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From: RuthieV2@aol.com
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Subject: {ASSM} (Ruthie's 4) Behind the Scenes (F/MMMM) by RuthieV2
Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 14:10:15 -0400
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Subject: Behind the Scenes with "Ruthie's Foursome"
Starring: DrSpin, Jack of all Trades, Mr Slot, and E.Z. Riter
Produced by: The Fearless Foursome & Their Fearless Editor
Directed by: RuthieV2 (Ruthie, Version 2, as in the literary sense)
Date: June 2000
It all started innocently enough when I mentioned to Jack in front of Spin
that a good title for Jack's upcoming innovative posting would be "Couples: A
Trio of Sexy Short Stories." Something clicked in Spin's brain (yes, yet
again) and he exclaimed as only Spin can, "If one author can write three
stories with a common theme, why can't four authors write four stories with a
common theme?"
A simple concept, so crisp, so clear. At least it was to Spin. Jack and I sat
around looking googley-eyed wondering what he was up to now. Spin explained
further, "Ruthie edits four ASSM authors - DrSpin, Jack of all Trades, Mr
Slot, and E.Z. Riter. We all have significantly different approaches and
writing styles. If she gave us the same characters, descriptions, and
bare-minimum circumstances, the resulting stories would be significantly
different from each other, yet strikingly similar." With a dramatic sweep of
his hand, Spin exclaimed, "Yes, that's it! We'll call it Ruthie's Foursome!"
And so the Foursome Project was born.
The Foursome Project is an exercise designed to show what four talented
writers with different points of view and writing styles can do with the same
story line, the same characters - in this case, one male, one female - and
the same starting point. The rules require each writer to take on the role of
the male character, write in first person past tense, and keep the story
under 6,500 words.
The male character is Howard Bloom, aged 34. He is 6 feet tall, angular,
slim, with brown wavy hair and dark blue eyes. He has been alone for several
years. He never married but had a live-in relationship with a woman named
Cindy. It ended bitterly when he was betrayed.
The female character is Betsy Powell, aged 18. She fled her home after being
assaulted by her stepfather. She survives by taking temporary work here and
there, by sleeping with men who pick her up, and by snatching shelter where
she can. She cannot stay long with any man, but is compelled to move on. She
has engaged in amateur prostitution, and offers a quick blowjob for $20.
Betsy is 5'3," slightly overweight, pretty. She has long brown hair, large
brown eyes, and full lips. She bears a resemblance to Howard's former lover,
Cindy.
The story starts with Howard walking the streets late at night. He is not an
easy sleeper. He stumbles across Betsy being set upon by three young men. He
intervenes and drives them away. They share coffee and doughnuts at a
streetside stall. They talk, they begin a relationship - and at that point
each story sets off on the distinctive path chosen by the author.
I sent a proposal detailing the project to my four authors (Jack refers to
them as "Ruthie's stable." They don't seem to mind.), and they all jumped
aboard eagerly. If they stuck to their usual writing style, we expected
Jack's story to be romantic, Slot to treat it riotously, Spin to go darker
and moodier, and EZ to keep it edgy with tantalizing twists. As editor,
project coordinator, and stable manager, I would maintain the consistency of
the characters and the integrity of the plot in each story.
The next day I had four preliminary outlines. Within a few weeks, four
complete stories had arrived. Each of them went through a meticulous editing
process, with email flying back and forth countless times between author and
editor until we mutually agreed the story was as good as we could get it.
Communication was an important factor in making the Foursome Project work.
Separated by vast distances - Spin and Slot in Australia, EZ in Texas, Jack
in Maryland, and me in California - we settled into "conferencing" through
email, with me sending progress reports regularly to the group and getting
their virtually instant feedback.
One of our early questions dealt with posting. Because the stories were
turning out to be far longer than expected, we decided each author would post
his own when the time came, instead of trying to squeeze all of the stories
into one posting. Another question was the matter of secrecy. We decided to
keep our project discreetly under wraps and let it come as a surprise to the
ASSM community. As to reading each other's completed stories before posting,
the group declined, fearing the temptation to make last minute changes based
on what they read in someone else's story.
With all four stories "in the can," I emailed Rey del Sexo, the administrator
of ASSTR, and told him we were ready to send the stories, and would he please
post them as closely together, time-wise, as the ASSM software would allow.
When he agreed, I gave the go-ahead to the Fearless Foursome, and the stories
were on their way.
The Foursome Project was hard, intense, gratifying work. Many long hours went
into giving it a soul and spirit to make us proud. Our goal was to offer our
best efforts to the ASSM community, which has encouraged, nurtured, and
applauded writers over the years. Did we succeed? You be the judge.
The Fearless Foursome and their Fearless Editor are pleased to present for
your reading enjoyment, "Ruthie's Foursome," consisting of:
"Betsy Fifty Bucks" by DrSpin
"Betsy Laughed" by Jack of all Trades
"See Betsy Run" by Mr Slot
"Finding Betsy" by E.Z. Riter
My deep appreciation to Nat (Father Ignatius) for accomplishing with style
and verve the yeomanlike task of setting up the stories on the Foursome
websites. He shoulda/coulda been called the Fifth Foursome. Special thanks to
Rey del Sexo, Denny Wheeler, and the ASSTR moderating team for posting
everything according to plan.
Regards,
Ruthie
--
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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