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Author page/Catalog of available titles: http://excessica.com/store/catalog/index.php?manufacturers_id=56&osCsid=8a21a383e69701219767b6533b0bf219
Experimenting in Writing
Being innately curious once I became a published author I felt a compulsion to experiment in order to expand my horizons and add new dimensions to my work. My earliest experiments dealt with Point of View (POV) and tense. I tried omniscient narrator in both past and present tense (I’ve not attempted future yet) as well as first person participant in both time frames. I discovered a problem with setting a story in the present. Inevitable I’d lapse into past tense. This is the case whether writing in the first or third person.
A very unsuccessful experiment – at least according to the bar charts provided for reader comments by some distributors – was alternating characters narrating the story [Missing Aaron]. The work was divided into sections with first Dirk relating events from his perspective then Zeke picking up the tale. The final product often covered the same time period from two different angles. I liked the result but, as I said, readers didn’t.
Another experiment involved writing in an historical setting. The entire Frontier Brothers series is set around the American Civil War period and involved a family of characters. My initial challenge to myself was to write an erotic gay story without using the words “cock” and “balls.” I gravitated to an historical setting which facilitated achieving that goal. The first story (Soaring with a Hawk) introduced several characters who took over my brain and forced me to write three sequels (Missing Aaron, Seeking Zeke and Starting Over).
Real boons to experimentation are the eXcessica anthologies. Each year I select one of the themes dreamed up by our founder, Selena Kitt, and stretch myself to provide a story for the volume. In that vein I’ve done science fiction with erotic gay characters (Universal Relations in Stuck on You); a satanic seduction for all sexes – male, female, shemale and demonic (Samhain in Four Seasons: Autumn 2009); and a gay fantasy tale (Dragonflies) to be in an anthology (Strange Love) due in October next year.
A recent story (Irish Punk) released two days ago on November 5, 2010 does not reflect an experiment but is a perfect example of how I write a story. The main character Tim is based on a young man in front of me in line at a sub shop at lunch break. I was taken by how his red hair, pug nose and belligerent attitude conflicted with the bank teller uniform he wore. All the way back to the office my mind went into overdrive devising how to meet the kid and what happens after we meet. Other characters popped into my mind - his older State Trooper brother and his colleagues. Somehow I focused on the suppressed hostility between the brothers and let it play out sadistically. It is one of the easiest stories to write that I’ve published – almost writing itself.
Other areas I might explore include a story from the female POV, a longer work set in the Middle Ages which has been percolating in my mind for decades, and a purely cerebral work in which the protagonists imagine sex with each other but never consummate the act. I enjoy writing and expect to be experimenting and fantasizing for years to come.
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**Kenn has a free read available at ARE, HAPPY NEW YEAR that you can go check out.
****CONTEST****
This week there will be two winners. In your comment to Kenn please let me know whether you would rather win Meet the Baumgartners by Selena Kitt or Slave to Shadows by Gavin Atlas
at the end of the week I will draw two names, one for each title, from everyone who leaves comments :)
click on the titles to read the blurb
Please don't forget to leave an email addy so you can be contacted if you are a winner
click on the titles to read the blurb
Please don't forget to leave an email addy so you can be contacted if you are a winner






As an author, Kenn, it never hurts to experiment with writing. Stretching one's boundaries is a good thing, not only that you may find something new that you do like even if the public doesn't care for it.
ReplyDeleteSince I've already read Gavin's wonderful story, I guess I'll go for Selena's! :D
dakotatrace@gmail.com
Thanks. I agree it's good to stretch personal boundaries; but it doesn't feel good when readers reject wht you think is a great idea. Kenn
ReplyDeleteI know asking about favorite stories is kind of like asking to pick a favorite child, but is there a story of yours that you feel proudest of or that you've received the most positive feedback?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSo far my favorite review is for "Skateboarders". The reviewer grasped what I was trying to do with the grittiness and street wise boiz. A couple of the short stories in "Subtropics: Hustlers, Students and Juicy Fruits" stand out for me - especially "Playing with Hustlers" and "The Stranded Twink" for very different reasons. The first was an experiment with BDSM while the second was a classic example of seeing a situation and writing about it, letting my imagination run wild. My most favorite story, "Irish Punk" was only released yesterday so I don't have any reader/reviewer reaction yet. It's an example of letting a situation play out, some BDSM and an exploration of brotherly love/hate. Kenn
ReplyDeleteKenn, I love how you came up witht he idea for Irish Punk. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks. I often have something concrete in my stories - a person, place or event that actually happened. South Florida has many of these to serve as springboards for my imagination. Kenn
ReplyDeleteHi Ken - great post.
ReplyDeleteWhat's your next experiment now that Irish Punk has been released?
Great post Kenn! I love to glimpse into a writer's life. Samhain was one of my Halloween reads. I'd say you found some boundaries to push with that one. I thought it was perfectly disturbing and with your usual flair -- full of lusty men. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read your Civil war historicals, but I enjoy reading stories from that era. I'm going to check them out. Are they also with eXcessica?
And hey Gavin, I loved Slave to Shadows. (also loved your story in How the West was Done) I haven't read Selena's story, but if it's anything like her other work, I know I'd enjoy it.
KyAnn
Thanks, KyAnn! If you enjoy the boundaries pushing aspect, then I think you'll love Kenn's writing. He writes exciting stuff!
ReplyDeleteWow some of you stayed up late! In answer to some questions:
ReplyDeleteI'm experimenting with a yacht-based story and am doing a little research now. Last week was the Boat Show in Fort Lauderdale.
My Civil War stories are with Excessica. The first, Soaring with a Hawk, takes place before the war. I wrote it as a stand alone story but the family refused to let go of my brain. The very last one, Starting Over, begins in a battlefield and is the only one that mentions the war. The intervening two focus on the growth of the West.
Thanks to all of you who took the time to write a comment and to the hundreds who, I'm sure, just read the blog! Kenn