I didn't think you could make the site harder to read but you've succeeded brilliantly. Why not go to white on white and make it completely impossible?  Reminds me why I don't spend much time here anymore. Good job.

Thoughtful Jon,
Hear the silence of
Apathy.

In other words, if the moderator and coordinator don't care, why should the members?  And why aren't the members more upset about being ignored?

Dear Jon, are you really the only left who cares?

Just passing through...I can't stay for long in such a dark place.

Take care, Jon.  You will always be one of my favorite writers.

Thank you. The deletions are taking effect now.  I have to admit, I wish I hadn't been quite so verbose....copying them is taking more time than I really wanted to take.

Anyway, I appreciate your quick attention to this.  I will miss this place.

Take care.

I appreciate your help.

 I believe the css forum is for changing forum color defaults. That doesn't help the problems I have having with the blog. Thank you for the idea but itisn't the solution I am seeking.

I appreciate the help but it doesn't solve the whole problem.  My blog, for example, is unusable now (as far as I am concerned) and I don't think there is any way to fix the defaults for that.  It is what it is, and I am sure most people like it.  I know there has been a clamouring for some time for tiny white lettering on black backgrounds, though I've never understood why.

If anyone needs to reach me, I'm email close at dialyn@cox.net .  I am hoping eventually Renderosity will find a way to have alternative default formats like some of the other sites do.  I'm thinking of setting up my website again, and putting some of the resources on it that I have been sharing here.  I'll post the link if anyone has an interest down the road.

In all honesty, I probably need a vacation anyway. 

"Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great
writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant
labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as
writer." --Ray Bradbury

I'm guessing this applies to women too.

"The two most engaging powers of an author are, to make new things familiar, and familiar things new." --Samuel Johnson

This is not my genre so feel free to ignore my comments.  This is a duel rather than a battle so one thing I would suggest is sticking to Luke's point of view rather than starting with Gargo and suddenly switching.  In a short scene, focus is important.

I think you are depending on everyone being familiar with the universe of Star Wars so you've not given any useful description of the combatants.  Maybe that's tucked into a previous scene.  

One thing that struck me odd was the metapor of the cars and animation. I don't know if there are cars in Star Wars, but,if not, I wouldn't use an automobile analogy to describe the clash.  Use comparisons consistent with Star Wars or you will push people from the fantasy back into the real world. 

I realize you are having a challenge with the punctuation and spelling so I won't address those problems.  You will want to have someone help you with the proofing.  Writing is a challenge at the best of time, and there's nothing wrong with having someone else look at your work (many professional writers do so there is nothing wrong with asking for feedback from family or friends).

Here's the main thing.  There doesn't seem much physical action here...it is mostly about the mental battle inside of Luke's head, as far as I can determine. Then Luke cuts Gorgo down....but that is a very weak image for the end of a duel.  Is Gorgo sliced in half?  Use description. Don't tell me he was felled...show me what happens, how a light sabre hits its target.  Is Gorgo dead?  Or wounded?  I really don't know.

If it were me, I would try to have some scene before this one where I address the internal battle Luke is having with the darkside, and then try to have a more acton packed duel so I don't stop the action with characters not doing anything but thinking at each other.  Maybe they circle each other.  Maybe they hit some part of the chamber to show their strength. They need to do something.  

Use all your senses.  What is seen? How does it smell?  How does it feel (cold, hot)? What do they hear?  Make the picture complete for the reade.

If you watch any action movie, the characters are in motion.  They often demonstrate the internal struggle with speech so, perhaps, some dialogue would help.

      "You can't fight the force of the darkside," said Gorgo.  
       But Luke did desperately try to push the evil away.  "It's not too late.  Fight the darkside, Gorgo.  Return to the light. I'll help you.  We can help each other."
      Gorgo laughed. The harsh sound echoed madly in the chamber and Luke knew then that Gorgo was lost to the light.

Okay, that's not great dialogue, but I hope it gives you the idea. The characters have to do something more than stand there.

Perhaps someone more familiar with Star Wars than I am posts to your thread. I don't write battle scenes myself and so can offer a few ideas in the way of useful advice.

No matter how much or how little advice you get here, don't give up.  Keep writing.  Reading (listen to audio versions would be great for giving you the rhythm of how a scene works) and writing are the best way to improve your craft.

Good luck!!!

"Writing is no trouble: you just jot down ideas as they occur to you. The jotting is simplicity itself--it is the occurring which is difficult." ~ Stephen Leacock

"There is no royal path to good writing; and such paths as exist do not
lead through neat critical gardens, various as they are, but through
the jungles of self, the world, and of craft." --Jessamyn West

I am pretty happy with http://www.thefreedictionary.com/.  As far as vocabulary building, there are several free lists for that too, including Merriam Webster's Word of the Day: http://www.m-w.com/  (actually opening up a decent print dicitionay accomplihes the same thing).

Thank you for posting, tresamie. Perhaps one or two of our writers will be inspired.  :)

"You can't try to do things; you simply must do them." --Ray Bradbury

(Yeah, I know that sounds like Yoda.)

P.S.  I think you have the start for a children's book there.