It's coming along, but at this point I don't think I'll finish it in time for the contest. Not because I don't know where to take it, but because it's not the most important writing project I have right now.
It doesn't matter if you do it for a site like BC, or for magazines, or just in your journal; writing is VERY hard work. It takes passion, it takes practice, and it takes the guts to put your words out into the world for other people to see.
Writing isn't a one-sided endeavor, though. When you write something and release it into the world, there is always someone else who is just as important to the success or failure of your work as you, the writer, are.
My entry for the Summer Getaway contest is coming along nicely. I've got what I think are fun characters, a simple but fun plot, and some fun stuff planned for it.
So, I need to know: should I finish writing the entire thing before I start posting it? Or, should I post it as I write it?
I've said it before, and I'll likely say it many many more times: I love video games.
That said, there are a lot of problems that the industry has with not taking alternative sexualities or even anything other than guys into consideration when designing games. Sure, that's slowly changing, but it can always use a bit of a push.
This is my idea for a game that could do just that.
I'm not a big fan of the sun most of the time, but today?
Today is beautiful.
It's in the high 60's, and the birds are out singing, the insects and frogs and other wildlife are joining in, the air is fresh after a few days of rain, and it's just absolutely gorgeous, the kind of day you want to throw the windows open and just let the fresh air wash away all the staleness from a stuffy, enclosed winter.
Zoe Taylor is an amazing writer, and if you haven't checked out her stuff, well, you should.
But, having said that, she tends to write works that lean toward lesbian characters, which I've admitted before usually detracts from my interest in a story.
Her latest story didn't have the lesbian tag, though, so I PMed her about it to ask if it was or not before diving in. I got my answer, and everything was good.
My second Kingston Academy Shorts has gotten a LOT more user response, and a lot more quickly, than the first one did!
So, I'd like to know: what about Ruby's short story (both before and after the rather important fixes) appealed to readers more than Jules' little mini-adventure?
Are there any characters in particular you'd like to see shorts for in the future, or other PFH mini-stories you think would be fun?
And, lastly: how many other people want to see the next chapter of Angharad's Princess For Hire: The British Kid? Show of hands?
So, a few of you might remember my Pickles choose-your-own-adventure story I started here a few years back. I still think it was a really cool idea, but it never worked out QUITE the way I wanted it to, and eventually just got kinda ridiculous and dragged down by my renowned poor dedication to a regular posting schedule.
It's a name I came up with many many years ago; I was messing around with the Dungeons and Dragons second edition ruleset, a PC program designed for creating characters in fact, and I built myself my first ever elf rogue (drow at the time, though I've since learned better.) The only issue was I needed a name for the character. From somewhere in my brain, unbidden, arose the name Rasufelle.
It's amazing how much difference time and experience can make in the way that you write a story. Really, it is!
I've been thinking about this a lot this last year, mostly while working with the rewrite of Oh, Cheers, but also now that I'm cleaning up/tightening up Princess For Hire too, it really strikes me just how different my work comes out with more effort put into it.
Early on in the rewrite of Oh, Cheers, I tied to keep things pretty close to the original, but I still found myself changing things quite a bit. I've learned a lot in the last seven years or so.
So, according to my account page I've been on here 7 years 10 months.
Next month I turn 28. So, let's say 28 years old and 8 of those years have been spent as a member of the site. I'll also be honest and say that, of the time I've been a member of the site, I've stayed logged on pretty much constantly, at least during the times I've even had a computer to log on WITH.
I got a very nice comment from her back when I was posting the Little by Little stuff (though I think I lost her respect in the PMs that followed,) and the last Tuck note says that a new chapter SHOULD have been out last September.
Nada.
Does anybody keep up with her, and know if she is doing okay? Seeing more of the story would be nice, too, but just knowing she hasn't dropped off the face of the earth takes precedence.
I bet most people thought the end of Princess For Hire would never come, huh? I bet you were all thinking it was just another piece of abandoned writing on the site, left to forever linger on the cusp of a conclusion.
It wouldn't surprise me. Heck, I've got a LOT of unfinished stuff here. Hence, what I'm about to ask:
I haven't had enough of this lately, but it seems to be in ample supply at the moment, and barring anything horrible happening within the next 24 hours I'm well on track to have the NEXT part of PFH ready to post either some time this afternoon, or tomorrow.
The question, then, is this: do you WANT me to go ahead and post it? Or, would you rather I wait until I finish the story?
I'm not starving. I'm not on the verge of being homeless, at least, not any mor so than any other poverty-level individual in our current economy. I'm not under any particularly large amount of stress at the moment.
So why do I still feel so worthless?
I've been trying, I really have. Trying to dedicate myself to self improvement, or to projects I've committed myself to, but... I just....
That's where my student loans are sitting right now, with a total value of 3,184 dollars and a handful of cents. On the plus side, this is down from the near 10k I owed previously. On the downside, after having spent the day calling the various offices and figuring out what, if any, help I could get, the general consensus is that after so long they have little in the way of leniency for my debt, so forgiveness and/or lowered values are pretty much off the table.
I'm thinking about trying to write a story for the Back To School competition, but all the responses to my idea for a PFH short and whether it would fit the rules basically came back "Sure! If you change everything you planned to do and write a completely different story that has nothing in common with your original idea."
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
