As many of you likely know, many writers are busy with NaNoWriMo 2019. Both Paul and I are technically finished the challenge as we have both reached and surpassed the target of 50,000 words. Paul managed to get to that finish line quite a while ago. I reached it several days ago. That said, we are both continuing on with the stories as these stories aren’t done just because of the fact that we have written 50,000 words. It’s the story that counts, not the word count.
The story! … Will, Paul, and myself, along with many others, are writers of Naturist Fiction. However, we don’t just write stories that can be labelled Naturist Fiction. That got me to thinking, that and the fact that my current story doesn’t have much “nude” content in it. Can I reasonably call it Naturist Fiction? What about clothing optional situations? Just how much nude content does there have to be in a story before it can be called Naturist Fiction? Do the characters have to exist in a state of nudity 24/7? If so, none of my works would qualify. Nor, do I suspect would any of Will’s or Paul’s qualify. If there was no textile content, there would be zero reason to note that the characters were nude. The story would then need to find a different genre based on the story’s plot and characters. So, is there some magical percentage for nude content? Somehow, I suspect not.
Nudity does need to be a part of the story. The context of that nudity is essential, in my opinion. Is nudity only associated with sex? If so, the story is likely erotica, or perhaps even pornography. Is the nudity gratuitous and out of place? If so, then there is a problem with the story itself. All pieces of a novel need to have context. Nudity is no exception. To simply remark that characters A and B are naked doesn’t make a story Naturist Fiction.
As you can see, this important question struggles to have an answer that would make it easier for writers to create works of fiction [or Non-Fiction] that could be classified as Naturist. Somehow I have a thought that it is something about the writer and his or her story that allows for a “natural” presence of nudity, something that doesn’t require an extensive explanation by the author. If done right, the reader affirms that the story resonates with their understandings and experiences with naturism.
What do you, the readers here at Naturist Fiction, think? What is essential in your opinion, for a story be called Naturist Fiction?
I look on it as stories written by Naturists. The author is a Naturist. Not all the stories must be.
Thanks, Robert. I think that this might be a key point. Naturist authors have a different worldview and mindset that influences what they write and how they write. 🙂
It is important that there are clothed people and naked people. There can be bad naked people, but for proper naturist fiction, there should be a lot of good naked people. Naturists. To display that there is a difference and that nudity can be a very positive thing.
This is my opinion. For $13,95 it can be yours too.
I sure hope you are talking Canadian dollars. It makes a big difference. Contrast. I like it. Thanks, Paul.
I wonder if it counts as Naturist Fiction if, it is necessary to mention that one of the characters “slipped on a pair of shorts before he went to answer the door.”
What if you never find out if the characters are either clothed or unclothed? Would that make the story “clothing free”? Thanks, Ted.
As long as it is made clear in the narrative somehow, that there is no clothing yes.
“He walked out the hot steamy kitchen and dived into the cool, refreshing pool. Surfacing he swam a couple of lengths before climbed out. He flicked droplets of water from his fingers and sat on a sun-bed, chatting to his daughter, while the sun rapidly dried him.”
A little more in that vein
🙂
Very interesting. Just thought I’d point out we also do already have a working definition of “naturist fiction” right on the front page of this site (https://wordpress.com/view/naturistfiction.org):
naturist fiction: novels, novellas, or short stories, of most any genre, in which an integral aspect of the plot is the adaptation of one or more characters to social nudism in a context supportive of naturism.