Do authors even think when they check the boxes? These are actual stories...
True - Story about a guy who has a horse rape a girl. If that was true we should call the cops.
Teenagers, Consensual, Drunk/Drugged
Consensual, NonConsensual
Romantic, NonConsensual, Rape, Coercion
I'll give you the first one, but as long as the contradicting tags are not all about one sex scene/situation I see no problem with them being used in one story.
Example (one of the classics here): Dance of a Lifetime
Ma/Fa, mt/ft, mt/Fa, Ma/Ma, Mult, Teenagers, Consensual, Romantic, Rape, First, Safe Sex, Oral Sex, Anal Sex, Petting, Cream Pie, Slow, Violent
Male MC gets raped and has consensual sex
Several female characters are in abusive relationships and later have consensual sex
the contradicting tags are not all about one sex scene/situation
Just thinking about my own story on here. Some of the tages I've checked are:
Consensual, Rape, Romantic, Lesbian, BiSexual, Heterosexual, Were animal, Zombies, Incest, Mother, Daughter, Group Sex, Orgy, Masturbation, Sex Toys, Nudism, Politics, Royalty, Violent
And at various points in the story, they all apply, just not all at the same time.
True - Story about a guy who has a horse rape a girl. If that was true we should call the cops.
Assuming for the sake of argument that it is in fact a true story.
1. The author isn't necessarily the guy who has the horse rape the girl. It could be anyone who knows about what happened, including the victim.
2. We don't know that the rapist wasn't prosecuted and isn't already in prison.
That said, I agree that it's a somewhat implausible story.
Romantic, NonConsensual, Rape, Coercion
Man seeks revenge. Blackmails the wife of the man he's seeking revenge on. Coerces her to have sex with him to humiliate the husband before killing him. Falls in love with her. She learns why he's doing what he's doing and falls in love with him.
I didn't just make that up. It's a major part of my novel.
Keep in mind, "True" is rarely used to describe autobiographical stories (at least on SOL). Instead, the tag often denotes the writing style, written "as if" it were true, rather than writing about true events. That's why I'll rarely read any story on SOL with a "TRUE" tag, because I've been bitten by it so much, I'm gunshy about the tag.
Did you tear a page out of your dictionary one day when in desperate need of some toilet paper? :)
Gun-shy, Gung-ho ...
the tag often denotes the writing style, written "as if" it were true
Based on your comment: What is the difference between Fiction that is written as if it were True, and True Story being make-believe facts that are written as if they were True?
According to the Code Definitions:
Fiction - Fictitious story, not true
True Story - A true story, according to the author.
What the definition of True Story means to me is: 1) the story may be totally or partially true and based on a true event or 2) the story is a total fabrication that the author is falsely claiming as true. Personally, I consider 2) to be an inappropriate use of the tag, and the author should use Fiction or another more appropriate tag. However, each to his own.
"the tag often denotes the writing style, written "as if" it were true, rather than writing about true events"
As somebody who's listed a couple of stories as true (and regretted it, incidentally) I have to say, sometimes these things are BASED in truth. A certain amount of embellishment comes with the territory for several reasons. To hide identities (hey, this sounds like so-and-so up the street), to fill in the blanks (my stories tend to contain graphic sex descriptions, can anybody say they remember everything that's said or done during intercourse? I can't. Sometimes you have to take liberties just to make it coherent.), and just to make it more interesting (No, women do not have multiple orgasms or even single orgasms every time they have sex. But it's fun to think we do.). I can't speak for anyone else, but if the story is 75% true, I do think it's true enough unless your trying to pass out factual information as opposed to telling a story.
but if the story is 75% true, I do think it's true enough
I think the Hollywood criterion is more like 10%.
AJ
I think the Hollywood criterion is more like 10%.
You're thinking of movies based on popular novels, in which case, you're lucky is 10% is actually from the book. More often, they'll take the title of a famous book, write a completely different story, and try to pass it off as the real thing.
The family involved in the actions the play/movie "The Sound of Music" refused to have anything to do with the movie, and insisted their entire lives it didn't reflect anything they experienced and recommended no one waste their time with the film (I used to ski at their Swiss Chalet in the northeast U.S.).
You're thinking of movies based on popular novels,
No I'm thinking of US WW2 movies or 'Braveheart' or 'The Patriot' etc.
AJ
No I'm thinking of US WW2 movies or 'Braveheart' or 'The Patriot' etc.
Sorry, I was teasing. I would have added a smiley, but thought my teasing was obvious. I guess nothing is obvious without smileys nowadays. :(
Sorry, that went completely over my head. Although not the scenarios I was thinking of, I actually agreed with your comments so I thought they were serious. :(
AJ
As somebody who's listed a couple of stories as true (and regretted it, incidentally) I have to say, sometimes these things are BASED in truth.
Stories based on the truth are fine, but that in no way makes them "True" stories. Once you invent anything about them, including invented dialogue, it becomes a work of fiction.
But I wasn't targeting you, instead I recall MANY stories where someone writes a completely fictional tale, told in 1st person, where the protagonist says "You'll never believe me, but this "REALLY IS TRUE" and then goes on to weave a tale with no basis in reality, and then labels it as a "True" story merely because that's a plot element. That's why I will never read another "True" story on SOL, because I've encountered too many of these stupid deceptions and no longer believe the tag.
To put it in simple terms: a true story is, by definition, a story which actually happened. Whether it's based on something real or not, when you add fictional elements, it become fiction, rather than non-fiction.
I really didn't think you were targeting me, I'm not that egotistical. And your point is certainly valid. I was just trying to point out there's a lot of hyperbole involved in an otherwise true story. You wouldn't list a story as fiction because it contained things like "he was mad as a hatter" or "I was starved to death". But, since I've long ago decided that listing sex stories as true is a mistake, the whole point is academic.
I tend to avoid those stories as a waste of my reading time.
You don't spend your time glued to reality TV shows? You rebel!
AJ
I tend to watch shows where they use the skills our ancestors used. I like "Alaska: The last frontier" because I have relatives who are farmers and can relate to the skills and work load required for their lifestyle. I also like a few similar shows but I am more likely to read a story than to watch TV even with those shows, so I miss a lot of them.
quote:
You don't spend your time glued to reality TV shows? You rebel!
end quote:
I don't really care for those so-called survival shows. Although I do enjoy frontier type shows which show people using the skills or variations of them of the settlers of the country used. I like the way they stress how much knowledge and skill are required along with hard work.
I don't really care for those so-called survival shows.
My daughter used to watch Survivor; I saw a bit from time to time.
The show supposedly dropped the contestants into a "dangerous" environment with little to no support. At least that is what the advertising wanted the viewer to believe.
It seemed to me the title "Survivor" was not about surviving environment the show was filmed in as it was about surviving the backstabbing and political environment of the competitors.
I enjoy watching skilled craftsmen or similar people working at their trade or craft. That applies even to the skills which are not common any more, but were very important in the past.
I know what you mean. I get a lot of pleasure watching demos of wood turning and glass blowing.
I get a lot of pleasure watching demos of wood turning and glass blowing.
If you're physically able (don't know, lots of people on here aren't) then I suggest actually getting a small wood lathe and then get a lot of pleasure from actually DOING wood turning.
Granted, you're going to find it's not just the lathe (Jet makes a nice small one). You'll need good tools (I use Sorby) and a good slow speed sharpener (Tormek), and some other things (safety gear - face shield, dust collector system, etc). That way you can make hand made pens that should go for $50 each that no one wants to pay more than $10 for...
Glass blowing is also fun. Took a couple classes in that - just small stuff, not the big, artisan things. (We have a pizza place here that also does glass blowing on site - very neat to watch.)
hand made pens that should go for $50
How much should a hand-made wooden penis go for?
(Sorry, but this is a sex story site, or so it's claimed.)
AJ
Heck AJ, this site has a little bit of everything available. The wide range of topics and themes which has to have affected the growth of the site. A little something for everyone.
How much should a hand-made wooden penis go for?
Very little, the idea of wood splinters is not attractive. Maybe for a torture site?
the idea of wood splinters is not attractive
What if the surface is sanded and lacquered?
What if the surface is sanded and lacquered?
Hey, hand me a hardy handcrafted penis and I'll lacquer any available surface, be it sanded or not!
the idea of wood splinters is not attractive
Actually - when you have properly finished the piece, you wouldn't have to worry about wood splinters at all.
And on Etsy, they're going for between $50 - $300, actually.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/264914115/woody-wood-pecker-mature-penis-woody?ref=related-5
Glass blowing is also fun. Took a couple classes in that - just small stuff, not the big, artisan things. (We have a pizza place here that also does glass blowing on site - very neat to watch.)
Back in the days before "'elf & safty" in physics and chemistry classes we had to make some of our own equipment such as glass condensers from plain glass tube. (They did supply test tubes and flasks). That was just a small part of the chemistry lesson.
The basic concept was that we were given a project such as "find the surface tension of distilled water". OK so you are going to pull a bit of glass up and note the tension required for it to break free. Next, for the calculation, you need the length of the two side plus the ends but the four corners cause an error. I simply took a bit of metal (ISTR it was copper) and made a ring, soldering the ends together - first time the teacher had seen that solution but it was the 16 year old pupils who had to design and build the apparatus
I know what you mean. I get a lot of pleasure watching demos of wood turning and glass blowing.
Gee, I wonder why there are no shows depicting authors struggling over which word to use, or redlining their work, or rewriting the same chapter three separate times before decide on a different beginning.
There's something reassuring about the 'measure twice, cut once' philosophy that doesn't apply to the wordsmith's 'keep changing it until it finally fits' metaphor.
I wonder why there are no shows depicting authors struggling over which word to use, or redlining their work, or rewriting the same chapter three separate times before decide on a different beginning.
I've seen that quite a few times but it's usually just a plot artifice to explain why the character has lots of spare time.
Wasn't there a Stephen King (TV?) film in which the struggling writer suddenly produced a masterpiece, but it subsequently turned out he had stolen it?
AJ
Wasn't there a Stephen King (TV?) film in which the struggling writer suddenly produced a masterpiece, but it subsequently turned out he had stolen it?
Alex Haley and Roots?
bb
Gee, I wonder why there are no shows depicting authors struggling over which word to use, or redlining their work, or rewriting the same chapter three separate times before decide on a different beginning.
It was a small but essential plot point in Shakespeare in Love, to explain how "Ethel the Pirate's Daughter" (or something like that) turned into "Romeo and Juliet."
bb
surviving the backstabbing and political environment of the competitors.
read an article about that series, they had more safety and security people on site to see no one got hurt, than they had film crew staff, and that was three times bigger than the group you saw in the show. It was less real to life than a fairy tale.
It was less real to life than a fairy tale.
Sounds like my definition of Reality TV.
It was less real to life than a fairy tale.
I've always preferred the darker side of fairy tales, where one of the ingrateful kids ends up being eaten!
ingrateful kids
If your fireplace grate is too full because the kid is larger than you expected, you need to get a bigger grate.
If your fireplace grate is too full because the kid is larger than you expected, you need to get a bigger grate.
That would be "outer-grate kid", as opposed to the rest of the "ingrateful" lot. (Which differs from the spitful ones.)
I've always preferred the darker side of fairy tales, where one of the ingrateful kids ends up being eaten!
I prefer the ones like when the grandmother is eaten by the wolf and then when Little Red Riding Hood asked her how it felt, her grandmother told her she had to try it and invited the wolf over for a three-way.
It seemed to me the title "Survivor" was not about surviving environment
I'd watch Survivor every week if they'd drop the contestants into the mountainous border region of Afghanistan. That would be worth watching!
That would be worth watching!
Yeah, that would be a survival situation.
Of course that assumes you could find enough idiots to participate (probably not that hard to do) and a film and support crew stupid enough to go.
I tend to watch shows where they use the skills our ancestors used.
Many of my ancestors (my immediate family, at least) were northern intelligentsia, so I like shows that reflect well-crafted writing and insightful dialogue (even in comedies) rather than 'reality shows' about people who can't figure out which foot to stick in the bear trap. People who can't figure out it's cold in Alaska during the winter aren't much better!
Way back when I was in high school, I took Woodshop. It was my first time on a wood lathe. When I came across the turning demos, I went out and bought myself a mini-lathe plus tools and safety gear.
Tools are rather expensive and I wanted some for special functions such as beading, so I started making my own tools.
If tags are meant to warn readers about stories that may make their stomach churn, I've found one that should be added ... religion!
If tags are meant to warn readers about stories that may make their stomach churn, I've found one that should be added ... religion!
With all the unhappiness in the world, I've found it best to announce that my stories will make everyone happy, so I've started labeling them all "gay". 'D
Personally I have come to believe that Hollywood's version of "based on a true story" is similar to the story Marco creates in the Dr Seuss book
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
The big difference is that they actually tell the story created mostly in in someone's imagination instead of what actually happened.
The big difference is that they actually tell the story created mostly in in someone's imagination instead of what actually happened.
Film biographies have always been ... questionable at best, but the 'based on a true story' genre means someone glanced at a headline, got a great idea for a rip-off story taking advantage of the subject's notoriety, and creates everything off the top of their head.
The best of the genre were the old (original) "Law & Order" series, the worst aren't even worth using to tape over "Judge Judy" episodes. :(
Film biographies have always been ... questionable at best, but the 'based on a true story' genre means someone glanced at a headline, got a great idea for a rip-off story taking advantage of the subject's notoriety, and creates everything off the top of their head.
From what I understand, the Desmond Doss biography is mostly correct. Some of the non-combat stuff was exaggerated or made up, but apparently all the combat stuff was pretty much right on, including the grenade incident.
Hacksaw Ridge, for those of you wondering what movie I'm referencing.
