ok, let's dissect this, but first, for reference, let's include my original post.

I had planned to write this post anyway, but Diana’s comment to my last blog really spurred me on. So this blog contains both a response to Diana and more general comments.

Kelly,

You are a writer, of that there is no doubt. I would even say you are very good at your craft (much better than I am at any rate). And I will readily admit I have only read the first two chapters, but, I must respectfully disagree when you say,

Unfinished Symphony is not a femdom story.

(see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminization_%28activity%29 Not work safe)

The protagonist is forced through coercive methods (blackmail of the company losing a client and emotional blackmail of her crying)) and not given much of a choice

You've humiliated me, and if you have to humiliate yourself to make up for it, then so be it," she said sharply.

Then there is the psychological aspect of the antagonist. First she lights into him with verbal abuse without a chance to respond then switshes it off and goes all innocence and light on him, thus psychologically unbalancing him and leaving him in a state of confusion. Follow this up with a little positive reinforcement of his hobby and you have a nice submissive for our dom's pleasure.

This is just my opinion, and I will stand by it. As you said, She is probably very frightened and perhaps a little afraid of this "other woman" that is coming between her and her husband. Will there be open resentment? Definitely! Will there be hostility? Yes, after all, she is trying to keep her husband and marriage intact. Selfish? Somewhat, but isn't that what life is about, selfishness? In the end, we all want to be able to produce progeny and give them all we can, and Rebecca is seeing those future wants and desires being stripped away. A sad and touching tale, more forced fem than femdom, for which I apologize for the earlier generalization.

Hugs
Diana

Diana notes that Phillip blackmails Michael into becoming Sara by threatening to take away his business, which is an important chunk of their work. This simply isn’t true.

You are indeed correct, I never said Phillip was the anagonist, you assumed this.

In fact, when Michael brings it up, Rebecca makes it clear that Phillip never said a word about dropping Mind Games (R and M's business). More than a few people have now made the same mistake, something I find quite fascinating because it shows how many people read their expectations instead of the actual text (which is why you're supposed to get someone else to proofread your stories).

Again, tecnically correct, but if your boss said the Director invited your department to a party at his yacht in 2 weeks, and everyone was encouraged to attend, would you tell him "sorry, I have to wash my hair that night"?

If you go in thinking forced fem or femdom, you might expect Phillip to blackmail Rebecca and Michael, and the fact that some people misread it shouldn’t be surprising, though it is disappointing. The only reason I stuck it in there was so people wouldn't wonder about it.

And yet again with the assumption of Phillip as the anagonist. Rebecca and Michael are the antagonist and protagonist, respectively. Has Phillip ever even asked Michael at this point in the story? (see the earlier response for the psychological games Rebecca is playing in my original reply)

In October 2001 I did an analysis of the first 1900 stories posted on Crystal’s Storysite (What We Read – Our favorite stories and what the say about us – it’s quite interesting and as far as I know the only quantitative analysis of TG story content out there). Among other things, I analyzed the femdom content, and it does indeed represent a major story type. Among the top stories poseted there at the time (by hits) somewhere between 40-60% involved Femdom and 40% its evil cousin humiliation.

I would very much love to read it, as it most likely correct for that site. But it is not an overall barometer for the whole of TG fictiondom. Heck, I would guesstimate the numbers might even be a bit low in some areas due to miscategorization of some of the stories.

Given that, I guess an author should expect people to be looking for it either to savor it or avoid it. I failed to understand this and apparently wrote a story beginning so similar to the femdom prototype that it got labeled as such by some.

Ah, now we see what has happened. An unknowing subconscious influence perhaps? :) (j/k lol)

I hope that Chapter 4 starts to really clarify what this story is about, and all this discussion of femdom will fade away in importance. In fact the only reason that it is important to me is that it turns off some readers, and I, as an author, don’t want to lose them.

What do you think?

And I as a reader, hope that you keep writing. Just because you don't write this story towards my individual taste, does not men that I will not read anything else by you, just not any more of this story. You have a talent with the written word, far better than 90% of the authors out there and I would love to read more by you, just not this one :( you can bring out the emotions in readers, but sometimes, just as in a story, those emotions may not be ones you like to see. Do any of us truly love what we see in the mirraor all the time? Please keep writing and maybe someday I will see you on the NYT list.

Hugs
Diana