It's astonishing how ignorance will persist. This is a quote from the 1924 Vogue's Book of Etiquette, in the chapter 'Speech': 'They are deadly particular to say "I" when they should say "me". "He gave it to William and I," for instance. A good way to save oneself this mistake is to try the sentence without 'William' and see how it sounds.' --Sound advice in any year. It is repeated in 'The Transitive Vampire': " 'This summons is from Sir Gallimauf and I.' (You know better than to say 'from I', so just knock Sir Gallimauf out of the way for a moment and try on those pronouns without him.) Well? This summons is from ME. So it's: This summons is from Sir Gallimauf and ME." More sound advice: "But isn’t one person’s mistake another’s standard usage? Often enough, but if your standard usage causes other people to consider you stupid or ignorant, you may want to consider changing it. You have the right to express yourself in any manner you please, but if you wish to communicate effectively, you should use nonstandard English only when you intend to, rather than fall into it because you don’t know any better." --Brians' Errors(Paul Brians, Emeritus Professor of English, WSU, Pullman). (http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/) Another site, http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000021.htm, has this to say about pronoun case: The problem is that the use of pronouns must be very clear when we write. Many times the writing will be misunderstood; at best, the writer will appear uneducated. Another interesting, and very much to the point, blog can be found here: http://www.scribophile.com/blog/lets-talk-grammar/ If your 'creative writing' instructor hands out advice on grammar, check it out in 'Vampire' or on either of the first two sites. Remember, it's your name on the story, not hers. ((Also, be sure to check out the New England Clam Chowder recipe on the englishplus site. Classic))

I find it difficult to maintain continuity in short sections, so my 'chapters' are large. I will attempt to give an overview of the TOC, as currently compiled: The World in Play is the title of the entire work. The pilot and several introductions are labelled Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 linked in one lump which bears the whole title. Chapter 3 is not on-line at the moment. The action of the other named stories occurs in chronological order(for the most part) with 'Julia: The World in Play: Chapter 4' following next. What was once known only as '5' is now 'Let the Thief Beware: The World in Play: Chapter 5', followed by 'Consequences: The World in Play: Chapter 6'. I do tend to write 'dense', so, no, I do not expect the reader to whiz through a chapter at one sitting. Take your time. Be aware that I do not dumb down my vocabulary or grammar. FYI: Hugo Categories. Novels, 40K or more words; Novellas, 17.5 - 40K words; Novelettes, 7.5 - 17.5K words; Short stories, 7.5K or fewer words. --They don't mention chapters.

Two recent deplorable trends: First: Calling a member/members of a royal family "the royal/the royals". Knock it off! It's not even original! It belongs in the British Gutter Press. Leave it there. Second: Blurbs and Intros that attempt to excuse the writer from doing her job. --I was in a rush and didn't have time to edit this. I don't have a beta reader yet. etc. ((Since there are no deadlines here, there is no reason to rush to publish. Get it right, or do it over until it is right.)) And just as annoying: This occurred to me in dream. Rember, this follows story Y. I wondered what would happen if Duncan McLeod met Madonna. I was daydreaming. Etc.

I don't care what your mindset was when you thought of the story, I don't care how long you've been working on the story, I don't care how 'important' the story is to you, and I don't care why there are errors in your text. If you can't tell a story in standard grammar, spelling, diction and punctuation, and insist on publishing, take the consequences --and here I mean a review that points out those errors and how to correct them-- and stop whining. Do it right. Even if it means you can't publish RIGHT NOW!

I have recently become aware of --and a fan of-- the Southern Vampire novels of Charlaine Harris. While there are certain similarities in our works, this is a case of parallel inspiration. My first mention of vampires and Cambells, canned, vat-produced blood which is sold in 8-packs, was put on the web 1 December 2000. Harris's first Sookie Stackhouse novel, involving vampires and True Blood, bottled artificial blood which is sold in 4-packs, was at least a month later, in 2001. Neither author influenced the other.

Favorite authors include but are not limited to: David Weber, Cole and Bunch, Lois McMaster Bujold, Margaret Maron, Michael Gilbert, B. J. Oliphant(aka Sheri Tepper), Rex Stout, Georgette Heyer(the regencies and a few of the mysteries), Jane Austen, Ursula K. LeGuin and P. G. Wodehouse. Charlaine Harris. Margert Maron. CJ Cherryh. John Ringo.

Pet peeves include but are not limited to: Stories that are published rough drafts but are not so labeled. Use the spell check option and get your grammar up to Dick and Jane standards(or Peter and Jane or Janet and John, depending on where you are). It's not that difficult: 'See Jane. See Spot. Spot is Jane's dog. "Come, Spot," said Jane. "Come to me." ' The example includes complete sentences, with a subject and a verb; the imperative form of the verb; the possessive form of the noun; the proper use of the objective pronoun; the standard punctuation of dialogue and a correct way to use single and double quote marks. Now, was that hard?

Derivative or stolen fantasy. (Worst recent example: Harriet Spotter)

Silly pen names. 'LittleRedWyvern' sounds as if you don't take your writing seriously. If you don't, why should I? A silly pen name means I don't bother reading you. Sloppy blurbs also mean I don't read you.

Favorite quote:

I use the verb "to write" here to mean writing literary and/or commercially salable prose. Writing in the sense of how to compose a sentence, why and how to punctuate, etc., can indeed be taught and learned – usually, or at least hopefully, in grade school and high school. It is definitely a prerequisite to writing in the other senses; yet some people come to writing workshops without these skills. They believe that art does not need craft. They are mistaken.

--Ursula K. Leguin

Check out E. E. Knight's blog: eeknight.livejournal.com. His pet peeves and advice are worth reading. Especially 29 September 07.

To add a pet peeve: Stories based on any game. I don't even read them.