Reviewing the Year

I guess it's just something we all do at this time of year. Look at the previous year and look ahead to the next one. We make goals and decide how to change our lives for the better.

Looking back, I've published three short stories. I've racked up a few rejections as well, which is good for any writer and her ego. Two rewrite requests also figured into that, and we'll see where they lead me. One resubmitted, the other is still brewing to figure out what's needed.

I made progress on the novel; I made it mostly through a rewrite and nearly finished. That seems an odd way to put it, but after finishing NaNoWriMo in 2007, I left the book at its 50,000 words for six months without touching it. I put all the little snippets in order, then began to rewrite as I went along and smoothed the pieces to make a whole. I finished 16 chapters, with another 3 at the end and a gap in between where I know what I need to say, just haven't done it yet.

I even found somewhere to publish it, but I need to finish it first. A possibility, anyway, which is better than I had before. Perhaps it was a productive year.

Global Orgasm Day! 12/21/08

How can you not want to celebrate something as wonderful as Global Orgasm Day? This organization really needs to get the word out!

It's the Third Annual Global Orgasm for Peace. They're all about the Who? When? Where? and Why? on their website. I'm 100% in favor of it. It could do all of us a little good.

I'm amused by their three goals. The first is peace. Second is Gender and Social Justice. The third is Global Warming. Read how they fit it in under "Intention."

It might be too late to order a T-shirt, but there's always next year!

Looking forward to Global-O time, and I hope you are, too. Looking for more information? Try Redefining Seduction.

The Next Great Novel

Some of my friends talk about writing a novel. I attempted NaNoWriMo last year, but I still haven't finished the story. I did finish the 50,000 words required, but after that just stopped.

For months - about six.

I still haven't finished the book. I looked up the average time to finish a novel, and it's about three years. I am pretty sure I'll finish it by the end of 2010, but I'd really like to be finished sooner. I'm most of the way through the first rewrite, which included linking the random scenes I first wrote together. I have about 67,000 words, and I'm betting about 10,000 to go. It's a lot better than the first time I wrote it, but I still haven't finished.

I know there are writers out there who finish full-length novels in 30 days or less because you can see their word counts soar during the NaNoWriMo stretch. Perhaps one day I'll join them.

But I have to finish this novel-in-process first!

Sex Toy Recycling with Dreamscapes, LLC

It's nice to know with all those 'go green' initiatives that someone is looking into all the options of recycling. Not to worry that they're making more toys with it.

I like that they do mention they want your 'used, clean toys,' but they're going to clean them again before disassembling and sending to recycling companies for reuse. They appear to take all manner, and sort it according to type: rubber, silicone, plastic, batteries, and motorized parts.

They also give a gift certificate for participating. That's a great incentive. Hope everyone keeps it in mind when the time comes to part ways.

Read More

The Erotica Section

Ever visited it in your local bookstore? Quite a few people I know are a bit embarrassed to go there. Some of them even write erotica.

This shame that follows us for being interested in sex (at least, in this country) is woven deep in our culture, yet it also hasn't been able to quash the adult entertainment industry. Do you wonder if, like alcohol, the bigger deal we make out of it the more we are attracted to it? Or is it like the article I wrote about a few days ago, where our brains are simply hard-wired to be more affected by erotic stimuli than all other things?

If sex is a basic need and something that drives us, why do we make it so difficult on ourselves? If a society scorns pieces of daily life, what does it say about that culture? To survive we need a few things: to eat, to excrete, to couple, to breathe, to be. What would we think of a group of people who found eating to be deplorable? Wait, we have people like that. How about that we couldn't get rid of waste? If you follow our swear words- fuck and shit are two of the "worst." (We're not talking about how creative we can be, but the basic principles we base our swearing on go back to two functions we can't live without.)

It makes me want to shout, "You son-of-a-breather! What the being are you thinking?" But, then, I've been known to be silly that way.

Break out of your routine next time you're at the bookstore. Check out a section you normally wouldn't - even if it isn't erotica. I doubt anyone will notice except you, unless you take all your friends with you.

Marketing

Tips to market yourself.

1. Make sure your message is clear.
The article says you have three seconds to make a lasting impression. It's written by an expert, so it's probably right.

I wonder if most of us even know the message we're exhibiting. I have a vague impression, but I'm not sure I could state it if someone actually asked me. I'm an erotica writer, so I tell stories through sex. My characters are fleshed out as much as other types of stories; I only have the difference of the innuendo or the act to set it apart from other genres. (And sometimes, I get to mix genres.)

We also know that sex sells, right? But if you look around enough, you can also find articles that while sex sells, it doesn't sell anything but sex.

That might be good enough to keep my erotica going. Now we need to promote sharing.

Permanent Birth Control

I sat in the doctor's office yesterday without pen and paper or even a book. This isn't like me, because I don't like to wait for people and not be productive while I wait. Especially doctors, even when they're on time they're behind schedule.

The odd things about looking around the office is you get to see so many advertisements for prescription drugs and there's usually a poster about domestic violence.

I found one about permanent birth control for women that requires neither general anesthesia or cutting/burning. It doesn't look reversible and blocks both fallopian tubes and still allows a woman to keep her monthly cycle (no added hormones).

Like the hormones are something we'd want to keep. I suppose it's better than the alternative, and I am glad there are better options available to make the decision to have children or not. Now if only we could get everyone to think about those options.

Sex and Beauty

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So they say, anyway.

Erotica is about sex, about the coming together of at least one person in a sexual way. (It could be all about one and what's in her mind and still be a 'coming together' in my book.) Often erotic or pornographic stories focus on an unattainable ideal in the subjects. I know pornography is about the fantasy, but in erotica I expect something deeper. Sure, the story is about sex, but that doesn't mean everyone has to be beautiful. There are stories that change characters that are a little bit different from the ideal. Sometimes that's what drives them, and sometimes it's just a detail that adds a bit of spice to the situation.

I like it when a writer can make me think something is erotic that I wouldn't necessarily find beautiful. It's also one of the things I really try to do with my stories. I love to explore the limits.

An interesting article on a similar topic: Sexploration.