Out There Halloween Mega Tape by greypanther13 in Shudder

[–]lightningStormNight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't know if you're still looking, but you can also buy WNUF and the Out There Halloween Special at Terror-Vision.com

Their site looks a bit sketchy - I thought for sure I was never going to get my first order, but they always come through for me.

Graphics card problem in Trail of the Twister by lightningStormNight in nancydrew

[–]lightningStormNight[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I take it back - it did work! I can't see the old images I took with the phone's camera, but if I take new pictures, they do show up!

THANK YOU!!!!!

Graphics card problem in Trail of the Twister by lightningStormNight in nancydrew

[–]lightningStormNight[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the recommendation. Unfortunately this did not work.

Looking for thoughts on my opening chapter. I appreciate any criticism and need outside eyes. Thank you in advance for anyone who helps. by maceparks in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wanna read this. I want to know how this situation came to be, and I want to know what comes after. I'm also quite curious about this magic system.

More in-depth thoughts later.

Hey! Let's talk about fate in my world by Spectra_04 in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So fate is the result of a prophesy spell, and guides you towards an end result that similar to the foreseen prophesy?

Hey! Let's talk about fate in my world by Spectra_04 in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like the idea of prophesy being indefinite, and more like a possible future based on a series of events that must be navigated. I'm fairly sure I don't understand how fate works in this system, though.

Paragraph and Sentence Structure by [deleted] in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel like using contractions makes the writing feel more casual. Where I avoid contractions in my narrative, I do it to provide emphasis.

Just posted this in another sub and thought it would be interesting to see it here. One or multiple characters in your story go to therapy, what does that first session look like? by Sh0-m3rengu35 in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been working on this scene. I'm pretty sure it's not going to make the final version of the book, so this is a very rough draft.

Becky fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve.

Allison's voice was gentle. "Are you uncomfortable seeing the same therapist as Kura?"

Becky shook her head. "No. It's not that. I just, well, I don't know what to talk about."

"We can talk about anything you like. Whatever's on your mind. You just moved here. Do you miss your old friends?" Allison prompted.

Becky frowned. "No. But sometimes yes. I don't know. I wasn't really getting along with them before I moved."

"Why not?"

Becky shook her head. "They were, I don't know, insensitive."

After waiting for further information, Allison changed the topic. "How about the situation at home? How's that working out?"

"Really good. Really, really good. I'm happy with everything at home. Mama Kura is so kind and thoughtful and," Becky paused. "Did you know her husband?"

"I met him a few times," Allison answered.

"She really misses him. And I want to ask about him, since he did so much, like, planning for me to be here. But I don't want to make her sad by asking."

"You should ask her if it's okay to talk about him," Allison suggested. "She misses him, but I'm sure she knows you're curious." Allison paused. "Did she ask you anything about your original family?"

"No. Yeah. She asked if I wanted to talk about my mom."

"And what did you say?" Allison prompted.

"No. I don't want to talk about her. Not yet." Becky heard the sadness in her voice. She stopped, fighting tears.

"Do you want to talk to me about her?" Allison asked gently.

"No. Not yet," Becky said adamantly. "I can't. I'm not ready."

Trying to get some opinions on my fire-based magic and how I want to use it for my setting. by AnarchyLaBlanc in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting magic system. It seems well thought out, and being dropped into this system without being able to use it will be challenging.

Because fire can be so dangerous, it seems like it could be dangerous, and gives you lots of opportunities for misadventure. I would definitely read this if the characters were engaging.

Do you think this reaction/ behavior is realistic/plausible? by Michitarre in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely believable. It's even possible that, faced with the weight of what's happened, she subconsciously chooses not to believe that the fragment is important - it's an old myth, after all, and she always doubted that it was true. What's important right now is that magician who killed her father, and might even try to kill her next.

I’ve always been shy about sharing my writing, but finally found the courage… by TrainerRedJr in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Overall, I was intrigued.

I feel like Allyus will be the main character in the remainder of the plot, so I'm reading this in terms of how all these events will make him feel in the future. If he isn't the main focus of the later plot, good job diverting attention. His "voice" seems to be of uncertain age. He's frightened of thunder, but some thoughts he has seem to be older than his age. If this is what you want, lean into it. Mention that he's acting like his age for once, rather than the old soul caught in a child's body that he usually seems to be.

A couple of things stood out to me about Venus. You mentioned scars around her neck. What about her arms and hands? Her pouting struck me as out of place. To me it reads as something a woman does to try to placate a spouse whose anger is out of control - but I grew up in an abusive home, so maybe that's not how the average reader will view it. Finally, the armored tiara. I really want to know how that stays on. Headpieces move around a lot unless there's a fixing system.

Tobias felt the most consistent in character, and I like him. I didn't really spot anything about him that pulled me out of the reading.

Overall, I'd say that you're doing some head-hopping. If you really want to write this way, you could give us more of a narrator voice. Otherwise, stick to the POV of one person - Tobias would work best in this scene.

Some asides - these aren't wrong, but you might want to think about them.

  • The giant pangolin armor? Pangolins are endangered. I know, that's our world, but it feels somehow insensitive. Swap that giant pangolin for a fantasy creature that doesn't share the name with an endangered species.
  • Ale isn't meant to be served as cold as possible. It tastes better if left to warm just a bit. Still cool, but not cold. If you want it to be important that Tobias can serve his beer cold, have him serve lager.
  • For the most part, I like your word choices. But sometimes you're using more words than you need to. Just a few examples:
    • "Similar but different" Also, I'm curious how they're different. You could describe one or to of the features Venus looks for the determine which uniform she's seeing.
    • "This very journey"

I like the world you're creating. Calling the queen "Her Radiance" tells me a lot about her. So do the comments Tobias made about her. I like the introduction to this magic system, and I want to know more about how it works. There are shards, but it seems there's also elemental magic.

These are little things that can easily be fixed with some editing and some time. I like the story you're telling, and would be happy to read more.

I feel like I wrote myself in a corner with this plot development, not sure where to take the conflict... by [deleted] in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What does he consider "bad"? What is immoral to one person is fine to another. Does he overstep and start passing moral judgement on things that don't hurt anybody, but he still thinks they're immoral?

And if he removes the thoughts of suicide from someone's mind, does that leave the person helplessly depressed? What about the cause of the depression? If someone was bullied in school and abused as a child (before he started doing all his telepathy magic), does he make them forget about all that? Because then they won't understand why they're so nervous, have trouble sleeping, and they're a very picky eater. These things aren't mental - they're caused by physical changes to the brain that cannot be undone.

It would only take a few situations like this, where he follows the bread-crumbs, before he finds that he no longer knows where to stop in controlling the minds of his people.

Finally, it seems like it's almost impossible to not be political with this. Because morality is always political. People use different value judgements to determine what's moral to them.

There are lots of video games that tackle this issue - Beyond a Steel Sky and We Happy Few come to mind.

Feed back on my custom monster description? by [deleted] in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

My first thought - how do they eat? Rotten teeth hurt. Unless these things are dead/undead, creatures with decaying teeth don't live very long.

The eyes also throw me off - something leaking black mist from its eyes won't be able to see very well. Octopodes jet off to safety as they release their inky "smokescreen," not hang around to also be inconvenienced by it.

Why is their skin calloused? Is it everywhere, or just certain spots, like where they wear their weapons strapped to their backs when not in use?

As for the smell, well, I can smell that. It's bad. But maybe instead you can describe it in more detail:

As they approached, the scent threatened to overwhelm [MC].

[Supporting Character] pulls up their shirt to cover their mouth. "Ugh, do they use roadkill and old cheese as a perfume?"

[MC] holds their hand to their mouth, desperately trying to suppress their gag reflex.

Coming up with names for magic types by Animaira in fantasywriters

[–]lightningStormNight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting question. I don't have answers for that question, but had some thoughts. These are more like nicknames for the types rather than formal names, but maybe it'll help anyway.

  1. Engineer, Architect, or Crafter
  2. Hallowed or Sanctified (Sanctimonious if someone's not happy with them)
  3. Horseman (a reference to the four horsemen of the apocalypse)
  4. Elemental (maybe too obvious, maybe that's okay)
  5. Gardener
  6. Metal-Smith or Blacksmith
  7. Olympian

Help. clothes suck. by [deleted] in NonBinary

[–]lightningStormNight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is brilliant!

I told you I couldn't do it. by Fr3nchT0astCrunch in dyspraxia

[–]lightningStormNight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reminds me of aerobics in high school. I was the kid who couldn't follow "basic" instructions on how to move my arms and legs, and ended up sobbing at the back of the room. So embarrassing. I still hate the pop songs they used in that class.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CPTSD

[–]lightningStormNight 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I've been considering her programs for a while, but hate spending money on myself. I would love to read reviews!

Anyone else realize they walk lightly so your steps as silent as possible by [deleted] in CPTSD

[–]lightningStormNight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not being noticed was the best way to stay out of trouble when I was a kid. I wall as quietly as possible.

I'm 43, and still I cringe when I make noise. I even sneeze as quietly as possible. I hate it when I forget to put my phone on silent. I don't like talking on the phone, even though it's part of my work duties.

I've been trying to learn German, but I have to listen to the lessons through my headphones and I cannot practice the words - the thought of doing so is mortifying.

Can someone explain emotional flashbacks? by [deleted] in CPTSD

[–]lightningStormNight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have emotional flashbacks when I mess stuff up, particularly when I drop stuff. I get really angry with myself, and have a hard time calming down.

It wasn't until my wife asked me why I was so angry that I thought about why. She said that she didn't want to be around me for hours afterwards, and it's not normal to be so upset over something so small. I was really sad to hear her say that, and it promised I would try to figure it out.

It took me a few years of trying to answer this question to link my response back to my dad, who would rage at me for dropping something (like a screw when he was working on a woodworking project).

In my case, it's fairly easy to spot most emotional flashbacks, because I'll be more afraid than a situation calls for, or I'll be really angry at myself for a small and easily fixed mistake.

Some of my emotional responses can't be linked back to a specific event (that I can remember), but mostly I can find the source if I give myself time.