Being compelled to write a certain way, vs deciding what to do

[EmilyMiller]

No one is doing that. No one is saying "something else made me do it." Some people are saying "when I write it feels like the story is guiding me" or similar. Regarding lit rules, some are saying "the story I'm telling doesn't work within lit's rules, and I'd rather tell the story as i envision it than change it to fit."

If people were saying that, as opposed to saying something else and maybe meaning that, this thread would not exist.

I’m too literal. I know.

Em

 

[Euphony]

No one is doing that. No one is saying "something else made me do it." Some people are saying "when I write it feels like the story is guiding me" or similar. Regarding lit rules, some are saying "the story I'm telling doesn't work within lit's rules, and I'd rather tell the story as i envision it than change it to fit."

This. So much this.

"I don't know where it comes from" is not the same as "I had nothing to do with it."

Even work I'm particularly proud of, I can't repeat if my life depended on it.

It's not outside of me, just not on demand.

 

[Zootonius]

Speaking of muses, my brain flashed to Kate Lindsey as the muse in The Tales of Hoffmann. Who knew a woman in top top and frock coat could look sexy?

 

[djrip]

If people were saying that, as opposed to saying something else and maybe meaning that, this thread would not exist.

I’m too literal. I know.

Em

Right. I just don't believe anyone here actually literally believes an outside entity is possessing their fingers when they type. If someone does literally mean that, speak up! Otherwise, it's all various ways of saying "my imagination sometimes surprises me."

 

[Euphony]

If people were saying that, as opposed to saying something else and maybe meaning that, this thread would not exist.

I’m too literal. I know.

Em

Doesn't the burden of context fall mostly on the aserter and not the reader?

Doesn't feel pedantic to ask for clarity whether someone is asserting "common usage" and not a literal interpretation of their text.

It's that people are too precious with their opinions, and that they are so beautifully formed and logical to be above needing clarification, so can't handle even the basic "Hey, I think I get you but can you help me with a little more context to be sure we're same paging?"

Amazing such a human ask can cause people to lose their humanity and go full bazooka mode.

 

[Stimtheone]

No one is doing that. No one is saying "something else made me do it." Some people are saying "when I write it feels like the story is guiding me" or similar. Regarding lit rules, some are saying "the story I'm telling doesn't work within lit's rules, and I'd rather tell the story as i envision it than change it to fit."

Now, THIS is a particular take that is a trope in itself. "The thing writes itself" occurs when you have set up so much "infrastructure" that you don't even have to think of where the story has to go, you just KNOW. That character does that, this happens, that other character does this. But in the end, you are still thinking it, you have just reached a point where you no longer need to feed it information, just conclude on things already in the story, which leads to other conclusions and other conclusions... a Rube Goldberg machine of plot where all you have to do is make time flow.

I never quite got to that point. DE had that energy only because I sort of already had it outlined from start to finish.

 

[EroticCupcake]

In terms of personal responsibility, even if you don't believe we control what we write, we absolutely have control over what we publish.

I do think the joy (and sometimes pain) is when our brain makes connections and solves problems "by itself" and when we known our characters well enough to let them drive the plot.

 

[Comshaw]

I agree - but the author’s subconscious is still the author. This is my point.

Em

And if you would like to reread my post you might find that's exactly the point I made, albeit in a more convoluted and roundabout way.

Comshaw

 

[MrPixel]

...we absolutely have control over what we publish.

And that is to the core of what started this conversation. I have chosen to not publish a (lengthy) story because I know certain elements violate LitE guidelines. I was challenged about why I could not make it fit the rules. And my response is basically, no, that would materially change the story.

I refuse to bowdlerize my own work just so it can meet a particular publisher's contents standards, and I have no interest in seeking other outlets. So it will remain unpublished.

 

[EmilyMiller]

And if you would like to reread my post you might find that's exactly the point I made, albeit in a more convoluted and roundabout way.

Comshaw

I wasnt disagreeing with you, hun. More summarizing.

Em

 

[EroticCupcake]

I've been trying to plot out a novel-sh sized work. I know the characters well, and I generally know the direction I want to take it, but I don't know everything in between.

I was thinking about this in abstract, and a good idea fell in to place, which led to another good idea, and then my characters were in love and trying to make something work but hurting each other (emotionally) on accident then on purpose, then a breakup and longing and regret and trying to make it work but life was grinding against them then leaps of faith and trust and fear into catharsis.

It's a wild kind of rush. There is the rush of a plot coming together out of nowhere, but the emotional experience of living with two characters falling in and out of love, in the course of about 90 seconds is unreal. I think there is no way to explain this and not sound like a crazy person. It's better to say "I wrote a book, you can read it."

 

[djrip]

Except, I literally sit down to write with no plan and just let the words flow as they may. It often ends up in a "This thing wrote itself" area when done.

The only time that has been literal for me ("This thing wrote itself") is a poem I wrote after waking up from a nightmare one night. I grabbed a pen and paper and just wrote as if from muscle memory. (In the nightmare I was writing lyrics to a song on the walls over and over again. It is not a real song.) It's still the only piece of work I've ever witten where I haven't changed a single thing about it after writing it.

Don't know where it came from, but I love it even though it breaks Lit's rules. It was extremely cathartic for me and it was a complete fluke.

It is not published and it never will be, but I have let a couple of people read it behind the scenes.

I guess it's profile pic molting season.

 

[Djmac1031]

Does this really happen, or do we not - as authors - have full control over what we write and how we write it?

I talked about this before, but:

Early on in my Jenna Arrangement series, I started to write a scene where she jumps on the MMCs lap and fucks him right there in her kitchen.

Halfway through the scene I realized this wasn't in her "character." That she would never act like this; that it was too soon, she barely knew him.

So I scrapped the scene and changed it to her merely teasing him while he masturbated.

While I've often described that Jenna "spoke" me as I've written her, that she's often dictated which direction the story went, I've never taken that literally.

Jenna is a creation of my imagination. Nothing more. She has no mind, no will of her own.

What's REALLY happened is that as I've written those stories, her character formed and grew in my mind. I was the one creating her personality and as that personality expanded, so too did it dictate her behavior.

As for changing stories to meet LE guidelines:

I wrote a Halloween story about an alien comet that turned all women into cum craving zombies who would attack men to "feed" from.

I of course had to go out of my way to explain how this phenomenon ONLY affected ADULT women, and how no underage females were affected, nor any underage males attacked.

Because even if I had NO intent whatsoever of writing children into the damn thing, I still had to make sure no one else could even imply it happening.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

The characters/story taking off on its own is just pantser excuses to pants and great things can come of it. I find Lit easy to write for, Lushstories is working my nerves, though.

 

[djrip]

I talked about this before, but:

Early on in my Jenna Arrangement series, I started to write a scene where she jumps on the MMCs lap and fucks him right there in her kitchen.

Halfway through the scene I realized this wasn't in her "character." That she would never act like this; that it was too soon, she barely knew him.

So I scrapped the scene and changed it to her merely teasing him while he masturbated.

While I've often described that Jenna "spoke" me as I've written her, that she's often dictated which direction the story went, I've never taken that literally.

Jenna is a creation of my imagination. Nothing more. She has no mind, no will of her own.

What's REALLY happened is that as I've written those stories, her character formed and grew in my mind. I was the one creating her personality and as that personality expanded, so too did it dictate her behavior.

As for changing stories to meet LE guidelines:

I wrote a Halloween story about an alien comet that turned all women into cum craving zombies who would attack men to "feed" from.

I of course had to go out of my way to explain how this phenomenon ONLY affected ADULT women, and how no underage females were affected, nor any underage males attacked.

Because even if I had NO intent whatsoever of writing children into the damn thing, I still had to make sure no one else could even imply it happening.

I suspect it would still have been approved if you just never mentioned anyone underage at all, but that's just a guess. We don't have to create worlds where kids never get exposed to sex, we just have to not write about it happening, as I understand the rule.

 

[Djmac1031]

I suspect it would still have been approved if you just never mentioned anyone underage at all, but that's just a guess. We don't have to create worlds where kids never get exposed to sex, we just have to not write about it happening, as I understand the rule.

I probably went out of my way to explain it, but I figured better safe than sorry.

 

[XerXesXu]

Who's in control of you when you're drunk? Some people drink socially, some compulsively. I think some people find writing intoxicating and enjoy being intoxicated.

 

[Bamagan]

This is me taking a discussion out of my positivity thread to somewhere more appropriate.

Some people refer to a story taking over. It needing to be told. It’s contents and plot taking on a life of its own.

Does this really happen, or do we not - as authors - have full control over what we write and how we write it?

For context, the original discussion was around whether or not it is possible to modify your writing to stick within Lit guidelines.

Em

As a colonial organism, sometimes my gut bacteria or other interior microbes make writing suggestions too good for me to ignore.

 

[EmilyMiller]

As a colonial organism, sometimes my gut bacteria or other interior microbes make writing suggestions too good for me to ignore.

As it’s you, I find this a compelling and likely true observation.

Em

 

[Voboy]

I CAN control every aspect of a story, and at times I have. But I prefer to write the other way. It's just different strokes, different folks; no one way works better for anyone, so I don't know if "compulsion" enters into it. Different stories call for different approaches.

I don't write many series, but I've done enough to understand that those stories sometimes require more "editorial control" from me, in order to fit into the story arcs I've already set up. It's fine, but I sense that's a reason I don't write many series.

Often, I claim that my characters act on their own. What I mean is that those characters have become clear enough in my mind that I know their behaviors, their thoughts, and the likelihood that they'll decide one thing over another. So I'll write them in such a way that they're true to those characteristics.

I enjoy the loss of control that happens with a good story. To me, that's a sign that the story will satisfy me.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I don't know about control, I feel like I'm at the mercy of inspiration. A story, or at least a plot, to me is a whole bunch of pieces that I have to put together. On occassion they've arrived one after another, maybe late at night. Other times, they've come slowly, one arriving days, weeks, or even months after each other.

There are good ideas, bad ideas, and just obvious ideas. And if I get hit by good idea inspiration, it's a bit ungrateful to say, "nope still not good enough, work harder subconscious." So I tend to slot it in with the other pieces. And once I've assembled two good ideas, looked at the ramifications, and stewed on it a bit, it becomes pretty hard to break those ideas up again. And my subconscious darn well isn't going to spend any time revisiting portions of the story that we both consider fixed.

As a result, areas of plot become decided even before I've put finger to keyboard. Theoretically, I'm in control of the plot at every stage, deciding 'yes, flow this way' or 'no, flow that way', but it's very hard once I've written down a basic outline to consider changing any large or significant areas of the story.

 

[luv2custrip]

In my last story I put four naked people in a room with just a general outline of where things should go. I know my characters well enough so that it feels as if their interaction is driving the plot.
I sometimes wonder if God is a writer who let his characters get out of control. He put two naked people in a garden and we know what happened.

 

[WritingwhatIlike]

I write outlines. They rarely ever actually reach the screen. Not for lack of wanting, as I have a specific idea in mind when I start, but once I let the characters go, they tend to wander off on their own. That's one version of 'not being in control'. I know it's just my brain coming up with ideas as I write; inspiration in the moment that works better than the outline I originally came up with. But it is usually an organic process that flows well.

One issue I come up against is when I veer too far from my intended goal, and have to steer things back, and the story loses momentum. I'm not writing to accommodate Lit's rules, but my own intended destination.

Another version of not being in control, for me, is entirely a product of Lit. I like to think that I write for myself, but I don't write unless I'm going to publish it. And if I publish it, I want it to be well received. There's been a couple instances where an idea mid-story comes to mind and I just know the readers here won't like it, even within the rules. If I was writing entirely for me, without an audience to please, then yes, there are times when Jesus would take the wheel and guide the story home as it came to me.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Being compelled to write, is that done with a witchcraft spell, some powerful JuJu, a little Voodo, or with a sorcerer's wand?

"With the eye of a newt, the tongue of a crow, and the wing of a bat, I bind you to your keyboard and screen, write, write, write. Create as if your life depended on it. Because, my sweet little writer, it does! Write in the morning, write in the evening, write all the damn day long."

 

[Paul_Chance]

Oh, it's powerful juju.

The compulsion to write works just like any other compulsion. I often think writing is it's own form of addiction.

It starts simply.

Then it develops into a habit you have under control.

Then it starts to impact your daily life.

The next thing you know its 3 AM, you have to be up in three hours, and you're frantically typing, thinking "I'll just do one more scene."

Followed by homelessness, divorce, and eventual death, laying in a back alley, clutching your latest manuscript, shanked by a desperate fellow writer.