Details of a Shelved Project

Hello!

I'm still working on drafting things, including a surprise curveball idea that came to me out of the blue.

In the meantime, I thought I would share some behind the scenes writing craft stuff in case anyone is interested. 

Today I thought I would discuss a project that never made it to the public.

Although it isn't the first piece of erotica I ever wrote, "The Worst Bestie" was the first story I submitted to Literotica. 

For those of you who haven't read "The worst Bestie", a brief synopsis: Dan and Beth are happily dating, but Beth's evil best friend Aubrey is annoyed that she no longer has Beth to herself. The story is told from Dan's perspective. He receives a mocking handjob from Aubrey as she reveals her evil plan to split up the couple. The sounds of Beth being gangbanged filter through the walls throughout the scene.

The story was well received, which was greatly encouraging for a new writer.  People liked the twist on the cuckold formula (a female best friend as the mastermind)and the character of Aubrey. I had put a sequel hook at the end of the story, and people commented that they would love a follow-up. 

So I did my best to think of where the story could go. Here's what I came up with:

...

Months later, Aubrey contacts Dan, who hasn't moved on. She tells him that Beth is struggling to move on as well, but Aubrey has a plan to bring Beth closure.

Aubrey has set up a game where Dan and other men would compete anonymously for Beth's affections. If Dan can convince Beth that he is the best option without her knowing it's him, they can get back together.  The competition consists of rounds testing "manly" qualities like physical strength and, later, cock size. After each round, Beth gives the winner a slutty "reward". Dan of course, loses every time.

The key twist is that the other competitors aren't just men chosen at random, each of them are men who hit on Beth while she and Dan were dating, but she told Dan not to worry about. Dan's old roommate, Beth's personal trainer, etc.

In the end, Dan reveals who he is, but Beth still chooses another man because he turned her on so much in the games.  "Sorry Dan, but he got more points than you, it just wouldn't be fair to choose you instead when you lost so badly. Maybe if things don't work out with him I will call you."

...

Some of you can probably already tell my issue with this story. 

It's really complicated. I like the emotional beats it hits, but the plot has to be very contrived to get there. 

The original story was fairly grounded, and I just wasn't sure that such a crazy, over the top premise would satisfy readers who enjoyed what the first story was.

I got partway into the rough draft and shelved the piece indefinitely. It taught me the lesson as a writer that sometimes the best thing for a project is to go back to the drawing board. 

I haven't given up on ever writing a sequel to my first released story, but I don’t think I had the right idea with this one. I think there are some good concepts in the plot I came up with, but I think I am more likely to recycle them into other plots.

As always, thanks for reading!