CloverReef

That's quoted from the instructions. We've both agreed that you're taking over so I'm going to link to your archive profile. Lucy-Ash-Hawthorne

I agree to letting Lucy Ash Hawthorne take over the story.

This story is up for adoption. Author: CloverReef Story Title: Winter Sacrifice Genre: Supernatural Pairing: Paul/Siegfried (Original Characters) Warnings: M/M, violence, gay sex Summary: Siegfried is a shallow, naive student at a rural college. Now something is trying to kill him, and the only one who can help is the violent, juvenile jerkwad, Paul Wolfe. Can't you just feel the love? Chapters posted/written: 15 chapters posted, 17 and a half written. Link to story: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600098903 Basic Plot: It's been years since I wrote this, so my memory may be a little sketchy. This is what I remember of it: A strange new student arrives at a rural college during a snowstorm. After his arrival, small, semi-human, nymph-like creatures start attacking the students, but seem to be targetting Siegfried and his friends especially. Siegfried's enemy, the jerk Paul Wolfe is more connected to these creatures than he lets on.

Reviews for Chapter 3: Lola: Love/hate relationships are so fun. What's tension and violence without a little lust to mix things up? Longduckdong: I suppose you won't read this since you didn't like my story. If it just wasn't your cup of tea, that's fine, but if there were blatant errors, I'd appreciate elaboration on it. kew: Thank you! I'm glad you like it. Rui: Thanks! I have every intention of continuing, so thank you for the encouragement it's motivating to hear. Reviews for Chapter 4: asfdf: Thanks. Believe it or not, that does make me feel better. I spent a couple days picking my story apart after that bad review, but I'm neurotic so I'd probably have found a reason to do that anyway. It's out of my system now though, lol. I'm happy to hear from you! Lola: Yay, you're back! I'm glad you still enjoy it I think both Kett and Cedric hope something happens to Alcott too, lol. Rui: Ohai Rui! I'm happy you liked this instalment, and I'm happy to hear from you again. Thanks for the review! Kew: Howdy Kew! I'm thrilled you're enjoying it and I hope you continue to. It's fun to write to, even though chapter 12 is kicking my arse a bit! Thanks for the review <3 always happy to hear from you. klm: Thank you, klm; you made my night. I spend so much time agonizing over the minute details of my style, I often worry it screws with the overall picture. You seem to have an appreciation of genre fusions - I like that. The story was meant to be a horror in a fantasy setting, but I wanted to keep the fantasy-ness just a subtle undertone, so as not to take away from the... mood, I guess? I don't know. Anyway, my point is, I'm glad you noticed, and I'm doubly glad it's not too obvious. Thanks for the review and the ego boost! I hope to hear from you again! CL. Mustafic: Ch 1-2: Even though your reviews were for early chapters, I'm putting my response here... because it's easier for me Anyhoo thank you for pointing out that editing error. I hopped in and fixed it immediately. That's what happens when I start the millionth go-over and then get distracted halfway through. Don't worry, it's not the first time my stories have been found confusing. I got that a lot for Heirloom. But things should clear themselves up soon. This story isn't nearly as muddled as Heirloom was... well, it's not supposed to be anyway. I can't promise there will be no tentacles, but I can promise there will be no tentacle rape. Cedric, btw, is not on the same island. Rufus and Bobby will join him soon after chapter 2. Thanks for dropping me a couple reviews, CL! Ch 3-4: You're right, Rufus isn't exactly human anymore. Maybe he's all three! A... Zompiremon? LOL it's funny I got your review for chapter 4 after I posted chapter 5. Or maybe that's only funny to me... Oh well. Aren't cliffhangers fun? Even itty bitty ones like chapter 4's. Even thought it wasn't meant to be one... The full scene just made the chapter too long and bumping the whole scene to chapter 5 left chapter 4 too short. Why am I telling you this? I just woke up... I'm glad you're enjoying it, thanks again for the reviews <3 Take care guys <3

My favourite reviews are the ones full of analysis. Where they ask questions or ponder events that occurred, or when they question motives or make guesses at what will happen after a cliffhanger. I love it when they say why they love or hate characters and who they think the chars should hook up with. Those are the reviews I go back to years later for a little motivation when I'm lacking. Of course, I love the concrit, the blatant praise, and the quick li'l, "plz rite more"s too.

Crawling Within Rufus dreamed of a place where he and his brother wouldn't have to hide any more; where sodomy wasn't answered with a noose. They planned to chase that dream across the sea, but then a horrific storm hit. They were left wounded and stranded by a nightmarish shipwreck, and that day, Rufus was changed. He began to see a man that couldn't be real. The man told him things that couldn't be true. The man warned: something was out there, coming for him. Link: Clickety Click Click! Setting: History-inspired world Genre: Horror, Supernatural, Thriller Warnings: Non-con, violence, slavery, torture, anal, more to come Author's note: Yes, I have changed the summary a couple times. I struggled to come up with something I was happy with. I kinda like it now, so I think I'll leave it as is. Chapter 1 Review responses: Lora: Thanks for dropping by! I hope you continue to enjoy it Anon: Yay! Terrifying! That's my favourite kinda compliment I'm glad you like my writing style. I started this story two years ago. Even after some massive edits, I was a little nervous about the flow... but I'm nervous about every other part of everything anyway, so... grain of salt? And now I'm excited that you're excited! Hope to hear from you again <3

I have been beta reader for years. Mostly for friends, but I did a couple projects for writers on AFF years ago. You tend to see your own mistakes in the writing of other people. As a writer, it's difficult not to compare your own writing skill with the one you're correcting, especially in the case where it feels like they're leagues above you, but that's an excellent opportunity to have a little of that skill rub off on you, right? Betaing definitely made me more aware of conscious comma use and language barriers. It's tricky sometimes to see the difference between something that should be reworded and something that's simply stylistically different than your own. Recognising that difference, I think, made me more open-minded. Though I did go through a time where I took a lot of things apart that I probably could have relaxed about. On that note, betaing is also an excellent way to learn tact!

I've been struggling with chapter seven. Had to rewrite a scene half a dozen times - just wasn't happy with it. For some baffling reason, it's difficult to make a scene in a police station interesting when the three featuring characters barely know each other. Oh well... I've got the scene worked out now, but it's put me behind (I like to stay 3 chapters ahead). I'm going to delay posting chapter six in case I need to alter it. If this news upsets you, then I love you for caring about Harley's story. Chapter Five - Review Responses: KC: I like to think I'm influenced and motivated by reviews, but I tend to write what I'd like to read, so my stories aren't so easily redirected. It's good that the ass-ness suits Lekan. I kinda expected the beginning of chapter five to turn readers against him. It wasn't what I intended, but it's where the story took him. I kinda hope his bad decisions are a little more reconcilable than Dante's, though. I like your philosophy. I agree that authors should always be free to take their stories where they want - though coming from me, it may sound a little self-serving. Thanks KC... (I swear your name seems familiar) Anon: I was worried about that, but I understand. It's a weakness of mine - making things more convoluted than they have to be. But I'm glad you said something, so I'll try to streamline it a little more. I don't plan on introducing any more recurring characters for a while though, at least. Your remarks were helpful. I appreciate your honesty - hopefully now I can do something about it. I'm glad you like Harley and Jazzy! Thanks for the review. Sasa: Oh dear, yeah. You're right. What Lekan did was bordering on rape. It was definitely a creep move. Lekan is a very flawed character, and I don't intend for his bad decisions to be easily forgiven. I always hate reading stories where characters do some awful act and then live happily ever after like it never even happened or win over their victims without having to work for it. I'm thrilled you like Harley! Thanks for the review and take care!

Chapter 4 will be up in 2 seconds. Chapter 3 - Ain't Never Been Camping - Review Responses Anise: I hope it's not weird to get excited about people you've never met, because I do too. Though I tend towards the internet cliché of celebrating weirdness... So... Yay if it is? And yeah, before I posted this story, I had to check how long it had been since Heirloom too. I was thinking it was two years, and that was a lot as it was! But four? Good grief! And here I was still calling Heirloom my 'latest'. Lekan, I hope, will show a few redeeming qualities. He's a difficult character to balance. He hasn't got the tormented ugliness that Dante's meant to have, but he has his own brand of ugly to contend with that's hopefully more redeemable. I wanted to make Dante 100% bad, because of what he did. I wanted to make him a full blown monster. Instead I tried to make him more human, ideally without trivialising the horrible thing he did. I promise: No little green men (these ones are big and definitely not green!). I'm aiming for creepy, honestly, but it might be a bit of a... middle ground, I guess. Hopefully a little further away from the inane alien invader stereotypes side. Chapter Four - The Stars, They Weep - Review Responses Reeciez: You mean you don't think Liz would've been very good-samaritan-ish if she came across an unconscious body without good ol' Caleb? Ehhh probably not. Nope, definitely not. The things that could go wrong after the 'medical procedures': that, I think, is going to be one of the fun parts to write. But now I'm curious. What do you suppose happened on that metal table? Anise: Oh cool, BC! I was raised in Sask, so that's closer! Yay Canadians! Well, if you're going to get rescued, might as well do it in style, right? A good looking princely hero - this would be a crappy m/m fic if there wasn't a little eye candy to go around. I'm glad you're looking forward to more Lekan. Though he gets a little naughty soon so, I guess the jury's still out on him. I like your description. Backwoods experiment/cult/horror sounds like a great ambiance to aim for. I have so much more to say in response, but I'm afraid I'll spoil things, and nobody wants that! Ty for your review hun. Always love hearing from you.

Welcome! This thread is to answer questions and respond to reviews on my M/M original story: *Update* This story is on hiatus. (More details on the review replies post for chapter 6.) Lights Here's a quick summary: Harley's used to complications. For starters, his best friend is his ex's mother and that ex is in prison. But then frightening, unnatural things start to happen that take his complicated life to a whole new level. AFFO, M/M, Oral, SH, Violence, WIP Thank you guys for your reviews: Anon, Rukia Isaioi, Wolfluv, Anise, Reeciez, KC, Sasa, Fran Rie, Kew, Okay, let's get started! Chapter 2: Like Floating - Review Responses: Rukia Isaioi: Thank you Rukia! I love your enthusiasm. More background on the Taylor family is a good idea. I'll see what I can do about that - thanks Wolfluv: Creepy? Aw, you shouldn't have. You're making me blush, you ol' charmer, you. Thank you wolfluv! Anise: OMG Anise! It's been too long - I'm ecstatic to see(read) you again. How've you been, hun? Yes, my penchant for supernatural is still going strong. I think every story I started pretty much since Heirloom has had supernatural elements in one form or another... and there are a lot of them. I'm relieved you like Jazzy and Harley. I adore the characters, but I was worried that since this story doesn't have quite the amount of levity that my previous posted stories had, that they wouldn't shine the way I intended. I'm not much of a sci-fi writer though, so with the aliens, I promise to try not to make it toooo, you know, outrageous. I've been dying to write a story like this for years, but never could quite wrap my head around the potential plot until recently. It would be a shame if it was so weird that it dispelled the scary factor. Thank you for dropping by, Anise. It made me insanely happy to hear from you again. Take care everyone!

That looks interesting. I usually just google writing tips for whatever bits I'm struggling with at the time. An actual free course sounds like a great idea. Thanks!

You have a lot of work ahead of you, huh? That's great though - I look forward to it, whenever it comes. Thanks DG for responding so quick.

Oh sorry, I was a little vague. I mean when we're posting our stories, after we select a category, such as drama, a secondary field would be there with the remaining categories. The writer could also pick, for example, horror. The story would appear in both categories. I think a lot of writers have stories that are heavily influenced by more than one category, so it would make it easier to choose the correct place to put them (and find them).

I glanced briefly over this forum to see if this has been mentioned already. I apologise if I missed it. Anyway, this is a suggestion for secondary category/genre selection for stories that are dual genre. Maybe it would be an easy feature to abuse, but it would simplify the submitting process enough that it was worth mentioning.

Well said. Though I'm not sure I completely agree that the act of writing is worthy of praise... (for the most part I do, it's just... the relativist in me can't take that leap with undefined circumstances). I know I personally wrote a lot of crap. When I started in the fan fiction world, I remember my friend linking me to a story she wrote with some other people. The story was in parts, poking fun at all the terrible stories in our fandom. And lo and behold, there was one of my stories roasting on chapter three. It had been a while since I had written it, so I was able to see in retrospect that it was bad, and not take the insult too seriously. My point, though (assuming I have one and am not just rambling aimlessly >_>) is just to support, really, what I quoted from you above, KH. I think most writers - at least those who started young, like I did - have a lot of crap to write out, as part of the growing process. I don't know how it is for people who begin writing as adults. Personally, I started when I was 11. Now I'm 28, and I was a terrible writer! Until about a week ago! Well, the jury's still out, I guess... Wait, I forgot what this topic was about... ... Oh yes, readers. My two cents: I believe a lot of readers who don't review, simply do not know what to say. A reader said something of that nature years ago in these forums. It's understandable, but of course, a little disappointing. A simple "I liked it" would go a long way for me. Of course, more detail would go much longer, as most of you have said. But I like the clutter better than the silence. Silence, for me, is a breeding ground for insecurity. I'm not going to comment on the self-entitled readers who insult stories just on the grounds that the author can't read their minds, because I think we all agree that they just plain suck. In the bad way. Anyway, I like your rant, HK. You made a lot of valid points. I'm slightly disappointed though that this thread didn't magically spawn a million readers to enthusiastically and constructively review all our stories. You should work on that...

Thanks, KH. Mmhm, it is pretty daunting. I wonder if that crisis of confidence is common among writers. I've always just assumed this perpetual cloud of insidious self-doubt was a natural state of mind for someone who spends a lot of time creating. I usually find it constructive - it leads to a lot of obsessive editing - but it can easily become overwhelming. I understand what you mean by the stories not being 'you' anymore. Sometimes it's best to start with a clean slate. Especially when you're switching genres or trying to distance yourself from certain levels of quality and/or subject matter. Whatever the reason, getting away from it is sometimes the best way to evolve. I don't know if I'm making any sense. My train of thought's gone a little... roguish today. Anyway I don't know how long you've been on AFF, but it's a pleasure to meet you! Welcome

Hello! Let's get right to it, shall we? It's been a couple years since I posted anything, but I've decided to take a leap of faith with this one. I like it. I hope you will too... Ugh, I suck at summaries. Lights by CloverReef Summary: One night, alone on the highway, Harley sees a light in the sky. Four days later, he wakes up with no memory of what happened, and something is very wrong with him. Life, though, goes on. He's still got that ex-boyfriend in prison to worry about and his narcissistic mother to contend with. He can't allow one little hiccup in his sanity to derail his duties and obligations. But the lights aren't done with him, and he's not the only one who's seen them... This story is a work-in-progress. It is paranormal (of the alien abduction variety.) Feedback: Yes, please. Concrit is more than welcome. Fandom: Original Warnings: M/M, WIP, Oral (more will likely apply in the future. Such as Anal and all that jazz) Solo story or chaptered story: Chaptered URL: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600107297 I'll be updating on Mondays!

Twitter sounds like a great option. In the past, I just had a set day I informed my readers I would be posting on. For me it's Mondays. Always Mondays. I told them if I missed a Monday, that I'd post the next Monday.

Thank you, Lisa. I didn't mean to fish for compliments. I'm genuinely interested in everyone's experience with this sort of thing. That being said... OMG I love you for not forgetting me! You made me feel better, and my fragile ego enjoyed that little inflation! ... *Ahem*. I mean... You're very sweet, and your sentiment is greatly appreciated. And it's great to see familiar faces/names are still around. Hi!

So... I've been having this little episode of self-doubt and anxiety. Sometimes it helps to get other perspectives on things to get a clearer picture of a situation. (Does that even make sense?) Anyway, as some writers tend to do, I went on Hiatus. I haven't stopped writing. I've been writing constantly since the last story I posted a couple years ago. But that's just it - I haven't been posting anything. Anywhere. And now I'm thinking of posting again. It kinda feels like posting for the first time ever all over again. All the anxiety that comes with it: will people read it? will people like it? What will they think? Will it be boring? They won't remember me - what about my story will draw them in? It's a scary thing, coming back from a hiatus. I've never done this before - before the hiatus, I was always pretty cocky about my writing. I would like to know... Those of you who have gone on hiatus and come back, was it easy? Did you have trouble coming back? What helped, or did it go poorly? Those of you readers who have known writers who have done this, or simply have 2 cents to throw in on the subject, please weigh in. I feel like I should ramble some more, but that's probably just the caffeine. Take care <3 ~Clover~

I think most writers of adult fiction begin with the raunchy stuff. At least I did and I tend to see it in first timers. I believe it's an important period to work through to find your own personal pace and style, so I think you're doing exactly what you should be doing. Though, to answer your questions... Wait, let me scroll up. (Time lapse) What I prefer as a reader is pretty relative to the writer's skill and style. I don't mind the crazy raunchy stories, as long as the narrative isn't too tedious, and the characters are engaging, relatable and/or believable (relative to the setting, of course). Sure, plot is important, but for me, it's the characters first and foremost that pull me in and keep me going. As a writer, I primarily try to write what I want to read and feel is lacking (at least, it's a pain in the arse to find the types of stories I like to read.) I don't write nearly as many sex scenes as I used to, but not because I don't want to. Mostly the lack of raunchiness is a result of obsessive self-doubt and wanting to make it "just right". Yeah, something I gotta work on. Good luck! The fact that you're even wondering about this shows that you're already evolving as a writer, so keep up the good work.

Well, I know I'm not a man, but I brought this question up with my male friends ages ago. As far as I remember, I was told that it's fairly rare, but on occasion a man can climax - but not completely - and keep going to climax again. So kinda like a half-orgasm followed by a full... I'm not sure if there's any more to the multiple orgasms thing for men than that... But there's always tantric sex, right? I think as with women, whether its painful or feels good can vary depending on the experience. I imagine if the half-orgasm thing is true, a bit of pain would be involved.

Those are good points. Sufficient detail so readers don't get lost is definitely something a writer needs to keep in mind. But in those scenes without action and excitement I think it's still important to keep them interesting on a more subtle level. It might just be me, I don't know. I feel like if it's boring to write, it'll interrupt the flow of the story and bog it down. Like they're an opportunity to showcase a character's personlity, or sexual tension, or even some non-sexual intimacy. (forgive me if I'm not making sense, I'm on painkillers atm)

Okay so I've been sitting in the Fresh Hell we all know as writer's block (more like drought) for about a year now. My problem isn't lack of ideas. No, I've got plenty of those. My problem is getting the ideas out. I've started and stopped about a couple dozen fics, and now after googling it for awhile, I've been wondering what people here at AFF think about the subject. Boring scenes. As a writer, I've had to write many scenes that lack in action or perceivable interest, and there's always been a way to make them interesting. Adding extra emotion, or humor for example. Lately I just can't seem to do it. I'm not really looking for advice - this is a psychological thing and I'll work through it eventually, but I'm curious about your methods. When you come across a scene that 'feels' boring as you're writing it, what do you do? How do you fix it, what do you add to it, or do you just ditch it altogether? And for you readers out there, what makes a scene really boring to you, and what makes an uneventful scene good/interesting/entertaining?