Forum: Author Hangout

That poor poor futanari. Isn't the whole reason that penises exist is to fit into the female mouth to give the wielder of said penis a few moments relief from the yammering?

That made me laugh!

I tried bracketing the telepathic speech with * but in Open Office it makes the text bold. I don't think it would display well on the site. I'll stick with (using this format).

[Hello, my friend.]

< b>Hello, my friend. < /b>
The real thing without the spaces in the

The easy way to do it in the forum is when writing your post, select the text you want in bold and click the button at the top of the text box labeled strong.

The easy way to do it in the forum is when writing your post, select the text you want in bold and click the button at the top of the text box labeled strong.

Why 'strong' and not 'b' for bold..?

Why 'strong' and not 'b' for bold..?

Because it's very nearly the same effect and you don't have to code the tags manually. Go ask our host why he made a button for strong but not bold.

Because it's very nearly the same effect and you don't have to code the tags manually. Go ask our host why he made a button for strong but not bold.

But there are buttons for italics and bold.

HM.

Go ask our host why he made a button for strong but not bold.

Why should I bother Lazeez with such a stupid question...? Especially since directly above this text box I'm typing in there is;

i b link em strong Quote

And the 'b' is short for bold. Try it sometime.

When Steven King's telepathic character broadcasted her thoughts in Carrie` he used parenthesis:

If it's good enough for Steven King, it's good enough for me!
Thanks!

If it's good enough for Steven King, it's good enough for me!
Thanks!

Cocaine!

Cocaine!

Never tried that yet. Does it improve your writing skills?

In my experience, cocaine's like two quick cups of coffee and an irritated nose. I found it deeply underwhelming. Having a really really bad trip on mushrooms was probably the best thing that happened to my writing.

Never tried that yet. Does it improve your writing skills?

If you wish to simulate the effect simply rub the inside of your nose with sandpaper whilst spinning around until you are too dizzy to stay upright, then continue spinning whilst taking all the cash you have and burning it.

:)

If it's good enough for Steven King, it's good enough for me!
Thanks!

Nope. He probably used parenthesis because they are easy characters on the keyboard. Laziness I suppose. Almost any other character would do a better job because it will not appear as possibly being part of the 'normal' text without it being a 'thought' where parenthesis could cause confusion.

Nope. He probably used parenthesis because they are easy characters on the keyboard.

Nope? Are you saying he used parenthesis because they weren't good enough for him??

I'll say it again...If it's good enough for Steven King, it's good enough for me!

That's what I'm sticking with.

Nope? Are you saying he used parenthesis because they weren't good enough for him??

I'll say it again...If it's good enough for Steven King, it's good enough for me!

That's what I'm sticking with.

What I was trying to say was that Steven King possibly went for parenthesis because it was an easy character to type.
I doubt the choice of one single author to express something in a specific way makes it a good rule. Many other authors have used other ways to express thought or mind control in a more understandable way to the reader. Parenthesis are already used for other purposes which could make it confusing to the reader.
In the end it really doesn't matter how you express thoughts. What matters is if it's clear to the reader. If you think the parenthesis do the job than by all means use them.

What I was trying to say was that Steven King possibly went for parenthesis because it was an easy character to type.

Good enough for me.

I us italics.

Hmm, there seems to be a litter missing? :)

My intuitive approach would be to use italics with quotation marks for strong telepathy and speech like sentences in italics without quotation marks for over-imaginative interpretations of body language.

As a reader I would find this annoying. Sticking with the parentheses. After much thought, and several posts here, I think it's the easiest and least intrusive way to go. My character doesn't read minds or anything. It's just what would be normal speech projecting. I may go different if this was a serious science fiction novel, but let's face facts. It's a hopefully comic sex story being written for a fan-fic contest over at Futanari Palace.

eg ((hello there)) < < Hi Brad > > [[That wasn't Brad. I'm Brad]]

If an author uses parenthesis at least the double parenthesis distinguishes the mind speak from 'normal' parenthesis usage. With multiple mind speakers I would definitely like it if an author uses different markings for different speakers.

I have a vague recollection that one author here used different colored type to indicate the thoughts of different personalities of a character. Something like that could be used to indicated mind speech.

The problem with that is that colors disappear in a flat text version of the story.

Here on SOL forums, KISS is b.o.r.i.n.g!

Also, most posts seem to be regarded as little more than chum bait.

I do agree with your point. Myself, I'd use italics. Never did see the problem, myself.

So if you can establish early what is dialogue, what is thought

I cannot find it now, but I believe I recall reading a blog entry by Lubrican some time ago saying he uses double quotation marks for dialogue and single quotation marks for thought. As I recall, he did not address telepathy.

Red meat if I ever saw it... here come the sharks!

(Serves ya right fer postin' a sensible, workable method, with a durn good example, even! Makes the walls of SOL Forum shake 'n' shudder, it does, 'n it spiles all th' thread-driftin' chaos 'n' conflabulation, too!)

Besides that, ya talk like a BBEdit web-crafter! Insistin' on total control... Jeez! (That's the result of seein' MS Word or Frontpage output once't too often, I guess.)

My basic question is, how in Hades does anybody know what a telepath sez, cuz 1)there ain't none, and 2) iffen there wuz, they'd not use words but images, and how does one punctuate images? So... in reality, the author is just a sideline translator, like that Chorus clown in the Greek tragedy who interjects to say what the God is [really, really] sayin' ... so who gives a fig what marks are used to keep them words from all runnin' together? Hmmm? As long as they ain't hash marks from yer shorts, that is...

2) iffen there wuz, they'd not use words but images, and how does one punctuate images? So... in reality, the author is just a sideline translator, like that Chorus clown in the Greek tragedy who interjects to say what the God is [really, really] sayin'

In my story, the person receiving the thought perceives it as spoken words. The genetically transformed anthropomorphic rabbit has no vocal cords. Yes, a telepathic bunny! It's a hopefully comic fan-fic written for a contest at another site. I'll post it here once the contest is concluded.

The genetically transformed anthropomorphic rabbit has no vocal cords.

I gotta tell ya, I useta raise bunnies on the homestead. There's only THREE things that goes thru a bunnie's head (male, female, old, young, it don't matter): eat, sh*t, f*ck; eat, sh*t, f*ck; eat, sh*t, f*ck -- and that's the sum total of it. Thank Goddess for predators, or we'd all be hip-deep in them long-eared f*ckin' critters!

So listenin' in on a telepathic anthropomorphic varmint's gonna get pretty borin' in the first ten seconds or so: eat, sh*t, f*ck

Unless, of course, it's a WOGER wabbit... then all bets are off.

Robert Heinlein

Quick aside...
One of my all time best favorite authors!

Doesn't the SOL processing engine translate asterisks into bolded text?

That would be a function of the 'Markdown' text processor (and the single asterisk would denote 'italics;' a double asterisk on each side denotes bold face.)

Plain text 'Markdown' files can be posted to SOL for auto-translation into HTML if their suffix is ".md.txt"; otherwise it would make little sense to apply Markdown translation to non-Markdown files such as HTML or whatever.

Thanks for the flashback. Yup, instead of everyone playing nice together, it seems the denizens of both the internet and the Unix/Linux environs preferred to act like independent alleycats, each scratching in his own sandbox. Combine that with egos & greed, we got conflicting standards, warring camps, and 'lebenty-leben distros of Linux, so confusing that it's near impossible to recommend lifeboats to victims fleeing the flaming ship of Win10.

so confusing that it's near impossible to recommend lifeboats to victims fleeing the flaming ship of Win10.

Although not my preferred distribution of Linux (Debian) I have read here in the forum that multiple authors have replaced Windows with Zorin OS.
The advantage of Zorin is that it can be made to look like either iOS or Windows to make the transition easier. It's based on the well maintained Ubuntu distribution which in turn is based on Debian and can make even an old computer run fast again.

Agreed. Zorin is good; I know a few who have migrated to it. It works well for them. Ubuntu is also very good. I prefer another Debian-based distro called SolydXK; it has been rock solid for me for four years now. And my wife is comfortable with it, after her Windows died from forced obsolescence. She's never looked back. The most difficult thing for most folks is to be patient and learn working with an unfamiliar system. That's why Zorin is popular. The 'look & feel' is similar. But sadly, scratch the surface and it's something unfamiliar. They'll have to adjust to Linux methods. Most folks just won't do it.

I've found in four years that much if not most Windows software will run on Linux using the WINE interface. So there's a good chance that what one is unwilling to give up, needn't be. As for writers, there is LibreOffice for Linux. Scrivener for Windows will run under WINE.

I've chatted with a number of writers (not on SOL) who are picking up older computers, both Macintosh and Windows, and running earlier OS versions and older software, staying air-gapped off the 'net. They're both escaping Win10, and avoiding the 'net for distraction-free writing. Also they're gettng real value for the few $ they spend. (Of course they have an up-to-date system for 'net connections. That's where Linux really shines. Buy an older computer & load it up for free with new Linux, internet safe.)

I use two 10-year-old Intel Macs, a desktop and a laptop, with writing software that has reached its peak of development. And I carry around an old Alphasmart keyboard for notes and draft entries.

The point is: there's no reason to be left thinking there's only one game in town.

I've found in four years that much if not most Windows software will run on Linux using the WINE interface. So there's a good chance that what one is unwilling to give up, needn't be. As for writers, there is LibreOffice for Linux. Scrivener for Windows will run under WINE.

I never used Wine. I never ran into needing software for which there is no Linux alternative. Often the Linux alternative is even better than the Windows equivalent, not to mention that almost eveything is free as in OpenSource. In many cases Wine requires careful configuration which makes it more difficult to use than simply trying out the Linux alternative. For most the difficult thing will be replacing Word with LibreOffice although LO is slowly bypassing Word in stability and functionality.
I suggested Zorin because the biggest problem people have when switching to Linux is the frightening amount of choices in desktops where Windows gives you no choice at all. Zorin solves that by presenting a familiar desktop.
I can only advise authors here that are investigating a switch to Linux to ask others that have already made the switch.

Again, good advice. But I'll note that there are two software programs for which there is NO equivalent or alternative on Linux (and one is not available for Windows): Scrivener, for Mac and Win, has no equivalent on Linux; DEVONthink, an incredible AI-based free-form database application, valuable for writing research, is ONLY available on Mac and there is nothing equivalent for either Win or Linux.

But I'll note that there are two software programs for which there is NO equivalent or alternative on Linux (and one is not available for Windows): Scrivener, for Mac and Win, has no equivalent on Linux; DEVONthink,

If you can live with the last OpenSource version of Scrivener (1.9.0.1 beta) then it is available for Linux. Since it's OpenSource it's also free although it seems to be worth the money. Might be an alternative for those who can't afford it.
Never heard of DEVONthink but that's because it's Mac only. It seems that there are multiple good alternatives for Linux like Zim or Zotero but like most alternatives for either Linux or Windows they all work a little different. It depends on what specific functions you use to determine what is the best alternative. For Linux you are likely to get a lot of extra functionality you might find useful.

I do run Linux; have done so for... 4 or 5 years now. Even converted the *spousal* unit to Linux, when MS turned her Win box into a container of dead rats.

That Linux version of Scrivner is too far gone, and had a few glitches, to seriously consider. Believe me, the latest Ver 2.x Windows version runs flawlessly on WINE, and with WINE now included in all the major distro repositories, it's dead simple and, frankly, a no brainer. No need for a bunch of tweaking or arcane set-ups.

As for DEVONthink... the thundering herd on the Scrivener forums will make a believer out of most anybody. I've used it for years, also, and there is NOTHING... not a damn thing anywhere... that will touch it. No Zotero, Zim, or anything Win or Linux offers. A damn shame that it takes a fairly late-model Mac and a recent version of MacOs to run the versions available for download. (I have an older version of DT on my older Macs).

Yeh, that extra Linux functionality is true, but the greatest value of all is the stability, constant security updates (automatic; no restarts!) and great internet tools ... free & opensource.

With Linux "I" own & control the computer; MS has never come around to that attitude. 'Nuff said.

With Linux "I" own & control the computer; MS has never come around to that attitude. 'Nuff said.

I totally agree, that's why I run Linux exclusively. Whatever happens, I stay in control.

Doesn't the SOL processing engine translate asterisks into bolded text?

That's why I abandoned my original plan to use asterisks. Like I said in an earlier post. I decided that (this) would be far less intrusive for the readers. I have my character 'shout' in only one line of dialog (AND I DECIDED ON CAPS OVER BOLD). It was just easier for me. I post my stories as plain text files, after all. This is also my first use of telepathy in a story. It may be the last.

Oh, Joy! Br'er Bunny practicing safe computing (condoms cover its paws whilst keyboarding), concurrently engaging in flagrantly unsafe sex [screaming in delight telepathically] which triggers massively empathic rabbit ranch orgy!

(Now back on topic?)

I suggest you train your rabbits to leap at cunnilingus. Which in rabbit-speak is 'lepus cuniculus'...

(All the fun of sex without the population explosion)