NightScribe

*sigh* Getting old is a real bitch. After I logged off, I started thinking about that story, and realized it was loaded with sexual content. People doing it, talking about it or thinking about it. They say the mind is the first thing to go...*shuffling off to my rocking chair*

"Flashed breast or smouldering glance" makes me think of what used to be called "the bodice ripper" type of story. I should probably clarify (and stop posting at work so I can focus my attention better) that I don't mind stories with an intricate plot, but I always hope there's some hot, steamy, graphic sex in them. Nothing is more disappointing, to me, than finally getting to the "good" stuff and it's only a couple of sentences or one short paragraph that leaves me cold, for lack of a better word. When I posted my first fic, I thought maybe I wrote too much in the sex bits, compared to the few stories I had read. I confess, I probably got a bit off the smut track on my last story, but hopefully, I'll make up for it with my WIP. I must atone! PWP one-shots are great for a quick read, and I've seen reviews left where readers ask when's the next update? when it's clearly labeled "one-shot smut fic." How dense can you get?

Yep, have to agree. I tried reading a few one-shot PWPs and...meh, they really didn't do it for me and frankly, weren't very well written. I mean the sex was kind of blah, so I pretty much avoid them now. I much prefer to read, and especially write, stories with more layers and complexities, something that holds your interests and makes you feel something for the characters, whether it ends happily or not.

I stand corrected, Adara, I couldn't quite remember all the details of that story. But she was still screwed over in a sense, her reputation was slandered!

Unless you subscribe to the other creation story, in which Adam and Lilith were created at the same time, and Adam got bent out of shape when Lilith said "Hey, we're equals, I want my turn to be on top!" Then she was banished and turned into an evil, predatory, nocturnal vamp who would suck the "essence" from man and steal his offspring. And Adam gets some "yes dear" replacement. Yeah, gotta love how men throughout the centuries change shit around so they look good. Just kidding, boys. I've got four brothers and I get along with men way better than women and the thing I like most is the different perspective on all kinds of issues. I have great conversations with guys, probably because of all those years with my male sibs. Mind you, I don't want to be a man, nor do I want a penis, but I sure do like 'em!

I really do have to wonder about your age and you just admitted that you are "very young." As for posting on a website, it's great to aspire to something more, but I wouldn't knock this venue for anything. I've wanted to be a traditionally published author from the time I was 16. That was 25 years ago; the reality of simply living does get in the way. Sites like this can be a godsend (and that's why age issues are taken seriously, especially for sites with adult content). However, all that is not the reason for my post. You said you were writing a historical piece. My suggestion is to read novels from that period, to get an understanding of what the societal norms and customs were of the time. It will help you give a little of that era's flavor to your writing. The way men and women acted and interacted, what was considered proper behavior, etc. Nothing bothers me more than reading a fic set one or two hundred years ago where the heroine is decidedly 21st century or the characters use modern speech. Books like "Pride and Prejudice" "A Tale of Two Cities" even "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" are great resources, because of the era in which they were written. If you're interested in what I'm talking about, feel free to read my fic "Songs of Eros" and see what I mean. You seem to shy away from more graphic depictions of sex, so you have no worries with SoE; I deliberately wrote it as a very mild R.

And I'm right there with both of you. I've had a story up for like eight months, completed for close to two, and it's had a five star rating all along. The other day, it went down to four and the twit who rated it down didn't say anything as to why. And I noticed the hits had gone up and I was thinking, is this some kind of grudge rating? A jealousy thing? What? What honks me off is seeing good stories rated down like that, and crappy ones, loaded with bad spelling, grammar and incomplete plots, with five star ratings. I've rated those down, but it doesn't make a dent, they still stay at five. I'll leave reviews and most of the time, I'll start with suggestions; format better, put spaces between your paragraphs, create new paragraphs when another character starts speaking, spellcheck, the usual stuff. But I always try to find something positive to say as well; good descriptions, interesting idea, something. Only if the author gets a little pissy or prima donna-ish will I get a bit more critical and I'm convinced those authors are pesky, smart-ass kids. With good, or great, stories, I'll try to explain what grabbed me; the tight plotting, the empathy created for a character, the knock your socks off ending that you didn't see coming but made total sense. I believe the latter lets an author know they've got the right stuff, the former is a means to help them along the way. Pixagi, I've had that happen too. My one parody, that I also posted on another site, got the lowest possible rating and tagged OOC. Well...duh! It was a parody I said as much. We all know Snape isn't a mechanic, moron, but how was the story otherwise? AFF readers seemed to like that fic, they got it, but that other site's readers are idiots.

I named my car Bebe after the South Park character; the episode where she got boobs slayed me for some reason. I don't actually have a name for my laptop, but if I did, it would be L'il Mac, as I often say to myself, and others, "God, I love my Macintosh."

I can't help it, I'm thinking of that line from "Look Who's Talking" (this applies to hetero men): "You spend nine months trying to get out, the rest of your life trying to get back in." I guess maybe that's your only problem; that, and trying to convince the missus why it's not acceptable to start vacuuming on Sunday during the big game. (btw, I hate vacuuming, I'd rather watch the game).

Aww...that's so sweet of you! Weird, but sweet!

I'll add my unsolicited suggestion to the mix: The Commodore was a man of decorum and considered a suitable match; yet, when I declined, he appeared to lose all respect for me as an adult. Evidently, he had been greatly affronted by my refusal of his hand.

I think initially I was a review whore, but I have gotten so few, they've ended up not mattering. I've been fortunate to have gotten some very positive feedback a few times and I appreciate it, nice boost to the ego. Never got a flame, and really no concrit that I can recall. Since no one comments, (but do read my fics) I view it as an opportunity to write what I want, without having to worry about what people think. Kind of weird, but it works for me.

I'm working on a lengthy story myself and I have lots of great ideas; inspiration will strike me at any time. I'm writing the last chapters at the moment, it's where my mind is taking me. If inspiration hits and you're in the flow, write whatever is there. When your muse leaves you, use that time for your research. Sorry this is kind of short, I'm at work and looking over my shoulder! As far as organizing your thoughts; I don't know if anyone actually makes legitimate outlines anymore. I always sucked at them myself. But what I do is write a synopsis for each chapter, even if it's only a quarter page long. That way, I can look it over and see if the story flows, if events from one chapter carry over to the next (or are resolved, etc). It's also a good way to see if there are any plot holes, or if it's necessary to shift things to a different chapter to improve the narrative flow. I always have a 5X7 legal pad with me. I can't tell you how many times I've been at work or the laundromat, and some great dialogue or descriptive sentence hits me. I'm also a big advocate of editing, tweaking, polishing, massaging, whatever you want to call it. But if you spend too much time working/agonizing over the same chapter, you can end up hating it and thinking it's terrible. If that happens, set it aside for a week and look at it again with a clear mind and then do your re-write/tweaking if necessary. Of course, every writer is different and subscribes to their own technique; you'll have to find what works best for you. Good luck!

Ever get so obsessed with something that you have to know/have it right now? That just happened to me. As part of my new fic, I was writing one of those little details, you know how you do, and I thought "wouldn't it be cool to have that in real life?" (In this case, a charm bracelet; don't ask, too complicated). Anyhoo, I thought "yeah" and started checking out charms. Then I thought, "hey! wouldn't it be really cool to have charms that represented all my fics on AFF? Like something from a title or something that was of some significance to the story?" (Not easy being mostly HP fics). *Ahem* needless to say....I should be getting it by next week. I've even got my Snape-turned-auto-mechanic crack!fic covered. (I justify this as an early Christmas present; I usually get useless crap anyway, and as a means to recover from my disappointment on my last shopping excursion where I found absolutely nothing I wanted. Don't you hate that?). Anyway, you may now point, laugh and scream "GEEK!" Oh, and I love the new smilies!!!

*shaking head* It doesn't surprise me. Lemmings, nothing but lemmings, afraid to think for themselves and question the status quo.

That is spot on! I really think you nailed that, especially the observation regarding the "youngins" (I love that) with their rush to post. My God, I've agonized over getting something just right before posting, sometimes for several weeks. Isn't there some adage about "patience is a virture born of maturity?" Or something like that. But writing is a learning process, and constantly challenging yourself is key. The younger folk will come to realize that, if they're serious about writing. Ah, lightgoddess, you don't mince words with that one. It also happens to be true. And it is the quirks, faults, etc. that make an OC so much more. With my very first fic, my OC may have come across as a Mary Sue at the beginning; but if you stuck through to the end, you found she wasn't perfect. There was a real bone of contention between her and the canon character and she would stoop to dirty pool to get what she wanted; verbal taunts that escalated into a knock-down, drag-out brawl (I loved that, btw). By the third story, even more flaws were revealed. She wasn't all golden light and perfection, but she wasn't the devil in disguise, either and hopefully, her motivation for doing what she did made sense, even if things didn't work out the way she expected or hoped. It will be interesting to see what happens with my new fic. Another OC and I hope, hope, hope, that she can be identified with, and doesn't "annoy the piss" out of people. lightgoddess, that's signature material right there!

Pink Lace, I noticed in another post you said you were having smiley problems. Hmmm...that's kind of weird. But come to think of it, I've had a problem or two. Anybody ever select one and then preview your post and find a lot of weird letter combinations after it? Like brpmn? or something like that? I had that a couple times over the last few days.

I thank everyone for their input, and can say, with no qualms, I've made my definitive decision. The story will be a longer one, with a more intricate, complex plot, which I love doing (and a better ending, as far as I'm concerned). So far, so good, but I'm purposely taking my time with it. Pink Lace, I get where you're coming from. I've seen stories that just kind of hang out there, incomplete. I have no problems finishing a long fic, I'd never start one and leave it hanging. In the past, I've had a couple of shorter stories that weren't quite gelling and I deleted those, knowing I wouldn't see them through. At the very least, it frees up server space for other people's work. Now, the only thing is that I don't know if I'll ever write the finale to my "epic". As I said, the sub-cat is over saturated now, but mostly it's due to reader apathy. I know it kind of sucks, like if J.K. Rowling decided, "eh, I'm not gonna write book seven." But I'm not J.K. and I don't have a ton of rabid fans screaming for more. I have no one screaming for anything. I've toyed with the notion of posting a synopsis of what I would have written, or just the last chapter that pretty much answers everything, but that sucks, too. Time to move on, I say. Unfair? Perhaps. Better for my sanity? Absolutely. And who knows? Maybe with this new fic, I'll grab people who never read any of my stuff before. Maybe they'll go back and read the old fics and give some input and I'll change my mind. It's a possibility; a long-shot, but possible.

I wasn't offended in the least, Masatar. I knew you were using the plural "you" in your statement and speaking in general terms. I'm sorry if it came across like I was really worried over this issue in regards to my own stuff. As for sweating bullets over reviews, that's not a problem, as I don't really get any. So I have the freedom to write whatever the hell I want. Quite liberating, actually.

nikolatesla, you phrased that so succinctly, no wonder you've gotten compliments on your OCs. And I agree, you have to kind of disassociate yourself from them, which takes some skill, especially since you need to get into their "heads" to understand their motivations, feelings, etc. Tricky task, isn't it? It's nice to meet another author not afraid of writing OCs. Including my WIP, I've come up with five major OFCs and a slew of supporting characters, both male and female. It's funny, the one I like most is a guy, but he's not a major character, just one of those important supporting types. I was thinking this about my WIP a little earlier; if I were to take it out of the HP fandom, create original characters in place of the canon, alter the era, and drop the little bit of magic involved, 97% of the material would remain intact. Most of all, the OFC (and believe me, I haven't done what she does, and I'd never want to).

I've had the feeling that some canon pairing stories are Sues in disguise; it stands to reason. Writer puts themself in the place of the canon character, whether male or female. I tend to find that a lot with slash written by fanbrats where the male characters come off more as women, rather than men. I kinda hate that, actually. But I think the better authors have the ability to write great OCs and keep canon characters fairly canon. Well, then, Masatar_Torlyl, you may address me from now on as "Royal Emporess MarySue of the OC Universe!" I've used a boatload of OCs, (both male and female, main players and minor) because I'm too lazy to go back to writing original stuff; fanfics are easier (which I admit is pretty lame and ethically questionable). I used to be so proud of my original stuff, back in my callow youth. *sigh* Now I'm just old and taking what I can get! I will add, however, that only one reviewer, of one story, ever brought up MS. And speaking of taking, I will take your $.02 and put them in my piggy bank! And oooh, they're nice, bright, shiny new pennies!

Mourningstar, that's one of the funniest things I've heard! I've read Mary Sues where the author is up front about it, and that's cool. And I've seen a couple, like lightgoddess mentioned, not sure if the character will be or not (a lot of times, I find they're not). Oh, I probably should have mentioned, this "not a Mary Sue story" is in the HP archive, under the sub-category, uh, Mary Sue. WTH???

This is pretty darn funny. I came across a fic in the HP archive and in the summary, the author insists, in ALL CAPS no less, that the story is not a Mary Sue. I checked out the reviews and the first couple were of the "great so far" and "please update soon" variety. Then a couple of real reviews took the author to task; one outlining in detail why the fic is a Mary Sue. Well, after seeing those, I just had to read it and decide for myself. OMG! At the end of each chapter, author keeps insisting it's not an MS. And leaves these kind of Batman-esque questions to build suspense, but she gave away the big revelation by the second chapter. One reviewer even said that the "twist" was "the oldest one in the book." And while we're on the subject of SIs/Mary Sues....is it just me, or can you just feel when a story is an MS, masquerading as a Canon/OC? I've seen OC stories and really felt the characters were a person unto themselves, great jobs. And then there's the ones that make you cringe. I saw another one that induced me to South Park like exclamations, like "St. Peter on a pogo stick! This is a Mary Sue! Complete with a crappy, overused cliché. Yeeeeesh.

I usually write third person omniscient, I guess, although I usually have one character (antagonist) where I never write his or her thoughts/feelings. Maybe my way of keeping them a mystery, and allowing the reader to try to get into their head. I've gotten over my "first person POV is too limiting" thing. I wrote a short, humorous fic told diary style and it worked really well, and was a lot of fun to do. When I was a teen, I thought I was better at descriptive stuff and sucked at dialogue. Now I'm all about dialogue. Like Nanaea, I love great dialogue, and old movies were chock full of it. Probably because a lot of playwrights made the switch to screenwriting. "All About Eve" is a testament to how great dialogue can be. I think conversation is my strongest suit in my fics. I tend to include humor, whether it's dark, gallows, ascerbic, sarcastic, etc. I can't get away from it. And there's always some kind of psychological aspect to the stories, unless it's a humorous fic. There's a definite difference in my comedic versus serious stories. I wrote a Victorian era story and tried to give it that feel throughout. In the way the characters spoke and interacted with each other, and there was no modern day, slang terms for the naughty bits. A real challenge, but "throbbing manhood" and "mound of Venus" worked instead of "raging hard cock" and "pussy". My WIP is creating some new challenges. It's meant to be an homage to an 18th century writer. So I want it to have that kind of feel, but I will be using modern day terms in the sex scenes, since it is set in the present (and those terms have been around forever). The thing is, when I read over what I've got so far, I feel that the tone isn't quite right yet. Then it dawned on me. My writer's "voice" is pretty well established, it ain't gonna change. Plus, I'm not a well traveled, well read, 18th century aristocratic European man. I'm a 21st century, independent, self-sufficient, American working woman. Which kind of begs the question, why the hell do I come up with these ideas?

I'm for dropping it; it wasn't there in the first place. Interestingly enough, when I was in grammar school, we'd say the pledge every morning with "under God." When I got to jr. high, we'd do it once a week, and the "under God" was dropped. That was in the mid '70's. We never did it in high school. At the very least, until this thing is resolved, people should have the option to not say it, without getting hassled. Good for you! I was talking to my mom a few months back, when that whole Homeland Security phone thing was breaking in the news. We were kind of joking because we heard a click or two (and she doesn't live that far from me). I said something along the lines of "hang on a minute, mom. Hey, if you Feds are listening, kiss my ass." To which she laughed and seconded the thought.