didn't you used to be a guy called Jake Langley?

@Vi,

1) To protect your work you should put a copyright on the top of the title page and add you name to it. That's how I've seen others do it. Prolly SnS can explain what you need to do better than I can.... he's a writer.

2) Shouldn't it be Alexei and not Alexi? Small point maybe but if Anatoly and Alexi are brothers, then I think the more male name is Alexei. I've seen Alexi used for women characters.

Also, from the sense of authenticity, if you are going to stay with the anglicized but still properly spelled Russian names, like Anatoly, you ought to do the same with Alexei.

3) I'm usually slow on the uptake so the intro didn't grab me and give me a sense of what I was reading. I only mention this because good reads are ones that grab anyone's attention and interest. If this were on a book stand, I'd put it back because I would not have gotten what this was about.

Copyrights are automatically yours regardless of filing any type of paperwork. You, by nature, own your works, unless you were contracted by others to do their writing. You can add a © if you want to make it more legit. But it usually means it is actually registered somewhere.

The way unregistered copyrights work is that you have to be able to prove the work is yours. And the only way to really do that, is to have other people read it and testify to the fact it is your work. There is no one who would dispute that my plays aren't mine, because I have so many witnesses to the fact I created them.

The other way to prove something is yours is to have previous versions saved separately on your computer, although printed is better, especially printed with correction marks. The problem with computers is that when you update your work, you save over the previous version. Which is nice for not wasting space for having tons and tons of files, but it makes your case harder to prove.

Also, I wouldn't have links to a Document file per se, because you're giving people the very proof that you need without knowing who is taking it. I was perfectly comfortable in sending out Reynet - The Prince of Starfyre over via email, because I have all the requests and sent files logged. That is an extra amount of proof.

My opinion, you're better off posting it here, creating a webpage or sending it via email. Having a link to a document is not a good idea.

Sir S

Edited by - Sir Spectre on 5/7/2004 7:37:09 AM

@taw: yes i was. i hated using my name in a username. (don't know what possessed be to do so in the first place but...)

@indy: thanks for the correction on Alexei (i was wondering myself when starting), however, the start of this is meant to be mysterious, (it is a continuation of another story i have to rewrite).

@sir spectre: thanks for that info, and in due course, ive changed the link. (anyone who wants it, email me: [email protected])

i invite anyone interested to email me and get a copy of this, and if you want an explination on everything, just post here.

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"i have found that poking people is ultimately more fun than anything an the world. especially when i poke kaine."

Okay, now you know how you're going to distribute it, but you haven't built up an interest in your writing yet. I made 3 plays visible for all before I had 1 saved only for emails. People knew what to expect and trusted it would be worth their time to get it via email. Furthermore, I still promoted the play with a playbill of characters and a little hint to the nature of the play. I look at your thread and it tells me nothing about your writing. I don't even know what form it's in, a play, a book, a dissertation ...

Most people are not overtly curious by nature when it comes to reading. You have to grab their attention. They have to know something about what it is that you're trying to give them. Compel them to read somehow. Describe it, even if it is an indirect description. Tell them something.

At the very least you should tell the name of it. Perhaps you should start a new thread so you can start fresh with all these things you need. Make sure the subject line has the title in it.

Sir S

Edited by - Sir Spectre on 5/7/2004 10:28:22 PM

heres some backstory, as per SirS' recomendation:

For some of the TLR community, i used to be called jake_langley. I had stared a mod called the 'Factions Mod'. The title was based on the first piece of writing i did called 'Warring Factions' (a screenplay). This is currently being rewritten in a novel form. After The Storm continues on after the events in Warring Factions.

Warring Factions (now known as simply Factions) followed the story of Anatoly Korenchkin and his subordinate Jacob Mitchell.
The initial versions of this was a piece of fanfiction based on Neon Genesis Evangelion. Since the world had suffered a chatostrphic injury, the majority of humanity perished. The idea of this evolved over time into this universe in which i am currently writing about: the Factions Universe. In this world, in the year 2050, the world is at peace, but a meteorite destroys antartica (the only evangelion reference). This destroys the peace, and the Gaian Commonwealth (sorta like the federation in trek) is split into smllaer nations: European Union (EU) Russian Federated Nation (RFN) United Arab Kingdom (UAK) United States of America (USA, it wasn't really affected by the impact) African Confederacy Of Republic Entities (CORE) Japan (Sealed off borders and refused trade).
Crime Syndicates took control of China and South east Asia, (collectively known as the dragons, they have a hierachy of syndicates that work together)

Australia was put under martial law, and was eventually split in two: The Western Alliance, and the National Military Corps.

Now after a while, corporations in the US overpowered the US Army and took control of North America. Then the corporations started to expand past the shores of North America. The North Star Minig Corp. though that aussies would benefit from their presence. They controlled the north west quarter of australia. Adimere (ficticious city founded after the meteor) was situated just within thier borders. At this time, various groups had broken off from either the Western Alliance and or the Nat. Mil. Corps, The sepreatists broke from the latter, Desert Command from the former. This is where Warring Factions is set.

Now we got that sorted:

Warring Factions is about Anatoly Korenchkin, an Agent from the Nat. Mil., who are refered as the remnant. Hes 40, tall, and has a very dry, sarcastic personality, which conflicts with partner, Agent Jacob Mitchell. Mitchell was only recently promoted to agent, after some incidents with the seperatists. hes 22, and has a naieve, trusting personality, but has some issues with authority, always doing what he thinks is right. The original reason why they were sent into adimere was to recover data found by the desert command, and to return it to the remnant. long story short, remnant is co-conspiritor with north star, both are exposed, and the combined forces of the seperatists and Desert Command defeat the remnant and North Star. Anatoly was captured in Adimere, and was subjected to experiments involving Nano-Technology. (deus ex and sys-shock2, some of my fav games). He dies trying to escape from adimere, after returning there to rescue jacob. he then gives his life to get jacob and the data out, setting up part of After the Storm.

But what of Alexei? Alexei fought along side Anatoly when North Star first took Adimere, and deserted because he snapped and lost his nerve. He lived the life of an outcast and was forced to live with the guilt of letting anatoly down, and then the burden of letting him die, and being unable to help him.

Thats the setup for After The Storm. its a novel, so it'll be long. It's about Alexi's journey from the UCC on the east coast, to the heart of the western alliance. (ive jsut blown part of the story, but not alot.)

Hope it gives an insight into my little universe.

Viator - and yes, i used to be jake_langley...

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"i have found that poking people is ultimately more fun than anything an the world. especially when i poke kaine."

Just to add on to my previous post,

A basic list of characters in the Factions Universe:

Korenchkin Family: The Korenchkins are the main bloodline in the Factions Universe, protaganists all the way, with an in-built drive for good.

Anatoly: Protaganist in Factions. Tall, with a heart of gold. unbendable when it comes to doing whats right. During Factions, he was implanted with experimental nano-technology, in a lab deep within the Adimere wastes. He escaped in time to rescue Jacob Mitchell from Adimere, but died in the process.

Aleksei: (i found some cooler spelling) Anatoly's Brother, snapped after the North Star invasion of Adimere. World weary, he has little compassion, but the Korenchkin blood keeps him moral and sane.

Nikolai: Alexei's son, Born after the north star incident and the western allience discovery. His mother was Jacob Mitchell's sister, Erin Mitchell. His journey is documented in 'To Bering and Back'

Valentina: Nikolai's sister, survives to the next generation.


Mitchell Family: Starting with Jacob Mitchell, Anatoly's partner in Factions, The Mitchell bloodline have been crucial to plans of the protaganists.

Jacob: Anatoly's Partner in Factions. Somewhat naive to begin with, gradually becomes more smart over his experiences. marries Colette Atkins (North Star Employee) after North Star's retreat from Adimere and the rest of the continent.

Erin: Wife of Aleksei, brother of Jacob. not much mentioned other than a name.

Alicia: First child of Jacob and Colette. ditto

Jack: Jacob's son, leaves to find prosperity in the EU.


Warbirds: The warbirds dont have last names, so defining families is kinda hard. note: the warbirds were officially known as Desert Command.

Griffin of Adimere: Old veteran who served alongside Anatoly in the North Star Invasion of Adimere. Methodic, calculating and devious at times.

Kestrel of Adimere: Griffin's only daughter, sent with Anatoly and Jacob into Adimere in Factions. bright as a child, often gets into trouble because of her unsatiable curiosity.

i'll post more laters.

Vi

Edit: you know what? i might actually post Factions as a serial post here on TLR... how would that go down?

Edited by - Viator on 5/11/2004 4:49:36 AM

more info...

Supporting Characters:

Markov Family - usually found in the background, the Markovs are most of the time the glue that holds the whole city together. The first Markov to appear was Whitney in Factions, as a leftenant in the Nat. Mil.

Whitney Markov: A leftenant in the Nat. Mil. core, was originally in love with Anatoly. After Anatoly was killed in Adimere, Whitney married an old friend and had one daughter, Janet.

Janet Markov: Found in After the Storm on Aleksei's door, Janet was desperate for help after borrowing money from the wrong people. She barely makes through After the Storm alive, and marries Claude Gilbert.

Ebony Markov: Nikolai Korenchkin's love interest in 'To Bering and Back'. not much is mentioned about her.


Gilbert Family - The Gilberts have made some of the most important scientific finds in the Factions universe.

Sebastian Gilbert: mentioned only by name, Sebastian invented the Ion Thrust propulsion system, only to have it rejected for production by the EU council. The plans were stolen by UAK infiltrators, along with other classifed EU documents.

Claude Gilbert: First Gilbert to appear in the Factions universe, Claude is on a journey to find his grandfather's Ion Thrust plans. He eventually learns about the Syndicates and makes his way south and settles in Bay City, the old Seperatist capital.


Other Characters:

Kenji Aida: Claude Gilbert's travelling companion, an outcast from japan, he sought to find out more about the rest of the world instead of what was fed to him by the japanese government.


And... a brief (really brief) summary of the stories in progress.

Factions - About Anatoly and Jacob's journey through Adimere and North Star.

After the Storm - Aleksei's journey from exhile from Adimere to the Western Alliance capital.

To Bering and Back - Nikolai Korenchkin's story about his journey to Corporate America.

anyhoo... if you want to read some of my works, just e-mail me. [email protected]

Vi

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this is my sig. you dont like it you can bite my shiny daffodil rear, buddy.
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