FA+
Shop
2013 in Review (aka: Where's Fae?)
Posted 12 years agoI’m not bad at scheduling.
I feel the need to qualify this journal entry with that first. I’m actually very good at scheduling. Deadlining something is one of the best ways to motivate me to get shit done. It’s about the only reason why I’m able to write in NaNoWriMo, because for the most part the act of writing a novel is so haphazard for me that I never finish if I don’t set myself an end time. I’m also a masochist with my writing in a massive way that’s gotten a recent kick into high-gear, but we’ll get to that later.
I started out the year with the intention of showing everyone in my journal spaces what I’ve been up to in my literary pursuits over the previous month. Every month, a new journal to state my goals, keep me motivated and give me deadlines to meet. You may have noticed that about halfway through the year I just vanished. There’s a few very good reasons for that. Allow me to elaborate!
First, work. Work is no excuse on its own; plenty of writers have to work a ‘real’ job (or a shit one) in order to pay the bills that their writing just does not cover. My job, however, was being absolutely ridiculous with me. They jerked me around an awful lot and basically threw me to the sharks for a few weeks. And then I got sick.
Among other things that come with just being in the wrong place at the wrong time and catching what has to be described as the worst flu I’ve ever had to endure, I also suffered from bronchitis. Due to a job that needed me back in a timely fashion and a job that requires the frequent use of my voice (and being a dragon who does love to chat; ask anyone who knows me in real life!), I wound up with zero ability to coherently speak for roughly two and a half months. Fun fact: this started in August. It’s now December, and I still get gravelly when I sing (see also: caterwaul) certain notes. This pisses me off because I enjoy singing and these notes are in the middle of the range associated with many of my favourite songs.
In short, life jerked me around in the way that life so often does to us all, and I came out the worse for wear because of it. Not to worry, though! I’m still writing, I’m still working, and I’m still breathing! So we can go on from that and get to the particularly good stuff! What positive things have happened in this last little hiatus of mine?
Writing! I’ve actually gotten a lot done writing-wise. I successfully completed another NaNoWriMo project, a non-furry action-thriller novel that was an absolute hoot to write. The novel itself isn’t as finished as I’d like; it needs a lot of work still. However, I’m very pleased with what came out.
I also, as I had previously hoped to do (and may have said… my memory of this morning is fuzzy, let alone four or five months ago) fired off a novel to Sofawolf Press. Still waiting to see if anything is going to happen there, but fingers are crossed! In a similar vein, I submitted stories to both the new Heat and Hot Dish projects. I did not make the grade for the next issue of Heat, but I’m still waiting to hear back about my Hot Dish story. I’m confident; that Hot Dish piece has been raved about by everyone who test-read it, and seems to be the best thing I’ve written to date. High praise, and I hope that the Sofawolf guys think the same! Oh, and don’t worry about not making it for Heat; that just means I’ll have a story to upload for you fine furry folk sometime in the next month or so. Stay tuned!
But the real reason this journal needs to go up now is because it’s almost Christmas, and you all know what that means! Yes, break out the Lyric of Zeal icons on FA and open up your FCMTS folder on SF; Fae’s Christmas Music-Themed Special 2013 is almost here! That’s right! One story a day for five days, uploaded at midnight Mountain Time (12:01am GMT-7 on December 21st – December 25th) for your viewing pleasure! Lots of familiar elements from previous specials in this year’s offerings; Jake from Brick comes back, we see more from the world of Missionary Man, the ever popular, cross-dressing, backstabbing, gold-digging fag of a fox Alisha makes his annual return, and we of course will continue the story of Lucas and Taylor from Luka and Insensitive. There’s been a slight change-up to the music line that I had expected, when a story took a turn for me that meant its existing song selection no longer applied properly, but it’s all been worked out well in advance of the special. So hold on to your dicks, people; it’s gonna be a fun Christmas!
Unless you don’t have dicks. Then hold onto/stroke/otherwise enjoy your non-male equivalent and resume Christmas fun.
And finally, before I head off and get back to my work, one final announcement with two parts. As some might remember from my first journal last year, my new year’s resolution was to see myself become a published author this year in a more official, mainstream capacity. This has, perhaps unsurprisingly, not come to pass. Not for a lack of content or a lack of trying, but due to a number of factors that I’ve not been able to control. However, this is going to change soon.
I’ve taken a few days off work around Christmas, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be working. On the contrary, my aforementioned writing-based masochism is going to be brought right to the fore as I challenge myself not to write a NaNo novel, but a whole novel in the space of a single week. That’s right. I’m going to drop off the fucking Earth for six days. You will not hear from me. I will not do shit. I will be online just long enough to upload the FCMTS stories, and that’s about it. Fifteen thousand-odd words a day for six days is a challenge I’m going to relish, but will require my full focus.
“Why, Fae?” I hear you crying as you bring me a straight jacket, “Why would you do that to yourself?” Because, my insanity-binding friend, next year I have decided to self-publish some of my non-furry work online. I’ll be converting my pieces into e-book format, learning the full process necessary and, with any luck and good business sense at all, presenting them for sale through Amazon or some such. The exact number of novels I plan to put up at the same time at the moment is still up in the air, but I’m currently hoping to have at least three spread across three distinctly different genres. This will include the new novel I’ll be writing in a week (and that just sounds more intimidating the more I see or hear it) as well as other pieces I’ve built up over the years and have edited and re-written accordingly to bring them up to my standard of novel quality.
It’s not gonna be an easy year for me, but this is me giving myself the kick up the arse I’ve needed for years. I can’t just sit around and write plaintively in the hopes that maybe something I lazily knock together over a couple months will be good enough for some agent to represent, or some published to approve. I know I’m good enough if I apply myself, and now I’m gonna apply myself properly and get myself out there.
What does this mean for my furry work? Nothing at all. I’m going to be enforcing myself very strictly, but I never have and never will be able to focus all the time on what’s on my schedule. There’s always gonna be free time where I need to write, and where I want to write something that’s not going to work for my novel projects. When those times strike, I’m going to hammer out a lot of furry writing. Because the general length of the stuff I upload is so short compared to other things, it wouldn’t be too hard. To give some perspective, if I didn’t have to work and I applied myself to furry porn the way I want to apply myself to my novels? I could upload two new short stories every single day. More than fifteen, if they were just flash fiction pieces. The longest story I have in my gallery is over thirty thousand words. With work out of the equation and writing my sole focus, I could easily do that in two days.
I’m setting myself on a path that should lead me to explore, finally, the life that I want for myself. It’s not going to be an easy road and it may lead me to extended periods of silence… like you’re not all used to that. But there’s always going to be Faora stories coming out for you, and I hope to produce as many of those as I can. Oh! And don’t think I won’t be writing furry novels either; I have dozens of new ideas I wanna get down. Who knows? Maybe in time I’ll be able to write everything I want because writing will be all I have to do.
Might just be a dream, but it’s a damn enticing one to chase.
- Faora
I feel the need to qualify this journal entry with that first. I’m actually very good at scheduling. Deadlining something is one of the best ways to motivate me to get shit done. It’s about the only reason why I’m able to write in NaNoWriMo, because for the most part the act of writing a novel is so haphazard for me that I never finish if I don’t set myself an end time. I’m also a masochist with my writing in a massive way that’s gotten a recent kick into high-gear, but we’ll get to that later.
I started out the year with the intention of showing everyone in my journal spaces what I’ve been up to in my literary pursuits over the previous month. Every month, a new journal to state my goals, keep me motivated and give me deadlines to meet. You may have noticed that about halfway through the year I just vanished. There’s a few very good reasons for that. Allow me to elaborate!
First, work. Work is no excuse on its own; plenty of writers have to work a ‘real’ job (or a shit one) in order to pay the bills that their writing just does not cover. My job, however, was being absolutely ridiculous with me. They jerked me around an awful lot and basically threw me to the sharks for a few weeks. And then I got sick.
Among other things that come with just being in the wrong place at the wrong time and catching what has to be described as the worst flu I’ve ever had to endure, I also suffered from bronchitis. Due to a job that needed me back in a timely fashion and a job that requires the frequent use of my voice (and being a dragon who does love to chat; ask anyone who knows me in real life!), I wound up with zero ability to coherently speak for roughly two and a half months. Fun fact: this started in August. It’s now December, and I still get gravelly when I sing (see also: caterwaul) certain notes. This pisses me off because I enjoy singing and these notes are in the middle of the range associated with many of my favourite songs.
In short, life jerked me around in the way that life so often does to us all, and I came out the worse for wear because of it. Not to worry, though! I’m still writing, I’m still working, and I’m still breathing! So we can go on from that and get to the particularly good stuff! What positive things have happened in this last little hiatus of mine?
Writing! I’ve actually gotten a lot done writing-wise. I successfully completed another NaNoWriMo project, a non-furry action-thriller novel that was an absolute hoot to write. The novel itself isn’t as finished as I’d like; it needs a lot of work still. However, I’m very pleased with what came out.
I also, as I had previously hoped to do (and may have said… my memory of this morning is fuzzy, let alone four or five months ago) fired off a novel to Sofawolf Press. Still waiting to see if anything is going to happen there, but fingers are crossed! In a similar vein, I submitted stories to both the new Heat and Hot Dish projects. I did not make the grade for the next issue of Heat, but I’m still waiting to hear back about my Hot Dish story. I’m confident; that Hot Dish piece has been raved about by everyone who test-read it, and seems to be the best thing I’ve written to date. High praise, and I hope that the Sofawolf guys think the same! Oh, and don’t worry about not making it for Heat; that just means I’ll have a story to upload for you fine furry folk sometime in the next month or so. Stay tuned!
But the real reason this journal needs to go up now is because it’s almost Christmas, and you all know what that means! Yes, break out the Lyric of Zeal icons on FA and open up your FCMTS folder on SF; Fae’s Christmas Music-Themed Special 2013 is almost here! That’s right! One story a day for five days, uploaded at midnight Mountain Time (12:01am GMT-7 on December 21st – December 25th) for your viewing pleasure! Lots of familiar elements from previous specials in this year’s offerings; Jake from Brick comes back, we see more from the world of Missionary Man, the ever popular, cross-dressing, backstabbing, gold-digging fag of a fox Alisha makes his annual return, and we of course will continue the story of Lucas and Taylor from Luka and Insensitive. There’s been a slight change-up to the music line that I had expected, when a story took a turn for me that meant its existing song selection no longer applied properly, but it’s all been worked out well in advance of the special. So hold on to your dicks, people; it’s gonna be a fun Christmas!
Unless you don’t have dicks. Then hold onto/stroke/otherwise enjoy your non-male equivalent and resume Christmas fun.
And finally, before I head off and get back to my work, one final announcement with two parts. As some might remember from my first journal last year, my new year’s resolution was to see myself become a published author this year in a more official, mainstream capacity. This has, perhaps unsurprisingly, not come to pass. Not for a lack of content or a lack of trying, but due to a number of factors that I’ve not been able to control. However, this is going to change soon.
I’ve taken a few days off work around Christmas, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be working. On the contrary, my aforementioned writing-based masochism is going to be brought right to the fore as I challenge myself not to write a NaNo novel, but a whole novel in the space of a single week. That’s right. I’m going to drop off the fucking Earth for six days. You will not hear from me. I will not do shit. I will be online just long enough to upload the FCMTS stories, and that’s about it. Fifteen thousand-odd words a day for six days is a challenge I’m going to relish, but will require my full focus.
“Why, Fae?” I hear you crying as you bring me a straight jacket, “Why would you do that to yourself?” Because, my insanity-binding friend, next year I have decided to self-publish some of my non-furry work online. I’ll be converting my pieces into e-book format, learning the full process necessary and, with any luck and good business sense at all, presenting them for sale through Amazon or some such. The exact number of novels I plan to put up at the same time at the moment is still up in the air, but I’m currently hoping to have at least three spread across three distinctly different genres. This will include the new novel I’ll be writing in a week (and that just sounds more intimidating the more I see or hear it) as well as other pieces I’ve built up over the years and have edited and re-written accordingly to bring them up to my standard of novel quality.
It’s not gonna be an easy year for me, but this is me giving myself the kick up the arse I’ve needed for years. I can’t just sit around and write plaintively in the hopes that maybe something I lazily knock together over a couple months will be good enough for some agent to represent, or some published to approve. I know I’m good enough if I apply myself, and now I’m gonna apply myself properly and get myself out there.
What does this mean for my furry work? Nothing at all. I’m going to be enforcing myself very strictly, but I never have and never will be able to focus all the time on what’s on my schedule. There’s always gonna be free time where I need to write, and where I want to write something that’s not going to work for my novel projects. When those times strike, I’m going to hammer out a lot of furry writing. Because the general length of the stuff I upload is so short compared to other things, it wouldn’t be too hard. To give some perspective, if I didn’t have to work and I applied myself to furry porn the way I want to apply myself to my novels? I could upload two new short stories every single day. More than fifteen, if they were just flash fiction pieces. The longest story I have in my gallery is over thirty thousand words. With work out of the equation and writing my sole focus, I could easily do that in two days.
I’m setting myself on a path that should lead me to explore, finally, the life that I want for myself. It’s not going to be an easy road and it may lead me to extended periods of silence… like you’re not all used to that. But there’s always going to be Faora stories coming out for you, and I hope to produce as many of those as I can. Oh! And don’t think I won’t be writing furry novels either; I have dozens of new ideas I wanna get down. Who knows? Maybe in time I’ll be able to write everything I want because writing will be all I have to do.
Might just be a dream, but it’s a damn enticing one to chase.
- Faora
June/July 2013: Cold Snap
Posted 12 years agoHeya fuzzies! Let me start this journal entry off with an idea of how my body works.
I go through cycles. Most people do, in some form or another! In any given year, certain things happen to me. I get really horny for a month in summer, I find myself unable to stop gaming for a couple weeks straight in the autumn, I can't stop putting words to pages for most of my spring, and in winter... well, in winter I get sick.
This isn't news. People get sick! Happens all the time, really. But every year, without fail, I always contract and suffer in a long, painful and snotty way through one really nasty cold. Most of the time when I get sick, my body beats it away after one really shitty day. Lingering effects can last a week. But once a year, with tedious inevitability, my body just shuts down from an influx of disease. This is not tasteful, attractive or desirable in any way, shape or form.
This winter is mild as fuck where I live, and as a result I think the cold hit me in such a way as to compensate for that. Last year's cold also happened about this time, when I was on a week-long ski trip. That was not pleasant in the slightest, and everyone around me was content to point out how much I complained about everything (Fun Fae Fact #9236: Fae loves to complain about anything!). This time, there's no fucking snow for me to ski on, so this cold has hit me before my truncated ski season starts. Small blessings where you can find them, I suppose.
What the hell does this have to do with my writing projects? Well, June was set to be a month that I wanted to work on a new novel idea, using a discarded Shadowrun character. I have done this! Not finished it, mind; I don't think all the support in the world would get me through NaNoWriMo with the kind of cold I had. In fact, it barely got off the ground properly before I came down with the Black Death. I managed to make it a chapter and a half in (and shorter chapters than I'm used to, too!) and make a map of the setting itself, and then I was struck down by the angry hand of the gods in punishment for my hubris. "No making worlds!" they wrathfully cried. "That's OUR thing!"
But I'm an arsehole to all, deity or otherwise, when I'm sick! So I kinda wanna keep working on this particular project throughout July as well. I was going to work on Compilation #SC1 here, and I may well make a poke at it, but I don't think I'll finish it off this month. The whole free-form creative process around this novel I didn't plan to write and didn't outline at all has made things very difficult for me, but now that I'm well again I relish the opportunity to leap back into it.
What does that leave me to do elsewhere, though? Well, I promised someone I'd write them a story in exchange for them doing something for me that they have already done. Yay them! So I can't exactly keep working on my Non-Furry Novel Project #2 right now. Instead, I need to finish their story. This IS something that'll be on SoFurry and FurAffinity, so keep your eyes peeled in the next couple of weeks. I'll actually upload more than a journal!
Beyond that, I've been mulling an idea in my head that's significantly affected by the behavior of a friend of mine. Vague statement, I know. I'm playing that one close to my chest at the moment, but I'm willing to divulge that it's a new project, furry based, short-story focused and could either be its own little mini-series or my 2014 entry for M-Preg March. I don't have anything nailed down and I don't have any solid plans, but it's entirely like that if I don't do anything on it this month, I may do so NEXT month. After all, August was meant to be a month off for me, but I took that a little earlier. About time I got back to work and produced something you guys could actually see!
So, that's it, really. Sick dragon, well dragon, writing dragon. I'm gonna go get ready for work now, come home, write furry porn for a bit and then work on a novel after it. And just maybe, if I'm lucky, the alluring glow of Guild Wars 2 will leave me alone long enough to extricate myself from Tyria again, if only for a short time.
Stay fuzzy!
- Fae
I go through cycles. Most people do, in some form or another! In any given year, certain things happen to me. I get really horny for a month in summer, I find myself unable to stop gaming for a couple weeks straight in the autumn, I can't stop putting words to pages for most of my spring, and in winter... well, in winter I get sick.
This isn't news. People get sick! Happens all the time, really. But every year, without fail, I always contract and suffer in a long, painful and snotty way through one really nasty cold. Most of the time when I get sick, my body beats it away after one really shitty day. Lingering effects can last a week. But once a year, with tedious inevitability, my body just shuts down from an influx of disease. This is not tasteful, attractive or desirable in any way, shape or form.
This winter is mild as fuck where I live, and as a result I think the cold hit me in such a way as to compensate for that. Last year's cold also happened about this time, when I was on a week-long ski trip. That was not pleasant in the slightest, and everyone around me was content to point out how much I complained about everything (Fun Fae Fact #9236: Fae loves to complain about anything!). This time, there's no fucking snow for me to ski on, so this cold has hit me before my truncated ski season starts. Small blessings where you can find them, I suppose.
What the hell does this have to do with my writing projects? Well, June was set to be a month that I wanted to work on a new novel idea, using a discarded Shadowrun character. I have done this! Not finished it, mind; I don't think all the support in the world would get me through NaNoWriMo with the kind of cold I had. In fact, it barely got off the ground properly before I came down with the Black Death. I managed to make it a chapter and a half in (and shorter chapters than I'm used to, too!) and make a map of the setting itself, and then I was struck down by the angry hand of the gods in punishment for my hubris. "No making worlds!" they wrathfully cried. "That's OUR thing!"
But I'm an arsehole to all, deity or otherwise, when I'm sick! So I kinda wanna keep working on this particular project throughout July as well. I was going to work on Compilation #SC1 here, and I may well make a poke at it, but I don't think I'll finish it off this month. The whole free-form creative process around this novel I didn't plan to write and didn't outline at all has made things very difficult for me, but now that I'm well again I relish the opportunity to leap back into it.
What does that leave me to do elsewhere, though? Well, I promised someone I'd write them a story in exchange for them doing something for me that they have already done. Yay them! So I can't exactly keep working on my Non-Furry Novel Project #2 right now. Instead, I need to finish their story. This IS something that'll be on SoFurry and FurAffinity, so keep your eyes peeled in the next couple of weeks. I'll actually upload more than a journal!
Beyond that, I've been mulling an idea in my head that's significantly affected by the behavior of a friend of mine. Vague statement, I know. I'm playing that one close to my chest at the moment, but I'm willing to divulge that it's a new project, furry based, short-story focused and could either be its own little mini-series or my 2014 entry for M-Preg March. I don't have anything nailed down and I don't have any solid plans, but it's entirely like that if I don't do anything on it this month, I may do so NEXT month. After all, August was meant to be a month off for me, but I took that a little earlier. About time I got back to work and produced something you guys could actually see!
So, that's it, really. Sick dragon, well dragon, writing dragon. I'm gonna go get ready for work now, come home, write furry porn for a bit and then work on a novel after it. And just maybe, if I'm lucky, the alluring glow of Guild Wars 2 will leave me alone long enough to extricate myself from Tyria again, if only for a short time.
Stay fuzzy!
- Fae
May/June 2013: Revenge & Recreation
Posted 12 years agoHeya furballs! Faora here, in my continuing attempt to maintain transparency with you lot so I can better keep focused on my writing efforts.
*yawns and scratches his belly* Mmrrrf. So. What did I miss?
The month off was a good idea. May went a little crazy for me, culminating in a workmate concussing me in the midde of last week for insulting his favourite MLP character. Apparently my brain still hasn't properly rewired itself after the blow and several friends who've seen me since then have expressed concern that I'm not quite myself. With any luck I'll be me again in short order!
As for my writing, there's only two things to look at now: what I wanted to do in June at the start of the year, and what I'm actually gonna do in June. So, let's get stuck in!
Compilation book #SC1 was what I had originally planned to get done this month, but that's not going to be what I do for a number of reasons. I'm fully prepared and capable of doing that project, but I think I'll shove it back to July since I no longer have to edit the unwritten Non-Furry Novel #1B there. The fun thing about Compilation #SC1 is that there's already some effort made on that front from late last year, and the writing is recent enough that the quality doesn't make me cringe when I see it. Simple edits will suffice, and then I can get started!
However, that leaves me with nothing to do this June. In fact, it gives me the chance to do something that I as going to do as a side-project in and around everything. I run a D&D campaign and have one for two years. I was set to take a break from it, as one of my group (and the only one with GMing experience) was set to run a Shadowrun game. This allowed me to be a player for a bit of rest, to keep me burning out on the cat-herding I have to do with my players a lot of the time.
However, he had to pull out due to a personal project he needed to dedicate himself to. While this left me in the lerch and forced me to abandon a character I really wanted to play and the time off of game-running that I really wanted (my time off from running D&D has become me running Shadowrun instead, heh), it's not without benefits. The character I made is a solid reluctant, dark hero type, and the more I thought about it the more suitable he became for a novel of his own.
Non-Furry Novel Project #2 is his stage, and I've commenced the creation of his world. A few things need to be altered from the Shadowrun world that the character was conceived in, but my massive non-furry fantasy setting was also born from a single character I made for a D&D game that I never played, so it's certainly not beyond my ability. With any luck I'll have made a decent start on Non-Furry Novel #2 by the end of the week, and be well on my way (if not done) by the end of the month.
Important to note with this particular novel is that I've got no idea where it's going. I've got a single character with rich background and that's it. Nothing else. I'll literally be writing the story as it comes to me. This is going to be a fresh challenge for me, and it'll be interesting to see how I cope without my usual list of extensive pre-writing notes and plans to see me through.
So... that's about it, then! Stay fuzzy!
- Fae
*yawns and scratches his belly* Mmrrrf. So. What did I miss?
The month off was a good idea. May went a little crazy for me, culminating in a workmate concussing me in the midde of last week for insulting his favourite MLP character. Apparently my brain still hasn't properly rewired itself after the blow and several friends who've seen me since then have expressed concern that I'm not quite myself. With any luck I'll be me again in short order!
As for my writing, there's only two things to look at now: what I wanted to do in June at the start of the year, and what I'm actually gonna do in June. So, let's get stuck in!
Compilation book #SC1 was what I had originally planned to get done this month, but that's not going to be what I do for a number of reasons. I'm fully prepared and capable of doing that project, but I think I'll shove it back to July since I no longer have to edit the unwritten Non-Furry Novel #1B there. The fun thing about Compilation #SC1 is that there's already some effort made on that front from late last year, and the writing is recent enough that the quality doesn't make me cringe when I see it. Simple edits will suffice, and then I can get started!
However, that leaves me with nothing to do this June. In fact, it gives me the chance to do something that I as going to do as a side-project in and around everything. I run a D&D campaign and have one for two years. I was set to take a break from it, as one of my group (and the only one with GMing experience) was set to run a Shadowrun game. This allowed me to be a player for a bit of rest, to keep me burning out on the cat-herding I have to do with my players a lot of the time.
However, he had to pull out due to a personal project he needed to dedicate himself to. While this left me in the lerch and forced me to abandon a character I really wanted to play and the time off of game-running that I really wanted (my time off from running D&D has become me running Shadowrun instead, heh), it's not without benefits. The character I made is a solid reluctant, dark hero type, and the more I thought about it the more suitable he became for a novel of his own.
Non-Furry Novel Project #2 is his stage, and I've commenced the creation of his world. A few things need to be altered from the Shadowrun world that the character was conceived in, but my massive non-furry fantasy setting was also born from a single character I made for a D&D game that I never played, so it's certainly not beyond my ability. With any luck I'll have made a decent start on Non-Furry Novel #2 by the end of the week, and be well on my way (if not done) by the end of the month.
Important to note with this particular novel is that I've got no idea where it's going. I've got a single character with rich background and that's it. Nothing else. I'll literally be writing the story as it comes to me. This is going to be a fresh challenge for me, and it'll be interesting to see how I cope without my usual list of extensive pre-writing notes and plans to see me through.
So... that's about it, then! Stay fuzzy!
- Fae
April/May 2013: *groooooooan*
Posted 12 years agoHeya furballs! Faora here, in my continuing attempt to maintain transparency with you lot so I can better keep focused on my writing efforts.
In my last journal, we went into a couple little things that warrant being addressed anew here as I go into my work for May. Firstly though, I need to note that, yes, this journal did not come up on time. It is indeed a week late, and that is because I decided to take a week off from everything.
Actually, a whole month. I'm taking it easy this May, due to a whole lot of life stuff that's been happening along with the constant demands of my brain and its need to see my writing at its best. I've needed a little time to myself, and that's what I'm going to be doing for this little month.
Last journal stated that I needed to get Sol in a publishable state (from my flawed point of view) and Non-Furry Novel Project #1A rewriting completed by the end of April. I have actually managed to do this! These two stories are now in a state that I am (relatively) happy with. Happy enough to start firing off to people for test-reads, anyway. I'm going to be reading over them myself just a little longer to see if I've missed anything massive but, barring the unforseeable, come the end of May I will probably have hurled Sol at Sofawolf and research will begin on efforts to find N-FNP#1A a hospitable agent willing to represent me.
Briefly on the subject of my Twitter follower plan, I've not reached the first mark yet to unleash the first chapter of Incendia on the audiences of SF and FA. Humbling, certainly. I doubt I have quite the popularity to pull something like that off, but damn it all: I will stick to it! So go on! Spread the word: follow me at FaoraMeridian on Twitter, and you'll get a free furry novel! Have at!
So that's where I stand presently, furballs! Take it easy, stay tuned for any random little pieces of fiction I might toss out there in the meantime, and stay fuzzy!
- Fae
In my last journal, we went into a couple little things that warrant being addressed anew here as I go into my work for May. Firstly though, I need to note that, yes, this journal did not come up on time. It is indeed a week late, and that is because I decided to take a week off from everything.
Actually, a whole month. I'm taking it easy this May, due to a whole lot of life stuff that's been happening along with the constant demands of my brain and its need to see my writing at its best. I've needed a little time to myself, and that's what I'm going to be doing for this little month.
Last journal stated that I needed to get Sol in a publishable state (from my flawed point of view) and Non-Furry Novel Project #1A rewriting completed by the end of April. I have actually managed to do this! These two stories are now in a state that I am (relatively) happy with. Happy enough to start firing off to people for test-reads, anyway. I'm going to be reading over them myself just a little longer to see if I've missed anything massive but, barring the unforseeable, come the end of May I will probably have hurled Sol at Sofawolf and research will begin on efforts to find N-FNP#1A a hospitable agent willing to represent me.
Briefly on the subject of my Twitter follower plan, I've not reached the first mark yet to unleash the first chapter of Incendia on the audiences of SF and FA. Humbling, certainly. I doubt I have quite the popularity to pull something like that off, but damn it all: I will stick to it! So go on! Spread the word: follow me at FaoraMeridian on Twitter, and you'll get a free furry novel! Have at!
So that's where I stand presently, furballs! Take it easy, stay tuned for any random little pieces of fiction I might toss out there in the meantime, and stay fuzzy!
- Fae
March/April 2013: Free Novel Ahoy!
Posted 12 years agoHeya furballs! Faora here, in my continuing attempt to maintain transparency with you lot so I can better keep focused on my writing efforts. Also a fun announcement, but we'll get to that later.
In the last journal, I penned a short, but sweet, letter to myself regarding how much of a stupid-head I am for taking on such a massive workload at the same time. I was pretty darn right to make that letter, and I've taken it on board. But no rest for the wicked; there's still a lot to be done! So! What did I want to get done this month?
In short, I needed to do more work on Non-Furry Novel #1A, I needed to do more tweaking on Sol: The Dark Star, and I needed to complete MPreg March work early on. What did I do right and what did I do wrong?
Well, MPreg March went off without a hitch! All four stories are now uploaded here, and you can catch them all for a healthy dose of male impregnation-based fun! The Missing Link was, as with all Serevokin stories, an absolute blast to write and I'm kinda gonna miss the kinky little fuckers, but 2014 is another year! Let's see what it brings!
I barely touched Sol all month. Similarly, I didn't quite complete my editing work on #1A. I would have rather liked to have done both, but life conspired in all sorts of fun ways this month to make sure that my writing time was either non-existent, or that it was filled with more apathy than a bathhouse full of foxes with nary a wolf in sight. I should have more time in April to deal with this lack of Sol/#1A, so stay tuned for me to get caught up next month!
As for next month, what happens now? Well, more Sol and Non-Furry Novel #1A, actually. The entire month was originally going to be devoted to me hammering out an entire novel (Non-Furry novel #1B in fact), but originally I was a crazy person. In the infamous words of Oscar Wilde, "Go stick your head up a- Fuck off!" That was him, right? Might have been Ross Noble. It should have been Wilde. What was I talking about again? Ah well.
EXCITING NEWS!
Fun times are ahead! You see, back in 2007, I wrote a novel. It was the first of a new age of novel-writing for me. Very exciting. It went back to one of my earliest furry fantasy settings (the kingdom of Renthani, for those who remember my earlier works or my efforts in Heat #7) starring the Tashik warrior and pyromancer Tierim Incendia. It also co-starred such loveable scamps as Jenayre (who some remember from my Training trilogy and who more remember from a wonderful picture November commissioned for me) and Faora Meridian. That's right! My fursona actually, at one point, was a story character of mine! Twelve chapters (and a prologue and epilogue) long, standing at over a hundred and fifty thousand words and one of the biggest stand-alone projects I've ever undertaken...
... it was horrible.
Which is not to say that I wasn't dedicated to fixing it up. I made a couple of editing passes, then shelved it for later work. Now, while I definitely have the option of editing again (or more likely rewriting it entirely), I don't have that kind of time and I feel it would be entirely narcissistic of me to go and try and publish a novel that makes use of my personal character in any major way. The events of the novel are certainly going to be canon for me (and I take my canon seriously, anyone who reads my series pieces will tell you), but where does that leave everyone who can't read it even if they wanted to?
Now we get to the exciting news part of the journal! See, I've decided to upload this whole novel, for free, right here on FurAffinity and SoFurry! For one low, low payment of Absolutely Nothing* you will be able to enjoy the full story of Incendia, right here!
What's the catch, you ask? I'm going to upload the novel, chapter by chapter, based on you guys! See, I figure my Twitter feed could use a little attention. I get lonely over there. What's that got to do with anything, you ask? Well, for every fifty people that follow me, I will format and upload a new chapter of Incendia for your consideration. I'll even toss the prologue in with chapter one, and I'm already partway there!
So go on! Follow me on Twitter at FaoraMeridian and help contribute a free (if admittedly rough) novel to the fandom! I promise I tweet only funny and interesting things! Spread the word, because the more people get to following the faster you'll have the whole story in your hot little paws.
Keep it fuzzy!
- Fae
* - Sexual favours and unmarked, non-sequential bills graciously accepted.
In the last journal, I penned a short, but sweet, letter to myself regarding how much of a stupid-head I am for taking on such a massive workload at the same time. I was pretty darn right to make that letter, and I've taken it on board. But no rest for the wicked; there's still a lot to be done! So! What did I want to get done this month?
In short, I needed to do more work on Non-Furry Novel #1A, I needed to do more tweaking on Sol: The Dark Star, and I needed to complete MPreg March work early on. What did I do right and what did I do wrong?
Well, MPreg March went off without a hitch! All four stories are now uploaded here, and you can catch them all for a healthy dose of male impregnation-based fun! The Missing Link was, as with all Serevokin stories, an absolute blast to write and I'm kinda gonna miss the kinky little fuckers, but 2014 is another year! Let's see what it brings!
I barely touched Sol all month. Similarly, I didn't quite complete my editing work on #1A. I would have rather liked to have done both, but life conspired in all sorts of fun ways this month to make sure that my writing time was either non-existent, or that it was filled with more apathy than a bathhouse full of foxes with nary a wolf in sight. I should have more time in April to deal with this lack of Sol/#1A, so stay tuned for me to get caught up next month!
As for next month, what happens now? Well, more Sol and Non-Furry Novel #1A, actually. The entire month was originally going to be devoted to me hammering out an entire novel (Non-Furry novel #1B in fact), but originally I was a crazy person. In the infamous words of Oscar Wilde, "Go stick your head up a- Fuck off!" That was him, right? Might have been Ross Noble. It should have been Wilde. What was I talking about again? Ah well.
EXCITING NEWS!
Fun times are ahead! You see, back in 2007, I wrote a novel. It was the first of a new age of novel-writing for me. Very exciting. It went back to one of my earliest furry fantasy settings (the kingdom of Renthani, for those who remember my earlier works or my efforts in Heat #7) starring the Tashik warrior and pyromancer Tierim Incendia. It also co-starred such loveable scamps as Jenayre (who some remember from my Training trilogy and who more remember from a wonderful picture November commissioned for me) and Faora Meridian. That's right! My fursona actually, at one point, was a story character of mine! Twelve chapters (and a prologue and epilogue) long, standing at over a hundred and fifty thousand words and one of the biggest stand-alone projects I've ever undertaken...
... it was horrible.
Which is not to say that I wasn't dedicated to fixing it up. I made a couple of editing passes, then shelved it for later work. Now, while I definitely have the option of editing again (or more likely rewriting it entirely), I don't have that kind of time and I feel it would be entirely narcissistic of me to go and try and publish a novel that makes use of my personal character in any major way. The events of the novel are certainly going to be canon for me (and I take my canon seriously, anyone who reads my series pieces will tell you), but where does that leave everyone who can't read it even if they wanted to?
Now we get to the exciting news part of the journal! See, I've decided to upload this whole novel, for free, right here on FurAffinity and SoFurry! For one low, low payment of Absolutely Nothing* you will be able to enjoy the full story of Incendia, right here!
What's the catch, you ask? I'm going to upload the novel, chapter by chapter, based on you guys! See, I figure my Twitter feed could use a little attention. I get lonely over there. What's that got to do with anything, you ask? Well, for every fifty people that follow me, I will format and upload a new chapter of Incendia for your consideration. I'll even toss the prologue in with chapter one, and I'm already partway there!
So go on! Follow me on Twitter at FaoraMeridian and help contribute a free (if admittedly rough) novel to the fandom! I promise I tweet only funny and interesting things! Spread the word, because the more people get to following the faster you'll have the whole story in your hot little paws.
Keep it fuzzy!
- Fae
* - Sexual favours and unmarked, non-sequential bills graciously accepted.
February/March 2013: Where Fae Stands and MAKE UP YOUR MIND
Posted 12 years agoHeya furballs! Faora here, in my continuing attempt to maintain transparency with you lot so I can better keep focused on my writing efforts.
In the last journal, I pointed out what I'd been up to in the month of January and what I had planned for February. I'd like to take a brief moment to pen a short letter to myself, in the hopes that it will help me in my planning for my literary future. *Ahem*
Dear Fae,
STOP TRYING TO DO SO MANY THINGS AT ONCE, ASSHOLE!
Sincerely,
- Faora Argus Meridian
P.S: You're a dick.
Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's have a look back at what I was gonna be working on and what I actually managed to accomplish! There were three things that I wanted to get stuck into this month, and each possessed a different level of importance. We're going to run through them from most important to least, and see what I got done!
First of all, I was attempting to finish and clean up what was left of my NaNoWriMo 2012 novel project. I can say with no shame that I opened up Scrivener, took one little look at the last thing I had written on that novel, and immediately closed Scrivener again. I did NOTHING at all on that project, and I'm fucking-well okay with that. A cursory glance later proved me right; the entire plot needs restructuring, characters need depth and purpose, and (should I have thought for a second that it was worth rescuing in its current state) I need a lobotomy. Instead I got an early start on some of March's work. More on that soon.
Secondly, I was attempting to complete, or make a serious dent in, MPreg March. Yes, it's still on this year! Yes, I made a dent in it! ... no, the dent wasn't a serious one. Not as serious as I'd have liked, anyway. Certainly I made enough of a dent that you'll be seeing the first story of the month up tomorrow, continuing the ever-evolving story of those wonderfully mind-dominating, musk-providing, fuck-hungry Serevokin. Keep an eye out for Waking Past, the first part of the new The Missing Link series! Haven't read any of my Serevokin stories before? That's fine! You can find The New Tribe and The First City both in completion here, or on my SoFurry page!
Finally, I was hoping to do a bit more Sol: The Dark Star cleanup. I just ignored that entirely. I have no excuse or reason save that Guild Wars 2 seems to be a better use of my time after work, and before work I'm too busy with the other things (or... more GW2) to really have done that much on Sol. I'd say sorry, but the only one I disappoint is myself, so ha! Fuck you, self!
... aww. Well... with that out of the way, let's have a look at what my plan is for March! Let's see, let's see... ah, yes! Non-Furry Novel Project #1A! I like #1A a lot. I've already made a bit of a dent in it in February, so I should get that done sooner in March than I had planned. That will give me more time to work on Sol, and flexible time on that means I can focus on MPreg March stories as much as I need to in the meantime.
One last thing! You going to Furry Weekend Atlanta? Excellent, I hope you have fun. While there, you should toddle over to the Sofawolf guys and buy Hot Dish. You would please me by doing so. You would please me greatly. Not going to FWA? That's fine! You can order it online, too! Go! Go to https://www.sofawolf.com/products/hotdish now! As for me... well...
I'm gonna go sleep now. It's been a long month.
- Fae
In the last journal, I pointed out what I'd been up to in the month of January and what I had planned for February. I'd like to take a brief moment to pen a short letter to myself, in the hopes that it will help me in my planning for my literary future. *Ahem*
Dear Fae,
STOP TRYING TO DO SO MANY THINGS AT ONCE, ASSHOLE!
Sincerely,
- Faora Argus Meridian
P.S: You're a dick.
Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's have a look back at what I was gonna be working on and what I actually managed to accomplish! There were three things that I wanted to get stuck into this month, and each possessed a different level of importance. We're going to run through them from most important to least, and see what I got done!
First of all, I was attempting to finish and clean up what was left of my NaNoWriMo 2012 novel project. I can say with no shame that I opened up Scrivener, took one little look at the last thing I had written on that novel, and immediately closed Scrivener again. I did NOTHING at all on that project, and I'm fucking-well okay with that. A cursory glance later proved me right; the entire plot needs restructuring, characters need depth and purpose, and (should I have thought for a second that it was worth rescuing in its current state) I need a lobotomy. Instead I got an early start on some of March's work. More on that soon.
Secondly, I was attempting to complete, or make a serious dent in, MPreg March. Yes, it's still on this year! Yes, I made a dent in it! ... no, the dent wasn't a serious one. Not as serious as I'd have liked, anyway. Certainly I made enough of a dent that you'll be seeing the first story of the month up tomorrow, continuing the ever-evolving story of those wonderfully mind-dominating, musk-providing, fuck-hungry Serevokin. Keep an eye out for Waking Past, the first part of the new The Missing Link series! Haven't read any of my Serevokin stories before? That's fine! You can find The New Tribe and The First City both in completion here, or on my SoFurry page!
Finally, I was hoping to do a bit more Sol: The Dark Star cleanup. I just ignored that entirely. I have no excuse or reason save that Guild Wars 2 seems to be a better use of my time after work, and before work I'm too busy with the other things (or... more GW2) to really have done that much on Sol. I'd say sorry, but the only one I disappoint is myself, so ha! Fuck you, self!
... aww. Well... with that out of the way, let's have a look at what my plan is for March! Let's see, let's see... ah, yes! Non-Furry Novel Project #1A! I like #1A a lot. I've already made a bit of a dent in it in February, so I should get that done sooner in March than I had planned. That will give me more time to work on Sol, and flexible time on that means I can focus on MPreg March stories as much as I need to in the meantime.
One last thing! You going to Furry Weekend Atlanta? Excellent, I hope you have fun. While there, you should toddle over to the Sofawolf guys and buy Hot Dish. You would please me by doing so. You would please me greatly. Not going to FWA? That's fine! You can order it online, too! Go! Go to https://www.sofawolf.com/products/hotdish now! As for me... well...
I'm gonna go sleep now. It's been a long month.
- Fae
January/February 2013: Where Fae Stands, And Publication!
Posted 12 years agoHeya furballs! Faora here, in my continuing attempt to maintain transparency with you lot so I can better keep focused on my writing efforts.
In my previous journal, I made a point of setting out exactly what my not-inconsiderable writing goals are for 2013. I did this in the aforementioned attempt to have the people that show an interest in my work know that I'm not just dropping off the face of the interwebs between uploads to Fae's Christmas Music Themed Special. Now it's time to see what I've been up to!
January's project was, as mentioned before, the editing and general cleanup of Furry Novel Project #2B. This novel project can actually be seen, in part, already on my page (though it should be noted that it no longer reflects the present quality of the WiP). The project is the Sol novel that some people have waited over five years for. Tentatively-titled Sol: The Dark Star, this is a retelling of the first Tales of Sol stories that began my furry writing efforts over eight years ago now. I've questioned everything about those stories and the plotlines, and I have, I think, finally come to a point where I've got this story where it looks good.
Now, that doesn't mean The Dark Star is ready to be fired off at Sofawolf or Furplanet or anything like that. Not by a long shot. I still need to go over it again, make sure all my edits haven't screwed up my own continuity, and ensure that someone I trust to read it and critique it for me gets it in their grubby paws first. Once that's done and I make some final corrections, then it'll be ready. I plan for these finishing touches to be placed on it by the end of March, in between my other projects.
So, I have completed successfully my January part of my plan! What's next? Well, next is threefold. While I do have to continue with the tweaking to The Dark Star, the stated goal of February is the completion, cleanup and first edit of my NaNoWriMo 2012 novel. This shouldn't take much effort, though I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll need to rewrite the damn thing from scratch rather than edit it. If so, this will be impossible to compete in February.
The final aspect of February that needs work (and isn't on the year-plan) is M-Preg March. Now, yes, I know I've taken a bit of a break from it but that's not for a lack of want. I know that a lot of the people that follow me did so entirely because of my Serevokin stories, and I've done little for that crowd in a while. While Missionary Man from the 2012 Christmas Special proved popular and in line with that kind of content, there will be more Serevokin stories coming this year in March. I've got them all plotted out and just need to write them now, and with any luck they'll be popping up on the regular schedule. So February, it seems, is going to be a very busy month for me!
There's just one final bit of business to attend to before I stop scrawling away here and get back to work. In case people actually read this and pay attention right to the end, I'm going to do something that I've not really done before and actually plug myself. In a writing manner, I mean. I... oh, shut up.
You know those awesome Sofawolf guys? The furry publisher dudes? Well, I got a little annoying when I submitted for Heat. See, I wrote too many words for the little magazine to really fit and, while they were willing to let me go to town a bit with One Night in Heat #7, another story was also too long and had nowhere to go. Cue them making a whole new book, called Hot Dish. And I'm in it, so go check it out!
They're on a tighter schedule than even I am, and are hoping to have the book available at Furry Weekend Atlanta. So if you're going along, stop by the Sofawolf guys there! Tell them Fae said hi, and that they should really publish his upcoming Sol novel because it's awesome and he's a stand-up guy. And definitely pick up Hot Dish, because this promising project is full of awesome stories... and even one of mine!
So! Busy month, Serevokin, starships, publication... geez, I really hope my February/March update can keep up with all of this! Take it easy, furballs!
- Fae
In my previous journal, I made a point of setting out exactly what my not-inconsiderable writing goals are for 2013. I did this in the aforementioned attempt to have the people that show an interest in my work know that I'm not just dropping off the face of the interwebs between uploads to Fae's Christmas Music Themed Special. Now it's time to see what I've been up to!
January's project was, as mentioned before, the editing and general cleanup of Furry Novel Project #2B. This novel project can actually be seen, in part, already on my page (though it should be noted that it no longer reflects the present quality of the WiP). The project is the Sol novel that some people have waited over five years for. Tentatively-titled Sol: The Dark Star, this is a retelling of the first Tales of Sol stories that began my furry writing efforts over eight years ago now. I've questioned everything about those stories and the plotlines, and I have, I think, finally come to a point where I've got this story where it looks good.
Now, that doesn't mean The Dark Star is ready to be fired off at Sofawolf or Furplanet or anything like that. Not by a long shot. I still need to go over it again, make sure all my edits haven't screwed up my own continuity, and ensure that someone I trust to read it and critique it for me gets it in their grubby paws first. Once that's done and I make some final corrections, then it'll be ready. I plan for these finishing touches to be placed on it by the end of March, in between my other projects.
So, I have completed successfully my January part of my plan! What's next? Well, next is threefold. While I do have to continue with the tweaking to The Dark Star, the stated goal of February is the completion, cleanup and first edit of my NaNoWriMo 2012 novel. This shouldn't take much effort, though I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll need to rewrite the damn thing from scratch rather than edit it. If so, this will be impossible to compete in February.
The final aspect of February that needs work (and isn't on the year-plan) is M-Preg March. Now, yes, I know I've taken a bit of a break from it but that's not for a lack of want. I know that a lot of the people that follow me did so entirely because of my Serevokin stories, and I've done little for that crowd in a while. While Missionary Man from the 2012 Christmas Special proved popular and in line with that kind of content, there will be more Serevokin stories coming this year in March. I've got them all plotted out and just need to write them now, and with any luck they'll be popping up on the regular schedule. So February, it seems, is going to be a very busy month for me!
There's just one final bit of business to attend to before I stop scrawling away here and get back to work. In case people actually read this and pay attention right to the end, I'm going to do something that I've not really done before and actually plug myself. In a writing manner, I mean. I... oh, shut up.
You know those awesome Sofawolf guys? The furry publisher dudes? Well, I got a little annoying when I submitted for Heat. See, I wrote too many words for the little magazine to really fit and, while they were willing to let me go to town a bit with One Night in Heat #7, another story was also too long and had nowhere to go. Cue them making a whole new book, called Hot Dish. And I'm in it, so go check it out!
They're on a tighter schedule than even I am, and are hoping to have the book available at Furry Weekend Atlanta. So if you're going along, stop by the Sofawolf guys there! Tell them Fae said hi, and that they should really publish his upcoming Sol novel because it's awesome and he's a stand-up guy. And definitely pick up Hot Dish, because this promising project is full of awesome stories... and even one of mine!
So! Busy month, Serevokin, starships, publication... geez, I really hope my February/March update can keep up with all of this! Take it easy, furballs!
- Fae
2013 Incoming!
Posted 13 years agoHeya furballs! Your friendly, neighbourhood Fae here, hoping you've had a lovely holiday period and that the year to come is full of wonder and joy and happiness for all of you! Except you. Yes, you. You know who you are. Asshole!
Another day, another year, another slew of writing projects that need to get done. However, in an attempt to actually hold myself to my plans, I've decided to share them here so that I can rely on the fans of my work to help motivate me to actually... you know... not have a repeat of 2012. So! Interested in having a look at what goes on inside my mind and the plans I have for writing? Have a looksie!
January: Edit and clean up furry novel project #2B.
February: Complete, edit and clean up NaNoWriMo 2012 novel.
March: Rewrite first third of non-furry novel project #1A.
April: Write non-furry novel project #1B.
May: Edit and clean up NaNoWriMo 2011 novel into non-furry novel project #2.
June: Write furry compilation book project #SC1.
July: Edit non-furry novel project #1B.
August: Take a gorram month off. Maybe edit when I find myself unable to stop writing.
September: Begin writing non-furry novel project #1C.
October: Complete writing non-furry novel project #1C.
November: NaNoWriMo 2013!
December: Fae's Christmas Music-Themed Special 2013, and edit and clean up NaNoWriMo 2012 novel into non-furry novel project #3.
This all seems like a lot of work, and... well, I suppose it is. But editing, while difficult and frustrating and hair-pull-inducing, is not nearly as time-consuming (or fun) as the writing process. In twelve months, I'll only be writing from scratch two books (not counting NaNo, which is more a matter of fun than work), and I've already got a little bit of work done on both of them so I won't have to stare at that dreaded blank page one and fret.
I'm putting this all out there because the private writing that I do when I'm not uploading furry porn for your sweet, salient selves means I often spend great stretches out of your eyes. This also means that I'm absent the lovely encouragement and kind words you so often lavish upon me. Trust me: I don't get that a lot in a face-to-face capacity.
I'm also doing this because I've had a crisis of self-deprecation. Namely, I lost my self-deprecation. I've kinda woken up to the feeling that, "Hey, Fae. You're actually damn good and kinda better than the average hobby writer, and you're not gonna let anyone tell you different." I'm not the best fandom writer, I'm not nearly the most popular furry writer, I'm not the best writer out there right now, or the best writer ever, but dammit I can tell a good story and I have the technical skill to pull it off.
So. 2012 is over and good riddance. 2013 is coming, and I'm sick of letting my dreams get away from me. New Year's Resolutions? You wanna do yoga? Get your beach body? Bitch, please. I'm getting a novel published this year.
Just try'n stop me.
- Fae
Another day, another year, another slew of writing projects that need to get done. However, in an attempt to actually hold myself to my plans, I've decided to share them here so that I can rely on the fans of my work to help motivate me to actually... you know... not have a repeat of 2012. So! Interested in having a look at what goes on inside my mind and the plans I have for writing? Have a looksie!
January: Edit and clean up furry novel project #2B.
February: Complete, edit and clean up NaNoWriMo 2012 novel.
March: Rewrite first third of non-furry novel project #1A.
April: Write non-furry novel project #1B.
May: Edit and clean up NaNoWriMo 2011 novel into non-furry novel project #2.
June: Write furry compilation book project #SC1.
July: Edit non-furry novel project #1B.
August: Take a gorram month off. Maybe edit when I find myself unable to stop writing.
September: Begin writing non-furry novel project #1C.
October: Complete writing non-furry novel project #1C.
November: NaNoWriMo 2013!
December: Fae's Christmas Music-Themed Special 2013, and edit and clean up NaNoWriMo 2012 novel into non-furry novel project #3.
This all seems like a lot of work, and... well, I suppose it is. But editing, while difficult and frustrating and hair-pull-inducing, is not nearly as time-consuming (or fun) as the writing process. In twelve months, I'll only be writing from scratch two books (not counting NaNo, which is more a matter of fun than work), and I've already got a little bit of work done on both of them so I won't have to stare at that dreaded blank page one and fret.
I'm putting this all out there because the private writing that I do when I'm not uploading furry porn for your sweet, salient selves means I often spend great stretches out of your eyes. This also means that I'm absent the lovely encouragement and kind words you so often lavish upon me. Trust me: I don't get that a lot in a face-to-face capacity.
I'm also doing this because I've had a crisis of self-deprecation. Namely, I lost my self-deprecation. I've kinda woken up to the feeling that, "Hey, Fae. You're actually damn good and kinda better than the average hobby writer, and you're not gonna let anyone tell you different." I'm not the best fandom writer, I'm not nearly the most popular furry writer, I'm not the best writer out there right now, or the best writer ever, but dammit I can tell a good story and I have the technical skill to pull it off.
So. 2012 is over and good riddance. 2013 is coming, and I'm sick of letting my dreams get away from me. New Year's Resolutions? You wanna do yoga? Get your beach body? Bitch, please. I'm getting a novel published this year.
Just try'n stop me.
- Fae
Uh... is this microphone on?
Posted 13 years agoSo, uh… hi!
Remember me? No, it’s cool; I don’t blame you if you don’t! I’m Faora Meridian, and I’m a writer! I weave literary magic, and it often results in my readers spilling a sticky load over whatever happens to be in front of them at the time of reading. I do so unapologetically!
Unfortunately, I’ve not really been around all that much of late. I’ve, in fact, barely been around this year at all. The reasons for this are many, but suffice to say that my writing has been focused elsewhere (or not focused at all). This has left me with very little furry writing to show, and for those who’ve been watching me in the hopes of a story here or there, or a new M-Preg March series, I’m sorry. I won’t make excuses, but I’m sorry.
However, there IS going to be some new stuff from me soon! First, and for everyone, you’ll be able to catch me as per usual for Fae’s Christmas Music-Themed Special! This year is going to see a new main series starting on Christmas day, based on one of my characters from last year’s stories. Of course, this means I have to actually finish the main series of stories from the last four serieseseseseses, and never fear! There will be an extra story this year, on the 20th to kick off the special. This will be the final chapter in Ryan and Cameron’s tale, written and rewritten and scrapped and written anew more times than I care to admit. That story will finally end!
Secondly, I don’t normally like the idea of promoting myself. I think that my writing should stand on its own, without me talking myself up. However, since it’s been so long since anyone’s seen anything from me, it bears mentioning that I have a new story being published in Sofawolf’s upcoming Hot Dish book! Keep an eye out for that one, because grabbing that nets you not only a tale of mine, but also offerings from the best the fandom has to offer. Really, just get it for them. I’m way out of my depth!
Moving forward, what are you going to see from me? Well, I honestly don’t know. I’m gearing up to make serious pushes into mainstream publication, and that’s generally been my focus for the past couple of years. It does mean that my desire to write specifically furry stuff (particularly of a sexual nature) is diminishing, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop. I very much enjoy this form of writing and, while it’s probably going to be reduced, it’ll hopefully not be reduced to the extent that it has been throughout 2012.
So hey, I’m alive! I’m still writing! I’m even churning through NaNoWriMo at this moment (presently sitting on a little over 42k words as of this writing; not bad for the 14th of November!), so you know I’m writing. I’ll be back soon, and there’ll be a lot more literary fun to be had!
- Faora
P.S: Oh, and hey! If you’re looking for certainty on when I’m uploading a story, or just general idle musings from someone who doesn’t flood your screen with messages, try following me on Twitter! Go follow that crazy FaoraMeridian person and enjoy!
Remember me? No, it’s cool; I don’t blame you if you don’t! I’m Faora Meridian, and I’m a writer! I weave literary magic, and it often results in my readers spilling a sticky load over whatever happens to be in front of them at the time of reading. I do so unapologetically!
Unfortunately, I’ve not really been around all that much of late. I’ve, in fact, barely been around this year at all. The reasons for this are many, but suffice to say that my writing has been focused elsewhere (or not focused at all). This has left me with very little furry writing to show, and for those who’ve been watching me in the hopes of a story here or there, or a new M-Preg March series, I’m sorry. I won’t make excuses, but I’m sorry.
However, there IS going to be some new stuff from me soon! First, and for everyone, you’ll be able to catch me as per usual for Fae’s Christmas Music-Themed Special! This year is going to see a new main series starting on Christmas day, based on one of my characters from last year’s stories. Of course, this means I have to actually finish the main series of stories from the last four serieseseseseses, and never fear! There will be an extra story this year, on the 20th to kick off the special. This will be the final chapter in Ryan and Cameron’s tale, written and rewritten and scrapped and written anew more times than I care to admit. That story will finally end!
Secondly, I don’t normally like the idea of promoting myself. I think that my writing should stand on its own, without me talking myself up. However, since it’s been so long since anyone’s seen anything from me, it bears mentioning that I have a new story being published in Sofawolf’s upcoming Hot Dish book! Keep an eye out for that one, because grabbing that nets you not only a tale of mine, but also offerings from the best the fandom has to offer. Really, just get it for them. I’m way out of my depth!
Moving forward, what are you going to see from me? Well, I honestly don’t know. I’m gearing up to make serious pushes into mainstream publication, and that’s generally been my focus for the past couple of years. It does mean that my desire to write specifically furry stuff (particularly of a sexual nature) is diminishing, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop. I very much enjoy this form of writing and, while it’s probably going to be reduced, it’ll hopefully not be reduced to the extent that it has been throughout 2012.
So hey, I’m alive! I’m still writing! I’m even churning through NaNoWriMo at this moment (presently sitting on a little over 42k words as of this writing; not bad for the 14th of November!), so you know I’m writing. I’ll be back soon, and there’ll be a lot more literary fun to be had!
- Faora
P.S: Oh, and hey! If you’re looking for certainty on when I’m uploading a story, or just general idle musings from someone who doesn’t flood your screen with messages, try following me on Twitter! Go follow that crazy FaoraMeridian person and enjoy!
WTFae! Where's Mr. Meridian?
Posted 13 years agoHere I am!
You might have been wondering exactly what the hell's wrong with me! After all, my Christmas special final story (the last chapter of Cameron and Ryan's tale, no less!) is still floating in the ether, nothing's been seen nor heard of from my usual (if not traditional) MPreg March series, and that says nothing of other potential uploads. Faora's gone dark! He's abandoned us! He doesn't like furries anymore! Oh noooooo!
Silly!
For inquiring minds, this is my year in review:
- Editing a novel for submission. Non-furry novel, so this is a big deal!
- MOAR novel editing. Seriously, I've got one shot with this thing, and I'd hate to blow it by missing an important gender-neutral pronoun!
- Broke my back. Those that know me know that this is not an unusual thing, but this time it was a sprained muscle that laid me out for a couple weeks. No fun!
- Resurgence of one-and-a-half year old depression that I had entirely thought I'd dealt with. Conscious mind! Subconscious mind! Round Two... FIGHT!
- Complete LITERARY breakdown due to a single novel editing issue. ONE FUCKING PAGE OF SYNOPSIS CANNOT BE THIS HARD TO FIX.
That stuff's all kinda cruddy! But hey, how about some nice things to balance it out?
- New friends are always nice to make. Bonus points for their incessant desire to 'ride the dragon'. Oh, otters. Thou art so funny!
- Was given a microphone and told to emcee a wedding. Was the most awesome person there... well, save the lucky couple, of course (I was a very close second).
- Good friend and all-around awesome dude Whyte Yote did a great reading of my story Poison, from a couple years ago (when I FINISHED my Christmas specials!). It went up on the Bad Dog Book Club, and then was discussed by the awesome Skip Ruddertail and Toonces. Have at thee: http://baddogbookclub.com/
- Guild Wars 2. I can get the pre-purchace collector's edition. WOO. Being Australian doesn't always mean being doomed!
- Twitter. Should probably be up there with the bad stuff, but I capitulated for GW2 tracking, because I am a raging fanboi. More followers would mean more reason for me to hurl 140-char® comments around, so you can find me as faorameridian Poke me! Ask me questions! Do... whatever the fuck it is people do on Twitter. So yeah. Twitter.
- And, as of today, MAILING my novel off for consideration. Yep. Finally doing it.
So, what does this all mean for my furry writing? Well... not a lot, really! My life's a little more turbulent than I'm really comfy with right now, but that doesn't mean that things are going to continue that way. It does, however, mean that my writing time has to become a lot more focused. I want to write. Well... that's not strictly true. I NEED to write. I can't exactly STOP writing. But because of high stress and my inability to use all of my day to write, I have to focus on priorities. And, unfortunately, that means furry writing falls by the wayside.
It's not all bad news! I'm not cutting furry writing out entirely! You'll see furry novels and novellas out of me in the coming months, put up here and on SoFurry. You'll see shorter, more traditionally spooge-laced pieces out of me, too! I have a whole folder FULL of stories I need to write in that field!
But my real love in writing is novels. Furry, non-furry... doesn't matter which. But as I'm trying to make a career out of this, my non-furry projects rank just a liiiiiittle bit higher. Besides which, it's all new to me! I was writing furry material before I even knew there was a subculture built up around it and, odd as it may sound, having human characters is actually a refreshing challenge for me. I've grown so used to the twitch of a tail, the perk of ears and the bristling of hackles that I've actually had a lot of trouble adjusting to 'standard' writing again. I love it! Healthy doses of furry-inspired fantasy races are helping ease the transition back, though!
So... yeah, that's it! I'll still be around SF and FA, but not posting anything until I have something worth posting. Don't worry; there's stuff coming! I promise. I swear, on my writing.
But until then, take care! Poke me sometime on Twitter! Eat a cake! Save me a slice!
- Fae
You might have been wondering exactly what the hell's wrong with me! After all, my Christmas special final story (the last chapter of Cameron and Ryan's tale, no less!) is still floating in the ether, nothing's been seen nor heard of from my usual (if not traditional) MPreg March series, and that says nothing of other potential uploads. Faora's gone dark! He's abandoned us! He doesn't like furries anymore! Oh noooooo!
Silly!
For inquiring minds, this is my year in review:
- Editing a novel for submission. Non-furry novel, so this is a big deal!
- MOAR novel editing. Seriously, I've got one shot with this thing, and I'd hate to blow it by missing an important gender-neutral pronoun!
- Broke my back. Those that know me know that this is not an unusual thing, but this time it was a sprained muscle that laid me out for a couple weeks. No fun!
- Resurgence of one-and-a-half year old depression that I had entirely thought I'd dealt with. Conscious mind! Subconscious mind! Round Two... FIGHT!
- Complete LITERARY breakdown due to a single novel editing issue. ONE FUCKING PAGE OF SYNOPSIS CANNOT BE THIS HARD TO FIX.
That stuff's all kinda cruddy! But hey, how about some nice things to balance it out?
- New friends are always nice to make. Bonus points for their incessant desire to 'ride the dragon'. Oh, otters. Thou art so funny!
- Was given a microphone and told to emcee a wedding. Was the most awesome person there... well, save the lucky couple, of course (I was a very close second).
- Good friend and all-around awesome dude Whyte Yote did a great reading of my story Poison, from a couple years ago (when I FINISHED my Christmas specials!). It went up on the Bad Dog Book Club, and then was discussed by the awesome Skip Ruddertail and Toonces. Have at thee: http://baddogbookclub.com/
- Guild Wars 2. I can get the pre-purchace collector's edition. WOO. Being Australian doesn't always mean being doomed!
- Twitter. Should probably be up there with the bad stuff, but I capitulated for GW2 tracking, because I am a raging fanboi. More followers would mean more reason for me to hurl 140-char® comments around, so you can find me as faorameridian Poke me! Ask me questions! Do... whatever the fuck it is people do on Twitter. So yeah. Twitter.
- And, as of today, MAILING my novel off for consideration. Yep. Finally doing it.
So, what does this all mean for my furry writing? Well... not a lot, really! My life's a little more turbulent than I'm really comfy with right now, but that doesn't mean that things are going to continue that way. It does, however, mean that my writing time has to become a lot more focused. I want to write. Well... that's not strictly true. I NEED to write. I can't exactly STOP writing. But because of high stress and my inability to use all of my day to write, I have to focus on priorities. And, unfortunately, that means furry writing falls by the wayside.
It's not all bad news! I'm not cutting furry writing out entirely! You'll see furry novels and novellas out of me in the coming months, put up here and on SoFurry. You'll see shorter, more traditionally spooge-laced pieces out of me, too! I have a whole folder FULL of stories I need to write in that field!
But my real love in writing is novels. Furry, non-furry... doesn't matter which. But as I'm trying to make a career out of this, my non-furry projects rank just a liiiiiittle bit higher. Besides which, it's all new to me! I was writing furry material before I even knew there was a subculture built up around it and, odd as it may sound, having human characters is actually a refreshing challenge for me. I've grown so used to the twitch of a tail, the perk of ears and the bristling of hackles that I've actually had a lot of trouble adjusting to 'standard' writing again. I love it! Healthy doses of furry-inspired fantasy races are helping ease the transition back, though!
So... yeah, that's it! I'll still be around SF and FA, but not posting anything until I have something worth posting. Don't worry; there's stuff coming! I promise. I swear, on my writing.
But until then, take care! Poke me sometime on Twitter! Eat a cake! Save me a slice!
- Fae
I'm Back!
Posted 14 years agoSWEET MERCIFUL CRAPSHIT! Faora is alive?!
Yes, somehow and somewhat, I've managed to survive just fine these last few months. Life's not easy (especially when you put yourself in a position to screw yourself over!), but somehow I've emerged from everything I put me through as an older, wiser, but still-writing dragon. Huzzah to me!
Firstly, sorry if I worried anyone! The old journal I put up for my vanishing act was only meant to be a temporary thing. I expected to be back here sooner, but I wound up instead staying off the grid for a little bit. A part of it was because I was too busy with real-life stuff to do internet things like this, and a part of it was because I've been working away at non-furry writing for a good long while. If things go the way I'd like, you may be seeing my work on shelves sometime in the next couple years. Here's hoping!
Secondly, M-Preg March. I said I'd probably do SOMETHING for it, but I wound up not this year. That's not to say I'm abandoning it, though! It's a fun little diversion from my other writing, and I look forward to presenting a new Serevokin story in March 2012. And there might even be a nice little extra in there too, but just tuck that thought away for later.
Thirdly, Fae's Christmas Music-Themed Special is all go! You'll get five new songs with stories set to them, with all the bells and whistles! I'll say flat out right now that you will see a bit more of my lovable crossdressing foxy slut 'Alisha' this year, and you'll reach the conclusion of the Ryan/Cameron Christmas Day story storyline. I'm not sure if I'll continue the Christmas Special stories in the same format next year as I have with the last three years, but we'll see. I hope you enjoy them, when I put them up!
Finally, you're going to get a little bit of upload bombing from me! Already up before this journal is a Flash Fiction piece called Reunion. It'll be joined soon by another piece of Flash Fiction (The Bond) and a six-part commission-turned-gift series called Beyond Expectations. Now, a lot of that series is going to be M/F based, with a couple of clean pieces involved too, but I heartily encourage anyone who's interested in commissions of their own from me to have a little looksie and see what they think.
Until the next time,
- Fae
Yes, somehow and somewhat, I've managed to survive just fine these last few months. Life's not easy (especially when you put yourself in a position to screw yourself over!), but somehow I've emerged from everything I put me through as an older, wiser, but still-writing dragon. Huzzah to me!
Firstly, sorry if I worried anyone! The old journal I put up for my vanishing act was only meant to be a temporary thing. I expected to be back here sooner, but I wound up instead staying off the grid for a little bit. A part of it was because I was too busy with real-life stuff to do internet things like this, and a part of it was because I've been working away at non-furry writing for a good long while. If things go the way I'd like, you may be seeing my work on shelves sometime in the next couple years. Here's hoping!
Secondly, M-Preg March. I said I'd probably do SOMETHING for it, but I wound up not this year. That's not to say I'm abandoning it, though! It's a fun little diversion from my other writing, and I look forward to presenting a new Serevokin story in March 2012. And there might even be a nice little extra in there too, but just tuck that thought away for later.
Thirdly, Fae's Christmas Music-Themed Special is all go! You'll get five new songs with stories set to them, with all the bells and whistles! I'll say flat out right now that you will see a bit more of my lovable crossdressing foxy slut 'Alisha' this year, and you'll reach the conclusion of the Ryan/Cameron Christmas Day story storyline. I'm not sure if I'll continue the Christmas Special stories in the same format next year as I have with the last three years, but we'll see. I hope you enjoy them, when I put them up!
Finally, you're going to get a little bit of upload bombing from me! Already up before this journal is a Flash Fiction piece called Reunion. It'll be joined soon by another piece of Flash Fiction (The Bond) and a six-part commission-turned-gift series called Beyond Expectations. Now, a lot of that series is going to be M/F based, with a couple of clean pieces involved too, but I heartily encourage anyone who's interested in commissions of their own from me to have a little looksie and see what they think.
Until the next time,
- Fae
Extended Vanishing Act
Posted 14 years agoJust a quick little note to point out that I'm going to be vanished from all the intarwebs for an extended period following an international move that's going on... uh... *checks his watch* ... now!
Don't fear, though! The Fae shall return, should he survive the combined evils of Bus, Customs and Plane! And on that day, this journal shall vanish and be replaced by one that extolls my victorious strength and glorious power!
Or something to that effect.
- Faora
Don't fear, though! The Fae shall return, should he survive the combined evils of Bus, Customs and Plane! And on that day, this journal shall vanish and be replaced by one that extolls my victorious strength and glorious power!
Or something to that effect.
- Faora
Faora's Commission Information And Availability
Posted 15 years agoThis is just a little Journal entry that I'm going to often link to, in order to provide details about my commission rates. Yes, that's right: Faora now takes commissions! You too can, for the rates listed below, have for yourself a story of your own specifications written by yours truly! All prices listed are in $US.
Flash Fiction (-1000 words): $15
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4072100/
Short Story (2000-4000 words): $30
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2496184/
Average Story (4000-6000 words): $50
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2516927/
Long Story (6000-10,000 words): $90
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2504436/
Very Long Story (10,000-15,000 words): $150
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3206190/
Additionally, certain aspects to the stories you desire may make things a little more difficult (or more easy!) for me to work with. Check out these modifiers!
Exceptionally Long Story (15,000 + words): +$100 per 5000 words.
Note that I, as a general rule, won't take stories that ask for wordcounts over 25,000 words. That's getting a bit much, guys!
Story Series: +$10 per story.
Utilizing My Settings: +$25, if I allow it.
I'm very defensive of them. Note that this currently includes Renthani, Vasierj, the Serevokin world and my Sol setting.
Utilizing My Characters: +$25 per character, if I allow it.
I'm even more defensive of my characters. If I allow it, consider yourself lucky!
Unsavoury/Difficult Kink: +$25 per kink.
I'm pretty flexible and I like a challenge, but some things are just distasteful or too difficult for me to write without a little extra incentive. Some kinks will be refused on a situation by situation basis.
Interesting Idea: -$10.
Intrigue me! I like to write interesting stuff, and you can get a discount for it!
Basic Outline/Creative Freedom: -$10, but only for Long or longer stories.
Just giving me the bare bones of what you'd like lets me have a little more freedom to stretch my literary legs. It can earn you a discount!
So how do we handle commissions with me, then? Well, I'll tell you! First, fire off a note to me here or on SoFurry! Detail the Length listed above, and tell me about what you'd like. I'll let you know what modifiers apply to your commission(s), and total it up for you. If you like it, send a confirmation note and I'll queue you up!
I won't expect payment until I have a completed first draft for you. Once I've received it via PayPal, you'll have access to that draft to have a look over it, and we can work together to edit it up however you'd like. The edits won't cost you extra; I aim to please!
I don't know how large a batch of commissions I'll be taking at a time, but if I somehow take too many for me to handle in a certain space of time, I'll stick you at the top of the queue for the next batch. You'll not have paid me yet anyway, so it's all good!
So if you're interested in nabbing a commission piece from me, send me a note and let me know! I hope to have my first queued up commissions established in a week, so get in while the getting's good!
- Faora
Flash Fiction (-1000 words): $15
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4072100/
Short Story (2000-4000 words): $30
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2496184/
Average Story (4000-6000 words): $50
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2516927/
Long Story (6000-10,000 words): $90
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2504436/
Very Long Story (10,000-15,000 words): $150
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3206190/
Additionally, certain aspects to the stories you desire may make things a little more difficult (or more easy!) for me to work with. Check out these modifiers!
Exceptionally Long Story (15,000 + words): +$100 per 5000 words.
Note that I, as a general rule, won't take stories that ask for wordcounts over 25,000 words. That's getting a bit much, guys!
Story Series: +$10 per story.
Utilizing My Settings: +$25, if I allow it.
I'm very defensive of them. Note that this currently includes Renthani, Vasierj, the Serevokin world and my Sol setting.
Utilizing My Characters: +$25 per character, if I allow it.
I'm even more defensive of my characters. If I allow it, consider yourself lucky!
Unsavoury/Difficult Kink: +$25 per kink.
I'm pretty flexible and I like a challenge, but some things are just distasteful or too difficult for me to write without a little extra incentive. Some kinks will be refused on a situation by situation basis.
Interesting Idea: -$10.
Intrigue me! I like to write interesting stuff, and you can get a discount for it!
Basic Outline/Creative Freedom: -$10, but only for Long or longer stories.
Just giving me the bare bones of what you'd like lets me have a little more freedom to stretch my literary legs. It can earn you a discount!
So how do we handle commissions with me, then? Well, I'll tell you! First, fire off a note to me here or on SoFurry! Detail the Length listed above, and tell me about what you'd like. I'll let you know what modifiers apply to your commission(s), and total it up for you. If you like it, send a confirmation note and I'll queue you up!
I won't expect payment until I have a completed first draft for you. Once I've received it via PayPal, you'll have access to that draft to have a look over it, and we can work together to edit it up however you'd like. The edits won't cost you extra; I aim to please!
I don't know how large a batch of commissions I'll be taking at a time, but if I somehow take too many for me to handle in a certain space of time, I'll stick you at the top of the queue for the next batch. You'll not have paid me yet anyway, so it's all good!
So if you're interested in nabbing a commission piece from me, send me a note and let me know! I hope to have my first queued up commissions established in a week, so get in while the getting's good!
- Faora
25 journals skipped
