Do You Challenge Yourself?

[damppanties]

As writers at a site like Lit, which offers us a large area to experiment in, do you try out new things? A new style, or pace, or a different tense from the one you are most comfortable in, different categories in which you would not normally write, new words... anything.

What is the latest thing you've been trying to master? Are you doing anything new lately? Different from the norm, learning or challenging. If so, what?

 

[oggbashan]

Yes.

I tend to get negative feedback when I do experiment. Some of it is deserved because I should have realised that the experiment wasn't a success.

My ultimate challenge is still an acceptable story for the Yahoo Group 'keralawomensarmpits4u' . I can't make myself believe that sweaty hairy armpits are sexy particularly when unwashed for a week. Can anyone else? I suppose I would have to categorise it as 'Fetish'. I revisit the draft about once a month - for a few seconds.

Og

 

[Guest]

A man's sweaty, hairy armpit can be incredibly sexy, particularly after sex. There's something base and primal about the slight hint of a smell (but, I am talking previously freshly showered body here, with just a hint of post sex sweaty smell - not a week's worth). On women, no.

As for me challenging myself, yes, I do it all the time. I try to write something non-erotic. I haven't managed to do that yet, sex always creeps in somewhere.

I'm currently working on quite an experimental novel. It's about switching sexes. I'm not going to say anything more now, because I haven't got a clue if it will work or not. It's fun, though! I've always wondered what it would be like, to be inside a man's body, and that's what this is about, really.

Whatever I write, it always ends up with a dark, erotic horror, feel (unless I'm writing erotica based on fact and actual experiences). Ho hum.

Lou

 

[catalina_francisco]

I am one to thrive on all types of challenges, so writing is often an area I challenge, trying a different form, idea, or angle. As some of my writing is also based on real life experiences, just as in life my path has made an interesting, unexpected, and challenging change of direction lately, I am playing that out in some of my writing....sort of teasing out a mix of the possibilities with some of the so far actualities. Is certainly revealing depths I did not want to know about at first but now am thriving on and revelling in for their beauty and personal growth value.

Catalina

 

[oggbashan]

I've always wondered what it would be like, to be inside a man's body, and that's what this is about, really.
Lou

Men are always trying to get inside a woman's body - that is once the man has turned 18, of course. They spend the first 9 months waiting to get out and from age 18 to infinity trying to get in.

Og

 

[Green_Gem]

Yes, I'm trying to 'stretch' myself creatively by writing in different categories and using different styles of writing. It is like moving into unchartered territory, but I'm enjoying the journey. Oh it has ups and downs, but it's never boring.

Green_Gem

 

[Alex De Kok]

The nearest I've come to stretching myself was writing Aye Pet, aal the way which is my attempt to write a story using our local Geordie* dialect. I have an incomplete Non-consent piece lurking, but it's not a genre I'm happy with. I'll get back to it and finish it one day, for the creative exercise if nothing else.

Alex

* As spoken on Tyneside, in NE England, for the edification of non-Brits. See also here

 

[Guest]

Writing erotica was a challenge for me, never done it til Lit. I chose bdsm and Tokyo for a setting because I thought they would afford the most particulars; I wasn't interested in writing ordinary sex scenes or making the characters down-to-earth types. Seems to have worked.

The H'ween contest and the chain story were a bit of a challenge. I honestly don't know if I'll write more for Lit., actually wondering now if I'm about through here.

Perdita

 

[dr_mabeuse]

The biggest chance I took recently was for the Earth Day contest in a kind of free-form prose essay (“The Pillar in the Garden”). I’m not getting tired of porn, but I’m getting tired of exclusively doing the same “they meet/they fuck/the end” kind of story. I believe that things can be erotic without be overtly sexy, and that's the kind of stuff that interests me lately.

The way I seem to operate now, is that I do one experiment or challenging piece, followed by pne or two easy ones. I'm working on a challenging one now about a temple prostitute in ancient Egypt, and it's tough.

They didn't have temple prostitutes in Egypt, so I had to import the goddess Astarte from Canaan and put her in a new temple in Memphis. The story is very high-concept, by which I mean the premise takes a lot of explaining, and so it goes on for a while before anything really erotic happens. I'm trying to maintain this feeling of religious sensuality and atmosphere throughout, and it’s tricky.

I want it to be as historically and theologically accurate as I can, so there's a lot of research involved, and ancient Egypt and the old middle-eastern religions are just so fascinating to me that I get side-tracked a lot. It's probably the most ambitious thing I've tried at Lit, and it seems to want to expand into a novel, so I'm intentionally keeping it open ended.

Anyhow, it's long, it's high-concept, and it's involved, so it's pretty rough going. I have a feeling it's not going to do really well here.

---dr.M.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Yes.

I tend to get negative feedback when I do experiment. Some of it is deserved because I should have realised that the experiment wasn't a success.

My ultimate challenge is still an acceptable story for the Yahoo Group 'keralawomensarmpits4u' . I can't make myself believe that sweaty hairy armpits are sexy particularly when unwashed for a week. Can anyone else? I suppose I would have to categorise it as 'Fetish'. I revisit the draft about once a month - for a few seconds.

Og

Are we seeing another TWCSE-chapter coming along..? *licks lips*

 

[oggbashan]

Are we seeing another TWCSE-chapter coming along..? *licks lips*

Nope. The challenge is to write a story that is effective for the intended audience. Everything I've tried so far has turned into satire or parody.

I can't get excited or serious about sweaty and hairy armpits.

Og

 

[Black Tulip]

As writers at a site like Lit, which offers us a large area to experiment in, do you try out new things? A new style, or pace, or a different tense from the one you are most comfortable in, different categories in which you would not normally write, new words... anything.

What is the latest thing you've been trying to master? Are you doing anything new lately? Different from the norm, learning or challenging. If so, what?

As far as I am concerned, the answer is pretty obvious. I take part in The Challenge Club, because it forces me to write on a regular basis, even if I do not particularly feel like it.

Sometimes my story is pure crap, other times it inspires something quite different. My 7-chapter novella was born from a challenge. The latest was to write a story in a category you would not normally pick. I now know exactly why not. I can't write a decent story for it.

Oh, and I jumped into the Story Discussion Circle. That gave me a lot of thought for improvement too. I can recommend it.

 

[damppanties]

GG, what are you doing now? Particularly in terms of style.

doc, I wanna be notified when it's out.

BT, yes, SDC is good... but still intimidating. sigh.

Og, I'm wondering if I can do a smelly armpit thing now. Ugh. And the bad thing is - maybe I can. YUCK!!


The latest thing I'm trying right now is to write in present tense. I am actually so used to past tense that I find myself going back and erasing out the '-ed's and writing '-es'. The story looks good in present tense. But I really didn't think I'd have to monitor myself so much to write it that way. That's why the question came up in my head.

And the idea of the story is also very, very different from what I have on Lit. It's set in India, in the ancient past. Feudal lords and untouchables, etc.

 

[Liar]

I've been reading thread and I couldn't quite make up my mind if I was challenging myself or not. The thing is: Almost everything I write comes out in style, subject matter and technique quite different than what I wrote last. I've realised that this is not because I deliverately challenge myself, but because I'm easily bored. WHen I'm done with one story or whatever it may be, I'm usually so fed up with that language/POV/genre to want to dove into it once again for quite some time.

So yes, I try new things all the time, expanding hoizons and suchlike. But I do that just because it comes naturally, not to intentionally challenge nyself.

#L

 

[FlyontheWall99]

As writers at a site like Lit, which offers us a large area to experiment in, do you try out new things? A new style, or pace, or a different tense from the one you are most comfortable in, different categories in which you would not normally write, new words... anything.

What is the latest thing you've been trying to master? Are you doing anything new lately? Different from the norm, learning or challenging. If so, what?

I'll admit that I probably don't experiment too much with my writing. I tend to stick to the same sort of stories and categories. I am however trying to master those things that I do at the moment. Hopefully I'll get there one day ....

 

[CharleyH]

I contstantly TRY to challenge myself when writing anything, yet predominantly on the theoretical/ metaphorical side of things. I have accomplished writing 2 different pov's, have accomplished positing an essentially female look, and have experimented with other multiple pov's. As a huge fan of the absurd, and the avant-garde I am currently (LOL - have been for months) writing a novel whose theme transcends time and structure: multiple time periods within the context of the present - rather quantum without being so. The challenge is to make form and content inseperable while at the same time writing in a linear way that will make it easy to follow for the reader.

As for different genres. I am writing in genres that I typically wouldn't touch, and in doing so, am attempting to write from a voice atypical of my style. Dumbing down a story to the most basic of plot and semitotic structure is difficult for me, nonetheless, I find it a challenge.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Nope. The challenge is to write a story that is effective for the intended audience. Everything I've tried so far has turned into satire or parody.

I can't get excited or serious about sweaty and hairy armpits.

Og

Ah - the Non-Erotic chapter!

 

[Guest]

.....

 

[wishfulthinking]

Every story I complete is a challenge in itself!

As to trying new styles, like fly, I'm still getting the hang of what I'm doing now. I've just submitted a story to the non-erotic category, which is a first. If 5 people read it, I'll consider it a success. (I'm giving some allowance to accidental clicks and back clicks of the mouse )

As to new words - not overly much, because I'm pretty fussy when it comes to describing privates, but I'm trying not to be too repetitive!

 

[neonlyte]

There is a danger in challenging yourself without clearly understanding your reasons for doing so. To simply write another genre for the sake of it could be detremental. Ok this is just Lit (with affection), but nonetheless, you work hard to build a reputation and one poorly written story can damage all of the hard work.

I prefer to 'use' the Lit readership to develop my writing skills - this is one of the few places where you are guaranteed readership, and there all kinds of readers out there. Understanding their feedback will help you develop your craft.

My first story published under 'neonlyte' - 'The Blow Job' - is written as female whilst she goes through the motions. All of the feedback is addressed to me as a woman (except one who knew my identity). I wrote this short story to help me with a problem I have with a longer non-Lit work involving a disabled man and a therapist. I needed to understand the therapist's sexual motivation, how she thought and would relate to the man. I needed to be able to think as a woman. There are many strands to her thinking process, tension, excitement, guilt, desire and desire to give, of herself. The Blow Job was a 'challenge' to see if I could address those issues and have an audience believe this was the woman's thoughts.

Yes, it was a challenge to write. I had a clear purpose in mind, I would have learnt just as much if the feedback had said f***ing rubbish.
NL

 

[sweetnpetite]

Writing erotica was a challenge for me, never done it til Lit. I chose bdsm and Tokyo for a setting because I thought they would afford the most particulars; I wasn't interested in writing ordinary sex scenes or making the characters down-to-earth types. Seems to have worked.

The H'ween contest and the chain story were a bit of a challenge. I honestly don't know if I'll write more for Lit., actually wondering now if I'm about through here.

Perdita

Through writing, or through with lit?!!??

 

[oggbashan]

Og, I'm wondering if I can do a smelly armpit thing now. Ugh. And the bad thing is - maybe I can. YUCK!!

The latest thing I'm trying right now is to write in present tense. I am actually so used to past tense that I find myself going back and erasing out the '-ed's and writing '-es'. The story looks good in present tense. But I really didn't think I'd have to monitor myself so much to write it that way. That's why the question came up in my head.

And the idea of the story is also very, very different from what I have on Lit. It's set in India, in the ancient past. Feudal lords and untouchables, etc.

I thought I could do smelly armpits but I came up against the YUCK factor as well.

I wrote a chapter of one of my stories in the present tense but edited it back to past before posting. It worked for a while but not for the length I was writing. I have done it in non-erotic writing with a maximum limit of 400 words but at 4,000 it sounds false.

Good luck with the story. Reading yours might inspire me to finish my Indian sequel which is at 14,000 words so far and not yet completed.

Og

 

[damppanties]

I thought I could do smelly armpits but I came up against the YUCK factor as well.

I wrote a chapter of one of my stories in the present tense but edited it back to past before posting. It worked for a while but not for the length I was writing. I have done it in non-erotic writing with a maximum limit of 400 words but at 4,000 it sounds false.

Good luck with the story. Reading yours might inspire me to finish my Indian sequel which is at 14,000 words so far and not yet completed.

Og

Og the smelly armpits are a yuck. But what I meant there was that I actually think that I could do it pretty okay and that is the real YUCK part.

Present tense sounds false at 4000? I'll have to write that thing out and see. And I don't like editing much. Sigh.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Going For the extreme

I originally thought about the idea of challenging oneself in terms of theme and structure in a story: what the story's about and how it's put together, but there's another kind of risk I've been taking lately, and that has to do with language and image.

Some times when I'm writing, a goofy image or metaphor will pop into my head, and usually I will immediately banish it as being too risky. But lately, I'm taking more chances and writing them in, trusting that my subconscious or creative side knows what it's doing. It's always a risk. The metaphor might fall flat on its face, or it might just be laughable, which is one of the worst things that can happen in a sex scene, for me, anyhow.

An example that comes to mind was a while ago when I was writing about a guy playing with a lover's breasts. You know (well, guys know), what you do with breasts: you caress them, you squeeze them, and then when you get really excited you might get a little more extreme. How to describe what you do when you get more extreme?

The image I came up with--which I admit is not the stuff of poetry--was "pushing her tits around on her chest". My internal editor said, No, that's silly. It sounds like he's rolling them around like a pair of tennis balls, but I took the chance, and in this case I think it worked out okay.

Another time I described the sight of a woman dropping her clothes from her body as looking like chocolate syrup sliding down vanilla ice cream. I'm afraid this one was a bit over the top and didn't worked very well at all <embarrassed blush>, but still I took the chance.

The point is, the more chances I take like this, the more suggestions my subconscious seems to make, so I think it's really worth doing. But it is risky. I'm always waiting for some feedback saying "God! What's wrong with you? Where did that come from?"

---dr.M.

 

[oggbashan]

Re: Going For the extreme

The point is, the more chances I take like this, the more suggestions my subconscious seems to make, so I think it's really worth doing. But it is risky. I'm always waiting for some feedback saying "God! What's wrong with you? Where did that come from?"

---dr.M.

Why should you get negative feedback for that? The metaphors and descriptions used throughout Literotica are often overused. A totally different view is like poetry; it gives a new insight to a familiar situation and a heightened awareness. It may jar to you; it might jar to the reader; but it shows the image clearer.

Go for it.

Og