Friday, November 20, 2009

Projects...

Now I've let go of "The Chastity Belt", I'm ready to move on with other projects.

The big problem with writing erotica is that a zillion fantasies tug at the imagination. A few thousand words are enough to bring a fantasy to life, but an erotic novel needs at least 40,000 words. So, there's this strong temptation to flit between projects and never quite finish anything.

Also, some fantasies make lousy stories because they're about a lifestyle. I like the idea of retreating into classical slavery. Lots of sexual frustration, punishments and humiliation, but no real story. I also like the idea of being a permanently chaste lover; there would be no dialog over release, no possibility of orgasm, just a life of exquisite frustration and sensuality. Sometimes I evoke these in my erotic captions, but I can't see how to make these into novels since the attraction is the absence of drama.

Themes that I can write about are...

MALE CHASTITY
  • Adventures in chastity - Chaste hero becomes object of desire for competing ladies.
  • Chaste romance - Chaste hero gets drawn into a romance that would otherwise be impossible.
  • Persecuted male - More traditional femdom, in which an angry female victimizes the hero, who she of course traps in a chastity belt.
  • Journey into permanent chastity - Usually provides the looming disaster for the above. Ultimately, the hero probably choses this. Coming up with convincing permanence is tricky.
SLAVERY
  • Slave tale - Chaste male slave as observer of Sapphic comings and goings.
  • Journey into Slavery - Chaste male slave grows to relish his role, perhaps as the result of a Slave Tale.
In both the kinds of tale, the Journey theme gives the hero a reason to resist; yes I love this girl, but if I surrender to that love, then I'll be trapped forever! Lose that theme, and there's less to keep the story going.

This is probably why I haven't knocked out a sequel to The Chastity Belt. I left the hero enslaved to a very nice menage a trois. I'm not sure I 'd want to disturb that happy ending. If I did, the stakes would have to be purely erotic or emotional... perhaps Moira goes off with some Lesbian bikers, leaving Casandra and Felicity to battle over who owns Mark. Or perhaps Mark is tempted by a more normal romance and must decide who he wants to be. The possibilities are there, but it would be harder to write a real page turner.

In the mean time, I'm working on a Whips and Stockingtops yarn...

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