The Essence Of Good Storytelling

Good stories have a few things in common. The first is that something changes between the beginning and the end. The narrative follows a path, usually winding, that leads the main characters through some kind of transformation. A typical romcom (romantic comedy) is a good example. Boy meets girl and they get closer. All is nicely progressing toward a happy ending when something horrible happens. Generally a third of the movie takes us through increasingly bad events that push the boy and girl further and further apart. When all seems hopeless, something good happens that brings them together. Happy ending; ride off into the sunset.

That’s the formula. It works because on some level, we all understand what will happen. If we didn’t know, we would feel anxious and not enjoy the movie. Similar formulas are well understood for dramas, caper movies, etc. It allows a film to move quickly and holds our interest. When something is out of place, like boy never gets girl back, we leave the theater unsatisfied. We tell our friends to skip seeing the movie.

The same is true in other media. Novels, operas, plays, even musicals all have master formulae for their genres. Blog posts are no exceptions. Blogs like ours are more like soap operas, um, continuing stories. Each episode inches its way through the changes in the characters. It can take a very long time to see much plot movement, but it will happen in order to keep our attention.

In a little under 3,000 posts Mrs. Lion and I have made changes in our lives chronicled here. We started with a sexy idea from me to wear a chastity device. We (slowly) changed over the last five years. The changes progressed with fits and starts until we now practice a Female Led Relationship with Discipline (FLRD). Wearing the chastity device is the norm. I’m spanked every time I break a rule.

Of course, you don’t need to be following the main story arc in order to enjoy our posts. Each one is a little insight into our sex life. Those are scenes that can stand alone, but it is the larger story that builds loyal readers.

Not every blogger is telling a story. Some describe or create scenes that titillate or amuse. Others trace the bloggers’ lives, but don’t necessarily track a story. I don’t think I intended to tell a story when we started. I just wanted to journal. Obviously (now) a journal is a narrative that could easily tell a story. In order to turn isolated scenes into a more seamless picture, we have to share  more than kinky scenes. You need to know about us as people. If we only write about our kinky interactions, it would be easy to get tired of reading about them.

I hope you’re getting to know us. We both try to share the non-sexual things that happen. We’ve both been writing about Mrs. Lion’s upcoming trip. You know when I was out of work, when Mrs. Lion was upset with me. Our blog is about us. It’s not completely about my kinks. Hopefully, we tell a good story that brings you back day after day.