Stuff I definitely need to start thinking about doing real soon now

I've got a whole bunch of Taral Wayne images more or less ready to go online, but on top of that there's a raft of other stuff related to TV shows and books that he sent me and needs to be organised into pages and updated, and there are also a few things I've found that also have to be uploaded onto the Art and Stuff index, which itself needs reorganising into a more logical structure.

(Gasps for breath)

And then there are the website restoration projects I've been meaning to get around to. I've got most of the files and pages from the old Hall of Statuary site and have posted a beta version, but they still need a bit of organising before they can go on line properly. Same goes for the restored 2003 Medusa Realm, only more so because it's a lot bigger. Ultimately I'd like to combine it with the 2007 version to present the most complete version. I was hesitant because I thought Dmuk would be doing that himself, but if there's no activity at his end I might just go ahead unilaterally.

(Bigger gasp for breath)

AND... it would be nice if I could also restore the sidebar sites, The Gorgon Garden and Medusa XL, but they have a lot more missing images between them. If I can't find those images I might just create a hybrid Gorgon XL site from the ones that are left.

The Pygmalion Syndrome's 12th anniversary is coming up soon, so it would be nice to get at least some of those projects completed by then, but realistically I'm never going to finish them all by then.

Oh, well. Wish me luck. I've a feeling I'm going to need it.

Placeholding redux

I don't know if this blog qualifies as the least updated ever, but it's got to be right up there in the top 10, if not the top 5. The site updates a bit more frequently, but still not as frequently as I'd like. Partly it's because of RL commitments, but I guess at least part of it might be attributed to laziness... I am, after all, the founder-member of the Global Procrastination Society, or at least I will be, just as soon as I get around to setting it up.

One of the things I'd like to add to my site is... another cached archive site. Miraculously, I've managed to retrieve all of the pages and enough of the files to restore another little slice of ASFR nostalgia to the web. The only thing I don't have is permission from the site owner, or in fact any word from him at all, despite sending him a message ages ago. Maybe he didn't get it, or just decided not to reply, or maybe he's just another potential Procrastination Society member. I'll definitely make a more assertive effort to contact him in the next few days, and then hopefully I'll know whether or not he thinks the idea stinks.

Meanwhile, some of you may recall that I was writing an epic erotic web novel called Ketrin. What's up with that? Well... still writing it, slowly, scene by scene, painfully working out the complex plot details and praying I'll be able to get the damn thing finished... between those long, long periods when I'm not writing it, that is.

I have got to get around to starting that society.

Placeholding

Just a little note to reassure you that I didn't die in 2009. I'm not saying this blog will necessarily be abuzz with updates from now on, but I might just find something to say every two or three months. We'll see.

Merry Christmas

Well, it looks as if I may just manage to get one new story under my belt by December 31, bringing the annual total to 2, so it won't have been a totally wasted year. Part of the reason for my lack of productivity is that I've been involved in an unrelated non-web project which has been eating into more of my spare time than I thought it would. I may be doing less of that next year, and if so I'll have more time to write.

I'm also hoping to finish Ketrin Part 9, if not by the end of the year then at least by mid-January.

Oh, boy, Ketrin. Is it me, or does it seem slightly ludicrous to spend nine years writing a novel and only manage to complete 10,000 words a year? I keep telling myself to hurry up and finish the damn thing, but as usual it just crawls along at its own pace. Believe it or not, I do have an ending planned which will make some kind of logical sense and give satisfactory closure to the various character arcs,* and nobody will be happier than me if I manage to complete it before the ice caps melt.**

The thing is, I've always considered Ketrin to be my baby. I've lavished what I hope is some good prose and plotting on it, and I've always tried to make the characters and their environments as varied and interesting as possible. Unfortunately, that means anyone who wants to read it just for the porn is going to be disappointed by all the non-erotic material, and anyone who just wants an adventure story may be put off by the sex.

Or am I just over-analysing here? The last thing I want to do is come across like Dan Shive, bless him, who spends an entire page analysing the minutiae of each six-panel strip.

I did post a link to Ketrin on Pages Unbound, where it received glowing praise for its prose and some useful criticism over other points. But apart from that solicited opinion, I've had little or no feedback about the story. (No, Marc, I'm not talking about you.) I supose I shouldn't complain too much - this is the internet, after all, where anything can happen and very seldom does, and when it does it's often with glacial sloth.** All I'm saying is, if there is anyone out there who's actually reading and enjoying my stories then please, please, please let me know about it. There's the link, right over there.

Have a great Christmas and I'll try to update more frequently n 2009.

----
*Note: I've never liked the term "arc" because it implies something that goes up and then comes crashing back down again. I'd prefer a word that suggests continuous progress instead, but apparently there isn't one in common usage.

**I believe these two references constitute a mixed metaphor of sorts. If the ice caps melt there won't be any glaciers either.

Wow, no updates for over a year

Checking my site stats, I notice that I had a couple of visits from the link on Blogmalion, which reminded me that it's been over a year since I updated. I originally set up this blog to talk about all of the exciting projects related to my site... except that there haven't really been that many at all. Shamefully it's been well over a year since I wrote a female story (Flora and Fauna), and over six months since I posted my last male story (part 8 of Ketrin). Most of the updates over the past few months have been related to other people's work, most notably the Taral Wayne gallery, but when it comes to writing my own fiction the muse seems to be taking an extended vacation right now, although I have been slowly working on Ketrin Parts 9 and 10. Believe it or not, I do have an ending planned for Ketrin, although at the rate I'm going it'll be years before anyone gets to read it, and I'm as depressed about that as anybody.

Meanwhile, some stupid mother****** went and spammed out the Pygmalion Yahoo! Group, but I'm less pissed off about the spammer than about Yahoo!'s apparent indifference to the problem. Abandoned groups are sprouting spam like weeds and Yahoo! does nothing about it. Does anyone have a physical address for the Yahoo! Groups HQ, preferably with a large window through which some heavy blunt object might hypothetically be thrown???

Anyway, this is just to let everybody know that I'm not quite ready to drop dead yet, and neither is this blog. As always feedback, criticism and/or advice would be appreciated.... anybody? Hello?

How stupid do they think I am?

Here's an e-mail I received today:

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It's nice to know that my site is "adeptly designed and rich with content", but why do I get the feeling that they haven't even read the fucking thing?

Meet the new year... same as the old year?

Good grief, look at the time. It's already halfway through January, one twenty-fourth of the year has gone already, and what have I got to show for it?

Well, I have spent some time working on a new female story and I've been plotting the next instalment of Ketrin. In addition, I've been looking for some of the missing images on the Medusa Realm Statue Art Pages.

Last year I managed to complete 7 new stories. That's pretty good - I only managed to beat that once, with 8 stories in 2004. I'd love to match or exceed that total this year, but I'm juggling several other projects at the moment, not all of them related to the site, and sadly none of them involving money.

Anyway, given that not all I'm doing is related to the site I've decided that not all of my blog post will be related to it either. Stay tuned for some of my crappy opinions on all and sundry.