Managing, somehow, to spend at least part of Christmas Day quietly writing. Couldn't ask for more.
If you get to be with those you love and be loved by them this Christmas, so much the better. If you don't, feel loved anyway.
Apropos of nothing - call it a cheap Christmas gift - here's a look at the excellent Catwoman fan film, Principles. I'll leave it to you to figure out why I like it so much...!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Slow progress
Writing has not been going great.
It's still going, but at a snail's pace. Less than 500 words a day, some days. It's mostly a lack of time - although, you can always make time - but also a few other distracting factors. Not good ones. I want to write, I really do. So I will get back into the groove eventually.
Around 55K on Housesitting now, so there is progress. I have no concerns about passing my word count well before my self-imposed deadline - although whether the book is done by then, who knows. I don't think I'll be wrapped in 20K more words, but then, that's a good thing. Fingers crossed I'll be close.
Christmas, for me, usually involves family and in-laws, so writing will be curtailed if not killed entirely. Doesn't mean I cannot generate ideas, however, and hopefully that will bring me back fresh in the New Year.
In case you don't hear from me, have a great Christmas celebrating whatever you want to celebrate.
Oh and if the world ends tomorrow, think kindly of me so I secure a place in masking heaven....
It's still going, but at a snail's pace. Less than 500 words a day, some days. It's mostly a lack of time - although, you can always make time - but also a few other distracting factors. Not good ones. I want to write, I really do. So I will get back into the groove eventually.
Around 55K on Housesitting now, so there is progress. I have no concerns about passing my word count well before my self-imposed deadline - although whether the book is done by then, who knows. I don't think I'll be wrapped in 20K more words, but then, that's a good thing. Fingers crossed I'll be close.
Christmas, for me, usually involves family and in-laws, so writing will be curtailed if not killed entirely. Doesn't mean I cannot generate ideas, however, and hopefully that will bring me back fresh in the New Year.
In case you don't hear from me, have a great Christmas celebrating whatever you want to celebrate.
Oh and if the world ends tomorrow, think kindly of me so I secure a place in masking heaven....
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Market research
You may have missed my previous mention of this, so let's recap: almost any* piece of writing I release in future is going to be sold, not given away.
Thanks to the meteoric rise of ebook publishing, this is a hell of a lot easier to accomplish than it might have been even five years ago. It's almost literally click-and-publish now. That's great news for folk like me. All my efforts, all my hours and days of writing can be easily converted into a format that can be sold to you directly and discreetly. Heck, if you want a paperback book, you can get one.
Apparently though, I'm late to the party - real late. I went for a casual search on Amazon tonight and found absolutely boatloads of Kindle books with tags like 'transgender', 'crossdressing', 'erotica', 'hardcore'... and so on.
Here's what I find interesting though: a lot of these 'books' aren't even that. They're barely short stories. Many of them are less than 5,000 words in length - I've written multiple chapters in Housesitting that are more than 5,000 words in length. The first chapter is over 5,000 words! I've got transformation scenes that are almost 2,500 long!
And many of these 'books'... are selling at 99c each.
That's not my plan. I plan to complete a novel (arguably, I already have) and I plan to sell it at a similar price to what you'd pay for a paperback (of a similar size) in a bookstore. I aim to give you damn good value for money. Trust me, there's very little 'fluff' in what I'm writing.
But I'll tell you this; it's damn likely I'll put some of my earlier, shorter pieces (Beneath the Veil, Psych, maybe Her Smile) online for sale soon. Why wait? Time to dip my toe in.
I would love to hear your opinions on this. Are all of us just chumps? Should every mask fiction author be selling their work, rather than just giving it away? Let me know here in a comment or by email.
* Anything that doesn't involve characters created by others. In other words, none of my fan fiction (which is, ultimately, is what BBSSG is) will be sold.
Thanks to the meteoric rise of ebook publishing, this is a hell of a lot easier to accomplish than it might have been even five years ago. It's almost literally click-and-publish now. That's great news for folk like me. All my efforts, all my hours and days of writing can be easily converted into a format that can be sold to you directly and discreetly. Heck, if you want a paperback book, you can get one.
Apparently though, I'm late to the party - real late. I went for a casual search on Amazon tonight and found absolutely boatloads of Kindle books with tags like 'transgender', 'crossdressing', 'erotica', 'hardcore'... and so on.
Here's what I find interesting though: a lot of these 'books' aren't even that. They're barely short stories. Many of them are less than 5,000 words in length - I've written multiple chapters in Housesitting that are more than 5,000 words in length. The first chapter is over 5,000 words! I've got transformation scenes that are almost 2,500 long!
And many of these 'books'... are selling at 99c each.
That's not my plan. I plan to complete a novel (arguably, I already have) and I plan to sell it at a similar price to what you'd pay for a paperback (of a similar size) in a bookstore. I aim to give you damn good value for money. Trust me, there's very little 'fluff' in what I'm writing.
But I'll tell you this; it's damn likely I'll put some of my earlier, shorter pieces (Beneath the Veil, Psych, maybe Her Smile) online for sale soon. Why wait? Time to dip my toe in.
I would love to hear your opinions on this. Are all of us just chumps? Should every mask fiction author be selling their work, rather than just giving it away? Let me know here in a comment or by email.
* Anything that doesn't involve characters created by others. In other words, none of my fan fiction (which is, ultimately, is what BBSSG is) will be sold.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Over 50K on Housesitting
Didn't quite have time (yet) today to get to 1,000 words, but I made up for it this weekend:
Over 50,000... feels pretty good.
I have some thoughts about plotting vs writing and rewriting, but I'll save those for another day. Just wanted to show progress. Suffice to say I'm enjoying this.
Unrelated: thanks for the comments I've seen / been sent on BBSSG 25... keep them coming if you want to save/resurrect the series.
I have some thoughts about plotting vs writing and rewriting, but I'll save those for another day. Just wanted to show progress. Suffice to say I'm enjoying this.
Unrelated: thanks for the comments I've seen / been sent on BBSSG 25... keep them coming if you want to save/resurrect the series.
Saturday, December 08, 2012
New release: Spider-Girl, issue #25
Having discovered an elaborate plot to discredit and impersonate Spider-Girl by Liz Allen, Betty Brant has hatched a scheme of her own - going undercover as her friend Peter Parker to kidnap Liz Allen and take over her life... then discover exactly who is Mysterio?
Issue #25: The Menace of Mysterio
Download from Maskingwriter (Yahoo! Group)
Read it online on Google Drive (no login required)
Read it online on Google Drive (no login required)
This is it - arguably the very last issue of the series. If you are a fan of the series' twists and turns, I expect that more than likely, you'll hate me by the end (especially for the ending). Whether you love it or hate it, please speak up and tell me what you think.
That particularly applies if you ever want to see more issues. With the level of feedback the series has been getting recently, it's apparent that if I ever had any fans, they've long left. (I don't much blame them, to be honest - with a two year gap between the start of this arc and the end - but it was a tough arc to write!)
Anyway, I will no doubt blather on further about the series, any potential future and so on at some point. I'll admit tidying up this issue and writing the last few lines re-ignited my excitement for the next steps (Oh, that last scene) but, I'm trying to stay focused on my current project. Anyway! Here it is! Read! Enjoy!
That particularly applies if you ever want to see more issues. With the level of feedback the series has been getting recently, it's apparent that if I ever had any fans, they've long left. (I don't much blame them, to be honest - with a two year gap between the start of this arc and the end - but it was a tough arc to write!)
Anyway, I will no doubt blather on further about the series, any potential future and so on at some point. I'll admit tidying up this issue and writing the last few lines re-ignited my excitement for the next steps (Oh, that last scene) but, I'm trying to stay focused on my current project. Anyway! Here it is! Read! Enjoy!
An inspirational cosplayer...
Working on finishing up issue 25... should be up soon. Found this cosplayer in a random Google search, showing off a great Spider-Girl outfit. You can probably guess why I enjoyed her look...
She goes by the handle of Julia, The Wicked Deviant. All images from her Facebook, DeviantArt and Tumblr.
Thursday, December 06, 2012
A glance at my writing space today
Here's my writing layout in Scrivener today:
Yes, I deliberately made the image small. No spoilers! If you could see the left hand pane you'd see my entire outline for most of Chapters 4-8 of Housesitting. With important key words like 'unmasks', 'fantasies', 'sex' and 'costume'. To pick them randomly.
The image reference is kind of obvious, though, even at this size. It's just one scene, but I strive for authenticity....
A pretty good morning
Small scene ended up being something a little more. This isn't core stuff for Housesitting, but still fun to write, and explores a bit more for Billy, the central character:
1,355 today so far.
Oh, and that mask is not what you're thinking.With a sweaty, sucking sound the mask came away. Billy moved it upwards just enough to expose Rich’s lips, stood on the tips of his heels to reach him, and allowed their lips to touch.
1,355 today so far.
Monday, December 03, 2012
Project target: Housesitting
This is a screenshot of today's project target for Housesitting:
Good day (well, morning) writing wise. I subscribe to the theory that when you sit down to write, it's a 'good session' if you manage to complete 1,000 words or more. That might sound like a lot, but when you're 'in the zone' it's pretty easy to churn them out. Today was one of those days, so that felt good.
You might have noticed something else: my deadline, as well as my projected word count. While it started as a short story, Housesitting has expanded, and about a month ago I decided to make it a full-fledged project - a novel, in the strictest definition of the term. I added a few plot twists and some other fun stuff to my overall plan, and now I feel pretty confident I can get to that word count without it feeling stretched. If I'm lucky, it'll go longer than that.
I share this with you because I've decided enough is enough. I'm fed up of my inner critic preventing me from finishing stuff and I'm fed up of complaining about it. So this is what I'm pledging to myself and also to you, as a potential consumer: Housesitting will be complete (at least in first draft) by March 1st, 2013. It'll be available to buy (yes, buy - it will not be free) sometime shortly after that.
More soon.
Good day (well, morning) writing wise. I subscribe to the theory that when you sit down to write, it's a 'good session' if you manage to complete 1,000 words or more. That might sound like a lot, but when you're 'in the zone' it's pretty easy to churn them out. Today was one of those days, so that felt good.
You might have noticed something else: my deadline, as well as my projected word count. While it started as a short story, Housesitting has expanded, and about a month ago I decided to make it a full-fledged project - a novel, in the strictest definition of the term. I added a few plot twists and some other fun stuff to my overall plan, and now I feel pretty confident I can get to that word count without it feeling stretched. If I'm lucky, it'll go longer than that.
I share this with you because I've decided enough is enough. I'm fed up of my inner critic preventing me from finishing stuff and I'm fed up of complaining about it. So this is what I'm pledging to myself and also to you, as a potential consumer: Housesitting will be complete (at least in first draft) by March 1st, 2013. It'll be available to buy (yes, buy - it will not be free) sometime shortly after that.
More soon.
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