Josiah DeGraaf

@aratrea *bubbles over with joy* *thrills* This is wonderful! Even better than I’d dared to hope! Thank you SO MUCH for the friendliness to my mobile device. Not that he ever sense a cold shoulder, but he did have a strange sensation he was a little too slow for the fast pace of life in the Kingdom of the Pen. 😀
Question: what defines a person’s…[Read more]

@aratrea Pride and Prejudice, yes. It was amazing and lovely and perfect, but…it just failed to touch me on a heart level. It certainly taught me the dangers of sassing rich guys (and anyone for that matter) though!
I’ve never heard of the Death of Ivan Ilyich… *goes to reserve at library*
I’m actively seeking to read deep classics that will…[Read more]

@aratrea I love this! And chocolate cake is, in the humble opinion of this particular loyal sidekick, one of the most amazing things ever concocted by modern man, so I shall gratefully help myself to a generous portion. Merci beaucoup monsieur! 😀
@winter-rose Definitely! The forum just got about a million times funner… XD
@kate-flournoy @daeus…[Read more]

@aratrea Yay! I hope there’s still some cake left. The site looks awesome! Aberdeen gives you a high…oh…a low five. 😉

However, I noticed the staff and writing team pages look kind of disorganized on the desktop version, like I’m reading a bunch of newspaper ads. And then on the mobile version, the bios are in the wrong order (Michael is way…[Read more]

How many members do we have total, I wonder? It would be interesting to see how many of those are active, too, when school isn’t getting in the way.

Loyal Sidekick, hmm. Well, in real life, my sister and I are each other’s sidekicks a lot of the time (who is the sidekick at the moment depends on what kind of situation the one in question is). How…[Read more]

@aratrea Thank you for all your hard work on the new site! It looks fabulous! (And so nice on my mobile device!)

@Aratrea Good grief! I believe he’s rather deserving of that title, then.

@aratrea Yep. @daeus wins.

@aratrea Ooh really?

We shall go on a mighty quest! Though, I am curious as to whom my fellow Chosen One’s are…

IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL. Gah!!!

@Aratrea Wait wait wait—let me guess. Kate and Daeus, eh?

@aratrea Woohhoooohooohooooooyeahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS AWESOME!

Wow thanks everyone for all your super helpful replies!

@daeus Haha yeah Macs are the best. Ever.

@aratrea @ethryndal Hmm, I might have to check that one out. It sounds great! @kate-flournoy LOL yes that is a big favourite with me too. And friends’ brains can be helpful @perfectfifths
@mariposa Great minds think alike!…[Read more]

@Aratrea … I seem to have a problem.
During Camp NaNoWriMo, I wrote my novel of 60k, have been editing it and cutting it down, and I have somehow ended up with a mess.
My ‘Theme’ has been ‘justice’, but, at the start, I’ve been having more questions based on justice regarding prejudice. (ei. Is it just to genetically modify people and then say…[Read more]

@aratrea Growing up, the entire Anne of Green Gables series changed my perspective on life in many ways and on many levels. I know perhaps they aren’t perfect from a plot point of view, but I love them. Also, The Sign of the Beaver, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and The Bronze Bow, all by Elizabeth George Speare all taught me a great deal. And…[Read more]

@Daeus thank you. Good thoughtful answer. Believe it or not I actually hadn’t thought about it one way or the other; doing long term or not, but now that I have, it’s a definite yes. I never really set my heart to do anything unless I’m going to do it long term anyway. 😉 If it was just for promoting myself— yep, website. But since I feel like I…[Read more]

Hi, again, everyone. I was wondering:
Is there a criteria or a list of rules or some such for submitting short stories? I have a pretty cool idea, I think, and if I ever did it, I would maybe like to share it with you guys.
@daeus @aratrea @peoplewhowriteshortstories

@aratrea @daeus Theme is exciting because it is how stories impact lives. Fiction has changed me. I want to learn how to create stories that can do that for others. 🙂

@aratrea @daeus I’m hoping to lay the foundation for a lifelong study of theme. 😀 Also, I hope to learn how to properly use stories to teach and delight. As opposed to pounding readers over the head with a peppermint stick. 😛

Hey @eleganceismyarrow!

Just so you know, if you can tag me when posting (@aratrea), that will make sure I catch the post. 95% of the time I’ll get notifications w/o it in this forum, but that just makes sure I get the 5% as well. 🙂

Anyways, onto your homework: this is a pretty good starting point for your theme. The Focusing Question is a good…[Read more]