Doing too much with a story

[dgreen1813]

I'm currently brainstorming with a story I've been tinkering with for a while. Basically, the plot is about a white man in his mid 20s meeting and falling in love with a woman of color in her mid 40s. While trying to flesh out characterizations, I came across a problem with the story's premise. I realized that my story would contain an age gap, an interracial element and elements of romance, all of which I want to include, but I recognized that this may be doing a little too much. I've also been debating about whether to put the finished product in Mature or Romance, but that's besides the point.

Have any of you come across this dilemma when writing a story? If so, what did you do to rectify it, if anything?

 

[AllenWoody]

It doesn't sound like too much to me, but you will have to decide what is most important and focus on that. You could, for example, decide that it's an age-gap story and write that, but the FMC just happens to be a woman of color. No problem. Or, write an interracial story and she just happens to be older.

 

[intim8]

Ask yourself what the point of the story is. Is there a theme you want to explore? A commentary on society, history, men/women, or whatever? Is it just a stroker?

Evaluate each aspect you think might be too much on what, if anything, it does to further that purpose.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I'm currently brainstorming with a story I've been tinkering with for a while. Basically, the plot is about a white man in his mid 20s meeting and falling in love with a woman of color in her mid 40s. While trying to flesh out characterizations, I came across a problem with the story's premise. I realized that my story would contain an age gap, an interracial element and elements of romance, all of which I want to include, but I recognized that this may be doing a little too much. I've also been debating about whether to put the finished product in Mature or Romance, but that's besides the point.

Have any of you come across this dilemma when writing a story? If so, what did you do to rectify it, if anything?

What dilemma? Complexity is good.

 

[SimonDoom]

I agree with the general principle that stories can sometimes take on too many elements, but that doesn't sound like the case here. I think you can write a great story based on this idea. As MB says, complexity is good. It makes your story stand out.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I wouldn't shy away from trying it. That said, if you get 10,000 words into it and start to feel one of those elements is too much or interferes with the story you want to tell you can always do some re-writes and edit it out.

 

[Voboy]

Not too much, OP. Give it a go. That's the "good" kind of complexity.

The bad kind happens around 12k words in, when you realize you've bitten off more than you can chew.

 

[Yarglenurp]

The story isn’t too much, it’s pretty much how many real relationships go. It gets to be too much when it comes in all at once

 

[Rustyoznail]

Nah, sounds good. If i was writing it, I'd be playing on the age gap and romance, then drop it in the mature category. They seem to be a tolerant bunch of readers.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Not too complex at all. I agree with the others, complexity is good. Go for it. I'd recommend romance over mature, too.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Add me to the 'write as is' club. It sounds right up my alley.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I'm currently brainstorming with a story I've been tinkering with for a while. Basically, the plot is about a white man in his mid 20s meeting and falling in love with a woman of color in her mid 40s. While trying to flesh out characterizations, I came across a problem with the story's premise. I realized that my story would contain an age gap, an interracial element and elements of romance, all of which I want to include, but I recognized that this may be doing a little too much. I've also been debating about whether to put the finished product in Mature or Romance, but that's besides the point.

Have any of you come across this dilemma when writing a story? If so, what did you do to rectify it, if anything?

Many great stories have tons of stuff packed into them. Just look at LA Confidential or Fight Club or Oryx and Crake.

Your plot doesn't really sound all that twisted at all. It just has a little extra depth. It sounds like your dilemma is category choice and that is only crucial if you need a high score. Personally I would just write my story and figure out where it goes when I'm done but then I'm the least popular writer here so what do I know?

 

[THBGato]

I agree with what most others have said. Complexity is good. This doesn't sound too much.

Now, in which category shall I place my Sci Fi Romance story about two Lesbian Virgins?*

[SPOILER]
(* I'm going to put it in Lesbian, obviously.)
[/SPOILER]

 

[WhiteTailDarkTip]

Not too much, OP. Give it a go. That's the "good" kind of complexity.

The bad kind happens around 12k words in, when you realize you've bitten off more than you can chew.

been there!

 

[MyBareTorso]

That story sounds fine to me!

 

[cadeauxxx]

There is no such thing as doing too much.

Forget the word counts. Forget the rules. It's all about how you feel. Don't write for anyone else but yourself. We all write for fun and that comes with our pleasure as the main motivation.

If there's anyone besides me who listens to the Grateful Dead, they can vouch over the long length of their live shows. Sometimes, they just wanted to take a song and jam it over 20 minutes... if it was a Dark Star, it might go over 30 minutes. Sometimes Jerry wanted a few more minutes to play his solos... I think about this when I look at my word counts and feel like it's dragging out too long. Jerry wouldn't care.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I'll disagree - it is possible to put too much in a story, but OP's plan isn't it. OP is basically writing character A, and character B, both of whom are quite detailed. There happens to be an age difference and skin tone difference, and thus differences in their experiences and how they see the world, but the proposed story is simply how they overcome the differences and get it together and presumably decide to stay together.

It could become too much only if the author tried to force digressions into the story, which could get tedious in a short story but might work in a novel, with enough structure to hold it all together. Lit stories often try to squeeze an unconvincing number of fetishes or sex acts into one story. Or too many themes into a short story.

For example I wrote a story where A and B go on holiday for the first time. A can't believe he's in a relationship with B, and enjoys how B enjoys sightseeing in a different way. They find they have similar attitudes to seducing others and group sex together, but also have sex together including some emotion where B gets past a previous bad experience.

That's 15k words. I could have included themes like B's insecurity over education, A's previous relationships and comparison, A's crap family and envy of B's, not to mention a variety of sex, but that would feel like dumping too much into one story and obscuring the thread.

So those get addressed in other stories.

 

[Jorunn]

I think the age gap would need to be given more details/complexity, but the color of their skin is irrelevant within the story. Unless, of course, you want to highlight that by bringing in the cultural differences that go with it. For example, if two people work in an office and have an affair, they both come from a similar culture that needs little further development. But if one is a professional football player and the other a famous pop singer, then you need to blend both of their cultures together. Likewise, if one is a university professor and the other a construction worker, etc.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I wouldn't shy away from trying it. That said, if you get 10,000 words into it and start to feel one of those elements is too much or interferes with the story you want to tell you can always do some re-writes and edit it out.

Or, you can break it into a series. A two-part series is fine if that is what works best.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I'm currently brainstorming with a story I've been tinkering with for a while. Basically, the plot is about a white man in his mid 20s meeting and falling in love with a woman of color in her mid 40s. While trying to flesh out characterizations, I came across a problem with the story's premise. I realized that my story would contain an age gap, an interracial element and elements of romance, all of which I want to include, but I recognized that this may be doing a little too much. I've also been debating about whether to put the finished product in Mature or Romance, but that's besides the point.

Have any of you come across this dilemma when writing a story? If so, what did you do to rectify it, if anything?

Do you have a specific time and place where this is happening? I know, that is one of my favorite techniques / gimmicks. But it does help to imagine the environment around these people and what they see every day.

 

[Naughtylit81]

My first story was an interracial/raceplay, cuckquean, and group sex story. The key is to weave the elememts together so they support each other rather than trying to maintain them as seperate elements which are independent.