Authors' special interests and their place in fiction.

[SimonDoom]

I have some interests I've incorporated into my stories. Food. The wilderness and the outdoors. Photography.

 

[THBGato]

It's from the movie American Psycho.

I've not seen it. Or read it.
I had a professor at University who loved Brett Easton Ellis. I gave 'Glamourama' a go - great premise but faded. Did have a really aggressive and explicit MMF threesome as I recall. But my overall take away from the book was "yuck". So I haven't tried anything else by him.

 

[MrHereWriting]

I've not seen it. Or read it.
I had a professor at University who loved Brett Easton Ellis. I gave 'Glamourama' a go - great premise but faded. Did have a really aggressive and explicit MMF threesome as I recall. But my overall take away from the book was "yuck". So I haven't tried anything else by him.

The first chapter of American Psycho is so fucking boring, it makes you wonder if Ellis actually wanted anyone to read the story. After that, the chapters vary in quality, with some more interesting than others, but each one is pretty much a vignette with only the order of a few mattering.

 

[ChuckWolf]

In reading sex-stories, I don't necessarily want a lot of time spent on semi-related minutia and background details on an unrelated subject.

If the story is about a sexual fling between a Formula 1 driver and a fan, I don't need a lot of world-building around engine blocks, famous tracks, pit crews or driver protocols.

Now if that above premise is set for a murder mystery, that's different.

A lot of my recent posted stories involve showbiz elements, which I have some knowledge of, but I try not to get too into the weeds with that stuff, where it looks like I forgot I was writing erotica.

 

[THBGato]

Actually, one amateur interest of mine that is helpful to me as a writer is languages and dialects. I've never studied linguistics, but have read on it extensively and find it fascinating.

So, when creating a character, I enjoy thinking about how they speak. What version of English will they use? What register? Will they code switch or refuse to accomodate?

I find it fun and I hope it makes my characters more rounded as a result.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Absolutely! My stories are crawling with my personal interests. Bicycling, hobby shops, pulp fantasy, the military, old movies espcially westerns, hot rods. My latest story, Less Than Mint Condition, features comic book collecting and collections in general.
In my limited experience, it's a great way to add depth and detail to a story. Or at least an interesting setting or reason the people meet.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

The first chapter of American Psycho is so fucking boring, it makes you wonder if Ellis actually wanted anyone to read the story. After that, the chapters vary in quality, with some more interesting than others, but each one is pretty much a vignette with only the order of a few mattering.

It was a mildly interesting book, mostly evoking a particular time. The musical (recently revived) is excellent, dropping you into a certain bunch of guys in 1991, with a great soundtrack from the era. So much of it was horribly familiar. Girlfriend said she was sure she'd slept with a couple of them.

 

[StillStunned]

The only special interest of mine that's made it into any of my stories is redheads. But I'm very subtle about it.

 

[MrPixel]

I'll admit I'm a train nut. Our Brit friends would denigrate me with the "gricer" label. I have written several stories where trains are mentioned, a couple where trainspotting is central to the action, especially exhibitionism, and sharing the FMC with railroaders. Sometimes the narrative gets pretty technical; that's in knowing that the male-oriented nature of LitE is likely to have readers who share the interest. The first sex act in my Barstow series was the two FMCs flashing a train crew.

Exhibitionism targeting passing trains is a real thing. Captive audience "flashing by" that can't stop, frequently in isolated locations.

 

[HordHolm]

The only special interest of mine that's made it into any of my stories is redheads. But I'm very subtle about it.

Wow, I had no idea...

 

[IWroteThis]

There are certainly those with special interests in guitars or cars or motorcycles or cameras or sailboats or whatnot, and they do appreciate those details in a story, but gun lovers are just a whole other level. Fuck up the tiniest detail about some gun and your entire story SUCKS!! Whole baby right out the window with the bathwater. Want to please a gun lover? Pause the story that has nothing to do with guns completely, to dump a bunch of details about a gun straight from the user's manual (just make sure that you get it right), then put the gun away and continue the story. The gun lovers will jerk themselves off silly.

Actually, the subject doesn't matter. If you go to extra lengths to pontificate on your knowledge of a subject, only to display an ignorance of that subject, it's going to bring a story down with those who actually are knowledgeable of the subject.

Your hatred of guns is irrelevant.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Authors' special interests and their place in fiction.​

I wrote a story whose central premise was a group of grad students going bouldering (a type of rock climbing), which is something I used to do a lot in college. I set it in an actual bouldering location in California. One person commented that they knew the town, even though I didn’t mention it.

I’ve had bits of my scientific background leak into different stories, both my actual academic background in Biology and my personal interest in Math and Physics.

And I may have very occasionally included one or two Star Wars references

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Your hatred of guns is irrelevant.

I have no hatred of guns. You have no clue of my politics. No need to be defensive.

 

[PennameWombat]

<snip>

Do you enjoy such diversions? Do you include them in your own stories? Is there a name for this?

Do I enjoy? That depends. Not quite forty years ago, in the early days of my professional career. became friends with an older coworker. It came up that history was an interest of mine, with WWII being one period. So he suggested a book that he'd truly enjoyed.

I cannot recall the title nor author. Oddly, I can recall that the interior of the cover and the first page were an extract from a nautical chart of the Dover coast and English Channel.

It involved some older British men during the war, who were keen sailors. It was them using their deep knowledge of the English coast, the currents and prevailing winds in the Channel and surrounding seas, and such for them to coast watch and spy.

But, really, it was the author nerding out on sailing.

Now. I know the basics of sailing, but beyond that, don't care. But my friend had been big into sailing but had fallen away as he had a family (including a special-needs son). So this book, and similar, were his 'crutch.'

Basically, the plot and characters were... serviceable. It was sailing terms, methods, the reading of tides, currents, and wind, and such, that were what the author cared about.

I have memory of a much more recent book, but again, title and author blanking, where part of my review was "the author did deep research on <X>, and dag nab it, they made sure us readers sew every... last... bit.. of it." It was not, overall, a complimentary review

Do I do any of this? I've included soccer sometimes, and if you've played the sport, you'll recognize. But, I'm always cognizant of my experience with the 'sailing book.' It's there to add some depth, but not be distracting to those who don't share my obsessions. Same with when I discuss computers, programming languages, or similar. I once used a techie diatribe on programming languages that would read one way to a programmer, and another way to normies.

 

[Dodola]

Actually, one amateur interest of mine that is helpful to me as a writer is languages and dialects. I've never studied linguistics, but have read on it extensively and find it fascinating.

So, when creating a character, I enjoy thinking about how they speak. What version of English will they use? What register? Will they code switch or refuse to accomodate?

I find it fun and I hope it makes my characters more rounded as a result.

This is one of the elements of your writing that I enjoy the most. No one else that I follow uses language, accents, and dialog as effectively as you. It's very unique to you and part of your hook. It gives your characters more depth than I've found anywhere else, and bridges cultural gaps that would otherwise need more explanation.

 

[MrPixel]

But, really, it was the author nerding out on sailing.

<chuckle>

I was accused of doing the same thing in a comment on a story I wrote for last year's sports event. Been interested in volleyball since way back in school and even refereed women's events for a while:

Learned all about volleyball, not much else.

But another commenter appreciated the sexy banter between the participants, and "Excellent focus on actual sports, which was the point of the challenge."

Can't please 'em all!

 

[AG31]

They are relevant and necessary to the story, right?

Well, actually, I think the opposite is true for me. I enjoy these diversions as icing on the cake. Absolutely expendible regarding plot and character. You'd never notice if they weren't there, but you're (I'm) glad they are.

In reading sex-stories, I don't necessarily want a lot of time spent on semi-related minutia and background details on an unrelated subject.

I couldn't agree more. I was inspired to this OP by a book from the library, where I never get erotica. (Dunno... do they have it?) The exception would be my hobby-horse, "simple erotica." In such stories there's only the minimal attention to plot and character. All attention is paid to the erotic experience, which, I think, is worth dedicated stories.

 

[AG31]

I couldn't agree more. I was inspired to this OP by a book from the library, where I never get erotica. (Dunno... do they have it?) The exception would be my hobby-horse, "simple erotica." In such stories there's only the minimal attention to plot and character. All attention is paid to the erotic experience, which, I think, is worth dedicated stories.

I got to thinking about what the quality was that linked "simple erotica" with the authorial interests that are sometimes included in stories.

I think it is "focused description." I really do delight in focused description. For me it's what distinguishes "simple erotica" from "strokers." It enables me to relish such attention to guns, about which I know nothing. It's what drew me to comment specifically on @EmilyMiller's snippet recently in another thread. (My second comment in that post.)

 

[Voboy]

I heard someone making a snide comment once to the effect that Moby-Dick with the unnecessary whaling nerd-outs removed would be about 500 words. I'm not sure they were all that far wrong.

 

[PennameWombat]

<chuckle>

I was accused of doing the same thing in a comment on a story I wrote for last year's sports event. Been interested in volleyball since way back in school and even refereed women's events for a while:

But another commenter appreciated the sexy banter between the participants, and "Excellent focus on actual sports, which was the point of the challenge."

Can't please 'em all!

This triggered one of the few working brain cells I have left. I moaned about other books, but in one story here, I did do the same thing.

It was a SF post-apocalyptic story, humans living underground due to killer nanobots. In any case, it was a Valentine's Day story with the twist that they'd forgotten about Valentine's Day, but recent discoveries had brought it to light. Sort of. They send out the equivalent of archaeological / scavenging parties in special suits, and they'd found artifacts.

The focus of the story otherwise was a sporting event, the Championship between two different sets of domes. I realized later, that the front of the story was overloaded with practices and setup for the... drum roll, Dodgeball championship. For whatever reason, I'd decided that was the major sport that'd 'stuck'.

A comment to the effect of "bit too much sport."