Fiction is and always will be a subjective art form. Some people love one writer and no others ... some people like anything they read. Some like only cyber-punk spaghetti-western vampire detective stories, and some like anything with a beginning, middle and end.

If you want to write: write.

If you want to hone your skills so people will appreciate your work, so that you may get published, maybe in the hopes of landing that national bestseller that nabs you a few mill., then you need to write A LOT.

Anything: short stories, novellas, novels, freakin epic poems. Use one bad idea after another as a strap to your blade, abrasing down the dull edge of inexperience. You have to learn how to FORM a novel. Sometimes it just all flows out of you like water out a spout and sometimes you have to piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle.

It takes even professional fiction writers a long time (sometimes years) to finish a novel (start with short stories) because they are always tweaking and editing and arcing plot lines and changing character nuances. There is also the matter of typeface, line-spacing, justification, story mapping, section/chapter/part placements, backstory (things that a story alludes to that has happened in the "past" before the current events of the story), foreshadowing, conflict/resolution, comedy, ect., ect., ect.

Just because it's a ghost story that some may say sounds a lot like another story/movie that used a similar plot-device, don't feel like your idea isn't original or worth trying out. If you write this story it may become the best ghost story ever written ... it might also become the WORST ghost story ever.

Beowulf, The Odyssey, Hamlet, Grapes of Wrath, Les Miserables, War and Peace, Great Expectations, The Sound and the Fury, Huckleberry Finn, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Slaughterhouse 5, Animal Farm, 1984, Catcher in the Rye, Atlas Shrugged, The Stand, Interview With The Vampire, Harry Potter ...

What do all these stories have in common? They were all read by A LOT of people. Some are considered to be the best literary works in history. Some were just FUN to read. They all provide a good story and are WELL WRITTEN!!!

Take this piece of advice that I use a lot. This is a quote from Ernest Hemmingway:

"If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water."

Sometimes writting a story is a lot like an impromptu jazz solo: It's not only the notes one chooses to play but also the ones that are choosen to not play.

The best thing to do is try to forget about any kind of relationship. Like the above poster, say hi but go your own way. This is the best thing either way: either she has been hot/cold with you for a reason or she really just wants you as a friend now. Either way, you will move on or inadvertently play hard to get with her, and if she still likes you this will make HER crazy and she will start to pay more attention to you.

Whatever you do keep your dignity. Sometimes when a girl makes a guy nuts for her he throws himself at her. This is the worst thing to do. It will make her respect you less and turn her off because it's too easy. It's guaranteed to fail.

There are different shops with people you can pay to do it... the one I can think of right off the type of my head is the wife of the shop owner of the "Mystic Emporium" in the Market district of the main city... saves you the trouble of gathering soul gems and soul trapping creatures...

Squeets

It also costs you an arm and a leg. It siphons money quicker than anything else in the game. It is way more convenient but the *almost* free way is to soulgem/soultrap.

Oblivion. Graphics are better (wasn't impressed with Fable 2's). WAYYYY bigger in terms of story, side-quests and gaming world. More serious main-quest. Character creation/level modifications are complex compared to Fable (think beginner vs. advanced). I got through Fable only by telling myself once it was over and I had gotten most of the APs out of it, I could go back to playing Olivion ...

You need to get your terms straight. There are items called routers that ROUTE network data to and from different connected devices. This device is usually (in a home network) the first item connected to the internet source (i.e. the modem). There are wireless network ADAPTERS that allow a device to connect WIRELESSLY to a WIRELESS ROUTER. You can buy the Xbox 360 wireless adapter but if you don't have a wireless router it will do you no good. If the question was if there are cheaper versions there are: try to find the original Xbox's wireless adapter, it will work for the 360 and is cheap ... IF you can find one. Also there are some third party adapters availble, just check the web.

Do yourself a favor and buy/learn the soultrap spell, you don't need the duration very high as long as you whittle down the enemies health first. Also, do the Azura's Star quest for the unbreakable grand soulgem.

HL2: Gravity Gun

Halo 3: Spartan Laser

And, uh ... can't think of any others.

Go Pro it comes with a 60gig HDD. At this point ALL new consoles regardless of the package should have HDMI if bought new. The console supports Dolby Digital for 5.1 Surround with either component or optical (with optional adapter). By disc size I am assuming HDD, and it doesn't matter you can't use any other but Xbox's proprietary drive with a special seat/port.

Important accessories? I dunno I guess it depends on what you want to be able to do. You said wireless so you need the wireless network adapter. The PRO comes with one wireless controller. If you like to video chat you can get the Vision webcam but I rarely use mine. Wireless headsets are nice: the PRO will come with a wired one that plugs into the wireless controller. The keyboard attachment is nice if you text a lot or play certain games. A NiCad rechargable pack with a charger is nice, there are a few different chargers available. I like the Play & Charge kit it comes with a cable that plugs into the console and charges the battery allowing you to use the controller like a wired one until the battery is charged.

Online Live access is two-tiered: Silver and Gold.

Silver is free and gives you:

• A profile that allows for a Gamertag, a Gamer"card" that other Live players can see that inclues info likeyour Tag,Achievements score,what your playing, ect.
• A friends list and the ability to communicate with them via voice or text.
• An avatar (part of your profile) that you can customize to look like you.
• Access to the Marketplace for demos, trailers, games, music, video, ect. There is a lot of free content, but you can also purchase Microsoft Points (the Live currency) to get more stuff.

Gold costs anywhere from $50 to $100 per year. It's cheapest when you pay for a whole year up front @ $50 and it gives you:

• Access to online multiplayer for any game that supports it (this includes online co-op).
• Exclusive access to certain new content for a limited time (i.e. you can DL a new demo before Silver can).
• The ability to create or join Live parties for up to 7 other people to chat or play together.
• The ability to review other gamers (positively or negatively).
• Access to streaming Netflix on your Xbox as long as you are already a Netflix subscriber.
• All the items listed for Silver membership.

Achievements are simply a way to track what games you've played and what kind of milestones you have achieved within each game. You can allow other players to "compare games" with you that gives them a detailed breakdown of all achievements earned. Each and every retail games must have at least 1000 points and possibly more with extra content. Arcade games must have at least 200 points available with more through extra contect. Don't get Microsoft Points and Gamer Points confused. One is a currency and the other simply a record of achievements completed.

I am a robot.

Are you kidding me? Orange Box hands down. Lost and Damned is just DLC, and while it seems great, the same amount of money (boy, Orange Box is that cheap now?) will get you three awesome games (ok, ok, two if your not counting TF2), one of which is VERY long with two expansions. Portal is an amazingly creative andchallenging game and Half-Life 2 with Ep 1 & 2 is deep, has an awesome story and is blatantly awesome.

Blatantly. Awesome.