Recent content by Stuart Dren

I was editing my first chapter today and one line made me think of this thread: Bothered. Pah. I forgot my protagonist was short.

Well, they probably lived through some mean bat and shit crazy times.

Those are fighting words! I demand satifaction. We shall duel with ICBMs, at noon. I don't know. It never occurred to me to consider whether a nation more on the imperialistic side could be considered a utopia. It certainly didn't come to mind in the traditional sense. I've always assumed a...

Good point. It makes me wonder just old the idea of a technically driven utopia is. There are myths of majestic cities e.g. Atlantis, or that one made of gold, but I've never put them in the same category as something out of Star Trek. Perhaps they serve similar idealistic purposes.

If so, how did it turn out? Was the original still alive, or was it a bring-definitely-dead-hero-back-in-part-4 situation? Was there existential dread, or situational comedy, or both? Or perhaps you're writing a military sci fi with clone armies in it. Bonus if the clone army is controlled by a...

Some older sci fi used to incorporate genuine utopias, or at least non-cynical views on tech and advances in ways of living. It seems that collectively we got wise to the fact that a traditional utopia (we wear robes and want for nothing) would have very little liberty or individualism, so we...

Well there doesn't seem to be a twenty-page thread about using italics for thoughts yet... :devilish:

I just didn't have too strong an opinion on it. The clean line is better in my opinion.

This looks good. Unique. Still stands out at thumb-size. I might guess it's historical fiction from the cover. The moon is hyuge. Is this set on Earth? If so, I'd try shrinking it to normal to see how it looks. It also seems to throw the whole composition a bit out of whack at this size. I'm...

I would enter one if I thought I had a particularly unique take on a theme, but my priority is my project. Frankly, they're for short story writers or poets. I think they're a diversion otherwise. Contests are a fantastic way to inspire routine output of shorts. The 'winning' bragging rights...

Hell yeah man. I was so excited when I learned that Trilby's Notes even existed, let alone 6 Days a Sacrifice (though I prefer the former). I spent a decade thinking it ended at 7 Days a Skeptic.

No. Scripts don't interest me. Well, I wrote a script with my brother for a stop-motion film, but it's not like I'm itching to ever do it again. Writing for video games doesn't interest me either. That is odd, given that in the past I've worked on my own freeware games like anyone my age...

Depending on how much it impacts her, it could muddle her words. "Your tea is ready." becomes "Your ___ing . . . tea!" and an accelerated mug. If you had answered 'cold fury,' then just a normal sentence about tea would say plenty. I don't know why, but men just can't load venom into mundane...

Gravity. The more you confidently create, the more you and your bibliography curve spacetime. Your work will stand as an assertion to your existence. Books have spines. That and being published may lead to a loose and informal hiearchy, but it's art so people are free to dismiss any of that e.g...

I'm not aware of software that can guide creative decisions without it being LLM powered, though no one's going to stop you if you think that's the kind of assistance you need. As far as a holistic approach to your story, no software (LLMs included) is capable. That said, if you've read similar...