?

I am struggling to pay for college this fall. I write short stories and poetry and am currently trying to edit some of my best stuff to submit to magazines.

I know about Cicada magazine and they are on my list.

I have written fantasy, young adult, children's, comedy, drama, horror, steampunk, and surrealist, among a handful of other genres, so I am pretty open as far as market is concerned.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I was thinking about health recently and ask this out of pure curiosity.

Thanks to anyone who answers. :)

We have just moved to a new house. My dog has reacted well to being indoors more often, but for the first two or three days he refused to go to the bathroom. I tried everything and then he started going to the bathroom again. This was about a week ago. He's been normal since.

But today he started scooting across the carpet. Is this a result of what happened a week ago? Is he just stressed about moving into the apartment? Or is scooting normal and not necessarily a sign that something is wrong?

I've heard that it means that a dog has parasites. I don't think he could have gotten them from the apartment though, could he? I am concerned about disease because he caught a bird today- a little sparrow. The bird died- but I wonder if he caught something from the bird. If this is the case, what action should I take to protect my dog and myself?

Thank you to anyone who answers.

I'm making vocabulary cards- I'm on felines right now.

I have cat, tiger, lion, leopard, and lynx.

But I can't, for some reason, find the French words for clouded leopard or snow leopard- I get conflicting terms for snow leopard- I've found three different words/terms.

So, if you speak French, could you tell me what the French words for clouded leopard or snow leopard are? It would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you to anyone who helps. :)

Guitars are like any other instrument, I'm sure, in that there's no "one-size-fits-all" brand, but what guitar would you recommend to a beginning student?

I'm looking for an acoustic guitar, and I'll be mastering the basics first, but in the long run I hope to work on jazz music (well, that's sort of...information that you didn't need, but I'm excited and I love jazz).

Which brands should I be looking at?

Thank you to anyone who answers or just drops advice. :D

I'm very worried at present. I am writing songs for my mother. It's important to me to be able to arrange one of the songs for a guitar piece, but I don't play guitar. I play the piano and the song is written this way, but I want to take that particular part of the song and arrange it for acoustic guitar.

I know that tablatures and chords are often used in guitar music, but I'm hesitant- I'm not very familiar with them. Is it possible to write music for the guitar without including the tablature or chords? Or is it just incorrect then? I'm also aware that guitar music has different keys and chords. I might be in over my head, but a small part of me hopes that it's easier than it looks.

This is my first time arranging, and I'm a nervous wreck, because I want to present this.

So should I just keep the music at piano? Or is it possible to arrange this music for guitar with my limited knowledge of the instrument (well, I'll start taking guitar lessons in January- very excited!)?

Thank you to anyone who answers. If you don't know about arranging or anything, I would also be very happy to get any insight on guitar music in general. Thank you!

This is actually just a question that has been floating around my head, an intellectual itch. Since smell and taste are connected (at least in humans, but I'm assuming that it's the same in dogs), do dogs have a better sense of taste, too?

I've asked this before, and I've gotten some advice, but none of it has seemed to work. It's because I've expressed the problem poorly. That's my own fault, but I'll try again:

Do you have any advice on how to break through writer's block? Writing every day doesn't work. I can't write. I just draw squiggles. I can't concentrate or think straight. This appears to be the problem: in my head, I keep getting words mixed up. I think, "Horse," when I mean to think, "Time." And I don't know why. I keep wanting to write short sentences when I know it's best to write long sentences. I keep repeating words and don't realize it- I'll say "horse" four times in a row. It seems like there's something in my head- I can't think straight. And my grammar and spelling has been deteriorating. For the life of me, I can't remember proper word order anymore without giving it a great deal of thought.

My motivation is shot. I feel like giving up and disappearing into my discombobulated thoughts- I just feel...too depressed to find a spark that I once had, a passion that I once had to write.

Anyway, it's impacted my writing the most. I can't write anymore. I was hoping that you could give me some advice to work my way out of this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, if you are hard at work on a story/poem/script/novel, whatever, good luck. I hope that everything goes well in your work. :)

Thank you!

I've just about given up on overcoming writer's block. I've had it since 2007.

It's not that I don't have story ideas- I have collected mass amounts of them over the past three years, it's that I can't think. I can't focus. I can't simply set pen to paper and write without thinking; I've tried it so many times, and it results in scribbles (literal scribbles). My mind is moving at a million miles per hour. My thoughts are jumbled and I keep getting everything mixed up- I get words and syntax mixed up. I just don't have any motivation or, well, feeling anymore. As soon as this started, I couldn't write anymore and since I've declined to feeling downright depressed. I'm not sure what's wrong, but how do I get over writer's block? Do you have any advice?

What's the best way to overcome feeling too fragmented and stagnant to write more than a sentence? :(

BQ: How do you organize all of the stories that you have floating around? How do you keep them from being repetitive?

I have to say- I'm really happy. My dog has been better than ever, more behaved. He now one hundred percent respects me as alpha. This took a ton of work and patience and watching body language, but we've arrived. So I have two questions:

1). He's still highly territorial, unfortunately. His aggression is almost gone in off of the property (except for the vet- he didn't like his temperature being taken...), but we still can't get him to relax when people come to his house. How can I solve this problem?

2). I hope to buy a muzzle and treats for him when getting him used to people being in the house. Do you have any suggestions about what treats to use and what sort of muzzle to get?

Thank you! :)

Okay, I know that I have asked questions about dog aggression before, but I'm beginning to be very concerned with my dog. My two-year-old dog is a very good guard dog, but I have had absolute hell trying to socialize him. Nothing has worked. I've tried walking him around people, giving him treats when he's gentle with people, having a "party" when people come over so he associates them with good stuff. And so on and so forth. I've asked about neutering and, largely, people said this: YOU'RE JUST A BAD DOG OWNER!

But that's not what is starting to worry me. For the past few days, I get the feeling that my dog is sick but I don't know with what. When he was a puppy, there were moments when he seemed to forget who I was. Once, when I was out in the backyard, he stood behind a tree and barked at me. He went from playful puppy to aggressive puppy in the course of a single night, but he was never aggressive to the family. Up until now. This may sound silly, but I get the feeling that he has moments where he doesn't recognize me. I'll come home and he'll trot up to me, and then, a second later, he will suddenly lunge- for no reason. He's tried to bite me. He doesn't recognize me. He did this when he was a puppy, but suddenly stopped. Now he's started again, but he's not shy anymore- I really do get a little afraid of him. Then, he'll suddenly recognize me. He ceases being in guard dog mode.

He's very obedient- you can pet him while he's eating, move his food. He sits when you tell him to, waits for me to finish eating first, and if he knows that you're mad at him, he lays down. It's not alpha aggression.

Is there something wrong with him? Can dogs seriously temporarily "forget" their owners aren't intruders?

I've recently been getting interested in animal rights- very much. I most passionate (right now) with fighting black market trading, habitat conservation, education and appreciation, and helping endangered species. Mainly, wild animals- though I wouldn't ignore a domesticated animal in need. I'm interested in wolves, big cats (especially tigers- I recently read a comment by someone who, unbelievably, wants to buy a tiger fur coat... and I seriously didn't think that people thought that way anymore), and rhinos. Even in captivity, tigers suffer and rhinos are on the brink of extinction and wolves...well I've always loved wolves so I'll do anything to educate the public on them and protect them.

Do you know any groups that are trustworthy and able to produce results regarding wild animals (or domesticated animals, too)? Or what sort of things can I do, even if small, that can make a difference?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers!

I've recently been getting interested in animal rights- very much. I most passionate (right now) with fighting black market trading, habitat conservation, education and appreciation, and helping endangered species. Mainly, wild animals- though I wouldn't ignore a domesticated animal in need. I'm interested in wolves, big cats (especially tigers- I recently read a comment by someone who, unbelievably, wants to buy a tiger fur coat... and I seriously didn't think that people thought that way anymore), and rhinos. Even in captivity, tigers suffer and rhinos are on the brink of extinction and wolves...well I've always loved wolves so I'll do anything to educate the public on them and protect them.

Do you know any groups that are trustworthy and able to produce results regarding wild animals (or domesticated animals, too)? Or what sort of things can I do, even if small, that can make a difference?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers!

I've been told that I have really poor posture- I slump so my back is curved pretty badly. The problem is that I can't tell that I'm slumped over- it seems, to me, as though I'm standing up straight (until I look at pictures, that is o_O). I wanted to find exercises that work on breathing and control over muscles and spine. I have two goals: correct my posture and increase my control over my own body. Can recommend some exercises that will help me? I'd appreciate it greatly!

Thank you!

I know that there are many dialects of Creole, but are French speakers able to communicate with French Creole speakers in their native tongues?

I run off of the assumption that the two are like English and Afrikaans, but I don't know for sure. Admittedly, I know very little about French-based languages, but I would like to learn more.

Thanks in advance if you're able to help! :)

And what do you do to feel like doing your best isn't just a drop in the bucket? When you do your absolute best but bigotry and narrow-mindedness win?

If you could correct one thing in this world- what would it be?

My poor dog hasn't had a walk in a long time due to the bad weather. I want to keep him happy and help him work off some of his energy that he's storing up. He's getting restless.

He already plays fetch. Is there anything else that I can play with him?

Thanks in advance! :D

My dog's training is going much better (hooray for Jet!)- he's behaving a lot more, except for on the days when the weather prevents us from going on a walk, which is to be expected, obviously. Now the biggest challenge is soclializing him so that he's comfortable around both people and dogs. What worked best for you when getting your dog accustomed to...well...Earth? Do you have any advice?

Thank you so much in advance! :D

England produces good music, but I like Icelandic the best. Which country (or culture, if you prefer) do you think produces the best music?

I've made progress with my dog training this evening. I got him to lay down. Twice. And he is finally going outside when I tell him to instead of pouncing on me. Yes!

Anyways, I've read (or maybe seen on a show) once that strips of meat work better when training a dog than biscuits. Is this true?

Thanks in advance! :D

Progress! :D!!!