Writing update--October 2010

Further writing update

This is kind of an addendum to my post of July 30. I encourage you to read this one first, so you can have an idea of what the state of things is.

I also feel the need to address some rather disturbing items that have come my way in the last short while.

First, let me address the charity stories that are (mostly) still pending. As you may know, I did a charity drive last fall, for a specific feline rescue. At no time did any monies come directly to me, but went directly to a charity, via their paypal link. To claim that I personally profited is a bald-faced lie. The charity is registered and has an IRS tax deductible status and is not something I personally set up.

Yes, I did have very major surgery in August. I am back on my feet and that did not directly impact the mechanics of the writing.

Additionally, all charity story recipients have been emailed and contacted as well as being directed to read this Live Journal post in July. I answer every email that arrives and if anyone has a question, I will do my best to answer it in a very timely manner. If you choose not to contact me or answer my emails, that is your prerogative.

The sum total of charity stories in word count is 1.6 million words. That is equal to 16 400 page paperback books, and is clearly a lot for anyone to have bitten off. When I was writing 50,000 words a month, not as big a problem as now, when I’m writing 3,000 words a month.

As I explained back in July, some of these are stories that are right up my creative alley and others are a huge stretch. Some folks offered me complete freedom except for a prompt, and others have sent several, or *tens* of thousands of words of instructions and scene by scene breakdowns. I discovered that I’m not able to write to that specific a specification, and this is probably the largest factor of my creative black hole. This continues to impact my creativity in the writing realm.

My plan, creatively speaking, is to work on short one shots while crafting these stories. The shorter commissioned pieces will go to the top of the queue, while the longer ones will be worked on in the order in which the commission was received. There is just no more practical way to do this. A 250,000 word story will take months and months, while a 5,000 word story might take a few days.

The running list still stands at hildejohanne (Hurt) at the top of the longer commissioned story queue. Regarding the shorter stories, I should have something for murgy31 and djmicheals as soon as I can.

If this can not, or does not, work for you, please drop me an email, either via LJ or my gmail address, and we can discuss.

Regarding my other (multi-chapter) stories, I am working with starshines on our joint projects slowly. As for the other stories, my hopeful plan is to finish Captain Oblivious, and Man Makes the Clothes before the end of the year.

The longer and more emotionally intense stories will have to take a back seat until the charity stories have been completed. I hope you understand the reasons for that.

Thanks for reading this!

TG

Writing update--October 2010

Further writing update

This is kind of an addendum to my post of July 30. I encourage you to read this one first, so you can have an idea of what the state of things is.

I also feel the need to address some rather disturbing items that have come my way in the last short while.

First, let me address the charity stories that are (mostly) still pending. As you may know, I did a charity drive last fall, for a specific feline rescue. At no time did any monies come directly to me, but went directly to a charity, via their paypal link. To claim that I personally profited is a bald-faced lie. The charity is registered and has an IRS tax deductible status and is not something I personally set up.

Yes, I did have very major surgery in August. I am back on my feet and that did not directly impact the mechanics of the writing.

Additionally, all charity story recipients have been emailed and contacted as well as being directed to read this Live Journal post in July. I answer every email that arrives and if anyone has a question, I will do my best to answer it in a very timely manner. If you choose not to contact me or answer my emails, that is your prerogative.

The sum total of charity stories in word count is 1.6 million words. That is equal to 16 400 page paperback books, and is clearly a lot for anyone to have bitten off. When I was writing 50,000 words a month, not as big a problem as now, when I’m writing 3,000 words a month.

As I explained back in July, some of these are stories that are right up my creative alley and others are a huge stretch. Some folks offered me complete freedom except for a prompt, and others have sent several, or *tens* of thousands of words of instructions and scene by scene breakdowns. I discovered that I’m not able to write to that specific a specification, and this is probably the largest factor of my creative black hole. This continues to impact my creativity in the writing realm.

My plan, creatively speaking, is to work on short one shots while crafting these stories. The shorter commissioned pieces will go to the top of the queue, while the longer ones will be worked on in the order in which the commission was received. There is just no more practical way to do this. A 250,000 word story will take months and months, while a 5,000 word story might take a few days.

The running list still stands at hildejohanne (Hurt) at the top of the longer commissioned story queue. Regarding the shorter stories, I should have something for murgy31 and djmicheals as soon as I can.

If this can not, or does not, work for you, please drop me an email, either via LJ or my gmail address, and we can discuss.

Regarding my other (multi-chapter) stories, I am working with starshines on our joint projects slowly. As for the other stories, my hopeful plan is to finish Captain Oblivious, and Man Makes the Clothes before the end of the year.

The longer and more emotionally intense stories will have to take a back seat until the charity stories have been completed. I hope you understand the reasons for that.

Thanks for reading this!

TG