When Inspiration Fails . . . .

It's not easy to write something you're proud of. Any writer can churn out a dozen stories or so as easily as making scrambled eggs or taking the dog for a walk, but those stories will have much the same feel. Banal. Uninspiring. Plain.

I don't know about other writers, but when I get in a slump (I refuse to use the term "writer's block") I tend to read other authors' stories. Being a member of Literotica means I have access to literally hundreds of thousands of erotic tales. The vast majority are "stroke" stories, of course, and only a very small percentage are written with the idea of a real story in mind. Sexual vignettes have their place, too. Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking them. But I am getting away from the point.

The point is that sometimes, when your own inspiration fails, another's comes to the rescue. I used to avoid reading other fiction, mainly because I didn't want to fall into the trap of unintentionally siphoning someone else's work. But I've found that reading a bit here and there does wonders for looking at otherwise ordinary or over-used plot ideas in new ways. It doesn't matter how well-written the story may or may not be; what matters is the images, the ideas, the inspiration the story sparks in your mind.

I say this because I recently read an admittedly contrived and juvenile-minded story about a group of friends who decide to make a homemade porno film. The scenes described were pretty typical, although there were a few interesting descriptions (at one point, the young woman's unshaven pussy was referred to as 'a sumptuous fur-burger.' Interesting image, there). While reading it and shaking my head in wonder, inspiration dawned in my fevered brain about what I would do with such a basis for a story.

And that's when the evil grinning imp popped into existence upon my shoulder amid a gentle puff of brackish smoke. Now I'm two thousand words into a new novella I never intended to write.

Funny how that happens.

Good Stories and the Other Crap We Write

Reading the review on Utopia for Shock Radio reminded me of a thought that pops into my head once in a while, about how an author can write something people think is so compelling, yet follow up with something that is pretty much crap. I'm positive every author out there has experienced this thought.

I'm a firm believer that everything an author writes is a reflection of that author. Every story is a piece of the writer, so to speak. So, just like we have our good days and bad days, we have our good stories and bad stories. Take Shock Radio, for instance. Shortly after it came out, I felt a touch of embarrassment for having included the last story in it. It was junk. Reading Utopia's review just reaffirmed that opinion; she was spot on with her appraisal, which I whole-heartedly appreciate. I wonder why I included it in the first place.

Some of my other books give me the same feeling, but I'm not going to pull any of them. It would be dishonest at this point to do so, not to mention a terrible exercise in assuaging my ego. I'm sure every author out there has books he or she would prefer not be available, ones they wish they hadn't published in the first place. But they're there, and they still reflect something about the author . . . even if makes them say, "what the fuck was I thinking?"

They liked it! They really liked it!

I wish I had known about this when it happened, but it's nice to get the recognition regardless.  It appears my anthology, Shock Radio and Other Tales of Supernatural Erotica, was chosen as first runner-up by Book Utopia for their favorite short stories of 2009.  Check it out here: http://bookutopia.blogspot.com/2009/12/favorite-short-stories-of-2009.html

The Great Unveiling

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