Busy in the wrong way

Busy month for me, work wise. Not so busy writing wise.

As I should have always known was going to happen, I got to the end of 'Part I' of Babysitter and wham - hit a wall. I know what happens next (kind of) but I'm debating all sorts of stuff - which PoV to write Part II in, whether I need an interlude between I and II, whether I want the protagonist to tip his hand early, etc etc.

In the meantime I'm scribbling down ideas for scenes in Part II, all of which are very kinky and fun, I assure you. Unfortunately, things aren't moving forward at the rapid clip I hoped for.

It's tough sometimes to strike the balance between scenes that you want to write because they're very sexy in your mind, and scenes that actually advance the plot. Might sound ridiculous, I realize, but I do like to have the characters inhabit a world that sort of makes sense, at least in terms of motivations and so on. We'll all assume the amazing mask thing is a given.

Anyway, someone asked for an update and that's it.

Oh also: try not to play too many videogames when you're supposed to be writing. Also: don't be married. Also: don't have a job. All of these things are just distractions.

Edit: Of course, I've written about this 'striking a balance' thing before. Who knew there was content buried in this thing?

Interested in advice?

I am a conceited ass sometimes. I state this up-front, for those of you who read this and think "Who the hell does this guy think he is?" Let's just be clear: I think I'm full of myself. Sometimes.

With that out of the way...

I've thought for a while that, if people are interested, I could potentially do a series of articles giving out advice for how to write mask fiction. (Or, more specifically - and this is the 'ass' part -how to write better mask fiction.)

Would anyone care? Is anyone even interested in the advice? Is anyone reading who's thinking "I'm interested in writing this stuff but I don't know where to begin?"

If not, no problem. I've got plenty of other things to occupy my time. But if you are interested, speak up....

More progress, and a warning

Here's my thinking. I'm happy to say I'm still marching forward on the Babysitter. It's starting to get into a nice steady rhythm, and that pleases me. Fingers crossed it'll continue as it has been.

I'm now closing in on 45K and the official end of the first part - but really, it's the first half. I have many, many ideas for part two, where the 'action' really gets going and our 'babysitter' takes up residence.

But did you notice the word 'half' in there?

This is pretty much turning into a novel. By the end it'll be a good 200 page story, if we assume standard paperback page sizes. I'd love to tell you that'll be completed next month, or even the month after that, but I don't think it's going to happen. Realistically I can't even guarantee it'll be done this year.

However - despite the fact that I am approaching a perfect point to release Part One as-is, I'm not going to do it. Believe me, I am tempted. I need feedback. I crave it. But I'm scared that if I do that, I'll never finish Part Two. And you want a finished story, right?

In the meantime though, I'll be sharing it with some very select people...

... and maybe they'll share their thoughts.

Progress on Babysitter

So in the last week my creative dam has burst a bit on The Babysitter, and I've added close to 10K words to it (in fact, I'm close to 39K now).

I really appreciate everyone's comments on my previous post. Apart from the fact that it proves to my fragile ego that there are a few people out there who'll at least take the time to give me an opinion, it also gave me some incentive to get writing again.

Well, that and waking up at 6AM in a hotel room with not much else to do than add 3K worth of words to the thing, and to get past a scene that had always felt a bit dull in my mind (but which is quickly followed by some kinkiness, so don't worry).

Anyway, for right now I intend to at least forge forward with this, although I am rapidly approaching a point which I'm now labeling as the end of 'Act One'. Hopefully I'll roll straight into Act Two, where things get real interesting....

One interesting, nerdy writer thing on this project has been seeing how the characters have been 'acting up' in a few different ways. In the last 10K I've had at least one surprising moment in a scene (for me) as I suddenly realized "Hey, he should totally kiss him right now" and another huge surprise ended up adding a whole new subplot. Said subplot was actually loosely based on a relationship I had myself, but I won't detail too much for fear of incriminating myself.

Suffice to say, married women having affairs can be fucking crazy, people. Fair warning.

Anyway I wanted to let you know things are moving forward a bit. Night all.

Anyone there? If so, here's a question

I address this to my theoretical Reader.

I know a few of you are out there, of course. You're the guys I keep up with on a semi-regular basis, who I email and I occasionally IM. You guys are basically a given.

I'm talking to the other Reader. (Or can I be brave and assume a plural Readers?) The silent majority.

I need to hear from you.

Not entirely to stroke my own ego (although yes, I'll admit that's part of it.) I actually want to get your opinion.

Y'see, right now, in another window, I have the beginning of Betty's latest issue in the works. Issue 23, if you're counting. And it's easy stuff. It's familiar, it's comfortable. It's not hard. Sure, the plotting can be an absolute bitch sometimes (as I'm pretty sure I've said before, trying to write a coherent narrative while also trying to ensure you get in as much disguise material as possible is basically like trying to write porno that makes sense) but I'm used to that now.

The point is, I have done this before. A lot. I have something like almost 250K words written that chronicle the adventures of Betty and her friends, and while I'm happy to write a lot more, I'll be honest with you... I think I'm almost done. Not so much with Betty, but with mask fiction in general.

I know, I know. Those of you who've been 'with me' a while know I say this periodically. I think this time it might be true.

Why? Well, it's a lot of different things. I'm probably going to be a father in the next few years, God willing, and I hear kids take up some time! My career is also in pretty good shape, but demands a lot of time. And also - and frankly, I see this as the big one - I'm getting older. Believe it or not! And I know now, unlike when I was a callow youth of 25 or so (when I really, seriously started writing mask fiction with Beneath the Veil) that I've only got a limited number of years left in me.

Do I really want to spend them writing this fiction, with no reward, little recognition, and no way I can even share it with close (real life) friends?

I've been writing in other areas recently, thinking about other projects and getting some stuff done. It's enticing. It's appealing. So I'm thinking I might walk away from this for a bit, and see what happens when I do.

However. (Here comes the good news.) I don't want to walk away unfinished.

I have a number of large, major projects 'in the works'. (It's a terrible habit, but then so's writing erotica - oh, wait....) And here's The Question:

What do you want me to finish... first?

As usual, there's no guarantee I'll actually do what you suggest. But I'd love to hear opinions.

So in the spirit of a new(ish) decade, and transparency and new journalism and all that bollocks, here's what's on the block. No cute codenames, just what I've got here and how near-complete it is. In no particular order:

Option 1: BBSSG

... is of course the continuing adventures of Betty, Spider-Girl. Issues 21 and 22 are done. 23 is started. The current arc would possibly end in that issue, maybe 24. These issues involve Mysterio, a Spider-Girl impersonator, lots of identity switching and even Batgirl.

I have loads of other ideas for the series. Honestly, I'd say another 15 to 25 issues is possible. How long would that take? Possibly forever. I leave this as an option, though, because for some it might be what you want.

For those who aren't up to date with the series, it features a lot of F2F masking and disguise, with a little M2F (so far: there's a LOT more to come) and even the occasional F2M outing. It's heavy on the superheroines, costumes, that sort of thing. Oh, and it's pretty much PG-13 rated; sex is suggested more than shown. If you don't like comic-based stuff you won't like this, but then you can read what it's been like up until now and make up your own mind.

Option 2: The Babysitter

This is your typical boy-meets-girl, boy discovers girl has a secret, boy and girl decide to do naughty things together story. In other words it's a heavy M2F story from another (male) perspective. So far, disguises in this have mostly been 'off-stage', as the perspective doesn't allow for that. Even so, I think it's pretty strong, I can see some fun stuff coming before the end.

It's got a definite 'strong woman' vibe, although don't think 'bondage', more just... well, a strong woman. (Albeit a woman who's a man. You know what I mean.) If the idea of an English schoolteacher looking over her glasses at you with a glint in her eye appeals, then you'll probably like this. Oh, and it's definitely X-rated.

25K words written on this; I would say it's maybe a third finished. I know the plot just about all the way to the end, though.

Option 3: Teya

This one's been in the works for quite a long time - in fact, it's a bit distressing to note that I've pretty much not made any progress on it for over two years. That said, what I have works for me, and I'm sure I could get back into it.

It's another M2F story (in fact it uses PJ Wright's Nu-Gen tech idea) where the main protagonist is observing the actual disguises happening. Unlike the Babysitter though, this is much more about two friends discovering... interesting things together. I think the main character is very relatable, as is the situation. Essentially it's a story that answers the question "What would you do if your best friend could be a woman at will?" The Babysitter is more of a thriller... assuming your 'thrills' are very specific!

49K words down on this, and I think it's actually about two-thirds, maybe three-quarters finished... again, I know the plot to the end. Also, X-rated.

Option 4: Housesitting

This is a real oldie, to be honest. The original version of this was started God-knows-when, and really, it was never supposed to be much more than a little romp.

However, I include it here because I did re-plot it a couple of years ago, and if I pursue that plot, it'll have a lot more interesting twists and turns. Also, frankly it'd probably be shorter than the others... and also it's M2F, but with the protagonist being very much at the centre of the action. In other words, if you want to imagine you're 'M' becoming the 'F', then this is your choice.

Now, frankly, I know that many of you will just pick this because of that... so I have to caution you. While this thing is plotted out, I have less interest in telling this story than any of the other three options. SG is easy, albeit it's a bit repetitive; Babysitter has, well, two of the most interesting characters I've written; Teya is a really good, intimate look at two people. This one... well, it started as a simple fantasy and it grew from there.

But, there are 15K words done on it, it could probably be done in 40K, so honestly it could get done quick. And yes, X-rated.

That's it. Let me know what you want. We'll see what happens.

Eye candy: Mary Jane as Spidey

For some reason - well, apart from the obvious - I've been looking for images of Mary Jane dressed in Spider-Man's costume recently. This is the image that started my search:

That one's by Steve Rude, I believe, and here's another more recent one he did - both, I'd guess, were convention sketches:

No idea who the artist is on this one, but it's fun anyway:

Looking for these, I think, was probably inspired by this classic cover - Amazing Spider-Man annual 19:

Yep, I certainly remember buying that book in great excitement... and getting very disappointed that there's no scene like it inside. (Some mad scientist thinks Mary Jane is Spider-Man. It's all very silly. Although there was some interesting discussion of 'exoskeletons' to allow a female to fake a male form, which is on file somewhere in the back of my mind for a potential future Betty plot.)

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Seen anything similar? Cross-gender comic imagery is always fun.

Chameleon as Jean DeWolff..

.. in Amazing Spider-Man 620, which I think was on sale last week, or this week, not sure. Here's the relevant bit:

I'm pretty sure this was just a one-off gag for this issue - it may have been someone that Mysterio was going to 'resurrect' to torment Spidey with - but still, fun.

Poser comics?

Actually, here's a thought.

I've been seeing some good work with Poser recently, mostly over at DeviantArt. If you haven't checked out ElenaEvil's semi-regular series that deals with the Baroness from G.I. Joe (well, mostly) then you should; there's whole lot of masking and kinkiness going on in there. With some better captions/writing, I think it'd be really something. (And that's no slight to Elena as author - they're from Italy so I don't think English is their first language.)

Anyway. Is there anyone out there reading who'd be interested in collaborating on a Poser-created masking comic?

I'd supply the plot (although, I'd be happy to collaborate) and the words generally, you'd provide the Poser, the posing, the textures, the rendering and so on. Obviously we'd share credit.

It's something I'm sort of tempted to take on myself, but I just know that learning and working with Poser would be such a massive time-sink, that I could probably finish a novel or two in the time it takes me to make anything good. (I had a version of Poser years and years ago, and it took me forever just to render one image to a standard I was happy with.)

Anyway, consider this a standing offer. If you're a Poser artist already and like the idea of doing something with masks or disguises - doesn't have to be sexually explicit, either - then let me know. Perhaps we can make beautiful comics together.

Happy Whatever, and the New Year...

Ahem. Well, I was certainly hoping to have something new to share by Christmas, but I forgot about one little thing: Christmas. Yes, the holidays have a tendency to suck up free time, and my time has been well and truly... sucked.

I'm progressing slowly on a couple of things. I'm very aware that it's now been close to 18 months since Spider-Girl #20, but hey, unlike a few authors I could mention... at least I keep you up to date with what I'm doing (or not doing... you get the idea). As I've said before the current Spider-Girl arc has been nightmarish, but I'm pushing through. I really do hope to have something to share, on that front at least, inside a month or so. Here's hoping 2010 brings a bit more free time and therefore, a few more released 'things'.

Speaking of 2010, is there anything else you'd like to see around here? I know, I know - 'more fiction' is a given. I've been thinking about a 'how to write mask fiction' series, which might be easy enough to do. And a few other things.

Anyway, let me know. Speak up.

Twittering

I like Twitter. I use Twitter a lot. No, I won't tell you who I really am on Twitter. But I will create an account on there so you can stalk me there.

I could go into the various reasons why I want to use Twitter, but that'd be boring, would waste time I could spend Twittering - er, writing - and it's easier to just, um, do that on Twitter.

So if you like, sign on up to Twitter and follow me. Or alternatively, just come back here now and again and check out the big honking box on the top right. Or just look on Twitter. It's free. It's open to all. I won't tell.

Oh and don't moan at me that you need to sign up. Just sign up using the email address you use for all the other places we frequent where we don't want our real email address being used. You know the ones.

Here's me, on Twitter. (By the way: this is definitely not me. It's some squatter.)