R.J.

Hurt is an ocean between us, one whose waves have driven me away so far, that if I ever tried to find my way back to remember where you are, I would lose myself. And if I ever do find myself on the same spot the waves have driven me from, you would be too far to recognize, and this ocean between us would be too vast for me to ever look past it at you. (wrote this a long time ago, and it makes me sigh each time I read it)

In another universe, Brandon Sanderson also completed a series entitled A Song of Ice and Fire lol soooo prolific

Well, sex sells lol. Personally, as a reader, sex scenes in stories tend to be written more like fillers than anything. I've read a lot of stories over the years but I can only remember only one story with well written sex in it and was not written as a filler (I tend to skip the few I encounter because they really read like a filler) — Crosscrurrents by Adam Phillips. And as a writer, I find sex scenes extremely difficult, more difficult than writing the actual story. I think it is a gift to be able to write effective sex scenes lol

thank you! i thought it was markpeters.com lol

five feet away is too far lol

I rarely read the news these days (I don't really like watching TV) because I get tempted to read the comments. I didn't even realize there are so many anti-vaxxers (who also happen to be religous nuts—surprise, surprise!) until covid happened. I don't understand it. Worse, there are those who to this day still believes covid doesn't exist. The only good thing (sometimes bad) that came from this situation is having to work from home.

you guys could try google docs, so that everything's saved and backed up online and can also be accessed through your phones. i used it when i went back to writing. already learned my lesson 10 years ago lol

everything you said, i couldn't agree more. it's just crazy but sane. when i was younger (and i assume not just me) i had this assumption being an adult would make everything better but everything's still a mess hahaha only a million dollars would probably fix this

And I missed you guys too 😊 just suddenly found myself with a lot of extra time now that I'm working from home lol I'm in the minority who actually liked episodes 1-3 🤣 though I was still a teenager when I saw them and maybe hayden christensen had something to do about that

Mardi Gras Murders by Mark Peters is definitely adult and a detective story, though I'm not sure it is in his page here. I remember reading it in his own website 10 years ago which seems to have gone offline now.

I would recommend anything by Rick Beck here at AD. Though the characters sometimes start out in highschool, majority of my memory of his stories seems to be in the character's adulthood. Outside the Foul Lines, I believe, started out in college. Mark Peters' stories also, I believe, are almost all adults. I read these stories years ago so I don't really have perfect memory of them.

now those are summers to look forward to 😅

And my romantic side agrees 😁 There was a phase in Asian gay fiction (in web literature or movies) when every story did not have a happy ending, and while I could relate, I absolutely hated it. I'm just glad that phase is over now.

John Mayer said in his new song, "shouldn't leave you messages in every little song." And I could relate to that. I was supposed to entitle Signs as Dear John, but I realized it would just be a message in a bottle in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And, I think I'll leave it at that 😅 Very grateful for your kind words 😊

that's great to know, Mike! i think i'm going to be taking advantage of that in the coming months. thanks!

definitely bookmarking this site for when i have lots of free time to read. thank you, james!

hey hey! welcome to AD forums 🙂

So, as I mentioned in the forums, I have been revisiting my past works and have been thinking of re-writing them. Though now that I think about it, the correct term is editing. The most I'm thinking of re-writing are a few paragraphs but never the whole story really because that is a lot of work. But, I don't know. Right now, I'm still afraid I might make a wreck of it instead of making it better. On the [new] writing front, I have completed a new short story. And it's long, wow. It's the first story I have completed since Having Put in Time. A story I wrote for Midnight Dude in 2011. 2011! That's a long time. As for the story I "abandoned", In a World of Fools, I have actually gotten a few emails about it over the years, and I'm hoping they are reading this blog, because I do plan on continuing it. I think I mentioned in a blog post before that I stopped writing it because my computer back then died, and with it, all my files as well. It was frustrating at that time. But, now, I'm glad the cloud has been invented. No more lost files. Looking back, I'm also glad that I did not get to finish In a World of Fools, because, that time, I was in a really really bad place, and I fully intended to write the story as a tragedy. Regardless, I have learned my lesson, which is to complete the whole story/novel first before posting. It also will be easier that way to rewrite certain parts. Currently, I'm in the middle of drafting a Tagalog novel, 220, posted in my Wattpad account. I plan to translate this into English and have it here in AD. I also have a few ideas ruminating up there, but we'll see how it goes. I'm taking this one step at a time.

So, anyone available? I have a 7,700-word short story, and it's the first one (really) I have completed since 10 years ago. Not to scare you, but. Haha!

I agree, James. If I would rewrite my early works, I was thinking it would mostly be in rewording and fleshing out the thoughts and feelings and details while keeping plots intact—sort of, I guess, dressing it up better.

Hi, Camy! 😄 And it's good to be back! I really missed this place. And yep, I'm actually in the middle of something new. I was just scanning my stuff and couldn't help the cringe especially at my earliest ones hahaha

Me: *nervously looking at the date of the last topic in this forum* So, I'm not sure if anyone still remembers me 🤣 The last story I wrote for AD (or anyone, including myself) was a short story, Having Put in Time, for Midnight Dude. I wrote this 10 years ago, 2011, if I'm not mistaken. Since then, all I've written were a few flash fiction here and there and a series of beginnings with no ends, or climaxes for that matter. Because, well, life. I have recently been scanning my surviving old works here at AD (Thanks, Mike!), a majority of which I wrote when I was 18-19 yrs old, and shit, I couldn't help cringing. I want to rewrite them so bad! But then, I remember the emails I got back then, of readers enjoying my work, and I can't help wondering if my past works are really just fine the way they are or do I need to make my present self happy about them. So, any thoughts?

I find TVs nowadays are actually a lot cheaper (but still a lot of money 🤣🤣🤣)

It didn’t seem to be the Lakers’ night tonight. No. Scratch that. It wasn't their night tonight, period. Sure, they were winning and all, but—come on—their score was way too low. I mean, they're playing the fucking Bobpussies! The score shouldn't be that close. Just then, Kobe jumped and took a shot. And fucking missed! Hello? We’re talking about Kobe here. Kobe makes those shots and doesn’t miss. Hell, I could’ve taken that shot, and I wouldn’t have missed! How could he? Fuck, I don’t need to watch this! But when I switched the TV off, the silence assaulted my ears, my very... being. It was just too fucking quiet! I turned the TV on again. Then, I turned it off again. FUCK! Fucking hell of a night. And if not for the sudden banging on my door, I probably would’ve thrown the remote at my TV. Sure, it was from a second hand shop, but it had still cost me money. “JON!” That voice. “JON! I know you’re in there.” Okay, it’s State the Obvious Day. “Jon, please, open up!” Why should I? “I didn’t ditch you. Please believe me!” Really? “I had to take my mom to the hospital, and I forgot my phone at home. By the time I remembered to call you on a payphone, you wouldn’t pick up.” I moved closer to the door, sighing, wishing I wasn’t so paranoid. “I’m sorry,” he said. I opened the door, and I couldn’t help laughing a little when he immediately fell to the floor. He must’ve been leaning on it. He also looked like he should’ve put me off for tomorrow instead. That really cooled me down fast. I helped him up. Then, I hugged him. “I’m glad you didn’t just forget,” I said, finally relieved. I had been about ready to trash my TV. Note: Yes, I wrote this back when payphones were still relevant LOL!

At first there were stars and planets and moons and galaxies beyond, and the universe was spectacular— it was home. But floating in space with nothing to grasp, all the stars, all the moons, and comets— everything! —were all within sight but vastly out of reach. And the universe grew colder and colder, moment by moment.