Categories

[Colleen Thomas]

Well, I finally finished my cyberpunk story, but I am stuck on which category I should submit it to. It could go in lesbian, Sci-fi/fantasy or perhaps Novels and novellas (it's 50 word pages). Any input from you guys on where it would fit best?

-Colly

 

[gauchecritic]

Colly, put it where you think best but add a note that you're not entirely sure and then let Laurel decide.

A couple of my stories contained about half the categories but the general gist which I picked was correct.

Gauche

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Thanks Gauche. I am leaning towards Fantasy Sci-fi. The story setting is pretty important to the piece I think.

-Colly

 

[Quasimodem]

Colly,

Which theme is the more essential to the story?

Does cyberpunk form a required ingredient of the plot and/or characters, or is it mostly used as atmosphere?

Is the lesbian relationship mandatory to the story's appreciation, or is it merely the one, out of several possible relationships, that you chose to use?

While a story about a lesbian relationship in a cyberpunk setting will probably attract more readers in the Lesbian Sex category, you will probably receive fewer votes and more click-backs if the cyberpunk demands a greater understanding than any mere atmospheric setting requires.

Alternately, if the lesbian relationship is dominant, at the expense of developing the cyberpunk elements to a level above atmospheric background, you will probably be penalized in votes and click-backs from readers frequenting the Sci-Fi category.

The question is not, where will it be exposed to the largest audience, but rather, where will it be exposed to its largest sympathetic audience?

You know your story. Where would you most likely find an audience that appreciates what your story offers, and will not be turned off by what your story contains?

At least, that is how I would approach your decision.

Now for my question: Where would you put an historical action story, with vanilla hetero sexuality?

 

[Colleen Thomas]

It's a difficult question for me Quasi. All of my stories are lesbian so while it may be the dominant theme it isn't any more the dominant theme than my other works. The cyberpunk elements are stressed, far more than they need to be for mere atmosphere, but the style is my own take on cyberpunk and it isn't the norm for the genre.

For your work I haven't a clue. My historically themed stories I just submitted in lesbian sex since that was the dominant theme and the historical part while important wasn't the primary theme. I almost wish they had a historical category, but I am ot one to lobby for new categories especially since this one crosses several as is.

I only know one author who is primarily a cyberpunk guy. He likes my cyberpunk works although he is quick to point out that they don't follow the normal rules for the genre. I think Sci-fi fans would enjoy the work just for the story, but since the sci fi category here is predominatly for erotic sci fi I can't say for sure they would enjoy it since the sex is all F/F.

-Colly

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I could change my mind after reading it, but from what I know of your work and from what you say here, I would probably choose to place the story in the Sci-Fi category. In an erotic story, I often feel that setting is everything, and while the cyberpunk atmosphere might be imposing enough to distract the Lesbian category readers from appreciating the story, Sci-Fi readers are at least prepared to keep an open mind. Virtually anything can happen.

Your 'Alien Sensations' has a very high rating in the Sci-Fi top-list, isn't that right? I think you have a wide fan base by now, people who know all your stories are lesbian. Others will know what they are getting into by reading the description, or even quickly scanning the first page; readers of non-descriptive (sex-wise) categories have to do that anyway -- at least I do.



PS: Does this mean the writer block is over? Let me know when it's posted.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Oh yes. Historical erotica. We definitely need a new category.

I for one will try to lobby MlledelaBluePlume into getting her historical smut quarterly Charmingly Carnal in working order as soon as possible.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I could change my mind after reading it, but from what I know of your work and from what you say here, I would probably choose to place the story in the Sci-Fi category. In an erotic story, I often feel that setting is everything, and while the cyberpunk atmosphere might be imposing enough to distract the Lesbian category readers from appreciating the story, Sci-Fi readers are at least prepared to keep an open mind. Virtually anything can happen.

Your 'Alien Sensations' has a very high rating in the Sci-Fi top-list, isn't that right? I think you have a wide fan base by now, people who know all your stories are lesbian. Others will know what they are getting into by reading the description, or even quickly scanning the first page; readers of non-descriptive (sex-wise) categories have to do that anyway -- at least I do.



PS: Does this mean the writer block is over? Let me know when it's posted.

Still suffering from block, this story has been ready a while and was luckily for me in a state of completion to the point where I copied it to the disk I keep my submitted works on before my hard drive crashed.

I am going to go with Sci-fi, the story has enough cyperpunk background and jargon that it would probably leave my normal readers puzzled. At least in Sci fi people will expect that from it and if they just happen not to like F/F they can back click on it. I'll leave a note for Laurel or whoever reads it to feel free to move it if they feel a different category is more appropriate.

-Colly

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Ehm... silly question here: What is "cyberpunk"???

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Ehm... silly question here: What is "cyberpunk"???

The short answer is science fiction dealing with future urban societies dominated by computer technology.

The long one is in this thread: Cyberpunk

 

[gauchecritic]

And here's me thinking it was short staccato sentences which take an age to wade through having a lack of flow or forecastablity.

But what do I know.

Gauche

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Ehm... silly question here: What is "cyberpunk"???

Cyberpunk is set in a dark future where massive corporations have the real power. If you have ever seen the movie Blade Runner it's close. If you want the real low down ask Raphy, Cyberpunk is his genre and his works in it are top notch. IMHO as good as the real masters like Gibson. The stories are characterized by a "gritty" feel to them and a strong sense of just how fallible mankind can be.

-Colly

 

[Boxlicker101]

Oh yes. Historical erotica. We definitely need a new category.

I for one will try to lobby MlledelaBluePlume into getting her historical smut quarterly Charmingly Carnal in working order as soon as possible.

Actually, that might be a good idea. A story, involving one or more historical characters, set when that person lived. I don't see a lot of difference between that and a celebrity story except that the celebrities are usually characters rather than real people. By the way, if we use a real celebrity, does he or she have to be alive or is just being a contemporary good enough?

 

[Quasimodem]

. . . I don't see a lot of difference between that and a celebrity story except that the celebrities are usually characters rather than real people. . .

Actually, celebrities are real people. (Sort of.) Character-based fan fiction is about fictional characters.

The difference between those two types, and straight historical fiction, is that Celebrity fiction is pseudo biographical.

(Right! About as close to reality as 'The Simple Life'.)

Fan fiction is fiction based upon some other (professional) writer's character(s) and setting.

Historical fiction tends to be about fictional characters within a real (historical) setting . . . at least as close as that writer's abilities and research can get him/her.

Alternately, some stories are fictional (or fictionalized) events in a real historical character's life. Again, as good as the writers' talent and research can get him/her.

In this light, the real-life celebrity's story and the fictionalized event in a historical character's (celebrity) life shares similar ground, without really sharing a similar goal.

Celebrity fiction is fantasizing about an actual person's reality.

Historical fiction applies historical fact to fictional events to increase the story's verisimilitude.

Fan fiction tries only to recreate whatever reality was accomplished by the original writer(s).

We already have a number of authors publishing historical stories, and in whichever category they are filed, they are never a comfortable fit. The writer must always feel that some portion of his/her story is not being considered. The reader is also being partially mislead, or failing to be lead, either away from, or toward these stories.

The same kind of nonsupport is true of Celebrity and Fan Fiction; but, only in that way are they similar. It would be equally misleading to consider them each other's equivalent.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Actually, celebrities are real people. (Sort of.) Character-based fan fiction is about fictional characters.

The difference between those two types, and straight historical fiction, is that Celebrity fiction is pseudo biographical.

(Right! About as close to reality as 'The Simple Life'.)

Fan fiction is fiction based upon some other (professional) writer's character(s) and setting.

Historical fiction tends to be about fictional characters within a real (historical) setting . . . at least as close as that writer's abilities and research can get him/her.

Alternately, some stories are fictional (or fictionalized) events in a real historical character's life. Again, as good as the writers' talent and research can get him/her.

In this light, the real-life celebrity's story and the fictionalized event in a historical character's (celebrity) life shares similar ground, without really sharing a similar goal.

Celebrity fiction is fantasizing about an actual person's reality.

Historical fiction applies historical fact to fictional events to increase the story's verisimilitude.

Fan fiction tries only to recreate whatever reality was accomplished by the original writer(s).

We already have a number of authors publishing historical stories, and in whichever category they are filed, they are never a comfortable fit. The writer must always feel that some portion of his/her story is not being considered. The reader is also being partially mislead, or failing to be lead, either away from, or toward these stories.

The same kind of nonsupport is true of Celebrity and Fan Fiction; but, only in that way are they similar. It would be equally misleading to consider them each other's equivalent.

Hi, Quasi.
You misunderstood me. I meant that most stories about "celebrities" are about characters in TV shows or comic books or whatever. I wrote one about Kelly Bundy, a character in a TV show, rather than about Christine Applegate, who played the character. If you go the the celebrity section you will see stories about the X Men, Spiderman, Superman, and other characters, and you will see some about real people who are celebrities.

I guess that most of them are what you are describing as "Fan Fiction".

I don't think "historical fiction" as a category is such a bad idea. Writing a story set in some previous time, either including an historical figure from that time. The problem is that someone might start a story saying "Ten years ago, when I finished college, I ..... and then go on to write an ordinary piece of eroticling coupling, and say it is historic because it is set in the past.

 

[Quasimodem]

. . . The problem is that someone might start a story saying "Ten years ago, when I finished college, I ..... and then go on to write an ordinary piece of eroticling coupling, and say it is historic because it is set in the past.

It could be, provided he includes enough topical references from ten years ago to recreate the atmosphere of the decade previous.

But, if he mentions watching the American Idol show while making out, he's blown the story.

Winding up in the sack, because there was nothing on TV since Cheers had stopped production, however, might work.

It just wouldn't be MUCH of an historical fiction story.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I suppose that if I were writing an historical story, I could set it at the time of the Cuban Missle Crisis and cast myself as a young member of his staff, and be there at the time he made a famous speech demanding that the missles be removed, and then I attended an orgy with him. I would need to do some research because some of my memories are rather hazy but I could probably do it. If it didn't fly as an historical story, I could probably make it a celebrity story.

 

[sirhugs]

Cyberpunk is set in a dark future where massive corporations have the real power.

[ ....]

-Colly

why do you say this is the future? Sounds a lot like 2004!

 

[gauchecritic]

With historical tales I think you will probably find that the definitive resource "1066 And All That*" draws a very definite line of what constitutes 'history'.

the end of World War I, at which time "America became Top Nation", and thus there was no more history to record

This is a volume well worth reading and "All the History you can remember is in the Book"

The title page states that the book comprises "103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates", while the preface mentions that originally 4 dates were planned, but last minute research revealed that 2 of them were not memorable.

Some examples of relevant (memorable) 'history':

"Canute began by being a Bad King on the advice of his Courtiers, who informed him (owing to a misunderstanding of the Rule Britannia) that the King of England was entitled to sit on the sea without getting wet."

The Barons
Simon de Montfort, although only a Frenchman, was a Good Thing, and is very notable as being the only good Baron in history. The other Barons were, of course, all wicked Barons. They had, however, many important duties under the Banorial system. These were:

1. To be armed to the teeth.

2. To extract from the Villein saccage and soccage, tollage and tallage, pillage and ullage, and, in extreme cases, all other banorial amenities such as umbrage and porrage.

3. To hasten the King's death, deposition, insanity, etc., and make quite sure that there were always at least three false claimants to the throne.

4. To resent the Attitude of the Church. (The Barons were secretly jealous of the Church, which they accused of encroaching on their rites.)

5. To keep up the Middle Ages

What this actually means, in terms of a historical category for Lit., is that all stories posted there would have to be of English History, since that is the only history there actually is.

Gauche

*Written by WC Sellar and RJ Yeatman and available at all good depositories (and some quite quite distasteful and classless book sellers).

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Cyberpunk is set in a dark future where massive corporations have the real power. If you have ever seen the movie Blade Runner it's close. If you want the real low down ask Raphy, Cyberpunk is his genre and his works in it are top notch. IMHO as good as the real masters like Gibson. The stories are characterized by a "gritty" feel to them and a strong sense of just how fallible mankind can be.

-Colly

*afraid to enrage someone by asking "Who's Gibson?"*

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Gibson

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Aw, I get it. A colleague of Lord of the Flies and The Matrix! (Well, their creators, anyway...)

Sounds like something I wouldn't like very much. Metal, concrete, sunglasses in the rain, computers ruling people's lives - too depressing!

I prefer sugary-sweet stories of people humping in the grass, under the sun, with no greater problems in life than "how will I get the grass stains off my clothes?"

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Oh, by the way - thank you!

Svenskaflicka
Well-behaved But Slow

 

[Boxlicker101]

Aw, I get it. A colleague of Lord of the Flies and The Matrix! (Well, their creators, anyway...)

Sounds like something I wouldn't like very much. Metal, concrete, sunglasses in the rain, computers ruling people's lives - too depressing!

I prefer sugary-sweet stories of people humping in the grass, under the sun, with no greater problems in life than "how will I get the grass stains off my clothes?"

That's my kind of story too, except the people don't worry about their clothes because by the time they are humping, they aren't wearing any.

 

[Guest]

1. To be armed to the teeth.

Gauche, this sounds like a fun read, but a Brit, whether baronial or merely bloke-ish, doesn't make much of an impression what with the bad teeth cliche we all believe. Or does it mean they armour their teeth like the gangs of East L.A.? Just curious.

Perdita