The Library of Spanking Fiction: Wellred Weekly


Wellred Weekly
Volume 1, Number 10 : August 28, 2012
 
Articles
Items of interest regarding all things spanking

My Spanking Fiction Preferences
by Flogmaster

Everyone has their own idea of what makes for a good spanking book. There's nothing wrong with your taste if you prefer something different. These are the things that happen to turn me on. (Note that these are primarily focused on full novels: my tastes in short stories are similar, but simply because they are shorter they can get away with more variety.)

I like females being spanked.
The occasional male doesn't bother me, depending on the context. Female spanking male can be fun, but only if she gets it as well or if she's just freakishly gorgeous. I would never buy a book containing exclusively F/M. Male-male spanking is a real turn-off, unless it's a formal punishment (i.e. headmaster-student). If a male-male spanking is sexualized I really get turned off.

I prefer schoolgirl spankings.
Schoolgirl's my favorite category. I'm not opposed to husband-wife type scenarios, but I generally find them too mild, too safe, and boring. Older women being spanked don't bother me (I have nothing against older women), but I prefer the non-consensual aspect of schoolgirl discipline. I also enjoy the naivety of younger girls and "first-timers." The setting doesn't have to be a school, of course -- I just like teenage spankees. (It also seems more realistic, as a teen getting disciplined is more likely than a thirty-five-year-old soccer mom.)

I like severe spankings.
Nothing turns me off quicker than a scene that pretends to be severe and then delivers a few mild swats. For instance, anyone who's been spanked with a table tennis bat knows that it's too light to hurt the slightest bit: any time I read about a punishment with one of those as though it's severe it just turns me cold. A severe spanking is one that is intense: it can last a long time, leave harsh marks, or simply terrify or overwhelm the spankee. The number of strokes is irrelevant. What's important is how the scene is written. I've read scenes where just three strokes of the cane was the girl's greatest nightmare and it was tremendously arousing. I've also read scenes where a girl was flogged a hundred times in the town square -- ostensibly a powerful scene -- and yet it left me limp because the flogging was so unemotionally connected to the victim and I was given no insight into the pain of the punishment.

I like lots of spanking.
A book with only a handful of key spanking scenes is not a spanking book. A spanking book, at minimum, should have one really good spanking per chapter (and the chapters should not be too long), preferably many more. Basically I ought to be able to read a good spanking scene in the few minutes before bed. If I have to wade through dozens of pages of 'setup' I won't be too aroused.

I love spanking detail.
The more detail included in a spanking the better. I want to know how everyone is feeling: the spankee, the spanker, the watchers (if there are any). I want vivid descriptions of each stroke, I want the level of pain described. I want everything to be described so vividly that I feel as though I am there experiencing the story in whatever role I prefer (sometimes I pretend to be the spanker, other times the spankee or an observer).

I enjoy sexual arousal but the sex act is irrelevant.
While a spankee doesn't have to become aroused by her spanking to arouse me (I'm fine with non-consensual punishment), I don't mind if she does. Vivid descriptions of sex acts, however, don't interest me. For me, it's all about the spanking. I can imagine the rest on my own and come to my own climax. If a book includes pages and pages of sex acts, I'll just skip those to get to the "good stuff." (A good rule of thumb is that if a book includes more sex than spanking, it's not a book for me.)

I like variety and escalation.
It's a bit cliched, but the formula works: a good spanking book starts off with a sound spanking and builds to spankings of increased severity and/or frequency. Early implements can be milder (hand, slipper, spoon) and gradually increase to severe (paddle, cane, birch). Spankings in unusual situations, unusual positions, or with horrifying-sounding implements are delicious.

Humiliation is important.
A good spanking is humiliating, so it's vital that a book's descriptions of spankings tell us how humiliating the experience is. Even if the scene contains other, non-spanking punishments such as mouth-washing, enemas, boot licking, toilet cleaning, force defecation in public, etc., they can be arousing if we see how humiliating the experience is to the punished girl.

I enjoy a good story, but it's not vital.
A spanking book needs some sort of frame around the spankings: there needs to be a plot and purpose for the punishments. But unlike regular books, the plot can be minimal. Most of the time I really don't care why a girl is being spanked: the fact that she is is enough for me. I don't need a lot of back story, long passages of exposition to set up a scene or explain a situation: just do it. As long as there's enough of an explanation to keep the story plausible, that's all that's needed. (For instance, I don't need 50 pages of setup on how the orphan ended up as a ward of her uncle.) Occasionally long text helps build anticipation, and that's fine, but it shouldn't be overdone. Books that get right to the action rate higher.

A plot that's integral with spanking is a huge plus.
Like all novels, there needs to be a plot so that the reader feels there's momentum and progress. We need to see that the characters are progressing and changing. With most spanking novels that is very easy as we simply follow the main character's mindset as she learns about whippings and her punishments gradually become frequent and severe. Some novelists try to include a traditional story plot and blend it in with spanking and that doesn't always work. What's genius is when the plot is integral with spanking.

For instance, in one book I read the female lead and the man she loves are at odds because neither knows the other's into spanking -- he's afraid she'll think he's a pervert for wanting to whip and she's worried he'll dump her if he finds out she loves to be caned. Thus we get more of a traditional love conflict, yet it's perfectly mixed in with lots of severe thrashing. All the spankings make logical sense and are a key part of the story, yet the whole time the reader is aching for the two knuckleheads to realize they are perfect for each other and finally hook up.

Humor can be an important stress-reliever.
Spankings, especially severe ones, can be grim and somber affairs. Reading hundreds of pages about a cruel prison where everyone is flogged to bleeding daily could be depressing if not written in a way that inspires hope and offers some respite in the form of humor. Humor can come in a variety of ways: an interesting twist at the end of a story, via absurdism (e.g. spankings so over-the-top they can't be real), dialog, sarcasm, and much more. If the main character has a sense of humor, that can be one way of minimizing the perceived severity of a punishment (a girl joking about her caning lets you know it wasn't deadly regardless of how severe it read).

Note that humor doesn't have to ruin the severity of a punishment -- for instance that same dreary prison novel could have a hilariously evil warden who makes grand speeches and flogs for trivial reasons and though the punishments are still outrageous, the warden's snarky comments make it enjoyable. ("Those thirty strokes shall serve as your dinner tonight. Might I interest you in a lovely dessert of two dozen with the cat?")

Description of female body is good.
I want wonderful, lush, picturesque descriptions of the woman's buttocks and sexy body. My favorite authors do this very well, though a few tend to be repetitive and reuse the same terms and metaphors in different works. The best try to be inventive and creative.

I also love it when there's a variety of body styles. A novel where all the characters are stacked like female superheroes in comic books gets boring. Give me tall Amazonian women, tiny petite girls, girls with melon breasts and others with mosquito bite tits. I want fat girls, skinny girls, girls with wide, swaying hips and tomboys with slim hips. Give me girls of different races and skin tones and facial features. Describe the contrast when different girls are punished, both in how their personalities and bodies react (i.e. a black girl's bottom marks differently from a white girl's ass).

Suffering is vital.
I need to know that the spanking hurts. Something like "I took a hundred strokes of the whip and it really stung and then I went for a cup of tea" is not erotic, while "The third stroke whistled its way across my bared rump and laid in a ferocious sting. I gasped and it took all my strength to hold position. I blinked back tears, my ass writhing as the burning intensified, and I suddenly began to dread the rest of my punishment. This was only three strokes, yet it felt like six. This teacher knew how to thrash! I trembled with the knowledge that he'd promised me a full dozen. How could I endure it?" is much more stimulating.

Fiction is fantasy.
With so much variety of taste, it's very difficult to write a full novel that hits every single one of a person's kinks and avoids the things they don't like. I'm well-aware of this and thus I don't get bent out of shape when a story takes a turn I don't like. I may skip a few pages when a story suddenly goes scatological, but I don't let it ruin the rest of the book which may have some excellent scenes. Don't take anything too seriously -- as both a writer and a reader I certainly do not.

This isn't a comprehensive list.
There are always exceptions to rules (unless a zero-tolerance headmaster with a lean cane and a penchant to use it is in charge), so all of the above is simply a rough guideline of what I like. Judging art and what makes us feel is not always predictable. I've come across novels that sounded incredible, but fell flat despite hundreds of spankings, and others that didn't appear to have much spanking material but turned out to be amazingly erotic. In other words, your mileage my vary. I therefore try to read all sorts of stories and books, even ones I'm not certain I'll like. You never know where you'll find a diamond.
 
17 comments:
Spankzz said...
I enjoyed this article very much since your tastes are similar to mine. Would you mention some of your favorite novels?
29 August 2012 12:55
mati said...
A quick look on the market of spanking fiction leads me to the conclusion that there seems to be no shortage of stories meeting your taste. Lucky you are!
29 August 2012 14:11
bendover said...
I've read quite a bit of Flogmaster's stories and I have to say that he sticks to his article listing here right to the Tee. What he describes is right up my alley as well. However, I'm not totally comfortable with too severe a punishment, but even if my comments state that, I'm not one to be judgmental. That's simply because it tells the other readers that they are wrong in liking it.

Thanks for a great article, Flogmaster.

29 August 2012 17:22
Malahide said...
Most interesting insight by a classic author with countless crafted tomes on the subject.
30 August 2012 05:46
sixofthebest said...
Flogmaster, I agree with you 100% percent. Every point you make has for me validity.
31 August 2012 13:33
Pierrepoint said...
Detailed description of the spanking is essential. Otherwise what's the point of writing a spanking story?

Multiple impressions, spanker, spankee are needed also. I want to know that the spankee is feeling the spanking, and reacting.

There's nothing worse than a spankee that simply lays across someone's lap and gets spanked, with seemingly no reaction at all.
1 September 2012 05:54
tiptopper said...
I have always enjoyed Flogmaster's stories as he is an excellent writer with tastes similar to mine. There is however one thing that he says that I partially disagree with him about.

He says ping pong paddles don't hurt a bit. He is correct when talking about modern ones with their soft rubber surfaces but older ping paddles from decades ago were made differently, being solid wood with sandpaper surfaces. They stung quite a bit and the sandpaper abraided the skin assuring that the sting would last for quite some time.

I have two such paddles from a set I had when I was a child. Those who have felt them have been quite impressed.

When I write a story with ping pong paddles used I always make sure to specify that they are the vintage type and describe them.
2 September 2012 01:17
tribemen said...
I've enjoyed his stories for years. Great detail in his stories something I find enjoyable.
5 September 2012 17:13
barretthunter said...
In my opinion a good spanking book is about A5 in spread, with a cover harder and stiffer than a paperback but more whippy and flexible than most hardbacks. It should have roughly the thickness of the average desk diary or at most half as thick again. The Encyclopedia Britannica is entirely unsuitable.
6 September 2012 09:05
bripuk said...
I generally agree with Flogmaster. A graphic description of a well punished bottom is essential together with a detailed description of the fear the recipient feels prior to her thrashing.
6 September 2012 15:37
tyrport said...
I very much agree on all points.
The age isn't because that is the age we are attracted to for partners, it's the where you can fantasize a spankee with no power.
13 October 2012 01:24
singlemalt8 said...
Your likes would push my buttons very well. Though I prefer erotic tones in the stories. "Prussian Girls" is my all time favorite.
16 October 2012 03:03
Frspanko said...
When I read this article, I just understand why I like reading your stories for such a long time!

Please, keep writing!
21 October 2012 08:58
yenz said...
It is easy enough to make rules for the perfect spanking story, and an author may start writing, wanting to follow these rules.
BUT it happens, that the story evolves according to its own rules; and the author just have comply.
9 November 2012 13:52
tamlynn said...
Flogmaster is always harsh and as these are only stories then no harm is really being done. I agree that after a long involved journey to the conclusion three swats with a ping-pong paddle is not satisfying.
Spank on Flogmaster and stick to your rules.
25 November 2012 02:31
Ernest said...
As others have also said, I would endorse many of the things Flogmaster says! So I have tried some of his own works - and they certainly match up to his preferences!
18 October 2013 18:51
galt54 said...
Flogmaster is one of my favorite authors of spanking fetish-related fiction. I also am most interested in the spanking of females - in particular of teenage schoolgirls. There are many parallels between my tastes in spanking fetish-related fiction and that of Flogmaster.
29 May 2016 02:40

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