Archive-name: JourEntr/n918-141.aun
Archive-author: Elf Matheiu Sternberg
Archive-title: Notes on Reunion


   I'm was not happy with "Reunion."  This story would not write itself; I
literally threw it away twice, deleted the entire directory it was in,
and began over.  During the course of this process, I developed so many
ideas, none of which wanted to work with others, that I ended up
throwing away or otherwise misusing the dozen or so plot devices I had
planned, such as Nickolai having a bout of insecurity and another short
break-up with Furry; Garth's relationship with Kiza becoming more
serious to Kiza than it is in the story; Molly's mysterious
disappearance; did Ken or P'nyssa ever try and seduce Furry; and a
dozen more some could spot but I'll not give away here.

   In short, like God holding the Earth in a Far Side cartoon,
"Something tells me this thing is only half baked."

   I might, if I ever have the patience and presence of mind to plan
the story better, rewrite the whole thing in the future, like I did
with Kitty and the Dragon a while back (which is still not done despite
the re-write :-/).  In the meantime, I've been off the air as a writer
for so long it's time I got back into practice.  I'm hoping to someday
have the ability to plan and write a novel-length work; this shows that
I'm getting there, but I don't really have the skill to do so yet.
It's the planning and plotting that I don't have down.

   This also gets rid of the first bottleneck that's kept me from
posting the rest of the future series.  Now that I feel it's behind me,
I can get on with the regular stuff.

   Oh, and this does make a hallmark: I have passed 100 stories.  With
Reunion out of the way, I have now written over 100 stories, putting me
within reach of Mary Khuner.  Someday I'll have all the categories.
And Thank Horus I've outwritten the author of "Master Wade."  :-)

   A side-note to the readers of rec.arts.prose: although it's perhaps
a little less extensive than my usual fare, the Journal Entries do
typically contain love scenes, some quite explicit.  After reading
reviews of such mainstream fare as "One on One," by Tabitha King
(Stephen King's wife), "Miami," by Pat Booth, "A Visit Home" by Will
Aitken, and "Closing Arguments" by Frederick Busch, I've become
convinced that, given careful handling, such material qualifies not
only as "erotica" but as "prose."  Read at your discretion.

      Elf !!!

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