The long miscellaneous, obligatory blog note thing
Scores: I don’t care so long as you score my stories with a clear conscience. I don’t lose sleep over scores. If you want to spank me with a 1 be my guest. I’ve been here for awhile and I’ve been spanked before. If you want to cheer me up with a 10 that’s fine too. Scores are largely driven by genre and story elements/themes and the merits of any given story are subjective in any event. Every reader has a different set of standards and being scored makes as much sense to me as entering my pet goldfish in a shaggy dog contest. There's a punchline in there someplace, but it isn't a very funny one.
Reviews: By all means, you reviewers out there, feel free to review any of my stories. It’s always a fun little kick to get that little email “Your story…has been reviewed” in my mailbox…I’d review myself if it wouldn’t make me seem like a total ass and I often do it anyway. I call those "Author's Notes" and usually don't include them on this site because nobody really cares how I write, only what I write.
Email: Anonymous email is turned on and I won’t ever change that. I like email and it means more to me than scores do. I tend to judge the worth of any given story by the amount and quality of email it generates, not by what it scores. “Reasons Until After” is a good example of that. It scores amazingly low for how good it really is, but the amount of positive email was amazingly high. I took a lot of drive-by spankings on that story.
Pen Names: I have a few of them, but not nearly so many as most people assume. Kylie X. is my collection point for interracial stories. T.S.Severe is my folder for transgender stories. Jack Valentine will continue as my author of choice for pedophilia; and Evil Little Sister will be my evil little sister and post Lolita Femdom.
Why? Because I realized that once I reached a hundred stories under the rache pen name it became increasingly difficult to keep track of them, for one thing. Pen names are an organizational tool. It’s also amusing to create a persona with a vested interest in the subject matter. Kylie is a very fun person to be while I write and her stories are very much her own. Some people will think I’m crazy, but perhaps some authors will know what I mean.
rache will ALWAYS get the bestiality stories and any story which I think is really good regardless of genre or theme. Again, to reference “Reasons Until After” I posted that as rache and not T.S.Severe largely because I wanted to assure the widest possible SOL audience for it. rache is on a lot more favorites lists than Severe is and that was my reasoning there.
continued next post...
The obligatory note on scores and junk (2)
2008-09-14
Updates: My older stories were not well written as I was still learning the vagaries of the English language. Speaking it is much easier than writing it, let me assure you. A few of them are translations and I really am one of the world’s worst translators when it comes to fiction. Technical documents are much, much easier, but who wants to read those? As time permits I will be returning to my older stories and editing them for grammar, spelling, and continuity. I’ll inform readers of such updates as they occur via my blog.
Themes: I like to write about anything because that is the greatest advantage to writing fiction. Obviously I have my personal interests, but I do not exclude any theme or concept solely because it doesn’t appeal to me. Quite the contrary, the less inclined I am to view a fetish favorably, the more excited I am to explore it. People should not mistake a narrator’s enthusiasm or reluctance for the author’s, in my stories or in anyone else’s. Unfortunately, readers often do and I haven’t found a way to discourage that as much as I would like.
I enjoy writing first person more than I enjoy third person. It allows me a greater appreciation for the experience that I’m trying to imagine and convey. Third person, for me, feels very much like cheating and I find it difficult to suspend belief when I read it. Writing third person is very easy. Too easy and I choose not to do it, although there are exceptions that I make for purposes of storytelling, such as the “Tina Vasquez” story I’m currently writing.
Present tense is a tool which I have used, but a difficult one and I think the concept escapes most people. There are far too many poorly written present tense stories out there and they give the rest of us a bad name. I’ve written articles on this before, so I’ll stop now before I really get into “Writing in Theory and Practice” and put us all to sleep.
Avoid second person like the plague, I do and you should too. Unless you’re a genuine masochist and even then…
Who am I really: All you have to know is that I’m a writer. I’ve been paid to do it, but I much prefer writing for free. That makes me a slut rather than a whore, a moody distinction, I agree, but relevant nonetheless. Seriously, amateur writing is a lot less work and I abhor deadlines and teleconferences. The nice to know stuff is that I’m a girl. I’m neither white nor black. I’m wealthy, well educated, and reasonably smart. I live in Asia, enjoy the perks of multiple citizenship, and work with my husband for a non-profit organization that I’m proud to be associated with. I also own three dogs, well…one of them owns me, actually.
Now you can believe all of that or some of that, or even none of that. It doesn’t matter in the least. It won’t change what I write and it shouldn’t change what you read. The important thing to remember is that like you, I’m a living, breathing person and deserving of your respect and courtesy. I’m here for the same reason you are, to be entertained. Sometimes we will share something which amuses us both; other times what I enjoy won’t be to your taste and vice versa. We bear no obligations other than those of strangers in polite conversation and I honestly have no other expectations of you. What you expect of me is entirely your own affair.
Best always,
Rachael
