noticed that this forum is becoming a notice board - where are the serious (or comic) discussions on what we do?
Eamon, I tried to start a thread about editing fiction (and poetry) (prose) -- literary editing -- at Mad Hatters' Review a month or so ago, and there were no replies. I had started other topics at matchbook and sex (sometimes in the first line), and there were replies. It was Finnegan (reincarnated here as Marcus) who had suggested to Ms. Novack that I start threads at MHR. We get less traffic there -- and at any of the group pages -- than the general forum does. It seems the general forum attracts us because it's easier to navigate. I'd like it if we could be alerted when comments have been added to threads where we have posted, as a simpler way of staying in contact.
Eamon, to be fair, there is a fine tradition, at least in America, of the use of public forums for the purpose of announcement, sometimes for the general good, sometimes for self-aggrandisement.
In that vein, I would like to announce here, on Fn's General Forum, that I will not be interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air." The subject of this unprecedented non-interview will be my novel, "Son of Man," which, though it's not yet finished, has not been sought after by major publishers worldwide. Rumor has it that Sean Penn will not bid for the movie rights.
This non-event will not air on September 15th. I have asked Terry Gross, though she has not responded, that mimes be permitted to broadcast interpretations of the interview in a simul-cast on AM radio. I'm excited ... and I do hope everyone at Fn is excited for me as well.
I think it's just the nature of the beast, eamon. This is a social site centered on writing, not a writing site, per se. As such, it can be very useful to varying degrees and in varying aspects.
Also, it's open to the public (unlike zoem other place), so most people for the most part strive to remain on their best behavior.
I've seen threads on zoether sites on subjects as innocuous as comma usage devolve into raging, hateful, insulting, MURDEROUS, sick, near-psychopathic displays which eventually led to the downfall of the zite....
(Oh, wait... all this reminds me I have new poems coming out in Toucan, Mississippi Crow and Crow Toes Quarterly!
Check 'em out!)
good one Matt - comma usage - a subject close to my heart - actually i wasn't saying the SITE shouldn't be a social one, just that there might be use for a FORUM to discuss serio(comic) aspects of the [art/craft/whatever] - hard to use these terms without feeling like a prat, somehow
Ann, the idea of somehow linking up all these various forum postings is a good one, but maybe a bit unrealistic to implement - but as a general point, there are far too many groups/forums to keep track of around here, and most are pure replicates of each other anyway
oh, and I have not taken notice of your comments, James
Ann, there's a feed for the forum itself that I believe would update itself with the comments. I know that it would include all topics, but there aren't that many on a daily basis that would make it an annoyance.
I haven't been as active here lately because I get frustrated with the amount of story postings--some are daily by the same people--and it's just me because I don't want to skip over stories, because I cannot keep up unless I spend the day here!
Oh, hello. Eamon, I'll chat about writing, that's cool. James - I'm always excited for you. Ann, yes to the email alert, that would indeed be good. Susan, I just read 21 posts, one after the other, based on your one Facebook message: I am such a puppet! Matt, I will never fight you for a comma. A semi-colon, maybe... Everyone - happy writing, take care, see you again soon. Here, probably. M.
Hi Martha! I just went back through 10 pages, but admit that I didn't read every story and now I'm worried that I probably overlooked some great ones, but I'm not going back. The 10 pages was only for 3 days of posting!
Martha--it is *I* who belongs to the Comma Brigade!
(rattling sabre dangerooooosley...)
Eamon, you should take notice that I did not notice that you took no notice of my comments and notices.
I'm confused, now, and must lay down. Thank you.
THAT'S "LIE DOWN," JAMES!! "LAY" IS A TRANSATIVE VERB, YOU BIG DUMMY!
(demonstrating hidden dangers ...)
;-)
Matt, how dare you misspell transetive!
(:-
For strewth, that's a bixter of a word!
Bixter? Didst thou spake bixter? 'Sblood, didst look betwixt biyearly and biz and didst nay findst bixter!
Now, I dunno what ghetto y'all was raised up in, but down here? We don' tawk like that. 'Betwixt yo' bixter' you own selves!