Weekly Roundup 10-24-18 Looking for Work

Weekly Roundup is an update on what’s going on in my world. Welcome!

As you may know, I completed a major move at the end of September and am trying to get settled. I can’t speak for anyone else but looking for a job is at the top of my “Least Favorite Things to Do” list. It saps my energy, makes me doubt everything, and reduces my already low self-esteem. Almost four weeks and… nothing.

Yesterday, I spent over three hours at one employment agency, trying to secure a job I didn’t really want – they’re still looking. You know things are bad when you send in an application to the one place you swore you’d NEVER work, and they turn you down. At this point, the bottom of the barrel would be looking up.

All righty then, enough complaining! There are some perks to my current situation:

  • I get to stay up late and sleep in.
  • There are no annoying co-workers to put up with.
  • My morning commute is only as far as the bathroom.
  • I have more time to write!

Current manuscript – I’m now on chapter 11 of Traitor’s Moon. In order to fit in the rest of the story, I’ll probably need three or four more chapters. Word count = 86,000+.

I ran into a curious problem in Chapter 10. Two sets of characters were recently mated; one gay and one straight. Now, I couldn’t ignore the straight couple completely, so yeah they get some sexy time together. When I attempted to get more detailed about their love-making, I felt very uncomfortable and had to delete it from the manuscript. I still managed to give them their own moments, but I simply couldn’t go much beyond pleasant generalities! It’s not a matter of being shy or ignorant – I was, after all, in a presumably straight relationship for twenty years!

Writing intimate situations for gay couples is easy, and yes, I get a kick out it. This was the first time I attempted to write a straight sex scene with any depth, so the whole “I don’t think I can do this” feeling really took me by surprise. In the end, it’s probably for the best. My readers aren’t looking for hetero sex in my romances, and since I don’t feel comfortable writing about it, I think we’re on the same page. This is another example of characters teaching me something about myself, and I’m OK with that. At least I know my limitations!


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Comments

2 responses to “Weekly Roundup 10-24-18 Looking for Work”

  1. H.R.R. Gorman Avatar

    This was a really interesting read and contains such a marketing conundrum! I think it’s totally fine to ignore the sexy-time of the straight couple if it’s not your target audience; let them add to the story in other ways.

    Also, I wish you luck in the job search!

    1. Alexander Elliott Avatar
      Alexander Elliott

      Thanks for the good wishes!

      As a writer I simply can’t be all things to all people – not that I was trying, but it was an interesting experience and very unexpected. I think my readers will be pleased with the end result!

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