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Lets Talk About Our Lives

@Blade4 Odd on the rendering issue, maybe try a lower quality feed to try and encourage it to load in?

Well, Wolf, congratulations on not sucking hind tit! Your book put in a respectable showing, especially considering that the winner could have no-shit passed for something that Chuck Palianiuk had put to the side.

And I think you probably learned the value of having other people look at your work and give you feedback on it. I wasn't expecting much (I mean...most of the stuff that people post in forums sucks, in accordance with Sturgeon's Law) but I found it to be fairly easy to read, with the setting and events described clearly. It does need an editor, however - not like with a machete, though. I can't speak to the actual plot, characters, concepts or dialogue, but from the first what, couple of pages, it seems like your writing is something that can be honed and polished into professional quality (and I just want to point out again that the overall winner was indeed a professional, with several books to her name so she's got a fair bit of experience writing and getting people to read it.)

So good job, dude! Find someone to read it whose opinions on fiction and writing you respect, so they can help add to what needs augmentation and tighten up what needs tightening!

Well, thanks! I was a little bit disappointed to be honest, even considering the winner's experience but at least it wasn't disasterous. I just need to sit down and read through all the feedback, but so far, it's mainly a combination of wanting to learn more about the main character, getting into the action early and seeming generic. If I had another 300 words I would at least be able to get more action in. There was also a couple of spelling errors that slipped under the radar somehow and a 'video game feeling' too. Not sure how to handle that last one.

I've already got an idea of giving more info for the MC, whilst also breaking the 'generic B-film' feeling, so that's something I could glean from the feedback. Oh, and the title as well. Which is a shame but understandable given I always considered the title that. I suppose I would either need to change it, or bring in a title drop sooner.

The editors will prove tricky, namely for how expensive it will be to get one sorted out given the length. But it might be worth checking out.

Again, thanks for the support!
 
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Using a adblock or a good security system? Many of those sites are filled with trojans and viruses so your system might be auto blocking to keep you from dicking yourself.
 
"Mr. Kingsley, could you comment on allegations that you are a member of the National Wolf-Cub Love Association?"

"Mr. Kingsley, why were you spotted partying with ISIS?"

"Mr Kingsley, is it true that your book was, in fact, written by a hobo that you have chained in you basement and whip when he produces less than a thousand words a day?"

(Just effin' with you! Good luck and knock em dead!)

My only conplaint is that there is no marine mammal love club. We're cute too, you know? It's all furry this, feathery that, scaley this. Where's the blubber love? Where is my rightful adolation?

*Cries in the corner*
 
My only conplaint is that there is no marine mammal love club. We're cute too, you know? It's all furry this, feathery that, scaley this. Where's the blubber love? Where is my rightful adolation?

*Cries in the corner*

I think you may have misapprehended the joke that I was going for. The North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is a pro-pedophilia organization (though I don't know if it is current and genuine, or if it's just a fishing expedition for sex offenders).

The hyphen between 'Wolf' and 'Cub' was intended to evoke NAMBLA - basically joking that I was going to imply that StolenMadWolf was a furry pedophile (as well as a terrorist, a kidnapper and a plagiarist) on the chat for the show that his work was featured on.

It was not just an association for people who want to pet wolf cubs (which no one would need to do, because that association is 'everyone', because wolf cubs are ridiculously cute.)

Marine mammals...I'm sure many of them have very nice personalities.
 
I think you may have misapprehended the joke that I was going for. The North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is a pro-pedophilia organization (though I don't know if it is current and genuine, or if it's just a fishing expedition for sex offenders).

The hyphen between 'Wolf' and 'Cub' was intended to evoke NAMBLA - basically joking that I was going to imply that StolenMadWolf was a furry pedophile (as well as a terrorist, a kidnapper and a plagiarist) on the chat for the show that his work was featured on.

It was not just an association for people who want to pet wolf cubs (which no one would need to do, because that association is 'everyone', because wolf cubs are ridiculously cute.)

Marine mammals...I'm sure many of them have very nice personalities.

Huh, is NAMBLA still a thing? I thought those were cringe jokes some asshole freelance subbers used to slip on those anime videos I used to torrent in uni.

Meh, the important thing is dugong wants his appreciation club too, darn it!

*Am cute too!*
 
Huh, is NAMBLA still a thing? I thought those were cringe jokes some asshole freelance subbers used to slip on those anime videos I used to torrent in uni.

Meh, the important thing is dugong wants his appreciation club too, darn it!

*Am cute too!*
I don't rightly know...I'd have to assume that there'd be a lot of hesitation for someone to join a 'yes I'd like to molest kids please and thank you' mailing list, so I'd think if it was a real thing once it would have dried out by now. But I don't really want to spend any time looking it up, frankly. One way or another, it's still a queasily funny thing to reference. As long as I've made the reference clear enough for people to pick it up, at least.

And as for your desire for appreciation, I'd bet if you swim up to a small boat and roll over, people will rub your belly. Just be careful of channels so that you don't get hit by moving boats.
 
And as for your desire for appreciation, I'd bet if you swim up to a small boat and roll over, people will rub your belly. Just be careful of channels so that you don't get hit by moving boats.

*Ponders strategy*

*Puta on make up and prepares himself for adoration of the masses*
 
Right, for a while FiC wasn't functioning for me, so I couldn't make any replies. Well, some more marine mammal stuff can't hurt.

I'm starting to look more throughly for a new job now, things have started getting really frustrating there so, time to find something else.

I'm also starting to do some small edits to the start of the novel. Just little things to add a little bit more background without revealing too much, as the MC's background gets expanded much more towards the second chapter. I'm also looking at adding a little prologue to help with that too, and sorting out the B-Film feel at the start (although the story transforms quite a bit after a few chapters). I'm also planning on looking at doing art for that story too.

On top of that, I'm also thinking about doing commissions, although I need to do the basics of a portfolio and work out what prices to go for. My art is getter better but it's not that good, so I'm not planning on putting them that high.

Meanwhile... I had a little bit of a brainwave for a short story today, basically featuring a rather well known paradox. I'm already starting to look at the potential details for that to help get my name out there and improve my chances with the novel. At the same time, I'm seriously considering looking at editors and if I should still go for an agent publisher route or go for self publishing.
 
So... I got a new job this week. Kroger bakery plant making 17.50 dollars a hour with the possibility to get up to 21 before planned annual raises hit. Great people. Work is not that bad in itself. The problem is the hours. This first week alone i was supposed to work 66. 3 12 hour shifts then 3 10 hours then a day off and presumably repeat. Only did not because i was pulled into the sanitation department for over nigh 9pm to 5 am shifts for what is supposed to be a 2 or 3 week duty shift to learn all that before going to bread line loading it on trucks then learning other parts of the line.

I am seriously considering walking already because I dont think i have it in me to even try work what amounts to 12 hour six days a week. From what i see bread never stops working. Never. They only stopped once i have seen because a pan got jammed in the rolling oven and it took several hours to pry it out. So much bread and dough thrown away because of it. Dont want to stay in sanitation because i have come to detest pushing a damn broom. Line work will see me quit inside a month or my family make me quit. Gonna see if i can use my mechatronics degree to get into the maintenance department but might be a long shot. They supposedly do 8 hour shifts and even more money and i could really use that experience if i want my degree to actually mean a damn.

What i dont get is how everyone else works those hours. From what i can tell everyone in bread is working at least 50 and i cant comprehend how they are not burning out. I mean yeah a 1000 dollar pay check each week sound awesome but you cant enjoy that money if you are dead. Literally or otherwise. Does explain why they are having so much trouble hiring new people though. People come in see this and then choose having a life.
 
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So... (...)
This is a very relatable story.

It is a fact of life that well paying job suck the life out of you, while easy jobs don't pay much.

That being said. I'm surprised anyone would not know the hours a bread maker works. It is something children are thought in kindergarten.

As for my total unsilicited advice, that any sane person should both ignore and ridicule. I have worked hours similar to those you described since I was 17. With the exception of my military service for the last 20 years 300-400 hours months are the norm.

I managed to build a house in a nice part of the city. I am firmly middle class with a working class education. I am thinking about opening my own company, without the need to lend money from the bank.

Downside is I'm pushing 40 and have no kids no wife no family. I didn't had time for that.

So my advice is. Keep that job for a year or two. Save up your money and then when your savings give you enough of a security blanket find something else. It is always better to have financial safety and no personal life then the other way around.
 
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So... I got a new job this week. Kroger bakery plant making 17.50 dollars a hour with the possibility to get up to 21 before planned annual raises hit. Great people. Work is not that bad in itself. The problem is the hours. This first week alone i was supposed to work 66. 3 12 hour shifts then 2 10 hours then a day off and presumably repeat. Only did not because i was pulled into the sanitation department for over nigh 9pm to 5 am shifts for what is supposed to be a 2 or 3 week duty shift to learn all that before going to bread line loading it on trucks then learning other parts of the line.

I am seriously considering walking already because I dont think i have it in me to even try work what amounts to 12 hour six days a week. From what i see bread never stops working. Never. They only stopped once i have seen because a pan got jammed in the rolling oven and it took several hours to pry it out. So much bread and dough thrown away because of it. Dont want to stay in sanitation because i have come to detest pushing a damn broom. Line work will see me quit inside a month or my family make me quit. Gonna see if i can use my mechatronics degree to get into the maintenance department but might be a long shot. They supposedly do 8 hour shifts and even more money and i could really use that experience if i want my degree to actually mean a damn.

What i dont get is how everyone else works those hours. From what i can tell everyone in bread is working at least 50 and i cant comprehend how they are not burning out. I mean yeah a 1000 dollar pay check each week sound awesome but you cant enjoy that money if you are dead. Literally or otherwise. Does explain why they are having so much trouble hiring new people though. People come in see this and then choose having a life.
This is a very relatable story.

It is a fact of life that well paying job suck the life out of you, while easy jobs don't pay much.

That being said. I'm surprised anyone would not know the hours a bread maker works. It is something children are thought in kindergarten.

As for my total unsilicited advice, that any sane person should both ignore and ridicule. I have worked hours similar to those you described since I was 17. With the exception of my military service for the last 20 years 300-400 hours months are the norm.

I managed to build a house in a nice part of the city. I am firmly middle class with a working class education. I am thinking about opening my own company, without the need to lend money from the bank.

Downside is I'm pushing 40 and have no kids no wife no family. I didn't had time for that.

I can also relate as well somewhat, being 25 here. I currently work for a repair store that is spread around the country. The pay isn't perfect, only around £1200 a month but since I'm still at home it's helping in building up a fairly big reserve of savings to use, especially when coupled with lower vehicle insurence.

However, the job itself isn't great. I work five days a week from 9am - 6am on most days with the exception of Sundays, so at most I work around 45 hours a week in nine hour shifts (sunday is around six). That doesn't seem too bad, but for someone with two degrees it's not very furfilling, I'm often moving between different branches and often dealing with issues I never even had a hand in each day, have to deal with some rather shitty customers who can't take your advise or feedback and it can get stressful once you start getting dogpiled by alot of people at once. Couple that with two bits of shit that have gone on at work, I eventully hit the end of my tether and am now looking for fresh work (basically, two ladies got tossed around between two different branches trying to get a car key repaired. One wasn't able to get the job done (despite having the equipment to change key blades) whilst the other had someone being, frankly, rude and umming-an-ahing about how the key was a nightmare to work with, before calling me at the very end of the day to see if I could do it.

Cue me having to stay in without doing my clean down jobs until 6pm trying to get this key done and not having much luck due to being overenginneered to heck, and therefore being unable to leave until around 6:20pm at the earliest to fight through traffic. Luckily, an manager came round on my call to help out, the ladies were rooting for me for the effort I put in and I got generally praised for my work, but I was still pissed off that I basically got dumped on by a collegeue. Sure, we pass stuff over to other branches all the time when we can't get stuff done, and can get stressed. But the way it was handled in the other branches annoyed me to all hell, leaving me to pick up the pieces.

Since we also get rotas set by the area management, it's difficult for me to plan anything big, and sorting out holidays is also a pain in the side, which makes it feel like I'm doing more work than normal and therefore... not living and socialising etc, pandemic be damned. So yeah, now I'm looking for something else, preferably involving never working in a store/cafe ever again.

On the plus side, I've got an interview lined up and I'm reapplying for STEM fields, but I doubt they will let me come on in.

*****

Also, I've decided I'm going to go ahead with that short story, just sorting out all the details before I go ahead with it, even looking at doing a bit of art that might be used on a cover etc. Tenitively, I'm calling it The Ship of Aurora.

That leaves deciding whetever or not I want to try keeping the Chimera title for the main novel, or change it all together. I'm not keen on the latter, partly because the title name is referenced in the book as a major event and I'm hard-pressed to think of a better alternative. But a few people are saying because Chimera is such a common title, it's not worth using.
 
My cell phone crashed, becoming unresponsive to button presses and unusable. A forced reboot via removal and reinsertion of the battery appears to have fixed the problem, but it is somewhat worrying.
 
This is a very relatable story.

It is a fact of life that well paying job suck the life out of you, while easy jobs don't pay much.

That being said. I'm surprised anyone would not know the hours a bread maker works. It is something children are thought in kindergarten.

So my advice is. Keep that job for a year or two. Save up your money and then when your savings give you enough of a security blanket find something else. It is always better to have financial safety and no personal life then the other way around.

Ah well the thing is i am a dumbass always moving to late and awkward socially. And one that has worked most of my life in retail working 40ish hours a week. A plant is shocking even before you get to fact the place is critically understaffed. Its very loud, very hot, and long hours and most people bounce fast creating a situation where most everyone has either been there at least a decade or a few weeks or months. I might have also burned myself because I have told them i would rather stay in sanitation cleaning machines working mostly 8 hour shifts than go to production working the 12 hours 6 days a week thing. I have tried out for going into the engineering department and i think i did well enough to get in. But they have no opening suddenly. Which is odd because I though and heard they need more people there to but they are promising they will keep me in mind the next opening...

Might be paranoia but I think i might be getting played just to keep me longer. Give it a few months and go from there. The money is still good even if i hate the work. My big problem is I am near 40 myself and just now got a mechatronics degree in the last few months but without experience and a cv that is warehouse and retail i cant seem to get in anywhere. I go back to retail I will be making 12 dollars a hour at best and probable never get a job with my degree but damn I want to go back to what I know. Again i am a dumbass. I should have tried collage again a decade ago.


I can also relate as well somewhat, being 25 here. I currently work for a repair store that is spread around the country. The pay isn't perfect, only around £1200 a month but since I'm still at home it's helping in building up a fairly big reserve of savings to use, especially when coupled with lower vehicle insurence.


On the plus side, I've got an interview lined up and I'm reapplying for STEM fields, but I doubt they will let me come on in.

*****

Also, I've decided I'm going to go ahead with that short story, just sorting out all the details before I go ahead with it, even looking at doing a bit of art that might be used on a cover etc. Tenitively, I'm calling it The Ship of Aurora.

That leaves deciding whetever or not I want to try keeping the Chimera title for the main novel, or change it all together. I'm not keen on the latter, partly because the title name is referenced in the book as a major event and I'm hard-pressed to think of a better alternative. But a few people are saying because Chimera is such a common title, it's not worth using.
You are doing good. You got actual useful skills and you got potential as a writer and artist. Stems would be better if you can but if you have repair and management skills that will take you pretty far. Just dont give up you will get somewhere eventually. As for Chimera you have to ask yourself do you even have a better title? Or can your kin give you a better idea?
 
My big problem is I am near 40 myself and just now got a mechatronics degree in the last few months but without experience and a cv that is warehouse and retail i cant seem to get in anywhere.

I can relate to this as well, namely that I have two degrees and yet despite having that on hand, I never got past the interview stage, and alot of it came down to experience. Well, how am I supposed to get experience when no one is giving me any?

Just got to keep applying and see if something sticks.

You are doing good. You got actual useful skills and you got potential as a writer and artist. Stems would be better if you can but if you have repair and management skills that will take you pretty far. Just dont give up you will get somewhere eventually. As for Chimera you have to ask yourself do you even have a better title? Or can your kin give you a better idea?

Well, thanks. I'm hoping I can get into STEM or artistic/writing fields, but it is taking time. And whilst repair and management skills are handy... I don't want to spend my days in those kind of fields, unless I was diving or something, in which case I replace stress with completely wrecking my body before I'm 40. But you are right, just gotta keep trying and hope something sticks.

As for the novel, I'm struggling to think of a title, especially due to that event in the lore being linked to it. A family member did suggest Nyulfur after a titular group in the setting... but given how people can get that pronounciation wrong... I'm not sure on it. And doesn't have the same kind of bite as Chimera.

I'll have to think it over.
 
I can relate to this as well, namely that I have two degrees and yet despite having that on hand, I never got past the interview stage, and alot of it came down to experience. Well, how am I supposed to get experience when no one is giving me any?

Just got to keep applying and see if something sticks.
Its funny two years of training and when i sit the exams to even get in half the stuff was never covered or only lightly. We had only one quick thing about welding and that was symbols. Nothing on plumbing or refrigeration and guess what a lot of stuff asks?



Well, thanks. I'm hoping I can get into STEM or artistic/writing fields, but it is taking time. And whilst repair and management skills are handy... I don't want to spend my days in those kind of fields, unless I was diving or something, in which case I replace stress with completely wrecking my body before I'm 40. But you are right, just gotta keep trying and hope something sticks.
Good luck. It should not be so hard to find something you enjoy that actually pays a living wages.

As for the novel, I'm struggling to think of a title, especially due to that event in the lore being linked to it. A family member did suggest Nyulfur after a titular group in the setting... but given how people can get that pronounciation wrong... I'm not sure on it. And doesn't have the same kind of bite as Chimera.

I'll have to think it over.
Like any word it only has meaning we give it. You could eventually make Nyulfur famous. Well maybe. That itself is something to consider. Think how many silly words Harry Potter made famous?
 
This is a very relatable story.

It is a fact of life that well paying job suck the life out of you, while easy jobs don't pay much.

That being said. I'm surprised anyone would not know the hours a bread maker works. It is something children are thought in kindergarten.

As for my total unsilicited advice, that any sane person should both ignore and ridicule. I have worked hours similar to those you described since I was 17. With the exception of my military service for the last 20 years 300-400 hours months are the norm.

I managed to build a house in a nice part of the city. I am firmly middle class with a working class education. I am thinking about opening my own company, without the need to lend money from the bank.

Downside is I'm pushing 40 and have no kids no wife no family. I didn't had time for that.

So my advice is. Keep that job for a year or two. Save up your money and then when your savings give you enough of a security blanket find something else. It is always better to have financial safety and no personal life then the other way around.

COME ON!
36h shifts are cool!
12h dayworks are standart hours!
Everyone should work like that.
 
COME ON!
36h shifts are cool!
12h dayworks are standart hours!
Everyone should work like that.
36h ? pff, that's cute. try 96h*. Four days at work non-stop is a personal record I promised myself I will never break.
As A side note I just finished a 21h shift today.

but jokes aside, I knew three guys that got heart attacks at work, only one of them is survived.
In my profession "work till you drop" sometimes has fatal consequences.

*Before anyone points out I couldn't physically be awake for four days straight and still be in a state to do my work correctly. Of course, I wasn't. If IBM is a bunch of cheap bastards I would be a fool not to sleep at work on their dime. F**K IBM and its money pinching shortsightedness.
 
36h ? pff, that's cute. try 96h*. Four days at work non-stop is a personal record I promised myself I will never break.
As A side note I just finished a 21h shift today.

but jokes aside, I knew three guys that got heart attacks at work, only one of them is survived.
In my profession "work till you drop" sometimes has fatal consequences.

*Before anyone points out I couldn't physically be awake for four days straight and still be in a state to do my work correctly. Of course, I wasn't. If IBM is a bunch of cheap bastards I would be a fool not to sleep at work on their dime. F**K IBM and its money pinching shortsightedness.

Try work in a pre-pandemy pharmacy alone non-stop. Working digging holes in ground in the middle of summer frying pan is not even remotely tiring actually.
As a side note I also got a great idea to study at the Academy. I have problems with sleeping at all now, since being awake for 2-3 weeks straight is baseline standard.
And yes, we all live too fast and die too young.
Sometimes I miss my menial job. Was less tiring and was not literaly sucking your life like swarm of hungry vampires.
If only it was proportionally paid, it would be good. But for that actually we can thank our grand rulers, pandemy and econimical decline (which is eating my savings and swallowed my raise, gladly flu season has come and with some renewal in crossborder traffic we are expecting the best time since 2 years time, so fingers crossed, we might pull through this and boss better give us our cut ;)).
 
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Its funny two years of training and when i sit the exams to even get in half the stuff was never covered or only lightly. We had only one quick thing about welding and that was symbols. Nothing on plumbing or refrigeration and guess what a lot of stuff asks?

I couldn't guess, but I'm already getting reminded of old college and some Uni exams which curveball you with unexpected questions.

Good luck. It should not be so hard to find something you enjoy that actually pays a living wages.

Like any word it only has meaning we give it. You could eventually make Nyulfur famous. Well maybe. That itself is something to consider. Think how many silly words Harry Potter made famous?

Thanks. Fingers crossed on the job front.

As for titles, yeah, that could be true as well.

Welp, I bit the bullet and did a poll asking that question. Chimera or Nyulfur? See what a few people think.

 
I haven't heard Nyulfur in 40 other contexts, so on that measure it beats 'Chimera' handily. I can understand the urge to use the word 'chimera', since it sounds good, is pleasant to read in the English language, and the concept that it refers to is common in science fiction and fantasy. But that means that a lot of other people have been having the same thought for years, which is why it's already been very heavily used.
 
I haven't heard Nyulfur in 40 other contexts, so on that measure it beats 'Chimera' handily. I can understand the urge to use the word 'chimera', since it sounds good, is pleasant to read in the English language, and the concept that it refers to is common in science fiction and fantasy. But that means that a lot of other people have been having the same thought for years, which is why it's already been very heavily used.

Yeah. Just a casual search on Google reveals it's been used since the 70s as a novel title.
 
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I haven't heard Nyulfur in 40 other contexts, so on that measure it beats 'Chimera' handily. I can understand the urge to use the word 'chimera', since it sounds good, is pleasant to read in the English language, and the concept that it refers to is common in science fiction and fantasy. But that means that a lot of other people have been having the same thought for years, which is why it's already been very heavily used.
Yeah. Just as casual search om Google reveals it's been used since the 70s as a novel title.

Well, either way, seems like Nyulfur seems to be the most popular title. Seems like I'm going to be changing to that.
 
Well, either way, seems like Nyulfur seems to be the most popular title. Seems like I'm going to be changing to that.

You might want to consider a : in there, with three other words. Maybe not a :, but some other set of words that provide more context for the potential reader of your book.

You want to communicate to the reader that your book is a post-apocalyptic action-adventure with werewolves. Nyulfur might sort of do it, depending on the reader - for me it's meaningless, just a neat sounding word that might be the name of a character or faction or nation or literally anything. It's a good sounding word, don't get me wrong. And it does sound kinda wolfy, though I may just think that because I've been following your progress. But I think that you want a couple more words that give an idea about the setting and feeling of the story - I'd make a suggestion, but I don't know enough about it to do that. Just a handful more words to communicate some aspect of what this is about. (Not Nyulfur: Future Apocalyse Werewolves though. That's a bad name. Of course, I'd have to eat crow if you named it that and it became successful.)
 
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