If a author is open to discussion/feedback on their story, they will create a thread for it to take place in... if no thread exists, it means the author prefers to work without feedback at this time. Authors may also make a post and just ask that any feedback be sent via PM instead of public posting.
Posting rules: Only authors and staff may create threads but all registered members can post replies.
Question discuss Nowhereville
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Rose Bunny
-
was nearly as being named Sue and being a boy.
you seem to be missing a word here... I'm guessing "bad"
High-Priestess of the Order of Spirit-Chan
- Anne
-
Topic Author

Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- mhalpern
-
Any Bad Ideas I have and microscene OC character stories are freely adoptable.
- null0trooper
-
[/i]
, as half of the entire post is italicized.“Smell anything to eat?”
You might not get many comments other than "When are we going to see more of Kelly?". I thought it was well-written.
Forum-posted ideas are freely adoptable.
WhatIF Stories: Buy the Book
Discussion Thread
- Anne
-
Topic Author
As for more of Kelly? I don't know, Like all characters I write it is hard to not want to follow her more... but at the same time I had no plan for her other than the scene that I started with and even that was more of a reaction to Haunted than something I planned to write...
Then again if I revealed my blog, you might see where I discuss being a discovery writer. I never have learned to really pre-plot my stories. I just write them as I discover them. That makes writing true endings hard. Then again, having read somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 novels I would say that there is no story I've ever read that I didn't want to see more of the characters. At least the ones I finished. I've run into maybe half a dozen or so that just didn't catch my attention or as we discussed here in the case of War and Peace somewhere in the middle the continuity was broken and I found the remainder to disjointed to get caught up in.
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Wavehead
-

My only disappointment was when the story finished



- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Nagrij
-
Oh, and the tale. Go nuts. I have to admit to being a little flattered, actually.
www.patreon.com/Nagrij
If you like my writing, please consider helping me out, and see the rest of the tales I spin on Patreon.
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Rose Bunny
-
High-Priestess of the Order of Spirit-Chan
- Wavehead
-


- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Mister D
-
Looking forward to see where you take this next.
Measure Twice
- Wrayth
-
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Wavehead
-

- Anne
-
Topic Author
That doesn't mean I've stopped writing, just that I'm waiting to publish. In fact I've almost got two parts finished now...
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Mister D
-
It's interesting to see the perspective of an Avatar who has almost been over-powered by the spirit that's too large for the Hallow.
It'll also be interesting to see what Kayda makes of Coyote turning up again...
Looking forward to the next part.
Measure Twice
- Darkmuse
-
- null0trooper
-
Mister D wrote: Nicely chewy reading.
It's interesting to see the perspective of an Avatar who has almost been over-powered by the spirit that's too large for the Hallow.
It'll also be interesting to see what Kayda makes of Coyote turning up again...
Looking forward to the next part.
It could a coyote spirit, or even one tribe's Coyote, but not The Coyote. The latter two options love to shape-shift, so YMMV.
Forum-posted ideas are freely adoptable.
WhatIF Stories: Buy the Book
Discussion Thread
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Wavehead
-

- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Mister D
-
Anne wrote: As she said, Coyote is coyote! And Coyote will be coyote!
And not a dead goose lying by the edge of a lake...?
Measure Twice
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Wavehead
-

- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Polk Kitsune
-
The concept of Kelly's situation is very good, I'd say. A kid who's just been through the worst moment of his life, all the way to being beaten and... Well, the less said there, the better, I suppose, but mentally wounded when he finds a spirit to bond with, that he loses himself to the animal spirit in the process. He's so detached from the world that at first, he's simply taken for the ride, taking the surprises as they come, and only responding on instincts. He doesn't want to think about his old life, doesn't want to think about what happened to him, so when Coyote takes over, it's easy to give in, and be the animal. Even the surprises of being a dog, and quickly later, being a girl doesn't seem to faze her all too much. There's barely a reaction.
Even more worrisome too, is the fact that she might like being the coyote, that life is so much easier this way. Calmer, without too much trouble. That she might just forget human life at some point. She doesn't want to be just wild, but considering the troubles she had as a boy, and then being a girl too, she hesitates between the two (Although, personally, I can't help but picture how cute she might be as a puppygirl). But the struggle of the story, the big plot of it is for her to find help from this whole mess, see if she'll change back, and what help she can find as a whole.
The process, the journey she's taken does make sense, and although she mostly relies on instincts for the first part, they mostly make sense, even describing how different, and maybe uncomfortable a dog's life must be, including eating raw meat and garbage. And things get complicated when those necessities become scarce. Getting help makes sense, and she's lucky she found someone who could tell she was more than just a wild dog. Maybe a little too lucky, but at this point, I don't know how quickly you want to speed things up, or what your end game will be.
This is where I'll have to admit, I just wana hug, pet, and cuddle the fluffy dog girl.
But as much as the concept is interesting, and I wana find out more, your writing structure does need some work. It's not the easiest to read, and sometimes I cringed at the way it was written.
Although it does get better later on, the biggest problem section is chapter 1. It started real hard to follow, and want to continue. I do get that you wished to make the writing style to feel, and show that Kelly is dazed from the beating, and mental shutdown, and that shows, especially when he remembers pieces of the beating in the woods, and pushes them back in the dark parts of his mind, but parts of it suffer because of this.
A part that I had issues with was how you mechanically described every steps of getting under that fence. It took so long to describe, it took away from the feel of the story, and how distraught Kelly felt. It could have been sped up to move on.
On the other side though, the part when she's a coyote went right by quickly, we don't get much time to reflect on what's happening. The transformation happens between paragraphs, most of the trek through the town is mentioned in a blur, and a part of me wished there was more mention in there.
I will also mention that you want want to limit your use of parenthesis (). Although they might be useful at times, they're usually big breaks when reading, and might pull out a reader from the immersion, when a comma woudl have done just fine. At other times, there may be some paragraphs you'd want to break up into sections, to make things feel like they sped up, or a sense of urgency, like every time there's a howl before Kelly gets under the fence.
Chapter 1 feels like it needs a healthy dose of editing, I feel. There's ways to improve it.
Chapters afterwards though do show some steady improvement, and move forward with the plot. Plenty of attention given where it needs to be, Kelly is careful, and mostly smart, even if she's just trudging along under Coyote's guide, and the structure is a lot better to follow. The more I went, the better I felt about it.
If I had one part I also had to mention woudl be by the last part posted right now, when Sally and Agent De La Santos talk to each other, while Sally calls Whateley. Sally called Kelly over, but as Kelly pointed out, she did nothing with her then. There was no reason to call her there... At least, no IC reasons to do it, but as a writer, I've got a suspicion why. You needed to write about that call, and what that would entail from it. Unfortunately, since your whole story is written from the protagonist's perspective, you needed Kelly there to get the conversation. Unfortunately, pointing out that Kelly was there with no purposes shows your hand on this, and will break the immersion once more. If I had a proposition, the talk could have simply happened by the RV where Kelly was laying down, and she overheard, or you could have have Kelly hover around close to Sally the whole time, feeling safer around her.
Hrmmmm. As for the coyote spirit being the Coyote, I have only gotten a glimpse of him in Kayda, and haven't reached the end there, but it doesn't quite capture the same feel. This once seems much more animalistic, wild, running on instincts. The fact that he was debating with a girl spirit at the mention might also show he's not as independent as he might be, for a spirit that lived for eons.
As for a last bit of criticism, are you sure about the title? Sure, you mention it at the beginning of the story that Kelly considers his hometown to be in the middle of nowhere, but it certainly isn't part of anything else in the story, certainly not a central part of it.
That being said though, I'm still liking it, and I do look forward for more. It's a little rough around the edges, could use some polish, but the concept is there, the journey is done well, and it does get better as you go...
Plush I really wana snuggle puppydog girl Kelly. >> <<
My story: Evershade: Reforming
- Anne
-
Topic Author
I'm glad that the conflict is building, and I'll have to work on that deus ex machina bit of Sally calling Kelly over to her, but she didn't hear everything, so maybe Sally was told to get her out from under the coach?
For everyone who is hoping for another part, I have another mostly ready to go, I'm sort of waiting on Elrodw to tell me go on it...
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Polk Kitsune
-
The fall of shadows as he turned led Kelly to pause and kneel in the stream bed; the cold water flowing over his throbbing arm and other wounds was soothing for a moment, and he sat letting the coolness ease his pain. Howl! Was that coyote closer than it had been before? Kelly wasn't sure. But it did remind him that he did need to move if he wished to survive, and though he was more weary every moment, giving up seemed to not be part of his make up. HOWL!!! That had to be closer, Kelly thought. That spurred him to investigate to see if what he thought he’d seen when he shifted was so… he followed the upright iron spears of the fence to where they met the water. Yes! They ended just below where they touched the flowing surface.
HOWL!!!!
The coyote’s song made Kelly’s decision for him…
You separate the howls once, but don't do it beforehand, and that could use a good touch-up there. Even using 'howl' might describe what's happening, but doesn't pull the reader into living it.
How I'd edit it, just a recommendation, but see how the difference feels.
The fall of shadows as he turned led Kelly to pause and kneel in the stream bed; the cold water flowing over his throbbing arm and other wounds was soothing for a moment, and he sat letting the coolness ease his pain.
Ahwooo!
Was that coyote closer than it had been before? Kelly wasn't sure. But it did remind him that he did need to move if he wished to survive, and though he was more weary every moment, giving up seemed to not be part of his make up.
Ahwoooo!!!
That had to be closer, Kelly thought. That spurred him to investigate to see if what he thought he’d seen when he shifted was so… he followed the upright iron spears of the fence to where they met the water. Yes! They ended just below where they touched the flowing surface.
AHWOOOHOOHOOOOOO!!!!
The coyote’s song made Kelly’s decision for him…
Even spacial breaks like these have an effect on how people will read them.
Good luck on fixing the Sally calling Kelly over. Not the worst of coincidences, but you can find a convenient fix.
Looking forward to more!
My story: Evershade: Reforming
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Rose Bunny
-
I use Helvetica, myself... because I like to say "Helvetica"
High-Priestess of the Order of Spirit-Chan
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Polk Kitsune
-
But changing fonts and images is much more advanced in the web format than I'm used to, I'll admit.
But it's true word formats can also have an effect on reading, since it changes the tone and atmosphere of the read. It's subliminal, but sometimes, it can make all the difference.
My story: Evershade: Reforming
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Wavehead
-


The cliff hanger ending is making me desperate for the next chapter

- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Mister D
-
Polk Kitsune wrote: All right. I got through the whole story, and it has been an interesting read in a way. There's definitively some good points, and others where there's signs where improvements woudl really help it. Might be a bit easier on me, since Transformations in general is a guilty pleasure for me.
The concept of Kelly's situation is very good, I'd say. A kid who's just been through the worst moment of his life, all the way to being beaten and... Well, the less said there, the better, I suppose, but mentally wounded when he finds a spirit to bond with, that he loses himself to the animal spirit in the process. He's so detached from the world that at first, he's simply taken for the ride, taking the surprises as they come, and only responding on instincts. He doesn't want to think about his old life, doesn't want to think about what happened to him, so when Coyote takes over, it's easy to give in, and be the animal. Even the surprises of being a dog, and quickly later, being a girl doesn't seem to faze her all too much. There's barely a reaction.
One way that this could be interpreted, is of an Avatar that has a spirit that is waayyy... too big for their hallow.
This interpretation would also fit with the reactions that Sally is having towards the transformed Kelly.
She's seen this sort of GSD before.
Even more worrisome too, is the fact that she might like being the coyote, that life is so much easier this way. Calmer, without too much trouble. That she might just forget human life at some point. She doesn't want to be just wild, but considering the troubles she had as a boy, and then being a girl too, she hesitates between the two (Although, personally, I can't help but picture how cute she might be as a puppygirl). But the struggle of the story, the big plot of it is for her to find help from this whole mess, see if she'll change back, and what help she can find as a whole.
More work for Dr. Bellows...
The process, the journey she's taken does make sense, and although she mostly relies on instincts for the first part, they mostly make sense, even describing how different, and maybe uncomfortable a dog's life must be, including eating raw meat and garbage. And things get complicated when those necessities become scarce. Getting help makes sense, and she's lucky she found someone who could tell she was more than just a wild dog. Maybe a little too lucky, but at this point, I don't know how quickly you want to speed things up, or what your end game will be.
Possibly a touch of Odds Mangler too...
This is where I'll have to admit, I just wana hug, pet, and cuddle the fluffy dog girl.
{snip}
If I had one part I also had to mention woudl be by the last part posted right now, when Sally and Agent De La Santos talk to each other, while Sally calls Whateley. Sally called Kelly over, but as Kelly pointed out, she did nothing with her then. There was no reason to call her there... At least, no IC reasons to do it, but as a writer, I've got a suspicion why. You needed to write about that call, and what that would entail from it. Unfortunately, since your whole story is written from the protagonist's perspective, you needed Kelly there to get the conversation. Unfortunately, pointing out that Kelly was there with no purposes shows your hand on this, and will break the immersion once more. If I had a proposition, the talk could have simply happened by the RV where Kelly was laying down, and she overheard, or you could have have Kelly hover around close to Sally the whole time, feeling safer around her.
This could also be worked around by Sally saying to Kelly, "Stay close, girl," while glancing at the local police. Add in some absent-minded petting while Sally's on the phone, to confirm that Kelly had a reason to stick around.
Hrmmmm. As for the coyote spirit being the Coyote, I have only gotten a glimpse of him in Kayda, and haven't reached the end there, but it doesn't quite capture the same feel. This once seems much more animalistic, wild, running on instincts. The fact that he was debating with a girl spirit at the mention might also show he's not as independent as he might be, for a spirit that lived for eons.
Coyote is Coyote. (When he is not being a dead goose by the side of a lake.)
Different tribes have different tales of Coyote, but they are all about the same sapient.
We won't know till we get to Whateley, and, Kelly meets another person who has had contact with Coyote, as to which aspect of Coyote, Kelly has met.
As for a last bit of criticism, are you sure about the title? Sure, you mention it at the beginning of the story that Kelly considers his hometown to be in the middle of nowhere, but it certainly isn't part of anything else in the story, certainly not a central part of it.
That being said though, I'm still liking it, and I do look forward for more. It's a little rough around the edges, could use some polish, but the concept is there, the journey is done well, and it does get better as you go...
Plush I really wana snuggle puppydog girl Kelly. >> <<
Looking forward to the next part of your work.

Measure Twice
- Anne
-
Topic Author
As far as Kelly getting called out from under the coach, she didn't hear it, but the police asked Sally to call her out. I had the focus so tight on her that I'm not quite sure how to work it in without having a rough area. I suppose I can work that in a bit. Like I said, I have the first two chapters up as a google doc if anyone wants a link to them so they can comment inline there.
As I mention in my blurb about this chapter, I think I can get the rest of what I need done in granular time in about another 2500 words. It may only be an hour or less granular time, then I can pull the focus back away from Kelly for a bit, or at least summarize some days. After all to a certain extent, once you get used to it travel becomes a routine, this time with a coach rather than afoot, but basically wake up, watch the road go by, maybe figure out how to get Kelly using some sort of tablet computer... but mostly beyond that wash, rinse and repeat and not necessary to watch every moment of time.
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion
- Rose Bunny
-
small thing in the last part. You used martial several times, instead of marshal.
High-Priestess of the Order of Spirit-Chan
- Anne
-
Topic Author
Adopt my story: here
Nowhereville discussion