15 March 2015

Fiction vs Reality, Or Passion vs Business

It's a fine line.

Way back, years and years ago, when I first started writing spanking stories, I had never actually experienced it for myself. I'd read about it - LOTS, and fantasised about it even more than that, but had I ever really been slung across someone's knee and had the brat spanked right out of me?

Nope.

Then I discovered the BDSM scene. I discovered real life kinksters. I met them at parties, talked to them, watched them play, let them do nasty, delicious things to me. I even married one - I signed my slave contract to him before I signed the marriage certificate. The marriage has since ended but luckily my new experiences did not.

I had a lot of experiences. Spanking, obviously, with every implement I could think of (and many I hadn't even imagined before, like liquorice. I'm serious. It HURTS!) - and so much more. Needles, medical staples, cutting with a razor blade, cutting with a scalpel, edge play, knife play, fire play, electro play, breath play, sutures, wax play, orgasm control, orgasm denial, forced orgasms, bondage, rope suspension, corsetry, fire flogging, cupping, fire cupping, TENS units, clamps... the list goes on and on and on. I do have a few hard limits, but not very many. Not really.

So it's only natural that I want to incorporate at least some of these experiences into my writing.



Now I don't know exactly how many of my fellow authors live the lifestyle. I know some of them definitely do, and some of them have even more experience than I do. I also know some of them are right where I was ten years ago; a surface vanilla with deep, dark fantasies I had yet to fulfill. And these people have one thing in common; they write my favourite books in the genre. Not just because I'm lucky enough to be able to call them my friends, but because there is an element of truth in what they write; an element of realism. I adored their books before I ever chatted to them. It was only later that I discovered that, as well as being amazing authors, they are amazing people with a real passion for spanking, ageplay and/or BDSM.

There's a saying: 'write what you know.' I call bullshit on that, because many authors would be severely restricted in their content if they were to abide by that rule. Did J.R.R. Tolkien ever MEET a hobbit? Did Lewis Carroll really fall down the rabbit hole? I doubt it. As Oscar Wilde said, "One's real life is so often the life that one does not lead."

However, I do ask that people write what they're passionate about. Lately, more and more people have been admitting to writing certain genres because 'they sell well'.

Writing fiction is an art form. It's a passion. It's a dream. It's something you do because you can't not. It shouldn't be dragged down to the level of business copywriting, or sponsored blog entries, surely? There's marketing writing (which I'm not bashing, I've done it) and then there's fiction writing. You do the first, usually, because you have bills to pay. You do the second because you feel compelled to tell a story.

If you hate scary stories, don't write them. If fantasy fiction makes you yawn and you never read it, don't bother trying to write it. Write what fires YOU inside; because only then can you deliver a great experience to the readers.

"Whenever I want to read a good book, I write a good book. I've never not been writing." ~ Gore Vidal

To all my fellow lovers of good quality spanking/BDSM erotica out there, I can't promise you won't mistakenly pick up a book written by someone who churned out what they thought would sell. However, I can - and DO - promise you that that will never be the case with any of my books.
Sharing Silver was the first contemporary BDSM book I wrote. Many readers will undoubtedly find it 'too heavy'. But I hope there are some out there who will enjoy it. Who want to find out what fireplay feels like. What being auctioned off to someone feels like. What being truly submissive feels like.



And to those readers I say, keep your eyes peeled for my next books. I have many stories to tell and, while they may never make the best-seller lists, they will always be true to my own fantasies and experiences.

Now I'd like to hear your thoughts. Do you care whether an author is passionate about their chosen subject matter? Do you think you can tell? Please feel free to comment away. :)




11 comments:

  1. Thanks for writing this post! I love it and I this is why I always love your books. BTW, I absolutely loved Sharing Silver. I read it on my vacation and hated to see it end. I still owe you (and many others) a review.
    ~Livia

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    1. Aww, yay, thank you for commenting and ooh, where did you go on Vacation? It wasn't Australia, was it? :P So glad you enjoyed Silver, thanks so much for letting me know x

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  2. I second what Livia said! I loved Sharing Silver! It was right up my alley. Keep em' coming. Great post. I love when you can tell an author really enjoys what they're writing. I think we should all try to remember to write what we love, not what will sell best.

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    1. I couldn't agree more - and there's no way of knowing what really WILL sell well anyway... gawd, just look at 50 Shades lol. So why not write what you want and see any success you have with it as a bonus? At least the readers will appreciate it. And I'm so glad you liked Silver as well... I put a *lot* of myself in her. :)

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  3. Dear Mrs Black, Thank you for writing this, i believe that writing is a passion you do it because the story the characters & the plot run through you like blood, it is a way of expressing your inner self. What you have written makes so much sense! Yes i believe that it shows in the writing if the authoress has a knowledge of the subject [as Mrs Smith does like you] & it makes for really good reading [must confess i am still making my way through When the gavel falls & have yet to read Sharing Sarah but if it is anywhere as good as Fulfilling her Fantasies i will be happy]

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    1. Heya Clare, please call me Tabby, and thank you for commenting - so glad you agree with what I've written!
      Yes, Maren Smith is one of the authors I was talking about and is, I feel, a prime example of how brilliant writing what you love can be.
      Really hope you're enjoying the box set and do hope that you like Sharing Silver - it's way longer than Fantasy and is a complete story rather than a teaser. Glad you enjoyed hearing about Janice and Master Dominick's little adventure and a little birdie told me there will be more to come with regards to those two. :)

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  4. Well said, my friend. I think readers can feel when a book isn't genuine. And DAMN, you have tried everything!

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    1. Bahaha, thank you - and I have the photos to prove it! :P

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  5. Great post Tabby and you are so right! I agree that you don't have to live it to write about it, but as a writer you must feel passionate about your subject. I think the best fiction has a grain of truth. I'm awed by your fearlessness as an author and a woman. Re: fiction vs reality, I get reviews that say, I'd never tolerate that, or that would never happen. That's the point isn't it? To read a book that takes out outside of yourself and the framework of your own experiences? To escape, if only for a while into a world that excites and intrigues us?

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    1. Abso-bloody-lutely! I agree, I loathe the reviewers who get all irritated because something doesn't seem realistic. Er... do the words fantasy or fiction mean anything to you? I don't see reviews on vampire novels complaining that they don't really exist. Thank you for commenting and for your brilliant insight - and for saying you like what I do. *hugs*

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  6. You have to write what you LOVE not what you know. I'm so glad you published Sharing Silver. It is an amazing life changing book that will probably touch so many people. Keep it up!

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