INtrinSicliValud: Blog

Okay, okay, I get it. I am a slacker! I heard you. Luckily, a good friend listened to my whining there not being enough hours in the day for my new writing hobby. As he has done for decades now, after I vented, he shared his wisdom.

“Slow da fuk down!”

Well, okay, he said it much nicer, but that’s how I translated it. In any event, I have reassessed my reassessment and agree. So, here’s the deal. I will alternate posting chapters from “Aiden and the Ring” and its sequels with those from “The Immortal.” That will permit me time to generate other works to post as they make their way through editing.

That should keep me from burning out and keep all of you happily entertained. Further, it will permit me to both expand my stable of fun and interesting characters and complete the promised sequels to existing works.

Win-Win!

Therefore, today I will submit chapters 3-4 of Jim’s tale for posting. You all have been incredibly generous with your scoring, but I admit his story gets off to a slow start. Simply put, when I wrote it, I already knew his world. Now, I have the challenge of ensuring you don’t languish in ignorance. Totally my fault. As such, I have added additional details to chapter 3 and will continue to assess the need for further additions as we move forward. Chapters 5-6 are already in editing and there are a bazillion more to come after that.

As such, Chapter 9 of “Aiden and the Ring” will post next Thursday, 16 December.

Happy December! Wow, 2021 just flew by!

First of all, a huge shout-out to those of you kind enough to provide feedback, request stories or just chat about writing and my twisted mind. This really is a wonderful community of writers and readers and I treasure each and every communication.

Today, I will be submitting Chapter 8 of “Aiden and the Ring” for posting. It’s a slower one as both Aiden and Gina continue to deal with the ramifications of their encounters. Not to fear, we’re about to go off the rails in the upcoming chapters. Of note, I reviewed the content of Aiden’s tale and chose to split some chapters, so it now stands as complete at 23 chapters. Though, full disclosure, based on his future stories, I must tweak some prose in the final chapters. But I have until March to knock that out.

In addition, I am introducing Jim’s story, “The Immortal.” It’s a harem story originally written just after I transitioned from writing up detailed solo role-playing game journals, and I used a set of Urban Fantasy rules as a loose guideline for its world-building. What does that mean to you? Well, it may be a bit rougher, as the prose required a lot of updating and there are mentions of unusual creatures here and there. But the focus is on Jim, living as an immortal, and his rediscovered joie de vivre. If it is well-received, I have a bazillion chapters to convert and post as he rampages through quite a few partners. And there’s a heck of a lot of dripping, gooey sex, because that’s how I write.

WARNING: If you do choose to read his tale, Jim is a creature of his times, Ancient Greece. He died, or didn’t die, following Xenophon. Which means he predates cute modern sexuality boxes. If it pleases him, he will do whatever he wants to anyone, men, women, and/or others.

Now more importantly folks, this whole writing and posting gig has been a real blast, but I need some time to recharge the main batteries and focus on drafting new content so it can sit in a bunker for a while prior to editing.

As such, Thursday, December 16 will be my final posting day for 2021. If all goes according to plan, that day will see the submission of Chapters 5 and 6 of “The Immortal,” assuming the first four chapters do well enough to warrant continued posting, and Chapter 10 of “Aiden and the Ring.” I will be out and about until mid-January.

And, not to worry, while I am relieved of the pressure to edit/post and roaming free-ish, I will be writing drafts whenever I get the chance. My plate is full as I finish the second of two brand-new stories and work on the promised sequels/prequels to what ya’ll considered my best stories. Also, as I mentioned in previous blogs, more are already stacked up beyond those, so stay tuned for a busy 2022, commencing o/a January 20, 2022.

Outside of the SOL site, for anyone wishing to contact me to chat, inquire about tailored content, or harass me for being a slacker, drop me an email at intrinsiclivalud100@yahoo.com

Posting early, due to Turkey Day.

Well, whether you loved her as much as I did, or hated Laura and her husband, Dave, the story is at an end with today's posting of the final chapter/epilogue. Sigh.

The next chapter of "Aiden and the Ring" should be up today as well. Fun times on the lake continue to heat up as they discover their new selves. It's the last chapter I have updated, so I will double down and try to get the following chapter ready for posting next Thursday, bar too much holiday madness.

Next week, the first chapter of "The Immortal" will take Laura's slot. We'll see if you enjoy his story. It's a long one and is more of a serialized adventure/harem tale than a neat novel/novella. If it works, I have a bazillion chapters to post as I get them cleaned up. If it flops, I will burn it with fire and move on.

In the new works sheds, I am within striking distance of finishing up my sci-fi novel rough draft for NaNoWriMo at 50k+ words. It will sit and stew for a month before undergoing editing. Likewise, because the muses are evil little critters that won't shut up, I have two draft novellas almost finished and they too will go into hiding until I am ready to edit them.

And last but not least, as promised, I am hammering out plot details for "The Student" prequel, which will be longer since that one was a stroke story, and drafting the sequel short story to "On Her Own Terms."

No, I'm not quitting. It's just that I completed the final edits on "Owning My Image" yesterday and I will miss Laura and Dave. When I originally wrote their love story, it was the first with a full character arc and I paid more attention to the mechanical bits. As I have been editing it, I have tweaked the evocative, introspective tone of Laura's voice. And I will miss that. And her. And Dave, her loving husband.

In any event, the next two chapters are submitted and should be posted shortly. The final chapter with a short epilogue will post next week. Unfortunately, its score is still below the cutoff so the sketched-in sequel may have to wait awhile for full-development. But it's a bit of a tear-jerker and will see Laura become the woman hinted at all along. In case you couldn't tell, I rather enjoy writing a mix of action and lengthier character growth/twisting.

"Aiden and the Ring" Chapter 6 has also been submitted for posting. Based on the rising score, ya'll seem to like where its headed. All I will tell you is that it's going to get much, much wilder, but hopefully in a more reflective way as Aiden and the others deal with his new capabilities. Still looking at 21 total chapters, but they do take time to polish for readers.

A note about next week. Here in the US, it's National Tryptophane Nap Day next Thursday and I've got family coming in to help eat turkey. Hence why I finished up "Owning My Image" and have the next chapter of "Aiden and the Ring" ready to launch on WEDNESDAY. I debated skipping a week, but decided to keep close to my schedule. It's better for my discipline-keeps me focused.

Well, it's midway through the month of November and I took a hard look at my barn full of half-finished, mostly finished, and needs-to-be-updated stories.

There are 64-64!

So, here's what I have decided. Well, the site's math has decided for me. After I complete my 50k word NaNoWriMo draft, I will focus on finishing the follow-ons to the highest scoring stories. "The Student" is getting a prequel and "On My Own Terms" is getting its sequel. It only makes the most sense to reinforce success and both those stories scored in the 7s.

Other already posted stories may get further expansions, but newer stories with higher scores will leap to the front of the queue. As much as I love all my characters and their stories, there are only so many hours in the day. It makes the most sense to work on stories considered at least "good" by all of you.

Of course, I will continue to update and post chapters of "Aiden and the Ring" and "Owning My Image." As per the above, their overall scores, once complete, will determine if/when I write sequels/prequels.

Oh, one more bit of news. When I first started down this crazy writing path, I scribbled out a meandering urban fantasy world-based serialized fiction story. After much gnashing of teeth, I have begun upgrading/editing "The Immortal." So look for those chapters to appear while I write newer material.

And last, but certainly not least, a note regarding feedback. Thank you all so much. Your comments and inputs are invaluable to me. Rather than using the story Comments feature, I prefer site email, where we can have detailed discourse over concerns, plans, and ideas. Those who have already emailed me know how much enjoy those discussions.