting better, you stop being good." So it's in that spirit that I offer this link:

 
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I hope this isn't considered inappropriate, but there are many really good writers on this forum already, I thought at least some people might find this useful. I once had a boss who used to say, "When you stop getting better, you stop being good." So it's in that spirit that I offer this link:

Thank you so very much. I know I can use much help to improve!
 
The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, though controversial, has helped me a lot over the years. Some of the "rules" should be read with a lot of latitude, but they are all a start to clear, careful writing.
My favorite is a rule that is self-obeying: "Avoid unnecessary words."

I think it would be very good to have a public thread which discussed and posted ideas and resources for better writing. One where there isn't judgement, just ideas and support.
Like the Scottish proverb: A guid word is as easy sayed as a ill ane.
 
I think it would be very good to have a public thread which discussed and posted ideas and resources for better writing. One where there isn't judgement, just ideas and support.

Well, maybe this thread will turn out to supply that.
(There have been one or two public threads for writers started before,
but if this one gets going, we can merge the older ones with it)

A classic essay that I still take as a guide - not specifically on story-writing,
more on journalism, but good sound sense on all kinds, and sorely relevant today -
is George Orwell's 'Politics and the English Language'

His 'basic rules':
(i) Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.
(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.
(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English
equivalent.
(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous.

It's online, albeit in a rather ropy pdf, at:
 
Well, maybe this thread will turn out to supply that.
(There have been one or two public threads for writers started before,
but if this one gets going, we can merge the older ones with it)

A classic essay that I still take as a guide - not specifically on story-writing,
more on journalism, but good sound sense on all kinds, and sorely relevant today -
is George Orwell's 'Politics and the English Language'

His 'basic rules':
(i) Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
(ii) Never use a long word where a short one will do.
(iii) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
(iv) Never use the passive where you can use the active.
(v) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English
equivalent.
(vi) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous.

It's online, albeit in a rather ropy pdf, at:
A friend of mine described "Politics and the English Language" as Orwell saying that politics uses English to give substance to a lot of air.
 
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