The Library of Spanking Fiction: Wellred Weekly
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Articles
Items of interest regarding all things spanking
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Interview with the Author: Rick Marlowe How did you get started writing spanking fiction? Writing my first spanking stories coincided with the discovery of the depth of my interest in spanking as an activity. Even before giving an actual spanking, I had always been attracted to the idea of it. About fifteen years ago my introduction to the internet opened up this whole new world of spanking - chat rooms, pictures, and of course stories. As I started reading these stories, I was certain that I could do better. When I happened to make this arrogant claim to a woman I had been chatting with, she challenged me to go ahead - write one. So I did, telling the story of our imagined first meeting. Since she seemed to enjoy it (the story, not the meeting, as we never did meet), I decided I would write more, hitting each of the themes which seemed so common in the stories I had read - student spanked by her professor (The Late Paper), spanking in the office (What a Way to Make a Living), speeder spanked by a cop (The Consequences of Speeding), spanking in an erotic encounter (Naughty Paige), and woman-acting-badly gets spanked (Life of the Party).Having concluded (however arrogantly) that indeed I had written better than I had previously read, I set out to exhaust the spanking genre by banging out the other half dozen or so other stories that were fluttering around in my head. Three years and about eighty stories later I finally hit the wall. Literally in mid-story (The Minister's Wife, since finished), I lost my inspiration. Another ten years passed without me writing much of anything. I thought that perhaps I should try my hand at mainstream fiction, but that was a total bust. Whereas in my spanking stories I always knew where the plot was headed - to (or through) a spanking - I floundered miserably without that certainty in my 'vanilla' writing. Then in early 2010, my joining the LSF became an energizing experience, getting my creative juices flowing once more. Being 'home' with the inspiration of other great authors, and with the tremendous feedback the Library members provide, I started cranking out stories once again. Where do you find inspiration for your stories? I find inspiration pretty much anywhere. It's often based upon a real-life observation - a particular person, or setting, or occurrence. Although the "original" may occasionally have a spanking-related theme, usually it doesn't. I just imagine "what if" and away I go. Sometimes a title of someone else's story strikes me - and then without reading that story, I create my own. Finally, my own fantasies have a lot to do with it. I never write what someone else wants me to write, but rather what I find of interest myself.When you write, do you ever model any characters after actual people? Of course! My most frequent model for characters is... myself. Ninety percent of my male protagonists have anywhere from a little to a lot of 'me' in them. If you want to know who I am, read my stories. But it doesn't end there. Everybody appears in my stories in one form or another - co-workers, neighbors, my ex-wife, people I meet only once. Oftentimes I take qualities from two or more real people, merging them into one. I've featured fellow LSF authors in my stories - Jools in Spanking in Auckland and a Janine/Katie B mix in J's Red Bottom. Public figures include the title character in The Duchess of York and an only slightly disguised United States politician in Sarah of the CSA.Do you have a favorite story that you've written? A favorite genre? I'll deal with genre first. I tire of the usual disciplinary scenarios - schoolgirls, naughty daughters, and misbehaving wives/girlfriends. That being said, I have written stories in each of these categories, ones that I really like. If you've read my recent work, you'll know that I'm heavily into humor. If you think about it, the idea that someone - particular an adult - would actually be spanked is pretty funny. I frequently try to capture that fun in my stories. I also keep coming back to what I call 'romantic comedies' - where a spanking is all part of two people falling in love, whether for the first or a second time. I think that some of my stories defy the usual classifications, simply because I keep trying to find new reasons for a spanking to occur.Some of my own favorite stories - not necessarily the ones my readers like best - include Upstairs/Downstairs, Dem Bones, Katja, Letters from Palookaville, Raspberry Dark Chocolate Torte, The Spanking Bug and Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. That's probably too many to have named, but I have trouble picking only a couple. Most are on the list for the same reason - the story has one character I've fallen in love with (and I don't mean the 'me' character). What are your views on fan fiction? I can't really say. I don't read much of it, and have written but one, back before I knew what it was called. With the uninspiring title For LOTR Fans, it's actually one of the few stories I ever wrote upon request. Generally, though, I prefer to create my own characters rather than use someone else's, which is pretty much what you have to do in fan fiction.When writing a longer story, do you plot out the detail in advance, or make it up as you go along? I don't write longer stories, or serials. Only one of my stories is over 4,500 words, with most being under 2,500. I usually write my "less-short" stories the same way I write virtually all of my stories. That is to work on it in my head until I have everything pretty much worked out, and then try to write it in one sitting. If I don't do that, I'm prone to writer's block. At this moment, I have several stories that are unfinished weeks or months after I began, simply because I got interrupted before I could complete them. I have to admit, though, that even when I have things all worked out in advance, my characters sometimes do things I never quite expect, leading me to a different conclusion than I intended. Someone should just spank those uncooperative characters!Name some stories by other spanking authors that you like, and say why. I'll start off by saying that there are many great authors at the Kilahara Library of Spanking Fiction, where I do most of my reading, who have all written more than a few fabulous stories. Some of these authors also happen to be friends of mine. Therefore, instead of picking any examples written by friends, at risking of offending others, I'm going to stick to examples by authors I don't know.The first is The Mystery of the Baton Rouge by Alex B. This is a wonderful take-off on an old-time detective story that, for some inexplicable reason, has received virtually no attention. I love it because it is so cleverly written in a fashion I could never duplicate. So often I smugly imagine I could have write a given story better than its actual author. Not this one. Please - go read it. The second is The Oldest Profession by ruegirl. Ironically, it also happens to be a detective story. Maybe I have a unadmitted 'thing' for detective stories (I never read the vanilla version). I selected this one because it's ruegirl at her best - a sexy story with a clever plot. My third example is The Characters Are Revolting by Quillis. It takes the idea of runaway characters that I cited earlier and makes it into a story. I just wish I had thought of it first. Which Point of View do you tend to write in? Why do you prefer it over others? It's a good thing this question came last, because I'm likely to put readers to sleep before they get to the end of my answer. (You have been warned!) First, I have to say that many people confuse "point of view" with "person". The point of view is the vantage point from which the story is seen to unfold, which may be that of a particular character in the story. A story written in first person ("I," "me," etc) is clearly told from that character's point of view. In a spanking story, that person can be the spanker, the spankee, or an observer. For a story told in the third person ("he," "him," "she," "her," "they," "them"), an author has even more choices. Even though told in the third person, a story can still be from the point of view of a given character (which again, in a spanking story. can be the spanker, the spankee or an observer). Even though not told in that character's voice as it would be in the first person, the author (and therefore the reader) has access to the character's thoughts, experiences, feelings, intentions and so forth, but not those of the other characters. If that character hasn't seen something, or heard about it, then the author can't tell it. An alternative, and the one most authors use when telling a story in the third person, is the omniscient point of view. In this case, the author has access to every character's thoughts, experiences, feelings and intentions, and can relate them to the reader at will. A writer can also use sort of a hybrid - a point of view that shifts between or among characters at different points in the story, with a clear delineation of each break. The reader should feel the shift from "Joe's story" to "Jane's story" by whose mind is being shown. The final alternative is what I call the "outside observer's" point of view. In this one, the reader does not have access to any character's thoughts, feelings or intentions, except by interpretation of what he or she says and does. I liken this to watching a play or movie. The reader sees the action, and hears the dialogue, but must figure out the rest. Why did I go through all this before answering this question? It's because I consider selection of the point of view a critical decision by an author when figuring out how best to tell a story. I can't start writing until I figure how much of each of my characters I want my readers to see. If I want to hide a character's motivation or feelings, I probably do not want to tell the story from that person's point of view, or from the omniscient one. And if I want to tell the story in first person, then I have to settle on which character's. The point of view is so important in a spanking story - as the point of view of a spanker (seeing a bottom redden) is quite different from that of a spankee (getting a good view of the carpet). This is all part of the art of story-telling. I can't say that I have a favorite point of view, since it really depends on the best way to tell a particular story I want to tell. Similarly, the selection of "person" - related to but different from the selection of point-of-view - is significant. There are times, after selecting the point of view, that I just want to tell a story in that character's own "voice" which calls for the use of first person. The decision to use first person should not be made lightly, for the author must use language that is "in character" not just for any spoken dialogue, but for everything that is said. I've read too many stories that fail on "authenticity" because this isn't done well. I pride myself on being able to write from a complete range of points of view and "person". It is especially gratifying when I hear from a reader that I've really nailed a story I've told in the first person from a female character's point of view. I've even written a couple of stories in second person ("you") - see Trust Me and my snippet In the Middle of the Night. Such a story probably has to be short, to keep it from being tedious, told in present tense, and with no more than two characters (the speaker and the one spoken to, with the "point of view" being sort of a merger of the two). It's not something I'm going try often. 14 comments:
Miss_Naughty said...
I thought it was also a great interview. However, I fully admit I got hopelessly confused at the POV section. 27 April 2012 18:01
canadianspankee said...
Very interesting Rick, never knew you went 10 years between writing, that is a long time and one would have thought you would never write again. I do understand why you say the KLSF helped you get going again, I think the encouragment here has helped a lot of older and brand new writers get going. (NOT calling you older...LOL) I agree the POV can be critical to a story, a lot of time one finds they have switched around in the midst of the story and then has to go back and edit to follow the chosen POV. 28 April 2012 01:33
catmama said...
Excellent interview, Rick. I enjoy the diversity of your writing and appreciate the opportunity to learn more about how you do it. 28 April 2012 01:42
Seegee said...
I love the interviews with the authors. It's always interesting to see what other authors think and how they approach it. I doubt I would have kept publishing my work if it hadn't been for the KLSF opening up. 28 April 2012 01:52
Alef said...
Rather than sending me to sleep, your dissertation on persons and point of views really woke me up. I think you clarified and straightened out a lot of things that often get messed up. My personal experience is that it is almost impossible to get the writing to flow until I have a good grasp of the persons, the point of view and the "voice" the story is going to be told in. 28 April 2012 08:37
islandcarol said...
You responses convey an energy and enthusiasm for the genre and for writing in general that is inspiring. There are also a number of lessons budding writers should heed- I love the 101 course in voice and point of view. I made a few notes on stories here at the library I plan to look up in the next month or so- a bonus for me. Great Article, Rick. IC 28 April 2012 10:45
rachael said...
Thanks, Rick. I love your stories and I commented on some. I like the lightness that you have which succeeds in avoiding any nasty or over excessive edge to your stories. And it's fascinating that you more or less only started writing in answer to a sort of "challenge" from somebody. I think it's very flattering and exciting to read a story which is about the reader personally. Writing a story in one "session" wow that must be a challenge too. I think I would be forever starting and stopping and going back to edit a bit. 28 April 2012 11:43
Janine said...
What a fascinating look into your writing background and 'philosophy.' Thanks for the insights, particularly regarding point of view and 'person'. I have always enjoyed your stories and sense of humor. Your characters are more than stereotypes of classic spanking genre types. I know how frustrating writer's block can be, but I'm really happy you've found inspiration here to continue doing what you do best. You're a great asset to the LSF--not only for having written the story with the highest number of comments ever (!) but for all you contribute to the library as a writer, commenter, and forum poster. Thanks, Rick! 28 April 2012 15:24
jools said...
A very informative article Rick. I particularly enjoyed your explanation of person and POV and I promise you I didn't fa...... Zzzzz Zzzzzz *slap.... oops hehe! I like the way you explain it so simmply and I agree that you are have perfectly nailed all the various combos of POV/Person. I'm so glad you have overcome your writer's block... long may you continue to pen such inspirational and entertaining tales of smacked bums hehe! I sure know how you must have felt when confronted with writer's block,having been there myself quite recently! It is actually quite scary and dreadfully frustrating especially as you say when it happens mid story (yep been there too.... mid serial!!! Not that that would be an issue for the man who never writes serials hehe). BTW I think you are amazing to be able to write a story in one sitting!! 29 April 2012 11:15
mati said...
Whatever mystery it is about this POV you authors mention so often, I'm sure you know how to handle it. Whenever I read one of your stories I feel that I know your characters - not in the sense that they already appeared in thousand other stories before, but as if they are persons I frequently meet in daily life. You are a very good observer of tiny little details on your characters which I normally never realise, but reading them in your stories causes quite often an "Aha!-effect". All this little details make your stories so natural and vivid that I am always willing to buy the spankings with them, however unlikely they might be. 29 April 2012 13:14
jimc said...
i enjoy your stories and find myself writing a sequel to it in my head. I may not have experienced your "point of view" , but i may relate to it on some level. I enjoy most spanking stories and ones that i do not are more against the subject than the writer and i am always impressed by how well an author presents his/her story and do wish i could as well (an aspiring writer no doubt). Thankfor sharing your stories and responding to the comments. Have a great day Jim 3 May 2012 22:49
TheEnglishMaster said...
Great interview - thanks. I was interested to hear about your attempts at vanilla fiction (a step I've yet to try making) and I'm sorry it didn't work out - you are a highly skilled writer; maybe the inspiration will come one day. The POV section was very thorough and fascinating too! 7 May 2012 23:23
FiBlue said...
Thank you, Rick. This was a great interview - interesting and educational. Knowing your theory and history gives me an even greater appreciation for your work, but you are already one of my favorite authors. The tutorial on person and point of view is thorough and will be quite helpful. Your skill in handling the different ranges is part of what makes your stories so readable and your characters ring true. I copied that section so that I can refer back to it as I try to branch out. 15 April 2013 16:12
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Thanks, Rick.
B