You saw my posts in this thread. You know I don't hand out fish. I ask the member to show me what they have in their tackle box and what tackle they think best fits the need. Talk about misrepresentation. Posts that I see shutting down conversation will be removed.
I can't shut down conversations. You can. Just make sure that in doing so, you aren't making it one-sided. Isn't that just the kind of moderation you object to? I say again: My opinion is a legitimate one also. You are perfectly free to offer your own rebuttal, or to request clarification, without the need to delete posts that are not in violation of the site rules.
If I can butt in here ... I can see @Cogito's point. I totally agree that writing is NOT a communal activity. In fact, nothing makes me cringe more than folks writing a couple of lines - often the 'start' of a yet-unwritten trilogy - putting them on the forum and asking, in effect, 'what do you guys think?' My first impulse is to say (and I often do) - you need to finish what you've started, before you start worrying about what we think. It's like knitting the first two rows of a scarf, then showing it around and asking 'what do you think?' What we'll think is that we don't have a clue what this creation of yours is going to be. Get it finished, or at least get a good portion of it finished, before you start showing it around. However, I'm also not bothered by the idea of brainstorming certain aspects of a story. As @Wreybies says, this is what parts of the forum are actually for, or are certainly what will draw new writers into the forum. For me, the technique of brainstorming involves asking questions to get writers to seek answers which are already within them. Get the writer to start his/her own thinking processes by asking things like: "What do you hope/fear will happen to this character?" "How do you want this story to end?" "What do Rose and Billy see in each other?" Or: "If Muttley DOES decide to kill his mother, what will the consequences be? For him? For the rest of his family." It's goading writers into taking that next big step. Sometimes they seem to be so afraid of making a mistake that they feel they can't move on until they've got their first bits 'right.' I think, by brainstorming with pertinent questions allied to the plot details they give, it's possible to get them past that fear, and back into that heady atmosphere we call 'creation.' I do believe that just telling people to go away and think for themselves is not very helpful—even if it's essentially correct advice. The trick is to make them go away with something to think ABOUT. At least that's the way I play it here.
Of course you can. When you tell people what they are doing, what everyone participating in the thread is doing, is detrimental to their process, you shut the conversation down. When you're the first person to post such a post, it's very disheartening to the new member in search of help. Absolutely. This is what 'wit's end' looks like. I appreciate the permission you are offering me. That's not condescending in the least. No, not at all. And I would argue that such posts are in fact in violation of the first rule listed in the Forum Rules. There comes a point when cumulative effect pushes the whole over the edge that the individual post might not.
I've got to agree with @Wreybies, @GingerCoffee and @jannert. It's been my experience that brainstorming is useful. In my own case, I don't see that it's a lazy way to go about things, I just need a bit of extra stimuli to oil the rusty cogs. The last time @Wreybies struck a chord with me, it was something incidental to what we were discussing that stuck in my head. I went away and gave it some thought. He didn't actually say anything I hadn't thought myself, but somehow his line of questioning opened up a whole new perspective. He didn't just hand me a fish. He lent me his line. Last time Jan helped me out, it was by expressing worry over an event that happened to me. As we talked through it, we started to see potential in terms of writing a story and bounced some ideas around. It's not like I was passively accepting what she had to say, between us we really started to get my creative juices flowing. She stimulated something inside me that I have little conscious control over. I think it a mistake to think we all experience creativity in the same way. We are not carbon copies of each other, and the bouncing around of ideas does not necessarily make us creative parasites. Is it so unusual when writing for the masses, that we should seek ideas and insight from our potential readership? I find this as valid a form of research as any other. @Cogito. When I first joined up, and was starting to get an idea of the personalities on the forum—obviously you and Wreybies stood out. The first time I needed a bit of advice on punctuation, I was deciding who I should approach. Despite having read your articles and greatly appreciating the content, I would never have thought of sending to you because you exude something that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable as a complete novice. Your posts are so dry as to make you seem unapproachable, from my standpoint. Wrey on the other hand, I felt might be a bit more accommodating to someone in my position. He let me know that it was ok to to question and be unsure of myself. It helped my self confidence immensely.
I think this is rationalization. Anyone can respond with a dissenting opinion at any time. You're stuck on the motion that MY advice is harmful to the discussion, and I disagree strongly. Your frustration is again predicated upon the assumption that my advice is harmful and does not contribute to the discussion. I find this assumption offensive. Give it a rest. I have never condescended to you, and am not doing so now. I am merely pointing out that you have options that do not require using moderatio n to impose your own opinion. I know full well that it can be a fine line to walk, and moderators - including myself during my own tenure - are fallible. There is no disrespect toward posters in my response, nor any toward you. I am trying to help with advice I feel is important to present, even if it isn't sugar-coated. U will do my best to make it clear that it is my opinion, but I resist any action to silence me on this point. My goal is to help each member be a better writer. Period. What's more, you know this about me.
No one is trying to silence you, Cog, nor is anyone asking you to sugar coat anything. Perhaps you would consider re-reading @jannert's comment.
I agree its important to create your own story and to make up your own ideas, however I found Wreybies advice very useful and his approach to this brainstorming thread was good because his questions gave me a different perspective on my story telling. These are the two main reasons why Orsi is going to get tortured the first is to convey how much strength Orsi draws from her family and her fears that her mum wouldn't be able to cope if she found out her only daughter wasn't coming back. And the other reason is to take away her optimism and faith that her friends will save her and to deny her something she has taken for granted ,her ability to control her own life and save people. I am going to explore Orsi as a person and as a daughter rather than just seeing her professionalism and intelligence.
This derail has been taken to PM. I would urge members to please respond to the original post and not continue with this other line of conversation. My apologies to the OP.
@gerbil13 Would the villains have to agree on what to do? If some want to go as overboard as possible, while others try to be more "professional," what might that look like?
To the villains Orsi is everything they hate, she is a Authority figure who to them is supporting a foreign governments intrusion .also on a emotional level they are angry that she has killed some of there friends and family, albeit in self defence. So on one hand she is a trophy and a political prisoner on the other they want to punish her and to get revenge .
The mental trauma of torture is often more longer lasting than any physical damage and can be crippling.
