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[mare]

Oh my God! You guys are all SO awesome! At this rate we'll be done with this challenge by the end of July and not August! lol

[FrickingKaos]

In response to Julie's question about Finding Carter:


My favorite character was probably Nick because as the story progressed he grew as a character and it was great to see that as I wrote him. Things really did come full circle at the end and it really great to see that he ended up somewhat different than how he was in the story began, but he was still himself at the end.


I am sorry about Brian, I wasn't trying to go for that hick stereotype because I know in real life people from there are not like that, but for story purposes I wanted Brian to be completely different from Nick and for them to somehow find common ground before they knew they were brothers. It kind of became a running gag about Bella (his goat) and I wanted him to kind of realize that he didn't want to be on the farm just because it was expected of him, hence why he changes his majors and becomes a teacher. I wanted Brian and Nick to both grow but I kind of just focused on Nick more since he is the main character.


As for the Disney stuff, I am a Disney buff like Nick but I don't collect merchandise. I have seen most of the movies and a lot of things referenced I actually did remember, although for the Disney World scenes I had to do a lot of research. I actually bought a copy of a 1999 Disney World travel guide so I could be as accurate as possible with the attractions and park layout....I really went into detail and wanted to be accurate. I did a lot of research on fraternities as well, Pikas are a real frat at the University of South Florida....and I did research on what movies came out in 1999 or what songs were popular then. It was the first time I actually did research before writing a story, so I'm glad it was accurate.

[FrickingKaos]

Here is a reader's survey for you too!

Readers survey (To be completed once the person reading your story is finished)

Story: Finding Carter

Person reading it: RokOfAges75 aka Julie

1) When you found out this person was reading your story what were your initial thoughts?

I was very excited because Julie is one of my favorite authors, and I always feel honored when she reads my work.


2) Did your reader leave you an adequate amount of feedback and was it helpful to you?

Yes, she reviewed every chapter and her reviews were always detailed, and had some tips that really helped me out.

3) Did you find yourself going back to read your story as a result of the feedback?

Yes I did because I had to remember some of the bits she was talking about, but for the most part I remember the story pretty well.

4) Do you have any questions for the person reading your story?

Not really, she already mentioned why she didn't like Brian as a character, which I completely understand her reasoning. He's probably my least favorite as well.

5) Overall did you find the experience a good one or a bad one?


A good one. I always have a good experience during these reading challenges and would gladly participate in any more that we have in the future

[RokofAges75]

In response to Julie's question about Finding Carter:

My favorite character was probably Nick because as the story progressed he grew as a character and it was great to see that as I wrote him. Things really did come full circle at the end and it really great to see that he ended up somewhat different than how he was in the story began, but he was still himself at the end.

I am sorry about Brian, I wasn't trying to go for that hick stereotype because I know in real life people from there are not like that, but for story purposes I wanted Brian to be completely different from Nick and for them to somehow find common ground before they knew they were brothers. It kind of became a running gag about Bella (his goat) and I wanted him to kind of realize that he didn't want to be on the farm just because it was expected of him, hence why he changes his majors and becomes a teacher. I wanted Brian and Nick to both grow but I kind of just focused on Nick more since he is the main character.

As for the Disney stuff, I am a Disney buff like Nick but I don't collect merchandise. I have seen most of the movies and a lot of things referenced I actually did remember, although for the Disney World scenes I had to do a lot of research. I actually bought a copy of a 1999 Disney World travel guide so I could be as accurate as possible with the attractions and park layout....I really went into detail and wanted to be accurate. I did a lot of research on fraternities as well, Pikas are a real frat at the University of South Florida....and I did research on what movies came out in 1999 or what songs were popular then. It was the first time I actually did research before writing a story, so I'm glad it was accurate.

That makes sense about why you made Brian the way he was, so he could be Nick's opposite.  Thanks for answering my questions!  I could tell you had done research on college, Disney, and the late 90s.  Like I said in one of my reviews, I loved all the references to 90s stuff!

And by the way, you totally need to watch The Great Mouse Detective on Netflix!

[Carter-Orange]

Halfway there survey (Only to be completed once you have gotten at least halfway through your story)

Name of story: Story of My Life by Carter-Orange (I don't know your actual name!)

1) Are you finding it easy to follow plot wise? Yes

2) So far who is your favorite character and why?This may seem a little weird, but Kevin.  He's the authority figure, but after seeing him get on the line for Nick in the last chapter I read, you can see that he really cares for his employees.

3) Are you getting a sense of how it will end and if so, any guesses? (Sometimes authors get a kick out of seeing what a reader thinks will happen and how predictable they may or may not be)I have no idea whether this is supposed to have a story woven in other than the day to day worklife or not?  I really have no idea how it will end.  Maybe with Friday?

4) Do you feel like the summary the author gave accurately describes the story you are reading? Would there be anything you would include or omit?I think the summary's fine.

5) Has there been any big surprises/plot twists or just overall observations? This really doesn't have anything to do with the story, but I was surprised by the amount of foul language in the story.  I know Nick is a bit of a potty mouth in real life, but there seems to be a lot.  Though, this may be real-life in her office!

These are the harder questions, but don't be afraid to answer them. Remember we all signed on to this knowing and expecting to get and give constructive criticism.

6) If this wasn't a challenge story and you didn't have to continue reading, would you have stopped already? If so please explain why. It's pretty short.  I'd probably read to the end whether I liked it or not, honestly.

7) Has there been any glaring errors that have stuck out? (I'm not talking about the occasional missed period, typo or spelling/grammar errors but huge mistakes that need to be pointed out that the author might not be aware of)Nope.  The writing is pretty solid. Just a couple little things that I noticed since I'm a member of the grammar police , but nothing worth mentioning here.

8) Do you have any questions for the author in regard to the storyline, characters or plot? If this hadn't been a challenge story, could you see yourself expanding the plot to have a storyline other than the day-to-day work life?

My name's Steph, the Carter-Orange is a mixture of my Take That and BSB faves LOL

I think the story was a challenge to write about the boys doing our job, so I did a week in the life of an IT service desk person.  It's not really that fun in my work, at least not anymore!  So yes, the story does end with Friday

The swearing in the story, hmm, I didn't realise I'd written much!  I don't really swear much at all (the odd 'shit' here and there, in fact people in my real life would be shocked to hear me say more than that), but I figured that a bunch of guys together would swear.  I know that the guys in my work swear, not excessively, but it's there.

I suppose if it wasn't a challenge story I could've expanded it, but I'm happy enough with it as it is.

[kevmylove]

Hola!

So sorry I'm so late. I started reading Falling In Love Again by  emily_michele  yesterday and I'm on chapter 4. I'll start reading Switch by CarterKid right now!!! Woohoo!!

[kevmylove]

Name of story: Switch by CarterKid

1) Are you finding it easy to follow plot wise? A little

2) So far who is your favorite character and why? I've gotta say that the story is moving a little too fast and I get confused with who is who, that no character really holds my interest.

3) Are you getting a sense of how it will end and if so, any guesses? (Sometimes authors get a kick out of seeing what a reader thinks will happen and how predictable they may or may not be) I really have no clue.

4) Do you feel like the summary the author gave accurately describes the story you are reading? Would there be anything you would include or omit? I think it works for the story.

5) Has there been any big surprises/plot twists or just overall observations? None

These are the harder questions, but don't be afraid to answer them. Remember we all signed on to this knowing and expecting to get and give constructive criticism.

6) If this wasn't a challenge story and you didn't have to continue reading, would you have stopped already? If so please explain why. I really don't like these kind of questions, because I'm not a pro writer myself, but I must say that yes I would have. One reason is that the story is moving a long a little too fast for me and it doesn't have enough description to hold my interest. Another reason is the tenses tend to change a lot confusing me.

7) Has there been any glaring errors that have stuck out? (I'm not talking about the occasional missed period, typo or spelling/grammar errors but huge mistakes that need to be pointed out that the author might not be aware of)  Just the tenses...and maybe some grammar errors.

8) Do you have any questions for the author in regard to the storyline, characters or plot? Hmmm I'lll have to come back to this one!

[mare]

Yay! Glad to see you finally starting, Erika!

And I know some of those questions are tough to answer on the halfway there and final survey but because it's a challenge story, I felt like we needed to include some of those real constructive criticism type questions. None of us are perfect and there's always room for improvement so with that in mind, answering those questions should help us all out.

You guys are doing a great job! Keep it up!

[emilo]

Final survey (To be completed after finishing the story you are reading)

Name of story: Story of My Life by Carter-Orange

1) What was the biggest challenge for you when reading this story?  I was expecting a little more plot-wise, but I understand this was a challenge story, and it met the challenge perfectly.  So, I guess getting past that was the hardest part for me.

2) Did you find yourself looking forward to reading as you were going along or did it feel like homework?I looked forward to reading because the writing was good.

3) What was your favorite scene/chapter in the story?I liked the scene in chapter 3 where Nick's dealing with a difficult call and Kevin steps in.  Lots of good, convincing dialogue in that scene.

4) Was your favorite character at the halfway point still your favorite at the end? Yes.

5) Who was your least favorite character and why?  
Maybe Howie?  I just felt like we didn't get to know him as well as the other guys.

6) If there was a sequel to this story would you be interested in reading it?
Maybe so!  I'd be interested to see these characters try to get out of some difficult situation-- something a little more plot-driven than the day-to-day life of the characters.

7) Were you happy with the ending? Yes.  I thought she tied the story up really well.

8) Name the biggest surprise in the story and did you see it coming? (If there was one) No big surprises, really.

9) What was this stories biggest strength?  Good writing.  She was able to take something as mundane as an office job and make me care about the characters and what went on during their day.

10) What was it's biggest weakness? I just wish there had been a bigger story than just the day-to-day work life, but like I said before, it fit the challenge perfectly, so there's nothing wrong with that.  

11) Did reading this story make you want to try another one from this author?  Yes.  I've read very little of her work, and she's a solid writer, so I bet I could find a story that has all the traits of a great one in her work.

12) Give us one final review that sums up your experience reading this, maybe explain why you gave the kind of feedback you did or if you would have perhaps picked a different story from this one?  I think I was expecting a little more office shenanigans and humor than I actually got.  I kept comparing it to "Office Space" in my head, and while this story was really well-written and pretty entertaining, I would have liked to see something a little more over-the-top.  However, had I looked more into the story before choosing it, I would have realized sooner that this was a challenge story about what we do in our day-to-day lives.  Like I said, it met the challenge perfectly, and the writing was good.  It just wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

13) Did you prefer the way we did the challenge this year or did you like the pairings better? This is my first challenge, so  I can't really compare the two, but I did like this format.

14) Did the author respond to your feedback? Yes

15) Any final thoughts or questions for the author?  I enjoyed your writing, and you can expect that I may try reading more of your work!

[Carter-Orange]

I'm really glad you enjoyed the story Emily, maybe I could've done more with it, but oh well, it's done now lol.

[mare]

Hello! Doing my Saturday check in!

Congrats to Emily, Julie and Chris for finishing the challenge! The reading part, anyway. I know some of you are still waiting on the reader's survey but that's all you have to worry about now! KUDOS!

My goal for you this week was going to be to get at least one halfway there survey done but going down the list most of you have already done that. So now is the time when I start handing out little individual goals. If you're name is not here this week, it means you're going at a good pace. I'll only assign you something if I feel like you might need that extra push.

Cinzia and Ritz - your goal is to have at least one halfway there survey done
Steph - your goal is to complete the reader's survey for Story of My Life

Everyone else is about on track. Try to keep going, so far it seems like everyone is rocking this challenge!

Remember you can always check the very first post of this thread to see where everyone is in terms of the challenge!

Happy Reading!

[Carter-Orange]

Story: Story Of My Life

Person reading it: Emily

1) When you found out this person was reading your story what were your initial thoughts? I didn't really know what to think as I'm not familiar with Emily's writing and haven't seen her on here a lot.

2) Did your reader leave you an adequate amount of feedback and was it helpful to you? Yes, Emily left feedback on every chapter and it was good to hear her thoughts on what I could've done more if the story hadn't been just a short challenge story.

3) Did you find yourself going back to read your story as a result of the feedback? Yes, because I wrote this story about 2 or 3 years ago, I couldn't remember much about it.  So when Emily mentioned there being a lot of swearing, I had to go back and see lol.

4) Do you have any questions for the person reading your story? None that I can think of right now.

5) Overall did you find the experience a good one or a bad one? I enjoyed the experience.

[Alexsgirl_ritz]

I am on my way to halfway there survey for your story, Mare. and when I'm done with you story, I will be starting Steph's, hopefully by next week.

[Alexsgirl_ritz]

Just finished Chapter 8 of 15, so, I guess I'll do this one.


Halfway there survey (Only to be completed once you have gotten at least halfway through your story)

Name of story: Four Santas Too Many

1) Are you finding it easy to follow plot wise? Yes! After the first chapter, you'll probably have an idea of what's going to happen.

2) So far who is your favorite character and why? In Mare's story, Nick is always my favorite. I love how she writes Nick.

3) Are you getting a sense of how it will end and if so, any guesses? (Sometimes authors get a kick out of seeing what a reader thinks will happen and how predictable they may or may not be) Actually, No. Because Mare wrote this one and anything can happen. But, I am hoping for a happy ending. I am really hoping that Baylee's christmas is not ruined. lol

4) Do you feel like the summary the author gave accurately describes the story you are reading? Would there be anything you would include or omit? yes.

5) Has there been any big surprises/plot twists or just overall observations? None yet. I am enjoying it as it is.

These are the harder questions, but don't be afraid to answer them. Remember we all signed on to this knowing and expecting to get and give constructive criticism.

6) If this wasn't a challenge story and you didn't have to continue reading, would you have stopped already? If so please explain why.  No. Because I enjoy thr boys' conversations. The interaction between the boys are so good.

7) Has there been any glaring errors that have stuck out? (I'm not talking about the occasional missed period, typo or spelling/grammar errors but huge mistakes that need to be pointed out that the author might not be aware of) No. But if I will compare Mare's writing style on this story to her most recent. She improved so much. I don't know how to explain but it seems she got 100 times better now.

8) Do you have any questions for the author in regard to the storyline, characters or plot?
None as of the moment

[mare]

^ Thanks, Ritz! I think one of the reasons I chose all older stories for this challenge was to see how much I have grown from when I started to write all those years ago! I'm glad you're enjoying it!