fear1980

I express emotion in my writing by putting myself into the mindset of the main character. I think about what emotional buttons would affect me the most if they were pushed, and I figure out ways to push those buttons in my writing. My characters, really, are offshoots of my own person and I try and deal with them accordingly. Hopefully, the reader identifies with this and my ideas aren't too outlandish.

Blue Sky I've been posting parts of my new story as I've written it and I'm hoping that there might be some feedback for me. It's a concept that I've wanted to write about for quite a while involving a genre of fiction that I've felt is somewhat narrow-minded in a lot of ways. My main goal is to write an inter-racial gay love story that doesn't have feelings of fetishizing or stereotyping going on. I decided to write the love interest as an Asian guy because they seem to be either objectified or ignored in many parts of the gay community. My overall aim is to explore new territory like I would any other erotic concept (celebrities, college guys, etc.) If you have any thoughts, opinions, suggestions, requests, criticisms, etc. I'd be more than happy to hear them! Hopefully, I've suceeded but feel free to let me know if I haven't.

I agree that stories should, by and large, have a happy ending. There are plenty of people out there that like a more downtrodden, noir-style ending but I just can't get into a story in retrospect if the ending is sad. On top of that, most stories that have sad or dark endings seem to be a little too "Look at this maudlin ending! Who are you not to cry?!" self-aware. Topics like one lover dying or killing themself due to savage, horrible, mean, wrong, awful homophobia or two star crossed lovers killing themselves together in a Romeo and Juliet style tragedy are, forgive me for saying so, but played out. In my opinion at least. It's very true that sometimes you get what you want. I find stories that, while they have elements of realism (homophobia, non-understanding parents, relationship squabbles) but ultimately are pretty optimistic about the idea of two guys in love are much more enjoyable to read.

The big three traits that I look for in a story: 1) Appealing names. In my opinion, names that are "too pretty" or "too beautiful" are often just as distracting as names that are too old fashioned or whatnot. I'm talking about names like Skye, Tallon, Iylwain, Harrix, Wreith, etc. and all the weird spellings that manage to get created. Speaking only for myself here, these names are just too goofy for my tastes and they distract me from the the story. I'd rather have a nice, easy name like Kyle, Alex, Robert, Jamie, Josh, etc. 2) Contractions. Some stories have lines like: "I could not imagine pain like that," Jesse said. Abbreviating phrases like can't, couldn't, won't, don't, haven't, didn't, etc. can make a big difference in the believability of the story. If it's in a high-tension moment, then I understand but otherwise, it doesn't hit the eye quite right. 3) Skin quality. Again, this is just me, but in a story when the narrator specifically tells me that the main love interest has flawless skin or pefect skin, I get a little thrown off. Nice skin can definitely be a big deal with a guy but if I'm going to feel affection and real interest for a character, I need a little hint that the narrator loves him regardless of physical perfection. It's minor but this mention of a specific type of perfection seems a bit materialistic for my tastes. Not mentioning the skin quality is an acceptable omission, IMO.

I find a certain amount of realism to be more erotic than any 10" erection or perfect blond guy with blue eyes and an amazing tan. I'd rather read about more normal, identifiable gay guys who might not be supermodels, but definitely have their own uniquely attractive qualities. I try to express this in my stories by exploring more off-beat plots and whatnot.

I'm currently posting my "stereotype busting" story on the Comicality Library. It's been interesting to write and I've had a good time researching the different cultural aspects that go into it. I'm still trying to come up with a good, effective title so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. Chapter One - Chapter Two

My main point was that to many members of the white gay community, the Asians are treated as a non-entity. It's not BAD to find an Asian guy sexy but it's certainly not treated as being as acceptable as other attractions. In my experiences, you get a group of white gay men together and they talk about celebrities they find hot, it goes a lot like this: Guy #1: Yeah man, that Brad Pitt is a fox! He has such sexy eyes! Guy #2: Pshhhh, Brad Pitt is nothing compared to Shane West! Yummy! Guy #3: Those guys are hot but I like Ichiro Suzuki. I don't normally like baseball players but man, he's got a great ass! [silence except for crickets chirping] Guy #1: Uhhh.. yeah, he's okay I guess... Guy #2: If you're into that kind of thing. And scene. Too much of the time, the reaction for a gay guy to find an Asian man attractive is to look at it similar to finding Cindy Crawford or Rebecca Romijin Stamos hot. It's not looked upon with distaste necessarily but it's looked at as something weird. I'd like to read more stories that feature an Asian-White interracial couple but without the fetish. Hopefully if more people that see the attractiveness in people of different races on a purely physical level write romance stories about it, this sort of reaction will become less prevalent. I agree that the minority anti-gay sentiment isn't helped by this sort of majority distaste towards their gay population. A few years ago in The Stranger, Dan Savage took a letter from a young gay college student who would flirt with guys and they would talk for a while, but when he said he was Asian, they'd lose interest. I don't know if this is an ingrown biological trait but I've seen way too many happy, healthy, and fulfilling interracial relationships to really believe so. In closing, I personally am attracted to certain physical traits that Asian men possess but I don't enjoy or believe the stereotypes. My stories are really the way I can try and change the tide and I will definitely do my best.

I'm currently writing a story with an Asian male love interest. There are very few stories about two men, one being white and the other being Asian, that don't have traces of that "mmmm boyishly smooth asian butts turn me on!!!!11" rice queen fetish. This was inspired by a guy at my gym that is sexy, nice, smart, funny, and everything one would want but at the same time, of Asian ancestry. That whole "all the Orientals look the same" feeling in the gay community has bugged me for quite a while.

My writing works best when I'm writing what I know, and that usually deals with main characters that have been made tough before their time. They've learned to close off their emotions and treat people with sort of an aloof sarcasm and a healthy distance. Most of my stories are based around this concept, and they all have the theme of a formerly isolated person eventually letting that one special person in. To get the maximum emotional impact and connection with the reader, the real climax of my story is when the main character lets the other person in and shows who they really are. Bringing some honest emotion to a character that hasn't shown anything like that is a big contrast and it stands out immediately. I find that the reader can relate to the opening up and the letting down of the guard. Judging from the e-mails I've gotten, they really like the way that I portray this theme in my stories. Stephen King, my favorite author, does a great job of portraying that inner awakening where a person discovers a part of themself they didn't know existed. I admire that quality quite a bit and try to put my own spin on that internal conflict. Another of my favorite authors, John Steinbeck, also managed to connect his characters to a greater emotional or spiritual awakening, something I try to do with the main character connecting with their sexuality.

Hi, my name is Reid and I'm 23 from Seattle, Washington. I'm a fairly prolific writer on Nifty.org (some of my stories are X-Factor, Heat, & Commodus) and I'm also a fan of Comicality and his great stories!