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Csr Discussion Day: Pierced By Jvaughn

Cia

Entry posted by Cia in CSR- Can't Stop Reading

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This month, a shorter than usual one, I also went with a shorter story. JVaughn's Pierced is a solid read, for all it's only about 20k in length, that I really enjoyed. I was happy to feature it this month, and I hope you're ready to enjoy learning a bit more about J, too. Don't forget to leave your comments or questions. J will be "live" on the blog from 4-6 PM, PST today to talk to you--so make sure you're ready!

 

Single people often have more time to write. Are you single?
Technically, yes. However, I have two teenaged daughters who live with me half time. I also have a more-than-full-time day job to work around. So, finding time to write can be a challenge.

 

Who do you like best, Jerry or Tom?
Are you talking about the cartoon? If so, I have to say I don’t like either one of them. It’s been many years since I’ve watched that show, but if I recall, neither character is particularly ethical. Tom is not very bright, and Jerry is just plain mean. I do like cats better than mice though.
If you’re talking about some other Tom and Jerry, then I’m not cool enough to be aware of them. J

 

What are you wearing (and no fibbing!)?
I am wearing various shades of pink: sweats, an old rugby shirt, a torn pullover, and socks. Very comfy—my usual attire for writing.

 

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I had been writing for a number of years before I considered myself a writer. It wasn’t until I was partway through my second novel, had an editor, and was publishing regularly on Literotica that I finally started thinking of myself as a writer.

 

Do you have any writing rituals?
I almost always write first thing in the morning, so of course I always have to have my coffee at hand. I don’t consider that a ritual though, more of a necessity. I don’t think I have any actual rituals. I do have two modes, though, when I write: flow mode and edit mode. When I’m in flow mode, I’m just trying to get words down on paper, move the story along, and capture the basic essence of what I want to say. I try to write steadily and not worry about the wording. I may use the word “beautiful” four times in six paragraphs. Then I’ll go back and edit what I wrote, word-smithing, cutting, embellishing, etc. I probably spend six times as much time editing as I do writing in the first place.

 

My usual routine is to edit what I wrote the day before to get me back in the proper headspace. Then I’ll go into flow mode until I run out of time or until I run out of steam.

 

What brought you to Gayauthors?
I was originally encouraged to check out Gayauthors by a writer on Lit. That was a number of years ago. I read and enjoyed quite a few stories up here, and thought about posting here myself, but I’m usually super-busy so I never go around to it. Then recently, within the same month I think, both Cannd and metajinx, friends from Literotica, encouraged me to post here. So I finally made the time for it. I’m glad I did. I think it’s a better forum for what I write than Lit. When I put sex scenes in my novels they’re usually pretty graphic, but most of my writing is character/plot-based and the sex is just added for fun.

 

How did you come up with the title for Pierced?
I usually have a very difficult time with titles. Sometimes it’s harder for me to come up with a title than it is to write the story in the first place. I knew there was going to be some piercings in the story because that was part of the prompt. I didn’t title it until I was finished, considering and rejecting quite a few title ideas along the way. I finally settled on “Pierced by Love” but I still didn’t like it all that well—it sounded cheesy to me—but I was running out time to find another title. One of my beta readers suggested just “Pierced” and I liked it better, so that’s what I went with.

 

Did any single prompt from the Goodreads contest inspire the story or was it just a matter of fitting them all in?
I came late to the Goodreads writing party, so I tried to pick up the prompts that no one else was covering. The main prompt left was the non-con/dub-con theme; no one else wanted to touch that one. I had my doubts about it as well, not because I’m not comfortable writing with that theme, but because both the trilogy I had just finished (RoughBoys) and the novel I was working on at the time (The Valjevo Encounter) had non-con scenes in them. I would rather have done something entirely different.

 

However, I took one for the team and made that the central focus of the story. All of the other prompts were surprisingly easy to fit in. I didn’t put all of the possible prompts in, but I got most of them, hopefully without it seeming too contrived.

 

What do you think is the best part of the story?
Hmmm. I like the scene where they take a shower together. Not only was it sexy and fun to write, I think that it is a turning point for both of them. Kyle realizes that he’s capable of getting turned on and having sex again without being overwhelmed by memories of the rape, and it’s Paul’s first time ever being with another man. After he’s had the real thing he knows he will never be satisfied with just his fantasies again.

 

What are your future projects?
I’m currently finishing up Christmas in Zonei. I had originally planned to finish it for Christmas this year, but as usual my schedule got away from me. I will publish it for Christmas next year in eBook format with a cover and everything, but I’ll keep it free as gift to my fans.

 

I have quite a few ideas running around in my head for what to write next, but I am still undecided. I may do a poll on my author website to see what will draw the most interest. I suspect people will want a sequel to either The Valjevo Encounter or Christmas in Zonei or perhaps even Pierced.

 

I’m a couple of chapters into writing a historic novel—a cowboy/Indian story—that I’m having fun with. I also have a plot for a fantasy novel that is just bursting to come to life. So, yes, still undecided on what to do next. Suggestions welcome. :)

 

I can't wait for a free copy of Zonei, myself. :) Okay, so let's get to chatting! Thoughts on Pierced? J's interview? Suggestions?

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Mann Ramblings

In case I'm not here during the live portion:

 

I really enjoyed Pierced and found the characters plausible and engaging. I found myself rooting for both of the main characters as they evolved. Nice work. :)

 

In the interview you mentioned your writing/editing process. It's very straightforward and a practical lesson, I think, for all authors. Do you find that you have any peculiar methods or habits while you write that people might find odd or relate to? How do you break out of writer's block when it hits?

 

(Okay... that's really two questions.)

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jvaughn
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Thanks for the comments and questions, Mann.

 

I'm drawing a blank trying to come up with something I do while writing that is peculiar. (I've got writer's block on this, maybe?) I put myself to sleep at night dreaming up new plots, but my guess is that a lot of writers do that. 

 

Regarding writer's block, I haven't had true writer's block, where I just don't know what to write, since I was in school and was assigned some ridiculous topic to write about. Now that I decide what to write, I always have plenty of ideas and know where I want to go with my stories.

 

However, that's not to say that I can always just sit down and write. Sometimes I don't feel like writing. Some days I'll pull up my current novel and it's like pulling teeth to get a few sentences down. In which case, I usually just give myself a break. I have a very consuming day job and sometimes I'm just tired. Luckily, I'm usually ready to write again within a few days.

 

I do sometimes have trouble getting particular scenes right. I'll finish a scene and reread it and am just not happy with the result. One technique I've found that works for me in this situation is to rewrite the scene from another POV. I usually write in third person, but will tell the story from different characters' views, switching characters between scenes. (This was not the case with Pierced. Because it was so short, I stayed in Paul's head the entire time. If I write a sequel, I will do some scenes from Kyle's POV.) So, for example, in my latest chapter of Christmas in Zonei, I wrote the scene with the captain from Dr. Granger's POV and it seemed flat to me. I then rewrote it from the captain's POV and zowie! It came to life.

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K.C.

Hi, I don't know if I'll be around at blog time.  So, I'll just post this now ;) I see that you wrote this for an anthology.  I wanted to know if it had a max word count limit?  The story progressed as a nice and steady pace up until the end when it wrapped up super quick.  I didn't know if it was down to crunch time? :) It was head-spinningly fast :P

 

I really liked Kyle and Paul and would like to see more of them. Any plans for a sequel???  I wish you would have elaborated on the aftermath.  It would have been nice to seen how the rape trial changed this small college community or learn more about Paul coming out to his teammates and family.  But all in all it was a great story. :D

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Cole Matthews

I probably wont be on later either so here's my comment and question. I think you handled the nonconsensual situation with grace and grit. What i mean is you treated the characters respectfully yet dealt with it honestly.

 

 

My question is, do you think such difficult subject matter made your writing better and more deliberate? Both characters are so realistic to me. I really enjoyed the story.

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jvaughn

Hi, I don't know if I'll be around at blog time.  So, I'll just post this now ;) I see that you wrote this for an anthology.  I wanted to know if it had a max word count limit?  The story progressed as a nice and steady pace up until the end when it wrapped up super quick.  I didn't know if it was down to crunch time? :) It was head-spinningly fast :P

 

I really liked Kyle and Paul and would like to see more of them. Any plans for a sequel???  I wish you would have elaborated on the aftermath.  It would have been nice to seen how the rape trial changed this small college community or learn more about Paul coming out to his teammates and family.  But all in all it was a great story. :D

 

 

It did not have a max word-count limit, but the call was for short stories, so I was trying to keep the word count below 16,000. I didn't quite make that :) . It also had a very tight deadline, which probably added to the abruptness of the ending. 

 

I do have some ideas for a sequel. I'd like to explore Paul and Kyle's relationship more. I doubt I would get into any courtroom drama. I was thinking of having the central story line be about Paul coming out to his conservative, religious parents at Thanksgiving and their extreme reaction to it. 

 

I'm not sure how soon I will write the sequel though. I've got other competing stories in mind.

 

Thanks for some great questions.

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jvaughn

I probably wont be on later either so here's my comment and question. I think you handled the nonconsensual situation with grace and grit. What i mean is you treated the characters respectfully yet dealt with it honestly. My question is, do you think such difficult subject matter made your writing better and more deliberate? Both characters are so realistic to me. I really enjoyed the story.

Yes, I probably did take the writing a bit more seriously with the non-con subject matter than I would have with a more frivolous topic. However, most of the stuff I write is pretty gritty. I do try to write characters with realistic emotions and motivations, which is not always easy to do. And one of my favorite themes to explore is the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity -- so to set that up I need to put my characters into tough situations. 

 

Thanks for your question and comments.

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Graeme
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I've got no idea if the live blogging is now or not -- PST is too far away from here to try to work it out :P

 

One thing that struck me with the story was how 'real' the reactions of the characters were. In particular, the part with Kyle having blacked out his room. He was hiding, not wanting to see the light of day.

 

Was this something that just felt right for you, or was it something that you researched to see what sort of reactions there could be for someone in his situation?

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jvaughn

I've got no idea if the live blogging is now or not -- PST is too far away from here to try to work it out :P

 

One thing that struck me with the story was how 'real' the reactions of the characters were. In particular, the part with Kyle having blacked out his room. He was hiding, not wanting to see the light of day.

 

Was this something that just felt right for you, or was it something that you researched to see what sort of reactions there could be for someone in his situation?

The blogging starts now *grin*.

 

I just went with my gut when I came to Kyle's reactions to the rape. I didn't do any specific research for this story, although I have read accounts in the past of peoples reactions to rape and the general symptoms of PTSD.

 

I get to know my characters pretty well while I'm writing a story. I usually make up a fairly extensive back story even if it never comes out in the text, so I knew that Kyle came from a stable, loving home where he got lots of support. That held him in good stead in dealing with the aftermath of the brutal attack, but I knew there would still be tons of emotional upheaval. For Kyle that manifested itself in withdrawal and depression. So, yeah, mainly just my gut. 

 

Thanks for the thought-provoking question.

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Valkyrie
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I first read "Pierced" on your website, and then again when you posted it here.  I liked it just as much the second time I read it, and am glad to hear that you are considering a sequel.  You've already addressed any questions that I had, so I'll just say that I am glad to see you on this site.  I've enjoyed everything of yours that I've read so far - including the "Roughboys" series and all the stories on your website.  I haven't read "Christmas in Zoneii" yet, but it's on my list.  :)

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jvaughn

I first read "Pierced" on your website, and then again when you posted it here.  I liked it just as much the second time I read it, and am glad to hear that you are considering a sequel.  You've already addressed any questions that I had, so I'll just say that I am glad to see you on this site.  I've enjoyed everything of yours that I've read so far - including the "Roughboys" series and all the stories on your website.  I haven't read "Christmas in Zoneii" yet, but it's on my list.  :)

I'm delighted you like what I've written and I'm definitely enjoying posting on Gayauthors.

 

Thanks for your kind comments. 

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jvaughn

was the piercing part of the prompt that started the story?

Not the act of getting pierced. One of the scavenger hunt items to be added to the story was piercing of a specific body part other than ears. Having them go in to get pierced was just inspiration and allowed me to slip in a few more scavenger hunt items: cross-dressing, flavored lube, and a urethral sound.

The main scavenger hunt item that started the story was the theme of non-con/dub-con, which obviously ended up a central focus of the story. 

 

Thanks for the fun question.

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Robert Rex

Enjoyed Pierced, and Christmas in Zoneii is a delight.  They're obviously two different stories, one set in conemporary time, one in a future time. 

What did you do, mentally, to set the story of Zoneii in the future?  Any specific changes in your thinking required for that plot?

Pierced was great, and dealt with a tough topic.  You'd mentioned a followup to their story....is that now in the que?

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jvaughn

Enjoyed Pierced, and Christmas in Zoneii is a delight.  They're obviously two different stories, one set in conemporary time, one in a future time. 

What did you do, mentally, to set the story of Zoneii in the future?  Any specific changes in your thinking required for that plot?

Pierced was great, and dealt with a tough topic.  You'd mentioned a followup to their story....is that now in the que?

Sci-fi is one of my favorite genres, and I am particularly fascinated by dystopian worlds. It wasn't difficult to imagine the bleakness of the post-apocalyptic world. It is a bit daunting to do all that world-building. I haven't spent much time on politics or history or any of the other things that make for a rich dystopia. Although, as a reader, if political discussions go on for more than I couple paragraphs I find myself skimming, so maybe that's for the best. I was not planning on having Christmas in Zonei be centrally about the dystopia. It is mainly a love story in a dystopian setting. 

 

I have ideas for a followup to Pierced that I think would be fun to write. I have not decided where it fits in queue though. So many plots ... so little time. :)

 

Thanks for the questions and for reading. 

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