How big is too big?

17 posts / 0 new

Wed, 08/26/2015 - 22:09

Auriga

How big is too big?

No. I'm not about inflation size, but about size of a story.

I tend to write long texts, with developing characters, plot twists and so on. As a result, "fun stuff" can be far away and it takes time to get to it.

I suppose, that many people simply abandon reading as they expect inflatables and quick.

So the question: what is the limit? At which number of pages/characters story becomes intimidating?

Also, how patient are you? Would you read the whole story if the fetish stuff is far ahead, or simply search towards it by keywords?

P.S. today I published a chapter that doesn't contain any active inflatable characters. There are two stunningly beautiful inflatable ladies, but they are deflated by now. And their boyfriends end up cheating on them. I do believe that story is still hot and fascinating, yet all said above applies. Would you read any text that is not (instantly) diving into fetish?

Here is the link: http://bubbleguy.deviantart.com/art/The-Inflatable-Opera-Chapter-2-the-temptation-556461128

Thu, 08/27/2015 - 09:06

firnov

well if you like i can tell you my oppinion.

how much characters i dont exally mind, exally if the characters are intresting is more the question. if a character is intresting the story of her/he will become more intresting. you can even do some stadion with 1000 people (like who watch a inflation show or ritual), but as they fit it will be intresting. but a tip if you use a lot of characters in 1 story, dont discribe them all to much (it will take long to read, and a lot of people get confused of who is who)

i think in a story it most be clear if there is an inflation comming up, other wice you think you read a difrent kind of story, and people will skip a part of your story till it get intresting. if you can build it up really good the intro can be really long and still be great, but if you dont build up people will skip a part.

about the size its about the type of inflation you want to use, a full body inflattion gets bigger as just a belly inflation. but i can give you this small tip "if you like it or not, people can pop. if you know the size the character is as she pops, you know how big she can get".

i hope this is helpfull for you, and good luck with your stories

And boom goes the inflatee

Thu, 08/27/2015 - 11:05

pump1131

When you write something about inflation, you're writing fetish erotica. No matter how pretentious you want to get, that's what it is. Anything with multiple chapters or a weak attempt at character development probably isn't going to hold my attention for very long. There's too much legitimately good literature out there to waste your life reading about five different original characters that are really just cardboard cutout girls with different hair colors and outfits. Unless they're inflating and exploding, in which case it can be oddly satisfying.

That said, I don't have a problem with extremely long stories, but I'm not going to read them unless I'm being entertained. It doesn't have to immediately plunge into inflation fetish stuff, but it needs to either provide another distraction or be very, very well written. I didn't come here for high drama, I came for smut. If I wanted fine literature, I would not look for it on deviantart. Ever.

Be witty. Tell jokes. Include non-inflation based sexual flirting. Surreal, interesting tangents related to the story. Anything. Just remember that as soon as you start trying to write non-sexual, non-bread-and-circuses material into your chapter based smut novel, you're stepping up to bat against literary giants like Austen and Nabokov (weird examples, so sue me). Unless you're really, REALLY good, I would keep it short.

None of that is a reflection of my opinion on any particular writer, just what I think of long rambling stories in general. You don't want to compete for attention with good literature, so don't. Write something lighthearted and easy and funny and sexy. All that said, if you like writing really long stories, go for it. You don't need to write the next Paradise Lost in smut form, you just need to enjoy writing. As long as you're having fun writing it, that's all that really matters.

Thu, 08/27/2015 - 15:45

(Reply to #3) #4

doubleintegral

"You don't want to compete for attention with good literature, so don't."

This is not only terrible advice but it's also awfully condescending. It basically tells other writers to not try to stretch their abilities, attempt to get better, or transcend the "smut" genre and try to tie in other elements beyond inflating/exploding girls.

Furthermore, I find your "cardboard cutout" character comment somewhat ironic given that the kind of story that you are apparently looking for has already been written 1000 times over the last 20 years and a lot of theme are littered with "cardboard cutout" characters. If that's the best they could possibly hope to achieve to satisfy readers such as yourself, why even bother writing at all? What could they possibly add to the genre given such constraints?

Stories I have written

Thu, 08/27/2015 - 20:20

(Reply to #4) #5

pump1131

To clarify, I don't think people should write the same uncreative fetish smut story forever (and the inflating/exploding thing was a really bad attempt at being tongue in cheek). Changing things up and pushing the boundaries is always great, and there are a lot of writers that do this well, like http://inflationfetishguy.deviantart.com/ who you should totally check out if you haven't already.

The stories that I think compete with contemporary literature are the ones that are multichapter rambling novellas. If I want a long story with character development, I can either read this fetish smut or I can go read a novel. The fetish story doesn't have to be some amazing masterpiece of literature, but the longer it gets and the more it digresses into (hollow imitations of) character development, the higher my standards for it get. The majority of multichapter sagas are bad. They are poorly written and even less creative than the quick little inflation vignettes that dominate smut. They spend forever on character interacts between characters that really are just cardboard cutout fetish stand-ins. They don't add to the genre in any way.

Having one dimensional characters is a lot less of a flaw when the story's two pages long.

Thu, 08/27/2015 - 21:44

(Reply to #5) #6

Auriga

I understand your point, that's what I was actually asking about.

My aim is to write a novel (approaching real literature standards) and have inflatables added there as a spice rather than a main dish.

So it is going to be about relationships of people in some extraordinary circumstances, some of characters occasionally inflate and deflate. But it is not a main focus.

Fri, 08/28/2015 - 00:39

(Reply to #6) #7

pump1131

That is a scarily ambitious goal. I would probably read that, though. I don't know how many stories I've seen that make a serious effort at something like this instead of just limply rambling.

I'm not a good writer and I have no useful specific advice to offer, but I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Fri, 08/28/2015 - 06:37

(Reply to #6) #8

doubleintegral

I have occasionally had delusions of grandeur about trying something so ambitious. For me, my ideas usually fall apart because I can't think of a way to keep it both interesting and fresh for that long.

I think to truly make it an "inflation novel" (instead of just a novel with inflation in it) it would have to include deflations to make the characters "reusable" (for lack of a better word). The problem for me is that I'm not especially a fan of deflations, so that makes it especially difficult for anything I attempt there to keep my own attention. If I can't keep my own attention, I will usually just stop writing it.

That said, I would really like to see someone attempt such a thing, so more power to you.

Stories I have written

Fri, 08/28/2015 - 05:32

(Reply to #5) #9

doubleintegral

"The majority of multichapter sagas are bad."

I agree, but the majority of inflation stories are bad anyway, and that has more to do with the writer's skill level than anything. Moreover, it's not your or anyone else's place to tell someone they shouldn't write something they want to write. Writers don't get better without writing.

"They spend forever on character interacts between characters that really are just cardboard cutout fetish stand-ins. ... Having one dimensional characters is a lot less of a flaw when the story's two pages long."

Don't you see that there is a fundamental conflict here? If you choose to really develop a character, that development isn't something that happens in a sentence or a paragraph. It takes time (i.e. words) to create a good character. You can argue that a lot of writers are bad at developing their characters and you would get no argument from me, but you shouldn't tell them to not even bother. And although I understand the demand for the quickie inflation story, there is also plenty of demand out there for something more.

Having said that, I am now going to respond to this comment:

"The fetish story doesn't have to be some amazing masterpiece of literature, but the longer it gets and the more it digresses into (hollow imitations of) character development, the higher my standards for it get."

I would actually argue the opposite - your standards for inflation stories seem to be actually quite low. You apparently want a shell of a plot and no character development at all because the investment of effort to read anything more would be a waste of your time. There's nothing wrong with that, and far be it from me to attack someone for that because, after all, ultimately we're all here to get our jollies from the same part of the story. Some writers just want to make their stories more than the basic inflation story we've read hundreds of times, and you seem to have little to no tolerance for that. That doesn't make you right and me wrong, or vice versa. All I'm saying is that I think your distaste for long stories has less to do with the stories being long and more to do with the stories just being not that good to begin with.

Stories I have written

Fri, 08/28/2015 - 05:58

#10

doubleintegral

It occurs to me that I forgot to respond to the original post.

If I were you, I would not approach any story with a minimum or maximum length in mind. Each story is its own and you will discover its needs while you're writing it. How long it ends up depends on how many characters you're looking to involve and the overall idea you're trying to get across.

It IS possible for a story to get too long for its own good, but there is no hard and fast rule for this - it's usually one of those things where you know it when you see it. For me, this is usually when neither the plot nor the characters are going anywhere; it's ok to stop one to focus on the other. I guess I could sum that up by saying: don't make a story long just for the sake of making it long. Have a very good and very specific reason for making it long, and write the story such that the reader is able to determine that reason.

As far as whether people will read long stories - I like to think that most readers just want to read a good story, and will invest the time in reading it regardless of length. For example, my most-fav'ed story on DeviantArt has 5275 words. The next most-fav'ed story is just under 3000 words. It's not easy to write a long, original, non-formulaic story that can keep the reader's attention span until the big payoff, but it can be done.

Stories I have written

Fri, 08/28/2015 - 06:47

(Reply to #9) #11

Auriga

I don't have a desired size in mind, when I start. But I think about it when I decide where to split it into chapters that can be published individualy.

As you said above, deflations are required to make characters reusable. First of all I like deflations and I'm not a big fan of inflation (in definition applied here). I like some of my characters to be inflatable, i.e. be filled with air - walking and talking balloons. This is less contradicting with an actual novel, albeit fantasy one.

Indeed, I didn't ever succeed in writing such a big novel, yet I had many attempts. And I'm not going to give up, because it's fun for me.

Fri, 08/28/2015 - 07:45

#12

Fleetingsanity

For me when it comes to expansion and inflation stuff. I prefer shorter stories. If it's a 25 page short story I won't be interested. Not because I don't like to read or anything I'm constantly reading novels. When it comes to this stuff however I'm just looking to get off. I don't need a deep story and intricate characters. It's like when porn has a plot. I don't care about it I'll skip to the parts I'm interested in. What I care about is if the expansion/inflation parts are well written. A story could have zero intro and just start with a girl blowing up from whatever method. If the inflation is written well I'm happy as a clam.

Now I know most people like to know a little about the charaters and I don't mind it if there is some backstory. But if it's a 25 page story and 20 of those pages are building this character. With her only inflating in the last five pages. I'll probably skip most of the story to get where I want. That said good on the people who write those long stories. It shows your passion for the medium. It's just not what I'm looking for. I want to get to the sexy bits asap lol. I'm looking for like a 5ish page story at the most. If it's to short it's no fun and if it's to long it's no fun. At least in my opinion. I'm pretty sure I'm the odd man out here though.

Falcon Pawnch!

Fri, 09/04/2015 - 23:46

#13

Lopni

Unrelated - I really liked your recent piece.

There's very little of fetish in it - a few words like "blissful smile" and "oh my, it's so much pleasure" in a few places. Erase that - and you have a nice publishable prose.

I'm not into deflation or transformation - both turn me off instantly. But their share was so small that I enjoyed the story as a story.

The quality of the text might be the bridge between fetishes - anyone can enjoy an interesting story, even if it's not their thing.

Sat, 09/05/2015 - 09:38

(Reply to #13) #14

Auriga

Thank you. Do you think it is ok to publish at samlib? (after removing said kinky phrases)

Sat, 09/05/2015 - 10:34

(Reply to #14) #15

Lopni

Definitely yes.

It might be ok as is - there are genres where detailed descriptions of private life of a lady is the norm, without any justification why it's reader's business.

As a matter of personal taste - I skip such pages. Unless the author explained me within a story that I should read it.

Sat, 09/05/2015 - 11:33

#16

hfilled

I've written some long stories myself; length is acceptable provided it's a form of foreplay (kinda like the way I write). When I write, I self-identify with all the victims and try to describe what they're feeling, what they taste/see/smell, the sounds of creaking clothes and flesh, etc. Eight paragraphs on backstory and such that doesn't even reference inflation will turn me off, because, after all...this IS Erotic Fetish Fiction. This is a sexualized fetish (apologies if I'm redundant) and we're not here to be morally uplifted. We read these because for various reasons we get a sexual charge out of them.

So write what you want and leave what others want out of it. I don't worry too much about the lack of positive comments myself land pay more attention to the negative ones (unless they complain about popping).

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 10:15

#17

BTBLL

If you look at some of what I have written, you can see that I tend to write lengthy stories. For me it is about starting with the idea and the characters, and all too often the writing takes on a life of its own. Which is why I have taken to breaking stories up into more manageable parts. I am well aware that many people here want to cut right to the chase and are less concerned about the actual storyline and character development. That said, some are going to like what you write, and some are not. If the story is compelling enough, and you write well, inclusive of structure, grammar and spelling, you will always find some that appreciate your creative efforts.

How big is too big?

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