What are the motivating factors when you make a story?

[Sengoku]

This is something I been wondering for a while. You see, I have this idea for a story, I have been creating it in my mind for a good while now. It has characters, names, a location, back story, everything really. The story also excites me as it’s a fetish that I’m currently into. But, the story is morally bankrupt. The sole reason I would want it online is so I can get reactions from people who appreciate the fetish. The story is almost secondary to the actual fetish. My thinking is, is that if I write it, it would be really good for the (small) market of people it’s aimed at, but the thought of spending x amount of time on something which won’t help me grow as a writer and knowing that I would actually have to proofread all that, knowing I’m putting something out there which would make some people – at worst – feel really bad about themselves? That’s tough.

On the other hand, I got this other series I’m working on which is creatively satisfying, but much tougher to do. I feel like I may be forcing in new scenarios, writing sex scenes that really don’t interest me at all. A laborious process yet one that is more gratifying.

Of course, since we do all erotica, do we have to be sexual aroused by the situations we are creating? I was wondering what others thought. What drives you when creating a story and what factors do you take in mind?

 

[sr71plt]

My story ideas start with a hook of some kind--a fetish image/idea, as you note. Or something about a character or a locale. Or the twist of the story (e.g., in my story "Next," the reader is led to believe that two lovers have had a fight and one leaves and does "debauchery" as vengeance because his lover has left him. The twist is that he woke up and the lover was dead, and he's gone out in the street to bury himself in "unbelief." That idea was what hit me and is the foundation for building a story around it).

The story bugging me to be written today stems from a snippet of a news report I read about Don Richie, the "Cup of tea whisperer" at The Gap in Sydney harbor. The Gap is a high cliff at the entrance to the harbor and has, reportedly, been, for some time, a lover's leap suicide place. Don Richie lives near it and the report was how he goes and offers potential leapers a cup of tea at his home to keep them from jumping.

Out of that is weaving an erotica version of that. Not on the actual Don Richie or the actual The Gap, of course. The story snippet was the hook--the motivating factor for writing the story in mind.

So, I wouldn't give up on your fetish idea as being a sufficient motivator for writing a story, if I were you. The fun is in weaving something from there that is new and exciting (to you, if to no one else).

 

[Sengoku]

I could try writing a bit of it, see how it goes, see if the story flows. Thanks for the advice.

 

[oggbashan]

Try searching Yahoo Adult Groups (or other websites' groups) for your particular fetish. You could find an enthusiastic audience if the fetish is obscure.

I'm still stalled on the fetish for South Indian Women's Hairy (and sweaty) Armpits, but I've tried many other fetishes.

Og

 

[Stella_Omega]

...The story also excites me as it’s a fetish that I’m currently into. But, the story is morally bankrupt. The sole reason I would want it online is so I can get reactions from people who appreciate the fetish. The story is almost secondary to the actual fetish. ...

You might do a bit of soul-searching, and look into the reasons why you place so little value on erotic satisfaction in this context.

Write the story. Let it be a better-than-average example of your fetish. You done good, baby.

 

[Sengoku]

Thanks for all the advice. I wrote a bit of it and enjoying it more than any story I done in ages.

 

[DorlaMoorehouse]

This is something I been wondering for a while. You see, I have this idea for a story, I have been creating it in my mind for a good while now. It has characters, names, a location, back story, everything really. The story also excites me as it’s a fetish that I’m currently into. But, the story is morally bankrupt. The sole reason I would want it online is so I can get reactions from people who appreciate the fetish. The story is almost secondary to the actual fetish. My thinking is, is that if I write it, it would be really good for the (small) market of people it’s aimed at, but the thought of spending x amount of time on something which won’t help me grow as a writer and knowing that I would actually have to proofread all that, knowing I’m putting something out there which would make some people – at worst – feel really bad about themselves? That’s tough.

On the other hand, I got this other series I’m working on which is creatively satisfying, but much tougher to do. I feel like I may be forcing in new scenarios, writing sex scenes that really don’t interest me at all. A laborious process yet one that is more gratifying.

Of course, since we do all erotica, do we have to be sexual aroused by the situations we are creating? I was wondering what others thought. What drives you when creating a story and what factors do you take in mind?

Honestly, I don't see the problem in doing both. I think both types of writing can have value in your overall development as a writer. I think it can be fun to write sex for the sake of sex without having to have an amazing narrative behind it. Is that the type of thing I want to read or write all the time? No. But can it be worthwhile and fun? Yes! Especially if you're feeling burned out on another project, switching it up can possibly help you unlock the creative floodgates.

And I also think it is valuable to work on the more gratifying project as well - just as long as it continues to be gratifying. If it just becomes laborious without any sense of satisfaction, it might be time to stop.

I don't always get turned on by what I write. And I'm okay with that. Sometimes I write something not because it will make me horny, but because I want to experiment with writing it. And sometimes I can write a really successful sex scene without getting turned on my own work. Often, not. Often, my experiment fails. But that doesn't mean it was a waste. I often learn something about my own writing or my own preferences through such exercises.

 

[Dragonlipz]

the story