Discuss Krista's story "Left Behind", in this thread.



Spoilers below!!!





Spoilers below!!!





Spoilers below!!!

One of the first things that struck me with this story is the richness of the characters. To develop several lead characters so well and in such a short space of time is impressive

I loved the complex interaction between the four main characters. Mitch has just the right amount of stubborness to resist being pushed into talking. Cara and Jacy come over as manipulative, but for the right reasons, and Aidan is just plain hurting.

Cara is probably my favourite charcter in the story. She appears initial as your stereotypical teenage girl obsessed with her appearance, but shows a complexity that stereotypes don't allow for.

Mitch kept complaining about how he was abandoned by his friends, but it becomes clear that he abandoned Jacy, not the other way around.

There are a few questions left in my mind at the end of the story. The big one is whether Jacy and Cara knew about Aidan's real reason for ignoring Mitch all year. Did the two girls put aside their differences to get the two boys to talk because they didn't like seeing friends alienated, or because they wanted the truth out in the open (which would be especially apt, given the rural setting).

Finally, I loved the ending of the story. The two boys each with their own views on what the preceding events meant. One was hopeful and one was despairing. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that they continue to talk -- Aidan needs to learn that not everything is black-and-white. There are many shades of grey when it comes to relationships.

Aww, thanks for that Review, Graeme!


Also, thanks Sharon for editing this Anthology for me. It wouldn't have been accepted w/out you so thanks for all your work you done on it.


Krista

Kristaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You make me so angry with the way it's just a complete cutoff at the end. ~sighs~ It was very good though, it kept my interest really well, which is very hard to do considering I might as well be a goldfish. Great story, Krista, I really really liked it.

Really nice story with well-developped characters. You have well shown the personality of each character, their good points as well as the good ones.

I must admit that Aidan was quite frustrating at start. I already suspected about the reason but still, it wasn't right to give Mitch such a cold treatment. It's just unfair. Glad that they finally talked; at least, the truth is out. Does the reaction of Mitch and Aidan show us the two possible consequences of such a relationship? Personally, I believe that Aidan is right- being 'just friends' with some one you're in love with can be very miserable.

Ieshwar

I thought it was Mich who was gay, up until the end... That came as quite a surprise to me, and I agree, the characters were very, very well developed. I loved the forest setting, too. Thanks Krista!

Jamieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thanks for commenting on my story.. lol. Sorry you didn't like the ending.

I'm glad you liked the story.

Krista

Hey, thanks for commenting and reading my story.


I also think it's difficult to stay friends with someone you are attracted to or in love with, if they don't return those feelings. It's also pretty painful with a lot of let downs. I'm glad you thought my characters were well-developed as I try to develope the characters and I start with that being the first priority to my stories.


Krista

Hey,


You know, I was going to make Mitch the gay one in the beginning and reverse the whole story.. lol. Making it more negative than it already was, but then I wanted to make it a "light hearted story" where things do work out, but I decided not to do that as well.. Deciding that Aidan to be the gay one was what I went with, I started the story with the thought of the ending and the characters I wanted.

Thanks for reading!

Krista

Awww! I feel so bad for Aidan! Can you give him a hug for me? I totally know what he's going through, because in high school I fell completely and madly in love with a straight boy. I was totally closeted, so he never knew though.

^_~

Lol, sure I can.


Krista

Well, well, well...What do I say Krista??? You have once again proved that you can really communicate with the power of your keyboard....lol

A truly wonderful story, well developed characters as well as a great plot. Mitch's condition is somewhat understandable and I don't blame him for not talking to Jacy. When you are suddenly abandoned by your best friend for no obvious reason--It realyy hurts your self esteem. You feel as if it was something you did to make that friendship a disaster and then are afraid to experience it again and hence distance yourself from others. It is a highly confused state of mind and can mislead you into believing things you would never believe.

Kudos to you for giving us this masterpiece...



The BeaStKid

Hey,

Thanks so much for your compliments and comments. It is rough losing best friends you've grown to trust and love for a long time. Losing them because they don't want anything to do with you is probably one of the more tragic things a person could go through really.

Thanks for reading the anthologies! Makes all the hard work people put into them worth it.

Krista

Krista!

Nicely done! I loved the setting, character development and plot.

I kept waiting for the bear to show up though!

This is one of my favorite genres of gay stories, mostly because I can identify with the whole I'd rather not be your friend than tell you whats going on inside. I did that a lot.

You did a great job. I was confused about Aiden's feelings toward spending the next 4 years with Jacy. Especially as a gay man.

I would definitely love to see a continuation of this one!

That whole progression was reflected in the writing!!
-At first i thought mitch was gay and aidan thought so so he didnt want to be his friend
-Then i thought that aidan was in love with mitch and wanted distance to stop liking him. I also thought mitch was gay and they'd end up together- happily ever after
-Then it was the ending and i was like aaaawwww:( y rnt they together

I didnt consider that maybe mitch wasnt gay...
Amazing story though. Like everyone said. very rich characterization. I really liked the character of aidan.

Hey,

Thanks for reading!

I never would've thought my characters would've been that developed.. lol. I guess Third Peson Perspective opens character development up a lot more easier as they now have their own thoughts. Anyway, I'm glad you read my story and commented on it.

Krista

Hey,

Thanks for reading and commenting.

I did leave this story open for a continuation, I wasn't intending to do that, but out of all the shorts I've done, these characters would be the ones I'd want to keep writing about. So I'll make a point to attempt a second part inbetween the ending of a serial and starting work on one I have on hold.

Krista

Please do continue it...I'd love to see this story develop into something more....

Seconded!

Hey,


Lol. I don't know, we'll have to wait and see. It's a huge step for me to take on 20 or so page of a second part. I'm working on the Fall Anthology some now, planning it out and starting the writing.


Anyway, I'll think "happy thoughts" about a part two.. lol.


Krista

Quite a tale, I really enjoyed it. You seemed to have captured the emotions that every teenager goes through. You know the ones I mean, stupidity, stubbornness, and angst.

I love how you managed to have distinct voices for each of your main characters in such a short story. I also loved the way you ended it. Forgoing the usual happy ever after to one of change was most refreshing. High school romances rarely last, and high school crushes always seem to fade as well. Change is the downfall of high school relationships, great job.

Jason R.

Hey Jason R,


Thanks for reading and complimenting on my Anthology story. I liked these characters, I'm just a little surprised at how distinct the four turned out to be. I know I wanted a comic relief character so I chose Cara and I wanted a down to earth character and that was Mitch.. and then the brooding hurting character Aiden. As for Jacy I thought she would've been completely forgotten.

Anyway, done rambling.

Thanks,

Krista