BDSM story format musings...

[KillerMuffin]

I just read one that was formatted with the BDSM specific capitalizations rather than standard English ones.

Personally, they irritated me because they're difficult to read. They took my mind away from the story which would have been pretty good otherwise. Maybe, the whole "pressie" thing was vastly irritating.

What I mean is like this:

i met Him at the door with His slippers. W/we went to the kitchen for O/our dinner that i had cooked. He always loved to eat His chicken with me at His feet. i leaned my head on His leg and thought about what W/we would do that night.

I realize that this is something that's probably mainstreamed in the BDSM community, but should it roll over into stories that are viewed outside of that community? I'm wondering what the thoughts on this are. Mostly because it's late and I think about silly things when it's late.

In my view the formatting, punctuation, and the way the words are presented on the page should never interfere with the story. They should not make themselves noticeable by being outside of what's used as standard because then they pull the reader from the story to concentrate on what really has nothing to do with the story.

What do we think?

 

[P. B. Walker]

I don't mind the "i" or "He" that much... but the "W/we" and "O/our", I can't deal with that. I was pausing everytime I hit one of those to make sure I was getting the right word. I can understand that they have to show "respect" to their master, but I think they can leave that for online chatting or whatever, and use proper capitalization in a story. Just my humble opinion.

at the very least... use "we" or "our"...

- PBW

 

[Karlynn]

He/she We/we Ugh/ugh!

hello A/all lol..sorry couldnt resist....

I agree, the We/we thing in an erotic story is very distracting and makes it difficult to read. It IS pretty mainstream and considered common respect in the bdsm chat rooms...however, i agree that in the context of a story its just too distracting. In my bdsm stories I will use the occasional capital He with the intent of showing my characters submission in that particular scene. It's more of a feeling thing than anything else. Good point...ty for making it.
karlynn

 

[Couture]

I don't like it. I especially don't like the We/we or whatever the hell it is. The only instance I would like to see the i or She bit, is maybe if you wrote about how the Mistress made you always cap her name when you wrote the story.

The reason is this: If you do a good job telling the story, you don't need the capital letters and they will only prove distracting.

 

[JUDO]

Nah!

Don't like it. Takes me out of the story. The flow of abstract icons to mental image is disrupted. Too much like reading the Bible.

 

[Never]

As someone who's been to a few BDSM BBs and Chats - and spoken to several members of that community one-on-one, I find it distracting when the writer of a BDSM story doesn't use that form.

It's not only a question of style but of content. The 'i' is what the character mentally sees herself as and perfectly appropriate for a first person story. Likewise, the W/we, though distracting, is an accurate reflection of how they view things. When you read a story in the first person you expect to see all those mental nuances that you lack in a third person story. If you want a good example of this read The Sound and the Fury if you haven't already.

 

[Couture]

but can you talk that way?

The i and He isn't really the problem, because it sounds like it is spelled. However W/we would at the very least be pronounced something like Wah-wee or even the more horrendous Wah-slash-wee. In any case, instead of images of sex and sin, mentally, I'm left seeing images of a little piggy running all the way home.

Sweet avatar

 

[Natalie Nessus]

I do not use that, I think it is a little strange. We write to commuicate, yes? We should be able to sneak into their minds and influence their feelings and their ideas, perhaps

 

[Whispersecret]

I would automatically back-click if I saw a story like that. Reading a story with crazy caps like that would be like riding the LA freeways at rush hour---stop and go. There are 13,999 other stories that have standard capitalization and wouldn't, therefore, give me a headache.

Never had a point about it showing the mindset of the storyteller, however, I don't think that's a strong enough reason to forgo standard caplitalization. I'd allow for capitalization where it's not usually seen, such as the use of "Himself," but that's about as far as I'd go. I'd never un-capitalize a letter that should be capitalized.

While it might be "correct" to the person telling the story, the writer must ALWAYS consider the audience. If the story is strictly for BDSM readers, fine. Use the W/we thing. If you're posting it here for a wider audience, show some respect to those who have to read it.

In my opinion, a writer should show the submissive side of the character by manipulating the many other literary devices at his disposal, especially the character's actions and words. He should not fall back on an oddity of mechanics to make that point. If he does, he risks losing readers right at the get-go.

 

[cellis]

As someone who writes BDSM stories and lives within that lifestyle, I do not write that way... First of all it distracts me... interrupts my concentration just in writing it and secondly, if part of my is to excite and educate my readers, then I think for the most part, they would find that style equally irritating....

So I write in standard punctuation, except for the dialogue within the context of the story...

 

[susurrus]

I understand the reasoning for the uncapitalized and slashed pronouns and such in BDSM stories, I even respect the mindset that causes one to think of themselves in such a manner, but I'm too much of a stickler for proper grammatic technique to do it myself, even if I were to write a story from the sub's point of view. (damn, that's a long sentence. so much for technique.)