Narrative preferences (voice and POV)

[Redfaced90!]

Hi all, I’ve been enjoying the stories on this board recently and am considering writing some ENM stories to submit if and when the time allows. Before starting I wanted to get an idea of your preferences regarding narrative types. Namely 1) first vs third person narratives and 2) if first person, humiliated POV or humiliator POV?

I feel third person is more flexible by offering the opportunity to cover the story from multiple perspectives, but as a trade-off it creates more distance between the reader and the story, making it less visceral. First person limits the multiple perspectives and the ability to provide information not known to the narrator (e.g. secret scheming, etc.), but on the flip side it often provides a much more visceral reading experience. As for POV, this is really just a matter of personal preference (I love both but slightly prefer ENM female humiliator POV - which is not so easy to write as a guy though i'm willing to try!) but I’d like to hear what the readers here would most enjoy.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and hopefully submitting something shortly!

[swguy123]

I have sent you a private message with some thoughts/ideas for your story.

[Executionus]

I've used all of the POV options by this point. It's not that one style is the best overall, it's that the different styles have different specialties and I use whichever POV style I feel works best for the story itself.

For example, I always use 3rd person if it's a story with a large cast and multiple people being stripped at different times. I also use 3rd person if the main character is unaware of a lot of the major goings-on, since otherwise I would need some way to have the character be TOLD those happenings (in order to let the audience know) and this is clunky.

I like using 1st person victim if I'm wanting to focus on the emotions and the extreme stress the victim is feeling. If my goal is to help the audience experience the character's embarrassment for themselves, then 1st person victim is by-far the best. This style the the best hands-down at escalating stakes if that's your goal, since you're able to have the character describe in extreme detail exactly how horrible every microsecond of their predicament actually is. It's also a fantastic style to use if there isn't much dialogue, since you can have a character talk to themselves in their own mind as a means of breaking the silence.

I've used 1st person humiliator a handful of times, and almost exclusively as a methodical tormentor on a female victim. That's obviously because methodically tormenting female victims is how I act in bed, so it's an easy fit in written form. I go with this style when I want to focus on the longing, the desire, and the hunger of the person doing the stripping. With this POV I'm appealing to the carnal desires of the audience instead of projecting any empathy or shared emotions of the victim onto them. I'll use this style sometimes if the victim is clueless about most of what's coming to them. The tension focus with this style shifts completely compared to victim POV since instead of being locked on the victim loudly begging for mercy, the tension is placed on the stripper silently begging for there to be zero mercy while their hormones rage in predatory lust.

Technically there's also 1st person audience, where the POV is just someone watching the action unfold without actually being involved at all, like a voyeur. I've only used that style once ever and only seen it a handful of times, but it's useful if you're wanting to focus on the morbid curiosity of the horny people watching the show instead of the embarrassment or hunger aspects.

I've also written a whole bunch of stuff in my past using 2nd person (aka "You", "You feel my touch on your skin"). I've only ever used this style when writing a story specifically for some girl I know, as in a way it's an intense form of flirtation. When used in an intimate setting it maximizes the tension and can drive someone absolutely wild for you. This style feeds off of what secrets you know about your target audience, because you can incorporate all of them for maximum custom satisfaction. It probably doesn't work as well in story form because it's remarkably difficult to cater the story to every single audience member being the protagonist simultaneously.



So my advice is to use the POV best for what you're going for, instead of trying to guesstimate what POV style is the most popular overall. It sounds like you have an idea for a 1st person humiliator story with a female tormentor. If that is the target, then you can set the story focus on the increasing arousal and excitement of the woman as her machinations torment her playtoy. As she increases in horniness over the boy, her audience will increase in horniness for her as they find her arousal to be a turn-on. If that's your goal then 1st person humiliator POV works best.

[Debbifan]

You asked what readers here would most enjoy. Easy answer. I've read and enjoyed stories written from all POVs. For a first story, which I think you imply this will be, I would recommend writing it how it comes most easily and naturally to you. Concentrate on the story and not the mechanics at this stage.

I invariably write in third person, not because it's right but just because it is how I think creatively. But I can enjoy reading first person just as much. I can recall using it on only one occasion myself when I was inspired to complete another author's unfinished story in their style and so had an existing template ( SDS knows what I'm talking about ! )

[Redfaced90!]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone (also to those of you who messaged me privately). Sounds like there is a lot to be said for all forms. Interesting range of opinions and impressions regarding 1st personal humiliator POV btw. For me it is probably my favourite, but for the reason that knowing exactly what the humiliator’s motives, thoughts, and reactions are really heightens my appreciation of the victim’s humiliation. Its like the narrator is letting you know exactly how humiliated you should be. I just read TheBlushingPrincess’ “So many boys, so little time” which is a great example of this in my opinion. I was squirming reading it!

Executionus I like the idea of 1st person audience btw. It would be fun to have a sweet innocent bystander who experiences a kinky awakening witnessing someone get stripped and humiliated and then begins seeking out ways to chase that high.