• Sign up or login, and you'll have full access to opportunities of forum.

The Crux Forum Writer's Lounge

Go to CruxDreams.com
I haven't learned my lesson yet, apparently!

Ha, yes, we like to keep our newbies on their toes! :D
One of my colleagues has saved me the trouble of checking out earlier writers' threads -
I think you'll probably settle here now, but hang on tight!

Some good advice in that blog, I certainly agree about not 'naming' emotions, or even trying to,
rather try to touch your readers' senses in ways that hint at and prompt shared feelings.
 
Some good advice in that blog, I certainly agree about not 'naming' emotions, or even trying to,
rather try to touch your readers' senses in ways that hint at and prompt shared feelings.
I also agree with what she says with regards to music, and stories having, or almost being like, 'soundtracks'
 
Would anyone be willing write a story where myself and a few family members are crucified together? I can give you details. Thank you!

It might work better if you try writing the story yourself. Then if you need some assistance with the writing, ask someone here to look it over and offer some help.
 
Just a couple of points I've tried to incorporate into my stories over the last few years, lessons I hope I've learned. Both of these are tips I picked up from a writer's book.

1) Write shorter sentences. It embarrasses me to see I've written long sentences that take up three or four lines. The reader has a hard enough time reading large paragraphs. Let's help them out by not giving them large sentences to chew on. I'm still guilty of this, but I hope I've gotten better at making them shorter and easier to digest. When I nailed her to the cross she looked at me like I was nuts but I knew what I was doing and besides the hammer felt good in my hand because it wasn't all that heavy and I hadn't put it to good use in a couple of weeks even though I'd bought it a while ago because it was on sale at a good price and I needed a hammer while I was picking up a stepladder to use for a hanging next month. (WHEW!)

2) If you use "and" or "but", you might have two separate thoughts and need to start another sentence. I don't know how many times in my earlier works I've connected long sentences with these conjunctions. I'm currently reading a book by a writer from England (copyright 1997) who LOVES connecting long sentences together using "and". In my mind I keep mentally starting new sentences for him every time I run into one. I hope I don't use conjunctions like that nearly as often as I used to. I really wanted to hang her and she was very pretty but she put up quite a fight and I had to tie her arms behind her back and I also had to tie her legs together because she kept kicking me. I really wanted to hang her. She was very pretty. She put up quite a fight. I had to tie her arms behind her back. I also had to tie her legs together because she kept kicking me.
 
Would anyone be willing write a story where myself and a few family members are crucified together? I can give you details. Thank you!

Is it the story you started here?
 
It's good you've chosen to join us, enjoy exploring and we'll look forward to your stories :)
If you're concerned you may be using copyright material, contact one of us staff
and we'll take a look and do our best to advise - essentially, don't post stuff
that's marked copyright or is legally on sale elsewhere;
regarding your own copyright, I'm afraid you have to make your own plans for that,
most of us who post here are happy for it to be 'common'.
Thank you for having me, and for your answer.
It is indeed in regards to my own copyrights and whether I remain recognised as the author.
(If this thread isn't the right place to discuss this, please just tell me.)
 
Thank you for having me, and for your answer.
It is indeed in regards to my own copyrights and whether I remain recognised as the author.
(If this thread isn't the right place to discuss this, please just tell me.)
well, it may be of interest to others, and others may have suggestions -
you'll certainly be recognised as the author here on the Forums,
but any text you post on public threads here can be seen, and copied,
by any member (and even quite possibly by visitors who aren't registered)
If your stories are available elsewhere, on a paysite, you could post 'teaser trailers',
in our 'Links to Paysites' Forum. And I suppose you could post 'teasers'
and invite members who'd like to read the full story
to contact you so you can share them in a Private Message -
but really, those of us who post stories here are, as I say,
happy to just share them without worrying in case anyone nicks them.
 
Thank you for having me, and for your answer.
It is indeed in regards to my own copyrights and whether I remain recognised as the author.
(If this thread isn't the right place to discuss this, please just tell me.)
I've copied your posting in this thread. Coluld be interesting for you.
 
Just a couple of points I've tried to incorporate into my stories over the last few years, lessons I hope I've learned. Both of these are tips I picked up from a writer's book.

1) Write shorter sentences. It embarrasses me to see I've written long sentences that take up three or four lines. The reader has a hard enough time reading large paragraphs. Let's help them out by not giving them large sentences to chew on. I'm still guilty of this, but I hope I've gotten better at making them shorter and easier to digest. When I nailed her to the cross she looked at me like I was nuts but I knew what I was doing and besides the hammer felt good in my hand because it wasn't all that heavy and I hadn't put it to good use in a couple of weeks even though I'd bought it a while ago because it was on sale at a good price and I needed a hammer while I was picking up a stepladder to use for a hanging next month. (WHEW!)

2) If you use "and" or "but", you might have two separate thoughts and need to start another sentence. I don't know how many times in my earlier works I've connected long sentences with these conjunctions. I'm currently reading a book by a writer from England (copyright 1997) who LOVES connecting long sentences together using "and". In my mind I keep mentally starting new sentences for him every time I run into one. I hope I don't use conjunctions like that nearly as often as I used to. I really wanted to hang her and she was very pretty but she put up quite a fight and I had to tie her arms behind her back and I also had to tie her legs together because she kept kicking me. I really wanted to hang her. She was very pretty. She put up quite a fight. I had to tie her arms behind her back. I also had to tie her legs together because she kept kicking me.
Supposedly, Mark Twain had 17 or so rules for writers, and he applied them to James Fennimore Cooper, an early American novelist of the "eastern" frontier--when the United States was basically the eastern seaboard and some outposts west of the Appalachian Mountains. He found that Cooper violated 16 of the 17 rules. One of the rules was "eschew surplusage". I have always liked that rule.
 
I've copied your posting in this thread. Coluld be interesting for you.

Much obliged, Madiosi!

I wrote an answer to Eulalia in the "New Here" thread, and I copy it in here so it's all gathered together:

"Thank you very much. My stories are already free to access, but within a surrounding where I grant neither owners rights nor exploitation rights (I recon those are the correct legal terms). They are meant to be free to begin with. What bothers me is that -- as you pointed out -- a third party might gain profit from them. I take your advice with the teasers, then."
 
I have only written one crux story, but it already seems to be a classic. I'm trying to think about the next one.
 
Much obliged, Madiosi!

I wrote an answer to Eulalia in the "New Here" thread, and I copy it in here so it's all gathered together:

"Thank you very much. My stories are already free to access, but within a surrounding where I grant neither owners rights nor exploitation rights (I recon those are the correct legal terms). They are meant to be free to begin with. What bothers me is that -- as you pointed out -- a third party might gain profit from them. I take your advice with the teasers, then."
I advise:
-for a lot of little stories one thread,
-for long multipart stories one own thread.
 
Little suggestion about typography of the e-book library

I thought about writing this in the e-book library thread, but thought it would better be left without intervening discussions, so I decided to post it here.

I've been reading some of the e-books from Madiosi's great library archive. And I have a little suggestion to make about the typography of the texts.

Personally, I find it a bit easier on my eyes when the lines are further apart with a smaller font size. I made a sample LaTex page from one of the titles (For the more well-read members of the community: can you guess which title it came from? :)) for a comparison:

ebook.png
(The font size may be a bit too small, as the setting was intended to be used with a different language. But my suggestion about the larger line-height still stands.)

I wonder if it's just my personal preference or it could benefit others as well, if such a change can be made. Which do you find it to be easier to read, and how much? And more importantly, would it be possible to make such a change, Madiosi?

Thanks much for your efforts Madiosi and all our great authors who have contributed to the library, by the way. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top Bottom