Simon's Search

[Max]

So, after taking some time and a big load of courage I decided to give writing a try. If this works out, there might very well be more of this storyline coming in the future.
A user on this board (you know who you are, thank you for helping me!) has already proofread the piece and declared it fit for publication.
As this is my very first serious try at writing a decent story, it's not even nearly flawless. I would love to get your opinion, both spelling and grammarrelated as well as comments regarding the story itself.

Now, without further ado, here is "Simon's Search":
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If you have reached this point, thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. You might be wondering why the last paragraph wasn't a bit more explicit. Don't worry, this is just the beginning, and I want to leave some things to be desired

[Deleted]

Well done for plucking up the courage Max its a great start, puting readers straight about CP and some of the associated misconceptions, also to the point

[Ximena]

Max, you def need to talk to Lee about getting your story up on the fiction blog - or maybe even expanding into something you could publish under Ruth's new publisher!

Definitely well written and intriguing. Love the perspective (I love the sound effects) - really looking forward to reading more of this and anything else you write! Thanks for sharing!!

[Max]

Aww thank you Ximena, you're too kind! I'm planning to write a whole story about Simon. This was just the first part, posted as a teaser/introduction to see if I was on the right track. And apparently I am . But good enough to publish? No way, not nearly good as good as the other stories on the blog.

The first paragraphs was something I had been visualising as a perfect beginning of the story. If it ever would be made into a movie, that would be the opening scene .

[Deleted]

Ha. I also do that, write while picturing a movie. i always thought i'd be better at scriptwriting than novel writing. Ah, well...do go on with the story!

[Inigo Montoya]

I beg to differ about it not being good enough to be published on the blog. And, honestly, if you plan to continue... and I hope you do.... it's easier to keep up with updates on the blog.

It's off to an interesting start.

[Ximena]

Max, I reiterate inigo's point! At least so far, it's definitely good enough! And I really look forward to reading more.

[Inigo Montoya]

If you're concerned about it being different fare from what's there... well, as much as I love what's being written... and I DO love it... we have precious few pieces written by guys themselves and if our protagonist does turn out to be gay or bi then there are loads of people who'd love to read that too. I, myself, have purchased more than one m/m novel with a dis hero. One of my faves recently.

So... publish! Publish! Publish! << A chant

[Ximena]

ROTFL! Yes - I agree again with inigo. It's nice to see a different perspective - not just from a guy's POV but a disabled guy's POV (written by one) - and I personally also think there's a lot of people who would love to see a m/m and/or m/f relationship, not just the usual m/f relationship.

I join the chant - PUBLISH! PUBLISH! PUBLISH!

lol.

[Max]

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the positive reactions, thank you guys! At this point I'm sure enough I'm on the right track, and that there's a market for this kind of story.
If that many people think it's good enough to be published I'll think about it. For now it's only 1 installment, so when I have more than this single one, I'll contact somebody about publishing.

Just one thing. English isn't my first language, and though I find myself proficient I don't think I'm fluent. I hope I haven't made too much spelling and/or grammar mistakes, or used the wrong expressions. If so, please let me know. I'm not striving for Shakespearean prose, but it has to be error free at least ;D

[Ximena]

Max - I have read and edited a LOT of stuff written by non-native English speakers, and usually I can tell instantly. I would not have guessed that in your case here. As I've already said more than once, there are definitely people interested (myself included) in seeing more of this story (and any other writing you might want to do/share), and I'm definitely willing to help you in anyway I can .

[ruthmadison]

There's no quality check on the fiction blog, it's there for everyone who likes to write. You don't have to be "good enough" by your own standard or anyone else's!

[Max]

I appreciate everyone's compliments, thank you. It's weird to see how different one can view one's own work than how someone else sees it.

As for the next installment, it's one page long and counting...

[Ximena]

lol! Well, it's like they say, you're your own worst critic. I personally have to just write and tell myself not to analyze it or criticize it until later bc otherwise I wouldn't get anything on paper. Especially since I usually find it's not nearly as bad as I thought it was when I was writing it!

I look forward to reading more!

BTW, Max, did you get the second PM I sent? I could have sworn I replied to you but couldn't find my reply in my outbox. I have a terrible memory so was wondering if I Actually replied or not, lol.

[RyooT]

Hi Max,
I also like your story and encourage you to post it on the blog. Writing a bit ahead of what you post is also a good idea. I usually try to have at least one more chapter already complete than I post. That way I can go back and re-read and edit for a while before it's due for posting. It's how I usually pick up on typos or my favorite--missing prepositions. Like you I'm also a non-native English speaker, so we ;-) have to be extra careful.
I did pick up one grammatical error early in your story. It should be 'the mall that lay' instead of 'the mall that lied' (in fact I don't believe the mall is capable of lying or telling the truth ;-)