Paul
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Posts posted by Paul
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He takes a cliched situation, the brawl in the boy's bathroom, and un-cliches it. Nice.
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I don't speak Latin, but I knew a librarian with an "In Libris Libertas" tattoo. She told me it translated to "In books, freedom" or "There is freedom in books", depending on how strictly you wanted to translate.
That's my impression as well - not a specific book, but books in general.
In bygone days, if you were a snooty type, you'd paste an adhesive bookplate on the inside cover of your books that stated, for example, "Ex Libris EleCivil," meaning, "from EleCivil's library."
This pun wouldn't be a variation on Abbie Hoffman's "Steal This Book," would it, blue?
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le chat a chi? dans le cabinet !
I think that's what they use in these less inhibited days in place of La plume de ma tante est sur la table.
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Am I the only one who uses Post-It notes? Can't fall out of the book, you see.
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It is only an example but is the use of a well known title in this way considered plagiarism or worse yet an infringement of copyright?
Book titles can't be copyrighted, according to the US Copyright Office. See this link which says in part:
Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks.
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In the stuff I?ve written, on Nifty, the ?conflict? tends to be more internal. Not so much the classic, boy-meets-boy, boy-loses-boy, boy-gets-boy-back; more, ?this is how I learned about life, and myself.? Or, ?these are the fears I faced up to.? Or, ?this is how I got over myself.? Because to me ? that kind of story seems more realistic; and hence, more moving.
Now I want to check out your stuff to get a feel of what you're talking about. It sounds right up my alley, as a matter of fact. Could you give a pointer to your Nifty stories? Thanks.
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Hoo-hah! Now that's the kind of cliffhanger I like.
Again, a really excellent job. After reading so much online fiction that's padded with inconsquential action and repetitive introspective narration, it's a pleasure to read such well-paced plotting. The events move the story along, help develop the characters and are witty and entertaining to boot.
I wonder if it was a temptation to title the chapter "Riots of Spring"?
I'm glad to see that the game here called "In Bed" is still played. In my day, we called it "Between the Sheets," which I personally feel has a bit more panache.
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Actually, I think Graeme's real motivation for writing this story is to teach us Aussie slang. Unfortunately, unlike my earlier research for "ute," I wasn't able to find a web site with lots of pictures of cute garbos.
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Strikes me as a pivotal chapter, plot- and character development-wise.
We're get a glimpse, first-hand, at some of Alex's issues, previously just hinted at through comments from his friends. For all of his confusion over it, the incident provides an opportunity for Brandon to reveal important sides to his character. While there's no open confrontation between Nick and his father, we see that he can demonstrate some level of defiance. All of that makes me eager to see how things play out. Sort of like we've come to the first major hill on a roller coaster ride.
On another level, though, I'm eager to see how EleCivil, as an author, handles it all. Lord knows that some of the elements here, at least superficially, are familiar ones. The hell-breathing fundamentalist gay-basher preacher pops up frequently, and usually interchangeably, from story to story and author to author. If there's anything he ain't, EleCivil ain't interchangeable, so I look forward to his take on this.
On a minor proofing or structural note, I did get momentarily disoriented during the exchange between Brandon and Alex toward the end. After Alex's "Are you saying I'm easy?" there are two separate lines of dialog that seem partially redundant and, though they're separated as paragraphs and opening and closing quotes, both belong to Brandon. Reading straight through the first time, I got thrown off the track as to who was saying what. Maybe a revision that didn't get thoroughly cleaned up?
There's a unique personal vision that comes through EleCivil's writing, something missing from a lot of otherwise competent online gay fiction. That's really what makes me eager for more.
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Speaking purely as a reader, this kind of thing isn't unfamiliar at all, and if constructed properly, it never presents me with a problem in comprehension. Translation: if it's done right, I can understand it perfectly.
Which is more than I can say about that article! Man, I thought the terminology in academic film criticism was arcane!
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Then there's the unfinished story I recent stumbled upon on Nifty. The author added a note that said something along the lines of "Hey guys, let me know how you want the story to go, OK? I'm running out of ideas."
That's just a bad author.
Oh, absolutely. I wasn't suggesting that as a way to surmount writer's block. Actually, when I read that, my jaw dropped.
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To me, there's no excuse for a writer to not finish a story, except death or severe illness. It drives me batty when somebody comes up with a helluva open for a tale, only for me to see it evaporate when they let it die on the vine.
Then there's the unfinished story I recent stumbled upon on Nifty. The author added a note that said something along the lines of "Hey guys, let me know how you want the story to go, OK? I'm running out of ideas."
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Ute: short for Utility vehicle. Known in the USA as a pickup truck.
Not quite, though they do serve a similar purpose. A ute is actually a passenger car body that's been modified to have a truck bed in the rear, where the rear seats and trunk would normally be. Sort of the reverse of an SUV, which is basically a truck modified into a passenger vehicle.
Though they weren't called utes back then, these vehicles enjoyed a brief popularity in the USA in the 1960s, the Chevy El Camino being perhaps the most familiar.
The research I did after reading the story took me to this site.
I think they're pretty cool, and it's doubly cool that they're still being produced and are so popular.
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Looks good; an intriguing concept that I look forward to seeing developed.
Plus I had fun looking into what a "ute" is!
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Assuming you don't have something personal to say to an author that only email would be appropriate for, what's the feeling about stating your general reactions to an author's story in email vs. in a public forum?
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Maybe he's trying to tell us he's been proclaimed Emperor and just got himself a new wardrobe.
Hmmm... there's an idea for you: Gay versions of Hans Christian Andersen fables. Some of the titles have possibilities:
The Saucy Boy
The Wicked Prince
Everything in the Right Place
The Old Bachelor's Nightcap
Two Brothers
The Farmyard Cock and the Weather Cock
The Bishop of Borglum and his Warriors
Beauty of Form and Beauty of Mind
Granted, some of these require a bit of imagination, or maybe just a dirty mind...
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My roommate woke up, looked over and said "Hey...want to go build a trebuchet?" Now, personally, I can't imagine hearing that and responding with anything other than "Hell yes, I want to build a trebuchet." So...no new chapter yet, but on the plus side, there's a seven foot tall seige engine in my driveway.
It's messages like this that make me think you're actually living one of your stories.
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http://www.iomfats.org/storyshelf/hosted/arram/
A series of linked stories that should be read in the order as listed on the site. Note that the second, "Terry and the Preachers," ongoing here, is actually complete on Nifty, as part of "Toward the Decent Inn" in the college section. At present, it appears that the third "Henry" story, "Henry in Finkle Road" is still in the process of being written.
There's an ongoing "big" romance at the center of the first few stories, whose protagonists progress from college age through young adulthood, but whose lives continue to touch the evolving series of characters and their adventures.
There are a wealth of fascinating, vivid characters who range from the affectingly romantic and sympathetic to the hatefully despicable, and a few who are downright hilarious. The narratives involve such varied themes as academic life, power, wealth and politics, English and European history and religion, even ghosts and spirituality. Besides the relationships that are at the core of the stories, there's a goodly amount of action/adventure. Locales range from rural English villages and schools to Southern California, from eastern USA college campuses to fictional European monarchies. Though the characters face their share of tragedies and heartbreak along the way, there's also triumph and fulfilment. The mood isn't angst-ridden, but on the other hand, neither is it frivolous; quite thoughtful when it needs to be.
The large cast and varied storylines are handled skillfully, and you never lose your way. Scene-setting is evocative and descriptive when necessary; well-paced, nothing seems padded or extraneous. Sex, when presented, is integral to the narrative and characterizations, and not gratuitous.
In the end, it's an excellent mix of characters whose lives you're eager to follow, and plots you're eager to watch unfold. A real page-turner for me. Very professionally accomplished, in the best sense of the term.
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The next chapter is almost done. I am going over it to make sure it doesn't suck since it is rather a big turning point in the story. I plan to submit it Monday or Tuesday, so be on the lookout.
I'm looking forward to it. Kyle is one of those endearing characters who possess a great deal of charm, but doesn't realize it, and finds himself floundering. Another thing he doesn't realize is that he has a great deal of inner strength. You just can't help rooting for the guy.
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OK, I confess. It wasn't my car keys that I once found in the refrigerator; that just sounded more dramatic, and to be honest, at least plausibly sane. Anyway, I have every expectation that someday I will find them in there.
What I found, and what I'd been going crazy looking for, was my coffee scoop. And it wasn't the refrigerator, it was the freezer compartment.
Now, were I to attempt an explanation as to why the loss of a coffee scoop, and in particular that coffee scoop was so important to me, I'd start sounding like a character from an EleCivil story, only not nearly as interesting.
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Don't start worrying until the first time you find your car keys in the refrigerator.
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Another positive comment here, by me. Very engaging characters. Looking forward to following them. Thanks!
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Thanks for creating such an interesting character and writing with such wit and imagination.
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Thanks for bringing the forum back.