04-16-03 @ 3:56 am EDT

I feel like I'm swinging upward again. I want to write anything and everything everywhere. o_o

I would like to write short stories based off of the Chronicles, more like the ones I already have in the Related Tales folder--only ones using the Chronicles characters themselves. The thing is those would have to be Chronicles themselves. I want to work on my Kemet stories, on RTMI, on MI short stories, on the Trench Rats, lots of journal entries, etc. etc. etc.

I want to read everything, too. I've been browsing iUniverse a bit more indepth and there ARE some books that are not available in their entirety or at all online (well foo to you!--though IMO it's the smartest move for the authors), and most of them have subpar (is that the word?) writing skills. WHY THE HELL DON'T ANY OF THESE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE COMMAS IN DIALOGUE? THIS is how you write a sentence:

"I'm going to the party," Ashley said.

This is NOT how you write a sentence!:

"I'm going to the party." Ashley said.

And this is ALSO NOT how you write a sentence!:

"I'm going to the party" Ashley said.

See? There should be a COMMA in a sentence including a speech tag (the "Ashley said" part), NOT a period or nothing at all. A PERIOD, or at least a question mark or exclamation mark or ellipsis or dash...NOT just a period, or no mark at all. AGGHHHH!! It would not bother me so much if I saw this only occasionally, but it's like EVERY author on that site does not understand this very, very basic rule.

I learned this rule in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Why didn't all these self-publishers? For God's sake, if you're going to self-publish, great, but at least get a decent copyeditor. UGH! To think I actually tried to apply for a copyeditor job once and was turned down. I can see many MANY people in dire need of one.

Holy fark, I just found a book called "Tales Of Two Peninsulas" about Michigan. Hm.

I also can't believe how many people blather on and on and ON for pages without ANY bit of dialogue...that's showing and not telling. In just about EVERY story (there are some exceptions--but remember these are NOVEL-length works) you will need SOME dialogue to break up the tedium. Please do not just say "Ashley went to the party. She had a marvellous time there, bla bla bla..." Let ASHLEY say what happened! And use some paragraphs of varying length, for God's sake. Those long ones get tedious after a while.

What else was I going to complain about? I forget. :/ Hm. Oh yes! ADVERBS! You will see from my own work that I am a friend of adverbs, occasionally (see?) too much so, unlike those people who spit upon the very name. Adverbs are A-OK if used in moderation. I actually came across a work that STARTED to look good until I came across stuff like this...

"I'm going to the party," Ashley said enthusiastically.

"That's great! What time is it?" Ben said happily.

"Isn't that the party that David invited you to?" Stan said suspiciously.

"Oh, get off it!" Ashley snapped angrily. "You're just jealous!"

"David invited you?" Ben exclaimed screechily. "Why didn't you tell me...?!"

See what's going on there? All those -ly, -ly, -ly's!! I swear, there was only like one sentence of dialogue on this entire page that did not include an adverb at the end. AGGHH!! If you really MUST say how somebody is saying something, then use their ACTIONS to describe it. Here's the above scene written much better!:

"I'm going to the party," Ashley said with great enthusiasm. She clapped her hands and laughed.

"That's great! What time is it?" Ben said with a smile.

"Isn't that the party that David invited you to?" Stan said. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Oh, get off it!" Ashley snapped angrily. "You're just jealous!"

"David invited you?" Ben screeched, waving his hands. "Why didn't you tell me...?!"

See that I did leave in ONE adverb. Just to prove that adverbs have their place in the cosmos, unlike what some writing instructors will try to beat into you. (Go against the grain. Support adverbs!) However, it's the horrible OVER-USAGE of them that got these instructors so rabid in the first place. Description of actions and substitution of other words can work just as well as adverbs any day.

All this goes without mentioning people who just plain don't know how to spell. I wish people weren't allowed to self-publish unless they had a decent copyeditor or else basic grammar/spelling knowledge. *sigh*

Well...how did an entry about my wanting to read and write a lot more devolve into this? Sorry. I want to read my mythology books and my writing books and TONS and TONS of (well-written!!) fantasy, but the latter is very hard to find online. Damn self-publishing! Just because anyone can do it doesn't mean everyone SHOULD do it. I wish I knew where to find the truly GOOD stuff! So I could stop wasting my time. I really just can't enjoy a story with lots of errors in it...it brings out the worst nitpick in me. I feel like circling every word on the screen. Grr. >:/

I WAS mildly amused by some old messages I read in a forum here...there is a person who posts "editorials" and stuff but gives no facts whatsoever to back up their arguments, and their spelling and grammar are atrocious as well. Whenever somebody complains about them they claim they are happy to be pissing them off...but I think that secretly, they are wounded by the reverse criticism. They respond to it so much that they MUST be bothered. I know that when I respond to things it means they have pushed my buttons in some way or another. This person says that they "got the reaction they wanted" when people complained about them...if that's so, how come they didn't have any posts BEFOREHAND stating their plans to rile people up? Whaaaatever. And I find it hard to believe that somebody can always be so amused by having their shortcomings made public by so many people. (Those who laugh about being proven idiots are, indeed, idiots and fools.) I would not laugh about it if they showed an interest in bettering their writing AND their expression of opinions and "factual" editorials, but they don't want to, so here I laugh. Ha ha ha...moron. Anyone who sits and smirks and says that the reason everybody is mad is because he/she is better and smarter than they are is a big dumbass with a big fat head, to boot. Especially when they have proven themselves wrong many times. Somebody needs to work without blinders for a change.

I still want to read and write! Wish I could find the really good stuff! Gahhhhh. I am so bored. >_< I have to go now and stop wasting time. Tar...