[Mark Newman]

The number of views of my story, Pendant Changes, has declined pretty sharply for the past couple of chapters. Are you guys bored with it? Are there fewer active participants in this forum than I think?

I’m not at all offended and won’t be; I’m just curious. And what you say will not affect my interest in writing more chapters, so be honest. I write what amuses and stimulates me. Your clicks and your comments make it more fun but they don’t pay the bills.

I’m interested in comments from people who have viewed the early chapters and have stopped reading, people who want more of the same, people who wish I would write something else and people who wish I would go back to my day job. All comments are welcome and will be read.

Mark

[Axel3.14]

I’m still reading. 8)

[Max]

To be honest, I must say that this is one of the best stories I have read from you my friend.

You are a great writer and I love to read your stories, even if they turn very long. I still remember when I was following the pieces of Alt. Universes.

You know my tastes, but what ever you decide to write is fine with me. I’m just glad that you share your wonderful work with us. Specially with a complicated plot like Pendant Changes is.

Please continue working in Pendant Changes. I will really like to know how all of this will end. You have set a great scenario and seeing the different points of view (gentle and violent) is doing the story extremelly interesting.

I think it will be just a matter of time before Michelle discovers that what happen to her pendant is related to the visit Cindy and Joe did to the basement.

Max

[rob000]

Part 3 of Wednesday was definitely much more titillating than Wednesday’s parts 1 and 2. I’m just here for cheap thrills so I hope you’ll write more of them!

[Mark Newman]

Ha ha! I know just what you mean, Rob, and Thursday will have a lot more of them.

[Anonymous]

I agree with Rob000 – I think titillation is an essential ingredient in a good FMG story. I love Pendant Changes and I also think it’s one of your best, but I think the balance swung a little too far in the direction of examining sociological changes from an abstract viewpoint once or twice in the story.

I admire the way that this is your most ‘realistic’ story in terms of seriously looking at how these changes would conceivably alter society and I think you’re spot on about how society would adapt to things. However, if you were asking for feedback, since I would imagine most people are reading your stories as exciting sexual fantasies, I think there does need to be relatively large doses of that ‘titillation’ Rob000 mentioned. Wednesday part 3 sees more of a return to this, although I think the story overall is brilliant and shows a lot of insight.

The balance between plot and titillation is, I’m sure a very difficult one to find. Even a highly evocative description of a muscular woman having sex with a man on its own with no backstory would be nowhere near as appealing as your writing is. I think my favourite story of your was Alt Universe, and in particular the part with the ‘thank yous’. You vividly described an alternate world and made it seem very real and believable, but also worked in some very sexy twists to it. I do think you’re incredibly adept at creating scenarios that apeal to our (ahem) particular sexual tastes.

Anyway, I’m rambling, but I just wanted to say that I really enjoy everything that you write and I appreciate that an enormous amount of work, talent and time goes into all of the things that you create. You write of the USA so confidently, I was surprised to see that you’re from the UK too.

Anyway, thanks very much for all of your writing – it’s brilliant! More power to you, oh mighty scribe!

[john barry]

hey man as always i am a fan and you write some great stuff. I too am in it for the cheap thrills and a great look at the sociological questions that are asked by such stories and thoughts. 😉 😀

[Mark Newman]

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t write mostly for titillation. Those other bits do come in there too, because it’s part of my curiosity about how a world with stronger women would work. But without the fantasies these stories wouldn’t get written. And thanks for the praise, guys. I’d be lying again if I said I didn’t enjoy it.

Oh, and I AM an American, although I’ve lived in the UK long enough to know all about LBWs.

[gracilis]

I’m still reading, but I’m actually a little surprised to hear you talking about Thursday. When the curtain fell on Wednesday night, after "no one ELSE’S wishes would EVER count ever again," I kinda thought maybe that’s as much of the story as needed to be told, as far as "Pendant Changes" goes anyway. There are obviously a lot of sub-plots spawed here that could turn in to spin-offs.

One reason I’m feeling ambivalent about the future of this story is because I don’t much care for Cindy’s character. She’s comes across as both selfish and stupid, I don’t feel she she’s either a sympathetic character or a compelling villianess, nor, with her attitude, do I find her to be a particularly attractive fantasy. So I’m a little uncertain about where the story is going to go now that she’s taken the spotlight.

If you’re wondering about differences between the between the last few chapters and the beginning of the week, one is that there was a thrill-of-discovery thing happening, and that’s on the decline now. And you’ve already got every woman on the planet struggling to find something in her wardrobe that she won’t destroy when she stretches it over her new figure. Where do you go from there?

While I’m babbling here, I should comment on Marilyn’s email box. It’s interesting. It’s an interesting way of playing with the medium to draw people into the story, not unlike some of the techniques used in The Dionaea House. But then it kind of kept going on and on without advancing the plot in a structured way… so it’s probably fun as a reader-interaction or collaborative fiction tool and a place to play with character sketches, but it’s poorly integrated with the story at this point.

but, as always, thank you for writing!

[Mark Newman]

That’s an interesting post, Gracilis.

Although I had plotted things pretty much through Wednesday at the beginning of my work, unlike most of my other stories I do not have an ending to this one in mind at this time. I’m enjoying taking it day by day.

The title "Pendant Changes" is capable of several meanings. The main three are:

The Pendant changes the world. ("Friday" and all the repercussions thereafter),

There are changes pending until the magic runs its course ("Friday through Wednesday"),

The pendant itself changes (the last scene on ("Wednesday").

On that last point, it’s always possible that notwithstanding THIS wish Cindy made, she might countermand it with another wish. Or that a power mightier than she and the pendant may take some control. But the main thing I wanted to do in this scene was take the pendant and wishing power out of the conscious control of the characters while leaving the possibility of magic in the story. Cindy is not attractive, sympathetic or compellingly evil. She is selfish, driven only by her appetites and largely unconscious. And she hasn’t figured out what’s going on. In short, she is an unguided missile (as many young girls are).

If you’re wondering about differences between the between the last few chapters and the beginning of the week, one is that there was a thrill-of-discovery thing happening, and that’s on the decline now. And you’ve already got every woman on the planet struggling to find something in her wardrobe that she won’t destroy when she stretches it over her new figure. Where do you go from there?

Hmmm. I feel a song from "Buffy" coming on.

I certainly understand THAT comment. I too normally find it more enjoyable to write and read about transformation, power transfer and their immediate consequences than to write about how things proceed afterwards. Whether it works for me in this story is something to be seen.

As for Marilyn, "Wednesday" will likely be her only appearance in the story itself, but already it has been a great opportunity for reader involvement and to help develop a few spin off ideas. The Jill/Anthony plot will almost certainly become part of the main story. The Bennett Maple line is not as compatible with the things I like to write, but it may progress "offstage". Marilyn may find after a while that she is saying the same thing to too many people but I’ll keep it going as long as it’s fun.

Thanks very much for your thoughts.

[Author]

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