=================================================
--- Who Are You And Why Are You Ruining My Story? ---
--- By Christine Calnin ---
================================================

Who are these people you've created and why don't you like them?

Characterization is the most important part of your story. If you don't like your characters, why should anyone else? Some might argue that plot is number one, but think about it -- if you have a great plot, but disagreeable, unlikable, unsympathetic characters, what does it matter?

You must have a point at which you connect with the characters in a story, but if you don't have interesting characters, the rest is just window dressing.

The following are some writer's exercises guaranteed to get your pen flowing and your characters interesting.

1) Talk to your characters: Have a conversation with your character, on paper, and ask who they are, what they like, what the problem is --

ME: Molly, why are you having trouble deciding whether to marry George or Lance?
MOLLY: I like them both.
ME: Like or love?
MOLLY: Well, I love Lance, but George turns me on!
ME: But George is a drunk!
MOLLY: But he has a big Willy!
ME: But Lance has a nice -- car!
MOLLY: Yes, but it's to make up for what he lacks in his pants.

Hmm! Hash it out with your character and see what pops up or how your storyline might change or improve with what you have learned from them.

2) You've painted yourself into a corner -- change the paint, or move to another room.

Your character was on the right track; Mary, the happy housewife, had everything going for her, but BUMP. Now what? She's in a rut and has lost her luster. Even if it's totally off the wall, make your character do something completely OUT of character. You may change the story completely in the end, but now you have a few fresh ideas with which to work and may see your character in a new light. You know, Mary the housewife who develops a gambling problem and has to moonlight as a porno star -- now we're seeing a whole different "side" of Mary, aren't we? We now know that she has the capacity to be interesting. Your readers may never know of Mary's odd vices, but you do -- and it will reflect in your characterization.

3) Freak out -- Let your character have a total lapse of moral judgment, commit a crime or have a temper tantrum. Now write why. "Dear Grandma Mabel isn't really going to beat the town drunk to death with a dildo, but if she DID, you can bet..." You have to give people the capacity for evil and give them the chance to screw up. Nobody's perfect! We need to be able to sympathize or empathize with our characters or no one else will. I mean, who HASN'T thought about beating someone to death with a sex toy? Nevermind that last statement.

4) Let your characters write the story. I asked a writer friend of mine her opinion on a story and where I might go with it. She told me at this point it was no longer up to me; the characters had taken over the story and would finish telling it. After thinking about it, I realized she was right. Every time I started to say one thing, the characters said, "no way!" and it went the way they wanted it to. I thought this was one of the nicest complements I'd ever gotten and my characters have changed that story from a wannabe confessions mag piece about a woman with a sex addiction, to a series of novels in which the female characters use sex and murder as tools to clean up the scum of the world throughout history.

When I started writing the original story, I didn't like this character very much and certainly couldn't connect with her. I thought her addiction was not only selfish, but stupid because she didn't have a reason to justify it. After spending some time alone with her, in the little world I call my mind, I realized that she was too special to be a housewife with an addiction and no direction. She and I hashed it out and decided to change a few things. Now she's REAL -- a bit embellished, but real nonetheless.

Yes, I am urging you to make your characters do things that go against what they may believe, but this is an exercise to improve your characterization. When it all comes down to who that person is, these exercises have helped to make them who they are, and not FORCED them to be someone they don't WANT to be.

Forcing your character to do something or be someone they were not intended to be is unnatural and obvious. Add another character if you really need to, or reassess the character in question, but in the end, the character will be who they WANT to be, whether you like it or not; it is up to you to help them get there. You have created that life, let them LIVE it!

---

From children's literature to mystery, to erotica, Christine Calnin has entertained in print and online. She is author of the "Behind the Apron Series" -- coming soon to a book seller near you. Christine resides America's Dairyland with her husband and an assortment of cats, kids and cows. Check out her site at www.christinecalnin.com

============================================
--- Market Listings ---
============================================

AdultShop.com, Australia - Tantalising Tales Competition

We're looking for naughty, steamy, erotically inspired - squirm in our seats while we read - stories...fact or fiction...we don't care which, as long as it scorches the page. So make it sexy, make it original, make it 3000 words or less and WIN one of ten great prizes and have your story featured on our website. Entries close September 12, 2003. For competition guidelines see below or go to: http://shop.adultshop.com/features/tales.asp

Competition Guidelines

5 major prize-winners will score a Polaroid One camera along with $225 worth of hot adultshop.com goodies

5 runners up will win $60 worth of saucy adultshop.com goodies.

We're looking for naughty, steamy, erotically inspired - squirm in our seats while we read - stories...fact or fiction...we don't care which, as long as it scorches the page. So make it sexy, make it original, make it 3000 words or less and WIN. What could be simpler?

Your story can follow any path you wish it to, but it must incorporate the following two elements:

1. A clearly identifiable main character - male or female.
2. One of your characters must possess a mysterious photograph.

Other than the two elements above, the storyline is entirely up to you. Think about these things as you plan your erotic escapade...

Setting: perhaps your tale is one of lust in high luxury or a wicked romp in a wild and primitive setting.

Time: do you fabricate a scene from the future or delve into the time-worn past?

Sex Toys: you know we love 'em! Perhaps you could invent an entirely new toy or invent a new erotic use for a common household object?

How To Submit Your Story

Online: Click here and paste text into submission form. Complete entry details and hit Submit.

By Mail: Post your typed story, full name, postal address and email address to:
The Editor
PO Box 357
Northbridge WA 6865

So let that lusty literature loose and tell us a tale that tantalises us to our toes!

Good Luck!

Tantalising Tales Terms and Conditions

• By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these conditions.
• To enter, entrants must complete the official entry form found on www.adultshop.com with all requested details, read these conditions, and submit a "Tantalising Tale" entry.
• The contest is open to Australian residents only.
• Entrants must be aged 18+.
• Employees of AdultShop.com Ltd and associated divisions, and the immediate family of employees, are not permitted to enter.
• Entries must:
  
  i) be owned by the entrant
  
  ii) be free of any claims including copyright or trademark claims by other parties
  
  iii) not have been published previously
  
  iv) not be restricted in any way
  
  v) not infringe any third party rights
  
  vi) be no longer than 3000 words typed in 12pt with single spacing
  
  vii) agree to the publication of their entry on adultshop.com

  There is no limit on the number of entries per entrant.

  All submissions must be received by close of business, September 12th 2003.

  Judges will choose five (5) winners as having written the most original and erotically inspiring story.

  Chance plays no part in determining the winners.

  Any story received that, in the opinion of AdultShop.com, is fully or in part copied or plagiarised from another published work, will not be deemed a valid entry.

  The judges' decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

  Each of the five (5) major prize winners will receive a prize pack consisting of a Polaroid One camera and film, and hamper of AdultShop.com products, valued at $225. Five runners up will receive a hamper of AdultShop.com merchandise valued at approximately $60. Total prize value is $2,550.

  Prizes are not transferable, exchangeable or redeemable for cash.

  Winners will be notified by registered mail.

  Author retains copyright. However, by submitting a piece, we assume that you grant us the right to electronically publish your story on adultshop.com. Additionally, all entries will be archived on the adultshop.com web site in relation to this competition and may be used at our discretion in other promotional materials for a period of 12 months, unless you inform us otherwise. GirlPlay

  I am editing a literary collection on women's sexuality. I'm looking for personal essays, recollections, and some fictional stories that examine girls masturbating together as part of sexual development. This seems to be common, but often denied. When I was a child, I found my parents' vibrator and immediately introduced my neighborhood friends to my "discovery." Now that I'm an adult, I've met new friends who say they too engaged in some sort of sexual play with their childhood friends, and I have come to see that it is far from unusual.

  I'd like to know how you felt at the time. How old were you? Did you play with other girls often? How did the girls you were playing with react? How did the play begin and end? In what ways have your experiences informed your adult sexuality? I am concentrating on developmental sexual play as it occurs among girls in the absence of adults or boys. I do not plan to include any manuscript with a pen name that is ambiguous or misleading regarding gender.

  The deadline is open. There is no maximum or minimum length requirement, and I will consider including previously published work. No simultaneous submissions, please.
  
  My new contact info is evelyn_scott1@msn.com

  The URL for writers' guidelines for Girl Play is http://www.angelfire.com/celeb/girlplay/index.html

  ---

  Ellora's Cave Guidelines
  
  (Editor's Note: Ellora's Cave is categorized as Romantica, not porn)
  
  EC is ALWAYS open to new submissions.
  
  Send a synopsis and the first three to four chapters of your manuscript electronically via email (.doc or .rtf).
  
  We prefer category sized novels (around 40,000 words) and upwards, but also publish novellas as part of an anthology.
  
  25,000 word minimum for novellas in anthologies; 35,000 word minimum for stand alone titles.
  
  Notice for previously published authors: we will only publish your out-of-print books if you hold exclusive rights to them and can prove it.
  
  Royalty rate is 40% for single author titles in e-book format and 20% in paperback format... and is non-negotiable (unless you want less !).
  
  All manuscripts must contain sexual content that is rated Hard R at minimum and NC-17 at maximum (i.e. Dara Joy, some Linda Howard, Thea Devine, Susan Johnson, Jaid Black, Angela Knight, etc.) Bear in mind that Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc. caters to women readers. Although our male clientele grows daily, subject matter we feel will be a turn-off to the majority of female erotic romance fans out there will not be considered no matter how well written it is. Please note that strict erotica without romance is no longer accepted for consideration.
  
  No manuscript will be considered that is in any way demeaning to another individual or group of people. Although the line between erotica and pornography is often times a fuzzy one, here are the big no-nos which we don't feel fuzzy about in the slightest :
  
  NO pedophilia. If someone even sends in a script like this our editors are liable to dry heave and we WILL report you to local authorities as potential threats to society.
  
  NO bodily functions - i.e. "golden showers"
  
  NO necrophilia. (eek!)
  
  NO knives and stabbing weapons stuffed in various parts of the female anatomy. It's sad that this even has to be stated, but there it is.
  
  NO beastiality. Explanation: this rule refers to common animals indigenous to earth...this does not apply to shape-shifting protagonists and, depending upon how it's handled, might not apply to certain breeds of "otherworldly" animals in sci-fi titles (i.e. Jaid Black's Dementia).
  
  Questions? Unsure about whether we'll accept something in your manuscript? email us
  
  Click here for writing FAQ's
  
  Editor's Note: Speaking of Ellora's Cave, check out A Hero's Welcome by Jan Springer and Lauren Agony

  ---

  The Project: QueerLit Contest
  www.projectqueerlit.com
  
  3 AM Magazine, Blowsquish Creative, Custom Erotica Source, Ted Gideonse of Ann Rittenberg Literary Agency, Inc., Other, Outsider Ink, Problem Child, Slow Trains, Suspect Thoughts Press, TLA Video, Velvet Mafia, and Mitchell Waters of Curtis Brown, Ltd., are proud to announce the Project: QueerLit contest.
  
  The Project: QueerLit contest celebrates and brings media attention to unpublished authors of queer writing and opens doors for publication of their work. The Project: QueerLit contest is open to any unpublished author of an English-language novel with queer and/or bent content.
  
  Author may not have published or be contracted to publish a novel in any form. Previously published chapbooks, nonfiction, shorter fiction and collections of short fiction, and other work published in multi-author collections, magazines, etc. do not disqualify you. A novel with queer or bent content refers to a novel of any genre or blending of genres with LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer), or with alternative themes, situations, voice, or characters. The author (and the novel) does not have be “gay” to be considered. Queer in this context can also mean a bent or outsider worldview.
  
  There is a very important and much-needed niche in publishing—support of creative alternative and queer literary voices—being underserved. More corporate monsters are taking control and less innovative books are being created, distributed, and stocked. Over 70% of the book publishing industry is controlled by a very small group of large multi-media corporations. Similarly, independent and LGBTIQ bookstores are closing at an alarming rate owing to large bookstore chains cornering the market. Like our country’s shrinking media options, the book industry is facing similar pains. Queer authors, or authors who work with queer, alternative, or “subversive” themes, are finding it increasingly harder to get represented, let alone published.
  
  Does this mean it’s harder to publish alternative and queer authors? Yes, but it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. Nor does it mean that it shouldn’t be done. There’s even more reason to do it! The authors and their words are there. And more folks want to read these authors’ words than ever before. Project: QueerLit intends to bring media attention to these authors and their work, hopefully opening doors for publication for many of them during each contest period.
  
  Please see the Project: QueerLit website at www.projectqueerlit.com for prizes, complete details, and submission guidelines.

  ***************************************************
  Has this newsletter helped you get your work published or
  motivated you to finally put pen to paper?

  If so, please consider making a
  voluntary subscription payment of $5 per year
  to help defray the many costs inherent in running a webzine, such as
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  ---

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  ---

  ============================================
  --- What I Didn't Know ---
  --- Musings By C. B. Potts ---
  ============================================
  The Personal, The Political, and The Pornographic
  
  As you may have heard, a few days ago a failure in the Northeastern Power Grid resulted in a massive blackout, cloaking the area where I live in in sweltering darkness. Toward the wee hours of the morning, as I lay watching NBC – for trust me, as a redneck pervert, I learned long ago to ensure that ALL major devices, and not just the usual handheld ones, run on batteries – the news coverage gave way for the premier of a new show.
  
  What was this new show, you asked? What was important enough to preempt the seventy-fifth showing of the “Escape from New York” parade, with hundreds upon hundreds of women usually loath to eschew the elevator for the stairs now calmly hoofing it back to Westchester?
  
  Why, it was Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. For those of you who missed it, here’s the premise: 5 blatantly gay men – all remarkably good looking – descend en masse upon another remarkably good looking, albeit heterosexual, man in order to make him better looking. It wasn’t Masterpiece Theater, but it was entertaining.
  
  But the emotion filling my heart wasn’t a joyous levity. It wasn’t even relief at a respite from non-stop news coverage. There wasn’t even the usual twinge of lust sexy gay men inspire everywhere (Sorry, guys!) Instead, that little mercenary organ clenched inside my ribs was swelling with an unusual feeling: It was pride in my role as a pornographer.
  
  Now, I’m sure none of my little scrawlings – inspired literary gems that they may be – had any influence whatsoever upon the creation or design of this show. In fact, the entire cast is much too good looking and glamorous to make it into my wordy world, where the men usually accessorize with a horse or a motorcycle, or at a minimum, the appropriate boots for riding either.
  
  But I’m not aging myself in the slightest by saying when I was a child, there wasn’t the slightest chance in the universe that a show of this nature EVER, EVER would have been aired on network TV. (I AM aging myself to admit that cable TV wasn’t even an option then, but we’re all too polite to notice such a thing, right?) What has changed? What inspired the cultural difference?
  
  The answer, my friends, begins with us. Social dynamics function in a fashion directly opposite to that of our familiar microwave: The heat in our world begins on the fringes, rather than in the closely held core of society. It is from those people who live on the edge - the artists, the writers, the deviants and oddballs of every stripe – that change originates. It is on the edge that people are willing to take chances: By being open about their sexual desires and dreams, in this instance, whether it be within the glossy pages of a clandestine digest or in bold parades down Castro street.
  
  From there, the world watches. What are those bad boys doing over there? Mainstream America wonders. But it seems to be fun – after all, they do seem to be enjoying themselves disproportionately.
  
  And the world watches, and waits – while the fringe does anything but stay still. More and more mainstream types are drawn, mothlike to the flame, by those fringe elements that reach out and attract them. Anne Rice’s Beauty books – a simple example of readily accessible S&M – are one example of fringe encroachment, where a timid mainstream takes a tiny taste of that forbidden fruit and finds that it tastes very, very good indeed.
  
  It is our writing that lets people know that they are not alone in their desires – our words that say, Yes, women are sexy. Men are sexy. Women and men in any number of combinations are sexy – we’ve thought about that, too. You are not a lone pervert with twisted thoughts, single in the wilderness. Oh, no, girlfriend, there is a whole community of perverts out there thinking these twisted things – and in fact, here’s a few thoughts we’d like to share that you perhaps haven’t thought of, yet.
  
  And with this community comes strength. With community comes the desire, the need, to become part of the whole, to leave the fringe for the core, to abandon, perhaps just for a while, life on the dock for life downtown. That’s a slow process – and it is from there, where the personal transitions from the outré to the mundane that perhaps we get left behind. No one admits to the leather-boy literature whilst campaigning for gay marriage – and that’s OK.
  
  There’s a time and a place for everything – including porn, the literature of the fringe. While the stroke books and brown-wrapped magazines will never disappear, they are now joined by more public expressions of desire: The sitcom, the game show, and the Vermont-lead trend toward public recognition of private behaviors. It’s a cultural revolution the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades. Remember that you had a hand in it.
  
  Not too shabby. And you thought you were just writing smut.
  
  ---
  
  With the computer now fixed, CB Potts is happily working on her next project: What I Didn’t Know, The Collected Columns. Available in October, this will be the first book CB has written on the topic of writing, and will contain 3 new, never-published columns. Watch this space to discover the official release date and how you can pre-order your very own PDF copy!
  
  

  ---

  Futuristic Erotic-Romance!
  A Hero's Welcome
  By Jan Springer & Lauren Agony
  On Paradise women rule and men are sex slaves!
  http://www.ellorascave.com

  ---

  ====================
  --- Readers' Response ---
  ===================
  
  Have any thoughts on something you've seen in the newsletter? Send 'em to me at katy@katyterrega.com
  
  

  ---

  EZine Does It!
  Your FREE eclectic weekly EZine
  With wordplay, advice, recipes, nostalgia, and MORE
  Try it--what have you got to lose?!
  To subscribe, send an email to
  EZineDoesIt-subscribe@topica.email-publisher.com

  ---

  
  ==========================================
  --- Goings On ---
  =========================================

  Ari Fleming writes:
  
  Katy, thank you for your site. I've only been a subscriber for a week, and the very first story I wrote has been accepted by Pink Flamingo and is being showcased as story of the week. She also wants to see the entire book for possible publication. Thank you for your newsletter's contents. You've been a great help, and I'd recommend your site to anyone interested in publication in the erotic world.

  ---

  Jolie du Pré (http://www.geocities.com/joliedupre writes:
  
  My story "She" has been accepted for publication in Hot & Bothered 4: Short Short Fiction on Lesbian Desire, edited by Karen X. Tulchinsky, to be published in November 2003 by Arsenal Pulp Press. (http://www.arsenalpulp.com/select_book.php?book=167)
  
  My story "Never Say Never," originally published in Best Bondage Erotica, has been selected for Best Lesbian Erotica 2004 (Cleis), edited by Tristan Taormino, due out in late November.

  ---

  D.L. Tash is delighted to report he just sold a Breast Expansion story to E.L. Publications. He plans to continue writing for this expanding market (pun intended ;-)

  ---

  Congrats! If you sent me your Goings On but don't see it here, just let me know and I'll get it out.

  ---

  Check out my column at http://www.absolutewrite.com/ on - what else?! - writing porn. This week I wrote an essay called "The Professional Porn Writer" that deals with the importance of professionalism. Check it out here - http://www.absolutewrite.com/specialty_writing/porn_101.htm (I hope to have a new one - Judicious Use of the Thesaurus - up later this week!)

  ---

  Check out the new and improved, totally revamped story site at KatyTerrega.com and let me know what you think! Or there's always the (now free) Daily Jack-Off Stories to peruse...
  
  
  

  ---

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  ---

  ===========================================
  --- Q & A ---
  ===========================================
  
  Send me your questions! I'll answer the most common ones here, and if I don't know the answer, I'll do my best to find a pro who does. (Of course, failing that, I'll ask y'all for help...)
  
  ===========================================
  --- Looking For Writers ---
  ===========================================

  Send Me Your Stories And Ideas!

  I'm looking for essays/articles that will inspire and/or instruct other porn writers. Success stories, how to break into certain markets, unique views on the genre, etc. Around 800 words is good, although I'm flexible.

  I'd love articles on specific markets. There are so many sub-genres of porn and it's hard to know the subtleties of each. If you've got a specialty, from BDSM to Watersports to Leg Sex to Amputeeism, feel free to share your knowledge.

  You can either suggest a topic (query) or send something whole. I'll get back to you within a week as to whether or not I'll be able to use it.

  Payment varies; From $5-$10 per article (depending on site income for the month) OR a copy of one of the books on the Order Form. I'll also include a lengthy bio and url if you'd like.

  
  

  ===============CLASSIFIEDS================
  Do you have a product or service that might interest over 1,2100 (and growing) writers? Advertise here
  (six lines maximum) for only $5.00! E-mail me if you're interested.
  ===========================================
  Futuristic Erotic-Romance!
  A HERO'S WELCOME
  By Jan Springer & Lauren Agony
  On Paradise women rule and men are sex slaves!
  http://www.ellorascave.com
  ===========================================
  NEED MORE PAYING MARKETS FOR YOUR WORK?
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  ===========================================
  EZINE DOES IT!
  Your FREE eclectic weekly EZine
  With wordplay, advice, recipes, nostalgia, and MORE
  Try it--what have you got to lose?!
  To subscribe, send an email to
  EZineDoesIt-subscribe@topica.email-publisher.com
  ===========================================
  MORE MARKETS THAN YOU CAN SHAKE A STICK AT!
  Subscribe to THE GILA QUEEN'S GUIDE TO MARKETS!
  Updates! New Markets--All Genres, Fiction and Nonfiction! Informative Articles! Info on Editors!
  Dead Markets! All this and much much more! 20 E-mail issues for $20.
  Check or money order in US funds to:
  Kathryn Ptacek, PO Box 97, Newton NJ 07860.
  Now Accepting Credit Card Payments Via PayPal!
  E-mail: katptacek@yahoo.com
  ===========================================
  IT'S A DIRTY JOB...WRITING PORN FOR FUN AND PROFIT!
  INCLUDES PAYING MARKETS! By Katy Terrega.
  This e-book has EVERYTHING the aspiring porn writer needs to know!
  Order here - http://www.KatyTerrega.com/writersorderform.html
  Or click on http://www.katyterrega.com/dirtyjob.html
  for chapter headings and excerpts.
  ==============END CLASSIFIEDS==============
  
  Writing Porn For Fun and Profit!
  The Bi-Weekly E-Letter
  Copyright 2001 - All Rights Reserved
  

  Katy Terrega
  http://www.katyterrega.writers.html
  Katy@KatyTerrega.com

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