The Pub Discussion Board

Everyone should know by now that I try to space out my postings in order to have more consistent posting, rather than "3 this month, none for four months, then two, then nothing for a year..."

Eric Storm

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Last edited by thehilz (2021-05-12 12:12:24)

Update for May 19, 2021:

Where the Brontosaurs Roam, Chapter 3 is finished and with the reviewers.
Agent of Change, Chapter 11 has been posted to PRM.
Agent of Change, Chapter 5 has been made public.

Misfits is over 100,000 words in content at this point.

My writing streak continues, and is now over 150,000 words on consecutive days.

Eric Storm

Update for June 1, 2021:

1. Agent of Change, Chapter 12 is finished, and with the reviewers.
2. Where the Brontosaurs Roam, Chapter 4 has been started.
3. Misfits is nearly 120,000 words in content so far.
4. As of today, my writing streak has reached 100 days, and 175,000 words.
5. I have written over 200,000 words so far this year.
6. I like lists. 



Eric Storm

Elessar wrote:

Always happy to hear your writing is going great. I know it’s easy to laser focus your work, but make sure you take time for yourself.

My writing IS taking time for myself.  When it's flowing, my writing is what relaxes me.  I go to sleep at night visualizing scenes.  My writing is, as it was intended to be, a way to escape the shit-show that is my life.

The only time my writing is "bad" for me is when I'm blocked and can't find a way to move forward with any of the stories I have open.  (And yes, this is why I always have more than one story running at a time.)

You see my writing as "my job".  I don't have a job.  The government pays me to breathe.  My writing is my life, not my job.  I only have to do just one thing for a day to be considered successful.  I have to write something.  Other things can make a day a success, but that one particular one guarantees it.

Eric Storm

sinsfire wrote:

Any chance Woodward's second to last chapter will get made public?

Answer:  No.

Reason:  Because I've received more inquiries about the NEXT chapter, than I received comments about the LAST chapter.

It amazes me just how fast people are to clamor for more of something... but don't bother to give anything back.  The last chapter of WAY8 was the climax of the entire book... could be seen as the climax of the entire book SERIES, and yet it garnered ONE COMMENT.

I don't write my stories to receive comments.  I write my stories so I have something to read.  I can do that without posting it here.  I took the effort to put the story into PRM because my donors had given me monetary gifts, and it just seemed like a nice idea to let them read the story with me.  But... what do I get by making the story public?  Apparently, not a goddamned thing.

As far as I can tell, no one else really gives a shit about the rest of this book, so why bother posting it?  It won't make any difference in my life...

So, NO, I'm not going to publish WAY8-14 today.  I don't know when I will publish it.  Perhaps when I stop being pissed off about it. 

(You'd better hope I do it before that, because I'm not likely to stop being pissed off anytime soon.)

Eric Storm

PS:  For the record, and so no one tries to use it as some kind of guilt-trip:  The one person who DID post a comment to WAY8-13, received a couple months of special access time for his courtesy and consideration.  I'm sure HE has already read WAY8-14.  And possibly WAY8-15.  And several other things that are in PRM, depending on how fast he reads and what he had to do today...

sinsfire wrote:

That being said, for all the years that I've been following your writing, you've never actually struck me as someone who was interested in responses or comments beyond "thanks for posting".

I don't know why you would think this.  I have repeatedly and explicitly stated otherwise.  My readers have provided some of the best story ideas I've ever written into stories.

Now, do I often reject people's ideas?  Absolutely, because they often do not work.  That doesn't mean I didn't want them to present an idea.  My hope, when I respond, is that they will think through things and perhaps rework their idea and respond to me.  That's how brainstorming works, but too many people don't seem to want to participate in that process.

Additionally, I tend to stay out of the forums because I'm a bit of an introvert.

I can sympathize with that.  I'm an introvert myself.  This forum, my Facebook page (which has very few followers), and my Discord server (which has even fewer followers) are the only socializing I do.

Regardless of posting, I do hope that you move past this. I would imagine that a writer being angry at his readers is probably not great for one's mental health.

Probably not.  So maybe you bastards should stop trying to make me crazy. 

Eric Storm

Eric Storm wrote:

So maybe you bastards should stop trying to make me crazy. 

Eric Storm

Eric, you don't need our help going crazy. Your almost up to my level of crazy from what I've seen. And I'm sitting at the top of the Mt. Everest of crazy.

Also, I must apologize for not telling you more often that I love your stories. I always stay up late till you post, just to read them as soon as possible. That of course gets me an ass chewing from the wife for not going to bed till 3-4 am.

Eric Storm wrote:

See?  I saved you from getting yelled at by not publishing the latest chapter.

You're welcome.



Eric Storm

No you didn't. I was still up till then waiting on the posting. So I got yelled at for nothing.

Congratulations on the writing spree, I don't think I've ever done anything for 100 days straight.

I have never really been one to give feedback on things. Typically if something is ‘good enough’ in my opinion, I’ll have to spend hours trying to make it ‘better’, so I have just simply went with the easiest path of silence... and money... money money money.

While I may not be the best at feedback, I have tried a few times to give ideas.

Elessar wrote:

I have never really been one to give feedback on things. Typically if something is ‘good enough’ in my opinion, I’ll have to spend hours trying to make it ‘better’, so I have just simply went with the easiest path of silence... and money... money money money.

While I may not be the best at feedback, I have tried a few times to give ideas.

I would just like to point out that verbal feedback doesn't necessarily just mean giving ideas on what the author can do better. It can be telling what your favorite parts were. What scene made you laugh out loud. What makes you emotional. What characters do you love. What character do you really want to hit in the head with a brick. When it comes to erotic works, what turns you on.

When people write, regardless of what they're writing, they're doing so to make others feel something. Yes, some write for themselves to an extent, but it's also often about invoking feelings in others. Without that feedback, without knowing if you invoked the emotions you sought to invoke, writing can sometimes feel isolating. Like you're just typing words into a void. That can be depressing.

And this shouldn't just be about writing, either. Humans are social creatures. We have a natural drive to please others, and we want to know that when we're doing a good job. Think back to when people have sincerely congratulated you on something. Anything. How did the positive feedback make you feel? We sometimes get too stuck in our own heads to realize how much of an impact we can have on others with just a few simple words. I imagine you can also think of times when you tried your best at something, hoping to please someone, and you didn't get the feedback you expected. That can be incredibly disappointing. Even if you tend to think of yourself as a self-sufficient person who shouldn't need to rely on others to feel validation.

If someone does something you like, on the internet or in real life, you shouldn't hesitate to tell them. Your words matter. They have an impact, even if you don't always see it.

And I understand that the internet hurts this a bit by adding this layer of depersonalization. If you praise someone in real life, you are giving them feedback, but you're getting feedback in turn in the form of a smile or a blush or some expression to let you know that your feedback to them was appreciated. It's not quite the same on the internet where a writer might be able to thank you for leaving the feedback, but won't necessarily be able to properly convey how much it means to them over text. You sometimes just have to have faith that what you're saying is appreciated, and I know that in itself can be hard sometimes.