How far would you go?

As a sporadic writer on Lit, as well as a reader, I have a question for the mass of authors, new and old alike. I've tried writing out of my comfort zone a few times and I think we all do at some point, at least those of us who are trying to learn new techniques and exercises. *shrugs*

In a recent conversation, the question springs up that brings me to you people to see the answers first hand... How far would you go to A) challenge yourself in writing a category that you normally wouldn't and B) to support others in their categories of interest.

That is to say, could you/ would you voluntarily write even a very short story containing a theme of gay, lesbian, bi, trans or questioning gender? ( I know a lot of you, especially longtime Lit writers, will plead 'too busy', but would you otherwise do it as a challenge? And would you participate in an organized challenge) I know it's a lot to expect, but consider the prospect for a moment. It's almost a delightful way of getting back at those bomber missions Sam was talking about earlier.

Thanks in advance for your comments and answers.

...........

Personally I won't. I have no desire to write about a topic I either have no interest in or makes me uncomfortable. I may try something different in a story style wise, but only if that's how the idea popped into my head, I won't sit and say okay, I'm going for this no matter what...

I like writing. I like that its fun and escapism and won't make it into work.

I have challenged myself physically my entire life with martial arts, running, and other forms of exercise. I've challenged myself mentally through work where I was offered several promotions despite not having the educational background for it, but having the common sense, know how and attitude to do the job. I took the training, pushed myself to learn what I needed to.

So...for this I don't see the reason to challenge myself in anyway. I write what I like.

I also read what I like and not things that annoy or repulse me. My favorite author here could say, hey I just wrote a non con story want to read it? The answer is no. I'm not going to read something that would make me want to hit something just for 'you'. I also won't pimp anything like that either because if I don't like the content I'm not going to be an advocate for it.

holliday1960 said:

That is to say, could you/ would you voluntarily write even a very short story containing a theme of gay, lesbian, bi, trans or questioning gender?

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I did that with one of my early stories for Lit. I gained nothing from it but my lowest-rating. There's no reason to do it again.

There are other limits to push that might do me more good. Horror, suspense, mystery, and action come to mind.

holliday1960 said:

That is to say, could you/ would you voluntarily write even a very short story containing a theme of gay, lesbian, bi, trans or questioning gender?

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That's almost all I do write here. Probably wouldn't participate in an organised challenge, but only because I don't work fast enough to make deadlines.

Thanks guys for the feedback. It's a small but varied sampling of thoughts and ideas on the matter. I've gotten some private feedback as well and it's all very interesting. I think others will find these answers are not exactly surprising, but they do contain some insight.

Laughing at KOH here...you know, I was in the middle of your latest entry when either the lit site or my computer, or both, decided I shouldn't read any further! Was it the content or the length, I wondered. LOL (I'll finish it today, honest injun.)

LC, I acknowledge and respect your rights and opinions. And that's pretty much the point of all this. You'll never find a more varied group of people than are on Lit. I've got friends from all across the board. I'm pretty sure that you do, too. And we know that no category is safe from being attacked by trolls and bombers.

There were a couple of things that happened yesterday by coincidence that prompted my inquiry. One, I'll share, the other I'll keep private.

I buried my stepfather yesterday and standing for the honors, I was reminded of what he and hundreds of thousands of others have sacrificed to the cause of individual rights. He told me more than once, "I'm not gay and I never was even curious about being gay, but since I was a kid, I've had to defend myself from people who thought I was. It never bothered me to go the extra mile and stand up for those who are." Remembering he said that made me stand taller. And for that reason, I'll read and support my friends who write in a rainbow of colours.

Thanks again for the input, gentlemen.

Theoretically, yes, I think it would be an interesting challenge to do so. I like the idea of eventually getting around to writing a story for nearly every category, even those that do not turn me on. In particular, I like the idea of writing a gay male story, even though I don't roll that way.

I'm less sure about committing to writing a story for a specific event or challenge, because I already seem to have so little success at getting stories published under deadlines and at keeping up with my self-imposed timelines for finishing stories I'm working on. But, that issue aside, I think this is a good idea, and I fully support it.

One major barrier to this sort of thing is how poorly flash/short stories perform here, on average.

If all you want to do is write a short story outside your comfort zone, you can do it. If you want to do so and get anything else out of it, Lit readership doesn't really reward the effort.

I consider myself a straight man, but I have no issue with writing gay/bi/lesbian/other... stories. In fact, most of my recent stories have an element of "gender-optional", featuring android-like beings able to attach/detach penisses at will. In my fantasy stories I have featured lesbian lovers, a blind, bisexual assassin (having both straight and gay sex) and I'm currently plotting a "gay buddy-cop" story.

I'm curious enough to play around with these scenarios in my head, so writing that stuff is easy in theory. Writing -for example - a m/m scene CONVINCINGLY, that's the hard part. (Although I was told my m/m scenes are actually better than my straight scenes. Huh.)

My hangups are somewhere else. I'm not a big fan of BDSM, even though my stories do feature a lot of power dynamics. But many facets of BDSM squick me out. Humiliation "games" are a hard stop, pain for pleasure too. Heck, put non-con into that basket too. I've written some forced/violent intercourse, but not as a turn-on, rather as an obstacle the protag has to surmount.

To get back to the original question: If the story demands it, I'll write it. My plots are journeys, adventures, with a lot of sexual encounters. My protags sometimes wind up in unpleasant situations, but I don't close the cellar door and turn away. Doesn't work well with either first-person or limited third-person narrative, so it has to be told.

I'd happily write a m/f/futa threesome stroker where he would happily take it up the ass (if I knew how to keep it short), but I would not (without the promise of a decent paycheck) write a bondage master/servant thing.

You guys are giving a lot of food for thought here. Great answers!

RejectReality, I don't think if such a thing was to become an actual challenge/event, that there should be any limits placed on length...hell, I'm thinking no limits at all of any kind, except those usual ones that Lit imposes. It's just the expectation of a novel length piece would be unreasonable for something like this. And the readers do seem to like little bits and bites of stories in general.

The entire idea was just posed as a 'what if' sort of thing. I was pretty sure there'd be an array of responses. Thumbs up on NW for having been-there-done-that. (Sorry your story got bashed. I'll have to check it out.) Another to Simon and BJ for theirs' as well. I'm also thinking there's going to be some surprised faces when this thread is read by others. Thanks guys...you're all the greatest. You restore a small piece of faith and hope here.

I experienced sounding to be able to write about it (and I described that experience in a story here by sr71plt). I doubt there's any further to go than that.

RejectReality said:

One major barrier to this sort of thing is how poorly flash/short stories perform here, on average.

If all you want to do is write a short story outside your comfort zone, you can do it. If you want to do so and get anything else out of it, Lit readership doesn't really reward the effort.

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There's no way I could write a story like this as a quickie/short stroke type story, because for me the whole point would be to explore in some depth a sexual trait or interest I don't actually share. If I wrote a gay male story, it would feature a man whose behavior has always been straight but who, confronted with some new circumstances, finds himself exploring a side to himself he wasn't fully aware of before. I can't see pulling that off in one Lit page.

Come to think of it, I've already done this in a way. I've written a bunch of mom-son incest stories, and in real life I have no interest whatsoever in the concept. I can and do separate my real world kinks from my fictional ones.

Oh, my goodness. Who would ever want to write a gay story?

I can't think of any element I haven't written into a story, even ones that turn me completely off (e.g., water sports). Exploring new territory is what writers do.

holliday1960 said:

That is to say, could you/ would you voluntarily write even a very short story containing a theme of gay, lesbian, bi, trans or questioning gender? Thanks in advance for your comments and answers.

Click to expand...

I could and probably will write stories based on fantasies outside my usual "orientation." I guess since I've had these fantasies I'm by definition not really outside my comfort zone.

The only qualification I have is that if I imagine myself in these stories I'm usually quite a bit, or sometimes a lot, younger than I am now. I don't know what that means.

There are activities - scat play for example - for which I'd be completely lost if attempting to write about them.

This is why I do contests these days. And the Geek Day piece, which was such fun.

I need to be challenged these days.

One of Life;s Great Truths is: Do what you do well and let others do the same. If I ruled the world every kid would leave school with a valid list of vocations she's made for.

holliday1960 said:

As a sporadic writer on Lit, as well as a reader, I have a question for the mass of authors, new and old alike. I've tried writing out of my comfort zone a few times and I think we all do at some point, at least those of us who are trying to learn new techniques and exercises. *shrugs*

In a recent conversation, the question springs up that brings me to you people to see the answers first hand... How far would you go to A) challenge yourself in writing a category that you normally wouldn't and B) to support others in their categories of interest.

That is to say, could you/ would you voluntarily write even a very short story containing a theme of gay, lesbian, bi, trans or questioning gender? ( I know a lot of you, especially longtime Lit writers, will plead 'too busy', but would you otherwise do it as a challenge? And would you participate in an organized challenge) I know it's a lot to expect, but consider the prospect for a moment. It's almost a delightful way of getting back at those bomber missions Sam was talking about earlier.

Thanks in advance for your comments and answers.

Click to expand...

I have done by writing an erotic horror as part of Survivor. It actually won a monthly category prize or something. In doing Survivor I wrote in a couple categories I was not comfortable with. Eventually I trashed a couple of the stories. But yes, at this point I'm too busy with other writing I really want to do.

FEELINGLUCKYPUNK said:

One of Life;s Great Truths is: Do what you do well and let others do the same. If I ruled the world every kid would leave school with a valid list of vocations she's made for.

Click to expand...

I think this is good advice for what you do most of the time. But I also think you get better at doing what you do well by sometimes pushing the limits of your talents and trying things you don't do so well. Plus, you enjoy life more.

There are many things I've tried and sucked at, like football. But I have great memories of playing it, even though I sucked so badly.

And in the field of erotica, I do not believe that you must personally be turned on by a particular kink or fetish to write well about it. Imagination can be a more than adequate substitute for arousal.

SimonDoom said:

I think this is good advice for what you do most of the time. But I also think you get better at doing what you do well by sometimes pushing the limits of your talents and trying things you don't do so well. Plus, you enjoy life more.

There are many things I've tried and sucked at, like football. But I have great memories of playing it, even though I sucked so badly.

And in the field of erotica, I do not believe that you must personally be turned on by a particular kink or fetish to write well about it. Imagination can be a more than adequate substitute for arousal.

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I was a vocational rehab psychologist for many years, I assessed folks with fresh disabilities, to point them in the right direction to get back in the game. I cant sing or dance or fill pants with boners, but even God asks for my help with his garden. My supreme gift is medical philosophy. I should not do brain surgery or dental work.

Everything I've published on Lit has been lesbian-themed with the exception of one non-erotic piece.

I've written and published straight pieces elsewhere, but as a lesbian myself, I've never felt I had the knowledge to do straight or gay male pieces. COULD I write them? Absolutely. Would I write them well? Highly doubtful without an incentive to put in the work, and right now I lack that personal incentive.

I pushed outside my boundaries doing the two I/T stories, but that was from a driving curiosity to see if I could make it work. The reviews and ratings tell me I did, and I'm quite satisfied with the results.

FEELINGLUCKYPUNK said:

I should not do brain surgery or dental work.

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I'm with you on that. But where the consequences less desire (Literotica being one of those places), I think we should feel freer to stretch ourselves.

Nice to hear from some of the ladies here, too! It isn't likely the question posed will incite an event like we're discussing here, at least not anytime soon. But, it's insightful to know who would, who wouldn't, and who might be interested in such a challenge. For some, it wouldn't be a challenge at all.

Note to J: you, of all people should know why I asked this question, but I understand what you're saying. I hope you're doing well. I'm glad to know you're still pushing keys. And hey, maybe knowing you shouldn't do brain-surgery is what would make it really satisfying if you did. I have a few nominations if you're interested. *winks*

KeithD said:

Oh, my goodness. Who would ever want to write a gay story?

I can't think of any element I haven't written into a story, even ones that turn me completely off (e.g., water sports). Exploring new territory is what writers do.

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Have you noticed at least one author has based several of his gay characters in baseball and sailor stories on a real life heterosexual and former seaman?

SimonDoom said:

I'm with you on that. But where the consequences less desire (Literotica being one of those places), I think we should feel freer to stretch ourselves.

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^^^^Enjoys midget basketball.

holliday1960 said:

Nice to hear from some of the ladies here, too! It isn't likely the question posed will incite an event like we're discussing here, at least not anytime soon. But, it's insightful to know who would, who wouldn't, and who might be interested in such a challenge. For some, it wouldn't be a challenge at all.

Note to J: you, of all people should know why I asked this question, but I understand what you're saying. I hope you're doing well. I'm glad to know you're still pushing keys. And hey, maybe knowing you shouldn't do brain-surgery is what would make it really satisfying if you did. I have a few nominations if you're interested. *winks*

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I don't cut diamonds, either.

Yuh gotta know your limittaions. Clint Eastwood.