Photos Inspire Stories/Yes - No

[Guest]

Fellow writers and readers,

I find the use of photographs assists me greatly in developing stories and 'fleshing' out characters. I prefer to utilize a few photos to help define the characters I'm writing about. This let's me establish a sort of portfolio for each individual that I can refer to and begin to build upon. Sometimes I have kept a logbook of sorts with basic information to better organize how the characters might interact with one another.
Sounds a bit retentive but in my opinion it's all about how well the details support the story and how much consistency there is to the details themselves. As for the photographs, I prefer to collect amateur pics over professional ones. No specific reasoning except real people, meaning the characters appearing in a story, seldom resemble porn stars. Of course the exception to that is if a character happens to be a porn star in the storyline. Well, that's my view, so that and five dollars will get me a cup of joe at Starbucks.

 

[WickedEve]

I find the use of photographs assists me greatly in developing stories and 'fleshing' out characters.

I'm occasionally inspired by erotic pictures. Many interesting ones have a story somewhere in them. My lover likes me to find photos online and write short stories about the people and the surroundings in the picture.

 

[Never]

Yes, yes and yes.

The stuff I'm working on now was all inspired by one picture in a magazine I read over a year and a half ago.

To the open mind everything is grist for the grind.

 

[mlyn]

I've written 2 stories this way

The one, Mistress, started as a short story inspired by that ad for a perfume called Tabu I think. Where the woman is playing the piano and the man grabs her up and kisses her wildly.

the second was inspired by an artist who works with Poser. She had the most erotic picture of a woman and man. he was standing behind her, only lightly caressing her... and that story was called "Waiting for Love", same as her art work- if I remember correctly.

 

[karmadog]

paintings

I have not used a photo for an erotic story idea, but I have for non-erotic stories. I find that paintings work better, though. Preferably something obscure that is not already weighted with interpretation, or a known story. It is easier to let the imagination free that way.

 

[mlyn]

to: karmadog

I agree about the paintings over photos, but I think it is harder to find modern paintings that really have a story in them. older paintings, especially where several figures are depicted, can let your imagination run wild. happy writing.

 

[chatbug]

Sometimes

Three of my stories were inspired by a picture or a series of pictures. Most of my stories come from life experiences, either my own or someone's I've heard or read about.

I get an occasional idea from the Story Ideas section of the bulletin board.

 

[Mhaile]

Chicken or the egg...

I have written stories both ways... where pictures have inspired a story, and where a story has inspired pictures. I am surprised that more people don't post "Illustrated stories" with pics attached. I have posted two such stories. I have had a number of comments about the photos, but am not sure if the pictures enhance the reading experience or not. Since "Illustrated Stories" don't show up on your author's list, with views and ratings, it is hard to tell how popular they are.

 

[Sateema Lunasi]

more films than photos

Movies inspire me to write stories often, but not really photos unless the photo is really out there.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Nope...

But sometimes, a photo can bring a character to life for me...give it the push I needed to really dig in.

 

[CRaZy]

Photos, objects and works of art can absolutely inspire stories. When I wrote "Scent" I kept a perfume bottle exactly like the one described in the story beside my computer.

"The Kiss" actually contains references to the works of art which inspired it. There are actually a lot of artworks called "Kiss" and originally I had references to far more than two of them. Readers struggled with even the two so it's lucky I trimmed. LOL.

My story "Christmas Card From a Hooker In Manila" is inspired by a picture. I came across a miserable site which promoted Manila as a great place to hire willing girls at Christmas. It had a picture of two girls in Santa hats holding a "Happy Hour" sign. Their faces were sullen, desperate and cold in total contrast to their costume and sign. I kept looking at the pic on my computer while writing the story.

I think there is a danger in always using works of art or pics or objects for inspiration though. Sometimes the image has to emerge purely from the imagination.

 

[Guest]

Since I am more of a visually-oriented person, I prefer to use pictures to help me visualize characters, so I'll use magazine photos or whatever else I can find to do so. Sometimes, classical paintings will give me inspiration for a story, too.

 

[GasPedalJoe]

I think those are all great ideas, Fallen.

There's a few porno sites I surf to find women for my stories. Sometimes, I write with a particular model or picture squarely in mind. Others are written after "perfecting" a character; maybe I just reference the picture for the way I want to visualize a particular description.

When I had time, I would go people watching and try to make up stories in my head. Occasionally, there would be a person who would fully inspire a story--the prettiest girl at a restaraunt, a fighting couple, a drunk guy--it helped me find diversity and keep out of the ruts.

Keeping a log book, or note cards, or a block of text at the end of your document to reference your characters and locations is a must, particularly if you have a long story, many characters, or diverse locations. In this list, I'll often put links back to the porno that inspired the character or location.

 

[voyergirl]

I think in most cases men need more visual stim. then women do. I may be wrong but, in what I've been told on here men need that picture in thier minds. I, as well as a few other women I know paint a better picture in our own imagination. Most men who send me pics. looked better in my mind than in real life LOL. My best story plots seem to come to me at times like driving home from work. A long dreary drive past this huge lake conjure some wonderful images for me. I get a lot from nature also. Sometimes just the feeling of warmth on my body from the sun is enough to strike a nerve and make my pen want to write! Not to mention my body to tingle

voy!

 

[The Sex Master]

Fellow writers and readers,

I find the use of photographs assists me greatly in developing stories and 'fleshing' out characters. I prefer to utilize a few photos to help define the characters I'm writing about. This let's me establish a sort of portfolio for each individual that I can refer to and begin to build upon. Sometimes I have kept a logbook of sorts with basic information to better organize how the characters might interact with one another.
Sounds a bit retentive but in my opinion it's all about how well the details support the story and how much consistency there is to the details themselves. As for the photographs, I prefer to collect amateur pics over professional ones. No specific reasoning except real people, meaning the characters appearing in a story, seldom resemble porn stars. Of course the exception to that is if a character happens to be a porn star in the storyline. Well, that's my view, so that and five dollars will get me a cup of joe at Starbucks.

YES !

 

[Guest]

Oh, yes!

One of my stories "A Perfect Pussy, Ch. 1" was inspired by the picture of a anime catgirl. Often many of the ideas I have come from viewing art or drawings.

Yes, men tend to be visual, but some of that visual stimuli comes across in the literary vein from time to time.

Maintain and Check Six!

 

[voyergirl]

oh the visions!

Hey Dukk!!!
hi hun. long time no see!
and i would be willing to bet the images the reader developes in their own mind is better than the photo that inspired you to write in the first place!!!!!!!!
i have read your work and ummm ummm ummm can i use my imagination!!!!!
lol


ps........i bet it also comes across in the physical sense also

jen

 

[Guest]

Hi Jen! LTNS! ^_^

 

[KillerVanity]

My stories are hardly ever inspired by pictures. However, I must confess that the JT's Stockroom catalog fills me to the brim with wicked ideas and inspiration!

Usually what I write is based on some fantasy I made up in my head, real people I am attracted to, or real events. The names are always changed to protect the guilty

 

[peterpan]

Often my stories evolve from attempts to caption my own sketches: trying to explain something that I wished was obvious in the picture itself.

 

[MechaBlade]

Definitely...

A lot of my stories were written after seeing a picture on the internet, and becoming inspired. Most of the others are based on real people.

MechaBlade