[The Saint]

Well, it might be comforting to say "there's no wrong way to write a good story"… but then you look at 75% of the atrocities Jim Carrey's starred in, and well…

[The Saint]

Thanks for the reply Stmercy.
Yeah I knew how they work, I guess I should've refined my question a bit more.  There's lots of things out there on how it works, I guess I was looking more for testimonials from other folks that might've tried it.  And for anything that might speak of any long term effects good or bad.  I'd hate to get used to this stuff only to find out it's the next Phen-phen as far as messing you up.

The better part of caution — and since I can't read the labels on the stuff you're using for this, I dunno, could be the very same thing — stick to caffeine. Coffee probably ain't too handy in the gym, but if you have it where you live, get an assortment of the energy drinks that come in re-lid-able cans or bottles (Rockstar, Monster Energy, NOS) and find a favorite. Will probably do much the same thing and be one fifth the price of the equivalent dose of what you'd get at a GNC.

[The Saint]

For me, a story needs to be a "story", it has to make me want to read more or learn more about the character. I like a progression and purpose to it, if it's part of something larger (a series, world, an epic) all the better.

The biggest nit I have to pick is the types of characters some writers populate their stories with. I have to actually like or find something redeeming in a character to enjoy a story. So many female muscle stories contain nothing but a whole cast that should just be lined up in front of a wall and shot. The guy will be a total sleeze trying to take advantage of the woman in some way. The woman will be complete psychotic who loves to torture men or she'll literally get off on killing people. Or worse.

The best example of this was a story that was posted to the femuscle story Usenet group. It concerned a total jerk of a guy who comes up with a muscle growth formula that needed lillies and protein to work. His girlfriend steals it from him and proceeds to hold him captive and torture him forever. She also gives it to her younger sister and she participates. Everyone in the story was so morally bankrupt, that I can't describe how lousy I felt. I needed a mental bath to wash it out of my head.  😛

Yep, that's usually the biggest irritant I find in others' work (aside from one thing* I'll address in a moment) — the reason most internet readers won't read more than 2 to 3 pages of any given writer's characters is that, sorry guys, most internet writers' characters are cardboard cutouts.

Every "good guy" has to have one very bad thing, or several moderately bad things — that get fixed by the end of the story. Every "bad guy" has to have at least one mildly redeeming quality, be it a witty sense of humor, a weaker character he protects loyally, or whatever. At the very least, give the bad guy a reason to think he's the good guy. Make your readers make friends with your characters, put their new friends into some interesting circumstances, and the readers will stay to see how their new friends make out.

*The one thing, the single biggest problem with internet writers, is that most of them are simply inept when it comes to the basics: spelling, punctuation and grammar. Yes, I am a spelling and grammar nazi. I make no bones about it and no apologies. Every writer who takes his or her work seriously is one — period. If you've got even one single excuse for not presenting yourself and your work with professionalism, why bother presenting it at all?

[The Saint]

Some of the 'role play' scenario descriptions are a little extreme. Mainly, though, it all sounds pretty mild to me; that, though, could be because I am an owned slave. lol

[The Saint]

I like how calling us freaks still didn't stop them use them using a picture of a female bodybuilder to help sell the article.

Unfortunately, labeling it doesn't really help understand it though. My theory is that all stuff like this is genetic, and you're pretty much born with it. Also, I'm convinced that there's a connection between a woman's desire to get big and muscular and a man's attraction to it. There's got to be a singular evolutionary reason that drives both behaviors.

Probably goes back to the caveman days.

Ug (to Squiika, his little woman): Hey! Me kill big hairy thing for dinner! You cook!
Squiika: Me can't lift hairy thing!
Ug: Ha! You useless! Me go get Grrrr-a, she big girl, better than you!

Or something. I dunno.

[The Saint]

Yep, and that's where your title and log line come in. Those are a whole 'nother monster, though. 🙂 Grabbing your readers is actually pretty easy, especially in a small, specialized market like this one. Nailing down who your audience is really isn't that hard when your audience is maybe a million or two, maximum. Once you have them, though, once you get them to Page 1, keeping them with you all the way to the end is the trick.

The "scene" part, though, is just the sizzle. Now it's true that the sizzle is all some folks want — but give them a little steak with it and pretty soon they'll feel cheated if the sizzle is all they get. 😉

[The Saint]

lol! resurrected from the dead-thread graveyard!

Originally, I had intended this to be about what internet authors other writers used when seeking inspiration for the specific genre of FM/FMG; somehow, it grew beyond my control. 😉 😀

I'm glad to see some of my favorites on your list (Robinson, Lovecraft, King)- nice to know they're in good company!

lol, my bad. Honestly, and I don't mean for this to sound elitist, I generally don't have any favorite internet authors, and I don't even count myself as one. It's not a matter of "Well, if you can't get published offline, I'm not reading your stuff online!" It's a matter of schedule — I spend so much of my online time doing the writing/corresponding with my publisher/contributing to blogs/etc that I have very little time for actual reading online. I haven't sampled widely enough to decide on a favorite.

[The Saint]

Well, when I talk about a fully structured and plotted story, I don't necessarily mean a novel, or even a novella — a work of any length can have a fully developed plot. I use the Blake Snyder method, which was developed for feature films but the essentials of which apply, really, to any good story. It is as follows:

1. Opening Image: This is the "before" in the "before and after", our very first glimpse of the world our readers are to see.
2. Theme Stated: Pretty self-explanatory, someone usually actually says in so many words what the story is about, and usually says it to or in the presence of a main character.
3. Setup: An expanded version of our opening image and how our main character/s fit into it. This is where we usually introduce the Big Problem faced by our main character/s.
4. Catalyst: The message or event that ignites our main character/s need to solve the Big Problem, Right Now — sometimes by introducing an even BIGGER Big Problem which arises from the previous one.
5. Debate: Where our main character/s have to decide whether he/she/they can and/or should go on the adventure to solve the Big Problem.
6. Break Into 2 (Act 2 — remember, this was originally conceived for screenplays): This is where our main character/s make that decision.
7. B Story: A change of pace, usually lighter in tone than our A story, where the main character/s meet someone who imparts (to the reader if not to the main character himself) a new perspective on the overall story.
8: Fun & Games: The meat of the story. In film, this is where the "trailer scenes" come from; in the femdom/femuscle genre, this is where most of the "scene" takes place, be it wrestling, L&C, FMG, whatever. Most — not all.
9. Midpoint. Exactly halfway in the middle of the story — the main character/s either enjoy a major (though not final) victory here or a crushing (but not permanent) defeat.
10. Bad Guys Close In: Whether literally (opposing forces LITERALLY getting physically closer to our main character/s) or figuratively (conflict between main character/s or main character/s and supporting friendly characters)
11. All Is Lost: This is a definitive defeat for the main character/s. It should APPEAR to be complete, absolute and total defeat. The best All Is Lost moments include, in some way, the "Whiff of Death" — death of a character, a goal or an idea doesn't matter. SOMETHING either external or internal to our main character/s must die here.
12: Dark Night Of The Soul: Our defeated main character/s come to fully understand their defeat in this section. This is where all hope has been lost, the main character/s know it and we must suffer this knowledge with them here.
13: Break Into 3: Something is said to or remembered by our main character/s which recalls what they were told in Theme Stated. The main character/s get their second wind from this.
14: Finale: This is generally your second major action section. Armed with the renewed inspiration of Theme Stated and tempered with wisdom gained through All Is Lost and Dark Night Of The Soul, our main character/s now get to kick ass and take names.
15: Final Image: The "After" in the "Before and After" — should simultaneously be similar to and diametrically opposite of Opening Image.

[The Saint]

Since you're essentially asking who inspires our 'writer's voices' — if I understand you correctly — my answers include but are not limited to:

Peter David
Mickey Spillane
Stephen King
Richard Marcinko
Robert E. Howard
H.P. Lovecraft
Spider Robinson

And remember, that's the short list! 🙂

[The Saint]

I don't write here on the forum, but I do write femuscle/femdom stories for LH Art, custom text stories under the name Legion.

And yes, I have and will include both peripheral and main characters who are smokers, if their professions and/or backgrounds make it likely. It may be distasteful, but it's reality, and characters who lack flaws are generally uninteresting and two-dimensional.

[Author]

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