Deleted

[TheElaborateNeurotic]

Edit: Deleted. Can the mods remove the post, please?

[Viridian]

I personally never understood the purpose behind story requests. I understand art requests - artists can use original or borrowed content to create new work in their style, appealing to individuals and their likes and fantasies. I find it hard to imagine why someone would request a written form of their fantasy when they can already fantasise about it. If someone requests a story about a blonde-haired policewoman wearing a form-hugging halter-neck dress, black heels struggling up to her ankles while playing the accordion, I'm going to present a story about a blonde-haired policewoman wearing a form-hugging halter-neck dress, black heels struggling up to her ankles while playing an accordion.

Speaking as one writer to another, taking story requests has been one of the worst things I've done for myself. Rather than ridding myself of the stress of creating original storylines, I'm pressured to fulfill someone else's exact fantasy. When it comes to adult/erotic-themed writing, especially in a very niche area like what we have here, requests are ridiculously specific, and some people get upset because you sank their character an inch too deep or you didn't spend enough time describing their chest waders, or the characters should've worn pantyhose or taken their top off or went under instead of escaping.

In my opinion, stories should be original creations or, at the very least, have enough to room to show some freedom in creativity. Stories aren't random pieces put together haphazardly. I struggle with this at times: at various moments I've had specific items that I wanted to include, such as a specific dress, or the main character wearing a hoodie with nothing underneath, being stuck in an elevator or having their car break down, being tied up and rescued by an undercover cop who has to handle her, and so on. If I can't make sense of my own random ideas, I wouldn't to screw around with someone else's.

Part of the reason why I began creating vignettes based around my "Quicky Sanders" character is to have a vent for short, random ideas that would not otherwise work.

Above all, I learned in my time as a writer is that you write for yourself and no one else. In any case, good luck with your writing.

Edit:
To actually respond to the intent of the topic, I offer the hypothetical scenario mentioned in my sticky topic: young female teacher supervising a school camp by the coast and being left behind as the tide cuts her off from the group.

[pig girl]

I have a story idea :: two girls find an old abandoned PIG FARM with a NICE BIG MUD WALLOW , on a very hot day , decide to " PLAY IN THE MUD " to cool off AND TURN INTO HALF HUMAN HALF PIG GIRLS

[tanya_wam]

I suppose it depends why you write. Some professionals and those wanting to breaking into professional writing will often chase submission calls for short stories, either for anthologies or magazines, as a starter. I did that a few years back, when I was part of a small online group of writers of erotica, and honed some of my skills there as we shared ideas and experience, both in subject and critique.

I started writing erotic stories for my partner(s). Some have been encouraging, others not. It was when one suggested I was good enough to write erotica as a pro, I gave it a whirl, and did get some published and had favourable feedback from others.

Quite often submission calls are quite specific, and I don't see why a story can't be commissioned very specific tastes, in the same way art is. Both are creative, and usually to a brief or set of guidelines.

Currently I'm working with someone in this group to write a new sinking story - his ideas and my writing. It's proving very interesting and great fun to discuss and develop, as I've been given a free hand to expand them into a proper story with characters in an interesting setting, rather than - as has been called by some explaining to me - a 'plop and sink' with no real content or development.

But yes i know from my own experience, my first story for this group, when someone bemoaned a lack of stories about quicksand and tights, so I racked my brains and wrote one. And that person was not exactly forthcoming or grateful or even kind when responding. Apparently it can take all sorts.

I personally never understood the purpose behind story requests. I understand art requests - artists can use original or borrowed content to create new work in their style, appealing to individuals and their likes and fantasies. I find it hard to imagine why someone would request a written form of their fantasy when they can already fantasise about it. If someone requests a story about a blonde-haired policewoman wearing a form-hugging halter-neck dress, black heels struggling up to her ankles while playing the accordion, I'm going to present a story about a blonde-haired policewoman wearing a form-hugging halter-neck dress, black heels struggling up to her ankles while playing an accordion.

Speaking as one writer to another, taking story requests has been one of the worst things I've done for myself. Rather than ridding myself of the stress of creating original storylines, I'm pressured to fulfill someone else's exact fantasy. When it comes to adult/erotic-themed writing, especially in a very niche area like what we have here, requests are ridiculously specific, and some people get upset because you sank their character an inch too deep or you didn't spend enough time describing their chest waders, or the characters should've worn pantyhose or taken their top off or went under instead of escaping.

In my opinion, stories should be original creations or, at the very least, have enough to room to show some freedom in creativity. Stories aren't random pieces put together haphazardly. I struggle with this at times: at various moments I've had specific items that I wanted to include, such as a specific dress, or the main character wearing a hoodie with nothing underneath, being stuck in an elevator or having their car break down, being tied up and rescued by an undercover cop who has to handle her, and so on. If I can't make sense of my own random ideas, I wouldn't to screw around with someone else's.

Part of the reason why I began creating vignettes based around my "Quicky Sanders" character is to have a vent for short, random ideas that would not otherwise work.

Above all, I learned in my time as a writer is that you write for yourself and no one else. In any case, good luck with your writing.

Edit:
To actually respond to the intent of the topic, I offer the hypothetical scenario mentioned in my sticky topic: young female teacher supervising a school camp by the coast and being left behind as the tide cuts her off from the group.

[Fred588]

To start with I have to agree with most of the comments by both Viridian and Tanya Wam. Stories written to specifications are going to come out, for the most part, rather mechanical. This was pretty well stated by Viridian. I hope you will not take offense if I say that writing in conformance with someone else's specifications sounds a lot like an exercise one might be given in middle school, as you mentioned.

On the other hand, if what you seek is more in tune with developing your skills as a writer than with taking orders, then I know I can suggest exercises that have the potential to be helpful, especially if you are willing to take subsequent feedback that could be harsh at times. Such exercises will generally take the form of a task to be performed by the writer rather than a recipe of plot or character elements.

Here are a few:

1. Take a short story you have written in the past and convert it to script or screenplay format. By that I mean a written sequence of dialogue and stage directions but nothing about what is going on inside any character's head.

2. Write a first-person account of what happened to you when you went riding and fell off the horse. Or when the car broke down on a rainy night.

3. Write a first-person account of what happened when you went to sleep write after having three bowls of chilli.

4. Write a simple story involving two people (or more) who encounter each other and then go their separate ways (anywhere), but write it STRICTLY from the point of view of one of those people.(That is, before they meet and after they separate you can only describe what ONE of them did. Then write the same thing but from the other person's point of view.

5. Write a simple story ENTIRELY in dialogue, perhaps with the single exception of the use of things such as "he said", "she said", or "she said enthusiastically."

Keep in mind that the above are EXERCISES. If taken seriously they should help develop writing skills but they will not produce stories that are really any good by themselves. They will help with writing mechanics but probably not creativity. To get to the latter, the usual advice is to write about what you know. Of all the stories I have written I have gotten the most positive feedback from a couple involving a female cave explorer. While I am not female I was an active cave explorer and that, I suspect, is why those stories worked.

[tanya_wam]

If someone requests a story about a blonde-haired policewoman wearing a form-hugging halter-neck dress, black heels struggling up to her ankles while playing the accordion, I'm going to present a story about a blonde-haired policewoman wearing a form-hugging halter-neck dress, black heels struggling up to her ankles while playing an accordion.

So would I but of course the questions that have to be asked for a story to make any modicum of sense are:

Does being a policewoman have any bearing on her wearing a form hugging halter neck dress and black heels because, not being too picky, that doesn't sound like any uniform I know? Is she in disguise or plain clothes or off duty?

Why is she playing an accordion?

And why does she only sink ankle deep? Where's the drama in that?



I know it's only an extreme example to prove a point but even stories have to follow some sort of logic, even within their own fantasy world, yes?

[Viridian]

Quite often submission calls are quite specific, and I don't see why a story can't be commissioned very specific tastes, in the same way art is. Both are creative, and usually to a brief or set of guidelines.

The thing with art requests is that the person who commissions the work is usually not able to produce the piece on their own, or has a particular liking to a specific artist's style, or knows that a particular artist specialises in certain themes (such as quicksand). These artists can bring the idea to life in a unique way.

While written work also has boundless creative potential, this generally doesn't come out as vividly as artwork, and there is an inherent irony in making a story commission: the very act of writing up the commission already fulfills the purpose of commission. By describing the scenario you want in a story, you pretty much complete your own request. You might lack the flair or method to write a good story, but the scenario or fantasy you have in mind is already clear in your head and there isn't much that can be done by another writer. What ends up happening is that the commission becomes prescriptive rather than descriptive, and writers have to portray things a specific way to suit the preconceived idea the commissioner has.

This isn't to say that all story requests are pointless. The ones that give the most creative freedom with only small requests (e.g. using someone's Original Character or a fanfic topic) means that the author can be creative and the commissioner can be surprised.

As I said though, the nature of our interest and our proximity to other erotic fetishes often renders requests and turn-ons in black-and-white: must be this, can't be that. I personally haven't seen a story request/commission that has been done well (not counting ones that are so general that they barely count as requests and would be better described as suggestions).

I know it's only an extreme example to prove a point but even stories have to follow some sort of logic, even within their own fantasy world, yes?

True, and as would be expected of a writer, my example is a metaphor of our community and its tastes.

The "policewoman" refers to the common theme of figures of authority being placed in situations showing vulnerability, and is a popular in erotic writing (similarly: spies, FBI agents, detectives/sleuths). While uniforms are also a popular wishlist item in erotica, shifting the character out of their prescribed environment into something more comfortable ("the halter-neck dress") creates tension and conflict as the character has to balance the identity inherited from their position of authority and the situation they are in now (such as an after-hours dinner date). The "black heels" refers to the foot fetish / heel fetish that is also a popular sub-theme that drives some people crazy, and because of the nature of quicksand as being similar to the "stuck" fetish theme, this comes up (unusually) often.

"Ankle-deep" reflects the bizarrely specific "turn-on" points unique to quicksand fetishists. In previous surveys over the years, these points are ankle, knee, mid-thigh, upper-thigh, crotch, waist, just-below-breasts, nipple-deep, just-over-breasts/armpits, shoulders, neck, chin-tilted up, and submerged. Fetishists can be profiled based on which points are turn-ons. Foot fetishists peak immediately at ankles, and are indifferent to the rest. Melodrama fans hit the high at the thighs to chest, but are switched off by submergences. Grim ending fans find minimal enjoyment up until neck or chin-deep. What's surprising is that often a scene is "ruined" to certain profiles if it doesn't touch their specific turn-on point and they are very adamant about what should or shouldn't be in the scene. (Similarly: "What do you (or do not) like in quicksand vids?" viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13521).

The accordion is just my jab at how stupid these specific lists and requirements are.

[tanya_wam]

The "policewoman" refers to the common theme of figures of authority being placed in situations showing vulnerability, and is a popular in erotic writing (similarly: spies, FBI agents, detectives/sleuths). While uniforms are also a popular wishlist item in erotica, shifting the character out of their prescribed environment into something more comfortable ("the halter-neck dress") creates tension and conflict as the character has to balance the identity inherited from their position of authority and the situation they are in now (such as an after-hours dinner date). The "black heels" refers to the foot fetish / heel fetish that is also a popular sub-theme that drives some people crazy, and because of the nature of quicksand as being similar to the "stuck" fetish theme, this comes up (unusually) often.

"Ankle-deep" reflects the bizarrely specific "turn-on" points unique to quicksand fetishists. In previous surveys over the years, these points are ankle, knee, mid-thigh, upper-thigh, crotch, waist, just-below-breasts, nipple-deep, just-over-breasts/armpits, shoulders, neck, chin-tilted up, and submerged. Fetishists can be profiled based on which points are turn-ons. Foot fetishists peak immediately at ankles, and are indifferent to the rest. Melodrama fans hit the high at the thighs to chest, but are switched off by submergences. Grim ending fans find minimal enjoyment up until neck or chin-deep. What's surprising is that often a scene is "ruined" to certain profiles if it doesn't touch their specific turn-on point and they are very adamant about what should or shouldn't be in the scene. (Similarly: "What do you (or do not) like in quicksand vids?" viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13521).

The accordion is just my jab at how stupid these specific lists and requirements are.

Oh good grief. That might explain Mr Ungrateful Tights & Quicksand then! I probably hinted at the wrong shade or denier of micromesh!

[Nessie]

Edit: Deleted. Can the mods remove the post, please?

Don't know what you posted, just the former subject line. But I don't blame you.

Nessie