You know, everything else in my life is going wonderfully just now. I have such gratitude for the course my life is taking and I thought that this situation was about to go the same way, too.
But my love life continues to be the smudge on the windscreen that drives me to the edge of insanity and threatens to crash the car. I wish I could understand my karma. Why is it that a guy who wants nothing more than to settle down and raise a family is one of the most hopeless fuckers in the world when it comes to relationships?
She knows how I feel, by the way. She didn't really respond to it. Last night was weird—a surprising amount of shit went down that I just did not see coming. Friendships hung in the balance; some are still shaky. I should have taken that last bus but I can just never help myself. It's like I have an out-of-body experience where I can see myself making bad decisions, but instead of trying to stop me, I just cross my arms and knowingly say, "You'll regret that," while shaking my head.
The upshot is, I'm painfully sleep-deprived, no more enlightened by the situation, and I start training for a half marathon on Monday (don't ask).
In other news, I've given up alcohol (except maybe tequila).
No need to reply. I know.
Now that all the images are broken, I can't see anyone's cock or tits. How am I supposed to know who to send friend requests to, huh?
If you're going to break a story up into chapters, the first of which has no sex, make sure they are posted shortly after one another, so that you catch that audience right away. People may like the first part, but there are a lot of stories on this site and it's easy to move on and forget that there's more of your story coming. Audiences DO trail away as series go on; be wary of that.
Of course, they still need to go through the verifying process and only one will appear on the front page per day, but you will be able to link them together if they have been verified.
Funny story...
I went to the gym today and this whole thread was playing on my mind the entire time.
There was one guy who came into the gym at the same time as me. I caught his eye a couple of times but didn't say anything (besides, he had headphones on). Our paths crossed several times on the gym floor—he even sat on the rowing machine next to me for a while—and I probably could have said something to him but... I didn't. We were even back in the locker room getting changed to go home at the same time and I nearly said hi as he was putting his socks on, but I chickened out (and because that would be SO gay).
I headed back into town to run a few errands before heading home. When I came out of the pharmacy, I bump into a friend of mine and who is he with? The guy from the gym. We got introduced and kind of made awkward mention of the fact we had both just been at the gym together.
Clearly the universe wanted me to meet this guy, for whatever reason.
Thought I'd share.
Pfft! Hangovers are what old people get.
I just really want to address the "cliffhangers" question:
Cliffhangers can be a fantastic device in a story and can really excite a reader. However, if there's no promise of ever revealing "what happened next" then you have to get it absolutely right. It's not something I have seen a lot of authors do well, to be honest; even less so on an amateur site.
Leaving something to the imagination of the reader, leaving some things unsaid, is one thing. Leaving them at a complete loose end is something else entirely and runs the risk of frustrating the reader to the detriment of their enjoyment of the story. Don't end a story prematurely just for the impact you think it might have; leave it at a point where the reader can say, "That was a great story, I really loved the characters; it really intrigues me to think about what might have happened afterwards."
Obviously no one's actually saying those words, but you get my point. So, by all means, do it, but tread carefully and don't antagonise your audience unnecessarily.
Sorry. Hit the wrong button and double posted.
SAVE THE TREES!
I'm behind eBooks all the way, as an environmental issue as much as anything. I don't have an eReader myself but I do read a decent amount on my phone (mostly articles or short stories) and would love to get one eventually.
Sure, it's not quite the same as reading an actual book, but we all make compromises and, in time, adapt as technology advances and I don't think flicking through pages is something the loss of which a future generation will mourn. I don't believe we'll ever lose books altogether but, as the whole world goes electronic, they will go the same way. Already this is opening up previously unimaginable opportunities for amateur writers like you and me.
Is it a shame for the book shop industry? Of course it is. But they're not the first to be taken down by technology, e.g., record stores, and they won't be the last. Times change and we should change with them.
I often forget to check tags before I start reading and then, maybe about half-way through, my "mod eyes" will kick into action and I'll flick back to check.
I think they are very important in stories with many elements and several scenes. With some stories I write, I use the tags to indicate the other categories the story might have ended up in. However, I'm also cautious of giving too much away (the same is true of category). Like, sometimes I might want to put something in Love Stories but don't because it makes the ending even more predictable.
I believe I've only ever written one story containing any sexual acts that readers might find "off-putting" and the tags were quite clear in that—they knew what they were in for.
Seeing the title of this thread, and then the fact that it was started in July 2010, made me laugh.
Now, that's something I might be more interested in (and the meeting place is literally about two minutes from my flat). The time commitment is a problem for me though (that's partly why I don't go to the gym at the same time every week). Food for thought.
Cheers for the link.
How "nice" are those guys who are being "nice" in the hope of something in return? How "nice" are they when bitching about being in the "friend zone"? How "nice" are the guys who think the world owes them something because they have some manners and common decency?
Nice guys finish last, they say. I disagree. Arseholes pretending to be "nice guys"—they finish last.
My gym is quite a large one and I don't go at the same time every week so it's rare that I see people more than once or twice. Maybe I should think about getting into more of a routine with rather than just when I feel like I should.
I'm with Clum. 
