New Depths: The Art of Writing Quicksand Stories

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Viridian
Posts: 1587
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:03 am

New Depths: The Art of Writing Quicksand Stories

Postby Viridian » Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:50 am

I have been writing quicksand stories for over seven years. I started with simple, straightforward ideas that I got really excited over. There was a unique satisfaction that came with creating a quicksand story, and then sharing it. I loved reading stories from my favourite authors, knowing that I could expect a thrilling plot, intense action and tantalising characters.

But quicksand is arguably a limited subject to write about. There are only so many things you say about quicksand, so many ways you can describe it, so many things you can do with it. Over time, authors become challenged, trying to think of more creative ways to use this subject matter. Unlike a video, a writer has to build the scene so that the reader can see what is happening. It’s more difficult to give that sense of instant gratification that a video can give. Rather, a story gives a deeper enjoyment – the scene occurs in the mind’s eye, the reader’s imagination, and can play out the way the reader wants it to.

There was perhaps a “golden age” in the quicksand community, when there were numerous tales being shared via Usenet groups and, later, posted onto the first quicksand webpages. Though many of these pioneering writers have disappeared from the scene, there continues to be a writing scene in the quicksand community. Some regular writers continue to contribute sporadically, while new writers occasionally share their first works.

The purpose of this thread is to compile my thoughts and experiences on writing quicksand fiction and share it with the community, with the hope that budding authors may engage with what has been achieved and strive to push the boundaries of our unique interest.

This is not meant to be a “how-to” guide on writing quicksand stories, and it is by no means a definitive account of how a quicksand story should be written. This is purely based off my personal experiences and opinions, based on my time with the community as a reader, a contributor, and drawing on real-life professional experience.

Rather, this is meant to be food for thought – or, as we can relate to, something to sink into. For some of us, it may just be a pleasurable reading experience. Others may take this as a challenge. I invite readers and writers alike to provide their opinions.

In keeping with the theme, I have chosen to separate this article into the following, thematic sections:

• Into the Forest: Constructing the Story
• In the Swamp: Writing Quicksand
• Bogged Down: Traps and Trends
• Along the Beach: What happens next?

I may, at some point, choose to add or edit sections, and have reserved space.
Viridian @ deviantART: http://viridianqs.deviantart.com/

Viridian
Posts: 1587
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:03 am

Into the Forest: Constructing the Story

Postby Viridian » Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:52 am

As a quicksand community, we love quicksand. We like skipping to the sinking bit. But as a writer, the challenge of writing a quicksand story isn’t just the quicksand, but building everything around it: character, setting, plot.

I find that the patterns in quicksand stories have a lot in common with trends in erotic literature, particular on the internet. Now that authors are able to freely publish their work online, there is less need to be stringent about the quality of a story. As a result, a writer can fall into numerous traps that, in the long run, may end up with a dissatisfying reading (and writing) experience.

While the discussion below may seem overly complex for our unique interest, these principles aren’t just for us. These are general observations about the creative writing process, which are good habits to get into, and then applied to the art of writing quicksand stories.

If a director wanted to make a popular film, he just needs to add boobs. It doesn’t make it a great film, but it has boobs. The same could be said about stories and – in our case – quicksand stories. It may be fun, but it doesn’t necessarily make it a good story. Though debatable, an often-repeated description of a “good” quicksand story is one that is satisfying to read even without the quicksand part.

This section will focus on discussing various elements of creative writing and how they can be used in the context of writing quicksand stories. In essence, I will be talking about how to build your story from scratch and focusing on the non-quicksand elements.

Fantasy vs. Story

Being a fetish, seeing someone sinking in quicksand is usually at the forefront of our minds, and we love to portray that whenever can in whatever medium we are familiar with.

However, a picture in your head, alone, does not make a good story.

There is a line between a fantasy and a story. A fantasy is usually something that is unique to one person – you – that you personally enjoy, that only you can fully visualise. A story is something that is open for readers to join and experience. Most ‘plop and sink’ stories are fantasies that the writer has a burning desire to put onto paper.

Here’s an example: I might have an attractive friend named Annie. I fantasise about her being in quicksand. Sometimes while she’s wearing her favourite boots and jeans. Other times in a bikini on the beach. I like to imagine myself being there to see her sink, and then coming to the rescue. And I get off on it. That’s my fantasy.

Note that it’s my fantasy. Mine. I’m the only one who can fully appreciate it. This could be any fantasy – the ideal dress, a celebrity or video game character, a particular time or place, and so on. I’m basically turning something I know into a mannequin and driving into sand.

And that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with having fantasies.

The essential thing to think about is that a fantasy does not necessarily make a good story.

For the reasons above, fantasies tend to be one-off, isolated from context and contain exclusive elements to each person. Understand that your 3-minute fantasy is probably not going to appeal to other readers. Think of it like the huge number of stories on Literotica that involve the narrator having sex with a celebrity in a hotel room. Once you read one, you’ve read them all. That time you really wanted to see your attractive grade-school teacher open her blouse? Not a good story. Trapped in the elevator with Megan Fox? Not a good story. Just imagine yourself telling a friend about how you fantasise about having sex with someone. They’re not exactly going to be on the edge of their seat.

Instead of writing a fantasy, use your fantasy to create a story. Use your specific person or place and build a narrative around it. Often I write stories with particular people I know playing out the roles of the characters, but it’s done in such a way that the story is not my own personal fantasy, but an adventure that can be experienced and enjoyed by anyone.

The fantasy might be having sex with someone, but the story is how it got there, and what happened afterwards.


Understanding genre

Aside from reading and writing quicksand stories, I enjoy erotic literature in general. In reading it, however, there are trends that get very tiring very quickly. In fact, I kind of get bored of the same-old depictions of sex and become more interested in how the characters get to that point. The same could be said for quicksand stories.

There is a difference between erotic stories and plain ol’ smut, just as there is a difference between a sex scene in a film and outright pornography. The same can be said of quicksand stories.

In a general sense, there are a thousand ways to get a character naked. It isn’t tied down to one scenario or one genre. Likewise, there are many ways to put quicksand into a story. However, the story needs something to drive it; otherwise it becomes a mere plop-and-sink.

It’s worth considering which genre you’d like your story to fall into. This allows you to narrow the scope of your writing so that you can focus on the key elements that get you to the quicksand part of the story instead of struggling with the vague and generic. Even a long, detailed story can be a plain narrative about a character or characters who sink in quicksand. While this can work for a video format, as a story this can be unsatisfying for both the reader and the writer.

Consider your genre and what you can draw upon to make it work. Could it be a horror story? The haunted house or mysterious forest lends well to many ideas. An adventure story a la Tomb Raider? Fantasy? Romance? Sci-fi? I often lean towards thriller and its subgenres – I’ve tried detective thriller, military thriller and psycho-thriller. There are many features that are used in a particular genre that you can incorporate into your story to better drive the plot. The superhero genre is a commonly used one in quicksand stories, where the evil villain captures the heroine and puts them in quicksand, and thanks to the prevalence of pop culture, it’s easily recognisable. You can build strong storylines and characters by getting ideas from similarly constructed stories and other media in the same genre.

While I do enjoy going back to writing simple sinking stories, I’m not satisfied enough to share something generic and without context. Really, anyone could write a story about a girl who sinks on the beach and goes under (or escapes), but such pieces are recounts, not narratives. The simple act of deciding upon a genre can be a crucial backbone in building a good quicksand story. It’s more captivating to think of writing a “horror story with quicksand” or even an “erotic horror story”.

Generating the Idea

You can call this “planting the seed”, but I prefer to see it as a “genesis”. A story is a creation, like any piece of artwork. And like artwork, it has to start somewhere.

A question that is often raised is “How do you think of original ideas?” It’s true that writing quicksand stories is a very narrow topic, and authors can struggle to weave intricate plots around it. But it doesn’t have to be complex.

When I studied creative writing, one activity we had to do was to observe the world around us in our daily life and to record one instance, which we used as a stimulus to write a story. In a sense, you put a part of your life and your experience into the creation of a story idea. This is an essential concept in writing an authentic, believable story. You can easily tell when someone is writing about a topic they have never experienced before.

“But most of us haven’t experienced real quicksand”. That doesn’t matter. The challenge is not the quicksand, but how to incorporate it into your story. This is where we draw on real world events, experiences and emotions. Here is an example.

Once I had to supervise a school camp. In the afternoon, we took the students down to the beach. The path led from the back of the campsite. It was windy, uneven, overgrown and was muddy in some areas. The path eventually joined up with a gravel track that led to a road, went off on its own again and finally to the beach (it was a decent 25 minute hike). Along the way, I noticed warning signs about unstable ledges. We had to traverse the base of the cliff to get to the beach. The kids ran around and had fun. Some of them were trying to run up the side of the ledge, which was loosely held by thin roots, and the sand would crumble and they would slide down. One of my young, attractive colleagues tried getting up the long way, but also had trouble with the loose sand and eventually gave up. The tide was coming in, so we had to head back. My colleague and I led the way as the seawater rushed against the base of the cliff. The weary group made the hike back to camp.

There’s no quicksand. But…what if?

What if my young colleague was at the rear, but took a wrong turn and found herself in quicksand, alone and out of sight, struggling to control her panic while we searched for her?

What if we were the last to leave the beach and the end of the group? Perhaps we had to look for a missing wallet or shoe. Then we get caught in the rising tide and barely make back to the path, soaking wet, but lose our way and find ourselves surrounding by quicksand.

Or perhaps the tide cuts us off from the group. We become stranded on the beach, which is suddenly turning into quicksand! Our only way out is by climbing the sand ledges, but we keep on slipping back down the unstable slope and back into the quicksand!

Because these offshoots are based off a single real experience, they’re quite plausible and steady platforms for a quicksand story. A story doesn’t have to be set around quicksand, but rather the quicksand can be inserted into a story. Story ideas don’t have to be fantastical, and even the best fantasy stories are based on real life in some way (the popular Harry Potter series, for example, is really just another coming-of-age, school life story). Experienced writers can extend their experiences across broader genres, but the idea doesn’t need to be a complex one to begin with. It can simply be a memory of a place you’ve been to, an anecdote from a friend, a what-if from a news report, and so on.

This is why the possibilities are endless. By drawing on real experiences, a writer can begin to connect thoughts, feelings and fantasies to create an immersive narrative – and for us, one of those fantasies happens to be quicksand.

Fanfiction

The idea of using an existing character or universe to build a story is a very tempting one. You already have a reference to work with and you don’t necessarily have to go through the entire character’s backstory to get to the sinking bit. These “what if” ideas may come from games, movies, TV shows, etc.

For the most part, they’re fairly fun experiments that others can often visualise because of the familiarity with the existing content. That said, there are unique challenges to writing immersive fanfic.

The big one is staying authentic to the original content. As fanfic writers, we are allowed to twist things around to make it work our way, but at the same time, we risk losing the characters we borrow. It’s fairly easy to get away with a Lara Croft quicksand adventure – the subject material already suits it well. But Kari Byron from Mythbusters is a popular fantasy. How could you “authentically” get her into a quicksand scenario? It’s not necessarily difficult (in fact, I’ve written such a story), but it’s a challenge that, if fulfilled, leads to a story that clicks with the reader.

The selling point of a fanfic is, generally speaking, am I using the character the way it was intended? If the fanfic’s character can be substituted with any other generic character, it becomes more of a personal satisfaction than a gripping story (see: Fantasy vs. Story). It can still be a nice read, but I would ask: did it really need to be fanfic?


Building the character

”Michelle was a tall 23-year-old woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, tanned legs, 36DD breasts and curvy hips. She was wearing a tight t-shirt with plenty of cleavage and denim cutoffs that barely covered her cheeks…”

Transferring the image of your character from your imagination to paper, and then getting the reader to transfer that image into their imagination, may seem like an incredibly delicate and daunting task that requires very specific details so that they can see exactly what you see.

However, it’s more realistic to say that you DO NOT have to transpose the image in your head to someone else. Imagination is a powerful thing, and the power of writing a story comes from how the reader chooses to visualise the scene.

This trend is most evident in a male writer writing for a male audience. Imagine how ridiculous a story would be if the opening line was, “Greg was a tough guy with a 12 inch penis”.

This shortcut to introducing characters is no more evident than when using a “harem” of characters: the big-titted blonde, the slim Asian girl, the friendly brunette, and so on; each described in turn by their skin colour, hair colour, personality and breast size.

Unfortunately, the mugshot description of a character is all too common, because it’s simply the easiest way to describe someone. Doing so, however, takes down a character into individual, meaningless components. You’ve basically stripped a character down to a pair of tits on legs. While it may suit the fantasy, it does not make for a good building block for a good story. The reader should largely be responsible for creating the visual with guidance from the writer.

Believe it or not, the reader can actually imagine a scene without being told what the character looks like. Building a character’s physical attributes is not that important. Often, the readers’ image is based on a past experience – someone they have seen in real life, a person with the same name or similar description, wearing whatever is most suitable. The writer doesn’t need to do that much to fill in the gaps.

That isn’t to say that all description should be removed. Some attributes are specific to the plot. Others are there for tantalising visuals. When introducing a character, it’s not important to throw all the information at the reader at once. As the rule goes: show, don’t tell. A person usually does not think of themselves, or other people, as x-hair colour with y-bra size. Think of an approach like this:

”The gritty mud oozing between her toes made Michelle regret wearing sandals. The humidity made her blonde hair cling against her face. Her shorts did little to protect her legs from the vegetation, and while going braless seemed like a comfortable idea for the short trek, she was conscious of the gazes on her ample chest…”

In short, avoid the cookie-cutter approach. If there’s nothing particularly worthy of mention about a character, it may be better to simply leave it out. Don’t tell me that a character is perky or flirtatious or shy; show me through how the character interacts with the story.


Establishing the Conflict

The heart of any story is the conflict. The whole point of the story is how the characters resolve this problem – or problems. If a woman walks onto the beach and finds quicksand, that doesn’t really present a conflict.

A habit that new authors can develop is a broken, unresolved plot. A character is going through some kind of personal dilemma, encounter quicksand, escape quicksand, and then the story ends. This isn’t inherently a bad story, especially if the scenes are well described, but that leaves an awkward loose end. What happened to everything that was going on before the quicksand encounter?

In some cases, it could be argued that the quicksand is the conflict. The whole story is focused on how a character encounters quicksand and has to escape it. In that isolated context, that’s fair. One can write a very good story about a single quicksand encounter.

However, more often than not, the quicksand is part of the conflict. Say, for example, a detective is in pursuit of a fugitive. The fugitive leads the detective into quicksand, thus allowing the author to focus on developing the quicksand scene. Maybe it is a grim ending, and the detective submerges – but while it ends the story, it doesn’t resolve the conflict. Maybe the detective has to strip off her clothes to stop herself from sinking too quickly, and then has to make a rope to make a successful escape. The conflict still isn’t resolved.

Let’s try a deeper example. The conflict is that a detective is chasing a fugitive, but the fugitive is really innocent. Both of them run into quicksand. As they are trapped, the fugitive manages to explain it to the detective, and they work together to escape. Knowing that the authorities wouldn’t believe the story, the detective decides to let the fugitive go and lie about the encounter.

The story is complete. We have the elements we want: good characters, a driven plot, and a conflict that is actually resolved in the end. And of course, the quicksand.
Viridian @ deviantART: http://viridianqs.deviantart.com/

Viridian
Posts: 1587
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:03 am

In the Swamp: Writing quicksand

Postby Viridian » Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:53 am

Okay, so you’ve gotten your character into quicksand. Now what?

Arguably, one of the hardest parts of making a quicksand story is not constructing the story, but writing the quicksand scene. Ironically, perhaps, we become so excited that our favourite part is coming up that we forget how to write and we stare at the screen trying to find words. This is especially true if you write a lot of quicksand stories, and you find yourself using the same phrases over and over again.

This section will not only looking at ways to describe quicksand, but also how to control quicksand as a plot device. Get ready to immerse yourself in the grittiest part of quicksand writing.

Realism

I want to get one thing out there: forget reality.

Yes, some readers do praise the realistic depiction of quicksand, and that can work quite well. But if you want to take creative liberties with quicksand, do it! This is the norm with anything: guns, sex, explosions, and so on. Often, reality is just not exciting enough, so you have to make things up. As long as it sounds plausible to the reader, it’s fine. And even then, you can get away with a lot if you package it right. If you want quicksand to suck someone down, make it happen! Don’t feel restrained by real-life physics.

Some people go to great lengths to explaining the geological processes that form quicksand and how it causes this particular patch to be bottomless. That’s fine. It sounds intelligent, even if you’re pulling a Star Trek-style technobabble hood over our eyes, because as readers, we want to see this fantastical version of quicksand that can pull someone under, that actually is inescapable. Or you could just assume that it’s Hollywood-style quicksand that behaves the way you want it to.

One reason why this works is because often the experience of the quicksand comes from the victim, who has a distorted sense of what is happening and may not be aware of the actual process. They don’t have to know, and neither does the reader. Whether your want to make your quicksand realistic or not is up to you.

Location

Quick, think of places where you might find quicksand. Ready?

Swamp, beach, forest, jungle, desert.

Bonus points if you thought of more than that. With some extension, you could place quicksand in places like parks, quarries, evil villain lairs, and so on. Part of the creative challenge is putting the peril in a plausible place.

But a writer also needs to be resourceful. Those main locations are actually plenty to work with, and you can weave intricate plots and detailed quicksand scenes using those four scenes. Video producers typically only have a handful of sets to make use of, and this is a writer’s limitation that has to be worked around.

One aspect that helps is making the location more specific. Instead of just a patch of quicksand in the forest, set the scene more carefully. Perhaps it is a bend in the river, where the sediment has settled, making it soft underfoot but masking the flowing current beneath. Maybe the beach has this one particular private cove, but the sand becomes unstable at a certain time. The main track through the swamp has been blocked, and the long route goes into the low, marshy area.

It helps to pay particular attention to the scene, either before the quicksand or after, so that the reader, like the character, can grasp the situation. But don’t feel like you’re limited to using just a few sets.

The Entry

The first point of contact is crucial moment. Some readers may draw correlations between encountering quicksand and a sexual experience. The reader eagerly anticipates when the character falls in. The excitement, the tension, the foreplay, build up to this one point. How will it feel? What will their reaction be?

But just as one can prematurely end a pleasurable sexual experience, one can spoil the quicksand “moment” by firing off certain lines too soon. That “Help me, I’m in quicksand!” doesn’t need to be rushed, and in some instances, may not need to be uttered at all.

Though the actual approach to the quicksand is heavily plot-driven, the way to describe this initial encounter can vary in several ways. Some over-arching narrative approaches may be:
• Does the reader know about the quicksand? Blindsiding the reader with the quicksand encounter can be both shocking and pleasant, and a surprise may be appropriate for the mood of the story. On the other hand, informing the reader of the forthcoming hazard can also be a tease as they anticipate what is certain to come.
• Does the character know about the quicksand? Are they aware of the peril that lay ahead and are taking a risk, or is it a surprise to them?
• Does the character know about the nature of the quicksand? Ignorance can be bliss and the true fear of being trapped can be very dramatic. If the character knows about quicksand, how would they react upon realising they are trapped in it?

Also consider how the character gets into the quicksand. Do they fall in? Run in? Step in? Will they sink immediately, and how deep, or are they held up and then begin sinking at a later point in the plot?

What is the first thing they notice? Is the appearance of the quicksand? Is the feeling – the softness, or the muddiness? Or is it the sound that gets to the character first? Work with the five senses to immerse the reader with a vivid depiction of this first contact. Make this such a strong first impression that the reader will want to go back to read it again to experience that first touch.

Finding the right words

Aside from providing a list of synonyms, thinking of different ways to describe quicksand can be tough, but this is an area of the art of that only you can uniquely develop. There are various styles that depict the natural feel of submerging in mud or wet sediment, and some authors can pull off a plausible, almost scientific description of quicksand, lending well to the spookiness of uncontrolled nature.

A common, effective technique used in writing is “personification”. Personification is used to give an inanimate object “human” qualities – in other words, treat the quicksand as if it was a person. In reality, quicksand doesn’t really do any of the things we make it do in stories, but the feeling the character experiences may be similar to how a person may interact with them. The way the quicksand “pulls” someone down, “caresses” their legs, “slurps” at their waist, are examples of using personification to add character to the quicksand. You may even give your quicksand a personality of its own – is it flirtatious? Aggressive? Gentle?

One of the important aspects to remember is that describing quicksand can be done from the perspective of the character as they experience it, or from the perspective of the reader who can see things that the character can’t.

Controlling the Pace

Although the quicksand scene is mean to be the centrepiece of the story, writers can become over-excited about writing their favourite section that they rush through the scene. What may be pages of development may be over in less than a paragraph.

As a community drawn towards the quicksand interest, generally speaking, we like seeing an extended quicksand scene. Many of us are familiar with the disappointment of a movie scene being too rushed, and the same goes with stories. While a regular story may skip through the details, as writers of quicksand stories, it is, in a way, our job to entertain and please the reader of our unique community. It wouldn’t be surprising if the quicksand scene makes up a large portion of the narrative.

When it comes to how to make a quicksand segment longer, consider some of the following:
• Separating the sinking experience into segments – the encounter, sinking at different depths, the escape.
• “Pause” the action at certain points to develop the story – describe the experience from the character’s perspective, add dialogue, develop the plot. Pausing the progress of the quicksand also extends the tension in the scene, with the reader knowing that the character is still in quicksand.
• Decide how fast the character descends. Is it a constantly slow descent, giving the character plenty of time to think and react? Is it an unpredictable stop/start process, with the character sinking rapidly at first and then slowing at buoyancy level? Does the sand suddenly shift, causing a controlled and calm situation to escalate into life or death?

Another principle to consider is the “less is more” description. Although we are fixated on the quicksand experience, the reader’s imagination is vivid enough to fill in the gaps. This means that the writer doesn’t have to constantly monitor how quickly the character sinks and focus on the other parts of the story, then checking in at key points to reveal more of the quicksand at work. Reaching these points (thighs, waist, chest) can be a surprise to the reader and the character, or it can be a constantly looming threat that happens in the “background” of the story as the character tries to escape or has to deal with other problems.
Viridian @ deviantART: http://viridianqs.deviantart.com/

Viridian
Posts: 1587
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:03 am

Bogged Down: Traps and Trends

Postby Viridian » Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:55 am

I’m hesitant to identify “mistakes” in stories, as this implies that the author is incompetent or poorly experienced. The fact is that we all make mistakes, and many things are intended to be as such. Rather, this section will look at habits that writers of quicksand stories are prone to develop. Not all of these are bad, but avoiding some traps can lead to a richer reading and writing experience.

Plop and Sink

A “plop and sink” story is one that really has no plot. The sole event in the story is a character, or characters, encountering and sinking in quicksand. Often, but not always, these stories are grim, mostly because a grim ending is an easy way to conclude a story (but without necessarily resolving the conflict). This kind of story can be an interesting exercise in writing a quicksand scene, but one scene does not make a film, and it doesn’t make a whole story. Plop-and-sinks also tend to be based on fantasies rather than developed narratives.

It isn’t necessarily a bad thing to write a plop-and-sink story. They can be very intense and fulfilling. The challenge with writing such a story, however, is that they can become saturated. The relative ease of a plop-and-sink makes them less memorable to the reader. With no clear character and plot, these stories are at risk of being “just another quicksand story”. Consequently, while there may be an initial readership, there’s little to bring readers to come back to the story for another dose.

Oversexualisation

We like our stories to be sexy. While it’s not a requirement, it can be a pleasant surprise when it comes, and people don’t miss it if it isn’t there. But too much of it can be obnoxious.

The trope is sometimes known as “male vision”. The focus for a male reader is often on the sexual elements (i.e. boobs). Considering the male majority of the quicksand community, the vast majority of written stories are written by males for a male audience. Consequently, it’s common to see an excessive amount of descriptions of sexual parts. Some examples include:

• Mugshot descriptions…of boobs. As odd as this may sound, a lot of writers profile characters based, among other things, on their breast size. Believe it or not, women don’t define themselves by their bra size. Describing a character as someone as a “34C”, if applied to a different scenario, is like describing a character by the size of their shirt. People like big boobs, yes, but is it really important to quantify *how* big? Unless it’s crucial, it’s often better to leave the description general (even “large” is sufficient), or even leave it out altogether and let the reader paint the picture.
• Repeated descriptions…of boobs. No, seriously, read a quicksand story and take note about how often “large breasts” is used, sometimes at odd times and clearly from the perspective of a male viewer. There are moments when the focus is appropriate (removing clothes, sinking to chest-depth). This sort of thing can be a tease, but too much jiggling isn’t always good.
• Sexual reactions. In a life-or-death situation where fear and panic are rampant, women probably aren’t turned on by the feeling of quicksand against their crotch. If the situation is less dire, it would be more appropriate. It’s important to use erotic descriptions in the right time and place.

While erotic stories are meant to be sexual, one can be subtle and still be fulfilling. Don’t feel like you have to include large amounts of sexual depictions. Finding the right balance and timing is part of the fine art of writing. Referring to someone as “drop-dead gorgeous”, if done often enough, may lose the reader and is unnecessary. If you do want to describe someone’s attractiveness: show, don’t tell.

Grim Endings

Grim endings are fine, and are often appropriate. Grim endings, however, can also leave a story incomplete. This ties in with establishing and resolving the story’s conflict, discussed in the first section. If you’re going to kill the character, it’s worth finishing the story as well. Stories don’t have to end with the main character dying.

Sequelitis

Some writers love to hit the ground running with a hundred ideas. You’ve built a strong character and a good setting and you want to plunge this character into quicksand many times. I know the feeling – my very first quicksand story was a series. Over the past couple of years I have written mini-series and long community-driven projects. However, many of these have fizzled out, and I haven’t really seen a quicksand “series” succeed.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t write a series, but understand that it is increasingly more difficult than you may initially think. Consider writing a long, but complete, story if you don’t feel you can plausibly stretch out a story. Remember – there is an extent where a character can continually fall into quicksand without it becoming repetitive.

Overusing superlatives and exaggeration

Often, the struggle with quicksand is portrayed a titanic battle with nature. The suction of the quicksand prevents the victim from escaping. Consequently, writers are fond of using melodramatic language to convey urgency and desperation. This is good.

Care should be taken, however, when it comes to overusing dramatic language. A small writing oversight, which editors may pick up frequently, is how often phrases like “she used all her strength” are used. It’s an easy go-to phrase to describe the difficulty, but it also implies that the character is unable to do anything else after. There are only so many times one can use up their strength and stamina before the reader begins to wonder if they are actually human.

Similarly, be wary of using the typical quicksand phrases. Things like “It’s sucking me down!” or “I’m up to my waist!” are sometimes used superficially and don’t need to be verbalised. You can probably imagine a very “wooden” actor trying to recite lines, and poorly used dialogue can have this effect. Avoid having the damsel do the “Oh no, how will I get out?” line for the sake of melodrama, and use something more creative.

Editing

An additional comment from PM2K:
The only thing I'd say you overlooked is the importance of correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. Nothing wrecks a narrative faster than hitting the speed bumps of obvious spelling errors.... in this age of spell and grammar checks, there really isn't an excuse for such things. Considering how long it takes me to finish a story to the point where I'm happy with it, it seems beyond odd that I wouldn't spend another minute running it through a spell check.


One can overlook one or two mistakes, as long as the intent is clear, but sometimes a story breaks down to the point where it is unreadable. It isn't just a matter of hitting Spellcheck; one should actually peruse the whole text to find grammatical errors that aren't picked up, poor phrasing and, sometimes, gaping plot holes. Don't rush to publish the work as soon as you finish it. Take the time to polish your work.

Another important element that is sometimes overlooked is the need to have the story formatted to fit editing and publishing conventions. The story has to be *physically* readable. That means proper paragraph breaks; dialogue split into new lines between each speaker; and factor in the online medium you publish on. A story won't display the same way on a BBcode forum the way it would on a Word document. Things like indented lines don't appear, and you may have to add extra line breaks between lines of dialogue to make it more readable on the screen. Don't give the reader a wall of text!
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Along the Beach: What Happens Next?

Postby Viridian » Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:56 am

People write for different reasons. Some do it for self-satisfaction, others write for their audiences. Not everyone wants to write a quicksand novella, but there is a unique challenge in advancing your writing skills and being more ambitious in constructing good quicksand stories.

In this section, we will look at some areas where writers can push the envelope.

Multiple characters, multiple perspectives

A single-character is the easiest platform to play with, and often authors include one or two other characters – also often the victim of quicksand. A good writer, however, makes use of the characters they have created to develop a richer interaction and narrative.

Often when a quicksand story involves two or more characters, the story is stuck on an omnipotent third-person perspective, where the reader sees what the characters are experiencing, but don’t get into the character’s head.

A more advanced way to approach the scenario is to tell the story from a particular character’s perspective. This differs in that the events and feelings are portrayed through a set of eyes, which may present skewed information that can add to the effect. Incidentally, this also provides a frame for the reader to include desirable elements, which would otherwise be out of place from a neutral perspective. For example:

“The ranger waded out into the bog and reached out for the girl, wrapping his arm around her slim waist. The flowery smell of her hair filled his nose as he pulled her towards him. His hand, inadvertently, slipped up her top and grasped onto her breast. She let out a weak yelp, but said nothing as she clung onto his chest.”

As an extension, some writers may opt to switch perspectives to a different character, either in a different chapter or within the same passage of writing, to better immerse the reader and, if desirable, slow down the pace and stall for time by adding more internal dialogue. A continuation of the previous example might be:

“The girl could feel his fingers pass over her nipples. His grip was strong, almost painful, but she knew he didn’t mean it. If he could get her out, she’d let him squeeze her girls as much as he wanted.”

First-person perspective

Something I find interesting in reading (and writing) quicksand stories is that most stories are written in third-person. Third-person is often popular because it allows a writer to draw out a fantasy scenario, whereas first-person limits the story into what’s happening inside the narrator’s head. That, however, is just the challenge the ambitious other will try to overcome.

As with the multiple perspectives, the first-person perspective does plausibly allow a character to focus on things that would seem silly to an external viewer. A character may in fact be concerned about ruining their clothes or the size of someone’s breasts, and may plausibly experience sensual feelings while sinking in quicksand. You may even get away with describing a female character by their bra size, as they’re more likely to actually know (though, as a personal opinion, it’s out of place most of the time. I don’t think women think about boobs and bras *that* often).

Weave plots, tie up loose ends

Regardless of whether your story is grim or not, the story doesn’t have to end with the quicksand scene. The scene is usually the climax of the story, but following though by resolving the conflict adds a nice touch to the story and results in a satisfying read. The audience is pleased by the intense depiction of quicksand, and nods their head at a good ending that ties up the loose ends.

Don’t think of the non-quicksand parts as “boring” or have to be skipped through to get to the quicksand part. One advantage with stories is that the reader can skim through to the good bits if they want to. But, I dare say that readers like the double-treat of a good story and good quicksand scene. If anything, I may suggest taking the focus away from the quicksand, plan out a good story first and then work the quicksand into it.

Multiple encounters

I think many can agree that writing a story with more than one quicksand scene is hard. It takes a lot of effort to set up a believable, immersive quicksand scene. Doing two is really pushing boundaries. Done well, it’s a great reading experience, like a double-header or two-for-one deal. However, given that we tend to get excited about our stories and burn through the quicksand scenes quickly when writing, we can sometimes rush the scenes without completely fulfilling what we expected. Repeated sinks should consider the character’s previous experience and perhaps make changes to the scene so that it differs from the last. Remember, quicksand scenes don’t have to end grimly, so escapes are possible and plausible.

Be original, be bold

Perhaps the hardest, and most important, challenge is the need to be creative and to come up with new stories. Use plot that no one else would think of. There is some pleasure in reading about a jogger in a hot sports bra being stuck, but there’s so much more you can do that only you can write. Do it in a way that no one else can do. Think of new characters, new settings, new conflicts that haven’t been done before. Be bold!

Use unique settings
While the content may not need to be exclusively new, the real test of a writer is how well they make use of the scene they have created. The environment they describe, the qualities of the characters, should shine when piecing together the sequence of events. Things aren't "just there" for show. If, for example, a story involves a bridge, make use of this plot device by bringing it back. Think of unique sinking or rescue scenarios involving the environment and props you have inserted into the story.
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Re: New Depths: The Art of Writing Quicksand Stories

Postby Viridian » Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:57 am

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Re: New Depths: The Art of Writing Quicksand Stories

Postby Rusty Shackleford » Sat Apr 12, 2014 5:03 pm

This was an excellent summary and I agree with nearly everything you said, thank you for sharing your thoughts and comments on this. I feel like if authors give some consideration to the topics you've raised above, they will find they are much more satisfied with their own writing. I know I started out writing several "plop and sinks" and was guilty of "sequelitis" as I wanted to just keep the stories going. I still go back to those stories from time to time, but I think my writing improved the more I worked at the storytelling aspect. I know we all want to read about the quicksand part, but I found that working on the rest of the story like you've suggested really helps make it better. I tend to think of that as the "metaplot" in that if there is a quicksand scene, what is the rest of the plot going on?

I'd like to just echo the section on pushing the envelope as that is really a lot of fun! I'd cut my teeth on writing just some basic stories first (everyone needs to get past their initial "plop and sinks") but I think there are a ton of creative ways to tell stories. I've been a lifelong comic book fan, so I've found it really entertaining to combine those two interests together (and as mentioned before, superhero comics readily lend themselves to this). I've also experimented around with non-sequential story telling (e.g. Choose Your Own Adventure books) and that has been fun too. Obviously everyone races to the quicksand there, but how you get them there and what happens once you're there can be entertaining (although this is a LOT of work).

Again, thank you for sharing this!

Rusty

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Re: New Depths: The Art of Writing Quicksand Stories

Postby PM2K » Sat Apr 12, 2014 5:42 pm

Impressive! There's a man who knows his craft. :D

I really cannot add much to this, as it is a very well written overview of the basics of creative writing. The only thing I'd say you overlooked is the importance of correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. Nothing wrecks a narrative faster than hitting the speed bumps of obvious spelling errors.... in this age of spell and grammar checks, there really isn't an excuse for such things. Considering how long it takes me to finish a story to the point where I'm happy with it, it seems beyond odd that I wouldn't spend another minute running it through a spell check.

This also brings me to the importance of editing. Once the afterglow has faded from completing a story, please read it over before posting it. You may be surprised how often you may find errors, awkward phrasing, plot elements which frankly make no sense, etc. In the heat of creating, we all sometimes don't notice these things until afterwards...

I do this all the time, and have probably torn apart more things than I ever posted here. Some of the stories I post here are the result of months of work... writing, rewriting, editing, rewriting again, setting aside because I'm getting too damn angry at how it isn't going... then returning to it and hammering away at it again. Some stories flow naturally, others feel more like I am beating a confession out of a suspect rather than writing...

I've had written stories which have come to a screeching halt because certain scenes weren't working. Others started out one way and became something completely different by the time I was done with it. Still others remain floating in the limbo of my hard drive... loose collectives of ideas, paragraphs, or clumps of prose 2,000 words plus which simply petered out. I may salvage them, rip off pieces for other stories, or ignore them. Yet even if they never see the light of day, this isn't wasted time. One never knows what works or doesn't until one tries.

I started out writing scenes, often inspired by other authors' scenes, for my own amusement. This grew to incorporate some of my own ideas, and then I grew confident enough to start posting them for others to check out. I've been at it ever since.

Have I figured it all out? Nope. But I keep on trying. I keep experimenting in genres and scenes, using one or multiple characters. Some work, some not so much. I've grown to accept what I work the hardest at tends to be overlooked by someone else's "plop and sink with multiple orgasms" type of tale, but that's fine. Those certainly have their place. :) Plus it makes what comments I do receive all that more precious to me.

For you folks just trying this writing thing out, please don't be intimidated by what others have done before you. The only way one gets better at writing is to write, while also reading how other people do things. And taking advice listed here to heart in the spirit it is intended, as a helpful guide, something to think about before starting your next work.

And Viridian, thank you for the effort you put into this. It really does put everything nicely into perspective. :D

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Re: New Depths: The Art of Writing Quicksand Stories

Postby nachtjaeger » Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:35 am

Virdian,

Thanks so much for posting this. It really helps to know there are other folks really appreciate QS fiction on more than a superficial level. As to "series" quicksand stories, making them each unique is indeed difficult. There is still one more Ostara story that may see the light of day, and it's a good one.

Likewise PM2K- I also have a bunch of unfinished QS stories "on the back burner", either in my head or on my hard drive. A few of them I set aside because the "back story" seemed too political; even though they are set in either a dystopian future or "a galaxy far, far away" I didn't want to offend anybody. I may rescue one of these, because there are really no "good guys and bad guys" and the characters are just trying to stay alive during a civil war.

Strangely, I tend to shy away from stories where I basically explore my own fantasies, even though I like writing them and they seem popular. :?:

Okay, enough on this thread for now- I have a story to finish! :)
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Re: New Depths: The Art of Writing Quicksand Stories

Postby Viridian » Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:39 am

The only thing I'd say you overlooked is the importance of correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. Nothing wrecks a narrative faster than hitting the speed bumps of obvious spelling errors.... in this age of spell and grammar checks, there really isn't an excuse for such things. Considering how long it takes me to finish a story to the point where I'm happy with it, it seems beyond odd that I wouldn't spend another minute running it through a spell check.


I had considered this and, for some reason, chose not to make a point about it. I strongly agree that editing is something that all writers must do before publishing their work. I have added your comment into the Bogged Down section.
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