[Meant to get this up yesterday, but got busy writing my intro instead and then had to go out. Sorry 'bout that...]
Chapter 5 of Christmas Cheer went up yesterday, and I'm a little amazed at the response. It's getting views. It's getting votes. And the majority of the voters seem to think it's pretty good. Thank you, thank you to everyone who's viewed and voted. Special thanks to those who've commented. You're what keeps me going!
I only hope I can do this story justice and bring it home.
Christmas Cheer was kind of a writing challenge to myself. I'd been corresponding with Cotton Nightie about The Ski Trip Surprise and Visiting Austin, and Cotton mentioned that, having just published an actual novel, these stories were just for fun, kind of like doodling on a sketch pad.
You have to understand. When I started writing erotica, I found an online writers' workshop. It was an awesome place teeming with some very strong and very serious writers, and this crowd was brutal, in the most supportive possible way. Weak writing was like blood in the water, and they could chew you up and spit you out,, all with the goal of helping you improve. And I did! I got used to doing a rewrite or two before even posting, going over my stuff with a fine-toothed comb.
So the idea of essentially winging it, posting on the fly, with actual readers waiting for the next installment to pressure me into posting, well...intriguing.
Could I?
And then the inspiration for Lynne and Mike popped into my head, and I went for it.
I'm not quite posting on the fly, understand. What I typically do is to write a chapter and let it sit while I write the next. When I finish the second, I reread the first, tidy it up just a bit, and post it. Then I write the third chapter, go back and post the second, and so on. At least in theory. In practice, real life and other stories keep crowding in, and I've actually lost my buffer. Chapter 6 is half written, and I think there are going to have to be some changes.
I had been struggling a bit with the timing. In the outline in my head, Christmas was on a Thursday, which seemed to give me too many days to fill. I've decided to move Christmas up to Wednesday which streamlines the story and makes everything work better. So, horray for magical superpowers to bend time and space.
Now, if only I could bend time and space to squeeze more writing hours into the day!
Best,
Jess