If a group of authors are given the same writing assignment, you want to write a story that is close to yourself and written in your own style, but that stands out in its originality on the other. But how do you write an original story that stands out?
If a group of authors are given the same writing assignment, you want to write a story that is close to yourself and written in your own style, but that stands out in its originality on the other. But how do you write an original story that stands out?How to write an original story?
When I was a judge at the ‘Smut Marathon’, the participants were challenged to be inspired by a ‘fortune cookie’ and to write a story of up to 650 words based on that. The assignment gave a lot of freedom. This is a blessing for some, and a plague for others. After all, how do you ensure that you write an original story that will make you stand out to the audience and the jury?
There is no recipe for a good story, let me put that up front. But there are some tricks that you can pull out your sleeve, that will prevent you from falling into common traps.
- Write down what first comes to mind, and don’t use that! When you start working on the first thing that comes to mind, chances are that someone else had exactly the same idea. Throw the obvious story lines in the bin. IN case of the ‘fortune cookie’prompt, that might for example be a text in a cookie that contains a certain assignment, or a setting in a Chinese restaurant. Think beyond the obvious.
- Google as your source of inspiration. No, I am not suggesting that you should plagiarize! But if, like me, you are a visual person, you might get inspired by images. It all comes down to being creative with search words. Try different combinations of search terms, like ‘fortune cookie’ and ‘erotic’, or ‘nude’. This way I found the image to the right, which might be the beginning of your search to inspiration.
- Do your research. Make sure you know what you are talking about. Al-ways! This applies to all stories. Suppose your story takes place in Tokyo and you’ve never been there, make sure you use Google maps, Google images and Wiki to make sure you create authentic descriptions. Chances are that one of your readers does have knowledge of the matter. When for instance, you would do research into fortune cookies, you will find out that there is a eponymous film from 1966, or that a Japanese pop band had a hit with a song named ‘fortune cookie. Such insights could give you a complete new perspective to your story.
Once you have a good idea of your protagonist, think of what their occupation is and again use Google images to get a clear idea on their looks. Is it a sheriff from Alabama, a sailor from Antwerp, or a farmer from the South of France? Empathize in your character, the environment and especially in the year in which it all plays. - No plot without conflict. A story line gets interesting only when there is some kind of conflict. That also accounts for erotica. No matter how exciting a fantasy can be, if it is just a pure description of he-did-she-did, the end is predictable (in case of erotica: there will be an orgasm). There are plenty of classical conflicts in erotica, such as ‘coming of age’, sexual discoveries, changing needs, the conflict between fantasy and reality, no being good at some sexual acts, being shy, etc. Without conflict there is no solution, and the reader has not much reason to read until the end, in order to see the plot unfold and the protagonist (or the reader) will come to new insights.
Google as your source of inspiration. No, I am not suggesting that you should plagiarize! But if, like me, you are a visual person, you might get inspired by images. It all comes down to being creative with search words. Try different combinations of search terms, like ‘fortune cookie’ and ‘erotic’, or ‘nude’. This way I found the image to the right, which might be the beginning of your search to inspiration.Any good (erotic) story stands out because it will go beyond the obvious. The reader is drawn into the story from the first sentence and wants to know how the story will end.
The entries and my feedback
All stories for this round of the Smut Marathon can be found here. My feedback is in the comments below the stories. The results of this round can be found here.
- The history of the collar in BDSM - 8 December 2023
- CosmeTheocs – erotic story - 8 December 2023
- Male menopause (andropause) and its impact on sexuality - 1 December 2023
