I Promise It's Not Writer's Block

[KevGuevara]

So I've got a pretty solid outline for the first couple of acts for two versions of a gender swap story I want to write for this website. The basic premise is there is this man that is kidnapped by pirates on his home world and sold into bondage in another planet where the majority of its inhabitants are slaves mutated to fit the whims of their masters. In one version of my story his transformation is a gradual one as a series of punishments leading into him being gender swapped and in the other it starts that way.

My question is how should I approach this with my prospective audience? I personally favor the former option, but I worry that people who favor non gender swap stories will be offended by a swap happening later in the story with the dynamic shifting so drastically while people who do favor gender swap stories not being invested enough to read through the beginning. My idea with leaning with a step-by-step descent is that I want to flesh out this character and get the reader to understand what the MC loses as a result of the process. Like we have a male who is invested in being male, losing that identity.

While of course there are ways to do that from the jump even if the protagonist is gender swapped from the beginning, but I'd rather not unless I'm working against the interests of a potential audience. I know there's trade-offs to make and this being a first novel it probably won't make a mark, but I still would like to know what readers expect out of these sorts of stories.

So if you have any insight, I would love to hear it. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[Tempokai]

First one, gradual, feels like a body horror. If you can write the emotional depth, go for it. If not, the second, immediate is better for readers and your sanity alike.

 

[KevGuevara]

First one, gradual, feels like a body horror. If you can write the emotional depth, go for it. If not, the second, immediate is better for readers and your sanity alike.

Yeah, body horror is kind of what I'm going for. But you're making me kind of nervous with warnings about my sanity. I think I've seen a bit of it when browsing some of the other stories here with readers complaining about the stories to the author. Or is it more of a warning about the task I am taking on?

 

[Tempokai]

Yeah, body horror is kind of what I'm going for. But you're making me kind of nervous with warnings about my sanity. I think I've seen a bit of it when browsing some of the other stories here with readers complaining about the stories to the author. Or is it more of a warning about the task I am taking on?

For readers is something like that, roughly:
1. "Wow, a story that looks interesting enough with the feeling of schadenfreude!"
2. *cue the erosion of self, altercations of mind, terrifying realization that flesh isn't your friend and gender has no meaning if everything malleable*
3. "Wow, now I'm sad and will think about it before sleeping. 2 stars."

And now, for you, probably:
1. "Wow, I have a great idea for a body horror, let's do it!"
2. *cue the realization that body horror isn't about "describing the gross stuff", it’s a full-blown commitment to dissecting what it means to lose oneself piece by piece.*
3. "Wow, I spend so much time on this that I don't feel good anymore."

To do body horror well, you need to delve into the psyche of someone experiencing the ultimate betrayal: their own body. And you’re not just visiting that mindscape, you’re setting up camp, unpacking your bags, and roasting marshmallows over the fires of existential despair.

Doesn’t that sound delightful?

Gradual transformation stories require you to sustain a sense of dread and violation over a long period. You’ll need to repeatedly ask yourself: “What’s the next, most horrifying thing I can take away from this character? How can I make them (and the readers) feel even worse about it?” That’s a taxing question to live with, especially if you’re a halfway empathetic human being. Even if you’re not, the sheer level of detail needed to make the horror believable can worm its way into your own sense of self. By the time you’re done describing someone’s psychological unraveling as they lose everything that made them them, you might feel like you’ve chipped away at your identity too.

Or just follow the trends and make it immediate. Your choice.

 

[KevGuevara]

Yeah, I think we're on the same page. My idea is like every time the protagonist finds a way to circumvent or cope with his current circumstances, the situation changes. Something is taken away, something else added, he is becoming more and more separated from his old self. But even as all this happens he still has this underlying desire that is so obvious that it goes unspoken, something that we all take for granted: freedom. That's why I want to write from a slave's perspective, so even if they are totally changed from who they used to be, there is something that is universal that the protagonist can hold onto.

Oh and I love how you cued onto this bit

if everything malleable*

Yes, yes, yes, even if people don't think of themselves as being interested in that kind of thing, I think they can surprise themselves by what they can get drawn in by and what keeps them reading.

 

[PancakesWitch]

Sometimes when you already write an outline with all your ideas your motivation is drained out because you already wrote down and expressed everything you wanted to tell in the outline and you feel drained or sometimes satisfied, so writing it into a story turns out to be boring and a chore instead. Try writing a story on the go without planning. Exercise your imagination.

 

[KevGuevara]

Try writing a story on the go without planning. Exercise your imagination.

I can't disagree more.

Writing an outline is one of the most basic things we're taught in school for a reason. It really helps clear up inconsistencies that come when you don't go in with a plan. What you get without an outline is like a series of vignettes, which, sure, can be interesting, but it doesn't make for something that is more than a few paragraphs. That's if you're talented or experienced. In actuality what happens is you get stuck not knowing where to take the story and this keeps happening over and over again until you go mad or start thinking further ahead.

It's so much more time efficient to work out an outline, get the basic beats worked out, and then start flushing out the scenes.

 

[PancakesWitch]

I can't disagree more.

Writing an outline is one of the most basic things we're taught in school for a reason. It really helps clear up inconsistencies that come when you don't go in with a plan. What you get without an outline is like a series of vignettes, which, sure, can be interesting, but it doesn't make for something that is more than a few paragraphs. That's if you're talented or experienced. In actuality what happens is you get stuck not knowing where to take the story and this keeps happening over and over again until you go mad or start thinking further ahead.

It's so much more time efficient to work out an outline, get the basic beats worked out, and then start flushing out the scenes.

I was never taught to write outlines in my school so idk what youre talking about. I write like 10 web novels and i dont have any outline for any of them. Going with the flow of my ideas in the moment seems more fulfilling, fun, and motivates me to write more.

 

[TheBestofSome]

There's no one right way to write. Me, I figure out a basic premise and an ending, then I write and figure everything else out as I go. So far it's worked out for me, though admittedly I'm still fairly early on in my journey as a writer. For writing, the end result is what matters, not how you get there.

 

[Puji-Maki]

In the end, you're the one who writes it. Write what you think is best. In my opinion, go for the slow gender bender. But if your focus is on writing smut, then go for the instant gender bender, since readers who read stories for the smut scenes prefer instant gratification.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The first gender bender story I read was a body horror one, a short story that started near the end of the cycle, with a man picking up a woman in a bar and the next morning waking up AS the woman. Wish I could remember the name or author, but it was in an anthology I read back when I tended to read mostly anthologies and lost track. The overall story was that the girl had been an "ugly duckling" type and was raped by a powerful man. She was given the power to avenge her assault by some supernatural force that granted her great beauty - but then caused her to swap bodies with her victim. The victim would know that they could do the same, but only through having sex with a person as nasty as they had been. It was a complicated mess but kind of cool.

The first body horror stories I read were both by H. P. Lovecraft - "The Outsider" and "The Shadow over Innsmouth;" not sure which I read first.

 

[KevGuevara]

But if your focus is on writing smut, then go for the instant gender bender

That's the flip side of this whole thing. You could, for example, take just about any story, and turn it into smut without changing a thing plot-wise. Now it's kind of veering off topic, but this is relevant because we're talking about readers' expectations.

Now I have a theory about that. Not that I am going to go straight for writing smut but I do have a theory. I believe that if it's smutty enough, you can get a person to read just about anything. Like you could get someone to read through Knausgard if in-between every paragraph there's a smut scene.

I came to that conclusion reading the responses of

Spoiler

a Pervert's World

. Like there's a lot of strong reactions to it, and of course there would be, it's

Spoiler

NTR

... And people still read it! It's too easy to dismiss as

Spoiler

cuckoldry

but I think it's more than that. The author consistently hits the high water mark every chapter. That's why it is still the first result when you look up the genre on this website despite not being updated in over a year.

Not to say that I will try to match or even out do the level of degeneracy on display in that series, but the main point is to always try to hit the high notes every chapter. That's what I find so fun about stories and writing and why I am so looking forward to this. I think with a combination of charm and reaching the highest highs and lowest lows, any story can go gangbusters. And honestly, all it takes is just be true to yourself.

There's still some points that need ironing out but I'm excited with what I have so far.