LoraDayton:
2. Numbers don't really mean anything in the imagination when describing body changes or food volume. Unless there is a plot element specific to it, you don't need numbers. It will free you, I promise.
Letters And Numbers:
I agree with this completely, but I will also say that numbers are *extremely* popular. I get more positive feedback from weighing segments than from almost anything else.
So while I don’t just write to please the reader (anyone who has read my current story can attest to that), sometimes it’s nice to give people what they want, too! But all things in proper moderation.
Munchies:
My take on the numbers is that they can be used effectively, but most people in the community do not know how. To be clear, this issue isn't FF-specific. I see it in a lot of fetish spaces.
It's essentially a case of "show, don't tell." It's the difference between saying, "It's 32 F/0 C outside," versus "The biting cold froze the puddle of water." One tells you what's happening, while the other immerses you in the experience.
That said, I believe there is a time and place for numbers. For example, maybe you're writing a fit-to-fat story where the protagonist is coming to terms with their weight. Since her weight is integral to the plot, you could include that when it moves the plot forward.
Letters And Numbers:
I agree completely! 100%. But I think in this particular community, some readers *really* like numbers. It doesn’t make the story stronger as a story, but as fan service people like it. So it’s a choice the author has to make. I’m trying to take numbers out of my current story because that’s not the story I want to tell, but I can’t deny that it’s popular.
Munchies:
Oh, it certainly is. I do want to make some room for numbers because there is a kink aspect to it all. At the same time, however, a lot of people struggle to conceptualize it.
How many times have you seen a story where a female character is 5'2", 120 lbs, and fat? How many times have you seen a story where a B cup is "busty" or a D is "small"? And yet, when you scroll down to the comments, readers rave about the "superb" descriptions.
The truth is that no matter what you envision in your stories, your reader will envision something else. Your best option is to gently nudge them in the right direction trying to force them to see what you see.
Again, no disagreement at all, and the unprompted "Becky was a drop dead gorgeous 120 pound cheerleader with gargantuan C cup melons and it was Tuesday" is not the best start to a short story. A character in a weight gain story stepping on a scale and finding out their weight as part of the plot is different, but can still be done well or poorly. My current story (thanks Jazzman for the mention!) originally started with a weighing scene. It wasn't bad, and it set up some of the plot, but I re-wrote it because it just felt contrived. I didn't want that book to start that way. There are other scenes in the book that involve weights, and I think some of them are more or less successful for all the reasons you talked about. I don't know if any of them will make it to the final draft, but some probably will because at the end of the day it's reluctantly a weight gain story and some of the gains and losses are important to the plot.
But, it also depends on what the story is trying to be. I don't think there's anything wrong with a story that is first and foremost trying to be erotic or appeal to a fetish audience, but it should be well done. For the omniscient narrator to know and comment on someone's weight unprompted is one thing, for them to observe someone at the gym weighing themselves is better, and there are even more creative ways to work it in! I wrote a story where a character's weight is tracked by the number of their hotel room. Redmama writes great stories with pregnant leads, and when you're pregnant you get weighed often. So it's a true part of the plot, but also tickles that part of the brain for people who dig numbers.
And then it goes back to what you said about making numbers meaningful and realistic and understanding the human body. More than anything, that's the most important part.
