underthehoodster

I don't remember if I first discovered it at Nifty or not, but reading New Kid In School inspired me to write and ultimately start posting Perry and Jesse. It has opened a whole world to me, and I am very grateful to Comicality for that. underthehoodster

I've been writing Perry and Jesse for well over a year now, and because it is told in the first person, it is largely propelled by dialogue. The main characters have well defined personalities. That doesn't mean they're always predictable, just that when they feel, say, or do something, it comes from a consistent place. In some ways, the characters have become so real that they seem to motivate their own actions more than I do. They compell me to follow certain plot lines and certain character interactions. This follows through with their dialogue. It comes naturally from their feelings and internal thoughts. I tend to use a lot of stammering and 'inert' sounds to convey confusion and hesitation...well...uh...like...er... I do read the dialogue aloud to myself to see if it has a natural flow. Some of the characters have obvious little turns of phrase. Some use more vulgarity than others. There is a difference between males and females, older and younger people. Most of my characters are young and I do listen to the way kids talk (including my own). That doesn't always work for the story, but I at least try to suggest it. If I really transcribed the way kids talk these days, every other word would be 'like'!

This particular topic is particularly timely for me, since I am about to enter uncharted (for me) territory in my story, Perry and Jesse. I will be touching on the theme of teen suicide for the first time. It was always my intention that P&J be a long, episodic, serialized piece of writing, conveying a number of different moods, through a number of different types of stories and a large cast of supporting characters. I knew since the get go that one of my main characters has dealt directly with this painful subject in his past, and the time is coming to finally give a full explanation to my patient, but very curious readers who have been following the story for over a year now. I have chosen, thus far to avoid any grisly details or blow by blow descriptions, and I do spend a good deal of time having the characters discuss how they feel about these events. I know that this is a crucial part of the story, but I do want to be sensitive to those that might find this a very touchy, or even personal subject. One thing I have thought of doing is putting a warning at the beginning of any chapter that has more than a passing reference to the subject. I was also thinking of including a link at the end of those chapters that would give people who need help a place to go. For example, I could put in a link to the teenage resources page here at gayauthors.org. While I have been blessed with an extremely devoted and gregarious readership, I do know that many people turn to these gay romance stories as a place to find hope when perhaps their own lives are not working out so well, or to imagine how things could have been different, or to make any number of other very personal connections. Still, I have always told myself--and those that ask--that I am writing the story for myself, and if that is the case, then this is one place that I must go. It simply makes dramatic sense. If anyone has any thoughts, particularly pertaining to the posting of warnings and weblinks, please let me know, either by responding here, or by email: underthehoodster@netscape.net

This is my first contribution to your forum. I only have a single story on the net. It's called Perry and Jesse and is posted at Nifty in the high school section. I have been posting for about a year now. I don't know about other authors, but I write my story completely in secret from anyone in my 'real' life. The feedback I get through emails and my livejournal forum have not only been a great source of encouragement in the continuing of the story, but have also opened a whole world to me I never knew existed. I have heard from readers from ages thirteen to seventy six--yes, one guy has been sharing with me his youthful sexual experiences from WWII! Most are gay, some bi-, some are like myself: bi-curious. it seems that I have heard from every corner of the globe from Canada to Australia, to India, South Korea, Portugal, Iceland, Denmark and even Singapore. I very much enjoy getting into long continuing correspondences, and learning about peoples' lives in these different parts of the world, especially in regards to how homosexuality is perceived and tolerated (or not tolerated). Being a Christian myself, it has been especially disappointing to come to the realization that religion is one of the chief culprits in keeping gays from being able to walk freely and proudly in society. I have heard from many Nifty writers who are fans of my story, and feel bad that I rarely have time to reciprocate. Whatever time I have available for this secret part of my life, is mostly taken up in working on my story and corresponding with its readers. I have also received many pieces of writing from individuals through email. I have even managed to encourage a few guys to post their own stories at Nifty or elsewhere, in turn opening whole new worlds up to them. As far as how feedback affects my actual writing, it has very little influence on the plot. I write well in advance of what I post, so anything that the readers see has been in at least rough draft form for anywhere from three to four months. On the other hand, it is great fun to read all the various specualtions about what's going to happen next--even if they're almost always wrong! To sum up, the feedback I have received from posting my story on the internet has enriched my life in ways I never would have imagined. I have never received a flame, but do occasionally get criticised for various plot twists or character motivations. I don't mind it as long as the criticism is constructive. I want to add that the reason I even began writing Perry and Jesse, and finally got the nerve to post it was because I was so taken with the stories of Comicality. I had never read stories like his before, with so much romance and passion (and sex!), and if he reads this post, I want him to know that he inspired me to take a huge chance by posting a homoerotic story on the internet. It has turned out to be one of the most gratifying experiences of my entire life.