This was a most entertaining read that provided a few chuckles at the process. There are so many people that go through divorces each year. This alone shows that the story will interest alot of readers, because they can relate to the story. Not that I am wishing you to have only divorced people reading your books. I hope all kinds of people of all ages will read them!

What I learned is when one can write stories that can relate to perhaps a readers life then you have them hooked into the story automatically.

Not that I am saying I am a divorced man or anything, but I do know of many who are and can now laugh about it. So I am certain they can relate to the story that you have just written Lex.

Very nice read! Thank you for sharing that with us.

As I stated earlier...the story I started sat for over a year with no progress. I had absolutely nothing to add to it for that time.

I definitely believe it was a block of some sort. Whether it was just a lack of ideas, or a simple lack of confidence in my writing ability, I don't know for sure. All I know is that whenever I opened up that particular file, I had nowhere to go with the story.

Then, a couple of months or so ago, I opened it one more time, and found a direction was just sitting there waiting for me.

I resemble that style. When I started on the story again, I had a VERY vague idea of what I wanted to do with it. I just sort of let the story go where it wants.

I, like Lex, prefer to not go into a LOT of detail on most things. I really haven't even described the main character in my story. I know I am going to have to at some point, but for now, I prefer to leave what he looks like up to the reader.

I prefer to keep it that way for the majority of things in the world I created because, even though it's a world I made up, I want the reader to picture the world in the way THEY want to rather than lock them into MY vision of it.

i was signed up with the writers workshop and holy crap talk about email flooding!

I ended up having to bow out of the site.

Writers space was good. so was writer's digest.

i got alot of info and help from both of those sites :)

I have found a few instances where I needed to resort to specifics -- for example, I had a scene in the first book where a lot of characters are in a room, discussing a situation, passing documents and pictures back and forth, etc. For clarity's sake, I drew up a "seating chart," just so I would know where everybody was; otherwise, I could easily have made a mistake and had the wrong person standing at the chalkboard or something.

Another instance involves a building with 22 underground levels. A lot of the action takes place in this building, so I had to make sure that Frank's office was always on the same floor, the Communications Room was always on the same floor, the elevator, which doesn't stop on 9 (because that's where the "Vault" is) can't suddenly stop on 9 a hundred pages later (at least not without some sort of explanation). So, another chart -- this one of the building and what's on each floor.

In my first draft, I ended up with a character who had two different middle initials on two different pages. Luckily, I caught that one!

So I think detail is extremely important if it impacts on the continuity or the storyline itself. Otherwise, I don't worry much about it. I don't want to turn into Jean Auel and spend 37 pages talking about the blades of grass in a valley (and if you think I'm exaggerating, read "The Plains of Passage"!).

What I usually do when alot of characters are involved in a story is to write the names out on a list and have it in front of me. I do this to make sure I spell it right each time and also to make sure that many of the characters are not forgotten when writing the story.

I learned the hard way when I wrote about a human wizard named Graycloud and found him on the 14th chapter writing Cloudgray!

That is when I wrote a chart on names. It doesn't end with just the characters, but also places and special objects are also written to keep mistakes out of the story.

Well this Writer's Workshop on Mingle2 will not overwhelm your email. So feel at home and share your experiences, questions, and projects if you like.

I am in the 7th chapter of the story

Oh wow! You are on a roll! Good work! Now do you have an outline of all the chapters or do you just write as you go?

I write as I go because the ideas are always changing

John -- Here's a snip of something that I consider fun. Let me set this up -- a girl named Lyndsey has inadvertantly discovered a new color. No one else can see it. So she decides to take the piece of newspaper, on which the new color has been created, to school with her and see if anyone else notices it.

Actually, this particular bit is more about the art teacher, but it all ties together:

**********

On Monday, she takes the crinkled piece of newspaper to school with her. She has devised a way to test people on their ability to see the new color.

What she does is this: she tells each one that she has mixed some colors from existing paints, and she would like their opinion as to which of the mixed colors they feel would look best on a random product – a shirt, a wall, a car, etc.

She does not tell them that there are four mixed colors on the paper. She simply asks them to look at the blobs of paint they see, and decide which one they like best.

She figures that if anyone actually does see the new color, their reaction will give it away.

It doesn’t. No one sees it, or admits to seeing it. At the end of the day, the vote goes 14 for orange, 11 for blue, and 6 for gray.

She asks her English teacher, her history teacher, and her math teacher. None of them sees it, either.

Finally, she goes to the art teacher, a rotund, snowmanlike fellow named Mr. Chastain. (He is often drawn, by his students, with a carrot for a nose, and an old stovepipe hat.)

Mr. Chastain looks approvingly at the newspaper, holds it up in front of himself at different angles, making “mmmmmm” noises as he does so.

“Modern art,” he finally says, favoring Lyndsey with a brief grin. “It is made of nothing and everything, yet people tend to pooh-pooh it whenever they see it. Warhol could have told you that, he understood. A Brillo box. It is art, too, because it represents an aesthetic – a failed aesthetic, perhaps, but then a successful aesthetic generally ceases to be any kind of aesthetic at all.”

Lyndsey has no idea what the man is talking about. She suspects that, perhaps, he doesn’t either.

“A successful aesthetic – do you know what that becomes, Lyndsey? A trend, a tradition, a timeless and tedious inertia. It’s why we have two political parties, really. If you think about it. The common man has no stomach for subtlety, let alone choice, in any real sense of the word. The shame – the real and true crying shame – is that no one cares anymore. Art is art is art, no? No. It’s product, it’s a sellout. Self-sellout, really, because art is art is art is money now. Take out some of the extraneous arts, and art is money. Why? Because it represents the people who create it, and those people are all obsessed with money.”

She wants to interrupt him, but she is stumped as to how or when to make the attempt.

“Creativity has been put into a box, and then the box has been nailed shut. And buried. At sea, or maybe in space. Our creativity nowadays is like a gun with no bullets. You can hold it in your hand and threaten people, but it has no bite. There’s no ammo. All that’s left is a hand holding a gun, and a few memories of loud bangs.”

“Mr. Chastain, I wanted to ask you a question about this newspaper.”

“Hmmmmmm? Oh, yes, of course. I notice you have placed some colors onto a few small areas of the page. It strikes me as an indictment of the world at large. News is product no less than art is product. You combine the two, in a minimalist setting – small dots of color intruding on small bits of news. Reductio ad absurdum. At what point does the relevance, the meaning, the clarity, the direction, disappear altogether? Is this an extra credit project? I’ll tell you what, it shows an interesting perspective on art. The contrast, the colored spots on the black and white newsprint, this is a dichotomy. I like it. It’s good. It’s not MOMA good, but it’s good. I’ll give you a B+. How’s that?”

Lyndsey brushes her hair out of her eyes. “That’s great, Mr. Chastain, I could really use the extra credit, but I also wanted to ask you a question about the colors.”

The teacher peers at the paper again, turns it, shifts it, holds it above his head.

“I like the gray the best, to be honest. It has a sort of solid nobility to it. I could see wearing a suit that color, if I wanted to blend in somewhere and not be noticed. It’s a soothing color. The blue is a bit infantile for my tastes, and the orange is a bit too gaudy. I would say tone it down, add some yellow, make it less metallic.”

“And those are the only colors you see?”

Chastain looks again; and, for just a fraction of a second, Lyndsey is convinced that he sees something there, something different and unusual...

But no.

“Newsprint, a few grainy photos, and a bad drawing of the sun up in the corner with the weather forecast. Oh, and there seems to be an empty white spot for some reason. But I don’t see any more colors.”

He offers the newspaper page back to her. She takes it, and sighs. “OK, thanks, Mr. Chastain. I will think about what you said....”

....until I understand it, which will probably take another 4000 years....

Just a question to the OP and rest here,,You have all read some of me on here.
I have no great talent with english skills,,,,but?

Do you THINK,,I could write a book,,in most of my ways of writting on here. And have it read or sold to make any money from it?

I have thought about it for a couple of years now.

My Life, on a single's site.

TRUST ME, YOU won't hurt my feelings if you said, 'I SUCK'.

I just would like an honest answer to this and me,wink...

from,,the best writers, readers, we have here,,,,YOU GUYS!,Wink.

This particular writing has the reader also curious about what color are they looking for? I mean how was it determined to get a B+ anyway? It is a good grade nevertheless, but the art teacher surely is detailed about the work she does.

It was a great read and kept me curious the whole time.

First I would think that one has to believe they can write a book. Never say I suck! Writing isn't a lucrative job in my opinion. It can be a great hobby though!

Now the publishing business is a whole different situation. That is where it gets hard, upsetting, and even discouraging, yet once accepted and selling those millions of copies, your perspective will change alot.

The big question is how to get a publishing company to accept you. You better write one darn good book is all I can say. A book that can get people off their toes.

Now if your book is about yourself and being single. I would say that "reality shows" seem to be doing great on television. I would say that you have good chances in getting a book published if you make the reader laugh, cry, and keep those pages turning until 5 in the morning!

Concerning language structure, punctuations, and other iota of things one has to worry about when writing, I wouldn't worry too much about. This doesn't mean you shouldn't try, but there are some really good editors out there that can polish your work.

First step in my opinion, know what to write. Create a chapter outline of let us say 30 to 40 chapters. Each chapter 5 to 15 pages would be good. Now this isn't a guideline or anything. You can write 1 page chapters if you like! As long as it keeps the reader on his or her toes is what is important.

So once you have a chapter outline then just write, write, write! Express your feelings and just write it out. Don't worry about sequence of how it is written. You will soon see that you will be rewriting your sentences anyway until you have it to where you like it.

Also share your chapters if you like on Mingle2. There you will get opinions on it, but don't take it personal or as a final answer. Remember everyone has different taste on writing styles.

I hope this helps a little. So what I am saying is yes you have what it takes only if you believe you do.

Keep us updated and ask questions. You already know there are some great writers who like to hang out here on the forums all the time.

I hope this helps a little. So what I am saying is yes you have what it takes only if you believe you do.

Keep us updated and ask questions. You already know there are some great writers who like to hang out here on the forums all the time.





Smiless, Thank you for helping me understand and try this.
As I do feel I have excellent inter personal communications skills as my strong point to realize it has merit in this present time.

If I can convey to pages of my book, as I have here on these pages. I should be able to obtain and possess a readers interests to read more.

I want to show the world what a simple thing, like being on the Internet, and joining a site with strangers on it, can be like.

The importance of this book is for other's to have as a guideline
if they wish to become an Internet junkie, or might be one now.
Yet still be educated on ones inter abilities to show them how to
become anyone's friend on the Net.

This place changed my whole outlook on who I am, and what I am capable of achieving just with words and through this keyboard.
I came on here unable to spell much past a six letter word,wink.
A Webster's dictionary laid open and with-in hands reach.
Talking using a keyboard and my fingers was as new to me as spelling

When I first started on here, nobody even noticed me or my picture.
I wanted to try and understand, WHY?
So into the archives of past forums I read, and read...
At that time on here we were called Just Say Hi, and the site was two months new, lol.

I kept seeing post by this one guy who had ten and twenty page posts. His picture made him look like a bad azz, leather jacket, no shirt on underneath. I thought hummmmm, maybe this bad boy look, works?

I read on many forums and saw many faces, the ones who were seen and read most importantly, liked.
They all had one thing in common, Tough, bad look image, or James Dean look-a-likes,wink.

So I looked in the mirror and thought, what can I do to look mean?
If I was muscle bound, no problem.
If I had a bunch of tats or piercings,cool. But I didn't!
So then I thought about a bandanna around my head with a mean look on my face. I put one on and then had to try different views of me from a recent bought, net cam.

I found one that had me looking hard azz...so I posted it right away. BOOM, a small explosion of excitement on my screen.
One after the other, sending me their Hi's and WOWS.
Before the night was over, I had made more friends in three hours that I had in the last three weeks.
All being impressed with my new look. That bad boy image BECAME ME.
I never changed WHO I was, just the 'look' I was.
Now, when I went on a post, everyone said HI.

THIS is the me I want to show, real, honest and just a guy HERE.
The involvements with strangers who became my dear friends, their struggles and hurdles as to what brought them on here.
The many who just up and leave you.
The players, the cons, the liars who use you.
The teaser's who only play with the word love and deep.but never really feeling that emotion.
Losing a friend here to death, yet never to have had the chance to meet them in person.


The ones who came here to escape the real world, who suffer anxiety
depression, blindness, disfigured, over-weight, skinny.
No self es-ten, and the ones bound by a wheelchair.
All of the souls here in their shadowed halls.
Wanting to come out and play, but can't for fears held inside.
Their here,,now. But you will never read one typed word from them.

This would be some of my thoughts as to content, and conviction to complete.

Plus, my popularity gained me the seat of this site's first,(unofficial) moderator here..
There is so much MORE life that gets played here behind these pages, private emails, phone calls to one another.
Gossip, lies, heart breaks, and many joyous rides to the alter.

Many here now, have no real idea all that happens here,wink.

Games that destroy lives, Affairs of all kinds, fake people who hid in a fake picture, be them male or female.
Yet they post a fake picture.

Life and times on this Internet, has allowed me to meet Jesus Christ.

I found GOD on the Internet, all of that and me and his story.
Was through me opening my heart for a friend diagnosed with cancer
and already living her life beyond breast cancer.

I am open to everyone to write and tell me their
opinions, or suggestions as to what they think?

Thanks again for your wisdom and time to tell me and help me Smiless
I greatly appreciate all your help...

A good book to write and continue Terry. How to find happiness by using the Internet.

Keep writing and collect the pages. Each day write 1 or 2 pages.

Then go back and form them into chapters.

Eventually you will have created a work that might even effect someones life in a positive way.

A great book is "Peaceful Warrior"

It also has become a movie later on.

It is spiritual in many ways and also philosophical.

Keep writing. Good work

The Biggest Lie (short Story)

Another night gone by, kids having fun, playing ball, laughter, no drugs, no violence. I locked the gym up for the night and proceeded to go home. The night seemed eerily still, this was my thought when all of a sudder I heard pow pow pow pow pow , maybe more, the crying out of a tormented soul, I really don't know what came first, the gunshots or the moaning. Running around the corner, I spotted the lonely figure lying against the telephone pole. My heart sank as I realized who it was. Durrell, a 10 year old child, the life of the youth program, my little helper, my I'll do everything for you "Mr Bob", just let me hang out. I went to him, blood splattered everywhere, he had been shot in the back 3 times. I held him, when he looked up at me and asked, : am I going to die, Mr. Bob", I told him, "no I wouldn't let that happen to my little buddy", he passed right then and there.
I was furious at the world, I hated everyone and everything in it at that moment. It was a bitter experience for me to swallow. Here was a child who fought with everything he had to grow up, to play, to give of himself, to want to be needed and appreciated, and yet he was gunned down like a rabid dog in the filthy streets of philadelphia. Empty crack vials surrounded his lifeless body, the same thing that he fought so hard to get away from, was what killed him (dealers fighting over territory) For a few months I continued this silent rage inside of me, I just kept thinking, what a senseless death and how unfair. I prayed many a night to find Gods reasoning for this.....
Durrells parents were both strung out and his father was very abusive to him and his other 8 siblings. After Durrell's death, the parents got clean, the mother and father, both go to church regularly and have become outstanding members of the community. I commend them highly, but all in all I'd still rather have my little he;per back. I do believe that his death now did have a purpose and it's nice to know that he didn't die for nothing. I'm so sorry Durrell for having lied to you, may you forgive me and enjoy heaven....Mr. Bob

Wow this is a very sad story. I heard that Philly is one of the most dangerous cities in the nation to live in. I hear it all the time from people who are from there. What ashame that this cannot be resolved so kids can grow up in peace.

Whatever it is worth, I believe that such a story should be passed around to as many people as possible to understand the significance of trying to keep peace on the grounds.

Thank you HuckleberryFinn for sharing this with us.

I have dedicated more then half of my life helping children that are less fortunate as a Red Cross worker and still continue to participate as a member for the UNICEF programs. It just seems like it will never be enough.