[Mark Newman]

Yes, if you’re a character you get to hold your own like Monty Banks. So you can change the plot with your own actions, sure.

But you’re outnumbered. Outgunned. And the author’s up there, throwing curves and knucklers all the time.

[Mark Newman]

Dear Sue:

Whether we are strong are weak, we always have the power to do good in our lives or evil. It’s up to you how you use your strength. If you truly care for David then I’m sure you will be good for him. Just don’t confuse your strength with the idea that your might makes you right. It doesn’t make you right — or wrong. It does mean that you’re the one who gets to open the pickle jars.

As for wishes, well, it’s natural to wish that things be different than they are. There’s nothing harmful in it, so long as you know that a wish is just a wish. Wishes can’t change people or things. Only your own actions can.

Good luck!

Marilyn

[Mark Newman]

To: Merita Myrick

From: Marilyn Knewsome

I’m not a biologist, so I can’t comment on the Professor’s views. But I do recall that females do process food more efficiently than males. Perhaps that’s because we take smaller bites and chew more carefully. Or maybe there’s a more fundamental reason. But I too would expect that the overall food consumption level will not be too different from what it is today.

Also, since in much of the world women are involved heavily in food production and preparation, it would not surprise me if the priorities women place in good nutrition and caring for their dependents would result in an increase in food production and less waste. But that’s just a guess on my part.

Naturally at a time of transition there will be all sorts of rumors flying around. I’ve posted a few in the letters I’ve received from all of you. Here are some others, all of which are untrue.

* At some high schools in the South, boys are being barred from participating in athletics because of concerns about the fragility of their bones. NOT TRUE!!

* Females now not only have attained male strength, and more, but their performance in math and science has also exceeded former male levels. NOT TRUE!!

* Females have gained the ability to read men’s minds. NOT TRUE!! (at least no more true than before)

* Female militants have taken over the Army and are plotting to overthrow the government and install a new feminist regime that will take the vote away from men and the rest of their legal rights. NOT TRUE!! Not in the US or anywhere else. (although it is true that in Sierra Leone some former members of a guerilla force have been massacred by a band of women seeking revenge for mass rape)

If any of you have heard rumors that disturb you, or even that amuse you, let me know. It’s good to air these fears. The rumors themselves are representations of our psychological reactions to the changes and will tell us more about each other and our new society.

Marilyn

[Mark Newman]

Nice to hear from you, R. I’ve got my magic wand right here. Which character shall I turn you into?

[Mark Newman]

I could … but I’m more interested in what my readers have to say than in tabulating the percentages.

I should keep that in mind, though, if I have a simple question. I’ve never run a poll.

Added: April 23.

Well, now I have. Great idea!

[Mark Newman]

But, if given the chance, would you choose to be a character in one of these stories, or would you prefer to be an unobtrusive observer? (in a Marknew story or otherwise) When you read stories, how often do you imagine yourself in the role of the characters?

I should clarify my remark. As a writer, I AM ALL of the characters in my stories, in one way or another, and I would love to have the chance to actively participate in my own stories. But not without the ability to call out "Exit Program". There’s no way I would want to give up, in real life, the role I play and the body I have. I do try to make at least some of my characters make realistic choices, like the ones you and I would make. To me, the realistic parts of the story give the FMG situations more vitality.

Another thing… I hate it when the good guys get abused with the bad and get nothing to turn it around when the story’s over. I want to see the good guys come out ahead, or at least the baddies put on their shelf. That often isn’t the norm in this genre AFAIK.

I’ve always thought there was too much "just desserts" in FMG fiction. Rapists lose their strength. Men who abuse their girlfriends get abused back again. Etc. And although I would want to hold the "reset button" if I were living in one of my fantasies, I prefer reading stories in which the end is not pre-ordained and anything can happen, where sometimes the just prevail and sometimes the baddies do. If I am successful, what happens happens because of the inner dynamic of the stories and characters.

That’s why I write my own. And why Jimmy writes his (which I DO enjoy reading).

[Mark Newman]

"I am relieved that I don’t live in a world like THAT!"

Me too. Being a man in a Marknew story isn’t a good life-choice.

But for some reason, I do like to watch what happens.

[Mark Newman]

I keep thinking though there has to be more than one pendant. If magic works in this world what are the magicians and wizards doing? Are there any people that are imune to magic and are unchanged? Is there a secret society of magic users? I find it hard to beleive that there is only one magical device in the whole world.

No one is immune to magic, but the magicians and wizards normally give each other enough space to play without interference. After all, it’s more fun for all of them if they get to use their powers on helpless muggles who can’t fight back rather than having their spells constantly tinkered with by other magicians who think they know how to do it better.

If those who live by the sword, die by the sword, then do those who use magic get used by magic to a poetical end?

Generally not in my stories. 😉

[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.

[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.

[Author]

Posts