SILVER LINING #8
<< #7
What is up, Cloudheads? (The sky is the answer, btw. It wasn't a rhetorical question.) Finally, a chapter not broken up into parts! (And then the crowd goes wild!) Hold the applause though, some more chapter division is in the cards, but it won't be for quite a while I think. By my estimation, there are 3 to 4 more chapters that need to broken into two parts. Hopefully, by that time, my soul is ready for the split.
First of all, I'd just like to give a shoutout to @j3Dy and to @steemvoter for giving my previous SILVER LINING chapter the biggest vote count I have received to date! (LINK) To put things in perspective, my biggest vote count was 384, which is a little over half of the votes it received. I was hyping that chapter up before I put it up saying that it's one of the meatiest chapters in the series, but I never expected to haul in such a huge number of votes. Granted, the majority of that was auto-votes, but still, seeing that kind of number really shines a glimmer of hope. It has set a lofty ceiling which I doubt I'd be able to reach again anytime soon.
With that being said, my biggest takeaways are: make sure to follow @j3dy, an awesome person who analyzed every post that he curates, putting in read times and such, and register for @steemvoter so that you won't miss out on voting on the posts of your favorite authors! I hope you get the chance to read this @j3dy, I really can't thank you enough. You are a huge boon to the community, and I wish that you become recognized for all of your efforts here and rewarded appropriately.
Oh, and another thing. Just to clarify, in case there is any confusion all the earnings from A Day in the Clouds and SILVER LINING are transferred to my cousin and mental health charities (the 50% STEEM goes to @zeppelin, while I will match 50% STEEM Power to give directly to the charities I chose). Please refer to the introduction post for more information. You can check out my transfers for a complete list of all my transactions. As you can see, I have dutifully transferred every earning both series make. I haven't been able to donate to the charities, because I want to accumulate a substantial sum before I do so. I don't want to go around giving $1 donations after every post (because that's how much most of my posts make). With that being said, I'm actually losing, not just time, but money for this series. I can't stress it enough how important this advocacy is to me, but I know that most people wouldn't even read this.
If you have spare STEEM or SD, and would like to help a differently-abled young boy live a comfortable life, feel free to transfer any amount to @zeppelin. I know that donations have been flying around all over the site for different causes, and I don't think that one cause is greater than another, but I just wish that the love is more spread around. I would just like to reiterate that this is not a scam, nor do I have access to that account. Zepp's parents have full control of @zeppelin and I've been urging them to create an introduction post to verify the authenticity of that account. They've been very busy raising three children, and they don't have a lot of free time, so they haven't been able to get to my request. I hope they would be able to before the end of the story.
A typical day lasts about 24 hours, so if my calculations are correct, we've just past the first one-third of the story. Thanks for sticking around! I mean that with all of my heart. It really means so much to have your support.
Now, we deal with the unfortunate fallout of his re-capture. I really hope that you weren't disappointed by Chapter Seven. Whenever we're overwhelmed by fatigue, our body eventually gives in from all the strain. This is prevalent even up until now. Not being able to move freely while suffering from the flu was one of the worst feelings I've ever had to suffer through when I was a child. I remember being stuck inside my own head because I could speak or move or do pretty much anything.
From the outside, it's even worse. Looking at a child suffering through sickness is always so painful. With all the advancements in medicine, we can only do so much. Feed him, give him medicine, try to keep him as comfortable as possible. If I could just take the sickness out and transfer it to me, I would, every single time. Maybe that's why fate didn't lead me to a career in Medicine, as it might mean an early death for me.
Looking back gives me a greater appreciation for my parents. Shout out to all those parents who have had countless sleepless nights while taking care of their children! I just want you to know that you are real heroes. For all those of you whose parents are still alive, hug them tight because without them you wouldn't be where you are now.
Really though, there's not that much to discuss in this chapter. I just wanted to portray both sides in this situation, even though I'm only telling it through Ledd's lenses. The escape from the previous chapter definitely elicited blame and disdain for one another, but I don't want to get into personal details. While Ledd thinks that his escape was just some foiled attempt, the fallout suffered by the people around him was huge. As I mentioned previously, even though I didn't witness the escape, I have a first-hand recollection of the fallout. It's tough to explore all the emotions of the other characters especially from the viewpoint of a character who has trouble recognizing emotion. So, I made do with what I had. Was it translated effectively or did it fall far from expectation? Leave your comments down below. I'm happy to discuss your reaction, whether it's positive or negative.
Have you ever had to deal with runaways ever in your life? There would undoubtedly be tension and awkwardness immediately after. How did you deal with it? How did everyone react? Did you ever run away from home? If so, what were your reasons? A lot of questions linger in my head, so I hope you would be able to take the time to chip in and leave your thoughts.
Lastly, since I got my 200th follower recently (shoutout to @therealpaul), I want to give a shout to all those people who continually support the story and take the time to leave encouraging messages and insightful feedback. If you're an author in need of a boost, these are the people you want need to befriend. Aside from that, they also put up excellent quality posts. Make sure you follow each and every one, and, most importantly, engage.
I can't stress this enough: comments are key. Don't just reply to comments on your posts, leave thoughtful comments on other people's posts. I branch out whenever I can, making sure to leave encouraging comments. I'll try to comment for 2-3 posts of that person, but if my posts don't hear back, then I stop supporting that particular person. Why would anyone spend time supporting someone who doesn't give support back, right?
List of awesome people to follow (in no particular order):
@dreemit (fiction), @naquoya (fiction, poetry), @meesterboom (fiction, food), @fisteganos (fiction), @verbal-d (music, poetry), @ryivhnn (art, fiction), @lukestokes (life, philosophy), @sykochica (technology, @steemittalk), @ken-and-jane (music), @j3dy (stories), and, of course, @ezzy (fiction. We miss you on here, brother!)
Thanks for reading! Follow me, @jedau, if you want to live.
Leave this post a feedback, and I'll be sure to return the favor!
I already commented on this one too but "As I mentioned previously, even though I didn't witness the escape, I have a first-hand recollection of the fallout. It's tough to explore all the emotions of the other characters especially from the viewpoint of a character who has trouble recognizing emotion. So, I made do with what I had. Was it translated effectively or did it fall far from expectation?"
I would definitely say you successfully translated through his viewpoint beautifully :)
Thank you, brother!! It was definitely a hard time trying to balance everything. I really didn't want to cross personal boundaries, but I also wanted to tell an entertaining story. I'm just glad people have been very appreciative :D
Thanks for the shoutout :) And I'm looking forward to the continuation of Ledd's journey - expertly told as it is. Never been a runaway myself, although as a child I would get myself "temporarily lost" when out in nature from getting distracted by the real natural world around me. My parents would freak, but I always had things under control! For me then I was in my own world just like Ledd in a way - a world of imagination and creativity. The world you create in your story.
Thank you for your continued support! The feedback and encouragement you give is always highly appreciated. We were the same way. I never really ran away, but I remember everyone always freaked out when I've been missing for quite some time. Really though, I had everything under control as well. Maybe our similar experiences adds to the familiarity of the story :D
Yes there is that sense of familiarity. As a child I was curious. I see that, to some degree, in Ledd. There is also far more to his character, as is portrayed in your story. But yes, as for myself - I always had everything under control :D - always!
Reading your story is reminding me of the value in a child's perspective. It's a very different way of looking at the world. This is what I am finding impressive about your writing - you are both capturing that viewpoint, whilst weaving in a very readable fantasy type story. Yet still from a child's viewpoint.
Thank you, mate! That's such a nice thing to say. Definitely made my day! I guess I tried to do it this way because I've read Fantasy stories where the lead characters are children, but they don't speak or think like children. So, I decided that I wanted to give the story some sort of authenticity. Since this is the first time I wrote in the first-person, might as well go all-out with it!
Writing in the first person is different, that's for sure. I did it for one of my shorter stories, and it seemed to work - and that one received more comments than any story before it, which is the gauge I use. When the Forgotten Man story started to develop in my head, it just automatically lent itself to the first person. Similar style to my earlier story also. But such a different mindset, so yes it can be a challenge. And why not go all out?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I read that. Glad to be part of that comment milestone :) I'm so glad to hear about a fellow writer's thoughts regarding the matter. It used to be that I didn't even consider writing in the first person, but the process of writing this story really gave me a newfound respect for it.
Kuya @jedau, it's really kind of you to share your earnings to your cousin @zeppelin and a charity for mental health. But I advise to have your Steem Power reserved for the mean time. When it gets big, its influence can be used in a variety of ways.
I actually visited your blog to tell you that I left a message at your Steemit Chat, but then I read about the purpose of writing Silver Lining. I commend you for your philanthropy.
Thanks, pare! It's actually for both A Day in the Clouds and SILVER LINING Don't worry, I'm reserving my SP :D I'm going to match that amount I gain there though when I give money to charities. I'll check in chat and respond to your message there.
I'm glad you didn't go into medicine - I can imagine that would wrench the life out of you!
We have a friend who's a kid magnet. He now has 3 of his own and has moved up the coast, so we don't see him as much. But his complete joy in being with children and playing with them is so obvious, and they can't resist him.
I continue to be delighted with how you're getting into his head and seeing things through his eyes. Although I would never have thought of what you're seeing for him, it all rings of truth.
YES! That's one of the reasons I tell my family--that medicine would absolutely ruin me. Haha! I can't wait to have kids of my own so that I could focus my full attention to them :)
The reason why I'm able to get into his head is because I see a lot of similarities between us, so apart from observing him and making informed assumptions, I try to draw from my own childhood, and inject some of my experiences to the story. It's kind of semi-autobiographical in a way :)
Thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts, @kiwideb! I truly appreciate it :D
Hey @kiwideb, I just posted something today related to A Day In The Clouds, please try and check it out, I'm sure you can definitely appreciate it. https://steemit.com/originalmusic/@verbal-d/m-m-m-29-sliver-s-edge-of-ledd-s-silver-lining-collaborative-art-journey-with-everlove-original-beat
I thought I would share this with everyone who follows the series along with the Silver Lining.
'>.< hahaha so sorry for spamming like this, bro. I totally missed this when you put it out. Just evening things out. No need to reply.
Aw, hug our parents, I agree, we should give hugs to all of those in our lives that we love (I am a hugger,lol). You are such a sweet and genuine soul @jedau, it is apparent in everything you say and do. And you truly sympathize with people, especially children, you have a big heart for them. That's why you can write him so well, you are putting yourself in his shoes. It's a beautiful story to watch. And i say watch because you're painting a picture with your words that I can actually see.
Once again a great backstage look into the lives of your family and yourself.
And you know how I feel about the last chapter, most certainly not disappointed. Exceptional.
Even though I've come to expect encouraging comments from you, I'm still surprised at how grateful your feedback makes me feel, my friend. Your observation is spot-on with regard to my closeness to children. I don't know why it is, but kids really love me! I didn't mean to sound like I'm bragging, it's just something many people are surprised about. @randomli said that I connect well because I don't interact with them as an adult. Heck, I'm like a kid-magnet in children's parties haha! Really though, I just wish that sometimes adults are drawn to me the same way. Alas, I have enough magnetic field to draw in a few.
I guess I owe my empathic abilities to my hobby of people watching. I really enjoy just sitting in bench and watching the world unfold. Everyone has such interesting stories to tell, and I try to flesh it out every chance I get.
Thank you for your continued support, my friend! It truly means a lot :)
I must confess this is the first time i'm reading Silver Lining and I only noticed this as I kept reading and waiting for the story to begin. My bad!
I've never been a runaway partly because i'm almost certain my dad won't go looking for me lol (mum would definitely get worried tho).
I have a friend who once left the house in anger and had to come back home in the evening after weighing the pros and cons of sleeping out in the cold.
Oh I just remembered, I didn't actually runaway but I walked out of my school gate as a little child and nobody knew till my mum came to pick me up in school and I was nowhere to be found. I heard it was a crazy experience but I really don't have any memories of it apart from the descriptions my mum gave me.
Nobody wants to lose a kid no matter how old. It's a crazy experience.
Thanks for the shoutout by the way, I hope i'm able to keep up with this high level you've placed me on 😊
The shoutout is warranted, and you're definitely on the right track! It's alright, man, most people read SILVER LINING more than A Day in the Clouds so I guess that evens the scales. It's funny how something someone thinks isn't that big of a deal, but for other it's already life-or-death. Different perspectives, man. So many stories we could tell from that! Thanks for leaving your thoughts and for sharing that story :)
Raar cheers for the shout out dude!! I am sure I read about Zeppelin before. Maybe it was your intro post. That's a very cool thing to do
Oh, man, really? I just realized that there might've been confusion when @sykochica pointed it out in the latest @steemittalk, but I didn't realize that most people didn't know that I'm literally not earning anything for this haha! So, what you're saying is that many people think that this is just a normal story where I just receive all my earnings?! HUHU! I really wish that was the case :'(( haha LOL!
In any case, I appreciate the continued support, dude! Your encouragement has been very invaluable. I've actually been learning a lot from you and your writing style, so thanks for that as well :D
Well at the risk of turning into a mutual circle jerk as I believe the term is on steemit I have learned a lot about flow from yours!!! Er ye are as they say here!!
I thought you earned from your posts! It's so very selfless of you to do that. Well done!
I'm so glad to hear that a prolific writer such as yourself takes away something from my work! Circle jerking is so blatant here, that this interaction pales in comparison to most circle jerk posts haha!
Absolutely not! If anything, I guess, I earn... friendship? Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm hemorrhaging STEEM, but I'm getting friends in return. It does say that my middle name in my birth certificate is "Selfless" hence my full name AU Danger Scrappy Selfless Dauntless "The Manticore" Gonzales
Now thats exactly the kind of moiker I would expect you to have. It kinda rolls of the tongue doesnt it ;O)
Friends in return and the opportunity to hemorrhage steem! What more could one ask for in a platform!!
It does! I don't know my name gets longer every once in awhile!
I guess ... money for the time spent and the effort done? Haha! I just wish that the STEEM I hemorrhage went my way. Don't worry, pretty soon I'll think of a series that'll net me a few bucks :D
Good job.
Just kidding, you know I don't write two word comments when I have so much more to say. I've snuck out of the house but I've never ran away before, by the way, congrats again on the high up vote count bro, that's a great personal achievement. Hopefully this weekend I can delve into Chapter 1, and the way I've been breezing through @dreemit's Reborn, I kind of like waiting a bit for your literary novel cause I find it hard to wait for new chapters, I just power through when I get hooked, and I already enjoy your writing style. Keep the chapters flowing bro, I'm sure when you hit double digits, it won't take me long to be caught up by then. Best of luck and success always. UV
Haha! When I read the opening to your comment, I thought, "That's it??" Nice prank you pulled there, you really got me! I appreciate the enthusiasm, brother, and I can't wait to read your thoughts. I hope you won't be disappointed, especially since you're coming from @dreemit's Reborn. Hard to top (or even hold a candle to) that! In any case, Chapter 7 is the only real "hurdle", all the other chapters aren't as lengthy. As always, thank you for your continued support, bro! Your inclusion in my shoutouts is definitely warranted :D
Okay, that was hilarious. I stared at those two words and thought, that looks odd somehow, ha! The best part is that if I did that people would react the same way, lol! Cheers to those of us who can write posts in others posts ;)
YES! Storytellers through and through! Even comments that other people would just overlook holds thoughtful words and endearing sentiment :D
Thanks for thinking I'm an awesome person! ^_^ (my brain can be pretty retarded sometimes so quite often I don't think as highly of myself as other people seem to and when I find out anyone thinks higher of me than I do it freaks me the hell out for a while XD).
I think you did a pretty good job, as even though our adorable unreliable narrator only guessed at what was going on from his rather limited point of view, most other people that have ever had charge of kids probably picked up on the uncomfortable pricklies surrounding everyone else who would have been in a right state trying to find the missing child and angry at themselves and everyone else for not whatever it was they perceived they should have done to prevent the child from going missing in the first place, and although they're obviously relieved that he got home safe in the end (or recaptured, whatever XD) all the what-ifs are probably still rampaging around their heads.
I still love Ledd's time dilation and his genuine puzzlement that not much had changed in the "years" he had been gone XD
Anyone who takes time to leave thoughtful comments in other people's work is definitely awesome. It really show a lot about a person's character, I think. You don't just leave "Nice work" or "Congrats", you really delve deep and consume the material. Any author would be lucky to receive that kind of support :D
Thank you for your compliments, it truly means a lot! You're one of the few people who praise the time dilation, so I really appreciate it. It was really hard work trying to make sense of it all, so the feedback regarding that is one that I treasure.
I agree with your thoughts regarding the fallout. I'm glad that it translated well, even if it's told from an outside perspective. As adults, we have that pre-conceived notion, but I really wanted to consider what children interpret given their ignorance of everything. Thank you for always taking the time to leave your thoughts, my friend! :D