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Writers F.A.Q (Last Updated: 2024 Oct 14 4:51 am)
Subject: The best way to post "short" stories
I kind of like the cluttered look, it's more comfortable. Perhaps if stories were started in the forum, then continued on artists pages this would stop them getting lost from view? I copy the bits I post here to my artist page, along with a couple I haven't, and always check out the artist page of anyone who posts in here, but lets face it more people will see (and hopefully comment) in the forum than on an artists page. No one has ever commented on mine anyway, whilst I have had a limited amount of feedback in the forum. At least if nobody looks at your work in here you don't have a counter at the bottom of the page to tell you so! Shanna :-)
LOL! You are right about that counter thing, Shanna. I think your idea about longer pieces is a good one. I don't post anything of any length here (or, at least I haven't in a long time) so it never occurred to me that the prose was causing a problem. Shows how narrow a vision can be. Of course if Crescent is successful at getting a gallery, that would make one more place to have an opportunity to post which might provide a solution in itself. I really appreciate Crescent's willingness to take an idea and move forward with it.
Don't get me wrong...I wasn't saying I didn't like short stories, but perhaps it's just my experience with the formatting problem here. It just seems easier to put something in its entirety on your artist page and reference it, for one, more people take a look at all your stuff. If the article has pics or you have to come back to add more later it just works more easily.
Well, I was going to finish up one of my stories and post it today or tomorrow, but the whole thing disappeared! And I finally got a beginning I liked! ARGH! I was thinking of posting the story as a few posts in one thread. It gives a bit of "breathing room" for the eyes, but keeps everything together. Putting it in the artist's page with links is fine, too. Some people point to off-site places as well. Personally, I think it's easier to have all of it in one place so it's easier to people to critique, but it's a personal preference, not a requirement. Well, hopefully I'll have something to post soon. Sigh Well, it needed a bit of a rewrite, anyway.
Ah, tjames, more people might look at your stuff on your artist's page then here, but I think the odds are that no one outside of the interested few on this forum would bother to look at mine on my artist's site. Such an optimist you are. But I have to be honest, I don't post because I think I'm gaining an audience. I post to see what my words look like up on the screen because sometimes I get ideas from looking at them from a stranger's point of view. A totally narcissistic experience. Looking forward to seeing your story, Crescent. I know the agony of having a story disappear. There goes that "if I had only saved a back up copy one more time" feeling. Sigh. I had one story take off underneath a bus once. It's bad enough to have one disappear, but I saw mine run over. :( I didn't take it as a personal criticism, however. I don't think the bus could read.
Dont forget that formatting thing...when its all in on place you don't seem to have all the sudden line breaks and dropped commas and such that suddenly appear. I think rendie's format doesn't work well with Word, or perhaps when I type and edit at the same time it fails to recognize the corrections, leaving the format marks in place.(Holy shades of Word Perfect)
I loved WordPerfect. I hated it when Word took over a standard. How I adored reveal codes. Sigh. Days never to return. Guess I don't really find I have a formatting problem that bothers me enough to change my ways. I have a neat little program called eCleaner (used to be free on the Internet from somplace I've forgotten) that strips off the odd line breaks, but I'm so lazy I don't bother with that on most occassions. I can always format in simple html if I want Renderosity to behave itself. But if anyone who does find the formatting a problem would certainly find your suggestion a viable alternative. It isn't for me but it may be perfect for someone else. That's the nice thing about having a choice.
Word and Rendie (and a lot of forums) don't get along. I always copy/paste to Notepad then copy/paste to Rendie. Word puts in lots of goobledeegook that Notepad strips out while Rendie freaks out. As for formatting codes in Word, go to Tools: Options: View. There's a bunch of codes you can show on-screen. It's not quite the same as WP's, but there's a good selection. Cheers!
I may have another good idea (yeah, like THAT happens!).
As some of you may have noticed, I don't use WordPad anymore, I use FrontPage. I type here and then copy HTML code and paste. Easy.
So, you say you don't have FrontPage. Fine. I think Word will save a document as HTML. Try doing that and see if you can paste as HTML here. Then get color, proper quotes, etc. You can always preview the post and see if it "translated" OK. Hey, I gotta do everything I can to try and get my attempts to stand out... J
PS: Yes, Cres (sorry for the rhyme), looking forward to some more stuff from you as well.
 Sure, you can strive to fly with the eagles but turkeys don't get sucked into jet engines.
I have light grey because light letters on a dark background vibrate and cause eyestrain (for me). So my personal defaults are black lettering on a light grey background which is easier for me to read. Your light green lettering on the light grey is really hard to read, so I highlight them to read them clearly. Not a biggie and may not be a problem for anyone else. But if you are trying to communicate with people, keeping it simple is often the best rule. And your messages stand out as intelligent and insightful without the colorful additions. But that's just me. :)
Yeah, maybe I should get a peacock. Much more flamboyant than a turkey, but a turkey seems to fit me better
 When a cat is dropped, it always lands on its feet, and when toast is dropped, it always lands with the buttered side facing down. I propose to strap buttered toast to the back of a cat. The two will hover, spinning inches above the ground. With a giant buttered cat array, a high-speed monorail could easily link New York with Chicago.
That's sweet of you to say. Of course, my feelings are hurt. (J/K)
So, what you are saying is that when I reply normally without HTML checked, R'City takes my white and converts it to your color scheme?
 FRIENDSHIP, *n.* A ship big enough to carry two people in fair weather but only one in foul weather. - Ambrose Bierce (my hero)
I can make any combination of background color and text that is easy for people to read. AND, the turkey is a very small graphic. So, how is this color combo?
 *EGOTIST, n. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.**- Ambrose Bierce (my hero)*
Yes. If you type without html coding, Renderosity automatically makes your message look like my default. So instead of white lettering on black (the standard Renderosity default), I see black on pale grey. When you type with html coding, you override the Renderosity defaults I put in place so I see pale green (your coding) on pale grey (my default). LOL...I guess the background is better but that orange lettering on teal is a little odd. I like Ambrose Bierce too. Master story teller. :) Maybe you should just do it the way you were originally before we drive everyone crazy, and I will simply adjust as needed since I'm the only having a problem (in this case, your personal taste and the majority rule...!)
Well, hopefully my last (crosspost) will be good for anyone to read since it should override and post as I made it.
PS: To the knowledgeable among you...as long as I give credit, is it OK to post something like this at the bottom?
 IMPARTIAL*, adj.* Unable to perceive any promise or personal advantage from espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two conflicting opinions. - Ambrose Bierce (my hero)
Ding Dong.... Chiming in. I'm pretty partial to keeping "short stories" whole, myself. The trick is, as noted, keeping them arranged properly. Formatting issues suck. My workaround has generally developed out to be WordPad when using Windows. Notepad on steriods, really. The HTML trick is also very workable, but you do have to be careful. For folks looking to try that route without having to get FP or some such, I recommend "arachnophilia" (http://www.arachnoid.com/arachnophilia/). And this despite the, um, rather extreme views of it's author in comparison to mine. lol. It's free, and really easy to use.
thou and I, my friend, can, in the most flunkey world, make, each of us, one non-flunkey, one hero, if we like: that will be two heroes to begin with. (Carlyle)
I'm an OpenOffice fan, myself. My office uses M$ Word too, and I use OO, and no one can tell the differance. Works great. Back to the topic, I think the Artist Page is a great resource, and folks should definately take advantage of the space afforded there, but if you're looking for comments and critiques, I think you're much more likely to get responses here. And I agree with ynsaen, I prefer a whole story in one piece. But each to their own. jon
~jon
My Blog - Mad
Utopia Writing in a new era.
Yes, Cres, you are absolutely correct! HTML can be "deadly" at times. I always preview. And would urge others to do the same if so inclined to "stand out".
I'm glad you like the periodic excerpts from Ambrose Bierce's book, "The Devils Dictionary". He has a cynical outlook on things, but so many times I read them and think, "How true!". I don't know if the book is still in print, but if it is, it is good reading. Dover is the publisher. (I hope my quotes don't cross the border of using intellectual property...I see it as a promotion).
**PEACE**, *n*. In international affairs, a period of cheating between two periods of fighting.
- Ambrose Bierce (my hero)
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I'm sure we have some talented individuals who have some short stories they might like to share. I think the best way to do that is to post it on you artist page in the articles section and link to that page. This keeps the forum from really getting cluttered with stuff and utilizes some of that vast space thats available to you. The comments on the short story could be here.