Never Give Everything Away #AtoZChallenge #AprilA2Z ‘N’

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Raven ShadowHawk

N button for A2Z Challenge

I like to share. In fact I probably share more than Ileandra. Not sure why that is. I just do. I like telling you things. Sometimes that works for me, sometimes it doesn’t.

But I don’t tell you everything.
Nor should I.

fingerprints and magnifying glass

Why? Because mystery is part of the fun. The intrigue. And that’s part of what draws you in. If I laid everything out bare, would I be nearly as interesting?
Don’t think so.

I write erotica, as you know, and some of the ideas that populate my stories come from life. My life, the lives of my friends, the lives of my family. Some of the ideas are bald faced lies, dredged up from the depths of my brain.

I never have (and never will) tell you which is which.

Why?

Because it would kill the mystery.

It’s wonderful to have a behind-the-scenes look at people and things you like. Why do you think DVD extras do so well in special editions? But there’s a delicate balance between sharing some interesting titbits and giving away too much.

One of the stories my mailing list subscribers will be getting soon is a series of stories called ‘Raven’s Diary’. Just a little bit of fun where the submissive – Raven – writes about all the different things that she and her Dom get up to. I’ve enjoyed Slippers & Chains so much that I wanted to stick with BDSM for a while. These stories, despite having my name, are a bit of fun that bring questions to the mind of the reader. Questions about me.
I acknowledge that I’m likely to face these questions whether I write stories in my name or not (since that’s what happens to writers, authors of erotica in particular), so this is almost a case of my thumbing my nose at people and daring them to ask. Besides, isn’t the speculation part of the fun?

As much as I’m a fan of questions, take care not to do this with your novels. Yes, you want the audience to keep reading and it’s the questions you raise throughout the narrative that cause them to do this. But don’t leave unanswered questions at the end. Readers have invested a lot of time in your book (lord knows they probably have a shit-load of other things to do), don’t cheat them by leaving them hanging.

Of course, this device can (and does) work in serials and series, but only because you know that the answer is always coming. Doing the same in a stand alone novel is just mean. And annoying.
Yes, you can leave certain things (if you wish) to the interpretation of the reader, but if they’re asking how CharacterB escaped the clutches of VillanC while simultaneously saving CharacterA, then make sure you tell them.

Just saying.

Raven's Signature In Black

Posted in A2Z Challenge 2014, Raven's Posts | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Music To Write To #AtoZChallenge #AprilA2Z ‘M’

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Ileandra Young

M button for A2Z Challenge
music note in black and whiteMusic. I wish I had more time to talk about how amazing music is and what it does for me. Alas, I’ve decided to keep these posts as close to 500 words as possible, so I can’t. Instead I’ll dive straight into what I do with it music while writing.

In the past, I used music for mood. Ambience. If I needed a particular feel or tone in a piece then I tried to match the music to what I was writing. In particular, if I was writing the high fantasy piece I’ll be returning to after the trilogy, then I would use sound track music. Very little lyrics and lots of orchestral goodness. Usually The Lord Of The Rings. Howard Shore is an amazing musician and his music takes me through the entire spectrum of emotions. It’s perfect.

During NaNoWriMo I use anything fast because the aim of that month is to get the words down as fast as possible. No loitering, no faffing around. Speed, speed, speed!

I generally end up listening to a lot of J-pop in November because I don’t get distracted by the lyrics – I don’t speak Japanese!

I also had a phase of writing in absolute silence. And that lasted quite a long time. Out of nowhere I found that any noise at all was horribly distracting, meaning that I couldn’t even work if I could hear the television in the front room. I’m glad that didn’t last because it’s never quiet in my house. Not unless we’re all asleep.

Now I listen to anything. It doesn’t matter. Just… anything.

Though, saying that, I’ve found that following my trip to Birmingham last year to see Bo Burnham, I’ve listened to almost nothing but his three albums since November. O.o Dave is utterly sick of it – bless him – but I find something about the humour and wit of it really inspiring. And not at all distracting. Even when I break away from writing for a second or two to sing along, I go right back in to where I left off without a pause. I feel like I’ve found something amazing in those three albums because I can write anything while listening to him. Granted, a little bit of humour creeps in sometimes, but if it isn’t supposed to be there I can edit it out later.

Sean Platt recommends writing with headphones on. When I moved back onto my desktop from using my laptop in the front room I found this invaluable. Something about putting the music right up to my ears, meaning that everything else was blocked out, really put me in the groove. I’d tap-tappy-tap away and look up hours later without really knowing where I was.

In terms of flow, and continuity, and keeping up the pace, I think that’s a great tip and I’d recommend it to anybody. If your household allows for it, give it a try. You’ll be surprised to see what pours out of you.

Gosh, that was a link heavy post. *wipes brow* I hope they’re useful to you. 🙂

Do you guys listen to music while you write? What sort of things? Got any recommendations for me? I’m always up for hearing new music.
new ileandra signature,

Posted in A2Z Challenge 2014, Ileandra's Posts | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Look At Me, Look At Me! #AtoZChallenge #AprilA2Z ‘L’

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Ileandra Young

L button for A2Z Challenge
A while ago Kristen Lamb wrote a post about marketing yourself. I’ll put my hand up right now, and say that before reading that post I had the wrong idea about ‘marketing myself.’ Not that I was doing what she described as a ‘no-no’ and engineering my efforts to ‘make people like me’. More that I misunderstood what the phrase ‘marketing oneself’ meant. And that’s why I was so uncomfortable with it.

Raven is much better at this. She wears horns (because she does) bright colours and big earrings. She has no trouble at all saying ‘look at me, look at me!’ and pulls it off, partly because of her attitude to it all. She loves talking to people and one of the reasons she’s so comfortable in wearing what she wears is because it brings people to her to talk to.

I know, I know. It’s weird for me to be saying this. But The Shared Brain split us up for a reason.
the shared brain
I’m far more quiet. I’m in the shadows. I kinda lurk and pipe up when I have something constructive to say. I speak when I have the energy to do so. I’m an introvert.

Part of me wonders if that’s why I find marketing so hard? And then, I read Kristen’s post and realised that’s exactly why. Because I was looking at it all wrong. Marketing oneself doesn’t mean running around insisting that people look at you. It’s far more about staying true to yourself, what you’re about and letting people know about that side of you. Certainly not about being someone you’re not.

I’ll probably never arrange a huge book launch for myself in a book shop or library. Not unless I get past this terrible shyness of mine. Raven on the other hand, will slap on her horns, don her little black dress, big boots and wait at the door to dish out hugs and cookies. I won’t (and don’t) shout on social media about all the cool things I’ve done or plan to do. Even Raven is cautious about how much ‘me, me, me’ stuff she posts. But, again, that isn’t what marketing is about.

Marketing is about relationships. I know I keep saying it, but it’s true.

If you haven’t spent much time over on Kristen’s blog, then I really do suggest you go have a look. The woman is amazing and her (massive) following is so loyal and vocal. All because of how she treats them and how she remains true to herself. She doesn’t spend all of her time telling this people ‘look at me, look at me.’ Instead she helps people. Interacts with them. Shares with them. Genuinely cares for them. That’s what it’s all about.

I originally took on this challenge to find myself more readers. But in reaching this point, I realise that such an attitude was all wrong. Yes, I have found more readers, and I thank you all for joining me, but better than that, I’ve found new people to share experiences with. To learn from. To connect with. That, in my eyes, is a hell of a lot more important.
new ileandra signature,

Posted in A2Z Challenge 2014, Ileandra's Posts | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Keeping It Real #AtoZChallenge #AprilA2Z ‘K’

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Raven ShadowHawk

K button for A2Z Challenge

Yesterday I talked about how funny sex is. I know some of you don’t believe me. I don’t care. I genuinely believe that if not for the necessity of keeping the human race going (and the fact that it’s fun), sex would have fizzled out long ago. Because it’s too funny to take seriously.laughing faceThe Smut With Brains brand isn’t about being super intelligent or high-and-mighty with my views. It’s about being real. I considered Smut With Heart, but that sounded cheesy. Smut With Real People, Emotions, Situations And Non-Porn-Style Sex was what I really wanted, but it was too long. So I settled for Smut With Brains. What that basically means is keeping it real.

I’m not talking writing memoirs of my sex life (you wouldn’t want to read that anyway), I mean acknowledging that real sex is about those things I talked about yesterday; pulled hair, cramps, falling off the bed, fumbling with toys, messy bedsheets, protection.

I’m a real believer in safe sex and I’m fascinated by the amount of erotica I read where there is no mention of any sort of protection. That bothers me because, while it’s ‘real’ it shouldn’t be the case. Particularly in some of these stories featuring one night stands, midnight encounters and threesomes. It’s not safe. And it’s certainly not respectful.

I don’t know if the current trend with erotica is to avoid these things because the ‘ruin the mood’ but I don’t like it. Just like none of my characters will ever scream ‘Ooooo yeah, I’m coming, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!’ (-_-), my characters will also use protection. Because it’s real.

In addition, my characters won’t all have perfect hair, rail thin bodies (girls) and rippling muscles (men). Some will, because that’s what the world is likely, but, largely, they will be real. So they’ll have hair where they might not want hair, tubby bits, stretch marks, scars, tan lines, all out flab, spots, freckles, whatever. They will have all those things that real people have that often, from what I understand (*innocent face*) gets left out of porn.

I don’t know if I’m doing myself out of readers by writing this way, but to do anything else seems to cheat myself. Yes, I want to pay bills (eventually) with my writing, but I don’t want to do it by ‘selling out.’
Terrible phrase. It can mean so many things but in this instance, I mean that I want to write what’s true to me and in my heart, not what the market dictates I should.

Raven's Signature In Black

Posted in A2Z Challenge 2014, Raven's Posts | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Jokes And Humour In Erotica #AtoZChallenge #AprilA2Z ‘J’

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Raven ShadowHawk

J button for A2Z Challenge

I get told, fairly often, that I shouldn’t mix things up. That I should keep some things in one head space and other things in another. Heh… how do you think I escaped The Shared Brain to have a presence on this blog? The Brain decided I needed freedom so that both Ileandra and I could express ourselves clearly without confusing anybody.
Let me know how that confusion thing works out for you.

Anyway….

I like mixing things up. It keeps things real. Nothing in this world is just black and white and my writing isn’t either.

BDSM Cage images

Slippers & Chains, for instance.
A drama (if I’m honest) charting the relationship of Karen and Dan. A D/s couple who have hidden the truth from their families and are facing real issues around honesty, commitment and monogamy.
Real stuff.
Serious stuff.
And yet, I open the novella with Karen trapped in a play cage and unable to escape because Dan has lost the key. Not only that, but he has to leave to pick up his parents and has therefore called his best friend to help Karen escape.
That’s funny, right? It is to me, anyway.

Originally, when the Funk Master pitched the idea to me (‘You should write this; you could do it justice.‘) he did so as a sitcom. A humorous look at the real behind the scenes stuff in a BDSM relationship. I loved the idea and ran with it. More than the fact that it seemed an interesting juxtaposition, I enjoyed the idea because, let’s face it, sex is funny.

Yes it is!

Think about it. All that thrusting and grunting. Slipperiness. Hair in the mouth. Awkward angles. Cramps. Unwelcome interruptions. And come on… human genitalia is HILARIOUS! Especially cocks. Have you ever looked at one? I mean have you ever really looked at a cock?
No, I’m not going to post a picture! Filthy. :p
But imagine… all that wrinkly skin and the ridiculous dangling going on. Then come show time that thing will stand up on it’s own and point right at you. Yikes! And girl parts aren’t much better. Honestly, if sex wasn’t so much fun necessary to keep the human race going, I don’t think we’d be able to do much of it. We’d be laughing too much.

Or is that just me?

I doubt it.

Lesbian Couple togetherness in bed 02

Anyway, looking at sex this way gives me a niche. I’ve not played with the idea very much throughout the Meeting Each Other series, but Slippers & Chains and future releases will have small elements of that in it. Because that’s me.
Yes there will be steamy sex, sweaty bodies and pleasured exhalations, but my characters are just like you and me. So they’ll get cramps. They’ll get head rushes. They’ll get hair in their mouths or numb tongues. They’ll get their fingers stuck in toys or spend three hours trying to figure out exactly how to turn on a new vibrator before realising that it doesn’t have batteries in it. *ahem*
They’ll do these things because 1) that’s funny and it appeals to me and 2) because that’s how it is in real life. And my job, as an author, is to report truth.

Yes, it’s to provide an escape as well, but I’m good at this (I think). I can do both.

‘But wait!‘ You cry. ‘Erotica is about sensuality and pleasure. There’s no space for comedy. Aren’t you supposed to be writing to a genre?‘

Yes. I am. But I seem to be building a new genre anyway. Smut With Brains. My genre.
I hope you like it.

Raven's Signature In Black

Posted in A2Z Challenge 2014, Raven's Posts | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments