"Words To First SPANK" & "Ratio of Action to Context"

I KNOW that the diversity of stories is one of the key strengths of the library and I really appreciate that diversity. Different people like different things. In thinking about "what I like" in a story, I had a thought: one of the ways that stories vary is the ratio and timing of "set-up/context" content to "action" content.

I tend to like "action" as compared to "set-up." (Not that set up isn't important). Both in terms of ratio and in terms of getting it going.

My first story (Breaking Up A Fight/Breaking In The Paddle) is a good example. It's super short compared to most, with just over 900 words. The first 137 words (15%) are, arguably, all "set up" and the rest is action. I tend to write what I like.

One of my favorite stories in the library (i'm NEW, I've not really read that many!) is LearningBare's "Moving In With My Boyfriend's Parents - Part 01." It has 2,051 words, and (hard to count) probably 9 paragraphs in is when the words "...hand to bottom" occur and the action begins. There are something like 43 paragraphs (I can't be efficiently precise because I can't copy/paste). The rest of the content in the story is, to my eye, action.

I was thinking about how to measure these (I'm a scientist--this is fun!)...and was thinking about "Words To First SPANK" (WTFS) and "Ratio of Action to Context" (RAC) as key variables. I BELIEVE, but do not know, that the stories that I've liked best have a a lower WTFS and a higher RAC.

Now, like any good correlation, there'd be outliers (a story that STARTS with a spanking and then moves to set up).

What do other people think? Where do you fall?

-Bump

P.s. Can we link directly to stories and authors in forum posts? I would have liked to link to LearningBare and their story.

For me personally, it varies massively! If I'm reading for masturbatory purposes, I tend to prefer stories that get straight to the action with lots of scolding and description of the spanking itself. If I'm reading purely out of love for the topic and interest in reading about spanking (which is far more frequently) I like spanking novels best that have lots of character and world building around the spankings. The Girls of Greystones Boarding School series is one of my favourite sets of books ever written, regardless of spanking, because the characters feel so real. It's very nuanced and I'd struggle to limit my interests down to your formulae because it changes so often and so much.

I work with statistics so I can see the merits of your proposal. However, I'm afraid I'd wind up on the low end of the spectrum for both of your criteria. But hey, if someone is willing to do the grunt work, then I'll accept the results in the name of science.

Just for 'shits and giggles' (a technical statistical term) I took your criteria to the list of stories with the most favorites on this site, and did a quick eyeball of the top 5 stories.

'The Talk' is by far the favorite story on this site, but it might not appeal to you since it has an extensive lead-in before the action finally begins. "First Date' has a much faster WTFS and higher RAC, so hypothetically it should be more to your liking.

'Accepting the Unfair' appears to be somewhat lower than 'First Date.' 'Back to the Woodshed' has the fastest WTFS and the highest RAC. Finally, 'A Deal's a Deal' is the sequel to 'The Talk' and is equally low on your scales.

So just using your WTFS & RAC standards, I would guestimate that you'd prefer the top 5 stories in the following order:

1. Back to the Woodshed
2. First Date
3. Accepting the Unfair
4. A Deal's a Deal
5. The Talk

So my challenge to you would be to read them all and then see if your actual rankings mesh with what your normal personal preferences would indicate. All in the name of science of course...

Sorry, no, it's not possible to do that. We like to keep the forum and the library site entirely separate, as the forum is accessible by anyone, whereas the library can only be accessed by members.

mj2001

ON IT!!!

:D

I fall into the camp of those who admire stories with a high WTFS, but I would posit this, and indeed transmanspankee has mentioned it obliquely; that sometimes the setup IS the action. What happens between the ears is, in my opinion, essentially linked to what happens between the legs, and is arguably more important than the actual hand-on-bottom stuff. In the real world, OK, there is the pain and embarrassment of a spanking, but the imagination of that spanking, and the anticipation thereof add to its power. There are numerous stories here about the waiting aspect of a spanking, and being told to report for punishment later seems to lengthen the process and amplify its effects.
Therefore I suggest that even a Story With An Infinite WTFS can be a better story. To be fair, my own efforts of SWAIWFTS lead to comments of the type that "I wanted to see more actual spanking" , so I appreciate that I am an outlier. (The Outlier, by Neil, by the way, is an excellent read)

I'm not sure too much analysis is a good thing. I'm reminded of that scene in Dead Poets' Society where there's a page in a text book about graphical analysis of poetry and Robin Williams instructs his students to rip it out and destroy it.

AlanBarr
I was coming on here today to write exactly that but you woke up earlier than me.

Hi Bump, first of all welcome to the board. If you want "action" rather than "set-up" avoid the tortuous plots and preambles of anything with the byline 'Saturninus'.

A reverse plug!

Now I've seen it all!