The Library of Spanking Fiction: Wellred Weekly


Wellred Weekly
Volume 2, Number 1 : March 21, 2013
 
Articles
Items of interest regarding all things spanking

The LSF – a Haven for Budding Writers
by Gail

The LSF - A haven for budding writers
The contributor base on the Library of Spanking Fiction (LSF) seems to be growing at an astonishing rate. It seems counter-intuitive; who would write for fun (remember those punishment essays - or impositions, as one of my teachers used to call them, that we used to get at school?) and what has made the LSF the place to be when there have been so many other spanko and related kinkster sites I have visited that just never survived?

Sitting with a drink in hand, I sat back and thought about the remarkable dynamics of the LSF environment; what makes it special and why I want to be a part of it. It has distinguished itself from many other sites that I have visited or participated in by having a very active and vibrant author community. To be sure there is a chat room but it is, by most standards, quiet. When active, the discussion ranges from literary topics to friendly banter - almost of the kind that one would expect to find in a real-life library and not what one would find on a kinky focused chat site (think alt.bsdm).

It's a free library yet very often the standard of the deliverables hosted is exceptionally high. I have little doubt that a significant number of the stories are of sufficient quality to be published and would stand up well in any comparison to a lot of the material that is available for a fee from both known publishing houses and self-publishing sites.

It got me wondering as to what drives the membership activities.

Creativity drives all authors
Writing is as much an expression of my soul as any other activity. I find it cathartic to be able to project my emotions onto a character that I have created and either express what has been bottled up for years, or to let my imagination take wild journeys into the darkest alleys as it develops scenes. Scenes which set my creative and sexual juices flowing as I try to capture the emotion through my keyboard.

I marvel at the flexibility of some of the authors as they run effortlessly through the emotional scales as if playing by a well rehearsed playbook: from humor laden absurdity to deeply emotional scenes; from free-form writing to rule-bound challenges.

Overloaded meanings, double entendres, alliterations; the opportunity for an author to indulge is unlimited. From private chats to formal competitions, the LSF provides a stage and a proving ground for authors to release that creative talent.

It's about spanking
All of us on the LSF site are kinksters at heart. So while the platform is great, the topic is ideal. For some (blush), it allows us to indulge our sexual proclivity in a safe environment. I am sure that I am not alone amongst the authors, as I have crafted out another story, to find myself stewing in my own juices. I sometimes find myself performing exercises with my thighs that match the gyrations swirling around in my mind; it's enough to make a personal instructor cheer and a religious leader weep. The results leave me on a mental and physical high that would sell for millions if it captured in a bottle.

For the readers, discovery of the LSF is like hitting the mother lode. And all of the authors are readers; comparing, learning, reading for fun. But for me, the excitement from reading compared to that which I get from writing is like... well, like from watching the action as opposed to participating in it.

It's a haven, a non-judgemental community
We all have the same fundamental issue: we are kinksters in a community that straight-laced society might mock or frown upon.

All the authors sit somewhere on a linear scale that runs from novice to... let's say... flopsybunny, Rollin or DJ Black accomplished. (Those are new levels that we all aspire to!) Every author who puts their work out there is taking a risk; putting their creativity on show, their ability to execute on show, and something of their inner soul on show.

Every reader has two options: enjoy the submission, and hopefully make some sort of payback through a comment if they did so, or click out if the work isn't to their taste. By and large, the community, as huge as it is, intuitively knows and plays by this simple, binary choice. Disparaging or snarky comments are rare; my sense is that 99% of feedback is positive. The return rate for authors seems to be high. They are welcomed in the forum, their work is acknowledged, their participation appreciated, and their talent, if any, nurtured.

The community exhibits itself in telling ways. The camaraderie is obvious. But scratch beneath and look for the signs of cooperation: stories that have been co-authored, advice and guidance delivered in the chat room or offline. It's a remarkable dynamic that shows up in many ways, and offers an environment where the most novice of authors can banter with, and learn from, teachers and published writers without ever feeling they are out of their league.

It's curated and nurtured
At the heart of every community I have participated in, there has been a driving personality - an Alex Birch, or someone of that stature - that creates the happy dynamic. Remove that core and the community dissipates.

The LSF's core staff provide more than a professional site (did I say free service?). They set a public tone which makes the LSF a fun and happy 'place' to frequent. To the readers, it's all about the show that is put on for them. The tone is light and welcoming, the quality of content is high, and the site is innovative and functional.

But behind the scenes, there is a professionalism that is almost scary. Anyone who has had any marketing or journalism experience recognizes it in a flash. There is the cute, funny public persona of the librarians; on the other hand there is the disciplinarian librarian who is performing (with help from the community leaders) a quality control of comments and submitted content, searching out new material and curating that which has been delivered. Publications like the Wellred Weekly don't 'just happen'. It takes time to solicit articles, QA the planned submission and actual delivery, and actually publish on a schedule.

As with any well executed move, the result looks deceptively easy. For the LSF, the quality and tone create the stage for the participants to perform at their best in a very special auditorium.

It's a place for recognition
At the end of the day, we are all artists. For those that post photos in groups on sites like Flickr, you will recognize the mini-rush as you log on to see how many 'likes' or badges you received. Like looking for the gold, silver or red star your teacher used to stick onto a page of well done homework. Childish? Certainly - but we are artists, and that's what keeps us going: some recognition that the effort involved has paid off.

The comments that are well meaning but add little value; we love them. They spark exchanges and friendships - and just so ever occasionally, they lead to exchanges which deliver more than what one might expect from a friendship.

At a higher level, there are the comments that call out a particular phrase, or remark on a character or the plot. They show that the reader has internalized the work; absorbed it and received more value than just getting the evening entertainment or, dare I say it, getting their rocks off. I love these comments; they are what drive me to continue contributing and sharing my work; work that is perhaps a more honest representation of me than the real-life me, the real-life me that friends and colleagues might know.

Then occasionally there are the comments that really add value; comments that are insightful and analytical. It is these gems that enable an author to grow, to mature and in the end, to deliver a more polished article for this same community. It takes a special type of reader to add this value, and very often, it is the accomplished authors who can do it. It is what makes this community on LSF so remarkably different from the soc.sexuality,spanking newsgroup of old.

It's a community that nurtures budding new authors
New authors, whether novice or experienced, will find the LSF to be a stimulating place to learn and grow their new writing skills in a nurturing environment. It's a venue to experiment and to play with different styles and genres in a non-judgmental setting. In fact, the only public judgments you are likely to get will be those that boost your ego and raise your confidence levels.

Every author on this site is an individual, instantly recognized by the text color of their screen name. If you are a new contributor, your entry to this 'team' will start from the moment you have your first submission accepted. If you're a new writer you will be welcomed on the forum, both on the Noticeboard and also on the LSF blog.

The LSF provides a significant number of resources in the Help Section. If you have perhaps forgotten the basics of punctuation, or how to write a dialogue, an Author Guide provides that brush-up that even experienced writers may find useful.

In the event that you are suffering from writer's block, or need a starter topic, the LSF runs story challenges each year, where a topic is provided or a visual cue is provided and all you have to do is run up a quick response. These challenges usually take place three times a year and draw significant community participation.

Experienced writers are always available to provide coaching. Seek someone out in the Chat Room, or send one of them a pop-up message. Whether you are looking for help in developing a plot, or for someone to review your work before you actually post it, the writers here are approachable, encouraging and insightful.

It's the place to be
If you are a reader and thinking about whether you should try your hand at writing, this is the community to join. If you are a writer, I trust that something in what I said resonated. The quality of this site is a tribute to the LSF staff and everyone here who contributes to making this the most up-market, kink-friendly venue in cyberspace.



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