Libby

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 5 days, 18 hours ago

    Thank you, Ath.
    And Bella.

  • Libby started the topic Short story published in the forum Podium 6 days, 17 hours ago

    The story I wrote for the November comp. ‘I Lied When I Said My Daughter Lived Abroad’ has been published today:

    https://www.cafelitmagazine.uk/

    Thank you, Terrie @purplewitch for the prompt!

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 6 days, 21 hours ago

    You are well prepared, Janette! Good luck with the self pub.

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 1 week, 1 day ago

    I’ll try my best but the diary is pretty full at the moment.

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 1 week, 1 day ago

    Hi Janette, I’ve never self-published but am in contact with editors and proofreaders who work with self-pub authors. This tip usually doesn’t apply to experienced writers so I just add it as a general comment. When self-pub authors approach editors for a proofread or copy edit, often what’s needed is a more substantial developmental or…[Read more]

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 2 weeks ago

    That’s marvellous news, Jill.

    • Jill replied 2 weeks ago

      Thank you, Libby. It has really helped me participating again in this warm, creative and supportive virtual community alongside my mutually supportive real Tim

      Thank you, Libby. It is such a pleasure being part of this online community once more. Jill x

  • Thank you, Terrie! And congratulations on a truly creepy story, Ath. And Jill for a heart-warming, magical tale – exactly right for the time of year.

  • You asked for a heart-warming tale, Terrie, but my story, after I started it and got stuck, became the opposite. You’re welcome to disqualify it or not read it at all.

    Content warning: includes postnatal depression

    499 words including title

     

    I Lied When I Said My Daughter Lived Abroad

    After that walk up and down a steep crag, I sat beside t…[Read more]

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 1 month, 1 week ago

    It sounds as though it presents frustrations. Thanks for keeping it all going and working with its idiosyncracies.

    • I sometimes feel a bit like the man who asked for directions and was told, ‘Well, I wouldn’t start from here.’

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 1 month, 1 week ago

    Thanks, Ath. Some profile updates are mentioned on the Activity page, e.g. Richard’s and Janette’s, and others aren’t, e.g. Sandra’s and mine. Perhaps it’s just an example of its flakiness.

    • Exactly that. I’m not even certain whether the activity page is a WordPress thing or one of the plugins that makes it a community site.

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 1 month, 1 week ago

    Thank you, Ath. A good idea. At the moment updated profiles aren’t necessarily being mentioned on the activity page, but you may well know that already.

    • I didn’t know, Libby. Have you done an update recently? There’s a full change log in the admin menu, but I didn’t see anything. I haven’t looked at how the Activity Page is built; I know it’s complex and occasionally flakey, so I’ve tried to steer clear.

      • Oh, or did you mean that my post about the changes has slipped down because of subsequent posts? That can be a nuisance sometimes. There’s a banner headline facility that I also avoid.

        • Thanks, Ath. Some profile updates are mentioned on the Activity page, e.g. Richard’s and Janette’s, and others aren’t, e.g. Sandra’s and mine. Perhaps it’s just an example of its flakiness.

          • Exactly that. I’m not even certain whether the activity page is a WordPress thing or one of the plugins that makes it a community site.

  • What fabulous entries, all of them fantastical, brilliant and captivating. Halloween has prompted very good stories.

    @jillsted – here was an enticing mystery with a comic touch. Told with great pacing and a strong atmosphere of folk tale, it hooked me from start to finish.

    @purplewitch (Terrie) – what wonderful creepiness. I loved the rich lan…[Read more]

  • A reminder for anyone who, like me, forget this month’s competition deadline is tonight: the October monthly comp deadline is midnight tonight! You might have a suitable WIP hiding away somewhere…

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 2 months ago

    She did look as though she’d never been on a moor in her life.
    Here’s Larry, wondering if he’s done the right thing
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuthering_Heights_(1939_film)#/media/File:Laurence_Olivier_-_1939.jpg

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 2 months ago

    I enjoyed Middlemarch when I read it some years ago. I like politics in novels – didn’t mind those parts. As for Rosamund Vincy: poor Lydgate. The mistakes we make.
    The classic that’s had most impact recently is Wuthering Heights. I had to reread it for a book group or else wouldn’t have bothered. Teenage memories of a depressing story of a grim…[Read more]

  • Thanks, Ath. Yes, I was thinking that writers might collect some AI produced fiction and do something with its tropes, sort of like Pop Art did. I’m vague about this. Am looking for reasons for optimism!

  • Libby posted a new activity comment 2 months ago

    Congratulations on finishing Ulysses. I’ve never even tried.
    The thought of reading The Magic Mountain crosses my consciousness from time to time. But Ath, did the philosophy professor explain why it should be read?

    • Not directly – or any of the other books on his list. I only remember a few. I suppose it was on his list because it gives an insight into how people think about life and death and some other major philosophical issues. My difficulty stems from myself, I think. I sometimes find it hard to read something that I’ve been told I ought to read. On…[Read more]

      • I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t heard of it, but a lot of non English language literature is not on my radar. As far as Ulysses is concerned, I can see why it is important, and I enjoyed parts of it very much, but it was a tough read because with the style constantly changing, I couldn’t settle into it the way I generally can sooner or later. Middl…[Read more]

        • Haha, Rosamund Vincy really is the worst! Even worse than the executives indeeed. But so memorable! I found the political bits in Middlemarch hard to get through personally, but yes the introspection can be pretty lengthy too.

        • I read Middlemarch very quickly when I was 19 and still had the habit of reading 2 or 3 books every week. MM took me a whole week. I have no recollection of how I felt about it afterwards, because, in my usual way I was onto the next book. Parts of it have sort of emerged into my mind, and, if I’m honest my writing over the years. The book that…[Read more]

          • I enjoyed Middlemarch when I read it some years ago. I like politics in novels – didn’t mind those parts. As for Rosamund Vincy: poor Lydgate. The mistakes we make.
            The classic that’s had most impact recently is Wuthering Heights. I had to reread it for a book group or else wouldn’t have bothered. Teenage memories of a depressing story of a grim…[Read more]

  • Hi Sandra, I saw your comment about self-pub authors but it has disappeared from the thread. As you say, it’s harder to see how authors could guarantee their own writing. I expect someone will think of something to address this, or try to address it.

    I also think some readers will seek out AI novels because AI writing will be reliable. It will…[Read more]

  • As boundaries continue to blur between human creativity and AI, here’s a  new kite-mark scheme to help readers distinguish. It will be interesting to see what happens from this small beginning.

    https://booksbypeople.org/

    • I wondered whether it included self-published books … then that it would be easy enough to self-apply the validation. Will be interested to see how this develops.

  • Libby replied to the topic Chit Chat in the forum Group logo of September SongSeptember Song 2 months, 1 week ago

    Good idea, Ath. I’m always curious to know what people, especially fellow writers, are reading.

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