Tomken: Blog

I have started posting "Going, Gone." It has been over four years since the original story was published. I think you will enjoy this sequel more if the original "Going, Going ..." is fresh in your mind. I hope this story stands on its own if you don't choose to read (or re-read) the original.

Feedback is the only compensation for those of us who publish on SOL. I hope you will be generous of your time with me and with other authors whose work you read on SOL. Praise is heartwarming. Constructive criticism hopefully makes me a better author in the future.

"Grace Jensen Debauched" is NOT a story in the Swarm Cycle Universe. The first of four parts was just posted. I hope you enjoy the story. As always, I appreciate any feedback. Favorable responses are satisfying, but negative responses (hopefully) help me to become a better author.

I'm not very far along at all with the next Swarm story. My fellow authors are together quite productive. Swarm fans should see a pretty steady stream of new works.

I look forward to finding new chapters of stories that I am reading. I am acutely aware that, once a story has been posted in its entirety, very few readers will ever find it. Having the story be part of the Swarm Cycle Universe does improve the chances that a reader will find it, but not a lot.

I successfully put all of the "Prodigious Collection" story chapters in the queue for posting, one chapter every three days all the way to Christmas. After the first four chapters were posted, there was a formatting issue in the entire story that I wanted to correct. In replacing the as-yet-unposted chapters of the story, I managed to get them into the queue for immediate posting. The remainder of the story was posted before I discovered my mistake. The SOL webmaster was sympathetic but unable to help.

I suppose that that is a boon to those of you who are reading the story. Call it an early Christmas present from me to you. I hope you enjoy the story. As with all stories on SOL, your feedback is the author's only reward.

Tom

An anonymous reader asked for a cast list. I thought I went to some trouble to identify characters as they reappeared in new chapters. Plainly, my effort has been inadequate. I admit that there are a lot of characters to keep track of. (Dang, I just checked: there are 134 characters named at least once.)

I personally object to cast lists and invariably skip over those that I find in other works. However, the point of my writing stories is so that they are enjoyed by readers.

So, I will leave it up to you, my readers. The story is 19 chapters in length. As of today, November 12, only four chapters have been posted. If you want to see a cast list, please let me know.

Then, if a cast list is wanted, should the characters be named in order of appearance? In some other order? Should I say in the cast list where and with whom each character winds up? Should all characters be listed, or only those with important roles in the story?

Thanks for reading. Thanks for writing to me. The criticism has been constructive -- so far. The praise is rewarding but the criticism makes me a better writer.

I have an unrelated Swarm story completed and ready for editing. I am considering whether I would be able to write a sequel to Going, Going .... I want to do so. I am mentally stuck on what would be the earliest part of the story and I haven't latched onto what would be the grist of the body of the story. In Going, Going ..., I waded into an area -- abused women -- that I really know nothing about and have almost no experience with. I am an amateur writer and I think it shows. For the sequel, a professional writer would take the time and energy to fully research the area. I don't have the time or the rigor to do so. It remains to be seen whether I'm dumb enough to continue in an area fraught with very real consequences.

Although I keep (fairly) good notes, the story emerging from my keyboard always surprises me. Characters reveal themselves to me. Issues, problems and opportunities present themselves and I try my best to deal with them. I have to re-read passages of my own work again and again in order to get back on track. I try to tie up loose ends, but sometimes I forget.

A reader recently made the point that Ellen's CAP score should have risen. I don't remember whether I even considered the idea. Ellen already had an eight-something CAP score. She was re-tested at the same time as Bob. Her new score was not mentioned. It is entirely possible that she got a very good bounce but didn't get a nine. Given the issues in her history, she must have been scary-smart to achieve an eight. She also would have other important positive attributes that I haven't delved into. I am presently thinking about the fact that three males in her new household have an an average of nearly four females to satisfy, and what that might mean over a longer term. (Some of the males in the story are matched up with FIVE females.) I didn't want to cause the family to be even larger than fourteen adults -- at least, not in that story.

I imagine a sequel might be something like "A Day in the Life of Jane Davidson" by Zipper D. Dude, except that the days would be anything but quiet and contented and the sponsors would be among the central characters. Throughout the Swarm Universe, women are truly enslaved. Adverse consequences are sometimes mentioned, but then the point fades into the background of the story.

I want to thank those of you who wrote to me. I would be happy to know your further thoughts.