Whether you follow me or not, you must have seen me around here. I’ve been on for a while and haven’t done a post like this since I first joined steemit. So, I thought I’d simply take this time to explain why I do what I do.
You don't have to like my style, but I want you to understand there's a method in my madness.
Being a writer is like offering plates of food – we all have different tastes—and thankfully, some of you have shown that you like my pies
I don't want to just to celebrate a few milestones but to to give you an insight into the way I think.
I decided the best way to accomplish this was a question and answer format
What’s with all the pics of hot women in your posts? Is this just a click-bait ploy?
Men are more visual and women like to see what men are looking at.
But seriously, I tend to emphasize my female protagonists because that’s what the story’s about.
It takes me hours sometimes to find just the right photo of a woman that embodies the characteristics of the character in my head. I hope they’re not merely seen as two-dimensional fluff designed to adorn a man’s arm
Why are your stories broken into parts?
I found from bitter experience on steemit that the optimal length for a post is around 500-1000 words. I try not to exceed that limit but sometimes the story can’t be cut to fit and I err on the side of art rather than expedience.
In the same vein, I’ve limited myself to one pic now, whereas in the past I’d post up to five per story.
Excuse me—my Muse interrupts to remind me of a quote from Chaucer that states, ‘lewd people like pictures.’ Well, that’s true, but then again, my muse is a grumpy, tabby cat who will say anything for liver bites!!
Why do you use so many short paragraphs?
I want my stuff to be read.
Would you believe I used to teach students about ‘hamburger paragraphs’? I insisted they write a minimum of 3 sentences—a topic sentence, a body sentence, and a concluding sentence.
Um yeah…well, that was then, this is now.
Forget everything teachers like me taught you about paragraphing—if you want to be a published writer, that is. The length and number of paragraphs might be determined simply by the way it looks on the page.
Don’t believe me? Get out a copy of Great Gatsby and compare it with most popular best sellers. Look at the format on the page. Modern novels look like plays.
Future Plans?
I intend to stay on this carousel until I run out of things to say.
I can write a story a day and I did so for a year. I used to write on the old Storypraxis site in response to Andy Meisner’s daily prompts. Now I write for myself.
So, I’m not liable to run out of inspiration any time soon because I don’t suffer from writer’s block and I have an archive of stories that can keep me going for years.
I choose to be here because I like it and I’ve made some good friends. I suppose the only thing that would cause me to change my mind would be if people decided they didn’t like my wares—then, I’d have to re-invent myself elsewhere.
But, for the time being, this Ragueneau is still baking pies.