index


Message-ID: <62045asstr$1334340749@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: TBD <tbd@hushmail.me>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Cancel-Lock: sha1:GFa/Qt2HvKZJqBg/j9Fi+hFRe3Q=
Subject: {ASSM} {ASSD} Doggy Diversions 1/1: Assorted Articles on Writing and Reading, plus personal observations
Lines: 1060
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:12:29 -0400
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Doggy Diversions 1/1: Assorted Articles on Writing and Reading, plus
personal observations
---

The Dog gazes out the door and ponders for a bit.

'Should I put paws to keyboard and continue?  Or should I let what has
gone before - stand on its own?'

Finally, he sighs softly and shrugs.  "Continue.  Sometimes it's
better to say too much than it is to say too little."

Decision made, his head turns back to the screen and his paws settle
quietly to begin their dance.
---

Feedback and Criticism
One author's viewpoint
---

I consider criticism an important subset of the general category
called - feedback.

Feedback is any response - of any type - to anything I have done.  It
is, to me, an indication that I have managed to touch, in some way,
the person who has taken the time to make a comment.

Reader feedback comes in two distinct 'flavors'.  Responses from
members of the audience I have targeted and responses from everyone
else.  These responses are generally of the type 'I really
enjoyed/hated/<fitb> story/poem/<fitb>.  Please give us
more/less/<fitb>.'

Criticism also comes in the above 'flavors' but takes the form of
addressing specific details within the work.

Feedback is wonderful if positive and sometimes useful when negative.
If someone in my targeted audience gives me negative feedback, it
tells me that I made a mistake somewhere.  I don't know where, only
that I made one.

This leads, at last, to criticism.  If general feedback is the 'after
the show is over' casual 'I really liked/disliked that' comment,
criticism is the stuff said during the show.

The body language.  The stiffled gasp or involuntary scream drug out
against the will.  The groan at the obviously stupid remark or bad
acting.  The tears of joy or sadness.

In short, criticism not only tells me I reached the audience...

It tells me how a specific thing affected them.  I now know exactly
where I touched them and how I did so.  I know where I need to improve
if I want to do better next time.  A negative response lets me know I
have found a way to evoke an emotion, just not the one I wanted at
that time.

If I write a bunch of stories that all get 'I really liked that' in
response, that's all well and good.  OTOH, I have little incentive,
other than self-imposed ones, to improve past that point.  I'm
reaching people.  I'm successful.  Why change something that I know
works?

If I write two or three stories that get criticism, I know not only
that I reached people, I know how I reached them and often how I
didn't.  Or, I know where I made mistakes that roughened the flow and
lessened the impact.

So, why do I sometimes seem 'obsessed' with receiving criticism?

Because it provides me with a quicker, surer path to improvement.
Short stories require an author to say as much as possible with a
limited amount of words.  Anything that helps me do that more
effectively - is something I want.

<slight shrug>  Plenty of folks have told me I am 'good' as a writer.

I want to be 'better'.

Every time I write.
======

Revisited:  In Search of the Perfect, Ongoing Villain

Over the years I've attacked the problem from several angles.

Generally, my 'solution' has been to find a concept my 'hero' can
attack.

A commonly accepted mindset works well, and is what I usually use to
give my main characters something they can attack while facing the
possibility of losing the battle, if not the war.

Recently, however, while working on a new story in my 'Project Biolab'
universe, I realized I'd managed to finally develop a set of rules
that would let me create 'Professor Moriarty' or any other ongoing
villain--to order.

"An ongoing villain is the other side's hero, seen from the opposite
viewpoint."

Give them ALL of the characteristics of a true hero, but filter their
actions and motivations through a viewpoint not their own, and you've
done it.

Simple and obvious, yet for some reason, it's taken me all these years
to see it and find a way to say it so I can use it while writing.

[only slightly tic]
Now that I know what I'm doing, I think I'll be able to get rid of
most of the cardboard cutout feel that many of my villains have had,
and that, neighbors, is a problem that has needed solving for a long,
long time.
[/tic]
======

This is inspired by Bingain's story 'Max' and one of the resulting
threads

First, I'm not speaking as someone who has actually been a
professional athlete, or even competed at more than a regional level.

So, I can't tell you the mindset of someone who competes on a world
class level.

However, you don't get there unless you work your way up, and *that*,
I do know something about, from personal experience.

So, I'm going to tell some tales on myself, and hope they help someone
while writing a story, later.
--

Episode one:

I was probably around 12-14.  It was definitely before I went to high
school.

Parks & Recreation offered various things kids could take part in over
the summer.  One summer, it was yoyos and spinning tops.

A friend and I got involved, and we got serious about the competition.
I was junior division, and he was senior division, so we didn't
compete against each other directly, but we did practice together.

In this case, it was spinning tops.

To keep it short, we won our local competitions and both of us made it
to the regional semi finals.

It took focus, and lots of practice, which is my point.  Spinning tops
were the only world we knew, really, until we lost at the regionals.

I still have one of those tops, and the shoulder patch I won.

And, the muscle memory is still there.  I can still do all the tricks
I had to do in competition, no matter how many years it's been since I
last tried.
--

Episode two:

High School, and relevant to bingain's story.

I decide to go out for tennis, and made the junior varsity team as
fifth singles player, which means of everyone on the team or who
wanted to join, I ranked tenth in the school.  As it turned out, the
friend I practiced with became fifth varsity singles and the two of us
teamed to become the junior varsity tennis doubles team.

It took practice. Any time we had the free time at school to do it,
and it wasn't unusual to find us on the courts at one of the local
parks, or at the school after school hours, along with other serious
players.  

Again, tennis was a major part of my world, and I did, seriously,
consider going semi pro and competing.

 I knew I was good, but I wanted to find out just how good, because
once I was out of school, I found myself holding back so anyone I
played against would stay interested.  I never did meet anyone who had
the hunger to grab a racket and play their absolute best, yet feel it
wasn't good enough.

I was twenty something when a 17yo kid got mouthy, and Ii offered to
settle our differences on the court, any time he wanted to do it.  Way
I figured it, he did play on his HS team, so there was a chance I'd
have to work for my wins, or he'd put me away quickly, and I'd have
the chance to find out what it took to beat me.

He declined.  I still wish we'd had it out on the court.

My point this time, is the aggressive focus it takes to get, and stay
at the top of your form.  As the title of this post suggests, pro
level competition takes a special mindset that not everyone has, no
matter how good they are.

There's always someone beneath you, looking to advance in the
rankings--over your exhausted body.
--

Episode three:

Still in high school.  This time, it's chess.  A hobby of mine since I
was about ten.  There was a bunch of us who spent our lunches sitting
around and playing against each other.  I'd guess at least ten, more
likely fifteen or so who were varying degrees of *serious* about it.

End result?  I wound up being the one who did all the work of finding
a staff sponsor and establishing the school's chess club.

There was one guy who was solidly the best of all of us.  I was lucky
to win one in ten games against him.  He was, no doubt, a world class
player at the time.

There was another guy who came in solidy at second place.

Finally, there were three of us who traded thrid place amongst us.

I was one of those three.  I never joined a chess club to get my
ranking, but I'm fairly certain I was above average.

Again, I was aggressive about knowing everything I could learn.

I still have my book collection that covered a four foot shelf.
---

Episode four:

Living in a different area, and a friend from work and I discover we
have a fondness for putt-putt golf.

Ok, more of an obsession, really.  He was as focused out there as I
was, and thought every time he hit the ball, it should go in the hole.

Eventually we consult with the course owner, and buy our own pro level
putters, and pro golf balls to use unless we are after one of the
prizes, or playing the 18th hole.

Are we good?

Well, anything under 30 for the course was ok, and we were usually
upset if we shot over 25 on the course.

Another measure of how consistent we were, was that the owner offered
to sponsor both of us if we wanted to turn semi-pro and tour.

We turned him down.
---

Episode five:

Same time, same friend.

Bowling.  

He was already good, about a 170 avg bowler when I met him.

I started at about 140, got disgusted and competitive, then went out
and bought a professional ball, and my own shoes.

I also discovered that one glass of beer dropped my average about
10-15 pins per three games.

I quit drinking, and within two years expected to throw at least 1 of
three of my games over two hundred, and was bowling in four leagues
with a 165 or higher avg in each of them.

I gave myself two more years, to settle in at 190 or above, then
decide if I wanted to try going semipro.

I moved, and never got as serious again, although I did, eventually
join a league and bowl once a week where I moved to.  I also bowled as
a sub one night a week, because I found out I needed two nights a
week, just to maintain the muscle memory I needed to keep my average
at 170+.

At one point, I was offered the chance to be sponsored, and sent to
school so I could become an instructor for the junior leagues.  I
thought about it, then eventually turned it down in favor of being
able to keep score, and offer advice if I was asked.  (This was before
automatic scoring machines were common.)
---

All this has a point:

If you're going to compete in a sport, at anything above casual pick
up levels, there are things that you have to do.

The sport becomes your world.  If it isn't related, it can get
ignored.  Your social life suffers quite a bit unless your peers share
your obsession.

You have to be aggressively competitive.  Everyone, even your friends,
are your ememies.  Sure, you relax together, but are they doing
something to get you off your game?...

And, of course, if you have a sponsor, the sponsor is not going to be
pleased if you go down in the rankings, or, for that matter, stay at
the same one too long, unless you are at the top.

All that said, once you make it, things change, and yes, doing the
stupid stuff, becomes all too easy.

Some of it depends on the mindset of the person, some of it on those
around him.

If he's settled, and knows himself well enough, he might be content to
be where he's at, someone who makes the best look good, but not so
poor at it he can't get sponsors.

People to fill in are as essential as the top seeds.  The best will be
the best, but the people they have to beat had better be good enough
to make them earn their victories.

If they get sloppy, they should pay the price.
===

Ok, that's my ramble.

Hope it helps.
----

PS:  If you need more evidence, just take a good look at my focus on
writing, and how serious I am about it.
======

A recents rain, and a glance out my window that became more, when I
noticed a neighbor kid deliberately riding their bicycle through a
puddle inspired the following:

"What is it, about kids, trees, and water? "
~~~

Kids, Trees, and Water
---

Answering my own question, from my perspective.

Trees...  Were a way to escape being a kid, and a mere mortal.

When I grabbed that branch, or shinnied up a trunk, my feet left the
ground, and I became...  

Whatever I wanted to be.

I could hang from one arm, scratch my armpit, while hooting like a
monkey, and nobody cared, because they were monkeys, too, and it was
what we did. 

Longer branches became my only way to escape the jungle natives.  A
slip meant capture by the natives, or a fall into a pit of snakes, and
death.  It was a death that was reversable, though.  All I had to do
was get up and try again, until I succeeded.

I was a leopard, patiently waiting for my unsuspecting prey, which I
could kill with a single swipe of my lethal claws.  What matter that
it was really a sandwich that someone handed to me?  It was prey, and
I had killled it.  Now, I was settled comfortably, and enjoying the
fruits of my careful stalk and kill.

It was a world without adults in it.

I was a pirate, climbing to his crow's next, and shouting out my
discoveries to my crewmates.

A spaceship, taking me to those new worlds that were out there,
somewhere.

Twigs became the lightning of the gods, and I threw them where I
willed, destroying mountains with my wrath.

For minutes, or hours, I could be whoever or whatever I wanted to be,
and nobody could deny me the truth of that vision, until it was time
for dinner.

Even then, the memories lingered, and the adults quite often let me
return slowly, at my own speed.

It was...

Magic, and I was in control, instead of being the one controled,
unless I let someone who had joined me in my world, take control of
what we shared.

Water had magic in it, too.

A trip back from the store became the bank robber escaping with his
loot.  The puddle was a river I used to throw off my pursuit.  I was
riding a horse, not a bicycle, and my horse was the fastest one in the
world, and we were one.

If I was walking, I was fascinated by how the water revealed new
things with every step, then, if I waited long enough, it was as if I
had never been there.  Carefully placed footsteps became the delicate
progress of a jungle explorer, cautiously advancing and watching for
any danger.

Moving water didn't carry things away, as much as it took me to other
places.

I was on a great adventure, each rock an island with new things to
discover, and those discoveries were limited only by my imagination.

A handful of leaves became a fleet, setting out to sail around the
world.

More so than books, with which I was already familiar, trees and water
touched me more deeply when I was a child, for a very simple reason.

I actively lived the adventures, instead of seeing them only in my
mind.
======


( subject line: A rare event:  The Dog gets personal, and speaks out.)

I seldom clearly state my personal views about many things, preferring
instead, to mix them into my writing.

During the course of writing part one of this year's 'Winter Solstice'
story, my main character, an 18 yo American high school senior, who is
also a shape shifter, found herself in a 'situation'.

She needed a song that was 'friendly and welcoming'.

Of course, I was considering the songs I remember, when I realized I
knew of something that would be *perfect*, once it was set to music.

First, the relevant section of the scene, then my commentary will
continue.
----

I lifted my head slightly.  "Make some room for our guests.  If they
start to cause problems, be gentle, but firm, ok?"

There was some laughter, but no disagreement, so I looked around.
"Good to see you here, fellow members of Clan Human.  Make yourselves
at home, won't you?"

I looked at Ted.  "Help them along.  Something friendly and
welcoming."

He smiled.  "I know just the thing."

He turned slightly.  "Julie.  Let's do that Statue of Liberty thing we
wrote."

She stepped forward.  "You wrote the music.  The lyrics were written a
long time ago."

He nodded, then looked past her.  "Dad?  Mom?  Wouldn't be right,
without you helping.  I wrote it for all of us."

His dad finally nodded.  "That you did, son.  That you did."

They stepped up to flank us, then Julie seemed to come out of a trance
of some sort, and turned to look at Mark.  "C'mere and hug me from
behind.  Not too tight, I need to be able to sing."

He looked at his hands, then smiled.  "One arm be ok?  You can use my
microphone."

"Quit talking and let's do it."

All of them looked at each other, then Ted did a short musical intro
before his dad joined in, followed by his sister's and mother's voices
as they sang the words written on the pedestal of the Statue of
Liberty:
 
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land; 
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand 
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame 
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name 
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand 
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command 
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. 
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she 
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, 
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, 
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

('The New Colossus' - by Emma Lazarus)
---

I think it's past time we citizens of the United States take the time
to remember that we did not become who we are, by asking for the best
the world could give us.

Many of us should speak with pride, when we remember that we are the
descendents of not the best, but those who were far from that.

That influx is still happening today, and many people wish to close us
off from the world, instead of embracing 'the refuse' and making them
our own, as over the generations, others have done.

I strongly disagree with that attitude.

The words do not say 'drain other countries of their resources, giving
little or nothing in return, except the evidence of how corporate
greed has made so many of us heartless thieves, out to appease our
selfishness.'

To you who are citizens of countries other than my own, I must point
out that the *real* people, who remember their true roots, will not
ask you to give us your best.

No.

We'll take those you reject, and find a way to make them welcome,
while they add their dreams, to ours.

The country you are shown, is not the real one I live in.  We have
become a nation that is led by people infected with a lust for
'storied pomp'.

That has never meant we are all infected, and those of you who have
come here, and truly seen us as ourselves, are probably aware of the
'Hidden America' that really does see strangers not as a threat, but
as people to be embraced for who they are, as long as they give us the
same respect in return.

Thank you for the use of your eyes, neighbors.

Sincerely,
The Black Dog
======

This is 'distilled' from a response I made to someone, about my 'Man
and Muse' work.
----

You're the kind of reader I write for.  Willing to work a bit with me.
<g>

I think you nailed the description of my usual style with 'deceptively
simple'.  I've had people complain that it's too simple a style or
that I leave too much out, or, worse...  I've been accused of 'dumbing
down' my writing.  

I don't think I dumb anything down and it's *nice* to hear from
someone who appreciates the style.
---

To me, romance is more than always feeling good.  It's also what's
there when things aren't going well, the things that let you remember
the romance and find ways past the problems to keep it alive.  It can
change, but it doesn't leave.

I wish I could give you a magic formula for 'simple'  I've been doing
it long enough that I seldom have to think about it.  I guess the
biggest part is that I try to always make the unspoken emotional
nuances of the words match the surface story.

It can be a problem when I try to cross generational or cultural
boundaries, which is a major reason I use simpler words than some
people enjoy.  Given a choice, I usually pick a simpler word that
carries the same emotional tones across those boundaries.  People may
not use them but at least the emotions evoked are similar.  That's
what's important to me when I write with posting in mind.

Flawed?  Of course they are.  That's the conflict I enjoy exploring
the most.  The inner one and how it affects the way we see and feel.

Many times they weren't perfect for each other, and they managed to
work out all those little things that makes it look perfect now.  It
looks effortless and perfect but it took work and pain to get there.
That's something I like to at least have in the background.

Sort of a 'I know they went through hell to get where they are...  But
what did happen, anyway?' feeling
---

Generally, I leave the wordplay to my titles.  I like to use it to
help set the mood for the story itself.

Yes, I do get very quirky, especially when I'm tired.  The filters go
offline and...  Well, the stuff here is nothing compared to when I
reallly get moving...  <g>

Nods about doing it inappropriately.  I try to avoid that but...  Yah.
Sometimes I backslide.  OTOH, the pressure seldom builds up to the
point I *have* to put it in a normal story.  I can usually purge the
need with a Muse, or some other short.  
---

 "...beating meat to the beat of the Beatles"

(note:  I was asked which song I had in mind when I wrote that line.)

"Pick one."  I had no song in mind when I wrote that.  I was going
strictly for the word play and since I'm a Beatles fan...  Well, it
sorta just fell out.

I suppose 'Ob La De, Ob La Da' will work as well as any.
---

I'm terrible for closing with some sort of reemphasis that goes just
beyond what should have been the real closure.

Knowing when to end can be a real problem, and doing that final bit to
show it's ended can do terrible things to the story when you get it
wrong.  I hope I'm better than I used to be but...

Anyway, one of the things I was trying for was that feeling of this
being based on a real incident in a real relationship.  A lot of play
like this takes one partner silently admitting it's gone far enough,
and to not push it past that point.  

For Tom and Mahika, they've worked out signals that clearly indicate
there will be repercussions if the other goes that one extra step--and
they've learned to honor those signals.  Usually.  Context can
sometimes indicate the 'stop' isn't quite a firm 'stop or else'.

Silent action often works best but it's difficult to express that sort
of shared agreement with written words.
======

Another distillation from a longer response...
----

Good sex scenes are damn hard to write? I'll amend that: "Not if you
treat them like the rest of the story--and write them until you can do
them well." Translation: I don't find them hard to write.

They can be inevitable, humorous and yes, gratuitous--if they are
right for that story or scene.

Give the reader something they can relate to. Give them something that
makes them want to see how *these* people interact sexually. Sure,
physically there's not a whole lot of variations available. Add the
emotions they're feeling. Let their physical actions become ways of
expressing their emotions.

From a light tender touch of fingers trailing across a stomach to hot
sweaty bucking that slams pubic bones together, the sex scene is as
much a statement about the characters and what they feel as is
everything that leads up to the sex and what follows.

I guess I'm saying make the sex integral and a required part that
flows form the rest of the story.

Then IMO, writing it becomes a lot easier. Sex as communication.
That's all. Then apply the same skills to describing the scene as you
would to any other part of the story.
---

Want my challenge? It's an old one, I'm afraid. Write a sex scene
during which the characters use the sexual activities to perform most
of their conversation or expand on brief comments. Without the sex,
there is no effective communication between the two.

Oh, reminds me of the 'ultimate compliment' thread. WRT sex scenes I
had a person tell me he was actually embarrassed and felt like he was
intruding on a very private moment that he shouldn't have witnessed.

I'll assume that scene was 'good' for that reader.
----

(WRT the difficulty of writing sex scenes)

My thought is that in spite of the avowed 'openness' wrt sex, fucking
if you will, many folks folks are still uncomfortable actually writing
about it. Why that is, IDK.

Here's an amendment: Writing sex scenes is easy for me--now. Some of
my early ones are mechanical and dry. It took a maturation of my
overall writing skills to work in the stuff that makes them 'good'.
Bottom line? Writing and more writing. It's the only way to keep
improving in any aspect. (aside: Those who claim to be unsatisfied or
to write poor sex scenes get no sympathy from me if they feel they are
comfortable with their writing skills otherwise.)
---

Supposedly most of us write fantasy. We do have some leeway.

What am I trying to say? I guess it's that you don't *need* rl
experience to write a good sex scene. You can learn from others, as I
have. VR sex helps if both of you are honest with each other, just as
honest as you would be in an in person relationship. More so, in my
experience. Silence doesn't work on the net; you have to use words all
the time and it forces you to express your inner feelings when you
might, under normal conditions, let the silence speak for you. Then,
of course you can learn from what others write. Finding the folks with
true experience can be difficult at times, but eventually you can
learn to separate the fantasizers from those who have the real
experieince. 
======

Subject:  Encouraging WSoD: Scientific throw away lines
---

In 'Blacksmith of The Gods', the following takes place:
(Lady Chrystal, aka Vel, is the pov character.)
===

I sighed again and refocused on everyone.  "OK.  So we are agreed
about this? I'll take us all back and then we'll see what happens?"

The twins and Kay nodded slowly, but Merlin had a frown on his face,
so I waited for him to articulate his feelings of uneasiness.

"Vel?  There's something I don't understand about this."

"I know.  I can tell."

He grimaced.  "I don't doubt it.  Rabelaisians don't have any innate
controls for time travel, right?  How can you be the one to take us
back?  Or am I missing the obvious again?"

It was my turn to grimace slightly.  "After all my fancy words about
not experimenting in a place of power, this will be the first time I
do a time shift that isn't directly to Tom.  I usually 'follow his
memories' to where he is.

"Before you panic, it will be safe enough, because this time he'll be
along for the ride, and he'll guide me to a point just after he and
Mahika left the White Horse."

They were all looking at me strangely.  It was Becky who hesitantly
expressed the wonder I could see in all of their postures.  "He can
use the link to 'ride' while you move in time and space?"

I nodded.  "I have his memories of doing it that way, this time."

She stared at me.  "Memories of something neither of you has done,
yet?"

"Yes.  As long as his actions happen in my past, I can make the mental
effort to access his memories of our shared future as if they are part
of MY past, too.  I only do it at great need, and when his memories
suggest I have done so."

She gazed at me a long time, then sighed.  "That's very circular, you
know."

I giggled.  "Be glad you have the innate controls, and don't have to
do it that way.  Any linear language is inherently incapable of
expressing the concepts involved.  Since it is in my nature to accept
the environment and change myself to live in it, I suspect
Rabelaisians are incapable of time travel unless we are linked with
Terran humans or they bodily transfer us as if we were cargo."

For some reason Kay and Merlin focused on each other before Kay spoke
thoughtfully.  "That sly, concealing, conniving old wolf..."

Tom's laughter suddenly rolled through my mind, and it was strong
enough that Merlin felt it and flinched before he stared at Kay, whose
expression had gone smug.

She turned and grinned at me.  "You're wrong, Vel.  We'll do it that
way because we have, but after that, you and I are going to settle
somewhen and you're going to finally get a solid background in Terran
science and the scientific method of thinking.  There are no such
things as 'innate controls'.  It's mindset.  Time is an energy state,
and time travel is nothing more than macro manipulation of quantum
energy states."

Then she offhandedly did violence to more of my cherished 'truths'.
"So are place and shape shifting.  They are just like telepathy and
all the various mind links.  If you can do one, you can do all of
them, once you have the knowledge to form the right mindsets."

We were all staring at her, and she giggled at our stunned looks.
"Hubert isn't the only one who reads, you know, and I've been doing it
all my life. A woman can't be thinking about sex ALL the time, after
all."
===

In any science that is beyond what we currently accept as possible,
there have to be mindsets that the characters have, that are the
result of living in their world.

Of all the 'throw away' scientific explanations I've used in my
writing, the following casually tossed out sentence is the one I'm
most proud of: "Time is an energy state, and time travel is nothing
more than macro manipulation of quantum energy states."

Hell if I know if it has any contact with reality as *we* know it.

But, my point is that it does what I wanted it to do, which is give
Lady Kay the words and concepts she needed to convey her sudden
comprehension of a much bigger picture, and the 'way things really
work'--for them.

It also puts all of the mental tricks they can perform on a solid
scientific basis so they can teach, or advance their own knowledge.

My point is not the truth or lack of it, in her statement.

When a person is writing about a world, and the characters'
understanding of it, there are times an author has to translate their
concepts to ours, in a way that we can use 'common knowledge' to make
us feel like we really do comprehend their world as they do.

It's all part of encouraging WSoD.

Of course...

Sometimes, as an author, I hope that the reader will skim past stuff
like that, and not get wrapped up in thinking about it, until they've
read the entire work.  That's the reason something like that has to
sound plausible enough it gets past the critical thinking filters!
======

Coding Semantics: YMMV

The brain cell fired, and I finally took the time to think about a
common practice in the binaries newsgroups.

Some images are called 'blow jobs' and others are called 'skull
fucking' or 'skull fucks'.

So...

Is there a difference?

If I have things figured out, yes, and it's an obvious one that I
never took the time to think about before.

I also think that coding for it would be useful, even if it only helps
a limited amount of readers.

The difference is in defining the active person.

During a blow job, the man is mostly having the action done to him.

During a skull fuck, the man is a more active participant.

This distinction is a more difficult call in images, but I've noticed
that there are visual cues that are pretty reliable ways of telling
the difference.

Aside from that, coding properly would help get a reader in the proper
mind set for reading.

Note:  'Skull fucking' is more likely to be used in the gay groups,
than the het ones.  I don't browse the lesbian groups, so I have no
idea if it's used in those.  
======

Dihydrogen Oxide, Chemical Killer
---

Its effects are insidious.  Too much and you die horribly.  Too little
and you die a lingering death that can take days or longer.

Governments try to control it while making sure everyone is addicted.
But even they can't escape its reach.  They too, must make sure they
have enough on hand so they can satisfy their addiction.

Mothers give it to their children immediately after they are born.  If
all other methods fail, doctors and even friends will force it into a
person's body in efforts to keep them from suffering withdrawal and
eventual death.

There are documented cases that tell the stories of a courageous few
who have managed to overcome their addiction and give their last
remaining doses to others, who were unable to overcome the addiction.
But, those people paid the ultimate price because the result of
eliminating this drug from your diet is always the same.

Death.

Short term effects include increased urination and increased sweating.
The body, in its attempts to regulate the balance of this killer, does
everything it can to eliminate it when the levels are too high.  Yet,
because of the conspiracy that surrounds this chemical, we, in our
ignorance, ignore the signs and increase our dosage because we think
we don't have enough in our bodies.

Governments make treaties regulating its distribution.  Under the
guise of other research they continue to explore ways to make sure we
remain addicted.  They pass laws limiting its use when production
falls too low.  They stockpile it so they can control its release into
the population at large.  All this and more while they themselves
store hidden stockpiles so they don't suffer the effects of its
withdrawal from their diets.

For many people, in many different nations, the drive to assimilate
this chemical and survive...  Is so great that it forces people to
immerse themselves in it so it can be absorbed through their skin.

Others, unable to accept the taste, find ways to flavor it so they can
take their daily doses.

Dihydrogen Oxide:  It's the killer chemical no one can escape.
======

"What are some of the qualities a story should possess if it is to
endure over time?"

Hmm.

Quick answer then.  Technically well written (by the then current
standards).  Emotionally appealng.  Appeals to universal truths rather
than something obscure (not always though).  Simple and easily retold.

Those are my first thoughts anyway.

Actually, I think I'd rate things

1   Emotionally appealing (people easily see themselves or those
around them in it)

2   Easily remembered and retold

3   everything else
======

On popularity and respect: "Yes, there *IS* a difference."

Popularity has its roots in selfishness.  On both sides there is  more
of the 'what you can do for me attitude' than many people would like
to admit.

Respect, on the other hand is based more on recognition of what
someone has done for others, sometimes including themselves, as a
routine part of what they are doing.

The two things don't have to go together, nor are they mutually
exclusive.

Of the two kinds of recognition, I think popularity is also based on
how well a person caters to other's desires while respect is based on
how well a person stands by their esposed principles.

Respect is earned.  Popularity is given.

Popularity can be fleeting.  Respect, once given, has to be
continually re-earned.

Respect has, at its deepest roots, a basis in love.
Popularity has most of its basis in the self interest of other person.
Respect is given based more on a person's perception of what the other
person has done for others, rather than themselves.
======

I'm full of it... (Ouch! Damn. What's Mahika doing under the desk? At
least it was a 'gentle' nip this time...")

Yah. Right...

I do favor jumping in without planning and never knowing what's going
to happen, but that's a little deceptive.

I *do*, usually, at least have a goal in mind, or there's a purpose
behind the work.

What tends to be vague is the exact route of the journey.

But not always.

I have some WIP (work in progress for the newer folks) that got
outlined almost immediately after the beginning of the first story was
written.

So, here's what happened...

Work started. Shortly thereafter, I realized I had to fill in a lot of
background for the story I was working on, for the story itself to
make sense. *I* had some of the background worked out but it was all
in my head.

I did a 'rip 'n tear' on what I wanted to do in the story in progress
and as I did that, I started working on an outline. I used yWriter
mostly, so I could create movable scenes with short descriptions. I
also created a chapter with multiple scenes so I could write brief
working notes yet keep them apart from the main work.

Eventually I was able to work my way backwards from where I was at, to
a 'beginning'. In the process I'd created a sketchy chain of events
that went from that beginning to the point I was at.

Now that I had my major way points I went back to the 'real' beginning
and started filling in the blanks with more details. These details
were many things, such as story titles, character names, a few
sentences that gave me an idea about a scene that would fit at that
point in time or, sometimes, a few paragraphs that set a scene for
that story. 

note: For me, 'a few paragraphs quickly jotted down' can run to 1,000
words or more. 

Anyway, in there somewhere I had an outlilne that let me see all the
details I would have to have in order to wind up with a set of works
that would take me and the reader from the real beginning to the point
I wanted, the situation that I had originally thought of as the
'beginning'.

sighs... In the process I'd generated enough information so that
'filling in the blanks in the outline' will provide the material for
at least 45 stories of varying lengths, averaging 3,000-10,000 words
each.

BTW, by the time I'd finished that outline I'd used the following
tools:


yWriter2 - outline notes, tree structure, chapter notes, writing,
overall project management
www.spacejock.com

Windows Explorer - folder tree that consists of the overall title of
all of the collections, the individual titles of the collections and a
yWriter project in each of those.
part of Windows (tic)

NoteTab Pro - general high volume editing and spell checking as well
as a 'clipboard' for spell checking, bulk 'quick notes' and
formatting.
www.notetab.com

Open Office Write - final output formatting for each collection
www.openoffice.org

Maple - Commercial Tree based authoring and outlining program. Treepad
or any others will work but I find Maple works for me, now that I have
it.
Maple: www.crystaloffice.com
Treepad: www.treepad.com

Some other notes:

I've been using the various incarnations of NoteTab for 13 years. It's
still my text editor of choice.  My text file reader of choice is
AkelPad Portable.

I've been using yWriter2 since late 2005. It's been an excellent
program for managing and doing all of my writing.

Open Office, is of course what I use for 'final preparation' if I need
something other than basic text. It's also what I use instead of MS
Office and MS Word when I need to have compatibility with the rest of
the world.

Maple is a new discovery, courtesy of www.giveawayoftheday.com It's
far better than the free version of Treepad. It's also more suited to
my style of writing than yWriter, giving me a lot more choices when it
somes to moving things around and seeing what I've done already. At
this point I'm migrating all of my work over to it.

PS: I'll save the 'no planning' explanation for another post. 
__________________
"There are two major problems with winning all the time: 'You never
know if you are doing your best' and 'you never have a chance to learn
your limits'. The first leads to laziness and the second discourages
growth." 
---

Followup note:  It's been years since I wrote the endorsement of
Maple.  I now use a program called TreeDBNotes (the free version).
With its mixed tree and folder structure, I get the structure and
flexibility I need for organizing all the pen names I use, yet use
only one file to save it all.  Another advantage is that there are no
'folders' as such.  Everything can be treated as a note, and have text
in it, or not.
======

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| alt.sex.stories.moderated ------ send stories to: <ckought69@hotmail.com>|
| FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html> Moderators: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|ASSM Archive at <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org>   Hosted by <http://www.asstr-mirror.org> |
|Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d; look for subject {ASSD}|
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+