Still, this weekend I have managed to proof read two chapters of Robotic Restitution, which means there's only ~15 to go on the first pass (which isn't really true, since I already know the last chapter is probably going to be split into three).
The first pass is the most important, as this is where I'm taking copious notes to ensure internal story consistency/fixing continuity problems. Later passes will be less for content and more for typos, so they ought to take less time to execute.
Unfortunately, the version of Libre Office I'm using is now refusing to spell check anything, so as usual there's more troubleshooting required, as always seems to be the case with software.
New Work - Hot Pressed
I've started work on 'Hot Pressed' again. Fortunately, I have good notes on that story, so I know more or less how it's supposed to go.However, I'm already starting to do some scene shuffling for plausibility purposes. For example, my original intent was that a gang of crew members goes into the city and randomly abducts a person to convert them into another member of their crew. 'Press Ganging,' as it were.
On retrospect, this won't really work all that well - too many questions need to be answered. Why would the foreign city guard members let them wander around their town to do this? During twilight hours, what kinds of people are they going to find to abduct? How are they going to abduct them without anyone noticing?
Answering these questions has significantly changed how the capture process is going to work. Instead of grabbing someone off the street, I need the induction squad to be searching for a suitable candidate. This candidate must be someone who is compatible with the head mask they are looking to fill, and this person must be willing to leave their current country behind. Having genetic markers from the nation this capture squad hails from is also important. The capture method will need to be some form of hypnosis combined with a somewhat willing subject.
The subject will be removed back to the source airship for further processing via a wooden coffin the squad members are carrying around - that's less likely to draw attention. The family of the person who is being abducted will be compensated and mind controlled.
Overall, I think that will provide for a more interesting and plausible story, preventing the reader from scoffing at what's going on. Sure, as a writer I have complete control over what happens - but I don't want to make the people in the story seem like complete idiots. Being internally consistent plot-wise is, I believe, one of the most important things a story can do.
Unfortunately, this week the chances I have to work on stories has been rather light due to terrible snow conditions in the area. This reduces the amount of time I spend on public transport and therefore the amount of time/motivation I have to work on this story. Continuing bad weather makes it less likely I'll get any progress finished this week as well, but I will get back to it eventually. I'm already thinking that this is probably going to end up ~40,000 words by the time it's wrapped up, so it's definitely not going to be a small project. It seems that anything I think is small on first blush always balloons upwards in size anyway...
Why I like Happy Endings
AKA 'bad endings and why I like them.'
But only if they're a certain type of bad ending. The 'happy' bad ending.
What makes up a 'happy bad ending?' You might inquire.
That's fairly simple. Everyone is happy in the end. That might require some mind alteration to make it happen, but that's perfectly acceptable.
What isn't acceptable is turning the main character into a mindless vegetable, a cored catastrophe, an automated automaton without any volition left. Don't get me wrong, those types of endings can be pretty hot if executed well. They work fine as bad ends in multiple choice adventures and games as punishments for the user making dumb decisions to see what will happen if they are terrible to their main characters. However, they will never make me want to re-read them - why bother if your character became a robotic puppet with no self-volition?
In the same way, the 'happy' ending where the main character wins out against the mechanism of mind control completely kills the erotic tension in a story for me. "Hey, you thought you were getting a good dose of mind control, but this character has plot armor and nothing truly bad can ever happen to him/her." This gives a story a feeling of impermanence, as if nothing will ever change for the main character.
As with all things, moderation is key.
I think that's why I keep coming back to Tabico's tales, Herd Instinct and Weaponized in particular. Sure, terrible things happened to the main characters, but by the end of the tales they were absolutely fine with whatever had been done to them. They loved having it happen to them. They gave themselves to it. They wanted it wholeheartedly.
I think you could also pull off a tale where by the end the character has been changed at some base level by the experience. But that might also be a convenient setup for turning the main character into the villain for the next tale... which sounds like an excellent idea, I should get right on that.
But only if they're a certain type of bad ending. The 'happy' bad ending.
What makes up a 'happy bad ending?' You might inquire.
That's fairly simple. Everyone is happy in the end. That might require some mind alteration to make it happen, but that's perfectly acceptable.
What isn't acceptable is turning the main character into a mindless vegetable, a cored catastrophe, an automated automaton without any volition left. Don't get me wrong, those types of endings can be pretty hot if executed well. They work fine as bad ends in multiple choice adventures and games as punishments for the user making dumb decisions to see what will happen if they are terrible to their main characters. However, they will never make me want to re-read them - why bother if your character became a robotic puppet with no self-volition?
In the same way, the 'happy' ending where the main character wins out against the mechanism of mind control completely kills the erotic tension in a story for me. "Hey, you thought you were getting a good dose of mind control, but this character has plot armor and nothing truly bad can ever happen to him/her." This gives a story a feeling of impermanence, as if nothing will ever change for the main character.
As with all things, moderation is key.
I think that's why I keep coming back to Tabico's tales, Herd Instinct and Weaponized in particular. Sure, terrible things happened to the main characters, but by the end of the tales they were absolutely fine with whatever had been done to them. They loved having it happen to them. They gave themselves to it. They wanted it wholeheartedly.
I think you could also pull off a tale where by the end the character has been changed at some base level by the experience. But that might also be a convenient setup for turning the main character into the villain for the next tale... which sounds like an excellent idea, I should get right on that.
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