Kevin's Watch

Yeah, over time I've been visiting the SRD book forums less and less, but continuing to frequent the rest of the site.

Hmm, this is becoming a bit of a derail, sorry.

And so, you haven't seen my upload of a new scan for the horrid Russian translation) It has the Staff Of Law with a snake's head on top

Frostheart, I think you also haven't seen it yet most likely, and you frequented that thread earlier.

So kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21035

And minor slowdowns happened several times for what I've seen, and I don't visit the Tank most of the time... Maybe sub-forum affiliation makes much of this impression)

As for the topic, Frostheart, started reading your story, will comment in its topic about my impressions. From what I gathered, you want critics that can lead to improvement, right?

wayfriend wrote:

Menolly wrote:I guess in general I would be asking wayfriend, as it was an entry in his game.

As best as I can determine, you're asking if you can repost Hyperception's limerick in the Hall of Gifts because he first posted it in Win Wayfriend's Money, and so somehow my permission is desired?

This one ?

Go ahead. I am only the muse - he is the artist.

That's the one.
Thanks.

Will cogitate further on if I should do so or not.

Effaeldm wrote: As for the topic, Frostheart, started reading your story, will comment in its topic about my impressions. From what I gathered, you want critics that can lead to improvement, right?

Thanks! Yes, constructive crit's the best-ever form of feedback. Doesn't need to be anything very complicated. Originally would've been happy with a few lines.

Frostheart, I copied the story into a doc in my computer and I do plan to read it. Thanks!!

And sorry if I got everyone depressed. I would put a funny cat picture here to cheer people up, but you know where to find them.

I'd be curious to see how much of the slowdown in the TCTC boards correlated with Fatal Revenant's release, which to me was a clear sign that the rest of the series was going to be a tough slog. Perhaps it was a turnoff to a lot of people that robbed the site of some energy. In any case, I haven't bothered to read AATE or even buy it to this point, though I probably will be capitalizing on some inexpensive hardbacks in the near future. Fanfic itself has a sort of dated feel too it as well, not to say that whatever people are writing here isn't wonderful. But at this point we are very far removed from the first Chronicles and their backstory. The other series seem like less inviting candidates for fanfic.

If SRD can tie this all up together with a big red bow in TLD, it may re-energize a lot of things. If he fails, well the SRD portion of the website will probably continue to atrophy. But I think the community of people here is still in decent shape. Maybe it will migrate to FB or something eventually (I know a lot of you have already done that anyway).

deer of the dawn wrote:Frostheart, I copied the story into a doc in my computer and I do plan to read it. Thanks!!

Ok, thanks. (Hope you like it, if even a little bit.) =)

Ron Burgunihilo wrote:I'd be curious to see how much of the slowdown in the TCTC boards correlated with Fatal Revenant's release, which to me was a clear sign that the rest of the series was going to be a tough slog.

The statistics page actually shows a resurgence from FR release date that lasted almost a year. [though it doesn't look like it ever matched the best year.
Heh...and I cracked one of the top 20's lists [barely!...and probably at least partly due to the rest of the board slowing down to match my pace.]

Heh...and that limerick stuff was pretty dang funny...I hadn't seen that thread before.

I think new books give a boost, of course, but the Watch lives and thrives and gets new people involved otherwise as well. There may be slowdowns, and maybe that's a good sign, people don't get obsessed enough to forget about everything else) I don't want people on the Watch following the WoW's "achievements" on that.

As for the Chrons ending badly... I absolutely don't expect a thing like that, SRD proved many times his ability to deliver amazing surprises when nothing seemed to look like giving expectations. However, in the theoretical situation with that, I think one of the first things you're going to see on the Watch is going to be fanfiction on how it should have ended)

Actually, though the ending of the 2nd Chrons was brilliant, I wanted some continuation and was exactly starting thinking out a fanfiction when the information about the third Chrons came to me) That story is currently on hold, for now it can be still written after the books that are currently available, moreover, SRD wrote some things that may make it even better and tying in to his story closer), so I want to see how TLD ends first, if it's going to be possible to place my story after the ending, even if perhaps with some alterations.

Ron, you are really missing out if you haven't read AATE. I count it among the best in the Chrons so far.

In my experience, forums I've been to slow down in the summertime. People are busy having fun outside.

What is this "outside" you speak of?

That's probably part of it, yeah.

I read a book on English Literature shortly ago where the final chapter adressed the self-publishing industry and took in fan-fiction as well. The author [an Eng. Lit. proffessor in a U.K. University] had only praise for the first as representing a real 'democratisation' of the publishing industry [he was convinced that content of true merit would rise to the surface even in the presence of much lower grade material, but it was his comments in respect of Fan Fiction that I found most intriguing. He felt the relative raising of the phenomena allowed by the internet moved literature almost back into the realm of the oral traditions from whence it first sprang. Instead of being 'fixed in stone' he now saw any work placed into the public forum as an almost organic thing; a child that is set free into the world and that will be shaped and moulded into a new and bigger thing as it grows, by virtue of the additions, alterations and enhanhed backdrops that can be provided by fanfiction. He had no problem with this and neither I have to say do I. Done sympathetically and with people who know the scource matereal back to front, there is no reason why the stories we love should not grow and grow and no author should be anything other than proud to see them doing so. This has totally changed my opinion of Fanfic and I look forward to writers of skill and knowledge applying their talents to the Chrons in this manner, hopefully with the very walls of the Watch itself.

Well you could have a glance at the existing ones.

In that vein, why does asking for and getting feedback on one continue to have such an unpleasant flavor? Why do people associate a grammar check (or a redline in terms of art) with "external validation"?

Frostheart Grueburn wrote:Not to sound disheartening, Eff, but I don't think most people here are interested in this sort of thing at all. :/ I don't know if the situation was different two years or so ago, but now it's very, very difficult to get even one or two readers, not to mention feedback. My bigger project went downhill from the start. Quarter a year of crickets. Had to ask for help over half a dozen times. Eventually culminated into name-calling. This sort of experience doesn't encourage to try again, no matter how many ideas one might have. Nor does it help overcome potential confidence problems.

People may occasionally look at pictures, but getting concrit even on them has become difficult lately. You can count those taking part in the dissections with one and a half hands, and I gather they were supposed to be one of the 'bigger events' here.

I have been meaning to read a lot of things here, but it's hard to find the time. My biggest passion is music and that tends to be what I do in preference to reading. I often read in the hour or less before I sleep, but it's been hard to delve into the works of anyone on this board.

It intrigued me to see that you had written something, as I have liked your artwork and it made me wonder what you had written. I almost feel like I should apologize to anyone who had already posted links to their work and I had seen it, as I have pushed yours to the front of the line.

Anyway, I read it and overall I like it. You asked for feedback, so here's some:

The flow is good, and the shorter paragraphs suit the story well.

There are some odd things I noticed, like the stuttering start of sentences which I didn't see in Donaldson's work and seems a little out of place. Also, the use of the word "bloody" seemed strange coming out of a giant's mouth.

I like the attention to detail as you don't overdescribe anything, but use a good amount of adjectives to create enough of the detail.

I didn't think it was soppy at all, and I think the relatively small amount that Donaldson wrote about the pair of them hints at much of what you have written. I don't think you veered from his hints of the private nature of their relationship.

Of course, I haven't read the Final Chronicles, so there could be things I'm missing, so judge my comments on only having read about giants in the First and Second Chronicles.

Well, a handful of others exists (not very long), and they're not going to trot off into the woods and become devoured by a pack of radioactive carnivorous rabbits overnight. Behold, a wild list appears!
Sadly, for me, the whole term "Chronicles fanfiction" has become so saturated with crap-flinging, bad blood, and overall futility that it has stoppered my bottle of interest perhaps for years.
I have a second one somewhere that can be lumped into the same category of dozen inquiries for help and an epic two-year performance from the crickets.

michaelm wrote:Anyway, I read it and overall I like it. You asked for feedback

Thanks! Could you maybe place it in the relevant thread? The last time I looked, the chat had leaped off from the cliff-edge of sanity and plummeted into the wondrous worlds of Twilight. I'm off to bed now, I'll reply with some re-gathered reason later.

Frostheart Grueburn wrote: Behold, a wild list appears!

And it was good.

... except you need to add "Lord Mhoram's Last Quest".