View Full Version : MHWS - General Discussion Thread
This thread is for any of the participants in the Mead Hall Writers' Society writing group to post up comments, observations, and general chit-chat about the lessons, writing in general, or what have you.
Those who are joining us new, feel free to post here and introduce yourself!
When I saw you were moving ahead with the Workgroup I took the liberty of sticking the original brainstorm thread. Hope you don't mind. :beam:
No problem at all, thanks in fact ~:) It looks like we've a good-sized group but it's always helpful to get more exposure!
A quick note on the observation assignment: make sure to follow the First Rule of the Artist: Don't get caught staring!
...unless you want to, of course ~:) but with police and drug-dealers, it's usually a really bad idea. I don't know how many times I've been caught staring while clandestinely drawing portraits, but it's always tough to cover up, and often incredibly embarrassing.
woad&fangs
04-29-2008, 22:40
Next time you are in a restaurant, market, grocery store, or any other public place where individuals, couples, or groups gather and interact, jot down your observations in a notebook.
In one paragraph, describe a loner's looks and behaviour.
In another, describe the looks and interactions of a pair or group of people.
In the third paragraph, describe how anyone with an official role interacts with everyone else. This could be a waiter, checker, stall owner, police, street cleaner, match official, etc.
Good first assignment:2thumbsup: I'm an actor so I actually do this all the time, 'though I usually just remember instead of writing my observations down. I'll try to do this assignment if I can find the time to observe people.
scottishranger
04-30-2008, 01:41
Good first topic, though damn you for making me actually go out and talk to people!:clown:
:laugh4:
I promise, this won't happen again! well, not often, I mean. relatively speaking. *cough*
Timsup2nothin
05-04-2008, 21:25
One thing that wasn't mentioned, at least not that I noticed...deadline. Assignment issued on Tuesday, but no guidance about when it should be posted. Probably a comfort for those who want an informal group, but my background is journalism and without deadline pressure I'm pretty near indistinguishable from dead.
Wow, completely missed that one. The lesson thread has been edited, but I'll add it here as well.
Post up Lesson 1 assignment materials by a bit past midnight GMT this coming Wednesday (7 May). Thanks Timsup2nothin, it was very clear in my head.
:oops:
Aaargh! Wednesday!? Oh jam. Must finish! :skull:
Oh jam? :inquisitive: will have to use that one!
Jam indeed!! Finished two paragraphs, one more to touch up.
Timsup2nothin
05-05-2008, 15:31
Wow, completely missed that one. The lesson thread has been edited, but I'll add it here as well.
Post up Lesson 1 assignment materials by a bit past midnight GMT this coming Wednesday (7 May). Thanks Timsup2nothin, it was very clear in my head.
:oops:
Ah, so due date is day after next assignment...and I beat a deadline by...THREE DAYS!!!! Woooooohoooooo!!!
Sorry, that's just never happened before. Three hours maybe once, frequently three minutes, but never three days.
Well done Tim!
Just a note to remind everyone - you've precisely 12 hours to post your writing for Lesson 1! Gah!
Don't be shy -- this is the internet. ~:) I'll be posting materials for Lesson 2 later today.
I've really enjoyed reading the posts added so far, and hoping for more, and a good discussion to follow.
Timsup2nothin
05-06-2008, 17:45
With twelve hours to deadline this may be a little late, but I have a suggestion for my fellow aspiring writers from my journalism experience.
Learn to read what you write.
When I was told this I looked at my editor like an extra head had sprouted from his shoulder, so he explained. When you read what someone else wrote, and they have words that are just jumbled out of order (which happens to everyone at least occasionally because we think so much faster than we write), you are just stoppered by it because it makes no sense. You think the writer never bothered to even look over what they wrote, but they probably did. Most people can run their eyes over what they themselves have written and their mind sees what they meant, not what they wrote.
I promptly took back the copy I had given him and read it. Repeatedly. I was really amazed when on the fourth pass I was still finding words out of order, mismatched tenses and forms, and other 'glaring' errors. Fortunately for me, with practice, I learned to separate my reader from the writer and I can usually read my own work with almost the same eye that I have for someone else's, so now I can get most things sorted out in one pass.
I talked about beating a deadline by three hours. That was in print. When I made the transition to internet journalism I frequently had ninety minutes from event to deadline, so beating it by three hours would be impossible, and my editor had thirty minutes from submit to post. If I gave them bad copy they would have no choice but to replace me.
Just closed the Assignment 1 thread. Sorry to those who almost but not quite hit the deadline, but I need to print off the posts to give to my offline editor/helper in this process. Definitely join us in the Lesson 2 assignment!
And thanks to everyone who contributed.
edit: had planned to post reviewer comments by 18.00 GMT today but it's not to be. My outside help had to put of our review till tonight, so it will be GMT morning on Thursday before reviews are up this week.
Timsup2nothin
05-13-2008, 20:34
I have to ask, since in eastern cultures the family name is given first...what is the relationship between Offline Help and Offline Participant?
hehe! Ah, coincidental. My offline participant isn't related to my offline help. Very funny thought though. I should gather up a few more and we could have an entire Offline side for a game of football!
Going along with this week's theme, I was talking with a friend a couple of days ago about a story she's writing, and how there is a big disconnect at times between imagining a scene and writing it. It's inevitable that details will be lost in the translation. We talked for a while about strategies to limit the damage done by this loss.
The best one we could come up with is to examine every word in an initial scene description and be conscious of what's being left out -- and ask questions about it like whether the dropped detail could add anything to the unveiling of character, or plot, and whether the details included *are* necessary. If not, is it really worth the reader's time to know about it?
It yeilds good results, but it's fairly labour-intensive. Anyone have an easier way to deal with this?
We arent' quite to it yet, but this article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7411775.stm) shows how character building details can work well in a news story. The moments and expressions picked out by the writer are master strokes at creating an image of two very different people.
Just a note to say, sorry for being late with the lesson 4 material. My usual group work time was demolished this week but I will be putting up materials tomorrow, along with the #3 comments.
Sorry for the hang time.
Bartholemew-Varath
05-22-2008, 17:00
I sorry that i missed the last few assignments, i was busy with exams and WoW, but i think im back now, so ill probably be writing in the next assignment
Sounds great Bartholemew-Varath! I should be able to post next week's materials in a couple of hours.
Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and.... sorry if my writing is horrible, this is my first time doing it. :sweatdrop: I have written in stories of my own but this is my first time posting something on the writing site.
Hi Bibbin and welcome to the Mead Hall and the Org, glad you're here. And don't worry, we're all learning how to write better.
Thanks for posting already in the assignment thread, it's great to have another writer on board!
This is pretty cool. I have suddenly gotten the urge to write a story for which I didn't have the characters, the setting, and the events already provided to me on a silver platter by a PBM. I'll take a crack at the current assignment tomorrow.
However, be warned, my background is in engineering, and most of my writing has been technical reports. Expect awkwardly constructed language, exceedingly long sentences (sometimes with semicolons), a plague of superfluous commas, and outright odd descriptions. I do, at least, promise not to use the word 'sinusoidal' to describe anything.
hey FLYdude, good to see you here! Don't worry. Even if you used "affline transformation" I think we'd survive. Barely.
Ironsword
05-26-2008, 18:52
Apologies for missing assignment 3. Heavy work commitments and delayed flights condemned me. I did complete it though, and I suppose that's the point, to get us doing these exercises!
Assignment 4 I found hard, perhaps I need to let go of trying to make a story out of everything and just write in a stream of conciousness! Still, see what you think!
I look forward to reading all the other posts too.
Hi there, nice to see you back Ironsword! No worries about assignment three... if you're doing them, that's what really counts. I look forward to reading through this week's entries. I agree about this week's assignment. I found that trying to create a mood in the setting, without falling into melodrama, is a tough task.
Just a note... if anyone needs examples of anything talked about in the lesson 5 material, let me know. I wanted to add examples but it had grown so long already... :sweatdrop:
MountainTroll
05-29-2008, 00:48
Hi all,
I am new to the guild, but avoided the "say hello in the entrance hall" post. I thought I'd slink around the edge of the walls, until I got to the Mead hall, and say my hellos here.
(This is me slinking = :creep:)
I have watched others play all the games since the Shogun days, but am not a gamer myself. (Were there gasps in the room at that admission?)
I am interested in writing though, and heard about Tamur's workshop. I thought I'd give it a go. I really liked Assignment 4, by the way. It was a challenge to use objects and weather in two totally different ways. It was like a puzzle. I thought it was fun.
I hope to get to know the personalities behind the avatars, and hope to improve my writing skills. Thanks for letting me hang out in the Mead Hall!
Ironsword
05-29-2008, 01:13
Hi Mountaintroll! ~:cheers:
I really enjoy the writing side of things too. The two great merits of the MHWS is that you get feedback on your own prose and also get to see how others tackled the task too. So more's the better!
Timsup2nothin
05-29-2008, 03:18
To me 'not a gamer' isn't so much an admission as an eye opening concept, as in 'wow, what could I get done if I were not a gamer?'
Welcome to the board and MHWS!!
Hello MountainTroll, and welcome! That was fairly sneaky to skip through the entrance hall -- Martok must have been dozing.
I hope you enjoy your stay, and thanks for posting for this last lesson - great writing intro too!
MountainTroll
05-29-2008, 18:24
So, who is Martok? Gaurdian of the Guild Gates, ready to pounce on newbies? :)
And a cheers to you as well, Ironsword~:cheers:
Thanks for the welcome.
And Timsup2nothin, I had to laugh at "what could I get done if I were not a gamer". I admire gamers for their loyalty to making sure there is fun and leisure consistently in their day. -I am working on being more "gamer-like". Funny how everyone tries for the perfect balance. Perhaps being a forum member will have some gaminess rub off. (But not in the smelly sense of the word!)
And Tamur, thanks for the hello! I hope to stick it out for a while anyways... if you start requiring full length novels, I might run away. :)
Comments up... :sweatdrop:
I have to admire the vastly different results from this assignment, and overall very high quality. Nice work everyone!
I do hope you're all talking the chance to read over each other's writing. It's very interesting to see a couple of similarities but mostly a huge difference in the way you all handle the same problem.
edit: Martok is a Moderator here, and is very active welcoming people in the Entrance Hall. A great guy, you should say hi to him sometime ~:)
And no, no novel requirements. Yet.
To be honest, I'll be plum disappointed if one of you doesn't get a story published, some really nice writing going on.
edit: Martok is a Moderator here, and is very active welcoming people in the Entrance Hall. A great guy, you should say hi to him sometime ~:)
Should you smell camels while you approach him, just nod and smile. It is not the camel you see that you should fear, rather the camel that you cannot see...
Also welcome to the Mead Hall MountainTroll! Tamur has almost taken over the place as of late with his writing course, but that's fine by me, i know this place is in good hands with him. I just wish i had more time to take part in it myself. :shame:
Enjoy your stay! :medievalcheers:
Just a note to everyone to say: I will be away from the keyboard and the Org through Wednesday evening next week. I was tempted to post the next assignment before I leave, but have talked myself out of that since this current assignment should be enough to worry about without more distraction.
This means that the next assignment will be up on Thursday next week, and the assignment 5 posting thread won't be locked till Wednesday evening.
Happy weekend to everyone.
Prince Cobra
06-01-2008, 19:21
I'm happy that this is active. I'll join again once the cursed exams are over. :sweatdrop:
We'll look forward to seeing you Stephen, and best of luck with exams. :book:
Timsup2nothin
06-03-2008, 21:01
I'm impressed by my inability to follow direction. In the assignment post thread Tamur clearly says 'Once you're done posting your writing, head over to the discussion thread and tell people what you thought of the assignment!' When I noticed that, which was of course long after one would expect, I edited this off the end of my post and moved it here...
This was indeed a challenging assignment. In journalism character background is a matter of sifting through a swarm of 'facts' and picking the ones that are at least marginally verifiable and support the direction you are taking. Here I think the background I came up with is horribly thin...but everything I thought to add to it would probably be better placed in backstory for additional characters. For example, I gave way more than a moments thought to names for his wife and other guys in the band, but eventually realized they would be major characters and those would be their stories, not his.
I'm left wondering if I misunderstood the entire idea, but I gave it my best shot.
Ironsword
06-03-2008, 22:18
^^Yes, I thought it difficult too. My effort is less factual than yours timsup2nothin, and I wonder whether my background and character disconnects are too vague.
MountainTroll
06-04-2008, 05:34
I thought this assignment (5)was initially overwhelming... but once I found a character I was interested in myself, the details started rolling. I think listing the disconnects is an interesting way to break down a story into what a character is battling. I have had trouble coming up with ones in the past, maybe this is the excercise I need to do more frequently.
Also, I had trouble knowing how much detail to put into the backstory, without actually starting to write the story. Overall though, I thought it was fun.
I got a chance to read through everyone's assignment 4's. It seemed as if people were either really good at writing depressing settings or really good at writing exuberant ones. (I think TimsuptoNothin had a great happy one with his briefcase story!) -But I didn't see any that had two strong pairings (including me!) I think overall people wrote better as depressed. Why do you think that is? Or do you disagree? Maybe people notice their surroundings and other people when they are down, but when they are happy, just zip through life not taking time to notice the details? Maybe that's why the best writers seem to stuggle with depression or whatever issues. So, maybe the trick is (if you are not a naturally down sort of person) is to become more analytical during happy moments. I'm going to try this... I don't know if it will work.
Maybe it would suck the happiness out.
If I post again sounding very depressed, you will know not to try this at home. :)
Ironsword
06-05-2008, 12:31
...I got a chance to read through everyone's assignment 4's. It seemed as if people were either really good at writing depressing settings...
Hah! In my case so true! I'm not really a depressed, miserable loner, but often I fall into the trap of believing that loss, pain, regret are more powerful than joy, love, excitement etc. I'm going to try and inject more of these 'happy' emotions in the upcoming assignments.
-Also, I never listed my characters disconnects/conflicts in assignment 5, rather just tried to work them into the story. They are, in my mind at least as follows;
- No matter how good a craftsman he is, the empty shelf/lost urn, a metaphor for his family, will always remain so. Even his great skill cannot alter that.
- To keep continuing, he must sell the timeline of pots he's crafted, thus he is faced with the choice between keeping both his happy and traumatic past or the uncertain future.
- He needs closure of some sort, symbolised by the beard cutting and the repetitve nature of his days, but he feels unable to until he re-creates the urn that fills the empty shelf, which as mentioned earlier, is unattainable.
- His skill, his greatest asset has made him a recluse in his pursuit of recreating his old happiness, yet if he took a moment to look outside his workshop, he might find that which he hopes for most; The church notice, the urn and hence closure.
Timsup2nothin
06-05-2008, 17:34
I got a chance to read through everyone's assignment 4's. It seemed as if people were either really good at writing depressing settings or really good at writing exuberant ones. (I think TimsuptoNothin had a great happy one with his briefcase story!) -But I didn't see any that had two strong pairings (including me!) I think overall people wrote better as depressed. Why do you think that is?
Having been pointed out as the exception I think I can answer this question. The modern human is conditioned to avoid being out of the ordinary, and the ordinary is something fairly close to depressed. Since it is automatic to seek evidence for whatever we have chosen to believe we see depressing things much more clearly than other things.
As an experiment, commit for one week to answer the endless streams of 'how are you?' that we all meet with 'marvelous!' or 'excellent!' or 'terrific!'. You will stop traffic at the checkout line in the supermarket. Be prepared to be stared at. Be prepared for looks that clearly call you a liar. No one will want to believe you, because they want to believe that 'okay', or 'oh, fine I guess' is the best anyone is doing so they don't feel like they are missing out.
If you yourself can't shake the feeling that you are lying for the sake of an experiment it probably won't work. The people you say it to will be left with 'that poor soul is so miserable they have to put on a front just to get through the day'.
This is where I operate from every day. When someone says 'how are you today?' I don't take it as a request for a report on the day up to then, I take it as an opportunity to predict how the rest of my day will go. From there it is hard to ask for anything less than 'great'.
The next step is to learn that it is up to you to make your prediction true. I would say 'good luck', but luck has nothing to do with it.
...the ordinary is something fairly close to depressed...
I know a lot of fairly-close-to-depressed people at work, and anti-depressant medication has been nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. So there's plenty of evidence that might point to what you're saying.
However, I respectfully disagree - I don't think it's a universal truth. There are, for example, a lot of five-year-old children playing with friends who wouldn't qualify. I don't mean that flippantly. If you've been near five-year-old children anytime recently, you know that depressed is a term that can only be applied in rare cases. What turns a playful five-year-old into a depressed sixty-year-old?
Anyone's guess is as good as another, and until I have a 10000 sample study, I'm not going to go out on any limbs! Interesting topic though.
Ironsword
06-05-2008, 19:35
After reading assignment 6, I think I've got too far ahead of myself in assignment 5...
Still, i'll try and figure something out!
Timsup2nothin
06-05-2008, 19:36
I know a lot of fairly-close-to-depressed people at work, and anti-depressant medication has been nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. So there's plenty of evidence that might point to what you're saying.
However, I respectfully disagree - I don't think it's a universal truth. There are, for example, a lot of five-year-old children playing with friends who wouldn't qualify. I don't mean that flippantly. If you've been near five-year-old children anytime recently, you know that depressed is a term that can only be applied in rare cases. What turns a playful five-year-old into a depressed sixty-year-old?
Anyone's guess is as good as another, and until I have a 10000 sample study, I'm not going to go out on any limbs! Interesting topic though.
I'm willing to go out on this limb. What turns playful five year olds into average anti-depressant popping adults is a steady stream of instructions to 'grow up'. 'Growing up', they are led to believe, includes NOT being playful, NOT standing out from the crowd, Not openly asking for what they want, NOT being overtly happy, or sad for that matter. It also includes NOT going out on any limbs, by the way.
Five year old children hate to go to bed because they think they might miss something. They pop up in the morning as soon as their eyes open because they want to get on with life. Adults generally believe they get up because 'they have to'. If I ever let myself believe that again I'd just as soon die in my sleep.
It also includes NOT going out on any limbs, by the way.
Ha! Touché, good point.
I think I agree with you. The social pressure for all these behaviours (more like lack of behaviours) is fairly intense. And that is interesting to think of how driven young children are to milk every last moment out of the day, and wake up as early as possible - how different from the usual office worker who can't stand the thought of the alarm clock going off.
There's a story in there somewhere - or many thousands of stories more like.
Well said, thanks for the thought food.
Timsup2nothin
06-05-2008, 20:05
To get back on topic here and away from my philosophy...
I just read the next assignment and I have to say I've now been pushed from moderately surprised to outright dumbfounded.
I saw this 'MHWS', and figured it would turn out as some sort of 'write a few paragraphs and pat each other on the backs' confidence builder. Not really much use to me since lack of confidence is not one of my notable weaknesses, but harmless and fun.
I was wrong. I've paid for courses that did not cut so clearly into the heart of the matter as Tamur is doing here for free. I don't know where he came from, but I for one am really glad I lucked into being here when he came along.
Ironsword
06-05-2008, 21:17
Seconded.
It's really given me some focus.
:whip: You shall work, writing slaves!
Seriously, glad you're enjoying the ride. I perhaps should have given people more of a warning at the front end of this, that it wouldn't be a pat-on-the-back sort of experience. I do hope it's enjoyable even if it's a stretch at times.
And Ironsword, sorry I somehow missed your post a bit ago...
After reading assignment 6, I think I've got too far ahead of myself in assignment 5...
Yours was definitely a very complete backstory! Nicely done. I'll have comments up by about 06 GMT tomorrow, but yes, you went well above the call of duty ~:) In your case, I'd suggest taking a different character for assignment 6.
Timsup2nothin
06-06-2008, 02:11
Completely back on topic. I have a feeling that I'm on track here, but I may be just heading off into a field to become a jumble of boxcars. If so, slap me back in the right general direction please.
With this character, use each of the four numbered techniques above (summary, habit, self-portrait, physical) to introduce your character.
After much flailing, I have seized on the word 'introduce'. In introducing the character I may or may not include everything I have in his backstory. In fact, upon further flailing, I probably won't.
My purpose is to present the character in a way that doesn't conflict with the backstory, since that will eventually come out. Also, most importantly, in a way that engages a reader in the character. Probably not jumping directly into the character's conflicts before getting the reader engaged, so leave them out when introducing the character. Hmmmm. My feeling that I was on track is fading fast, but I might be getting on track now.
Sorry for blatantly brainstorming all over the place here, but I really needed that! Again, if I am completely off track please say so...
Yes yes, you're perfectly correct. I'm going to edit the lesson material right now to clear that up. Thanks for pointing the muddy waters out!
When introducing a character for this exercise, don't attempt to introduce disconnects or backstory unless they fit well. Your introduction of the character can be completely separate from both disconnects and backstory, and should simply give the "flavour" of the character. It should act as a teaser, leaving your reader in a state of wishing he or she knew more.
Feedback on #5 is up, only a few hours late... *cough*
Thanks to each of you who participated. It is a stretch to define a character to this level.
It was interesting to see the different styles. Ironsword's was so detailed, a story in itself, while Timsup2nothin and MountainTroll went for a more loose style. Either of these work.
Also, note the differences in time focus. MountainTroll focused on the near-present, doing a complete but sketchy coverage of the long-past and middle-past. Ironsword on the other hand had significant coverage of the long-past and the near-present but the space in the middle (between the family deaths and the near-present) is left blank.
Ironsword
06-06-2008, 21:41
Ironsword
Ed. 1: Some very concisely stated conflicts and problems, like "his life now for his life then" and "the self-indulgent works of a fading man". Also "he was again trying to shape the great urn" was a great way to tie it all together. This is a sobering character - one who I want to suddenly discover a reason to live and make beautiful art. But realistically that won't happen will it?
Ed. 2: This is brilliant as a character description. At the end of it I feel deeply for the fellow, and feel that I've come to know him, his challenges, and his current situation well. Using this as a springboard into the story would be a fail-safe way to bring that same feeling - lack of closure, endless days trying to find the past, the world outside blowing by without him noticing.
A couple of questions and observations:
- the man has clear dilemmas, and ones that most readers could feel well. But with so much past to uncover in the story, what will move the reader forward through the narrative?
- the resolution will need a great deal of weight to balance out the strong feeling of loss in the character and his situation, so the story will be tremendously heavy without some sort of leavening (another present-day character, or nature) --- I had to get a bread-making metaphor in here!
Thanks for the feedback Tamur (ED1?) and the enigmatic ED2. This story originally came from assignment three, I missed the deadline, but thought it applicable here. Though in assignment three, the urn was replaced by a bowl. I expanded it for this to create a backstory.
Also, I've not given up on this potter, I would possibly introduce an apprentice (One that reminds him either of Molly or Tom) so he may yet get closure.
I was trying to get a timeless feel too, but I don't know how well that came across. ie. What era did you guys picture him in?
Timsup2nothin
06-06-2008, 22:11
Ed. 1 This was well done. I can easily see it becoming a screenplay and a movie because the character of the band leader is very vivid. The conflicts are clear and intriguing. It's very amusing too, which makes me think the result will be a comedy.
Ed. 2 This is a great character introduction. I come away from it with a basic feel for the character, but primarily sympathy for him and his predicament. It points me towards the inevitable discovery of his bad habit, or the possible escape he makes through some major life change.
A couple of unresolved questions:
- Is he a solo robber?
- When does he do the robberies? Broad daylight when he has more chance of being caught on the run, but less chance of having to make excuses to his wife? Or night-time, when he has less chance of being caught but more need to make excuses to his wife about false gigs, etc?
- How does he deal with the robbery money? Does he hide it somewhere in his house? Deposit it overseas? Deposit in a US bank (at least) would be risky due to the treasury serial numbers. How has he been able to keep his wife from finding the stash?
I expect that in expanding Rockin' Ron into the main character of a story the bank robbery scenes will provide high action points, and they will illustrate the answers to most of the 'how to' type questions. Seeing him distribute cash to the other band members, then give his wife the check to deposit without taking any cash back will present a bit of a mystery until the first time a robbery is shown.
I'm glad he came across as likable rather than just a lazy villain. Holding that tone in the face of the obvious criminal behavior will be the biggest challenge.
I've not given up on this potter
Very good to hear. I was tempted after this assignment to encourage everyone to stay with these characters and use the rest of the course to finish off a 40-page story about them. Unfortunately that doesn't work for the writers who will be joining us in July and early August, but I would very much like to see some of this great character work developed more.
What era did you guys picture him in?
I pictured the 1930s/1940s, with the whiskey and the note blowing by the window. I asked my editor friend just now and she said she had pictured as contemporary.
...Holding that tone in the face of the obvious criminal behavior will be the biggest challenge.
Yes, that will be a challenge. But I think he's in that "between a rock and hard place" spot that a lot of people could identify with, so as long as he doesn't appear to be an abusive scumbag or something repulsive, he should be a nicely flawed character to root for.
Just a reminder for participants that Lesson 6 assignments are due soon. The current week's assignment deadline was extended to Thursday GMT 00.01 due to my AFK-ness last week.
I've had a couple of requests via PM to extend the deadline to Tuesday at midnight on the other side of the world (NZST or UZ11, i.e. GMT -/+12). We may start that with lesson 7.
Timsup2nothin
06-10-2008, 16:48
Just an observation on deadlines, and perhaps my own dysfunctionalness...
0001 deadlines have always made me crazy. I relate to the 'Wednesday' before I relate to the time, then have to figure out that I really only have until the end of the day Tuesday...then 0001 Wednesday GMT has the poor grace to fall somewhere in the middle of Tuesday so I don't really even have until the end of the day!
hehehe... I know it. Setting deadlines for a 24-hour wide world is its own nightmare!
Maybe what I should say is "Tuesday before you go to bed, no matter where you live in the world"? That's what this new deadline is in essence.
Timsup2nothin
06-10-2008, 21:49
Likin' that!
MountainTroll
06-12-2008, 08:24
Argghhh.. I should really try writing sometime other than the middle of the night before an assignment is due. https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/images/smilies/gc/gc-wall.gif
:wall:
I thought this one was tricky because your assignment had to show the reader from the outside the character, as well as mix in something from the "self-viewpoint" or whatever you called the Dostoevskii example.
MountainTroll
06-12-2008, 08:33
And by the way mead hall writers, I have still been thinking about that little debate a week or so ago about depressed versus happy writing. I have tried to make note during my days of moments of pure joy and look around and see how I could describe that. Initially it was annoying to have my feelings interrupted by such a logical task (right brain, left brain battle), but after a while I was amazed at how often it happened. I have a lot to be happy about!
I was also really struck thought by TimsuptoNothin's comment:
''Adults generally believe they get up because 'they have to'. If I ever let myself believe that again I'd just as soon die in my sleep."
It has made me think about what I look forward to the next day, and if there is nothing... then to plan something. It has added more fun into the days, which is always a plus! I was surprised I had gotten lulled into that brain-numb worker bee mindset.
Timsup2nothin
06-12-2008, 19:12
It has made me think about what I look forward to the next day, and if there is nothing... then to plan something. It has added more fun into the days, which is always a plus! I was surprised I had gotten lulled into that brain-numb worker bee mindset.
To have my comment credited with this result is to be credited with having fulfilled, at least briefly, the intention that gets me out of bed every day. Thanks.
You will be even more surprised if you try the experiment I suggested.
MountainTroll
06-12-2008, 19:17
Timsuptonothin,
I can only imagine the looks I would get... and that is enough to keep me from trying it! I don't need to be known as that "crazy lady" about town!
Timsup2nothin
06-12-2008, 19:27
On assignment six...
I was perhaps trying too hard to completely isolate the four styles, which was challenging. Then I made it even harder by alternating tenses, just because I'm a bit masochistic. I really did learn a lot from this one though.
I see that all the portrayals of Ron were very centered on the band, but I was looking ahead somewhat. Ron needs to be very compartmentalized, to an extent that when he is set in his various environments the reader is almost left with 'is this the same person?'.
Hopefully in assignment seven I will be able to show him passing across one of his disconnects. I'm working out his wife as the second character so I can contrast the 'Rockin Ron whose life is the band' with the 'family Ron whose band is the job that supports his wife and kids'.
Comments are up. These were very enjoyable to read, but you're all too advanced! MountainTroll's especially could have served well for the next assignment, since she had character interaction thrown in. Ah well, I'm not going to complain too loudly about good writing.
Unfortunately I'm under a deadline here, would love to join in the discussion! Maybe I'll be able to make it back a bit later.
Ironsword
06-16-2008, 11:50
Ed. 1: Is this the potter from the other assignment?
Yes, I wanted a younger mischievious counter-point to him...
For the next assignment I've created characters closer to my main fictional love. A little less complicated perhaps, but more fun to write about!
@Timsup2nothin I've taken your advice and now say 'fantastic/splendid/wonderful' etc. when asked how I am, and boy, what a difference a word can make...!
...A little less complicated perhaps, but more fun to write about...
Last year I was working on a historical fiction story and constantly felt like I was falling short on research, daily life detail, etc etc. It's a very rich story with lots of possibilities, and it's good to stretch into uncomfortable areas. But I came to be half done and needed a nice long break, so I stopped and wrote about characters who required no research at all. The feeling of freedom was amazing, never appreciated my "own" characters as much.
Timsup2nothin
06-16-2008, 16:06
@Timsup2nothin I've taken your advice and now say 'fantastic/splendid/wonderful' etc. when asked how I am, and boy, what a difference a word can make...!
Excellent. If you keep at it you will find some really surprising cumulative effects. After five years I'm at a point where it is literally too much trouble to have a bad, or even just ordinary, day. So I very seldom have them any more.
Just from a quick read it looks like you're all finding what you enjoy writing, which is a great find indeed. I hope as we go onward that you learn something about your likes and dislikes, what's easy and what's difficult. Although the course is on writing techniques and methods, one of the best lessons you can take away is what makes writing truly enjoyable for you. And that's what it's all about.
As a wise friend of my father's often said, "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."
Ironsword
06-18-2008, 16:56
The entries are really good. I feel I need to put more time into this.
I do love writing, although my main two recurring problems are; finding time to write and not getting bogged down with continous re-editing. How about everyone else? Do we all suffer together...?
My greatest problem is without a doubt finding the time. Often it seems nearly impossible to find writing time, with family and work responsibilities in competition.
When there is time, my greatest problem is wordiness. I could cut a lot out of what I write (you all have probably noticed!) and I'm always told to drop unnecessary words when my writing is edited. I just like English a bit too much.
WarMachine187
06-19-2008, 07:18
hey every body.I really love writing and i would love to be a part of this society.I really wanna get better and share with others writing and stories and i believe this is the perfect place to do it.I barely have time to think nowadays,im really busy getting ready for my brother whos coming back from korea on military leave.I got tons of Paintball tourneys and stuff so im not sure how much time i would have writing here.but all i know is that,with the little time i have,im gonna try my best to make a sizeable contribution.
hi WarMachine, good to have you along. Yes, feel free to join in! You've popped in at a good spot, where we're just launching into two or three weeks of work on plot, and onward from there. The lessons (generally) can be taken separately, so feel free to join in when you've the time.
My apologies everyone. It's been a very busy week, I've been feeling a bit of burnout in many areas of life, and needed a break. I should have seen this coming, but anyway...
Things are much better now and I'm ready to finally, finally put up comments this evening. Again, very sorry... anyone want to suggest a punishment? Public flogging? A week in the stocks? Having to watch endless replays of the first 80 minutes of the Turkey-Croatia game?
Timsup2nothin
06-23-2008, 15:10
Better yet...imagine yourself as a Croatian and watch 120 replays of the last minute.
Welcome back.
Ironsword
06-23-2008, 18:20
Hey Tamur,
Welcome back! I hope everything's cool.
Hmmm, I spent 120 mins watching Italy vs Spain last light. There's two hours of my life i'll never get back...
Better yet...imagine yourself as a Croatian and watch 120 replays of the last minute...
Ouch! Well, at least that would provoke some emotional response...
I spent 120 mins watching Italy vs Spain last light. There's two hours of my life i'll never get back
...unlike this game which really did remind one of paint drying. Oi oi.
Thanks for not suggesting a long keel-hauling ~:)
Comments up... finally. Thanks to you three for your patience. Doing this reminds of how much I enjoy reading the writing closely and noticing all the work you put into it. It makes me commit to carve out bits of time daily for enjoyable things in future.
MountainTroll
06-25-2008, 14:10
Hey there Tamur,
I want to say thanks a bunch for carving out time for us and this course in your busy schedule. I appreciate your feedback and the focus the assignments give. I hope you've been able to sort out and balance your different responsibilities. Burn-out is a bad sign. Maybe you need a vacation? It is summer after all! :)
Here's an idea: If you don't have time one week for comments you could sub-contract them out to one of us 3 that are regular participants. Just a thought.
Prince Cobra
06-27-2008, 13:29
Oooh, I have a headache... I missed 7 lessons (lucky number) because of my tests...
+
I am happy this is progressing.
=
example of mixed feelings
Thanks for thinking of us, Stephen ~:)
MountainTroll, I just realised I never did actually respond to your post. I think it would be great to assign out comment duties! There are weeks during which it would be such a relief to know it's in someone else's capable hands...
So, MountainTroll, Timsup2nothin, and Ironsword, if any of you is interested in helping out with this, PM me about it. It going to be fairly rare but the occasional help would be very nice.
Prince Cobra
07-01-2008, 14:38
Sorry, where can I post for Excercise #9 ?? ~:)
Egads, that one sure slipped through the cracks... I just posted the Assignment 9 thread (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=105330), sorry all!
Prince Cobra
07-01-2008, 17:42
I hope you will like it. Well, certain scenes are... provocative. I also have much work to do on my style... :wall:
The first one is based on my story in the Mead hall, twenty years earlier before the start of the story. The second is based on Kagemusha's Interactive, especially on chapter 7, autumn 1561, page 17 of the thread. That was an experiment, a different point of view :P
That's it for Excercise 9. I am back. :beam:
MountainTroll
07-02-2008, 06:33
I thought Lesson 9 (making a plot from a setting /making characters into a plot) was fun. It went really smoothly for me. My favourite was working from an event and place and developing a plot from there. Tamur, I liked the line you put in the assignment that said something like : Plot should wrap around a character. I hadn't thought before how central a good character is. Before I'd always stressed over the storyline.
Glad you enjoyed the writing! It looks from what you wrote that you especially had fun playing with the first example ~:)
It really is a good rule to follow - centring the story on characters. In your setting-centred writing this week, for example, you have a wonderful world created but when you actually get to the writing, the story "camera" has to drop down on an individual in the midst of all of that's going on.
So, I can't do this all the time, but I did have to share this from the BBC website, which I saw as I track Wimbledon. This is a description of a single game in the Murray v Nadal match going on at present:
Rafa stands in the only quadrant of sunshine left on court and leaps into his serve to breeze to 40-0. He tucks a stray strand behind his bandana, blows on his fingers like Boris B and noses in front when Murray adrenalises a forehand beyond the baseline. Back on his changeover chair he glugs down some mineral water while his left leg bounces up and down like a nervy hare's.
A few things I like about this:
First, it moves quickly. It starts off at 40-0 (with the game nearly over), and the next sentence finishes the game off, to move on and describe what seems very important - the way Nadal is acting.
Second, the rhythm of the words. I love the way this flows when spoken. "Back on his changeover chair" is especially nice - nearly dactylic. There are lot of good spots like that.
Finally, the images. It doesn't simply say, Rafa hits a solid serve and Murray's return goes long. Murray "adrenalises" the return forehand, Rafa blows on his fingers before serving, his leg bounces as he sits drinking.
Sports writing at its finest...
Although I've only participated once, I've been reading the advice and pointers in each lesson, and they are really helpful. Thanks Tamur for doing this. :2thumbsup:
PowerWizard
07-08-2008, 10:52
Though I'm not a native English speaker, I'd like to sign up and join the writing society.
Thanks for the feedback Rhythmic. I'm glad you're enjoying the material. At the least it's a good reminder of the many different ways to attack a story.
And PowerWizard, welcome! You've come at a good point. We're moving on into discussing point of view, so it's a fairly clean break from what's come before. Feel free to join in.
Prince Cobra
07-08-2008, 15:21
Another scene which is out of place in my story. I have my own methods to retell it in the story but not in so dramatic light. It's obvious I am obsessed by the Doukas family. I tried to think something different but my mind refused to work. Finally, i gave up and decided to write it since this scene is not to reveal something of great importance for the outcome of the main story. But one day I'll have to restrict myself, otherwise something important may slip before its time. I does not want to make my story complete failure! :beam:
-------
Fullstop
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In fact I am ready with some non-expert (!!!!!!!!!!) comments about the other two posts in the 9th excercise. When am I allowed to comment ( before or after the 'official' comment) ??? :stars:
When am I allowed to comment ( before or after the 'official' comment) ???
Anytime at all. The moment a participant posts in the exercises thread, it's fair game for comments by anyone, just make sure your comments are in this thread rather than in the exercise posting thread. I lock the writing exercise thread so that stays free of extra material.
This thread is a meant as a central discussion area for any comments on anyone's writing (or any writing topic related to the course).
So yes, feel free to comment on others' writing! I'd love it if you all would point out things you notice in the others' writing more often, but that's entirely up to you whether you want to do it or not. I'll make a note on this in the course description.
Prince Cobra
07-08-2008, 17:34
Attention: the author of the following lines is not an expert at all!
--------------
Timsup2nothin
----------------
I liked "Dead or Dying" . It's hard for me to go out of history background and I appreciate writings who write about simple things. The atmosphere and the characters was excellent work of yours and so was the final. Here I will stop since you can continue with praises like this. Personally, it grabbed me.
"The Seed" was slightly different. Unlike the previous text, I needed more time to comprehend it. Maybe because I do not read much science fiction in English. Note, some of my notes can be a product of this weakness of mine. Yet, even after that reading it carefully it could not move me in the way the first did it. I caught your idea of the disappearing human race, the criticism on how far people can go and then the struggle for survival between the two worlds. I think your idea was to make the reader sympathise the grains. And you did it. And when you have won the reader for your cause I think you wanted to switch back and to make him feel some pity for the human beings, either. I think you also did well here. But somehow these charcters stood too far from the reader. I am really interested if you had planned how to attract the reader in the story.
--------
MountainTroll
Welcome in the Mead hall! :bow:
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Part 1
----
It's slightly difficult to comment it. I liked the NATO meaning but I could not catch the rest. Is it a kind of irony? I suspect that but it had something in common with the market situation and in France I am not familiar with. Or maybe the widespread lack of good manners?
I also caught some French-German confrontation but since I favour the Germans (esp. in WW1; historical reasons: Bulgaria was an ally of Germany) you can not rely on my approval :p .
Or maybe, which is also possible, I am going too deep and my ideas have nothing in common with your idea. I'll be glad if you tell me which of my statements are closer to the truth
-------
Part 2
---------
Good. It is still slightly like a scheme. However, I still have that feeling for my own writing and I 've been making desperate attempts to make a decent story for almost two years. It also had only one conflict but I doubt the task wanted more than it. I liked it.
It is a good example what life is most of the time.
1) Money is power.
2) Amongst the idealist there are always people who are practical. The Crusades is what comes in my sick from history mind.
3) :devilish: Is this me or someone else?
Just to let everyone know, I'll be putting up comments today on lesson 9. My editor friend has had trouble getting to the past week's comments so it'll just be me this time around. After comments are up I'll put up the next lesson, and will extend the deadline till Wednesday next week.
Reverse that. My editor friend was able to make comments, but I'm still under the gun at work and in the evenings from other RL activities. Time management is definitely not my strong suit at the moment. gah. So, nearly all comments are from her this week.
Prince Cobra
07-10-2008, 15:53
I like the plot twist of the father's spy durning to counterspy. It also makes me wonder what Nicephorus has planned to gain power.
Do you tempt me to start a whole new story? :beam:
The chess was a metaphor for what will happen one day(though the story itself is not that simple).
shared for the new Kanrei not sure what this means
This means I was too hungry when I wrote these lines. I meant ' shared his opinion for the new Kanrei ' but I missed few words.
As far as I could grasp it, the main weakness of the second text was that I put too much history there without making it an integral part of the text, right? And more interaction between the characters. Am I right? I'll see what I can do next time. :book:
And I'll try to improve certain style weaknesses. :bow:
--------------
Tamur, thank you for these comments ( also thanks to your mysterious editor). I've just been angered by a stupid mistake of mine that led to the deletion of the second half of the new up-date of my story. These comments slightly distracted me and make me feel better, though they reminded some weaknesses of my writing. :stars:
PowerWizard
07-10-2008, 16:23
PM-d Tamur and he said that I should introduce myself here as a new member of MHWS. First of all, greetings to all members. This seems to be a very nice and helpful community, and I'm happy to join in.
Although I'm a "freshman" here, I've been posting since a few months on TWC with the same nick. Tried my very first AAR (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=163454) which was delayed due to my exams. Now that I'm free, I can devote more time to my hobbies, especially writing.
The reasons why I'd like to join are quite obvious: sharpening my quill and eventually improving my English :laugh4:.
This online course is a great idea, and many thanks to Tamur for his excellent lessons. I wish I had this kind of content and approach in school. :shame:
I haven't decided, what I will be writing about in the exercises, as I don't have any fixations. I guess the exercises will give me good ideas.
Prince Cobra
07-10-2008, 16:34
PM-d Tamur and he said that I should introduce myself here as a new member of MHWS. First of all, greetings to all members. This seems to be a very nice and helpful community, and I'm happy to join in.
Although I'm a "freshman" here, I've been posting since a few months on TWC with the same nick. Tried my very first AAR (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=163454) which was delayed due to my exams. Now that I'm free, I can devote more time to my hobbies, especially writing.
The reasons why I'd like to join are quite obvious: sharpening my quill and eventually improving my English :laugh4:.
This online course is a great idea, and many thanks to Tamur for his excellent lessons. I wish I had this kind of content and approach in school. :shame:
I haven't decided, what I will be writing about in the exercises, as I don't have any fixations. I guess the exercises will give me good ideas.
Ha, fresh blood. :vampire: I'm quite inquisitive what your style as a writer will be. Obviously, the people participating here have too different styles and this will only benefit the whole project.
MountainTroll
07-10-2008, 19:09
Welcome PowerWizard,
I too am a newer Mead Hall member. It is ok to be clueless when starting out here. :) One aspect I've enjoyed about Tamur's lessons is that each one can generate a different story idea. - Or a new character. I was looking through the past assignments and realized that I have several ideas now I could develop out into larger projects down the road.
On a different note, what is an AAR? I went to the link and guess it has something to do with historical scenarios? After Googling AAR, I came up with things like the Assosciation of American Railroads, and the All-American Rejects.
I bet it is something else though... right?
Timsup2nothin
07-10-2008, 20:00
Welcome PowerWizard!
I second (or third) that there does not have to be a set style from lesson to lesson. Take the assignment in whatever direction works for you.
MT...around here AAR stands for 'After Action Report', and it is a form that shows up on other game centric forums also. There aren't any hard fast rules, but usually they are serials at least loosely based on a game...obviously here that would likely be a Total War series game. This (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=102202) is a thread in the Throne Room section that lists the AARs on The Org.
MountainTroll
07-10-2008, 20:15
Hello Stephen Asen,
You wrote:
Part 1
It's slightly difficult to comment it. I liked the NATO meaning but I could not catch the rest. Is it a kind of irony? I suspect that but it had something in common with the market situation and in France I am not familiar with. Or maybe the widespread lack of good manners?
For those of you who joined later, and didn't do this assignment, the challenge was to build characters (and define their cultures) out of Tamur's minimal requirements 1. A mountain Valley, 2. A World War
It seems that Timsup2Nothin also saw this as an opportunity to break froma traditional setting and try something new (with his sci-fi bacteria battles!).
I was just trying something different as well. I wanted to try fantasy characters that children would relate to, (dwarves, etc) while weaving in the basic motivations behind WWII and the general propaganda game. Kind of like Animal Farm, I guess. - But with a bit more humour. I also wanted to show that casualties in war are not just people or land, but also cultural traditions.
I really like how in this course, I've been able to bounce around and try different genres. (Young Adult Lit, fantasy, drama, historical fiction, etc.)
MountainTroll
07-10-2008, 20:28
Ok... here is my non-expert All around assessment of Assignment 9:
Hey Tamur, by the way, I think you should give an extra Cheers with a Mead Cup emote to the stellar submission each week. I would vote for Timsup2nothin's sci-fi work. That was a pretty slick way to interpret the assignment, and assign bacteria as characters.
Stepen Asen - I enjoyed reading your Doukas selection. The characters were all very well described (down to their hair and skin tones). I could picture their movements about the room, and would've kept reading to find out more.
The second selection in Japan was not as clear in my mind with concrete details, but I liked the philosophical ideas you presented towards the end. It gave substance to the story.
The Doukas story compared to the Japan story seemed more like a shallow spy thriller. (Although, for fun summer reading, that is the story I would prefer to read, sitting in the sun with a lemonade in hand.)
So they each had different strengths.
The only other one to comment on was Timsup2Nothin's piece with 3 characters. Over the past assignments, he has shown he has an talent for interspersing dialogue with characters to show their relationships to each other. Do you spend a lot of time eavesdropping on people at parks or restaurants to get your dialogue timing so perfect?
Timsup2nothin
07-10-2008, 22:24
The only other one to comment on was Timsup2Nothin's piece with 3 characters. Over the past assignments, he has shown he has an talent for interspersing dialogue with characters to show their relationships to each other. Do you spend a lot of time eavesdropping on people at parks or restaurants to get your dialogue timing so perfect?
No, I just talk a lot!
Prince Cobra
07-11-2008, 13:29
Thanks Mountain Troll. :bow:
Just have to say, thanks MountainTroll! haha, totally unexpected interpretation of the scene, which is why these assignments are such fun.
A reminder that the deadline for lesson 11 writing is tonight before you sleep.
Prince Cobra
07-16-2008, 14:41
Just have to say, thanks MountainTroll! haha, totally unexpected interpretation of the scene, which is why these assignments are such fun.
A reminder that the deadline for lesson 11 writing is tonight before you sleep.
:gathering the remnants of my inspiration and charging:
Prince Cobra
07-18-2008, 10:09
Mountain Troll
It was very entertaining to read the three points of view. I most liked the third one . It's normal to think that he will disapprove because of his moral... Well, he had his own moral. :devilish:
The second was also interesting. She was the ' good guy ' in this story.
The third... I need some time to reflect on her story. She is quite intriguing character...On the one hand, I want to know more about her but on the other, I am not very sure if the story will flow well with many details.
Generally, I liked this story very much.
-----------------
I've just realised I've misunderstood the task. First person means "I" and this is obvious now. My point of view are written in third person but since these are retelling their thoughts word by word, I hope this will not be a problem
Just for the archive: the story happens at the time of story from Excercise#9 (1295 year)
:bow:
Ironsword
07-21-2008, 17:25
Back from Ibiza. ~:cool:
I will be posting again this week, and it looks like i've a lot of stuff to catch up on, and some stories to read!
Hopefully you got sunburnt at least once :sunny: just to make us feel better about our complete lack of vacations! Nice weather down there?
And yes, there's a lot to read and catch up on. Glad to see you back!
Hi all,
Well I basically would like to join up if I can. I'm 15, a year before doing my GCSE's (no idea what they are called in America, they are massive test you get when you are 16) so I probably won't be as experienced as all of you lot, but I can try, eh?
hi Knights of Palma! You are most welcome to join up. We happen to be one of the few organisations on the planet not to require any GCSEs whatsoever ~:)
You've come at a good breaking point, where we are moving into techniques of writing rather than all the background work one does before setting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). You may wish give a read to the previous lessons, but it's not required. Feel free to dive in at lesson 13. We've still 12 weeks of work to do, so there is plenty to keep you busy.
I just ran into this on my daily trawl of the internet as I wait for the computer to do its thing at work...
Kurt Vonnegut on style (http://literature.sdsu.edu/onWRITING/vonnegutSTYLE.html)
Since we're spending three weeks on voice, I thought this might be interesting to someone out there. Some wise words there.
Prince Cobra
07-30-2008, 12:59
Is there any change in the deadline? I see still no posts for 13 Exercise. :wall:
P.S. In one hour I should be ready with all of the tasks. :sweat:
We'll go with this week's assignments.
However, I am now officially over two weeks late with comments, so instead of piling yet more on and not getting it done, I'm going to call it August recess this week. I'm still keenly interested in the course and the writing assignments, but I'm being blasted at work the past three weeks, and find that what free time I have at home is being used for various RL activities.
So, no lesson or assignment this week. We'll pick back up next week. I have a drop-dead deadline tomorrow afternoon at work that will hopefully put a miserable project out of its misery. With that done, I will work to catch up on commenting, and a slight reorganisation of the course.
Prince Cobra
07-30-2008, 14:18
Take your time, Tamur! I hope everything with you go smoothly. :beam:
Personally, I do not mind. It is August after all and many people here seem to be on holiday. I doubt postponing the deadline and the next lesson will harm the project. :bow:
P.S. Tamur, I hope you did not mean red traffic light in the sentence of the task.
P.S.2. Am i supposed the underline the corrections I've made on my texts?
Ironsword
07-30-2008, 17:11
Tamur, take your time mate!
You don't need us to edit/proof any of your work, do you? :laugh4:
hi all,
With a great deal of hesitancy, I write to let everyone know that I will have to call off the course. A couple of very large real-life projects have sprung up and are clamouring for my attention. These projects were completely non-existent at the time we began 14 weeks ago.
I would offer to at least write up and post the lesson materials for the remaining 12 weeks, but even that would be subject to major postponements as it stands. However, I will be writing all the remaining materials so that, whenever my schedule eases up, we can resume the course (or restart if too much time has elapsed) with everything ready to go except for feedback on exercises.
I deeply apologise for saying we would plough onwards regardless of what happened. This is a classic case of eating my words. It would be a deep disservice to those who have contributed so wonderfully to the course to continue to say "I'll get to it soon" on reviews and posting lesson materials.
Thank you to everyone who contributed. I've learnt a deep respect for the quality of writers who live here at the Org.
:bow:
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