I have a feeling this might be slightly messed up. Sorry if it is difficult
to read.
Trella wrote:
For what its worth,
It's worth a lot to me!
I've found the Shampoo 1/2 series to be very
compelling, with strong characterization, a strong understaning of >the
motivations of the characters, and just a plain ol' Great Read!
All four are things I have strove (or is that striven?) to do. And it isn't
easy.
I look
forward to each installment.
How flattering! Thank you.
There, I said my opinion...
And thanks again for doing it. When I got back from work and first saw all
those public responses to Chapter 34, I was quite surprised, and wondered
why there had been such a quick outpouring for such a relatively sedate
chapter, at least compared to the last one. Then I saw a message by The
Critic (aka Gubby) in it. I didn't even have to open the email to know what
the majority of them were in response to (Yes, I did read them. Thanks for
correcting Gubby for his glaring error.) Oh well *SHRUG*.
But then I came to your C+C at the bottom of the list, and realized it was
directed at the story/series itself. Now that was what I was really looking
forward to. Thank you again for taking the time to comment on it.
A few side notes and clarifications for those new to the list and who don't
understand what The Critic is and what misinformation he might have
generated. Some of these points have already been made, but I wanted to
clear them up.
Shampoo 1/2 is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, not a continuation series like DNR or
others in that category.
Yes it is long, but it is in essence one story, not a continuing series,
despite what it may appear to be at first glance. There was always going to
be a definite end to it, and it is coming soon, as the last story arc is
now being posted. The majority of chapters ARE episodic in nature, or part
of smaller story arcs. (Ex. Chapters 16 was a stand alone, while chapters
17-20 represented the Musk story arc and its conclusion.) but each chapter
or arc contributed in a step towards a goal, the resolution of the series.
In fact, there a couple of chapters I wrote out that were never posted due
to a lack of said development. (If you are really interested I can emial
them directly to you, but they are early rough drafts.) Given the size of
the story, if the chapters and arcs were not episodic in nature, I would
have driven practically any reader nuts by now.
Now the fact that it is one big story is not clear in the earliest
chapters. This was a beginner's error. When I do a rewrite of the *SHUDDER*
script format stories (chapters 1-7) there will be some new material added
to show that the series will have a definitive climax. For example, Chapter
1 will include references to The Seer, Shogun of the Dark, and Herb. There
will also be scenes added that should have been put in or developed more,
such as the missing reaction Kasumi had upon meeting Shampoo-kun for the
first time. Blame it on the fact Shampoo 1/2 is my first fic, and I made a
lot of mistakes in those early chapters.
Well, that's all for now. And to think, when I first contacted Harnum about
Gubby's repsonce to his fic, I actually had the audacity to wonder if Gubby
would do mine too. Neither of us had much hope, Gubby claimed he doesn't do
alternate universes, but lo' and behold, he did and I can now feel
'validated' too. BWHAHAHAHAHA!!!
D.B. Sommer
P.S. Gubby actual served one little useful purpose, I suppose. In
retaliation for all the spam he's produced I did a few public C+C's that I
ordinarily would not have bothered with. That's the best way to deal with
him: Ignore him and post genuine C+C.