Writer's Digest Bot Apocalypse Refugee Camp

adtabb

Quiet Normally, Loud when Provoked
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I have checked in here off and on for years, usually when I feel I need a quick answer, or more opinions on a subject. I like the family feel of WD and will go back there (after they rid themselves of the spam bots). I check out a few others from time tot time, though I prefer boards that move a little faster than WD, and yet a little slower than here, to get to know people.
 

NaCl

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Hi folks, my WD handle was MSfinished. The "new" WD forum does not look or function like it did before. Maybe I'm just a creature of habit, but change for its own sake is rarely productive and WD Forum was not "broke" so it shouldn't have been "fixed." Of course, I still can't get logged in there, and I refuse to switch my browser to Chrome or Firefox or to be forced into any similar changes when IE and my current system work just fine everywhere else.

The good news is that the WD implosion led me here, and this place looks great, so I think I'll just hang out here in the future.
 

Gale Haut

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Hi adtabb and MSfinished! Glad to see you here.

Ah hem.

:Soapbox:
I'm glad some of you guys prefer it here, and I definitely understand the need to vent. Just wanted to be clear, though, that I did not request this little refugee camp to trash talk WD. Originally, it was for people who wanted to post their work straight away and couldn't wait for fixes. Also, I thought it would be good to have a place where people who knew the difference between the forums could talk about them and help each other out.

That said, I think it's great so many people really like it over here. And please don't read this as me criticizing you. Like I said, I totally get the need to vent.
/:Soapbox:

Carry on! :D
 

Chris P

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I have no idea. Mine adjusts itself to Mountain Time for all the posts. Weird.

I think you select your time zone in your profile.

ETA: It's under "Edit Options" in your User CP
 

adtabb

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Thinking about posting a question in both places. My characters have a good deal of internal dialogue. They think and ask themselves questions, such as "Who is Janey anyway? Is she really my daughter?"

How many questions is too many in internal dialogue? Should many of them be changed?
 

Gale Haut

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Sounds like a style choice to me. You are going to get widely varying responses based on preference, especially depending on genre.
 

Kim Fierce

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"I'll try to check in here more often. I forgot this thread was here, actually, while trying to deal with the crazies. Thanks to Kim for reminding me!"

Ah, you are very welcome Lydia. :)
 

Kim Fierce

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That said, I think it's great so many people really like it over here. And please don't read this as me criticizing you. Like I said, I totally get the need to vent.
/:Soapbox:

Carry on! :D

Carrying! I have posted sections 1 and 2 of my book in YA. And after all the editing I have done on it, now I don't know if I will even start my book with those sections at all. I might start the book with scene 3. I might take all the intro to Dayna and Kevin scenes out and have the reader introduced to them when Ashley finds them. That might be more powerful actually. HMMM. Thoughts brewing. I'm glad I'm not scared to delete anymore.

I also submitted a short story for publication. I do have one question, can people read the summer short stories on SFF or what's going on with that? I want to read them! :-(
 

Paul Swearingen

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WD is up and running smoothly

AKA "pls" on several forums.

Just thought I'd check in and let you all know that I've been accorded "Global Moderator" status on the WD forum as of today. As such, all spam (that I've been able to track down) is gone from the forum, and six spammers and their IP addresses have been blocked and banned. The Critique forums are now secure from indexing bots, and I hope to help keep the forum free of spam. The admins are still working on the forum and not all is back to 100% - the avs have temporarily disappeared, for example - but nearly all forum functions are running smoothly. PM me if you have questions.
 

Gale Haut

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AKA "pls" on several forums.

Just thought I'd check in and let you all know that I've been accorded "Global Moderator" status on the WD forum as of today. As such, all spam (that I've been able to track down) is gone from the forum, and six spammers and their IP addresses have been blocked and banned. The Critique forums are now secure from indexing bots, and I hope to help keep the forum free of spam. The admins are still working on the forum and not all is back to 100% - the avs have temporarily disappeared, for example - but nearly all forum functions are running smoothly. PM me if you have questions.

woot! Go, Paul, go!
 

allz28

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I vote dog.

And thanks for the update, Paul! If it were up to me, I'd make you an admin, not just a mod.
 

Paul Swearingen

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Thanks, aliz28. I have all the clout I need as a Global mod; and if the admins take my suggestions to heart, based on my 6 years experience as a site admin to another phpBB forum, I'll be happy. I'm not after more power, just a better WD forum.
 

Kim Fierce

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It is a very wise man who does not chase power, Paul. :p

In writer news I submitted a short story yesterday. In non-fiction world I've written interview questions for my friend for a humorous article about moms and exercise I'm working on. My friend's name is Kristin Stewart. If I don't put a Twilight reference in there somehow I will not be human, even if I don't like the book. I think I will just put "Yes, that is her real name, and no, her child isn't a vampire/human hybrid." Golden.

I have finally realized after a hundred edits and two severe Floggings of the Quill that I need to rewrite the first 2 chapters of my book. When people read later scenes I usually get great remarks, but the first chapter is always a problem. Which shouldn't surprise me, since I'm trying to work with the same beginning scenes I wrote when I was 12. Relentlessly. Doggedly. Stupidly. Rewriting the same stupid crap again and again. Until the blood sweat flows. Blind to the fact that it will not work. Until now.

I'm going to combine several of my intro to Ashley scenes, and instead of the book opening with her laying in the bed looking at the Freaking clock it's going to open with her walking out the door. The only thing I'm still unsure of is whether I should keep all of my intro to Dayna and Kevin scenes and make them chapter two, or if I should not introduce the reader to those 2 characters until Ashley meets them. I'm thinking of doing the latter. I copied and pasted the first two chapters of my book into a new file and I'm experimenting. FUN!
 
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allz28

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Yeah, that Kristen Stewart line is golden.

And I tend to rewrite the beginning of novels more than any other part. I feel for you.
 

Paul Swearingen

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Lotsa novel openings are unnecessary world-building. Start with the action, even if you have to dump the first chapter or two. Do I want to watch Ashley lying in bed watching the clock, Kim? Hardly not. I want to watch her reaction as someone pushes her down the stairs.
 

allz28

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Lotsa novel openings are unnecessary world-building. Start with the action, even if you have to dump the first chapter or two. Do I want to watch Ashley lying in bed watching the clock, Kim? Hardly not. I want to watch her reaction as someone pushes her down the stairs.

I'm going to take what you said and raise you one.;)

Start with the conflict (whatever's at stake), because that's where stories really begin.
 

Kim Fierce

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And I tend to rewrite the beginning of novels more than any other part. I feel for you.

Realizing I need to rewrite the beginning didn't fill me with as much fear and dread and despair as it would have even a year ago. I only have a few more chapters to go in the Personal Outline I'm doing right now and I plan on tackling the new beginning next!

I have also written a new query letter draft. I think it's going to eventually be awesome LOL.
 

Kim Fierce

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I'm going to take what you said and raise you one.;)

Start with the conflict (whatever's at stake), because that's where stories really begin.

That's where I realized I should start my query letter. Not with "First Ashley does this and that" it's "After all that Ashley has done, her only choice left is to make everything worse." Or you know an edited and more awesome version of that, eventually.
 

Kim Fierce

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Finished my outline. My new query draft sucks. Need to do synopsis and rewrite my beginning.

And of course, fight the demons telling me my whole book sucks!