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Post by Nico Gray on Apr 11, 2017 19:05:16 GMT -5
Connor is a young college drop out, tolerating his job as a pizza delivery driver, going through the motions with his girlfriend of long standing, living alone in a trailer situated conveniently far from any neighbors. One night a young man shows up on his property, naked, in a bright flash of light. The youth has no memory of who he is and lacks even the most basic knowledge about activities of daily living. But Connor starts to find something about the young man that attracts his interest. Then a mysterious man shows up, trying to locate the youth and Connor senses something isn't right. This story is already about one hundred thousand words long and looks like it's a long way from finished. The author, mastershakeme, has created an intriguing mystery and an interesting human story, and tells it very well. Anyone interested in checking it out can find it at this link: www.gayauthors.org/story/mastershakeme/parasitic-love/
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Post by PaulR5 on Apr 12, 2017 1:38:14 GMT -5
Connor is a young college drop out, tolerating his job as a pizza delivery driver, going through the motions with his girlfriend of long standing, living alone in a trailer situated conveniently far from any neighbors. One night a young man shows up on his property, naked, in a bright flash of light. The youth has no memory of who he is and lacks even the most basic knowledge about activities of daily living. But Connor starts to find something about the young man that attracts his interest. Then a mysterious man shows up, trying to locate the youth and Connor senses something isn't right. This story is already about one hundred thousand words long and looks like it's a long way from finished. The author, mastershakeme, has created an intriguing mystery and an interesting human story, and tells it very well. Anyone interested in checking it out can find it at this link: www.gayauthors.org/story/mastershakeme/parasitic-love/Nico, it is indeed an interesting premise. I am just getting started on the second chapter.
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Post by TeddyBower on Apr 18, 2017 21:20:07 GMT -5
Hmm.... Indeed it sounds interesting. For me it's a case of many times bitten, always afraid. For that reason I never read a story until it is complete. So if someone wishes to let me know about the status this particular story... :-)
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Post by Nico Gray on Apr 18, 2017 21:56:31 GMT -5
Hmm.... Indeed it sounds interesting. For me it's a case of many times bitten, always afraid. For that reason I never read a story until it is complete. So if someone wishes to let me know about the status this particular story... :-) The author has just posted the ninth chapter and indicates that it will be a while before another is ready. Author's comments also suggest that the story is being created on the fly, rather than proceeding from a plot outline. The story just underwent a major change in venue, dragging new characters into the mix. If the author doesn't have at least a rough plan, this could be a very challenging transition. Your caution is probably justified. But if the story does eventually finish, and if I remember to do so, I'll post a message here.
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Post by PaulR5 on Apr 23, 2017 1:20:49 GMT -5
The story is up to 9 chapters and 116,101 Words.
As far as introducing new characters, our lives IRL (In Real Life) are often shaken up with lots of new characters appearing-- at least in my life. But keeping track of them? That is sometimes another matter entirely!
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Post by Nico Gray on Aug 14, 2017 13:05:16 GMT -5
Hmm.... Indeed it sounds interesting. For me it's a case of many times bitten, always afraid. For that reason I never read a story until it is complete. So if someone wishes to let me know about the status this particular story... :-) It appears that your skepticism was justified, Teddy. After a good start, "Parasitic Love" started posting new chapters sporadically. Then the author posted a new story about a week ago and has pushed up seven chapters pretty quickly. "Parasitic Love" hasn't seen a new chapter in a month. It may be completed someday, but I probably won't stick around long enough to find out and post the news to this forum.
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Post by TeddyBower on Aug 14, 2017 20:40:14 GMT -5
Well, that sucks. Happens far too often. I still get caught out from time to time on sites like Nifty that don't specify whether a story is complete or not. You see a story with umpteen chapters and notice it's been around awhile and think that surely it's a done deal, but no. You get up to the last chapter posted then nothing! Sigh... 😛
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Post by Nico Gray on Aug 15, 2017 13:43:02 GMT -5
I'll often go to the last chapter and read the last sentence or two, trying to figure out if it ends or sounds like to continue. And if it does end, I hope those sentences don't reveal too much or that I won't really remember by the time I read to the end.
"Parasitic Love" had an interesting premise and was fairly well written. I hope the author does finish someday. Engaging ideas, great action and likeable characters are only so interesting if the story never offers the reader any sort of closure.
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Post by PaulR5 on Aug 15, 2017 23:21:38 GMT -5
Chapter Fourteen of Parasitic Love was posted July 16, and has more than 16,000 words. Total wordage of the story is up to 202,968 words This is far more than most stories on GA. When you go to the listing for a particular author, GA will tell you whether a story is listed as "Complete" or "In Process." It also gives the total word count for each of that author's stories.
Some online story sites, such as IOMfAtS.org, (also known as iomfats.org) have instituted a policy of only starting to post the story when the complete story has been received by the owner/manager/webmaster of the site. This has cut down on disappointed readers if a story ends in the middle because the author hits a personal crisis, dies, develops permanent writer's block, etc. (In fairness, Timmy at iomfats.org is allowing authors who were already posting but had not finished stories, such as Doug Smith and his story The Move, to finish as they write a chapter, as it was when they have started. But, this has its own problems, such as when Doug did not post any of the story for three years, posted a chapter, and did not post for two more years.)
That is one advantage of short stories, or inter-related short stories, over serial novels. When each short story is complete in itself, even if part of a related set, it is easier on the reader.
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Post by Nico Gray on Aug 16, 2017 11:08:21 GMT -5
It's good that some sites are making an effort to work with authors to help keep readers engaged. Teddy's issue with authors that don't finish stories is frustrating for me, and for many others I suspect. IOMfAtS is a good site that is more than just a place for authors to dump product. Awesome Dude is another good site. This site seems pretty good about trying to build community to help both readers and authors. I'm sure there are others.
GA is a bit too large a community for my taste. There's so much going on there that I have a hard time finding good authors whose subject matter interests me. For some reason, I don't often visit there. I just happened to stumble across "Parasitic Love" because I was checking progress on another story. But I think that community, while there's certainly a lot of energy there, could benefit from some structure and focus. It isn't often that I wander through the front door of a building, look around, and feel lost. But that happens to me a lot at GA.
It's just an odd thought- and I have a lot of them- but I wonder if anyone has really given any thought to creating an environment that would help give many of the inexperienced authors some idea about what engages readers and how to direct their work toward building an audience. General forums are nice, but often lead to some pretty unfocused feedback. I wonder if there would be any interest in a place where authors could get serious feedback from readers. For many authors in the LGBT fiction community, writing seems to be little more than a form of catharsis. But I suspect that some may be interested- and some certainly are good enough to benefit from- an opportunity to receive constructive feedback not only on what they do, but on how they do it. Creative writing classes are certainly a good place to learn how to create effective stories. But I think it helps to hear directly from readers if an author wants to figure out how to build a base, or community, for their creative outlet.
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Post by Dabeagle on Aug 16, 2017 22:21:26 GMT -5
It's just an odd thought- and I have a lot of them- but I wonder if anyone has really given any thought to creating an environment that would help give many of the inexperienced authors some idea about what engages readers and how to direct their work toward building an audience. General forums are nice, but often lead to some pretty unfocused feedback. I wonder if there would be any interest in a place where authors could get serious feedback from readers. For many authors in the LGBT fiction community, writing seems to be little more than a form of catharsis. But I suspect that some may be interested- and some certainly are good enough to benefit from- an opportunity to receive constructive feedback not only on what they do, but on how they do it. Creative writing classes are certainly a good place to learn how to create effective stories. But I think it helps to hear directly from readers if an author wants to figure out how to build a base, or community, for their creative outlet. Nico, to be kind, it's a pipe dream. I've been writing online for about 20 years and there are far, far more readers who read and leave and never give feedback or say hello. I've resorted to letting folks know I'm literally paying for them to ignore me and asking for their thoughts. They don't have to be deep, original ideas written in meter or something. I liked A, hated B or thought this should have happened is great. Writing is a lot of work, not just on the writer but also for editors. On my site, as a one man (mostly) show, it's write, apply the edit and then code it. I've been getting some help on the coding end recently which is a big help. It's not really a case of writers going someplace to get feedback, it's convincing the readers to give it.
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Post by Nico Gray on Aug 18, 2017 0:33:04 GMT -5
You're going to love this suggestion, David, but the ideal person to provide the feedback to the authors that I'm talking about is you. I know it's not the role you volunteered for when you set up and paid for this site. But in many ways you have a role similar to those fabled old pulp fiction magazine editors from the '40s and '50s who read hundreds of unsolicited manuscripts, recognized real but unrefined talent among a number of their young would-be contributors, and took the time to guide the more promising writers with suggestions about how their work could be improved to better appeal to mass audiences. Some of those smart contributors listened to the advice they received and are among some of the better known and respected authors that we grew up with in the '50s, '60s and '70s.
From time to time I see authors in the LGBT fiction community who clearly have a talent, yet are still in need of polish, or perhaps are even still very rough. It would be good for them if they had a place to go to, if they wanted, to get feedback that was more constructive than simply hearing what caught a reader's interest or what turned the reader off. If authors had a place to go where they could dialogue around what they were trying to do and get feedback about how they might better achieve their objective, or hear a comprehensive perspective on their work, it would give them the opportunity to improve the quality of their work considerably. I know it happens sometimes, as Solsticeman explains that his publication of "Shades of Gray" on IOMfAtS came with the provision that he significantly edit the original Nifty story to focus on its strengths and edit out the dross, but I don't think this is happening in any comprehensive manner across the community. It seems rather hit-or-miss, with authors who show promise turning out work after work without marked improvement in their skills. I guess the free, electronic mass distribution format doesn't lend itself well to that sort of author and editor relationship, but it seems like something could be done to support authors who have a real interest in improving their style and developing skills that make them more effective writers. People rarely develop their skills in any field, writing included, without effective teachers or mentors.
Anyway, that's just a rant of mine that bubbles to the surface unexpectedly on occasion. I've been told that medication may help, but there's really no cure. I do want you to know that I appreciate that you took the time to read and respond.
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Post by Dabeagle on Aug 18, 2017 7:31:12 GMT -5
I read all the forum posts. I do not read a great deal of submissions, but I do reject many for posting. Feedback of that sort is tricky. There is a gentleman who has made a few attempts but grows either frustrated with my suggestions or dismisses them entirely. I'm rarely simply asked for an opinion and in any case with the life I lead I don't have the time to read through 'hundreds' of stories. You'd be surprised how many people don't like constructive criticism, how many become offended. It's a nice thought, to be sure, and it's one reason I make an effort to use beta readers. Sanitaria Springs is a sprawling storyline but my editor can't retain all that (and sometimes I have to go back and check facts). But I have a couple of beta readers who do recall things and help me with those stories to keep them from getting tangled up with other things that were written.
In any case, perhaps I'll create a thread that allows authors to post snippets of incomplete work or a few pages for the purpose of feedback. It could be an interesting social experiment.
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Post by Nico Gray on Aug 20, 2017 21:25:34 GMT -5
In any case, perhaps I'll create a thread that allows authors to post snippets of incomplete work or a few pages for the purpose of feedback. It could be an interesting social experiment. I think that's an interesting idea. It may not amount to much, but I think it would be a good thing if authors and readers did make serious use of it. Whatever the motives of an author, the relationship between author and reader is essentially a business transaction. If the author isn't creating a product that readers appreciate and want, he or she is wasting their time, unless they really do derive a benefit from the writing process alone. I offer constructive criticism to authors on occasion. Some respond quite magnanimously and are open to considering what I say. But like you, I've discovered that some authors simply aren't interested in using feedback to improve their writing skills. Either they write for catharsis and aren't overly interested in working on skills, or perhaps they're simply too insecure in their work to hear anything critical without becoming defensive. It's too bad, because I've run across a few amateur authors who I think really have something to offer if they could refine their writing and storytelling skill. Anyway, thanks for taking my idea seriously. It's good to know that my thoughts may have a chance to result in something productive.
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Post by TeddyBower on Aug 23, 2017 0:15:23 GMT -5
For my part, I certainly do appreciate Dave and his willingness to provide an amateur author such as myself the time of day to read my original submission to him and to provide extremely valuable criticism of my work. I was able to take his criticism to heart and seriously edit my first story in a way that improved it immensely. Heck, if a person isn't willing to submit their work to constructive criticism they'd probably better not be submitting it in the first place, don'tcha think?
And yes, I think an author's forum would be a great addition to our boards here, but I'm not sure I'd want to read through whole works, at least on the boards, though providing feedback on short bits of a piece or helping an author sort through ways of handling tough parts of a storyline or whatever might be fun as well as constructive for many of us.
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