Writing a fictional story that feels like a real story

[Beaumains]

During my time on this site, I have read countless real and fictional stories. But somehow, they feel completely different. It could be just knowing the category of a story, but I think that there are differences in their writing that make a "real story" feel more real.

For example, real stories are often shorter, have far less far-fetched plots, and have a first-person perspective.

More subtly, real stories often start matter-of-fact with background details, an introduction to the characters (appearance, age, reason for knowing someone, reason for being anywhere), or an excuse directly aimed at the reader (so breaking the 4th wall). Meanwhile, fictional stories jump quickly into action and weave in the details and background in the body of the story.

If you would write a fictional story to make it feel like a "real story" what little or big things would you do to make it feel more "real" while keeping it well-written?

[tiedinbluetights]

That's an interesting question @Beaumains, as I have recently been asking myself the somewhat opposite of that question as to how to make fictional stories feel clearly less real and not to be mimicked in real life. But that would have to be a different thread.

I believe that it is actually all to easy to have "verisimilitude" in a fictional story. Using real place names, making references to real events in time that are external to the story, keeping an accurate sense of how much time would actually elapse if the fictional events actually took place, are the first things that come to mind.

Keeping an accurate chronology, not necessarily explicitly stated (I doubt readers want a clock shoved in their faces every paragraph), but kept in mind by the writer, seems to be the most difficult to me, but would go a long way to create the verisimilitude you are asking about for fictional stories.

The emotional responses of the characters based on the situations would also need to feel plausible. For example, members of a hotel cleaning staff are highly unlikely to be amused or curious, and become willing participants in a self-bound client's shenanigans; these days, they never work or enter a room alone either (the fantasy of being discovered by a lone maid, at the end of her shift, who then willingly tops the self-bound client). It would be very challenging, but not impossible to turn that fantasy into a more apparently real story, while hopefully maintaining that it is still fictional. Is there some prior personal history between the client and the hotel staff? What is that history?

Just my two cents, as they used to say.

[copperfox]

I’m not a writer (just love to read everyone’s stories here)…but I can at least provide my thoughts from that perspective.

I like understanding exactly what thoughts and emotions are going through a character’s mind as the story/game/adventure unfolds. There are probably a few different ways of providing the reader this kind of information—whether that’s actual internal monologue, or just a description of the captive’s/captor’s feelings as events are occurring.

How do you (or the captive/captor) feel prior to be being tied up—nervous or apprehensive, excited, maybe a bit of both? What about while tied up—calm and relaxed, safe, energetic, panicked, adventurous? And, lastly…how do you feel after being released—tired/exhausted, sore, happy, sad to see the TUG end?

For me—the more I know these kinds of details…the better I’m able to relate to exactly what they’re going through. If I’m able to personally relate to a character from an emotional/mental perspective (at least to some extent)—the more “real” the story will feel to me.

@tiedinbluetights mentioned another significant point regarding the plausibility of characters’ actions and responses. While I think we all love reading stories of “self bondage gone wrong…then gone right” (as in the maid example)—those are situations which clearly scream “fiction” to me (…or should, seeing as how associated events can range from being highly inappropriate to extremely illegal).

On another note—works of fiction often involve a character being tightly tied up (e.g., hogtied) and gagged for long period of time. There are countless stories of captives being bound and gagged for hours on end, and even being left tied overnight. While this is a lot of fun to think, dream, and read about (of course!)—for me…this detracts quite a bit from the realism/plausibility of the situation. Tied up by friends and then left to struggle for a hour? Okay, got it…that’s realistic. Hogtied and gagged while friends went out for a few hours? Not as realistic…and definitely not something that’s safe or that I want to portray as being a real event. Everyone’s tolerances vary—from physical, safety, and mental/emotional perspectives—so there really isn’t a “hard line” that can be made here. Just another point to consider when authoring a “real” story.

[Beaumains]

Thanks for taking the times to write these detailed replies, guys!

I think a lot of the advice given is more general writing advice than aimed at capturing the spirit of "true stories" on this website. For example, describing emotions well is very hard, and I think that most "true stories" do not do that more than the fictional stories on this site. It is still solid advice to be very aware of your character's emotions and describe their journey, but that holds for fictional stories as well (and is one of the hardest things to pull off).

I believe that it is actually all to easy to have "verisimilitude" in a fictional story

Yeah, this is very important. Being ultra precise and detailed orientated makes a story feel real (but you should not overdo this). Just saying it is in a specific place grounds it in reality and therefore make it seem more real. Being able to name the few things that exactly pinpoint the "vibe" of a person/place/situation is an artform by itself. Using real places (and naming them!) often helps as well, but you have to be aware of all the pecularities of them. Slackywacky does this a lot in "the hitchhiker".

The scenario about the hotel staff is also what differs "true stories" from "fictional stories": they are just unrealistic fantasies. Most true stories are tiny scenarios with a few close, consenting friends that would not surprise anyone. Most people do not want to hurt others or commit crimes (or at least not do to the time) for a sexual thrill.

[Arkane]

If you would write a fictional story to make it feel like a "real story" what little or big things would you do to make it feel more "real" while keeping it well-written?

I would keep improbable feats out (like people being bound overnight and strenuous ties unless there's a reason for that). I would use first person POV, including only the narrator's feelings in the story, exploring the others' people minds only as expressed by themselves or perceived by the narrator.

Also, the incredible ease with which some characters find a partner who loves bondage seems cheesy. Some stories have this problem.

[Ovi1]

I think the biggest difference is indeed the fact that true stories are nearly always written in the first person.

It is very hard to write a pov story as a fictional story in the same way, since you have to come up with other characters' actions and feelings anyway. It is very hard to resist the urge to not describe them, while a person describing an experience usually doesn't have that urge at all. Even if they describe others' thoughts and/or actions, the phrasing is always extremely passive:
Ie "they probably went to kitchen or something" vs "they went into the kitchen to fetch a spatula"
Or "they later told me that this was when their shoulders started to cramp up" vs "his/her shoulders cramped up a bit but they chose (not) to use the safeword."

Most true stories also have, at the start or at some point during the story, something I will now call a 'dishonesty clause'. Usually either "it happened x time ago, some details might be foggy" or "I had to change the details for privacy reasons". That last one is usually along with the character descriptions, between brackets, right next to the name.

Btw There must be a correct English name for that last one but I am too Dutch and too tired to come up with it.

There must be many other reasons for the difference in writing style, but these are the main ones I can come up with.
Thanks beaumains for putting this question forward and everyone else for your thoughts.

[slackywacky]

Using real places (and naming them!) often helps as well, but you have to be aware of all the peculiarities of them. Slackywacky does this a lot in "the hitchhiker".

Thanks for mentioning me, always appreciated. I used some of the things mentioned in previous replies on purpose in that story.

Using existing locations - check
Using first person - check
Realistic bondage - check

But I also use:

(Unrealistic) long bondages - check
Unsafe situations - check

But then, I always say this is a fictional story.

I agree that lots of 'real' stories do not sound real at all. Possibly because of the content being over the top or mistakes between different parts of the story. I have posted both real and fake stories (the real ones being the ones about my own experiences) so I have been on both sides of the fence. If your story is fake (even if it sounds real), say so. It will not diminish the quality of what you wrote. I rather read a good fictional story than one that is fictional (and noticeably so) but posted as 'real'.

However, the most important part is that we keep writing.

[Beaumains]

If your story is fake (even if it sounds real), say so. It will not diminish the quality of what you wrote. I rather read a good fictional story than one that is fictional (and noticeably so) but posted as 'real'.

Of course it is not my intention to deceive anyone (;. It is more an exercise of how to suspend a reader's disbelief.

If you would write a fictional story to make it feel like a "real story" what little or big things would you do to make it feel more "real" while keeping it well-written?

I would keep improbable feats out (like people being bound overnight and strenuous ties unless there's a reason for that). I would use first person POV, including only the narrator's feelings in the story, exploring the others' people minds only as expressed by themselves or perceived by the narrator.

Also, the incredible ease with which some characters find a partner who loves bondage seems cheesy. Some stories have this problem.

These are all great. Thanks!

It is very hard to write a pov story as a fictional story in the same way, since you have to come up with other characters' actions and feelings anyway. It is very hard to resist the urge to not describe them, while a person describing an experience usually doesn't have that urge at all. Even if they describe others' thoughts and/or actions, the phrasing is always extremely passive:
Ie "they probably went to kitchen or something" vs "they went into the kitchen to fetch a spatula"
Or "they later told me that this was when their shoulders started to cramp up" vs "his/her shoulders cramped up a bit but they chose (not) to use the safeword."

Yeah, this is true! Your examples are maybe a bit too passive even for a "true story" but I understand what you are saying.

Most true stories also have, at the start or at some point during the story, something I will now call a 'dishonesty clause'. Usually either "it happened x time ago, some details might be foggy" or "I had to change the details for privacy reasons". That last one is usually along with the character descriptions, between brackets, right next to the name.

I think the word you are looking for is disclaimer. Yeah, they are helpful too make a story feel like a "real story", but I doubt that they are always at the start or end. I would call it "breaking the fourth wall". Even in the middle of a story you can say "I don't recall how this exactly happened" or (what I sometimes like to do) let the character defend their choices ("I know it sounds really stupid to agree to this, but this was my only chance" or "that's a weird outfit, but I was by myself, so who cares"), apologize etc.

Thanks for mentioning me, always appreciated. I used some of the things mentioned in previous replies on purpose in that story.

Using existing locations - check
Using first person - check
Realistic bondage - check

But I also use:

(Unrealistic) long bondages - check
Unsafe situations - check

But then, I always say this is a fictional story.

I think that the extreme number coincidences, luck and number of people who are into bondage is the bigger giveaway the story is fake

[tiedinbluetights]

I am glad for this lovely and constructive discussion

"Breaking the 4th wall" is indeed common in most of the 'real' stories, but not all off them do so, and it can also happen in fictional stories (I've done so myself in some of my fictional ones). (And Deadpool movies come to mind!)

I agree if fictional stories contained less over-the-top bondage scenarios it would make for a more realistic feel. It is also worth pointing out that just because a real story has over-the-top bondage in it, it does not necessarily make it unreal. I agree that people who have recently met will not go out full blown BDSM-dungeon with hour long mummification and all sorts of extreme positions. However, not every real story can start out with a first-date and then build up over the years of a fortuitous long-term relationship. People who have been playing, exploring and growing together in their TUGs for years and decades, will have garnered quite the level of expertise and amount of gear that may seem unrealistic to those of us less fortunate.

[Ovi1]

I think the word you are looking for is disclaimer.

Thank you very much.


Another one I later thought of is that, in my experience, true stories usually get written more quickly. Some fictional stories can have, for a great number of reasons, months between posts, or get completely abandoned. While true stories (or at least those I've read and truly believe) tend to be written and posted all at once, or a few chapters within a week or so, never months in between.

This ofcourse also comes down to the length already mentioned in the first post.

If there is a split with a longer hiatus, in true stories it is usually in between two meetings/sessions, leading to less of a cliffhanger than in a lot of fictional stories.

[BlissfulMisery]

Others have already made quite a few points, but I suppose I can add a few of my own:

In general 'actually true stories' tend to read as more of a 'matter of fact' listing of events, while (good) fictional stories tend to be more holistic, incorporating things like the senses/emotions ect (paradoxically despite the fact that most strong memories are highly sensory or emotional). This is because the person is usually focusing more on remembering then the actual act of creative writing. Of course writing in this manner is often seen as 'bad writing'.

On the topic of 'realism' in terms of content, while (as many have mentioned) obviously absurd scenarios make it harder to take the story seriously, one thing to remember is that this does not mean you should keep a realistic story entirely mundane. There is a reason 'the truth is stranger then fiction' is a saying, and it boils down to the fact that while most things that happen in every day life are well... boring. Which means any true story that someone is actually bothering to tell is likely only interesting *because* it deviates from the norm in some way - something that might normally even be unbelievable. There are plenty of examples from history of events that would be considered 'absurd/impossible/nobody would ever actually do that' if it were written in a fictional story.

So simply having absurd things happen in a realistic story is not out of the question. The problem starts when you have too many contrivances in a row - in most real stories there might only be one or two 'crazy' things that happen. In (some) fiction it can often become one absurd thing after another...

Basically, try to keep the contrivances to a reasonable amount.

Another difference is that true stories tend to be more disjointed, while fictional ones are 'planned'. Very 'A leads to B, which leads to C', with everything flowing coherently, and all the motivations/things that happen 'making sense'. This is because in most cases people will complain/call it bad writing if it does not. Would argue there is a joke to be made there with how the standards for realism are higher in fiction then real life

On the flip side, with a true story the person is working off their (flawed) memory,. Due to the way memory works, you usually only remember the 'highlights' that stood out to you, and the rest you either partially remember, or do not remember at all. However your brain will fill in the gaps for you (in most cases). So even actually true stories are often half-fiction by no fault of the author.

[tiedinbluetights]

Another difference is that true stories tend to be more disjointed, while fictional ones are 'planned'. Very 'A leads to B, which leads to C', with everything flowing coherently, and all the motivations/things that happen 'making sense'. This is because in most cases people will complain/call it bad writing if it does not. Would argue there is a joke to be made there with how the standards for realism are higher in fiction then real life

On the flip side, with a true story the person is working off their (flawed) memory,. Due to the way memory works, you usually only remember the 'highlights' that stood out to you, and the rest you either partially remember, or do not remember at all. However your brain will fill in the gaps for you (in most cases). So even actually true stories are often half-fiction by no fault of the author.

Wish I was a good enough writer or comic to come up with the appropriate joke! Hopefully someone else will.

The points raised are great, and highlight that all true stories have as a common element that they are from the point of view of a single narrator, however accurate or embroidered the narrator's memory of the events as written might be. In the case of fictional stories, it is common for readers to expect to have insight into the thoughts, emotions, motivations, of all the characters, not just for a single point of view character.

So it would seem that to make a fictional story feel like a real story, it would have just a single point of view character, who is also the narrator (reliable or not) with a somewhat hazy memory of the less salient details in between the main events of interest to the narrator.

[slackywacky]

So it would seem that to make a fictional story feel like a real story, it would have just a single point of view character, who is also the narrator (reliable or not) with a somewhat hazy memory of the less salient details in between the main events of interest to the narrator.

So, let's see...

I was tied for 5 hours last night. I can describe in detail how the ropes were applied (as I did them myself) and I can describe in detail what the interactions were with the other people in the house, them being responsible for eventually letting me out. Do I remember what I did during those 5 hours? I remember fighting the bonds, I remember the ballgag keeping me quiet, I remember resigning to the fact that the people in the house would not let me go when I begged to be released (or at least mumbled to be released). Do I remember if it was warm or cold? Do I remember every minute I struggled to get free? Nope some details are already gone and even the things I can remember well are not 100%.

So, based on that experience (which is indeed a true event from last night), I would say that there is truth in what @tiedinbluetights describes, because even some things from yesterday I already forgotten.

[Beaumains]

Thank you all for the detailed discussion!

I really like the stuff about the fuzzy memories. Now I want to write a story with some sort of flashback of the characters describing their bondage, maybe a bondage-gone-wrong being described through police interviews.

[Lost_the_keys]

Definitely some interesting observations.

[JennyTied]

During my time on this site, I have read countless real and fictional stories. But somehow, they feel completely different. It could be just knowing the category of a story, but I think that there are differences in their writing that make a "real story" feel more real.

For example, real stories are often shorter, have far less far-fetched plots, and have a first-person perspective.

More subtly, real stories often start matter-of-fact with background details, an introduction to the characters (appearance, age, reason for knowing someone, reason for being anywhere), or an excuse directly aimed at the reader (so breaking the 4th wall). Meanwhile, fictional stories jump quickly into action and weave in the details and background in the body of the story.

If you would write a fictional story to make it feel like a "real story" what little or big things would you do to make it feel more "real" while keeping it well-written?

Check out my teen detective stories https://croonforddetectives.wordpress.com here.

It contains current world events with fiction: people smuggling, corrupt politcians, organised crime, ukraine conflict, spy/intelligence agencies.