More about Time Travel Stories

Writer's Journal: Started drafting The Adjusters #25. (#24 was already drafted before I realized I needed a #23...) And I was disappointed to see that my outline said it was going to be all plot. It will probably prove difficult to inject some smut into that one. I'm hoping that as I'm writing it a suitable sex scene will spontaneously raise its hand and shout "Me! Me! Me!" Fingers crossed...

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About a month ago, I talked about time-travel stories, where a protagonist goes back to inhabit his younger self and presumably do everything better, and with lots more sex. I love the sheer wish-fulfillment factor that shines brightly throughout most examples of the genre. (Fact is, most folks I know from my youth are pretty much as hopeless now as they were back them, but it's somewhat crass to point that out. But hey, who am I to knock wish fulfillment? I write mind-control smut, after all, the ultimate in wish-fulfillment fantasies.)

In any case, I've been reading a couple more stories in that vein, where the protagonist goes back not to his own youth but into someone else's body, albeit still a teenager. One that's particularly interesting is by Joe J, titled Twice Lucky: “If you knew then what you know now, how would you act?” A short description, but it's pretty much what you'd expect, a man dies and goes back in time to relive his life as someone else. The story's decent—it has a couple of very good scenes, and while it's a bit difficult to keep track of all the girls that that poor guy hooks up with, the field gets cleared out a bit by the end. I discovered that there are two sequels, which I haven't read yet: Twice Lucky II: Time for a Change and Twice Lucky III: Divergence.

Another story in that genre that looks promising is POL's Play It Again, Sam: “Sam Eldon finds himself transported back in time twenty some years and into a much younger body. This is the story of how he affects the lives of many others and discovers what destiny's true purpose has in mind.” Haven't read that one yet, but I've really liked another of POL's tales, Of Drugs, Blackmail, and Seduction, so I have high hopes here too.

All of this reading, for some reason, has got me inspired to explore that kind of world. The creative wheels have been churning for almost a week now, and I'm getting a bunch of characters starting to form in the back of my mind, and a basic story line. Plus it feels like I can even rope in the other idea I had about a sexy older neighbor. What seems to be slowly forming is a story that is a mix of the classical tropes of time travel stories of the kind above, where someone uses the experience he has accumulated to adapt to a new life as a young man, and a few new twists on the idea. If this creative churn continues, it looks like I might have a new long story to write. Don't worry, it won't affect The Adjusters, but it will provide an outlet for stuff that doesn't fit in that universe.

Here's my question to you folks. Are any of you interested in seeing what the development process of this new story is? I don't mean to sound grandiose about it, but one thing I can do is basically post my notes and scribbles and brainstorming sessions so that you can see the plot and the ideas as they develop. I know many people are interested in the creative aspect of writing, and seeing something develop from scratch might be of interest. Now, I'm not sure if I'm going to do this or not—after all, there's something highly personal about hatching out a world and characters—but I'd like to know if there would be any interest before making the final decision. Note that one nasty side effect would be a complete spoiler of the story. I guess one other possibility is to publish the story first, and then post the development material afterwards.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or by email.

Time Travel Stories

Writer's Journal: I thought I was drafting The Adjusters #25 these days, but it turns out I'm drafting #26, and I'll need to go back and do both #24 and #25 next. At least, I know what the sex scene for #26 is—or at least I thought I did, since it is morphing just as I'm writing it. Funny how that goes.

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Real life has kept me busy this week, so I do not have a lot to talk about.

Still, I can give it the old college try. (Weird expression, that one, by the way—as if college was the first place where you get to try to do something even though you don't really know how to do it—sounds like much of my grade school experience, frankly.)

A week ago, I mentioned one of my favorite classic story on StoriesOnline, namely Al Steiner's Doing it All Over: "Have you ever wished you could go back to your teens and re-live your life, knowing what you know now? Bill Stevens, a burned-out, 31 year old paramedic, made such a wish one night. Only his came true." As I said then, this is a wonderful romantic story, with real characters and a fairly realistic treatment, after one gets over the fantastic opening element. Al Steiner is a wonderful writer.

The funny thing is that this last week, I remembered that there was another story with that general theme, that of going back in time and reliving your life, using what you've learned the first time around to avoid the mistakes you did the first time around and make your life so much better. I have to admit it's a rather irresistible fantasy, one that probably every one of us has had at some point or another in our life, generally when reflecting back over the one that got away, or just wondering about those doors that we closed while choosing—wisely or not—to open others.

And thus (cue-in Ira Glass's voice in your ear for maximum freakiness) I present you two other stories on that theme.

Rlfj gives us A Fresh Start: "Aladdin's Lamp sends me back to my teenage years. Will I make the same mistakes, or new ones, and can I reclaim my life?" This one is a bit of a tougher sell for me, but you may like it. Give it a try. The biggest sticking point I have is that the hero is a bit too together when he goes back in time. On the other hand, he does deliver quite a few bits of revenge that will have any reader that has ever been bullied cheering in the stands.

The second story I have not read yet. I ran across it last night, bookmarked it, and will enjoy it (or not!) leisurely in the coming weeks—probably sending it over to the Kindle, which I've been sorely neglecting lately, poor girl. It's by Coaster2, and is called Repeat Performance: "Lee North suffers a fifty year setback after an accident. Fifty years into his past, he's having to start his life over again. It wasn't going to turn out the way it did the first time." Coaster2 seems to have a bunch of other stories that look interesting, so I'm hoping I've just discovered an author I enjoy.

Any other stories on the going-back-in-time-to-relive-one's-life theme that I've missed and that you'd like to suggest? Please do so in the comments below. I'm always on the lookout for good hot stories.