Blogocentric Formulations

A New Personal Challenge

So I'm trying something new this month, writing-wise. Usually, I write my short stories in one or two sittings... I get inspired, and I write until I've explored the entire idea, from beginning to end. It's considerably easier when it's, say, a 1000 word story or less, but I've also cranked out 3000 and 4000 word stories in the same single (or double sitting).

Anyway, I've been inspired by two contests on this site. Mara McBain's "Erotic Tales of Pleasure and Pain", and Adriana Noir's "A Midsummer Night's Scream". Both of these lovely ladies have created contests that run over a period of months... and encourage stories that are well-developed and have rich characters in time. And it seems to me that it wouldn't be doing the contests justice if I just came up with stories and cranked them out in my usual fashion.

So with my entries for these two contests, I'm challenging myself to develop stories over a period of time... to really think about what I'm writing, plan out a narrative, and take some serious time to think about my characters and what I want to accomplish with the story.

And there you have it... my new personal challenge. To take the time to properly think about, develop, and carefully construct and write a piece for each of these contests. Erotica and horror are two of my favorite genres, after all!

Entries are due on November 1st, so if you're interested, please feel free to check them out and let me know what you think of my endeavors!