Status and Support

[panyasan]

I also can't write a TnT fic in any other language then English - I don't think Trip sounds right in any other language.

[WarpGirl]

Well admittedly there is nothing in the world quite like an accent origionating in the Southern US. Even when Trip speaks his most proper English, the inflections of the accent are importat to what he is saying. My brothers are the same way.

[Silverbullet]

Warpgirl most pople who study and learn English as a second Language usually speak and write it better than a native speaker. they are taught the rules of speadking and writing correctly. Compared to many other languagees English is fairly esy to learn. When you get a language with three articles and their endings it can be hard. In german you can put the verb amned near any where you want. Finnish has about 600 dase endings. I have fought for some time against gender in english. There should be none taught. Don't get me started on Nomitive, accusitive, etc.In german Gender detrmines endings and the articles take Gender. Not in English.True English can drive one nuts with the fact that a word can be spelled the same way and have so many differnt meanings.

[Alelou]

Warpgirl most pople who study and learn English as a second Language usually speak and write it better than a native speaker.

I sure as hell can't say that about my ESL students. Or my spouse's family.

Yes, I have known a few people for whom this was true, including a copywriter and a few professors. But I'd say that puts it at about 1% of my experience.

What I can say is true is that the ESL students often speak and write English much, much better than most Americans speak and write whatever foreign languages they've studied.

[Distracted]

Status and support, huh? My status is "Too damn busy to write" for the past WEEK. It's horribly frustrating to have a story in my head and no TIME to write it down unless I choose not to sleep. It's been giving me FITS. I've been in such a crappy mood all week. I felt like I was in prison or something.

*deep cleansing breath* Okay. I'm gonna stop wasting writing time griping and go write now since it's Saturday night. The clothes are in the dryer and dinner is cooking, so now I have some time. Thanks for the opportunity to vent.

[WarpGirl]

OMG Dis I admit to being very worried about you this week. And do I know how you feel. Hopefully your writing is cathartic.

[WarpGirl]

OK I have a status report, I had the first five pages of chapter five written and I had to delete them. They were just not working. So now I have a sea of blank. I also have an outline of the chapter but I look at it and say "Can I seriously write this all in one chapter?" The problem is I'm afraid that if I don't, people will think the pace is too slow. And before anyone asks, YES everything in the outline has to happen. The question is one chapter or more? I can't write chapter five until I figure that out.

[panyasan]

OK I have a status report, I had the first five pages of chapter five written and I had to delete them. They were just not working. So now I have a sea of blank. I also have an outline of the chapter but I look at it and say "Can I seriously write this all in one chapter?" The problem is I'm afraid that if I don't, people will think the pace is too slow. And before anyone asks, YES everything in the outline has to happen. The question is one chapter or more? I can't write chapter five until I figure that out.

What do you, the writer, think? You are calling the shots here. My advise is: start writing. If you think your chapter will improve by splitting it up in two: go for it. If not, make it one chapter. Your beta maybe also give you some advice.

[pdsldl]

panyasan's right. Just write the chapter then as you're editing, etc.... see if there seems to be a natural break where you can make it two chapters if you thinks its too long or whatever. Or you may find as you're writing you arrive at that point and end the chapter and do part 2 in another chapter. When I realize that a certain parts of my stories are going to be more involved and take more time I tend to let it just float around in my head and the answer eventually works itself out.

[Kotik]

Warpgirl most pople who study and learn English as a second Language usually speak and write it better than a native speaker. they are taught the rules of speadking and writing correctly. Compared to many other languagees English is fairly esy to learn. When you get a language with three articles and their endings it can be hard. In german you can put the verb amned near any where you want. Finnish has about 600 dase endings. I have fought for some time against gender in english. There should be none taught. Don't get me started on Nomitive, accusitive, etc.In german Gender detrmines endings and the articles take Gender. Not in English.True English can drive one nuts with the fact that a word can be spelled the same way and have so many differnt meanings.

Well, try Russian

We have 4 cases for each noun in German. Nominativ, Genitiv, Dativ and Accusativ. The Russians have 6 cases for each noun. And each verb has to words depending on wether the process is still ongoing and open-end or finalized. After 15 years of studying the language, I've still not gotten my head around it

[panyasan]

I just finished chapter 14 and 15 of The Captives and started with my Conclusion-chapter. I got nice idea for the TnT scene which had been a hick-up. If I finish that chapter, a new fic called Barefoot is the next in line to be finished. I got some other ideas for new stories (and to think I want to stop writing fan fic after Barefoot): a follow up for Whisper - a chapter about what really went down on Risa (my rewrite of The Seventh) and even for a third chapter, which explains the actions of T'Pol and why Trip and T'Pol were so not together in season two. It ends on a rather depressing note. I have another idea about a story, a rather sad one with some spikes love and hope, dealing with Trip and T'Pol struggle to have childern. I planned all this chapters to be short, I think it works better that way. Okay, so I stop after I write those ideas down.

[Escriba]

Well, try Russian

We have 4 cases for each noun in German. Nominativ, Genitiv, Dativ and Accusativ. The Russians have 6 cases for each noun.

Pffffft... Basque has 12.

On the topic... I must make a confession about Mirage. There are going to be cries, and shouts, and some cringing (especially for what happened to Disruption, that is... well, disrupted and because everybody knows I'm quite slow writing) but the truth is that Mirage will have around 30 or 35 chapters? And it is just... Book 1.

There are 6 more (at least).

*Escriba runs for her life*

[honeybee]

Don't be that way Escriba - I see long stories as serials - throwbacks to the late 1700s and 1800s when people like Fanny Burney and Charles Dickens would post a new chapter in magazines every month and they would go on for years. . .as long as you keep me interested, I'll wait patiently. And be very, very grateful that someone is taking the time to write a story that captivates me. So, thank you!

[panyasan]

On the topic... I must make a confession about Mirage. There are going to be cries, and shouts, and some cringing (especially for what happened to Disruption, that is... well, disrupted and because everybody knows I'm quite slow writing) but the truth is that Mirage will have around 30 or 35 chapters? And it is just... Book 1.

There are 6 more (at least).

*Escriba runs for her life*

Runs for her life? 30 chapters? you mean! [P.s. I still weep for the disruption of Disruption.]

[WarpGirl]

Panyasan do you WANT to make me cry, what is with this wanting to stop writing business? Is real life that busy? I can't even think about you stopping it's too much. Escriba As long as you promise to try everything in your power to finish Mirage I'll be happy. But hey you didn't stop writing at chapter 50 of your first fic. The Kotorians probably want my blood.