I never even noticed the "Other" section. I just checked and yep, I have one claiming, "We used to go to school together a long time ago. I think we even went to the same preschool. I've been seeing lots of familiar faces since I got online."

I'm with you on the "people appreciate my generosity" disillusionment. I read exactly ONE PhD dissertation for a friend for free. It took me an entire day, I was unemployed at the time, and aside from buying me lunch her chief response was to tease me when she found a typo I'd missed. Not amused, dude. I fixed about…

I agree that it's probably less of a gender problem and more an art-isn't-serious problem. But in your analogy, you're comparing banter to actual work.

That guy sounds completely adorable.

"Is that an eel in the water or are you just...OH MY GOD EELS THE POND IS FULL OF EELS!"

Very well said and thought-out. Thanks!

Now I want to see your profile. :)

Yes, because Jamie Lee Curtis, she of the happy-bowel-movement-yogurt, cares what you wear on your feet. As a cashier. Behind cashwrap. Where most people cannot see your feet.

Can I ask you a question on #1? If you're planning on having kids, do you plan to talk to them about it? I'm also fortunate enough to have escaped that particular legacy, but one of the main reasons was that I saw the detrimental effects of alcohol growing up. Since I don't drink (and I'll be damned if I marry an…

I agree, public shaming is only effective if the guy is capable of feeling shame, which some of these creepers just aren't. But if the guy is incapable of feeling shame, then is picking up the phone from the police really going to embarrass/frighten him, or is he just going to pull the bro card and play it off as…

I'm with you all the way. :) Sorry about that - I actually thought I had replied to a different post (the one about stealing a guy's phone and depositing it with the police). Kinja likes to fuck with me sometimes.

That sounds extremely fulfilling, but unfortunately it's absolutely a bad idea. Imagine the reverse: someone takes your bag from you against your will and gives you a business card explaining that you can pick it up from his house any old time. If anyone did that to me, I would consider it "stealing" because the…

Poor lil guy. You can tell by the fear in his googly eyes that he already knows the fate in store for him.

Thank you! I imagine following it up by producing a variety of options and explaining their relative absorbancy, scent or lack thereof, and applicator smoothness.

I can't get inside her head because of the way the book is structured, but somehow getting her perspective on the entire conflict is an awesome idea. I'll have to think about the best way to do it, but I'm excited about it already. Thanks for the excellent advice!

Really good point. Due to the racial tensions in the book she was never going to be white, but I do automatically picture her as pretty. I need to think harder about that.

I have two protagonists, one male and one female. One has been fairly carefree about rebelling and has been in it for the thrill, while the other has been afraid to join in for fear of making things worse. The death has an opposite effect on each of them: the hothead starts to see the consequences of fighting, while…

Hmm. Here's my predicament: The government in this society is oppressive. My two protagonists (male and female) are actively engaged in fighting the government, and they're both fully aware of the consequences if they're caught. Spies, rabblerousers, well...you hear about their deaths all the time. Then there's a…

I just want to chime in with the other voices here. The tendency is to think that the skin is a topical problem and needs a topical solution. But it's just as likely that the cause is something internal - diet, pills, etc. - and the solution is as well.

Thanks! (And from a published author, no less!) This is my first, and it is complicated, and I tend to second-guess a lot of the particulars. It's set in the 1800s, so while I've got to work within some societal constraints, I put a lot of the same effort into considering whether a character has to be white/male/cis,…