Striving for Plausibility

[KeithD]

Were they Amish or Mennonite? The two dress pretty much the same but have vastly different mores and standards. In fact, Mennonites have several different sects that vary widely on such things also.

The most liberal sects of the Mennonites would go on a cruise as a matter of course. The Amish would do it if the couple was engaging in Rumspringa (a time out from the Amish rules and religion specifically for teens).

Anyway, just a question. you were the one who saw them so You have more of a feel for who they were than someone reading a brief description of it.


Comshaw

Talked to them. They were Amish. Lancaster area of Pennsylvania. They were in bathing suits and all over each other at the pool.

 

[lovecraft68]

I had one instance of someone challenging something I used in a story. I'm right because I looked it up before I wrote the story and its something that is accurate to laws here in my state, but not everywhere else.

Apparently anon thinks whatever state they're in is the same as every stare in the country.

I never bothered trying to respond in the comments section because I don't care if someone thinks I'm wrong, my ego isn't that fragile, they can think what they want.

 

[Wifetheif]

To the folks referring to Freud and Oedipus -- the closest I ever came to that was on my honeymoon. My ex-wife and I were at my mother's beach house in the second-floor bedroom when the mood hit us, as it does horny young couples in love. Just as we were going at it, my mom began shouting questions to me from the bottom of the stairs! Trying to keep our volume and thrusts to a minimum to not reveal what we were up to -- I continued a conversation with my mom while plowing my bride! That's as close to sex with my mom I ever got!

 

[LAHomedog]

I was born in 68, what does that make me? No idea and it doesn't matter anyway because an entire generation did not behave just like each other.

I had sex way before 18 because of everything else I'd already been through in life sex wasn't something I saw as wrong or I should be worried about, she was a year older than me-and not her first time-and wanted 'it" i didn't really know what it was, but I was open to anything...turns out "it" was a lot of fun...for those three sticky awkward minutes,

I graduated high school in '68 And grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s. My junior year in high school was 1967, The Summer of Love."

Everyone can imagine what all of us were doing through all of high school during the '60s. We were doing our studies, but it wasn't English or math...

 

[lovecraft68]

To the folks referring to Freud and Oedipus -- the closest I ever came to that was on my honeymoon. My ex-wife and I were at my mother's beach house in the second-floor bedroom when the mood hit us, as it does horny young couples in love. Just as we were going at it, my mom began shouting questions to me from the bottom of the stairs! Trying to keep our volume and thrusts to a minimum to not reveal what we were up to -- I continued a conversation with my mom while plowing my bride! That's as close to sex with my mom I ever got!

I confess that there are times I want to touch my mother inappropriately, but then someone told me matricide is a crime.

Kidding aside, I did not have a good relationship with my mother, spent time in foster homes, eventually as an adult I was able to build a decent relationship with my real parents.

I think that's why I can write taboo stories easily because I never had any real family bond growing up so there's less ick factor.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

I tend to favour what my readers want over the rather arbitrary notion of plausibility. I tend to avoid the unpleasant and all-too-real aspects of incest when writing it, because writing that kind of deep anguish is not my strong suit.

But in my sci-fi story Time Rider, I have set hard and fast rules for myself about temporal mechanics and how they work, to keep it from being too easy and a cop-out. The result of coming up against these inviolable quantum rules is most often hilarity, and since the story is a comedy about a dumb, horny teenager with a time machine, it works out perfectly well.

Overall, my stories tend to have a 'feel good' vibe to them (except maybe The Great Khan, which is an extraordinarily violent and grim history romp). From that point of view, I'm not terribly worried about plausible. I like to make people smile, take deep breaths, or laugh their asses off.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I had one instance of someone challenging something I used in a story. I'm right because I looked it up before I wrote the story and its something that is accurate to laws here in my state, but not everywhere else.

Apparently anon thinks whatever state they're in is the same as every stare in the country.

I had one a while back (pre- my Lit days) who simply could not understand that drug laws in Australia weren't the same as in the USA. I'm not sure she really believed there was a world outside the US, or that people from Outside might be on the internet.

 

[lovecraft68]

I had one a while back (pre- my Lit days) who simply could not understand that drug laws in Australia weren't the same as in the USA. I'm not sure she really believed there was a world outside the US, or that people from Outside might be on the internet.

Tell me about it. I live in Rhode Island and when I did telemarketing as a part time job years ago I discovered that many people from the west coast, midwest and south all thought I was from Mass, not just because of the similar accent, but they didn't know there was a state next to it.

 

[TadOverdon]

If plot credibility bothered me that much as a reader most genre fiction would be out the window...thrillers, mysteries, romance, never mind horror...The only thing that truly consistently vexes me is arbitrarily-introduced events late in the plot. Deux ex machina.

It's weird and individual what takes you out of a story...I was done with The Hobbit movies after the Wil E. Coyote moment in the first one where all the dwarves fall a hundred feet or so off of some rock only to have something land on them and knock them down another hundred feet so that they could moan and curse and get up and be okay.

I was going to give them dragons and wizards, no problem.

No one has a fist fight in an action movie that's credible if you've ever watched a real fist fight. Dudes would disable each other with one or two of those hits in under a minute. Maybe why UFC shit and such doesn't do it for me.

 

[jaF0]

Scratched some stuff out based on a picture that caught my eye. But it just isn't working. Why would a 19-20 year old guy get tongue tied over a mid 50s woman? OK, maybe if it was set in the early 60s or something when they were less likely to get laid at the drop of a hat, but not today.

She can be lonely and horny and in search of a stiff one, but why would they go after her?

 

[Rustyoznail]

Scratched some stuff out based on a picture that caught my eye. But it just isn't working. Why would a 19-20 year old guy get tongue tied over a mid 50s woman? OK, maybe if it was set in the early 60s or something when they were less likely to get laid at the drop of a hat, but not today.

She can be lonely and horny and in search of a stiff one, but why would they go after her?

I dunno. What about if she looked like Halle Berry at 54? If she asked me to rub sunscreen on her when I was 20, I wouldn’t say no.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Scratched some stuff out based on a picture that caught my eye. But it just isn't working. Why would a 19-20 year old guy get tongue tied over a mid 50s woman? OK, maybe if it was set in the early 60s or something when they were less likely to get laid at the drop of a hat, but not today.

She can be lonely and horny and in search of a stiff one, but why would they go after her?

Spin it. Why would a hot, sexy mature woman want anything to do with a young naive twenty year old who comes in five seconds?

 

[jaF0]

I dunno. What about if she looked like Halle Berry at 54? If she asked me to rub sunscreen on her when I was 20, I wouldn’t say no.

But would a 20 year old horndog that can get girls his age go for a 50 something that looked like this?

https://cdn012.bdsmlr.com/uploads/photos/2021/01/525275/bdsmlr-525275-V2Db4guTLE.jpg

Spin it. Why would a hot, sexy mature woman want anything to do with a young naive twenty year old who comes in five seconds?

Because she's a lonely, heart broken widow who rediscovers herself and gets horny. She wants a toy or two to play with rather than someone her age who wants something more long term.

 

[TadOverdon]

My impression is that most "20 year-old horndogs" are not getting laid as often as they'd like...or as they claim.

 

[jaF0]

The play is that Miss Mae dresses that way all the time and it interests the boys because their girlfriends won't.

 

[Trionyx]

On the subject of plausibility, I can't write scenes where a character loses their virginity any more. They don't ring true for me and I can't get into them because I don't think I knew a single person growing up who was still a virgin at eighteen and I'm not sure that I've talked to one since, in real life. I used to put scenes like that into stories because I thought they should be there. Now I just skip the whole subject. Which is just as well since it's such a peculiar social construct anyway.

I read in Slate the columns How to Do It and Dear Prudence. I also read Dan Savage. (BTW, all three are good sources for story ideas.) Not a month goes by but someone writes in about being a virgin in their twenties or thirties and they are looking for help on how to find the right person, etc. Guttmacher surveys show that 65% of eighteen year olds have had sex and by twentyfive about 93% have had sex. So it does appear that there are plenty of people over eighteen what are virgins.

 

[Trionyx]

My impression is that most "20 year-old horndogs" are not getting laid as often as they'd like...or as they claim.

That I agree with one hundred percent.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

That I agree with one hundred percent.

This. Someone wanting to have sex with them, who looks like she might be able to teach them something...

 

[LAHomedog]

Spin it. Why would a hot, sexy mature woman want anything to do with a young naive twenty year old who comes in five seconds?

As someone who once was a 20 year old male not every horny 20 year old cums in five seconds. And if he does, he is ready to go again in around five minutes and that one will be longer.

Then not long after that, he is ready to go again for even longer. Plus eager to explore and enjoy all of the aspects of sex and a woman's sexuality.

I think most young men fantasize about a Mrs. Robinson. An older, experienced woman who knows the ropes, won't judge them the way a girl their age would, will teach them them all about sex, and use them as a fucktoy.

Sure some over testosterone young men just want to rope, hogtie, and fuck a lot of conquests, but a lot of young guys don't want to deal with the games of the young women their age and there is an attraction for the older.

 

[lovecraft68]

I've seen threads in the feedback forum-not sure if there was one here-and also gotten private feedback about how implausible it is to have 40+ moms/milfs who are always in great shape with nice bodies etc...

Someone posted Halle Berry who looks amazing, but I tend to dismiss celebs because how good would everyone look with private trainers, personal chefs, and an easy worry free life(compared to working class people)

But when I was going to the gym before work in the mornings-and can finally go again with restrictions lifted recently-I see plenty of women who are late thirties and up, rocking yoga pants and sports bras and looking damn good.

So its not impossible for a woman or man in their middle year and older to be attractive and in shape.

I get the 'real people" argument as in a little extra weight, imperfections, etc...but good looking fit older people are not implausible.

 

[SimonDoom]

So its not impossible for a woman or man in their middle year and older to be attractive and in shape.

I get the 'real people" argument as in a little extra weight, imperfections, etc...but good looking fit older people are not implausible.

Absolutely. I've been involved in running, going to the gym, and other fitness activities, and belonged to related groups, and there are plenty of women (and men) over 40 who are very fit. It is not in any way "implausible."

When people say "implausible" what they often mean is "this isn't my experience." But our stories shouldn't be limited to our own personal sphere of experience, and we should be broad-minded to acknowledge that it's a big world and there's room for almost limitless kinds of experiences we don't personally have. I write about tentacle sex, and I swear, I haven't had any. Yet.

 

[jaF0]

I've seen threads in the feedback forum-not sure if there was one here-and also gotten private feedback about how implausible it is to have 40+ moms/milfs who are always in great shape with nice bodies etc...

Someone posted Halle Berry who looks amazing, but I tend to dismiss celebs because how good would everyone look with private trainers, personal chefs, and an easy worry free life(compared to working class people)

But when I was going to the gym before work in the mornings-and can finally go again with restrictions lifted recently-I see plenty of women who are late thirties and up, rocking yoga pants and sports bras and looking damn good.

So its not impossible for a woman or man in their middle year and older to be attractive and in shape.

I get the 'real people" argument as in a little extra weight, imperfections, etc...but good looking fit older people are not implausible.

Trying to get my head into the story, I've been browsing picture sites and threads using MILF or Mature as keywords and there are some Mi-T-Fine specimens out there. I've posted a couple here in the AH, but there are many, many more.

The angle for Mae is that she's a former model who has been motivated by circumstances to get her old figure back. She's constantly exposed to Trophy Wives in a upscale community and feels the need to compete to an extent.

 

[big_cane_sugar]

I'm bumping this thread because I was going to start one on the same topic. My questions are:

1) How much does plausibility matter (if at all) in stories? I'd be interested in people's ideas about stories in general and/or just the stories they like to read and write.

2) If plausibility matters, what kinds of plausibility matter? Does it matter if a plane crashes into a mountain and only the two hottest passengers survive? Does it matter if a character looks like Jessica Rabbit? Does it matter if characters' emotional reactions to something like sexual betrayal seem unlikely?

3) How plausible is real life? Is truth stranger than fiction? And if so, isn't that a license for fiction to be somewhat stranger?

 

[dirk2024]

One question first, does plausibility mean the same thing to everyone? Is it black and white or a matter of shades of gray?


1. Plausibility is somewhat important to me. Granted, it's highly unlikely Tentacle beasts are going to rise up out of the ground and start molesting random women (and/or men, depending on the category) around the planet, but if it's written with the right build-up, it could happen. Right?

2. But I need a reason why the tentacles are suddenly rising up NOW. What is their motivation? They don't need to be the prettiest, or the most studly tentacles. I just want those tentacles to be smooth and slippery and oh so *chef's kiss*. However, I am interested in their emotional reactions. How do they feel when the overwhelm a woman? (or man). How do the tentacles feel when everyone's first reaction is screaming fear, which then turns to empassioned lust. Do they feel used? Taken for granted?

3. What is real life? Mine is a pile of blinders upon blinders of boredom, so I need strange fiction to entertain me. But a good author, which fortunately I can find here, can make tentacles - and their motivatations - plausible.


Did I have some fun with this response? Yes, but there are truths (for me) here. Ultimately, it's up to the reader to determine if the story is probable for them. An author can't do that for the various thousands/millions who stroll their eyes through this site. An author can certainly try, but what is plausible for them may not be plausible for me. I've seen stories that made me roll my eyes, while the comments are bathing the author in god-like compliments.

 

[big_cane_sugar]

One question first, does plausibility mean the same thing to everyone? Is it black and white or a matter of shades of gray?


1. Plausibility is somewhat important to me. Granted, it's highly unlikely Tentacle beasts are going to rise up out of the ground and start molesting random women (and/or men, depending on the category) around the planet, but if it's written with the right build-up, it could happen. Right?

2. But I need a reason why the tentacles are suddenly rising up NOW. What is their motivation? They don't need to be the prettiest, or the most studly tentacles. I just want those tentacles to be smooth and slippery and oh so *chef's kiss*. However, I am interested in their emotional reactions. How do they feel when the overwhelm a woman? (or man). How do the tentacles feel when everyone's first reaction is screaming fear, which then turns to empassioned lust. Do they feel used? Taken for granted?

3. What is real life? Mine is a pile of blinders upon blinders of boredom, so I need strange fiction to entertain me. But a good author, which fortunately I can find here, can make tentacles - and their motivatations - plausible.


Did I have some fun with this response? Yes, but there are truths (for me) here. Ultimately, it's up to the reader to determine if the story is probable for them. An author can't do that for the various thousands/millions who stroll their eyes through this site. An author can certainly try, but what is plausible for them may not be plausible for me. I've seen stories that made me roll my eyes, while the comments are bathing the author in god-like compliments.

I wrote some stories with an absurdly improbable alpha male hero and no one said anything about improbability. I guess they were just willing to accept it. I wrote a different story about a woman who wants to leave her husband but has an infidelity clause in the prenup so she persuades her younger sister to seduce him and a bunch of comments said this was implausible. Very interesting to me.