Introduce the title of your story: Opening Night
Genre/Category: Straight Sex/Oral Sex (VIP Competition entry)
Provide the link: http://www.lushstories.com/stories/straight-sex/opening-night.aspx
1. What first inspired you to write this particular story?
Were it not for the competition, this story probably would not have come about. I knew I wanted to enter and this idea came to me pretty quickly. I guess I kind of worked backwards from the VIP theme and the rest followed from there.
2. How did you come up with these characters?
As with almost all of my "male leads", Brian has elements of myself but not too much. I wanted to make him a bit of an "every man" so that the reader could make him, to some extent, whoever they wanted him to be (that's why there's not much physical description of him).
Claudia is very like the character of Olivia in my earlier story, Welcome to Kirkgate. I tend to write my women very strong, successful and a lot cleverer than the men.
Jack is based loosely on a number of friends of mine - a real lad and a lot of fun, sort of balancing out the more serious nature of Brian.
3. How does it differ from some of your other stories?
I feel like it's a more mature piece than a lot of my previous stuff. It touches (although doesn't go into) some really emotional issues and "grown up" themes. I would also say it's a more deliberate piece of writing and almost all of it is quite important to what I'm trying to convey.
4. What was the most challenging thing about writing this piece?
Actually putting the words on the page. I've been working on this pretty much since the competition opened and, at times, I've had to really battle to write even a sentence. I knew what I wanted to say but it was physically hard to do. In the last week, I really got into the groove and blitzed the entire second half.
Also, because it was written over a relatively long time, I had to work hard not to repeat things I had already said or slip into a slightly different style. I think I managed some degree of consistency.
5. Anything else you want to tell us about it?
It's the longest story I've written thus far at just over 9000 words. I've learned through experience that my best work is my longer work. Other than that, I just love the story. When I was proofreading it, I was really enjoying the action and the more... *ahem*... explicit parts really turned me on (and I hope they will my readers).
Thanks in advance to anyone who reads it. I hope you enjoy.
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clum
1 month ago
Bisexual Cis Male, 35
0 miles · Scotland
Forum
Clumeleon
Quote by Pixie
Maybe Gav is tinkering with the site? I can't see the home button either and right next to the search button there is a black S. Anyone else seeing this?
I see the black S but my home button is intact. I'm pretty sure Gav is tinkering and normal service will resume shortly.
Clumeleon
Quote by Buz
Nice. Maybe it is colloquial but where I come from it is often said, drawn out and the 's' pronounced as a 'z' and definitely means much better than average. It can be interchanged with awesome. I would definitely say that it can mean different levels of good from mediocre good to excellent, depending upon the user and how they state it.
'That sure is a niiiizzze ass on that chick!'
Oh yeah, that too.
Clumeleon
I would usually describe someone's work as "nice" if reading it put a smile on my face. It usually means that it was an enjoyable, easy read but probably not outstanding. I see it as a rather weak sentiment with respect to writing.
I would describe a person's actions as "nice" if they did something out of the goodness of their heart that they were not necessarily obliged to so; something to help a fellow human being. In this context, I guess the word is a bit stronger.
When referring to a person, "nice" would be used when I have not spent enough time with them to form much of an opinion but have not, as yet, come across any glaringly obvious negative qualities. It's a filler, non-committal word.
I would describe a person's actions as "nice" if they did something out of the goodness of their heart that they were not necessarily obliged to so; something to help a fellow human being. In this context, I guess the word is a bit stronger.
When referring to a person, "nice" would be used when I have not spent enough time with them to form much of an opinion but have not, as yet, come across any glaringly obvious negative qualities. It's a filler, non-committal word.
Clumeleon
I received a comment on one of my stories recently that has had me thinking for a while. It was two words but it was probably some of the best feedback I've had on this site, in terms of making me think about how to improve my writing.
The comment simply read: "No surprises."
It was made on a story that, in my opinion, is quite rubbish and that I will probably rewrite anyway. The commenter was right to say that nothing happened in the story that was in any way surprising or that you could not have predicted; it was just a description of an event.
The same comment could probably be applied to many of my stories. I don't tend to go for the big plot twists, I usually just tell a tale. I write quite well, if I'm allowed to say so, but none of my stories have those moments that make you gasp and say, "Jings, never saw that one coming."
My question is this:
How important is it that a story be, to some degree, unpredictable?
Is it enough that a story is well-written and well-told or does it have to have you constantly wondering what's going to happen next? Does it have to be a rollercoaster or are you happy with the tea cups?
Is a story without a plot twist just completely pointless or is it nice just to go along for the ride sometimes?
Thanks in advance for any and all responses.
The comment simply read: "No surprises."
It was made on a story that, in my opinion, is quite rubbish and that I will probably rewrite anyway. The commenter was right to say that nothing happened in the story that was in any way surprising or that you could not have predicted; it was just a description of an event.
The same comment could probably be applied to many of my stories. I don't tend to go for the big plot twists, I usually just tell a tale. I write quite well, if I'm allowed to say so, but none of my stories have those moments that make you gasp and say, "Jings, never saw that one coming."
My question is this:
How important is it that a story be, to some degree, unpredictable?
Is it enough that a story is well-written and well-told or does it have to have you constantly wondering what's going to happen next? Does it have to be a rollercoaster or are you happy with the tea cups?
Is a story without a plot twist just completely pointless or is it nice just to go along for the ride sometimes?
Thanks in advance for any and all responses.
Clumeleon
Quote by 1ball
I've got to disagree with this one. Rule #2 from http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm
Use a comma + a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) to connect two independent clauses, as in "He hit the ball well, but he ran toward third base."
I sometimes fail to put them in, especially before 'and', and I notice, after I submit the story, that it needed one. As we are from countries that sometimes seem to be separated by a common language, this might be a national preference, but it doesn't seem so.
Fair enough; I'm not the grammar police and I'm not going to go through all your stories removing what I believe are misplaced commas. This is what I believe works best, particularly for novice writers and especially for the words 'and' and 'but'.
Of course, sometimes a comma would be appropriate before the conjunction but that's really up to the writer. The ultimate goal is to have a piece of writing read as fluidly as possible (in most cases) and sometimes a comma helps with that, sometimes it doesn't.
To quote the paragraph immediately following the one you did,
Contending that the coordinating conjunction is adequate separation, some writers will leave out the comma in a sentence with short, balanced independent clauses (such as we see in the example just given). If there is ever any doubt, however, use the comma, as it is always correct in this situation.
and so I would only use the comma if not doing so left room for ambiguity. The complexity of the writing of novice authors is usually not such that this is ever a problem.
