Rasufelle's blog

One hundred forty-two

That is how many pieces of fiction I've posted to the site.

Of course, this is a bit selective. I skipped title pages, obviously, but I'm also not including things like the lyrics to the "Hollywood!" theme song (a story I still plan to write, one of these days,) the BC Chat Gaming posts (don't remember those? not surprising, nobody read them :P ) and similarly not-really-stories-but-in-the-stories-list-anyway bits. Likewise, it ALSO doesn't include blog entries or forum topics, both of which have seen short bits of fiction shared as well.

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Melanie's Rules for Non-Suck Writing: Addendum

I had a user of the site (who I hope to see more stories from soon!) contact me about my last list of Rules for Non-Suck Writing and ask my advice about a couple of things. While I was talking to them I made an observation that stuck me as something that could be really useful to share with everyone else too, so I thought I'd add it here:

Rule 11: Every Character is Don Quixote

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Melanie's Rules for Non-Suck Writing: Part Deux

My first post about my personal rules for what makes writing -- whether it be games, movies, stories, etc. -- good or bad did really well, and a lot of people seemed to think I had good advice, and good points.

Well, of course I'm going to take a chance of mucking all that up by adding more!

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Pathfinder players!

For those participating in the role-playing game tonight...

If you aren't already aware, the chat server for BC has changed to http://chat.bigclosetr.us/c/ . It DOESN'T auto-reroute you to a room, though, so you'll have to manually direct to the dungeon via the [/JOIN dungeon] command.

I'm heading there now, and I hope to see everyone for the game tonight!

Melanie E.

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For the curious, an update.

Yep. I'm still here. I check the site every day, in fact, though I've been quite remiss in my commenting.

Work is keeping me thrashed. Writing is, as a result, going slow. With luck the more I get used to the former the better I'll do at the latter. Until that time, though, sorry for the delay on any and all projects I've been working on, though just so everyone's up to date...

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Satoru Iwata

For many of us who've grown up primarily over the last 25 years, Satoru Iwata was an important figure in our lives. As a member of the team at Nintendo, and CEO, he's influenced a lot of us more than we may care to admit, and for many of us -- such as myself -- the products he's helped bring to the market have been one of the few things in life at times that helped us deal with the pain of transgenderism, adolescence, and just life in general.

I'm not sure what Satoru's stance on trans issues or LGBT stuff in general was, but it really doesn't matter at the moment.

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Though political, still relevant

Today is shaping up to be a landmark day for equality in the US. Heck, a landmark month in certain ways, given recent changes to the standing of TG treatment in government health care. Whether you agree with gay marriage or not, though, let's all give a few moments to feel happy for all the people whose lives, both now and in the future, have a chance of being enriched by the decision the court made today.

Melanie E.

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Thrashed

On the one hand (and the more important one at that,) it's GREAT to have a job again, and I'm making more per hour than I've ever made before, with semi-stable hours to boot.

On the other....

I'm completely, utterly thrashed at the moment. As mentally ready as I was to get back to work, my body is definitely feeling it, especially after two six-day-in-a-row sessions virtually back to back. I'm sore, and I'm exhausted to the point that writing has been the last thing on my mind: heck, some days I've barely gotten out of my bed until time to go to work.

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Today was my first day at my new job!

Crazy times have been had the last few weeks, but I am now employed again!

I'm back at Wal Mart, though this time in Mountain View rather than Heber Springs. The upshot is that it's less than 5 minutes' drive or 15 or so walking away from my aunt's, where I'm now staying, so gas costs are no longer an issue at all. I'll also be making more an hour than I ever have before, AND working a relatively stable schedule since I'm an "IMS Associate," from 10 PM to 7 AM.

So, yayness! Money! Progress! WOOO!

Melanie E.

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To Those Who Said To Hold Off Posting My Summer Vacation Story

I just have to say . . . good call.

It's coming along, but at this point I don't think I'll finish it in time for the contest. Not because I don't know where to take it, but because it's not the most important writing project I have right now.

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What Does An Author Owe Their Readers?

Writing is hard work.

It doesn't matter if you do it for a site like BC, or for magazines, or just in your journal; writing is VERY hard work. It takes passion, it takes practice, and it takes the guts to put your words out into the world for other people to see.

Writing isn't a one-sided endeavor, though. When you write something and release it into the world, there is always someone else who is just as important to the success or failure of your work as you, the writer, are.

The reader.

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Write Then Post, or Post as I Write?

My entry for the Summer Getaway contest is coming along nicely. I've got what I think are fun characters, a simple but fun plot, and some fun stuff planned for it.

So, I need to know: should I finish writing the entire thing before I start posting it? Or, should I post it as I write it?

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Gender Identity And You

I've said it before, and I'll likely say it many many more times: I love video games.

That said, there are a lot of problems that the industry has with not taking alternative sexualities or even anything other than guys into consideration when designing games. Sure, that's slowly changing, but it can always use a bit of a push.

This is my idea for a game that could do just that.

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Sometimes, the world is beautiful

I'm not a big fan of the sun most of the time, but today?

Today is beautiful.

It's in the high 60's, and the birds are out singing, the insects and frogs and other wildlife are joining in, the air is fresh after a few days of rain, and it's just absolutely gorgeous, the kind of day you want to throw the windows open and just let the fresh air wash away all the staleness from a stuffy, enclosed winter.

So, that's just what I've done.

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Relationship Tags in Stories

Zoe Taylor is an amazing writer, and if you haven't checked out her stuff, well, you should.

But, having said that, she tends to write works that lean toward lesbian characters, which I've admitted before usually detracts from my interest in a story.

Her latest story didn't have the lesbian tag, though, so I PMed her about it to ask if it was or not before diving in. I got my answer, and everything was good.

Or was it?

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A Surprising Amount Of Response

My second Kingston Academy Shorts has gotten a LOT more user response, and a lot more quickly, than the first one did!

So, I'd like to know: what about Ruby's short story (both before and after the rather important fixes) appealed to readers more than Jules' little mini-adventure?

Are there any characters in particular you'd like to see shorts for in the future, or other PFH mini-stories you think would be fun?

And, lastly: how many other people want to see the next chapter of Angharad's Princess For Hire: The British Kid? Show of hands?

*raises hand*

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Pickles: The Game

So, a few of you might remember my Pickles choose-your-own-adventure story I started here a few years back. I still think it was a really cool idea, but it never worked out QUITE the way I wanted it to, and eventually just got kinda ridiculous and dragged down by my renowned poor dedication to a regular posting schedule.

Well, I've figured out how to use TWINE.

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Alternate Identities

I like the name Rasufelle.

It's a name I came up with many many years ago; I was messing around with the Dungeons and Dragons second edition ruleset, a PC program designed for creating characters in fact, and I built myself my first ever elf rogue (drow at the time, though I've since learned better.) The only issue was I needed a name for the character. From somewhere in my brain, unbidden, arose the name Rasufelle.

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Then and Now

It's amazing how much difference time and experience can make in the way that you write a story. Really, it is!

I've been thinking about this a lot this last year, mostly while working with the rewrite of Oh, Cheers, but also now that I'm cleaning up/tightening up Princess For Hire too, it really strikes me just how different my work comes out with more effort put into it.

Early on in the rewrite of Oh, Cheers, I tied to keep things pretty close to the original, but I still found myself changing things quite a bit. I've learned a lot in the last seven years or so.

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I've spent nearly a third of my life on BC

So, according to my account page I've been on here 7 years 10 months.

Next month I turn 28. So, let's say 28 years old and 8 of those years have been spent as a member of the site. I'll also be honest and say that, of the time I've been a member of the site, I've stayed logged on pretty much constantly, at least during the times I've even had a computer to log on WITH.

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When IS the last time anyone heard from Ellen Hayes?

I got a very nice comment from her back when I was posting the Little by Little stuff (though I think I lost her respect in the PMs that followed,) and the last Tuck note says that a new chapter SHOULD have been out last September.

Nada.

Does anybody keep up with her, and know if she is doing okay? Seeing more of the story would be nice, too, but just knowing she hasn't dropped off the face of the earth takes precedence.

Melanie E.

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