Writing Forums - Blogs http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php A writing forum, dedicated to creative writing, where writers can post short stories and poetry, enter writing contests, read author interviews, and discuss writing. en Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:55:17 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.writingforums.org/images/wf/misc/rss.jpg Writing Forums - Blogs http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php My New Avatar http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3559 Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:44:31 GMT So I got this new avatar (and profile pic) that I thought I'd use now. I didn't actually "get" it. I DREW it! I used GIMP. I used to have an animated .gif of a Calvin and Hobbes' strip on my profile, but it was getting old, and I was getting bored of having an actual picture of me for all to see.

Anyway, I'm very proud--first one that turned up halfway decent. Because I'm not an artist. If you don't believe me PM me, I have a cool before and after thing I put on my Facebook, and I also have the full-sized 800x1000 picture. :D

It's based off of a book IDEA and I now HAVE to write the actual story, don't I?

I'm not artistic but I do like to get my ideas down in some kind of pictorial form.

Do any of you do Photoshop? GIMP? Photomanipulating/Digital drawing? How crappy do you think my picture is? Tips? Questions? (oh yeah, I'm a total guru >.>)

Finally, does it make you want to know the rest of the story?

I'm going to put my link down...it's the SAME as the one in my profile/avatar, and it's JUST a .jpg file. If C or one of the admins wants to delete the link, fine, no biggie. If you want to see it just PM me and I'll email it or something back to you.

http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/z...aracter5-1.jpg ]]> TheNewGuy http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3559 Perfect Love And Perfect Trust http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3551 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:29:03 GMT

Greetings to all who read these words! I pray you have a blessed day...

Perfect Love And Perfect Trust
May you know peace of mind and a spirit connected...
May love and laughter fill your days and nights...
May you know joy in your heart and gratitude in your spirit...
May you always be true to yourself and your word...
May you accept life's lessons with dignity and grace...
May you teach others what you have learned...
May you use your knowledge and talent for the greater good of all...
May you respond to others with respect and concern, free of judgment and resentment...
May you always notice the beauty surrounding you...
May you know balance and harmony with Mother Earth and all her inhabitants...
May God show you to perfect love and perfect trust...
Written by Becky Jo Gibson © Jan 2004

I hope you enjoy this poem...Please feel free to copy it and send it to the people you love! Just remember to leave the written by text in the poem with the ©.
Be good to yourself! God Bless...
Becky Jo ]]> InspiredHippyChick http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3551 The End http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3549 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:30:10 GMT

The End

Rage towards who was once the only man for me.
His words echo, ripping open my body mind and soul.
Aware time heals reaching for blind eyes that see.
No one but me can ever make me whole.

Stretch out my limbs to work out the kinks.
I notice my body seeps slowly my blood.
Searching for anything real, find the missing link.
My feet take me nowhere, emptiness floods.

His eyes, smile, the movement of his lips.
His caress, slap, pinch, kiss, all fill my mind.
His smell, the chemistry that moved our hips.
His voice, soft touch, rough love, one of a kind.

These are the ghosts that keep me tied.
My heart knows there is nothing there for us.
When I sit with this I feel part of me has died.
Struggling to accept the end of our lust.

Blood pours from my center dripping down.
Pain has no limit taking my peace of mind.
I scream his name but there is no sound.
Take my suffering and allow me to unwind.

Give me back my sanity and just let me be.
Open my heart without it breaking in two.
Show me how to be free of him give me the key.
I beg, plead, crawl, please show me what to do.

Written by Becky Jo Gibson Sept. 07©
]]> InspiredHippyChick http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3549 Does Twentieth Century Poetry Constitute an Incontestable Break ... http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3547 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:21:59 GMT Does Twentieth Century Poetry Constitute an Incontestable Break with the Poetry that Preceded it? The answer to this question is rather complex.... Does Twentieth Century Poetry Constitute an Incontestable Break with the Poetry that Preceded it?

The answer to this question is rather complex. While it is true that modern poetry is a great change from the poetry of a few centuries ago; is it really an ‘incontestable break’ with the work that preceded it? There is strong reason to think it is not. Of course, there is a difference between modern poetry and the poetry of, say, the 19th century; but though they may be different, this does not mean that they are not similar in a number of ways. There are a number of different approaches and styles in modern poetry, some have evolved directly from these earlier forms; while others are different from past poetry in a more fundamental basis, but still carry many of the same, or similar ideas.

Modern poetry comes from - and was mostly inspired by - the Modernists, of which the most famous poets were working during the inter-war years (1918 – 1938) with writers and poets such as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Ernest Hemmingway however, Modernism can still be considered to be present in modern poetry, however, I will return to this later.

The Modernists were writers who took an interest in more modern forms of art, such as television and radio and film, and took influence from them. It is this expanse in cultural influences that – and with no accident – seen new ideas and concepts introduced to poetry; such as free verse, and new ideas were bought into the changing art of poetry, in a reflection of the changing world. The influence of Modernism on newer poets is plain to see: their subjects and themes of isolation and disillusionment are shared by poets such as Philip Larkin and Dylan Thomas. Where is the influence of the earlier poets? Philip Larkin’s poem This Be The Verse (1971) is an example of very traditional form in modern poetry. It is set into quatrains of strict metric length, with a fixed rhyme scheme. This example shows that even in modern poetry the pre-modernist conventions are still alive and respected by poets.

T.S. Eliot is another example of a Modernist, poet using old-fashioned poetical conventions in poems such as The Hippopotamus and Burbank with a Baedeker. This is not restricted to Modernist poets either: James Fenton’s The Kingfisher’s Boxing Gloves (1980) for example also has a fixed rhyme and metric scheme, and uses nature, and animals in the natural world as a theme. This is showing these poets have taken influence from earlier eras, while other works show these same poets challenging the conventions of these earlier movements; with works such as Eliot’s The Hollow Men and Ezra Pound’s In a Station of the Metro - this challenge to the previous poets comes most notably in the form of free verse. In Shamus Heaney’s work (another notable modern poet) we can see influence from earlier poems too. Heaney, though there is no rhyme or strictly metered stanzas in most of his work, does use a very idealistic view of country life – like the poetry of the romantics – and very pastoral images in poems such as Churning Day and Anahorish. Pastoral imagery is a depiction of an idealized, simplistic, Sheppard life, commonly depicting an idyllic life in ancient Greece, which John Milton used to good effect in his elegiac poem Lycidas.

An elegy is a poem that moans the passing of a person who is presumably close to the poet. Elegiac poems are, too, still found today. W.H. Auden is one poet who still writes elegies; and elegies - in one form or another - are maybe always going to be present in poetry, as people and ideas keep dying, and it is not unheard of to write an elegy for an idea. For example there were many elegiac poems about the collapse of Communism written during the 1990s.

Mention has been made of free verse. This style of poetry arose in the early 20th century and it is unmetered and unrhymed – a specific rebellion against the poetry that presided it. This style can be found in many modern poets work; T.S. Eliot being the most famous for it, and poets such as D.H. Lawrance, Ezra Pound, and Christopher Reid to name a few have used free verse to good effect. Does this mean, then, that poems in Free Verse do not share anything with their versed counterparts? Ezra Pound’s poem The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter discuses the life of a woman who marries her childhood love, only for him to leave at sixteen and not return. This poem not only has a narrative, like earlier poems (especially literary ballads such as Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner) but the way in which the life of the two characters in the poem is depicted is almost an idyllic form of childhood; and with the many references to nature in this poem; the Romantics clearly have an influence here.

This is not to say that at the turn of the 20th century there was a big rebellion against older forms of poetry either; but this rebellion seems to have been present in the poetry of the 1800s too – only in less obvious ways. Edgar Allen Poe, for example, sometimes broke the conventions in his poetry. Poems such as Dream-Land and The City in the Sea show what could be considered to be the seeds of Modernism. For example, Dream-Land features uneven stanzas and lines, and also has two lines spaced out of place; effectively being their own stanzas; also (unlike the rest of the poem) spaced away from the side of the page. The City in the Sea also features uneven lines and stanzas – while this may not seem so revolutionary today, it was at the time, considering other poems by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Matthew Arnold, Rudyard Kipling and Rufus Griswold generally stuck to strict stanzaic form.

In 19th century French poetry we see a rebellion against conventions too, perhaps most clearly in the form of the work of Arthur Rimbaud, who with his short literary life and rather small amount of work has been a notable influence on many modern poets, and especially the beat poets Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. This rebellion is also more interesting as, unlike English poetry – which was more accepting of new ideas and forms – French poetry was much stricter in its view of how a poem was written and composed. Rimbaud also employed free verse (or vers libre) such as this example from Illuminations:

Quote:
Le mouvement de lacet sur la berge des chutes du fleuve,
Le gouffre à l’étambot
La célérité de la rampe,
L’énorme passade du courant
Mènent par les lumières inouïes
Et la nouveauté chimique
Les voyageurs entourés des trombes du val
Et du strom.
This would have been, at the time, very shocking, and a great departure from what the other French poets were doing. However, free verse – which was not to be popularised for another fifty years – can also be found in English poetry as far back as the 1700s, with Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart.

We can be in little doubt that the world and zeitgeist has changed dramatically since the time of Poe and Rimbaud. Modern poetry then, conforms to this change, and be a part of it at the same time. One of the great events that signaled this big change in the world was The First World War. It is during this conflict that many new poets found notoriety.

Much of the poetry from this period is more pessimistic in tone; showing a fractured world, and dealing with the bitter conflict in verse. These war poets: such as Wilfred Owen, Wilfred Gibson, and Siegfried Sassoon: were famous for taking old clichés and turning them into new, and more interesting metaphors. An example of this is Wilfred Owen’s Greater Love which begins thus: “Red lips are not so red/As the stained stones kissed by the English dead.” Wilfred Owen also used unconventional stanzas in his work (such as Dulce et Decorum Est), which not only reinforced the theme of the poem, but also clearly influenced the Modernists who came to prominence just after WW1.

The work of T.S. Eliot was clearly influenced by the War Poets, and it is thought that the first part of The Waste Lands could be talking about the effects the war had on the minds of the populous, people who say this often point to these lines as an example:

Quote:
Unreal City,
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
T.S. Eliot was interested in everyday life, and used rather dark and ugly imagery in his poetry and this darkness was influenced by the tone of the work of the War Poets, and also influenced the work of more recent poets as well.

So really, modern poetry is far from an ‘incontestable break with the poetry that preceded it’, but it is rather the result of a long evolutionary line of different poets and different styles; all having their influence on the poetry of today, and the changing face of poetry as an artistic form - in one way or another. And since today there is more access to poetry, such as the internet, and through songs, this increasing speed in the development of poetry seems likely to continue; as, like during the Dark Ages, a lot of poetry is now passed around as song. And with the great number of different styles and genres of music, like the great number of different styles of poetry (with more and more emerging and developing all the time) poetry then seems to have a way of developing, challenging and expanding the way no other artistic expression can.

So it is true that there are differences between the standard poem of today when compared to 200 years ago – but this is really missing the very many similarities, and not just in form, but in what poetry means to us. Ted Hughes once said ‘Poetry is the voice of spirit and imagination and all that is potential’ and this seems to be exactly the same attitude that the poets of previous ages had held. ]]> Lemex http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3547 Daily Science Fiction http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3546 Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:03:44 GMT "The Fosterling" will be sent out to the email subscribers of this new magazine in early September. It will also become available on the website.

Jain Harley, captain of the King's Guard, has the mission of fetching the prince, future Hepastian IV, from the foster mother he has lived with for the past seven years in the slums of Zenith, learning the ways of the poorest of his future people. It's the way things always have been--a way that has always produced great kings in the future--but now it just seems to be producing a distraught woman and a very sad kid. And, for Jain, another one of those damn migraines. ]]> MumblingSage http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3546 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (A...Review?) http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3529 Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:22:12 GMT Hey everyone. I've been kind of busy lately...too busy to keep posting on my stories, apparently...:( But I'll get over it.

This isn't a real review, but please comment if you liked/hated the movie. I may indeed respond backatcha!

I recently went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World with a bunch of friends and a girlfriend. I never read the comics (manga?) but I heard they were really good, and the trailer looked fantastic (I am a bit of a geek, so...). All of my friends had read at least one of the comics, so I was seated in the 'fan' section. :D

ANYWAYS, the movie was good. I always thought Michael Cera was a little funny, but he really tops out in this movie. I thought he was hillarious in Arrested Development. Year One kind of ruined him for me, because it was just so...retarded. IMO.

Michael Cera wasn't the best thing about the movie though. All of the other cast members were funny too. The music...well, it was heavily alternative, which I like, but I didn't like most of the Sex Bob-Omb songs. Most of the soundtrack consisted of music from "Sex Bob-Omb," "Crash and the Boys," Beck, and one song from Metric ("Black Sheep") wish I really liked. It's been on XM radio for awhile, but apparently is only available in the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack album. Guess some people will have to find another way to listen to these songs xD.

But like I said, the music just gave the movie this indie-rock/alternative vibe. The music during the battle scenes was a mix between the composer's works and music from one band or another.

Needless to say, the movie was extremely quotable, and hillarious, and if you haven't seen it yet (IT CAME OUT TWO DAYS AGO, GET ON IT! Just kidding.), you should go see it soon. Oh, four out of five, maybe four-and-a-half. I could watch it a couple of times, because it was just so funny. Not a lot of movies these days are.

What did you think of the movie? I heard it wasn't *exactly* like the comics. Did that screw it up for you readers who've...read...the original works?

--TheNewGuy ]]> TheNewGuy http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3529 YES! Adventure of Link is Finished http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3497 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:42:56 GMT After watching some of the guys at Zelda Eternity (http://zeldaeternity.com/) play some Zelda for a 96 Hour Marathon to raise money forNational... After watching some of the guys at Zelda Eternity play some Zelda for a 96 Hour Marathon to raise money forNational Breast Cancer Foundation

I thought I would finally complete Zelda 2 after being stuck on Dark Link forever. I had heard of a trick to beating him but never looked into it. Something about the trick seemed sorta like cheating. But I finally knew what it was after seeing the AVGN's review on Zelda 2.(which was a great episode too)

So I figured I might aswell use it. So I did and I finally beat Dark Link and saved the Princess!!

Though I would feel like I cheated but after all the crap I had to go through just to get to his Dungeon. I say screw it. Of course it might have been easier if I didn't have to relearn the tricks to dodging and beating some of the enemies...

Either way I finally FINALLY beat it! It only took a few years(with loooong breaks inbetween because of my frustration)

So yes!!

(now go donate...) ]]> Unit7 http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3497 “The Holy Machine” by Chris Beckett – A Review http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3482 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:44:46 GMT [Copied and pasted from my external blog. Please do take a look. I'm trying to update regularly, every few days or so]

(Corvus, 294pp, £12.99)

"The Holy Machine" by Chris Beckett
I bought this book for a few reasons, which should probably be made clear before I begin dissecting it. First amongst them, was the review of this UK release in Interzone #229, which gave a pretty glowing summary of it. Second, and related, was the quotation on the front, from the Interzone review of the US release, which gave an even-more-glowing summary. Third was the beautifully made cover (I actually looked this up, and it’s by designer Andy Vella, whose work is worth a look). And finally, when I read the first few paragraphs, in Waterstones Southend, I instantly recognised that this was a competent writer.

And a competent writer, Beckett certainly is. The bio on the back flap proclaims this as his first novel, which is a hopeful state of affairs when you start off this good. Yeah, I enjoyed it a lot.

It was a very well written story, with believable characters, a blisteringly exciting pace, and a wonderfully vibrant and intriguing world. Set in a future where the entire world (apparently) has turned religious fundamentalist (precisely which religion seems not to matter, as long as you’re verging on the psychotic with it), apart from one solitary city in the Balkans, which has become the refuge of atheism and science (for the first part of the book, at least, seemingly the same thing). Of course, in predictable fashion, it seems to be moving towards an atheist fundamentalist theocracy.

But the story itself focuses on socially maladjusted main character George, and his relationship with sex-bot Lucy, who at the same time is becoming self-aware. The whole thing culminates in a madcap flight through the theo-pathic outlands, as the two try to outrun the various different parties who want to destroy them.

The main advantage this story has is its pace. It keeps moving forward with such unrelenting action and excitement, that it becomes a difficult book to put down, even if there are rather important things you should be doing instead. And the pace also helps the plot, which if you give it any thought at all is rather predictable. But it scoops the reader up, and immerses them to such an extent that they don’t have time to see it coming (and don’t really care if they do). This really is storytelling at its very best.

There are, however, things that I can criticise. And I’m going to. The first, and most obvious, is the central idea. That people would react against science, becoming ultra-religious and anti-scientific, seems ridiculously far-fetched. It doesn’t really help that Beckett doesn’t give a particularly strong reason for said theocratic revolution, it just sort of…happens. The whole story resting on this tenuous conceit is a bit risky, and with a lesser writer would probably collapse in on itself. As it is, if you can bring yourself to look past that, the story will carry you along, and the message that Beckett is trying to get across (namely, the dangers of restricting belief, in either direction), will make up for the stretch.

But my biggest criticism, is that it’s just too short. The pace that I’ve mentioned before worked really well for telling the story, but there was so much that I felt I, as a reader, was missing. Beckett creates an endlessly fascinating world here, and it seems a real shame that he marches his readers through it at breakneck speed, with nary a chance for a look around. There were things mentioned in passing, happening elsewhere, that I would have liked to hear more about. And given that it was narrated in a past-tense first-person perspective, which a couple of times diverged to look at other sub-plots, I don’t really see why it couldn’t have done so more.

But really, it’s a fairly petty complaint, that only speaks to the calibre of this book. It gets you so into it, that when it’s done you find yourself as the metaphorical Oliver Twist, meekly asking (or maybe clamouring) for more. I highly recommend this book, as an example of good storytelling, and good science fiction. It has a message, as well as a story, to tell, and whilst many will not agree with that message, it will make you thing. And what more do you want from a book? ]]> Banzai http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3482 Flash! AAH-aah! http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3460 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:04:52 GMT [Copied and pasted from my external blog. Please do take a look. I'm trying to update regularly, every few days or so]

This is a follow-up to my previous post on the subject, "The Art of Flashing". It’s not going to be a long piece, but I wanted to write it for several reasons.

1) The awesome title occurred to me only several days after the original flash fiction entry.
2) I do really like flash fiction.
3) I was contacted by Alan Presley, who asked me to pimp the Micro Award. Which I’m more than happy to do

The Micro Award is for outstanding flash fiction, published in the previous year. It probably doesn’t sound frightfully interesting, but really literary awards are important for recognition of outstanding fiction, and are a massive deal in the industry. They showcase the very best of what’s going on, a snapshot of the top. And they often cause controversy and debate (for example, the Booker prize recently ignored genre fiction again, and rolled out the same bollocks in explanation of that. But that’s a different debate).

But more than that, this award is an essential ingredient if flash is to be considered a genuine mode of literary art. I already made my feelings on flash fiction clear in my previous entry, and I have a lot of respect and admiration for the authors who can form a complete, engaging and satisfying story in only 500 words.

The award has just been taken over by Alan Presley (previously having been run by Robert Laughlin), and is gathering momentum. And best of all, it’s open to all genres, recognising all equally. Which, if you’ve read my previous posts, you know is something I’m more than a little passionate about. If you’re interested in flash fiction, or in the award, you should definitely take a look at the Micro Award website.

Also, while I’m plugging away, I’ll give the Escape Pod flash contest (yes, you have to register on their forum to see and vote on the stories, but at least it’s free) another nod. There are a lot of entries, so it’s gonna be going on for a while (and I’ll be flogging it on here until it’s a bloody mess of twitching organs). I have two stories in it, one of which is through to the quarter finals, and one of which is still in the first round. It’s still blind, and I’m still not going to say which are mine, but you should really read through all of them. There are brilliant examples of both flash fiction, and sci-fi in general, on there. ]]> Banzai http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3460 Ramblings of a Mad Woman http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3456 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:08:48 GMT I have never been very good at hiding my emotions. I wear my joy and my sorrow out there for everyone to see. These past two years have been the... I have never been very good at hiding my emotions. I wear my joy and my sorrow out there for everyone to see. These past two years have been the hardest in my life and I feel like I have lost a part of myself. I am wracked with guilt over what happened to my boys. It seems like it is harder for me to deal with than it was for them. They are the true victims and I'm the one who is still trying to heal.

I have developed medical issues and found myself in the torments of depression. Coupled with no medical insurance, it makes this an impossible thing to overcome. On several occasions, I seriously contemplated suicide....well, murder/suicide.....I'd take out the bastard that hurt my boys as long as I was putting out my own lights in the process.

I've gained 15-20 pounds since May. I was a chunky girl to begin with, but now I'm just fat. I have NO energy and hardly sleep. When I do sleep, I have horrible nightmares.

I already said that I can't hide my emotions, so why is it that the people who are closest to me have no idea what's going on? Are they really that oblivious? Did they just stop caring?

I wish my life never went down this path, but since I can't change the past, I have to figure out how to deal with the present so I can have a better future. ]]> FoxyMomma http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3456 <![CDATA[The (Tory)pion and the Fox [Political Flash Fiction]]]> http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3452 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:14:38 GMT [Copied and pasted from my external blog. Please do take a look. I'm trying to update regularly, every few days or so]


The Tory(pion) and the Fox
By Matthew S. Dent


There is an ancient fable, told as a warning against excessive foolishness or trust. It tells that there was once a Liberal Democrat fox, called Nick, who lived on the opposition bank, of the river Parliament. One day he heard someone calling his name.

Turning around, he saw a gathering of Tory scorpions. ‘Nick,’ they said. ‘Nick, please help us.’

‘Help you?’ he asked, suspicious. All foxes knew that scorpions were not to be trusted- especially Tory scorpions.

‘We need to get to the other side of the river,’ the lead scorpion, called Dave, explained. ‘We need to get to the government bank, but there aren’t enough of us to get across.’

Nick looked over at the other bank. It was green and fertile, with food a plenty, and many comfortable places to sleep in the sun. Although he had always lived on the opposition bank, he had never stopped dreaming of one day making it to the government bank.

‘But I’m just a fox,’ he said. ‘There are too many obstacles. I could never manage to land on the other side.’

‘We’ll help you,’ one of the scorpions, George, whispered to him. ‘If you take us across, we will let you stay.’

Nick considered this carefully. It was very tempting. No fox had set foot on the government bank in almost a hundred years. But he was still suspicious.

‘You’re scorpions,’ he said. ‘And Tories. Everyone knows what you’re like. You’ll sting me. and cut public services, lower taxes for the rich and neglect the poor.’

‘No!’ Dave said, with a chuckle. ‘Why would we do that? We haven’t been on the other bank for thirteen years, because we did that. If we did it again, we’d drown too. Why would we do that?’

Nick thought on this long and hard. He considered it for several days, talking to the other animals, while the Tory scorpions grew impatient. Eventually he returned to them with the other foxes, to give them an answer.

‘Alright,’ he said. ‘We’ll carry you across on our backs. But we want our pick of the best sleeping spots on the other side.’

‘Certainly!’ Dave agreed, delighted.

So the foxes began swimming across the river, with the Tory scorpions on their backs. The water was cold, and turgid. It took all of the foxes’ efforts to get across. But as they drew away from the opposition bank, and towards the government bank, the scorpions stung the foxes, on whose backs they rode.

‘But why?’ Nick asked. The Tories were slashing public spending, raising VAT, continuing Trident, cancelling essential economic projects, politicising the police and destroying the education system.

As the water over his mouth and nose, he pleaded, ‘Why? You’ve drowned yourself too.’

Next to him, Vince Cable was sinking fast, as George stung him again and again.

‘Why?’ Dave laughed. ‘I’m a Tory. It’s in my nature.’

Is it an ancient fable? Perhaps not. But it might be one day. Wake up, Nick. ]]> Banzai http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3452 I Walk In The Shadows http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3448 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:36:52 GMT I was bored and the idea of a creature walking in the shadows sorta popped in my head. I didn't bother doing any real editing and the grammar is horrible but... oh well I was bored. lol


I feel as if I have always walked the shadows. Lurking in them, thriving within them. I was born in the light, but it was unforgiving. Looks and appearances meant everything to the light dwellers. I tried to fit in, I tried to make the friends that were expected of those who exist within the light.

Everything I did was under a microscope. Nothing I could do or say would go unchecked.

All eyes, even those belonging to those in the shadows, were upon you. Waiting for you to mess up, to say the wrong thing, to act the wrong way. When you are a light dweller, you are only a shell of your former self. You soon hollow out and become empty and void. Because you think this is what you want you begin to throw away everything that you are. You wear a stupid smile even when your heart is crying and screaming in agony.

You move through the halls and you begin to actually think you are above all else.This is a mistake You are not. You are never above anyone else . Because someone who is superior is not a marionette. Whose strings are being pulled by your fellow light dwellers whether you or they realize it.

I tried once to exist within this light. I hated everything about it. Now I dwell in the shadows and I am happy. I can do whatever I want with no one caring. I can be who I want, be with whomever I want. I can exist as I am. I can like what I like and love what I love.

Because I am a shadow dweller.

I walk the shadows knowing I am free, while you walk the light as a prisoner. ]]> Unit7 http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3448 <![CDATA[TheNewGuy's Booklist]]> http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3447 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:19:06 GMT Hello everyone!

I am bored and it's the middle of the night, so I thought I'd complie a list of books that I've read recently/or am still enchanted by. Tell me if you like any of these books, or if you would like to know more about them! You wont find Harry Potter on this list (though it is referenced many times) or Tolkien, or any other classics. These are (mostly) modern works.

Also, if you would like, you could help me decide what to read next. See below.

Fantasy
I'm real big into fantasy. I like anything to do with magic and swords. But I like well-written stuff, and modern as well. A good amount of violence, gore, profanity and sexuality doesn't hurt either, though there are a few books without these things that I like.

1. The Name of the Windby Patrick Rothfuss. Pat is a great new writer. I would keep my eye on him if I were you. If you love fantasy, then you'll love this book. I dub it Harry Potter for adults (or smart people!) It's fun, unique, and dark (to a point) but also light-hearted at times. Five stars! Can't wait for the sequel. Not as "adult" as the other books on this list, to be sure. Good for anyone :)
2. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (and its sequels). This awesome incomplete series is for adults! It has a great plot, and many characters. I like to use him as a role model (and indeed, many of the writers on this list did too, or were even read by him!). HBO is making this series into a TV show! It's VERY good! Suffice to say I've sort of lost my way with the fourth volume, and have yet to pick it back up.
3. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie (and its series, including Best Served Cold) Joe Abercrombie has a way of making even the most despicable characters seem likable. The writing style is so fast-paced yet eloquent, it's often what I strive to achieve in my own writing. These are the most recent books I've read, and I've read all 4 of them this year. I havent been this excited about a book since Harry Potter (and how young I was then...). Beware, he may have gone too far in his fourth book, you may even be morally disgusted. You've been warned. Probably my favorite series so far.
4. The Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg. Don't get his name confused with the guy who wrote some other books, this series is OLD. It's about a group of college students that get together and play D&D (or some other roleplaying game) and their professor (who happens to have some kind of power) transports them to the game world. They have really cool adventures, and eventually (in the other novels) they stay in this fantasy world, using their college education to bring firearms and other technology into this world. It's a very nerdy type of awesomeness. It was my bridge between Harry Potter and Name of the Wind. (Warning, adult language/themes, but not as bad as 3)

End of the World (as we know it♫)
I love the apocolypse. These are some books that I enjoyed reading/didn't read.
1. The Postman by David Brin. Excellent movie, but the book was just as good, if not better. The author's some kind of nuclear physicist give him some props!
2. World War Z by Max Brooks. ZOMBIES! Apparently it's very well written. This is a style that I have almost never seen before, so it's odd that it has come with so much success. Also, being made into a movie.
3. The Stand by Stephen King. I never read it (because I don't really like his style...too wordy) but the miniseries was great. I love the story and how he can make every character so unique and meaningful.
4. Day by Day Armageddon (author forgotten, google it) A zombie book written in the form of a day by day (almost) diary. Pretty unique style, written by a soldier in Iraq I believe. Very good.
5. Dying to Live (author unknown, for good reason) I liked this book, SORTA. Zombies, again. It seemed a little contrived, but still, a good look at humanity, and the opening chapters are well written. The second book was horrible. I put it down shortly after picking it up. Like the author decided to slip into a coma and the editor was too high on caffeine pills to clean it up a little before publishing.

line break for awesomeness:
6. Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling. This author is amazing, which makes myself really dissappointed in myself for not being able to make it through his sequel(s). Dies the Fire was an awesome, awesome book about the end of the world. Something happens where gasoline stops burning like it should, gunpowder doesn't work anymore, electricity doesn't work anymore...it totally destroys the world almost overnight. It's such a good book. The second one just...bored me. I suppose if you're a serious reader you can get through it; I've tried on 3 separate occasions, starting over again! But I've read the first one at least 4 times, it's so very good!

Thats all for apocolypses. For NOW. MUHAHAHA.

Children/Young Adult
Books that I enjoyed as a kid/growing up, that made an impact but I probably won't read again:

1. The Chronicles of Narniaby you know who. Get the BBC audio plays if you ever get the chance; they are unabridged and filled with awesomeness!
2. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
3. The City of Ember (who is this by..?)
4. Harry Potter ok fine its on the dang list.
5. Star Wars books (its been a while, but when you're invested in a world it's cool to see what people can do using it to tell a story.)
6. The Hobbit Okay, this too. Never read the Lord of the Rings though; I think The Hobbit is more modern; noone practical writes exactly like Tolkien nowadays anyway.
7. Ranger's Apprentice I haven't read more than the first 4. Now, they seem childish, but then, they were cool!

can't think of anymore. Though, I was quite a bookworm as a kid. I've slowed down now.

Okay, I was going to post what I'm trying to decide to read now, but I think noone will care after reading this ridiculously long list. So goodnight, WritingForums. Hope you enjoyed my list. ]]> TheNewGuy http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3447 <![CDATA[It's Here!]]> http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3446 Sun, 25 Jul 2010 10:47:22 GMT My Netbook is finally here!!!!!!!! My dad and I placed the order three days ago and it got here yesterday! I was up till two to three yesterday... My Netbook is finally here!!!!!!!!

My dad and I placed the order three days ago and it got here yesterday! I was up till two to three yesterday and now it's 5:36 AM I can see the first light of the day, and I'm still on this thing(on that note, this is my first entry on my new pc). It's taken so long today because most of what I've been doing is downloading things-Windows Live Photo Gallery, iTunes, OpenOffice(writing software), Limewire, etc. I also have a webcam now at my disposal, which means that whenever I want I can make a video of me singing and I can even post it up on Youtube if I want, there's a way you can transfer it over to Youtube. I can't wait to start writing my stories some more. I'll have to gather more things as soon as possible for my nonfiction, considering I had no idea the pc would be here so soon(it was supposed to take more than a week!).

Anyways, I'm elated, I'm proud, I'm excited, and I just wanted to go ahead and post my first blog on my new 'toy' as my mom puts it.

Signing Out
-Rinney ]]> Rinney http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3446 On 3D http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3440 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:01:23 GMT [Copied and pasted from my external blog. Please do take a look. I'm trying to update regularly, every few days or so]

When 3D first started rolling along and becoming the latest cinematic bandwagon, I was a bit uncertain. Avatar being the first 3D movie I saw probably didn’t help matters too much. But my opinion of it has, for a long while, been that it is nothing short of a gimmick, an excuse for cinemas to charge more for tickets, and for uninteresting and derivative films to be able to shout “Look at me! Look at me!”.

In my defence, look at the titles we’ve seen with 3D so far: My Bloody Valentine, Final Destination 4, Clash of the Titans, and so forth. Scarcely innovative filmmaking. I’ll add that I haven’t seen Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, so I might be talking out of my arse completely and that may use 3D in a completely different way. But I doubt it.

The thing about 3D is that I have yet to encounter a film where it’s actually incorporated into the plot, rather than being stuck on. If a film was to actually use the 3D element integrated into the plot (God knows how; I certainly don’t) then it might become the innovation that the film industry wants it to be.

That hasn’t happened yet, and I’m still not completely sold on 3D, but I’m a little more positive about it. What happened? I saw Toy Story 3 the other day.

Let me explain. When I saw Avatar in 3D, I was underwhelmed by it. And I mean in general- the story was so-so, the acting was fairly bland, and it was longer than my bladder was comfortable with. But aside from that, the 3D was a distraction from the film. I couldn’t follow the storyline as well, because every so often I caught myself stopping to admire the scenery. In the end, the film became more about the graphics than the story, which really should be a death knell for a film. And the most damning thing of all is that I’ve since seen it in 2D, and if anything it came across better.

Watching Toy Story 3, however, it wasn’t quite like that. Maybe it’s because the story was stronger (it was outstanding), the characters more engaging, and the film as a whole more complex, but I didn’t feel that the fact it was in 3D lessened the experience, or detracted anything. It was simply there; and I was focused on the film for the whole duration. Now, this might just be that Toy Story 3 was a much better film than Avatar, but if I’d seen this first, I’d probably be a whole lot more optimistic about 3D.

Now, don’t get me wrong here. Toy Story 3 was a great film, but I’m certain it would have been every bit as good as in 2D. The 3D graphics were still just as unnecessary, but here they were a neutral force. I was able to focus on the film, and enjoy the story (and, yes, tear up at the end) without having to stop every few minutes to think “OH MY GOD! IT’S IN 3D!”.

3D is still problematic, in my opinion. The glasses are a pain, and it has a tendency to cause headaches (Toy Story 3 didn’t, for some unknown reason, have the same disorientating effect on me that Avatar did), not to mention being exclusive of one-eyed audience members. But I suppose it not being a problem is the first step on the road to it being a good thing. It could, I think, be a great force for interactive entertainment, used with the right idea. Nintendo are going to be the first to use it with gaming, releasing the 3DS at some still-vague point in the future, but honestly I expect it will be another gimmick-fest, like its big brother the Wii.

We may have to wait some time to see whether 3D can be the film revolution that the film industry are so desperate for us to see it as. ]]> Banzai http://www.writingforums.org/blog.php?b=3440