I can understand mental health issues better now that we’ve been locked down for eight months or so due to COVID-19. As an engineer, I’m somewhat of an introvert, as most of us are. My wife is an A-type and feeds on interaction with others.
The pandemic has meant no parties, no poker, and no casinos to supply her need for excitement and entertainment, but honestly, she has faired better than I hoped. I was concerned that this might be too much for Foxy, but she has surprised me with her resilience.
Our Lifestyle used to revolve around the nonstop party circuit, and there were parties every weekend. We even started a bowling league for Wednesday nights. Our league is named Friends and Lovers, which everyone thought was appropriate.
Now everything has ground to a halt as we try to ensure the safety of those around us. We are both in good health and middle-aged, which should mean that if we caught it, COVID wouldn’t be too bad. But you never know. Plus, the chance of passing it along to someone else is not something to think about.
I didn’t mean to infer that my wife was getting older as she’s still 29 and holding. I never expected to live beyond thirty as I’d assumed an angry husband would shoot me. Luckily our lifestyle now reduces the number of pissed off hubby’s beyond not taking good enough care of his wife!
Halloween is rapidly approaching when it becomes acceptable for all the girls to dress like sluts. This year, we’ll stay home and watch a dirty movie. Halloween 2021 may be our next hope for fun and games.
I had thought working from home would allow me more time to write, but I’ve discovered that I’m less productive than ever. My brain is overloaded the whole time, yet my ability to focus on one thing has completely slipped away.
I find now that I’ll come up with a new storyline and need to jot it down before I get off on some other track. My Draft folder is even fuller of partial stories than ever and few close to finish.
House Party 3 (HP3), which I had planned to publish a week or so ago, is still exactly where I left it. Ninety-nine percent finished, and I can’t seem to drag it over the finish line. I think it’s going to be one of my personal favorites, and I’ve got to buckle down and type “The End,” which always seems to be a struggle for me.
I write a monthly blog for Erotica Readers and Writers Association (ERWA). I finished up my current post and got that behind me. You’ll be able to read my latest post on Hotwives shortly.
If you’ve ever thought about writing erotic stories, this group is good to get involved with. They’ve been around for years and have many published authors. It’s a good place to polish your writing skills and read some of the upcoming stories from authors.
Have a safe Halloween and if you see Elvira, kiss her for me.
Larry Archer's World (LarryArcher.blog) 
I know what you mean about a book being 99% done. For some reason it’s incredibly difficult to write that last chapter or two!
Take care and stay safe. I’m sure there are many parties in your future. I have always loved Halloween, at least partly because of the potential for slutty costumes, but I hardly ever dress up anymore. Still I have lots of memories (and a few photos!) One year I dressed as a dirty old lady, in a bright red, very short cocktail dress, with talcum powder in my hair to make it look gray.
Now I AM a dirty old lady…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Lisabet. This Halloween will be a bust but I’ll probably get out my lifesize poster of Elvira to remind me of the fun times. Back when she was in her prime, this time of year every 7-11 would have a life-size poster of her selling beer. I love her sense of humor.
Stay safe yourself.
LikeLike
Nothing bugs me more than to get a story started, hammer out all of characters and all that… and then I’m sitting and wondering how to end the story. Next is getting half-way through a story, re-reading it for errors… and realize that I spent x-amount of time writing something that didn’t make sense. Grrr!
The pandemic has a lot of people going stir crazy being stuck in the house or being limited in the things they’d normally do. I don’t get stir crazy… because I have more than enough stuff to keep myself occupied… like trying to work out writing the book I’ve been putting off for years to write.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You always have so much to say, I know there has got to be a story inside of you somewhere. Just do it!
LikeLike
Yeah, I do… and so much that I don’t know how to begin and, given some of the things you’ve said about winding up in a publishing jail, I’ve yet to figure out how I can write it without getting thrown under the jail. It serves no real purpose to write a story if no one will be able to read it… and if you sugarcoat it or get all PC about it, the story loses so much. This is very much like writing a story and getting stuck on how to bring it to a close – how do I write this and in the way it must be written and get it out there so it can be read? I’ve been “writing” this story… can’t get it finished… yet.
LikeLike
One thought of ending a book is the following.
Since HP seems like there will be a HP4, and maybe, 5, 6, … Try just going back a chapter or scene and make a pseudo cliff hanger ending.
Not sure if that would work or not, but as you’ve previously said, one needs to keep feeding the Amazon beast at a certain interval to keep sales up, so this might let you get HP3 out and then you’re not ending 3, you’re continuing with 4.
Not sure if that will “fool” you enough to get around the “block” you have getting 3 done, but it might be worth a try.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mark, the problem with most of my stories is they end up as a slice of life and not what a story should have, a beginning, middle, and end. The characters all live in my mind and I’ve found that I have little control over what they do.
LikeLike
Well then, it sounds kinda like the problem Ravel had with Bolero. The rhythm of one stanza lead naturally into the next, and the next and so on.
He was only able to end the piece with a break, using the staccato drum bit to change the pace an end the song.
So in this context, maybe a quick change to another character(s), with a short bit, setting up the next book.
LikeLiked by 1 person
With House Party, I’m just coming to point of a logical break and then starting the next saga. I’ve got HP3 finished for the most part but it’s 90K words and takes a while to make sure everything flows properly. I just got an idea for a story that’s been in the Draft folder for a couple of years and am trying to avoid working on it. If I could just turn my brain off, I could get something finished.
LikeLike
Maybe you should have Foxy dress up in a dominatrix outfit and thrash you shouting “Finish the damn book Larry! Finish it!” 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
That would probably be the best solution yet. I do love those thigh-high leather boots of hers.
LikeLike