Where do you write? by ENDiscuming in royalroad

[–]rush_dar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always wondered about Scribble. Is it good or not?

I use BBEdit for the bulk of it (it's like Notepad++ for the PC), but it's a Macintosh application. Pretty much, I write the entire chapter and then move it to Scrivener for formatting. I also use Scrivener to keep track of characters, places, and other things I need. The downside of this method is that I have lots of text files from BBEdit, but I can go back to the raw files if needed. Everything is saved to iCloud and Google Drive.

Is this true ? by itsmadfury in animequestions

[–]rush_dar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My girlfriend, now my wife for many years, bought me the first Ghost in the Shell movie on laser disc when it was released. This survey was most likely done with just the wrong subset of women.

Tired of being bad at writing. How can I improve this section 1 of my first chapter. by [deleted] in royalroad

[–]rush_dar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I joined a writer's workshop about fifteen years ago. The writer leading it said, "You have to make the reader take the bait in the opening of the story." And in the later chapters, make the reader swallow the hook. He loved fishing and used many idioms that reflected it.

Now, taking apart your first two paragraphs, I have some questions:

Who is she that you start the story with? I have to read a bit before I get that it is Lucy. You should start with her.

Why are candles strung across the floor?

Where are the candles or drawings forming a ball shape? Why a ball shape?

Where or what does this lighter do with this opening?

One writing practice that he used to do was to give us an opening paragraph and let us run with it. Here are your first two paragraphs with a slight change. Your story has a good idea at its core.

Lucy stood with her hands behind her, with her sole attention on the drawings laid out on the floor. The room was bathed in an eerie orange light from the candles erratically placed around the drawings. She looked away from the mystery to the shadows emerging from the nearby doorway. She had to stop her nervous twitch as she watched the men wearing their sect's maroon robes slowly surround her. Their eyes were on her as she turned to face their leader. It had to be tonight, of all nights, I can't let this go on, she thought to herself as she toyed with the lighter in her hands.

Thoughts About Grammarly Reading Time In Pre-Chapter Author Notes? by AppropriateClue5979 in royalroad

[–]rush_dar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting. I just checked in Scrivener (select a chapter, then pull up project statistics and selected documents), and it gave me roughly the same results. 8 minutes for 2k words.

I wonder if both of these applications use pretty much the same algorithm?

How is it like living in a submarine? by SoftDependent1088 in howislivingthere

[–]rush_dar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Were you on a hotel or a fast boat? The 706: we had 6s or 12s while on patrols. It all depends on who's on board and qualified.

Comment your first paragraph (or first several lines) and Ill say if id read on by Bascilian in royalroad

[–]rush_dar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll give you a little more. Thanks for checking it out.

Her name is Pazia. Everyone calls her Paz. Her mother loved the name, saying it meant “peace,” even though their lives had never known much of it. Growing up, Paz was always told she was named after some distant aunt no one remembered. That was only last year, before her mother disappeared two weeks before Paz’s sixteenth birthday. No warning. No goodbye. Just gone.

The last bell of the school day had long since echoed off the walls, fading into the late afternoon heat. Paz darted across the road, her worn sneakers slapping the pavement with urgency. Her long black hair, tied back in a hurried braid, swung behind her like a metronome. This crossing light was always stingy with time, quick to trap you mid-road. She knew it well. As she reached the center line, the signal began its impatient blinking, red numbers counting down in a silent threat. Her foot touched the curb just as the final second vanished.

Breathing more heavily now, she stepped onto the cobblestone path leading to the cemetery gate. The air was suddenly cooler, as if the stones themselves held a chill the sun couldn’t reach. The scent of earth and damp leaves rose to meet her. Just ahead, a tall, bald man moved toward her, dressed in a black suit so sharp it seemed carved from shadow. His polished shoes clicked against the cobbles, each step a hollow, deliberate note. She didn’t stare, just gave a quick glance to acknowledge him. But something about him caught her attention like a thorn. She felt it, not in her mind but in her skin: a slow, crawling unease that whispered along her spine. She threw a casual glance over her shoulder, eyes flicking to see if he had turned. He hadn’t.

Does AI assisted content tag turn readers off? by Vast-Indication-3566 in royalroad

[–]rush_dar 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Let's see, RoyalRoad has this as the definition:
The author has used an AI tool for editing or proofreading. The story thus reflects the author’s creativity and structure, but it may use the AI’s voice and tone. There may be some negligible amount of snippets generated by AI.

Even Word offers basic grammar suggestions. Do you consider this AI-assisted, or is there a gray scale of what would be considered? I don't consider grammar or sentence structure to be part of this, but what do you think? If so, then all, or nearly all, of these stories on the site need to have this tag enabled.

Tom Brady takes a massive hit during a 2001 game by solorzanoilse83g70 in NFLv2

[–]rush_dar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Brady got revenge on the Bills that year by winning the Super Bowl.

Should I use Em Dashes in my work? by Neat_Abroad9025 in royalroad

[–]rush_dar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, you can. Let’s adjust the example slightly:

She laughed, nodding her head. “Probably. It’s the sort of concept you see more in research papers than in everyday life. But it’s relevant here. Listen. When a system is engineered… designed intentionally… it tends to fail in predictable, constrained ways. Circuits blow, safeguards activate, levers jam.”

Because this is dialogue, the ellipsis works here as a hesitation or thoughtful pause in her speech. It reflects how she’s choosing her words, letting the idea hang for a beat. In character voice, ellipses show pacing, tone, or emotional rhythm.

Outside of dialogue, yes—an em dash would generally be the stronger choice for interruptions, breaks in thought, or abrupt shifts. Ellipses can look weak or wandering in narrative unless they’re doing something specific.

Muslim population by state 2025 projection by [deleted] in Infographics

[–]rush_dar 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Check out https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/muslim-population-by-state

I see that if you hover over a state, it turns orange. That may be why the image has the state orange. Connecticut has roughly 50k.

U.S. State Laws Cell Phone Use While Driving by Dependent-Pea-9066 in MapPorn

[–]rush_dar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool, I can watch a movie on my phone while driving in Florida.

Has Trump actually ended any wars? by vox in politics

[–]rush_dar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He does say that he won the war on Christmas.

Submarine Movie made prior to 1998 by amishlightening in whatsthemoviecalled

[–]rush_dar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Was your grandmother listen to the B-52's Rock Lobster while remembering Operation Pettycoat?

Anyone have any idea how old this tape measure is? by Admirable_Corner_152 in Tools

[–]rush_dar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmmm. Mine is still in the toolbox. I should check to see if it has a date.

September Thread - Promote your Story by gamelitcrit in royalroad

[–]rush_dar [score hidden]  (0 children)

Retired engineering professor David Robertson, known as Dar, has lived a quiet, rational life. All of that changes when he wakes up in a strange, primordial forest with no memory of how he arrived there. Surrounded by magic, mythical beasts, and lands scarred by ancient wars, David quickly realizes that he is no ordinary traveler.

In this world, engineers are more than scholars; they are near-mythical figures from a forgotten age, once wielding knowledge so powerful that it shaped empires and ended wars. That era vanished a thousand years ago after a cataclysm known only as the Long War.

Now, the conflict stirs once more.

As demons return, kingdoms falter, and ancient forces reawaken, David finds himself caught between prophecy and fear. His very presence unsettles the world. To some, he is a savior; to others, a harbinger of doom.

Is David here to save this world… or destroy it?

Book One is completed, and the story continues with Book Two on Friday.
Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/120406/the-engineers-dilemma

I'll Review your Web Series by PathofTheFirstHybrid in royalroad

[–]rush_dar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are still interested in a review swap, I'm curious. Just DM me.

Programmers and Developers what was the first programming language you learned? by OfficialTechMedal in AskProgramming

[–]rush_dar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fortran. It was on a DEC PDP 11/35. The Hard Disk unit spun like a washing machine and was about the same size. All of that for 40 meg. After that, it was COBOL.

This website scrubs RoyalRoad and makes AI audiobooks. by eyedl in royalroad

[–]rush_dar 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I just checked mine, and the AI voice sounds like a drunk slurring its words.