Category question

[UsuallyPresent]

I'm noodling on a story dealing with a woman who wakes up to find that she's stuck as a passenger in her own body. Full sensory input, no output. What's more, she's been somewhat repressed/prudish/proper, and the body's actions are not nearly that.

Would this be
Erotic Horror? - This would probably end with her going insane
Noncon? - This would probably need to end with her enjoying her new libertine ways with the Lit spin on noncon
SciFi?
BDSM (perhaps the ultimate in bondage?)


I'm currently thinking more in one of the first two, but am up in the air, and would like y'all's opinion

 

[SynSlave]

Just a friendly warning: I'm a new sign up but from what I've read around here over the years (and from what I time to time see on the forums) is that people usually dont like endings where all the protaganists meet some type of demise. Something you rarely see in books as well. Sure there's death and tragedy, but even in stuff like GoT somebody still lives, don't they?

Real tragedies still exist. The romeo and juliet theme still come up. But I digress...

Me, I enjoy tragic endings. Reading and writing. I try to put some twist at the end... and tropes like morals, messages or some type of universal hope... stuff you usually get anyway.

Curious question: Who's in control of her? Sounds like the category mind control would work from what you've said so far. But if it has a truly bad out come ending I'd play it safe with erotic horror.

 

[Hypoxia]

I'm noodling on a story dealing with a woman who wakes up to find that she's stuck as a passenger in her own body. Full sensory input, no output. What's more, she's been somewhat repressed/prudish/proper, and the body's actions are not nearly that.

Does she feel other presences within her? Does she recognize them?

...from what I've read around here over the years (and from what I time to time see on the forums) is that people usually dont like endings where all the protaganists meet some type of demise.

Nothing was said of death. Still, some major players -- but not all except in plane crash or supernova -- can be killed-off for drama and tragic tears. I've done that.

A trick here: Her body does crazy stuff, dies, and she awakens as a passenger in a new body, shared with the previous owner(s). Hilarity ensues.

Curious question: Who's in control of her? Sounds like the category mind control would work from what you've said so far.

That is my take, too, but the controller really determines the category.

* Aliens --> SciFi.
* A sibling --> Incest.
* Demons --> Erotic Horror.
* Her subconscious --> Group.
* Gov't agency --> MindControl
* Neighbor or stalker --> NonCon.
* Telepathic giant squid --> NonHuman.

If her body takes her to gangbangs, trains, fuckfests, with no explicable cause, then Group (with a twist) would fit.

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

I'm noodling on a story dealing with a woman who wakes up to find that she's stuck as a passenger in her own body. Full sensory input, no output. What's more, she's been somewhat repressed/prudish/proper, and the body's actions are not nearly that.

Would this be
Erotic Horror? - This would probably end with her going insane
Noncon? - This would probably need to end with her enjoying her new libertine ways with the Lit spin on noncon
SciFi?
BDSM (perhaps the ultimate in bondage?)


I'm currently thinking more in one of the first two, but am up in the air, and would like y'all's opinion

I think it depends on the agency:
Demonic or ghostly possession? erotic horror
Technological? SCiFi
NOT BDSM: people in the lifestyle will tell you real quick that all BDSM is consensual.
Non con is a safe way to go. It is often considered a "trump" category that gives you a lot of leeway

Hope that helps

PS and I see hypoxia beat me to it

 

[5StarsUK]

Her body?

I assumed that the premise would be that her body, as opposed to her mind/ brain, would be in control and as such would simply seek out experiences that brought physical pleasure, regardless of any moral, legal or other constraints that her mind/brain would normally consider.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I must agree with Hypoxia. Who’s driving the bus?

 

[OneAuthor]

I'd go NonCon or Mind Control, assuming someone else is controlling her words/actions. Of course, if that someone else is a demon/monster - or an alien - then perhaps Erotic Horror or SciFi would make sense also.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't understand your question. What do you mean that she wakes up as a passenger in her own body? I don't understand that at all. If it's her body, how can she be a passenger? Isn't she the pilot/driver? I don't get it.

Ignore category for the moment. Write the story first. Then analyze what the erotic focus of the story is. That will determine the category.


The way you've described it, there doesn't seem to be anything horrific about it, so I don't see it as horror.

It might be sci fi, but you haven't explained what happens or what the mechanism is for it happening, so I don't know if there's any sci fi.

If it's about a person of one gender suddenly being in the body of another gender, then it might be Transgender. But I can't tell if that's what you're talking about.

My advice is not to think about the category until the story is done.

 

[UsuallyPresent]

The protagonist can't sense any other presence, nor can she communicate with whatever is running her body now, as it's currently written. Unsolved mystery, a McGuffin.

The intent is that whoever is controlling the body will semi-gently break the protagonist's ideals/moral positions/etc. This as I currently foresee it (I've just written up the beginning where she starts to realize the situation, and started listing scenes to flesh out. Heh. Pun unintended.)

The protag can't ignore what's going on, nor can she change it. What feels good, feels good. What doesn't, doesn't.

Whatever is controlling her body is not intending to kill her, or get her jailed, so risky activities will be subtle and somewhat controlled - early Sunday nude walk thru the park, exhibition in clothes that are legal if barely, things like that. Groping & giving blow jobs to college kids in front of a major public meeting, not so much.

Whatever is controlling her body is apparently sentient - it can look up things via google, it has her background knowledge, it's as proficient as she is in various physical or mental tasks.

It isn't there to murder, poison, or otherwise physically harm others.

The protagonist is completely out of control of her body, but has full sensory input. Thus, whatever the body experiences the protag, locked away inside her body, experiences.

The horror is she no longer has control, and can't stop or alter anything going on to her.

Things that happen start with simply shaving her pussy, something 'only sluts do' from her perspective, wearing clothes that are inappropriate such as a skirt rolled up around the waistband to shorten it, no panties, bra with holes cut for the nipples to poke through, etc, again 'slut clothing'. She heads out and seduces a random, reasonably attractive man, something 'only a whore' would do. Ignoring her commitments (work, church/temple/etc) Going out dancing and vigorously flirting, only to come home with a woman ('unnatural! No no, this can't be happening!") etc.

Working up to actual prostitution, group sex, submission, pain slut, degradation, and such.

If it turns out group is a reasonable option, then the end of the last sentence will be de-emphasized, instead working it in as a flavor of a group encounter.

If it turns out erotic horror or bdsm, those'll probably go much further.

The ending is in flux, I'd initially thought to take things a riskier route and leave the protag to deal with the outcome, but I'd been changing my mind and had started to think that it'd drive the protag insane, catatonic, ending the story at that point.

 

[SimonDoom]

The protagonist can't sense any other presence, nor can she communicate with whatever is running her body now, as it's currently written. Unsolved mystery, a McGuffin.

The intent is that whoever is controlling the body will semi-gently break the protagonist's ideals/moral positions/etc. This as I currently foresee it (I've just written up the beginning where she starts to realize the situation, and started listing scenes to flesh out. Heh. Pun unintended.)

The protag can't ignore what's going on, nor can she change it. What feels good, feels good. What doesn't, doesn't.

Whatever is controlling her body is not intending to kill her, or get her jailed, so risky activities will be subtle and somewhat controlled - early Sunday nude walk thru the park, exhibition in clothes that are legal if barely, things like that. Groping & giving blow jobs to college kids in front of a major public meeting, not so much.

The ending is in flux, I'd initially thought to take things a riskier route and leave the protag to deal with the outcome, but I'd been changing my mind and had started to think that it'd drive the protag insane, catatonic, ending the story at that point.

I don't mean to be disrespectful but this makes no sense to me. I have no idea where you are going with this.

I'll stand by what I said before. Forget categories. Write your story. Think hard about what you want the erotic focus to be. Based on how you've described it so far, I'd say you aren't sure yourself what you want it to be. So just write it and find out. When it's done, think about the category. There's no reason at all to think about the category until you've done that.

I'll just say this: give it a focus. It will be a better story if you have a clear focus to it. This could be mind control, it could be exhibitionist, it could be transgender, sci fi, whatever. But think hard about what you really want to achieve with this story. What is its appeal?

My view (maybe not everybody's) is that an erotic story should have an erotic focus. Every word in the story should be written with that focus in mind. Do that and finish the story and you'll know how to categorize it.

 

[UsuallyPresent]

I don't mean to be disrespectful but this makes no sense to me. I have no idea where you are going with this.

Fair enough, sorry if I'm not being clear. I did edit and expand my 2nd post totry to make it clearer.

I'll stand by what I said before. Forget categories. Write your story. Think hard about what you want the erotic focus to be. Based on how you've described it so far, I'd say you aren't sure yourself what you want it to be. So just write it and find out. When it's done, think about the category. There's no reason at all to think about the category until you've done that.

I'll just say this: give it a focus. It will be a better story if you have a clear focus to it. This could be mind control, it could be exhibitionist, it could be transgender, sci fi, whatever. But think hard about what you really want to achieve with this story. What is its appeal?

My view (maybe not everybody's) is that an erotic story should have an erotic focus. Every word in the story should be written with that focus in mind. Do that and finish the story and you'll know how to categorize it.

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it.

 

[UsuallyPresent]

To all who've replied, thank y'all - appreciate your time. I think I'll take Simon Doom's advice and polish it off and see where it ends up. Had hoped that someone had run into this kind of problem before - a story that could fit easily into many categories depending on how it gets fit together - but apparently that's not all that common.

 

[SynSlave]

To all who've replied, thank y'all - appreciate your time. I think I'll take Simon Doom's advice and polish it off and see where it ends up. Had hoped that someone had run into this kind of problem before - a story that could fit easily into many categories depending on how it gets fit together - but apparently that's not all that common.

Oh, I think it's pretty common. Most stories can be applied to multiple categories. But if the author is having trouble narrowing it down imagine how we feel without your complegr insight and without the complete story!

Good luck!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Whatever is controlling her body is not intending to kill her, or get her jailed, so risky activities will be subtle and somewhat controlled - early Sunday nude walk thru the park, exhibition in clothes that are legal if barely, things like that. Groping & giving blow jobs to college kids in front of a major public meeting, not so much.

Whatever is controlling her body is apparently sentient - it can look up things via google, it has her background knowledge, it's as proficient as she is in various physical or mental tasks.

Sounds like Mind Control. But I agree with others: write it first, then determine category. It will be self-evident, once it's finished.

 

[UsuallyPresent]

*grin* 3k words in and climbing...

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

To me, the question of what category seems akin to picking a title before writing the story. As Simon suggested, give the story focus and write it.

Or, throw a bandaid on it all and have her brother (or uncle, or father, etc) control her, thus resolving any categorization quandary.

 

[SimonDoom]

To all who've replied, thank y'all - appreciate your time. I think I'll take Simon Doom's advice and polish it off and see where it ends up. Had hoped that someone had run into this kind of problem before - a story that could fit easily into many categories depending on how it gets fit together - but apparently that's not all that common.

On the contrary, this is a very common problem. I've dealt with this problem, as have many others. But it can't be resolved correctly in the abstract. You have to write the story first, and when it's done think hard about what category it best fits. You can't analyze this issue in the abstract before the story is even written.

 

[LupusDei]

The protagonist can't sense any other presence, nor can she communicate with whatever is running her body now, as it's currently written. Unsolved mystery, a McGuffin.

The intent is that whoever is controlling the body will semi-gently break the protagonist's ideals/moral positions/etc. This as I currently foresee it (I've just written up the beginning where she starts to realize the situation, and started listing scenes to flesh out. Heh. Pun unintended.)

The protag can't ignore what's going on, nor can she change it. What feels good, feels good. What doesn't, doesn't.

Whatever is controlling her body is not intending to kill her, or get her jailed, so risky activities will be subtle and somewhat controlled - early Sunday nude walk thru the park, exhibition in clothes that are legal if barely, things like that. Groping & giving blow jobs to college kids in front of a major public meeting, not so much.

Whatever is controlling her body is apparently sentient - it can look up things via google, it has her background knowledge, it's as proficient as she is in various physical or mental tasks.

It isn't there to murder, poison, or otherwise physically harm others.

The protagonist is completely out of control of her body, but has full sensory input. Thus, whatever the body experiences the protag, locked away inside her body, experiences.

The horror is she no longer has control, and can't stop or alter anything going on to her.

Things that happen start with simply shaving her pussy, something 'only sluts do' from her perspective, wearing clothes that are inappropriate such as a skirt rolled up around the waistband to shorten it, no panties, bra with holes cut for the nipples to poke through, etc, again 'slut clothing'. She heads out and seduces a random, reasonably attractive man, something 'only a whore' would do. Ignoring her commitments (work, church/temple/etc) Going out dancing and vigorously flirting, only to come home with a woman ('unnatural! No no, this can't be happening!") etc.

Working up to actual prostitution, group sex, submission, pain slut, degradation, and such.

If it turns out group is a reasonable option, then the end of the last sentence will be de-emphasized, instead working it in as a flavor of a group encounter.

If it turns out erotic horror or bdsm, those'll probably go much further.

The ending is in flux, I'd initially thought to take things a riskier route and leave the protag to deal with the outcome, but I'd been changing my mind and had started to think that it'd drive the protag insane, catatonic, ending the story at that point.

By that description it is undoubtedly Exhibitionism/Voyeur story her body snatcher is an exhibitionist obviously. She is the ultimate voyeur, trapped in sensory input of a body she can't control. Or, the body snatcher can be seen as voyeur too, they are obviously having fun by playin with her. Perhaps, she is made to perform for someone, not necessarily watching through the abductees eyes, but from the sidelines out in the world. The ultimate doll show.

There's a movie Gamer (I think) wherein there's a game Society that allows just that, one human to drive another, supposedly signed up for that voluntarily (or being a prisoner, for the deadly version), and of course the big bad plans to make it universal.

It's certainly horrifying, sure, but unless you play the horror angle as the deliberate focus... then, I'm not too familiar with the horror category tropes.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

To all who've replied, thank y'all - appreciate your time. I think I'll take Simon Doom's advice and polish it off and see where it ends up. Had hoped that someone had run into this kind of problem before - a story that could fit easily into many categories depending on how it gets fit together - but apparently that's not all that common.

I think your expanded description is pretty clear, and I definitely see the erotic components as well as the potential for horror. It reminds me of stories that PennameWombat has written, and I think those are in erotic horror.

I'd advise against going down the BDSM road too much (as someone noted you'd get a LOT of pushback around the inability of the protagonist to really consent). I write in that category a lot, and the readers there expect explicit consent or enough of an explicit backstory to justify why the Top isn't getting explicit consent for the described acts. Even though I'm sure you'd have your character verbalize consent, if it was clear that the verbalization was ventriloquism, you'd get bombed (is my guess).

You could go pretty deep into the psychological aspects of things: How does she cope? Does she cope? Does she wind up mentally enjoying these things? or does she feel like she's constantly being forced to do things she doesn't want, and never begins to want (then you're well into the NonCon category). You could do a lot of things with her internal monologue and how her perspective on things or other people changes. Or, she could get convinced that everyone doing something "deviant" is also being controlled, and does that give her empathy for them, or just make her more paranoid. {{sorry, but the more i think about this premise, the more fascinating it is to me. You've probably thought about all this already}}

I do think Simon's advice to finish the story completely and then decide on a category is sound. Maybe get a beta reader or an editor to give category input as well.

And this is just fwiw, but my immediate reaction is that you'd likely get a better reaction from the readers if your protagonist starts to enjoy what's happening to her, rather than being driven insane by it. Also, it's hard to really describe actual insanity in a not cliche way, but that's a whole other issue. Of course, ultimately it's your story to write, however you think makes the most sense to you and that you enjoy.

I for one, am hella interested in reading this, when you get it done.

 

[UsuallyPresent]

Thanks for the encouragement & insights, all. I really appreciate ‘em.