[Adam Phillips] Crosscurrents' Revised Posting Schedule

[Adam Phillips]

I hate to do this to all of you who've been reading Crosscurrents faithfully--some of you as far back as 2003--but there's just no way I'm going to be able to keep to a weekly posting schedule for the remaining 10 chapters or so.

 

I realized this after I'd posted Chapter 24. I rushed it, and as a result it's full of typos--and one error that's a little more substantive--and I just hate that. I won't do it again.

 

Chapter 25 is well underway. But if I want to do it right, I still need a few days on it. And I want to do it right. As much as you all deserve a regular posting schedule from me, you also deserve my best work on Crosscurrents, and I want to give it my best work.

 

So let's try and think in terms of a 12-day interval between chapters these days. I think that should be sufficient.

 

Also, as I've already said, when the baby's born I'm taking some extended time away from here to be there for my wife and son and the new arrival.

 

I'm really sorry if this pisses any of you off. I hate not being able to keep my word. But I'm continuing to work on the writing and I believe I can keep to a 12-day schedule until the baby comes, and then probably after that once again.

[methodwriter85]

As I'm sure you already realize, kids grow up extremely fast, and you only have a limited time to enjoy holding your newborn baby in your arms before you turn around and realize that it's been replaced by a roaming toddler who doesn't want to be held anymore. These are utterly precious years that you should enjoy to the fullest, posting schedule be damned.

Edited September 12, 2010 by methodwriter85

[sparky53]

Adam,

Family comes first above all else. Do not worry about the posting schedule. Take the time that you need. Your children are only young once. I have greatly enjoyed Crosscurrents and I happened up on "It Started with Brian" just as you started writing for Dan. You will finish your story because you have told us that. We can wait.

[Adam Phillips]

From my Adamstories Yahoo group:

 

--- In adamstories@yahoogroups.com, "Ross" <wwwoaaah@...> wrote:

>

> This group has been rather silent for the past 2 weeks.

> Where the hell are you Adam??

> -Ross

 

 

Sitting on my ass and jerking off, obviously. Just to make all of you mad.

 

I have a life. It gets in the way of my writing sometimes. I don't get paid to write Crosscurrents. It doesn't feed my family, get the lawn mowed, spend quality time with my family, or any of the other things that occupy my time and attention offline. I'll do my best to get the rest of Crosscurrents up in a timely manner. But as I said in my forum at Gay Authors, I can't promise a weekly delivery schedule any more for the last 10 chapters. I tried with Chapter 24 and it was so full of errors I cringe every time I look at it. So I'm done with that. You'll get the next chapter when you get it. I hope to have it finished by the end of Saturday, but I'm not making any more promises.

[Ken J]

I can't speak for all your readers, Adam, but many of us have invested our hearts in this story, so that, as we've read each chapter, more and more we've grown to admire and even love the author who's telling it. It's only natural when you've come to care for a person, their current health and well-being become a concern.

 

Your story is our connection to you. We're flattered being your confidants. There's a hell of a lot more to your story than sexual titillation for us. However flawed you believe chapter 24 may be, for me I felt it bathed me in love. And this added to my concern about possible problems in your life when it wasn't followed up as planned. I wasn't irritated that chapter 25 wasn't "on schedule." Just concerned about you.

 

Adam, consider queries about health or what's happening in your life as strong evidence of our concern for YOU. I'll even bet most readers would love to be a part of your life even to mow your lawn, or babysit for you, NOT to speed up your writing, but to make you happy. The story will be there when it's ready. Only don;t leave us out of your life completely when you have writer's block or become too busy.

 

You might also consider being bugged as flattery, indicating strong and devoted interest in an exceptional story and the good person writing it.

[Adam Phillips]

You might also consider being bugged as flattery, indicating strong and devoted interest in an exceptional story and the good person writing it.

 

I know. And ordinarily I'd appreciate it. It's just that I'm pissed at myself. I fully intended a seamless weekly delivery of chapters and I'm angry at myself for not being able to get it done. And so when somebody brings up the delay, it's like salt in the wound. I apologize for snapping at some of you who've asked.

 

Anyway, in the absence of being able to deliver weekly chapters now, I promise to keep you all posted on the progress I'm making so that you don't find yourself wondering when the hell the next chapter is coming.

 

I'm making good headway on Chapter 25. I have about one and a half scenes to go to get a reasonable draft down, and then I need to take a second pass over all that. The sex scene (What?? There's sex?????) needs to be rewritten a little, and I always do a little polishing on a second (or third or fourth) pass. I might not finish tonight, but I should be able to finish tomorrow. That translates to a Monday or Tuesday posting.

 

That's the way it looks right now, at any rate. I'll let you know if something changes. In any case, I wanted to let you know I'm not just stalling out on it. There's no writer's block or anything. It's just a matter of having time to do it right.

[Toast]

♥

[Ken J]

♥

Bugeye, you've got me laughing....

All right, but I don't think I'm alone among Adam's readers getting to really like this guy.

"Brad's" also becoming a most admirable person, a perfect male for romantic women....or men....because he's unable to separate love and sex. The world's a better place with men like Brad.

Let's get off Adam's back regarding a timely finishing of each chapter.

Face it. Adam's a perfectionist. Anything less than topnotch writing is unacceptable for him. So can we live with that reality as long as he checks in with us periodically?

America's Gustave Flaubert.

 

[Adam Phillips]

Okay, here's how things stand. I just finished Chapter 25 today. I'm going to read it over now and tweak what I want to tweak, then I'm sending it to my three "proofreaders" <cough,cough> so they can have their collective way with me; and once I've either satisfied their little fetishes or told them here and there why I won't, I'll send it to Steph and she'll post it at GA for me.

 

Thanks for your patience. It won't be long now.

[nightsky]

 

You'll get the next chapter when you get it... I'm not making any more promises.

 

 

 

 

You're heartless.

 

Just cruel.

 

Cruel, I say.

 

Wait. Maybe If I want more CC, I should be buttering you up and begging. Offering a goat? A duck? What will it take?

[theschnauzers]

nightsky, I believe Adam is re-proofreading all of the chapters in the process of transferring them to the new GA Stories system.

 

And as noted above, he is a perfectionist. And one of the recent chapters was rushed, and he admitted he needed to fix that chapter even before the GA conversion started.

 

I'm assuming we'll see the next chapter when we see the next chapter.

[nightsky]

nightsky, I believe Adam is re-proofreading all of the chapters in the process of transferring them to the new GA Stories system.

 

And as noted above, he is a perfectionist. And one of the recent chapters was rushed, and he admitted he needed to fix that chapter even before the GA conversion started.

 

I'm assuming we'll see the next chapter when we see the next chapter.

 

I was just engaging in some rabble-rousing to stir up the troops. It's been too quiet in here. I'm willing to wait (not that I have a choice), but I don't have to like it.

 

 

 

[Adam Phillips]

I promised I'd let people know how things are going, so here's an update. You're not going to like it.

 

I haven't done any writing to speak of on Chapter 28. It shouldn't take long to write, but it hasn't been started.

 

I've been working on getting the typos out of the existing chapters of CC. Occasionally here and there, I alter the wording or change a sentence a little bit to tighten up the writing a bit. But in the new G A Stories the authors will be responsible for posting their own chapters. There's an upside and a downside to it. The upside is that it makes it easier to fix things. The downside is that it's one more thing to do.

 

Don't ask me my opinion of this new development, by the way. I am endeavoring to be a team player. Talk to Arbour about it if you want opinions. He has a big mouth sometimes.

 

I just finished proofing Chapter 19. Obviously that means I have eight more to go. As soon as I'm done with that, I'll get back to Chapter 28.

 

As a way of saying thanks for your patience, let me give you an overview of what's coming up in that chapter.

 

Andy meets a guy on the college baseball team. Then spring semester finishes out, and Andy goes home for the summer. Home, of course, is where there's unfinished business to take care of. And college students are all going to be home for the summer, mostly...anyway, among the former schoolmates Andy runs into at home will be Cole, his old high school football "big bro." And that summer Andy begins to discover the Internet as a place where he can find support and friends, friends at a sufficient distance to let him feel safe about opening up and sharing parts of himself that he's not yet sure anyone "gets."

 

Lest anyone think that we're ready to be done with the angst, though, I should tell you that down the road Andy refers to this summer of his life as The Awful Summer. I say this for my readers' benefit, especially those who are pretty much weighed down by the story's already-considerable "angst quotient." Praemonitus praemunitus, right?

[Anya]

You're killing me, Adam.

 

Matt..

Edited January 7, 2011 by Anya

[Adam Phillips]

I've now corrected and revised all the extant chapters of Crosscurrents. You'll find this version at GA Stories.

 

I've tightened up the writing a little again...and to the best of my ability to catch them, I've gotten rid of all the typos.

 

Now I'll get right to work on Chapter 28. I know you've been waiting patiently. Well, most of you. <gazes into the night sky and whistles at random...>

 

I'll be posting new chapters to my web pages at the "traditional" Gay Authors and to the new GA Stories until the "traditional" site is shut down...

[Anya]

.

Edited January 16, 2011 by Anya

[nightsky]

I've now corrected and revised all the extant chapters of Crosscurrents. You'll find this version at GA Stories.

 

Wow. that was quick!!

 

Now I'll get right to work on Chapter 28. I know you've been waiting patiently. Well, most of you. <gazes into the night sky and whistles at random...>

 

the color of the sky as evening approaches is so, so, so very gorgeous, isn't it? could be inspiring, maybe.

 

 

 

 

I'll be waiting....patiently lol.

 

 

you're a far better person than I am. i must've skipped the line when they were handing out this virtue.

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2011 by nightsky

[XFACT]

I will wait patiently, this story is wonderful! I am just little high on Andy for his f**kin' misunderstanding on Matt, otherwise I am excited to see to end... I pray that this story won't break my heart ultimately

 

Adam

[Adam Phillips]

Thanks for your patience, everyone, regarding CC Chapter 28.

 

My life has been on a little bit of a roller coaster ride over the last couple of weeks. I just didn't feel like sitting down and soaking myself in this angst-ridden story during all that.

 

I have gotten a start on it, and it won't be a difficult chapter to write. I'm going to try my best to get it written and posted this week.

[Adam Phillips]

I will wait patiently, this story is wonderful! I am just little high on Andy for his f**kin' misunderstanding on Matt, otherwise I am excited to see to end... I pray that this story won't break my heart ultimately

 

Adam

 

The conclusion of Crosscurrents won't make you want to slit your wrists. That's all I can promise. Surely you must realize from the Prologue that it's bound to end with at least a touch of bittersweet...

 

But lest that scare you off the story, I should tell you that there will be a 10-chapter-or-so sequel to Crosscurrents that I'm going to call Finding Home.

[methodwriter85]

I want the story to end with Angie, Andy, Matt, and Matt's female life partner all in a polyamorous relationship, living in a big house that had a room with Matt's name on it. That'd be cool! (They're in Texas. Homes are big there.)

[Anya]

The conclusion of Crosscurrents won't make you want to slit your wrists. That's all I can promise. Surely you must realize from the Prologue that it's bound to end with at least a touch of bittersweet...

 

But lest that scare you off the story, I should tell you that there will be a 10-chapter-or-so sequel to Crosscurrents that I'm going to call Finding Home.

 

A sequel? Awesome! Maybe Andy and Matt will end up together in that one......they better!

[Caedus]

Besides what ultimately happens to Andy and Matt's relationship during Crosscurrents, I'm more curious about where Andy will be with his sexuality by the time he's getting ready to marry Angie during his senior year.

 

While Andy's ratio of physical attraction seems to be leaning direction of women, it'll be interesting to find out what Andy's ratio is for emotional (romantic) attachment, and how it'll effect his relationships in the future. I know for some bisexuals you need aspects of both in a relationship to be satisfied. But then again this depends on how far Andy ends up going further exploring his sexuality during his years in school.

 

Anyways, great read, Adam. Your chapters are always worth the wait. Hope things are going well for my fellow Texan.

[methodwriter85]

My guess is that Andy is a guy who needs BOTH- he needs the guy, and he needs the girl. Without either, he's not complete. Running off to Massachusetts to get married to Matt wouldn't make him fully happy because he needs a wife, and vice versa.

[Adam Phillips]

I'm not commenting on any of the previous discussion, except to say that there are a couple of things in all them words that are probably correct.