We are linked. We are one.
I finally got to linking all my pages together. At 3 am. I work best during the uncivilized hours of the day (LIES).
Anyhoo, you can now find previous (<<) links at the top of all my pages, and next (>>) links at the bottom. I recently went through the story myself, and had to do a lot of clicking and link bullpucky. It was like… slap me, this is tedious. (BTW, people who have read my story from the beginning… thank you… you are a real trooper. I had some crazy annoying quirks)
So the links should make it easier to move through the story. I also cut some of my longer parts in half. This is moreso for the newbies, but it should now be super easy to find your place if you’re behind or ahead, or whatever.
In general news, I’ve decided I’m going to try going back to shorts. My updates are really, really long, and I think some of the story is getting lost in the length. But then again, my definition of “short” is like, seven pages worth of text as opposed to around fifteen. We’ll see what happens.
As a newbie I thank you. I am really enjoying your story. however the pics take forever to load up so I click on the new page, go off to make a cuppa and come back. I have nearly finished ch2.
Gilllian Benade
April 16, 2009 at 10:22 am
Hey welcome! No problem, I’m glad you’re enjoying. I’m sorry about the pictures. They take forever because they’re formatted as PNGS. I’ve started using jpegs in the last chapter however, and they load faster. Eventually, I’ll go back and convert my old PNGs.
Veron
April 16, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I don’t think your chapters are too long, but I get what you’re talking about. Once I started writing shorter pieces I got spoiled and now can’t even contemplate a long update without whining.
I’ve never had any problem with your png’s. Might be because I use FIOS. I’m following your lead though – got too many complaints myself so the jpgs seem like the way to go.
And who says 3 am is uncivilized LOL!
S.B.
April 17, 2009 at 10:01 am
Haha, S.B. You know I don’t think they’re too long either, it’s just about DOING it. When I first started, it was like, here’s three pages worth of text and like 10 pictures. Now it’s like 18 pages, 62 pictures, and a partridge in a pear tree. But it’s kind of because I write without thinking about how I’m going to get the shot, and then onces it’s time to put the pics together, I’m like, death to Microsoft Word. Slow painful death to thee.
Yeah, I had to switch to jpgs because the pictures are simply not loading for some people. And when Mao told me that she was reading without pictures, I was like WWWWHHHHHAAAA???? And that’s when I finally said… fine jpegs. I use Irfanview to convert, but I’m looking for something a bit more user friendly. I would just use Paintshop pro, but the Jpeg exporter KILLS my quality, which is already in peril because my graphics card is slowly on it’s way out. Like really, I need a new one. A complete upgrade really. It’s even worse because it’s an onboard card, so it already doesn’t want to do anything.
Haha! 3 am, is my new favorite hour, but by 3 pm, I’m cursing the universe and praying for a pillow.
Veron
April 17, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I never find your chapters long but then I am so engrossed I don’t notice I guess…from a reader’s standpoint I love it. The flip side is that you need a lot of shots, a lot of editing, the uploading…that can be tedious. I am assuming you don’t have photoshop…I convert my pngs to jpegs with an automated process. I never realized how long the images took to load until I had the ridiculously crazy idea to use 800×600 images…dumb…and then I ran out of space…so yeah…jpegs.
Gayl
April 17, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Thought you’d want to check this out.
http://community.livejournal.com/simsecret/52253.html#cutid1
Scroll to 52
aching_maserati
April 18, 2009 at 4:35 am
Gayl: Maybe I’m gonna poll and see where the preference lies. If readers prefer the longer ones, I’ll keep them going. I just don’t want things to get confusing because I do sometimes throw a whole lot of information at people.
Yeah, I jumped on the Paintshop Pro bandwagon and never fell off. But I have to admit there are a lot more tutorials and help avaliable for Photoshop, and I kind of wish I had went in that direction now. Especially, because Paintshop only optimizes certain formats without quality loss. Trying to make a decent looking jpg is like breaking teeth. And I also hadn’t realized that PNGs were so effing enormous and abrasive. Feh.
aching_maserati: BWAH?!?!?! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?
Veron
April 18, 2009 at 11:23 am
You should do whatever is easiest and best for you regarding the length…trust me, you won’t lose readers or upset anyone. The story is way too good. I wouldn’t care if it was 10 shots or 100; I would still be here!
gayl
April 18, 2009 at 11:31 am
Haha! Thanks Gayl!
Veron
April 18, 2009 at 11:40 am
ok. I went through the link from aching_maserati. Interesting name btw. Is that like I love you to death or I hate you. Or something. Something didn’t get posted? yeah what the hell is that.
S.B.
April 18, 2009 at 3:20 pm