GeorgeGlass

It sounds like you have a pet that is very sick or has died. If so, I’m very sorry. I have four cats, and I love them all. They are quirky, goofy, irritating, wonderful creatures, and I will remember them all (and miss them terribly) when they’re gone.

I guess I should ‘splain my motivation for starting this thread. I’m working on turning my story “Eddie Forever” into a legitimate novel, and at one point, the MCs hear a song by the villain (who moonlights as a hip-hop artist) on the radio, which helps them figure out who the villain is. Because the hero and villain only interact a few times during the story, I thought it might be useful to actually write and include the lyrics to “Burn It Down” as a way of giving the reader a little more insight into what’s going on in the villain’s head. But I don’t want to do that if it’s just going to end up being a mental speed bump for readers. I wrote a couple of original songs for my Loud House fic “The Miss Cutie Patootie Pageant,” and a couple of people mentioned liking them, so I feel like maybe it can work. Or maybe there were a hundred other readers who didn’t like the songs at all but didn’t want to say so.

Yesterday, I had another one of those decision-paralysis moments in which I couldn’t decide which story to work on, so I decided to do another cycle through them all. That usually takes me at least a couple of days, but I’m nearly through the list now. The next thing I’ll finish will probably be the penultimate chapter of “The Miss Cutie Patootie Pageant.” The next chapters of “The More, the Merrier” and “Little Rose” are likely to follow. Howdy. My weekend was uneventful, but that was fine; I really needed to relax. And yours?

So I recently read Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind, and I noticed that although the main character is a bard (among other things), there aren’t any song lyrics in the book. The author sometimes describes what the songs are about, but we never see the actual words. That got me thinking: Is it a good idea or a bad idea to write song lyrics for a fic? Unless it’s a “sung to the tune” of kind of song,* the reader won’t know how the melody goes. But maybe readers will make up their own; I don’t know. Thoughts? *Or, in the case of the Hogwarts school song, a “pick any tune you want” song

This sounds like something I might like. Will you give us a heads-up when it’s posted?

Glad you enjoyed it.

Oh, yes, Dr. Hirano definitely chose those tight yoga pants to be appealing as well as functional.

Re: “Mia: Confessions of a Dickgirl” Glad you’re liking it.

I initially filled in the chart with what each character was wearing in “Hot Yoga,” just to give myself a place to start with regard to their wardrobe choices. Then I looked at the Phineas and Ferb Wiki to see what Pedro and Sally wear. (Being typical cartoon characters, they always wear the same outfit.) Roger always wears a suit on the show, but he wouldn't wear that to “yoga class,” so I just made up an appropriate outfit for him. Clothing is a little bit important in this story because it shows how the situation has evolved since the events of “Hot Yoga.” In that story, everyone was dressed for an exercise class; they didn't know it was going to turn into an orgy. This time, in contrast, everyone knows what they're getting into (except maybe Sally and Pedro), so although they are still dressed for the exercise class that everyone else in their lives thinks they are going to, what they have on underneath may not be merely jockeys and sports bras.

A few off-the-top-of-my-head ideas: A Family Holiday Thanksgiving Stuffing Dressing, and Undressing A Feast for the Senses

Made good progress on the next chapter of “The More, the Merrier” tonight, this time mainly with regard to Balthazar, Melanie, and Roger. Also spent some time on the Victoria’s Secret site for research purposes. (Is it better or worse when that’s actually the truth? ) This story is chart-intensive. Not only is every chapter outlined, but I have a big table showing what each character is wearing (top, under top, bottom, under bottom), and each item of clothing is color-coded according to the chapter in which the character takes that item off. (I decided this was necessary after I discovered that in “Hot Yoga,” I mistakenly had Jenny take her pants off twice.)

Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the alternate ending. I should be more open-minded about dark endings. They’re fun to write.

Glad you’re liking it. At this point, I’m planning to write 3 more chapters for “Auntie’s Home.”

Re: “Auntie’s Home” Well, that’s not ALL that’s left...

Reply to Star wars player 1’s review: Thank you! On the show, Melanie is generally portrayed as a bored office drone, and I thought it would be fun to write about what might lie beneath that blasé exterior. Then I decided that in her heart of hearts, she's into young boys (and, to a lesser extent, teenage girls), and that Jenny's special incense was going to set those impulses loose in a big way. I hadn't used shifting perspectives much before then, so I thought that would be fun to try. Also, it would enable me to better describe what the characters were experiencing. Thanks! Part of why I chose Dr. Hirano to include in the story was because of my "mother's duty" fetish (ie, I'm into moms who teach their kids first-hand about sex). She has a sultry voice (courtesy of Ming-Na Wen, who voices her), and I could easily imagine her using that voice to instruct her daughters and Coltrane in the finer points of lovemaking. And I wanted Coltrane to have a role because we don't see much of him on the show even though he is ostensibly Stacy's boyfriend. Yeah, I'm into that too. I don't have plans to continue with that, but there's a forthcoming scene in "Auntie's Home" that that brief scene with Dr. Hirano and Baljeet inspired. Yes, we'll get a good look at the evolution of that four-way relationship in this story. I figured, this is the girl who went on a "Save the pigeons" campaign, so she's got to be an animal lover. Plus, she's a total granola with lots of far-out ideas, so it's pretty easy to take her in crazy directions sexually. You too! And thanks for the review.

SWP1, because this is a review of “Hot Yoga,” I’m going to respond to it in my review-reply thread for that story here.

My streak of productivity continues: I just posted chapter 4 of “Auntie’s Home.” What is more, I’m making good progress tonight on the next chapter of “The Miss Cutie Patootie Pageant,” so I expect to have that off to beta in the next few days. Made a bit of progress on “The More, the Merrier,” too. I’m having a lot of fun with Adyson and Gretchen in this story; in chapter 2, they’re going to do something that may or may not be physically possible. But, you know, they’re cartoons, so physiological correctness be damned.

I just saw a quote from fantasy writer Scott Lynch that made me think of “The Man in the Tree”: “Elegant worldbuilding is the act of using little things to invite big inferences. When you tell us that a woman in a fictional world has bought an apple from a vendor, you have also told us (if we care to make the inferences) about farmer, orchard, tree, and seed.”

A forensic psychologist once told me about a psychopath (back when psychologists still used that term) he interviewed who was imprisoned for life after having been a hit man for the mob. The prisoner had no remorse about any of the murders he had committed, but he also argued that everyone he killed was someone the world was better off without (because they were all criminals from rival organizations). So even a person with no conscience may feel the need to justify their actions.

Not at all. I'm happy to get any length of review from you, at any time. Oh, no, I've accidentally written a "journey of self-discovery" story, just like I inadvertently wrote a "coming of age" story with "Quiet." I might as well just move to Europe and make indie movies. Once you read chapter 10, I'll be interested to find out what twist you might have been expecting. Thank you, and you too!

Re: “Mia: Confessions of a Dickgirl” Ah, you’re quite right. I hate having factual errors in my fics (inadvertent ones, anyway), so I went back and fixed this. Thanks. Thank you.

Re: “Mia: Confessions of a Dickgirl” Thank you, for that and for the beta! *blushes* These sex scenes were really fun to write, particularly the whole strategy of Mia seducing Lorraine without revealing what she's really got going on down there. So glad you enjoyed that. Thank you!

My stress-writing continues to be productive. Last night, I posted chapter 1 of “Mia: Confessions of a Dickgirl” (beta-read by JayDee, who has my gratitude), and just now, I posted chapter 7 of “Country Summer.” I also expect to have chapter 4 of “Auntie's Home” ready for beta in the next day or two. I realized today that I now have nine incomplete multi-chapter stories in progress (not including the ones that don't have any posted chapters yet, most notably “Wishful,” which I'll be starting on soon). So I made a list of them and the date on which each story last had a new chapter posted. 4/18 Auntie’s Home 5/10 The Miss Cutie Patootie Pageant 5/17 Make It All Better 6/10 The More, the Merrier 6/16 Little Rose 6/18 Delta Delta Delta 7/02 Multiversity 7/11 Mia: Confessions of a Dickgirl 7/12 Country Summer So I'm going to be working on new chapters in roughly that order. (I say “roughly” because I'm always subject to the whims of inspiration or lack thereof.) I'll be adding “Wishful” to the rotation at some point, but I won't start posting any other new multi-chapter stories until at least a few of the ones on the list above are complete. Also: With the one-shot “Imaginary Tokyo” now completed, a new one-shot story has leaped out of the “ideas” file and onto the List of Twenty. Its working title is “Tension,” and it's about a single mom who gets sick and tired of her teenage son and daughter’s constant bickering. The mom realizes that her kids’ feud is the result of unresolved sexual tension between them, so she makes them *cough* resolve it. Finally: Indeed, SWP1, Gretchen will not be the only female who gets DPed in TMTM. There’s a reason why I added two more male characters to the ensemble.