Whether or not to include a specific fetish

[writer4hire69]

There's a story I've been working on for a little bit and since its inception, there's a specific but uncommon fetish I've wanted to include near the very end. I'm at that part now but I've found myself second guessing the inclusion of this element. The main reason is that I'm worried that it would be so niche so as to turn potential readers off and ultimately ruin any sort of ratings and reviews I might have gotten for what (I feel) is an otherwise solid story.

Has any other Authors encountered these feelings before? Any advice on whether or not to include this element?

 

[oggbashan]

I have written several fetish stories. The problem with fetishes is that a reader might like a particular fetish and if what you are describing doesn't fit - it does NOTHING for him. Unusual fetishes have a very limited following. If you introduce a fetish later in a story, you are likely to displease almost all readers.

So my advice is: If you can, omit it.

 

[KeithD]

Yes, I encounter that. I consider every story as experimental. When I've gone ahead and included the extreme fetish, I've usually been content I did. I'm more interested in the readers who are willing to come along with me than those who won't. That said, I haven't been too bothered when I chose not to go that far with a fetish either. I can always take what I was thinking of putting in one story and use it as the focal point of another story.

 

[SimonDoom]

There's a story I've been working on for a little bit and since its inception, there's a specific but uncommon fetish I've wanted to include near the very end. I'm at that part now but I've found myself second guessing the inclusion of this element. The main reason is that I'm worried that it would be so niche so as to turn potential readers off and ultimately ruin any sort of ratings and reviews I might have gotten for what (I feel) is an otherwise solid story.

Has any other Authors encountered these feelings before? Any advice on whether or not to include this element?

I encounter this all the time, because I enjoy reading and writing stories about weird fetishes. As I write I get all sorts of ideas about characters doing fetishy things.

If you don't care about reader reaction too much, then my advice is just to let it rip. That's a perfectly legitimate way to go.

But if you do care about reader reaction, then it's something worth thinking about. Erotic story readers can be very fussy and judgmental (oddly so, in my opinion).

Here's a question I'd ask you: you have a story you want to write, and you have a fetish you want to write about in a story. Would it work better if you had two stories? Write the second story about the fetish, and put it in the Fetish category, where it will best be appreciated. How important is the fetish to your story?

 

[AlinaX]

So what if it's a niche fetish. What matters is getting into your character's heads so that the reader is seduced into enjoying the fetish. So long as you, the author, can empathise with the characters, you can get the readers to also.

 

[ElectricBlue]

If it's a sudden turn, I wouldn't add it in, just for the sake of it.

If it's a powerful fetish in its own right, then give it its own story, and do it justice.

That way, you can get a range of comments, from this:

Bizarre
by Anonymous user on 10/09/2019
It prompts me to ask you why you wrote it, and myself why I read it. I got nothing. Just 'bizarre'.

to this:

Simply one of the best
by Jackobin on 01/14/2021
A rich confluence of fetishes. Very well done. Right to its unexpected and dominant end. Bravo

 

[writer4hire69]

Thank you everyone for the advice and perspectives. In terms of it being a sudden turn or if it is an essential part of the story, I don't ultimately think it is. I'll also, for the sake of not talking around anything, say that it involves a nose fetish.

For clarity, I tried not to make it seem out of nowhere. Halfway into the story a character mentions his interest in it, and then at the end, another character does it as a special thing. However, that is absolutely changeable as the special thing could be virtually anything. I've just wanted into incorporate the nose thing into a story and originally thought it might fit here.

I get what you're saying @KeithD and @AlinaX about crafting the story and characters to make the fetish make sense and interesting for the reader. Ironically, that's sort of what made me reconsider having it in the story. In my quest to fleshing out the characters more, I ended up becoming invested in the story more than I originally thought I would be, and now worry the nose scene would turn many readers off.

To the point of @SimonDoom and @electricblue66, I wish I could say that I didn't really care about reader reaction and that I write just for myself, but it's really hard to ignore the endorphin rush that comes with that little red "H."

 

[ElectricBlue]

To the point of @SimonDoom and @electricblue66, I wish I could say that I didn't really care about reader reaction and that I write just for myself, but it's really hard to ignore the endorphin rush that comes with that little red "H."

Exactly. So do yourself justice, and make it work.

Bonus - you'll have two stories, not one story that might have a flaw.

(Although, noses? I don't think I want to know...)

 

[yowser]

I'll also, for the sake of not talking around anything, say that it involves a nose fetish.

Oh! Gogol!

 

[pumpkindice]

I had a small fetish scene in an early chapter of my current work, and it didn't go over well. The plan was always to do it a few times early on in the story's first few chapters, and then move on from it quickly. It was mostly there for story reasons and wasn't really just because I wanted it in there. However, upon getting the initial feedback in the comments, I moved on from that fetish depiction even faster than I would have otherwise.

My advice: if you care about your score, omit the fetish it all possible. However, if you care about expressing yourself above other things, go for it. I don't think a fetish scene will make or break your score. If you're a good writer, who's intent on getting better, I think you'll be fine in the long run.

 

[writer4hire69]

(Although, noses? I don't think I want to know...)

Ha! Fair enough... and reason enough to support splitting the story in two. I'll save the nose fetish part to explore in its own story.

@pumpkindice Thank you for sharing. Sorry that things didn't go over well. I can certainly sympathize.

That all said, I have to at the very least acknowledge my own hubris in saying that the inclusion of the fetish is what will give me a bad reader score as though the story on its own won't and is some sort of masterpiece otherwise. lol I now fear the karmic retribution coming my way. Oh well.