Recently updated stories

I do not like it when certain writers take up valuable story writing space, on every page giving the reader a hundred word history of their story, and promoting other stories that they have written. I’m not interested!
If I like your story, I can easily find your other ones.
I also don’t want to know if this is your first story or your millionth! I’m not interested whether English is your first language or not, but I do appreciate the proper spellings and proper grammar.
If you need to comment on your story, or promote another story, or congratulate yourself on writing your first story, write it in the comments! Your comments will still appear on every page and they will not distract from the story itself.
If you want a critique on the story you have written, I am happy to look it over, but be aware, my critique may be harsh! If you receive glowing reviews all the time, how can you ever improve? To get better, you need to know where you’re going wrong! I do not give out ‘likes’ willynilly. I might ‘like’ a particular storyline, but then comment on a lack of paragraphs or poor spelling.
I do not think I am perfect either. Some of my stories are successful, others are not. Some will never ever be finished.
Someone said about stage performers once that ‘amateurs practice until they get it right, professionals practice until they never get it wrong!’
3 years

Introducing: new audio books feature

The Sunday Post (a Scottish newspaper) publishes a ‘fun section’, and has done for over 50 years. In the fun section there are two cartoon strips. One of them is called ‘the Broons’ and the other is called ‘oor Wullie’. However, the pictorial stories are written in Scots. For instance “jings, help ma boab! Let’s awa to the but an Ben” says paw Broon to the bairn.
It sounds fine in your own head when you read it. I grew up with them - my dad still has to have their annual every Christmas and he is over 80!
I have no problem understanding the stories... but if you hear someone who is not Scottish read the stories out aloud, it sounds really weird!
“Wullie has jist taken his wee carty awa up the brae.” Says maw, to Wee Eck.
4 years

Introducing: new audio books feature

I’m sure it will be really weird to hear one of my stories in an American accent! I suppose it’ll be like ‘lost voice guy’, a comedian, who won ‘Britain’s got talent’ using a voice synthesiser to tell his jokes as he was unable to communicate normally. He comes from an area with a strong local dialect, yet his voice machine (whatever you call it) spoke in an American accent! He could choose the tone of his artificial voice, but he is currently campaigning to be able to choose his own regional accent, because he would identify with it better!
If you haven’t seen him perform, I’m sure there’ll be YouTube videos of him.
My next story might be full of local words to try and confuse the computer with pronunciation! Satnav woman pronounces local place names wrong all the time! Ha ha!
4 years

Compendium of fat studies

I haven’t read all of your scientific articles yet. However, as a health professional, I am always told to measure people’s BMI, using a height vs weight ratio. If someone’s BMI puts them in the ‘obese’ category, I am supposed to give weight loss advice. If someone is morbidly obese, I am supposed to stress the affects that being morbidly obese may have on the body - hypertension, risk of myocardial infarction, risk of CVA or TIA, risk of developing type two diabetes and the consequent complications of that if not properly controlled (diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy and diabetic nephropathy). Blah, blah, blah!
However, I have major issues with BMI’s and how they are measured.
1. Apparently the BMI as a means of measuring a body size was invented to grade the survivors of the nazi concentration camps. Therefore, it concentrated on the grading of people being underweight and not overweight.
2. Someone who is fit and well muscled with no signs of a paunch may, on the BMI calculations, be classed as being overweight or even obese. This is complete rubbish! Muscle weighs more than fat! There is a way of calculating BMI using callipers to measure skin thicknesses, which takes muscle into account, however, most healthcare professionals are not taught how to use this method.
3. I prefer to use ‘common sense’ instead of BMI. For instance, you have two people of the same height and build. However, both of them are out of proportion. The first one has long legs and a short body. The second one has short legs and a long body. Of course, the second one is going to weight more because a body weighs more than legs do!
If you have someone who has a large head size, they are going to weigh more than someone with a smaller head because a bigger skull is going to weigh more (not including the tissue inside).
4. Several years ago, I was classed as being morbidly obese. I lost 5 stones. A significant weight loss, but I was still classed as morbidly obese and still had a significant amount of weight to lose just to get into the orange zone from the red zone. That’s hardly encouraging.
I have since put all five stones back on and I am still in tge morbidly obese category.
4 years

Pictures for stories

I have tried jpeg, but it didn’t work. I will try again.
4 years

Are there any simple ways to improve writing skills?

I might be in a minority of one here, but writing to a formula disrupts the artistic flow.
When I read a story or novel, I do not analyse it as if I was studying it as part of a literature exam. When I am reading a story, I am interested in character and plot progression. For example, I am not interested if the author is going through a bitter divorce, or when their last cup of tea was. A dry mouth and dehydration may cause the author to consider setting the story in the middle of the desert. Does it help my enjoyment of a piece if I know that? NO!
4 years

Pictures for stories

As you may have noticed, not many of my stories have pictures to go with them. I have tried to upload pictures, but they have not been accepted. Which format should they be in?
4 years

Not saving correctly

I started a new story last night. I only got as far as writing two chapters. However, when I have come to look at them this morning, only three words were saved from chapter one and a paragraph or 2 of chapter two. I definitely wrote more than that when I saved it!
4 years

New story: 6 steps to heaven

simondrake35:
I wrote my first story in years (title above) and would love some feedback if anyone's interested in viewing it on my profile. Cheers.


I have tried to read 6 steps to heaven, but found it a difficult read.
1: There are no paragraphs throughout. You need to break each chapter down into smaller sections.
2: If you are going to include speech in your story, you need to learn how to punctuate it properly and not stick / marks in all over the place.
3: Your spelling is good
4: The plot of your story is good, you just need to make some changes to make it better.

You wanted feedback. My aim is to give a practical criticism so that you may improve in the future.
4 years
123   loading