My Introduction to Level 3
[Ruby's questions in red]
Your second assignment is to respond to this pm and let me know what you would like to accomplish in this level now that you know more about it.
That's a very interesting question. When I first joined the forums a couple of weeks ago, it was primarily to find inspiration for new stories. That inspiration has come in spades, and I've written more in the past two weeks than I have in the past two years. So, that is an accomplishment in itself.
The readings provided are very good. I'm always on the lookout for essays about the craft of writing.
For example, are you working on a story and want to use that for your assignments?
I tend to write self-contained pieces that can either stand alone as short stories, or be intergrated into longer works. Even within longer works, I try to write in such a way that individual chapters can function as short stories. This isn't always easy to do because it means having to continually find new ways to refer to background aspects of the plot and its characters.
Am I working on anything at the moment? No one particular thing.
Do you want to have assignments that are unrelated to what you might be working on now?
I like challenges so, yes. Much of the inspiration I mentioned above grew out of challenges set in previous levels.
Do you have any strengths or weaknesses that you'd like to improve or remove?
Run-on sentences used to be a problem area for me, though I'm much better now. I still struggle occasionally with wordiness. It's a problem related to run-on sentences so, it also is more under control. I actually enjoy editing superfluous words now, but that wasn't always the case. I guess my main weaknesses now are the little things I can't see for myself. So, I look forward to being corrected :)
Do you want to write BDSM, romance...fill in your genres?
Mostly BDSM with a touch of romance. I think I am starting to mature as a writer and thus want to write erotica that is arousing, but subtle as well.
Short stories, novellas, novels?
I'm sure there is a novel or two in me, though it's a big time committment to write one, if it's to be done well. For now, I'm happy to stick with short stories. In many respects, these can be more challenging than long works because you have to write concisely.
Fiction? Autobiographical work?
My favorite position lies somewhere between the two. I think good fiction is like a good song lyric. We've all heard songs that affect us so deeply, we feel certain they're autobiographical when in fact, they're complete fabrications. Conversely, the best autobiographical stories are those that seem fantastical. The stories I write are efforts to blur the distinctions between fact and fantasy.
:)
anonymouse
