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Tickle fiction author Interview #3! Tickle Mantis

primetime

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Nov 28, 2001
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Hello folks, I must be getting old. I thought I posted this interview, then realized I haven't. I am glad all of you have enjoyed my interview series and now I present the final interview I did, my good friend, Tickle Mantis! I hope you all enjoy the interview!





Mantis, you are definitely one of my favorite writers of all time! When you come out with a new story, it is like a Christmas present. With all the different forms of tickle contributions on the forum such as videos and drawings, why did you decide to contribute by writing?

Thanks so much! And thanks for having me, I'm honored!

You know, my initial response was to think back to 2001 and try to recall my thought process at the tender age of 17, but I honestly think the answer was much the same then as it is now. Writing's always been a passion of mine to the point I'd sneakily ask my teacher's in school to give us more creative writing assignments. With tickling in particular it's definitely a way to, let's call it, 'define' a fantasy. To sort of give life to it and make those ideas into something more than an idle thought.

As to contributing, I guess that was always just a no-brainer in a lot of ways. Part of that is probably to see my time and effort mean something more than just amusing myself, but I think more so it's just to share. I have something here other people might, and hopefully will enjoy, let's put it out in the world and see what happens. Then of course when you contribute more, and suddenly there's people asking you for more, there's kind of a responsibility there, I think, to make yourself better and improve, so I keep putting more out and hoping each new story finds an audience the work can resonate with.

You gave me a pretty amazing compliment there in the intro, and that sort of thing really does hit me deep. To know that people are enjoying these stories, it's one of my favourite things on the planet. I mean, not to blow this out of proportion or anything, but I'm a pretty peaceful kind of fellow in my day to day, so to know that in some tiny way I'm letting something out into the world that will cause positive feelings in other people, that's a beautiful thing...in a totally debauched and perverted fashion.

I know what you mean by having people enjoy what you do. Believe me, reading your stories is ALWAYS a treat! It is awesome that you wanted to use your writing passion to share it with thousands of people you will probably never meet. As a writer myself, it is just something "in us" I guess.


Right, it could be that desire to leave some lasting mark on the world which I think most people have. I don't mean to get all philosophical here, like I write smut basically, but I figure if at the end of my days, my impact on history is that I leave behind a bunch of sexy stories, I'm pretty cool with that.

Now, when you are preparing for a new story, what "motivates" you? How do you come up with a story idea?

Oh man, so much stuff, everything and anything. A dream, a picture, a person, ideas come from everywhere. In my case I guess, to be a little more specific, scenarios often come from the characters themselves. For example I look at say, the Tina character -a ditsy eighteen year old blonde girl with fairly normal suburban surroundings - and I think about the things she does or might do and the people around her. Tina's not necessarily going to end up in the same kind of situation, or interact with the same people, as other characters who lead different life styles so it makes sense she'll have different experiences.

Motivation is a long list as well, but I always have to make sure there's at least one factor pushing me along that I'm comfortable with. Trying to write when I'm not motivated to do it, or if I'm motivated by a reason that doesn't seem to vibe with me, is never going to produce the best work. It's why I haven't taken requests or commissions for years, if I'm not excited by the idea, or I'm just doing it for a payday, the final product is going to be half-hearted and that's not good for anyone, especially the readers.

I agree with you, the motivation to write stories is the most powerful "engine" for us writers. I too find it difficult to write customs sometimes because it is not my original idea and you have to try and fulfill someone else's "dream". Whenever I did customs, I had to "marinate" on the idea so I can produce something that not only the requestor enjoys, but everyone else too. Creating a character is a lot of fun though.

I think that's probably true for any creative pursuit, as a general rule anyway. People will always put more effort into something they're passionate about than something they're required to do.

I swear creating new characters is somewhat of an obsession for me. I play video games, and if there's a chance to create your own character, I'll probably make at least a dozen. I might not even do anything with most of them other than run around a little bit. I love making the origin, the personality, it's the same with writing. Some of my early stories jump around wildly between characters because I couldn't focus on one person for too long, the ideas were coming fast and raw and I didn't have the discipline to hold back.

I think your character Tina is probably your most popular character. She always finds herself in all kinds of ticklish predicaments. Is she based on anyone you know personally, or is she a pure creation of your imagination?


Tina is totally made up, and originally she was a complete throw-away character. Tina first showed up at the end of the original 'Tickle Tutor' story for no other reason than to give the main character, Cindy, someone to exchange dialogue with for the final line ("It's a bit of a laugh") which I thought was so clever at the time.

Over the years Tina's evolved a lot, but the main thing I've always tried to maintain since she started getting stories of her own was keeping the idea -or at least my idea- of what the 'perfect ticklee' would be. She's ridiculously ticklish of course, and is kind of an airhead which leads her to being a little too trusting. Tina's naivety tends to put her in situations other people would probably be clever enough to avoid. Additionally she hates being tickled and can't fight back, but becomes turned on to the point of climax if she's tickled long enough. Climax causes Tina to become even more sensitive, which turns her on more, and so it becomes a vicious cycle of ever increasing tickle-induced orgasms. Then magically, once it's all over she just kind of shakes it off and forgets about it until next time. Total fantastical nonsense, but that's kind of the point.

Obsessed with creating new characters huh? I am the same way! There is something about creating that gets you going. I like the fact that even in video games, you create characters. You must have always had an active imagination like I have. lol There is something about fleshing out a character over time.

Your "evolution" of Tina has been an interesting read. Personally I love how she started off as this one young ticklish woman who suffered and felt pleasure, then we see a more "mature" Tina later where she is dishing out the tickle torture to younger women. As a gifted writer who loves characters, do you find yourself wanting to write series rather than "standalone" stories? I noticed that you have series and a few standalone stories.


It's funny that you mention writing serial stories compared to more one-off type stuff, because it's something I've been thinking about a lot recently. Almost without exception I've always made an effort to craft stories so they're very accessible for anyone wanting to read them -so let's say for example it's a particular character's third, fourth or even fifteenth story, a person wouldn't have to go back and read the last fourteen installments in order to know what's going on. How much actual story there is varies, the 'Slice of Life' series has very little meandering because it's short stories that get right to the action with minimal set up, while something like 'Hysteria Lane' might go on for a bit longer before the juicier stuff starts to happen, but they're both focused on getting down to business.

After the reboot of 'Tickle Tutor' I realized, perhaps for the first time ever, I'd actually written a story where the main character has a genuine arc, such as it is, and more time was spent building the world. It wasn't something I set out to do intentionally, but to my delight it received a lot of positive responses. That extra time to tell a story around the action worked out, so now I'm wondering if having a heavier continuity between certain stories, as opposed to something looser like Hysteria Lane, might not be a bad thing. I'm excited to explore the possibilities, worst case scenario is no one likes what I come up with -but then I tend to take the approach of writing what I'd like to read as opposed to what I think will be well received.

I like that idea of making stories, even within a series kind of "standalone" even though it is part of a series. That is pretty creative. I know when I write series, it is better if you read from the beginning. lol

Now, what type of stories do you like best in terms of gender? I noticed your archives has F/F, M/F, and even a F/M.


My preference is definitely M/f and F/f, probably leaning more toward M/f overall. F/m is fun to write but started out more as something I did so I could say I did it. I'd like to do a M/m story one day for much the same reason, to kind of "complete the set", and it's something I'm not sure many writers have done (writing all four types of story). I think it'd be interesting to explore that dynamic too, with a male 'ler and a male 'lee.

It's interesting to me what a difference switching up genders can have, at least from the perspective I use to write. With a female 'ler the situation is more about teasing and often seduction, more like a game, albeit a cruel one. There's a gentler approach in the tickling -which isn't to say that's always the case in real life, it's just the way I tend to write female ticklers. Male ticklers are generally rougher and I tend to put a lot more emphasis on the domination factor -the male character's large size, superior strength, etc.

Then there's always the option to have multiple ticklers, which is a great amount of fun. The whole situation is different when you have say, a MF/f story. One of the ticklers usually takes the lead, I've written it with the female leading the way and I've written it with the male leading the way and in that instance I honestly don't mind who's running the show. If the gender of the ticklers is the same, FF/f or MM/f that shakes things up a lot too, especially from the view of the girl being tickled -it's all horrible, but there's maybe more a sense of inherent fear if she's being assault by two men than two women.

I guess, and I should point out again that is purely regarding the way I write and not a reflection of real life, female characters exhibit a bit more self control, like holding back, teasing, etc. Male characters might tease a little, but ultimately tend to go all-in much faster because they're not thinking with their brain most of the time.

Interesting response. It is weird, I like M/F if I am the M. lol My stories are almost totally F/F. I like your thought process though. I may have to write a F/M and a M/M to complete the set. I also agree that there is a "style" between the genders. Great thought process.

Thanks!

I know as a writer I love detail. Is that something you focus on when writing your tales?

I think detail is absolutely key to writing erotic fiction. In other genres there can certainly be an advantage to leaving out certain descriptive elements, like being vague with your protagonists appearance in order to better put the reader in your character's shoes. Unless you're writing a second-person perspective ("You sit down and untie your shoes") then I'd argue it's important, if not essential with tickle-fiction, to give your audience a clear idea of what everyone involved looks like.

As to describing everything else in the world, it's a fine line. I don't want to be Tolkien and spend 200 pages explaining the intricate details of a window frame, but I also want to give people a clear idea of the space we're in and what's around. Sometimes I feel I go a little too heavy into where everyone's limbs are, where this person's left and right hand is, what this person's leg is doing, but without it I'm fearful the reader's mental image will be less powerful. Ultimately that's the goal with stories most people are reading for sexual gratification, create the clearest image in their mind possible of what my original vision was.

As an aside, and I'm sure this happens with a lot of writers, I would love to see into the mind's eye of a few people and view their interpretation of certain scenes. It'd be so interesting to compare how the image in a reader's mind differs from the image in mine, or how close they ended up.

I agree. Detail is what us writers have to develop. We don't have literal visuals of our stories, so I too believe that detail is very key into making a story great. Without a doubt you are one of the best writers in the history of tickle fiction. What other tickle stories do you find yourself reading over and over again? I am always curious to hear what tickle fiction great writers love to read.

Ahh, my secret shame. Truth be told I don't read all that much tickle-fiction, especially in recent years. I mentioned before about how I tend to write the kind of stories I'd like to read, and though I don't tend to read my own work after it's finished I do think that time I would have spent reading another story is time I just spend writing instead. That's not at all to suggest there isn't anyone out there right now who isn't doing great work, only that I don't usually go looking for it.

That said, I can certainly rattle off some names of writers I've loved over the years. TQLR was one of the earliest writers I remember really seeking out any of his work I could get my pervy little eyes on. He had such a wonderfully fun style, sadly I don't think he's written anything new for many years now. Grolsch is another great writer, and very under appreciated I think, who managed to set a kind of awkwardness into his characters that was incredibly sexy. Grolsch also had a knack for adding small gritty details that added a great deal to the reality of his work.

I'm going to feel bad after this because I just know I'll remember a bunch more names of very talented people whose work I've enjoyed or been greatly influenced by. Still, there's one name I'll never forget -Black Widow. Though her body of work is relatively small, I really can't think of any tickle-fiction scribe that I've enjoyed more or has influenced my own work as much. You can pretty much tell exactly when I first read Black Widow's writing by the change in my own stories -there's a drastic shift in how graphic my descriptions became and how far I was willing to push the characters. I've probably read her story 'Trucker Trouble' a half dozen times since it was first posted, and I message her at least once a year wondering when she'll make a triumphant return.

You have mentioned some great writers no doubt. Black Widow is very talented! TQLR is a legend of tickle stories. So, let's say you had an offer to make one of your series into video/movie and the production value is top notch including the writing. Which series would you like to see made and why?

That's a tough one! If it was going to be something that I think would give a good representation of our fetish to a broader audience I'd probably go with a Tina feature. There's obviously a ton of variation among people who love tickling and what they love about it, but I feel like Tina captures a fantasy shared by the majority.

Alternatively if we were looking to tell a more fantastical and detailed story (because Tina's not going to learn anything) I'd probably pick the Tickle Tutor reboot. Even though there's only been one story in the series so far, we get to see the main character go on a definable journey. On top of that I have plans for future editions in the series which, if I play my cards right, will tell stories with deeper characters and plenty of sexy action.

Yeah, I think your Tina series should be the one that gets made into movie/video. I, like millions of others, love her character. Personally, I would love to see "Tina 10: Ticklish Legacy" made because I love how Tina tormented red head beauty Hannah. Awesome stuff. Now, if you could pick anyone, who would you like to see "play" Tina in the movie?


I honestly couldn't pick anyone right from Hollywood -I'm a huge fan of using unknown, or little known actors and actresses, especially when it comes to playing a preexisting character. It's like, I see a movie with Tom Cruise and it can be a good movie but I always know I'm watching Tom Cruise. There's always that little block that stops me from getting entirely invested in a film if the actor is too well known. On the other side of that you take someone like Daisy Ridley from The Force Awakens -I think she'd done a handful of TV shows before being launched into the lead role of a friggin' Star Wars movie -and it was great because the majority of people had no idea who she was. So I saw Star Wars and I wasn't watching Daisy Ridley run around on screen, I was watching her character.

I think the most important thing -even more so than physical resemblance- would be that the actress be exceptionally ticklish. I really don't think that kind of reaction is something people can fake well, you'd need that genuine surprise and desperation that comes with being unwillingly tickled. If I had my way, and it was an option, I'd probably go with an animated feature. Much less issues to deal with and you could exaggerate the character's responses. Plus you'd probably only need to put some poor voice actress through like, 20-30 minutes of tickling and just reuse a bunch of it throughout the film!

I so agree with you about well known actors and playing them for a tickle story. It would be fun to see an unknown actress play Tina for example. I like the Tom Cruise analogy. I felt the same way about the Joker in the Batman films. Jack Nicholson played a tremendous Joker, but it you know it was Jack Nicholson. Heath Ledger did such an amazing job as the Joker, I was thinking the Joker was this own entity and not just Heath Ledger. Animation would be fun too. It would be a lot of fun to tickle a voice actress! lol

Now, are you finding more difficult to find time to write stories? I know when I first started, I was churning out stories, now, they come every once in a while. How long does it take you to write a story now?

Oh yeah, it's definitely more difficult to find the time, and even the energy. In my late teens and early twenties I was living at home, so I had all the time in the world and it didn't matter if I stayed up until 3-4am writing away to my heart's content. In my mid twenties I began to travel and eventually moved to Canada. Between work, a social life and other hobbies I really have to make a point of dedicating specific blocks of time for writing. And it might come to that block of time and I just don't feel like it, but I've found if I just start writing, open the document and force myself, it doesn't take more than a few minutes before I'm basically consumed by it.

I've always had this habit of having a movie or TV show on while I write, but I keep it on pause with the thinking I'll write a little, watch a little, and just alternate like that. More often than not whatever I'm 'watching' just ends up stuck on pause for hours on end.

How long a story takes varies wildly. Some stories I can churn out in a few hours, like the 'Slice of Life' short story series. There's a basic idea I want to get across and no real need for lengthy set up or dialogue. Larger stories can take maybe a month or less, it really depends on how much time I have. Then there's a bigger undertaking like the 'Tickle Tutor' reboot which was four separate parts and all of them pretty sizable -in that case it took me over a year because I kept stopping and starting, and refusing to work on anything new until I had it in the bag.

All that said there's never any shortage of ideas -my ideas file is always growing and I doubt I'll see the end of it!

Yep, exactly what I am going through. In my younger days, I was churning out stories like a machine. Now, I always hope I can find the time. I remember taking 2-3 hour blocks of time to write a story and that was when I was churning them out. Now, it might takes weeks/months. lol

So besides the fun filled world of tickling, what else are you into? Like movies, sports, social life.

Well I've definitely never been a big sports guy -something about being told what to do and following all the rules bugged me too much to play. I'm big into movies for sure, I really love the Marvel films, Avengers, Iron Man, all that jazz. I even have the Lego superheroes, which I guess is my other big hobby, collecting Lego. We touched on video games earlier too, I'd definitely call myself 'casual' but I can certainly get heavily invested in certain games.

I always get a bit of a thrill out of the two sides -on the one hand I guess you could say I'm a peaceful fellow, I don't even smoosh bugs in my house, they get taken outside. I make a big effort to be polite and go by a 'live and let live' kind of approach to other people. I like animals and smile at people on the road who cut me off. But then on the other hand I write these debauched, highly sexual stories about people being forced to do things and suffer horribly, the kind of terrible stuff that would land one person in jail and the other in therapy.

Although, heck, I guess everyone has their secrets!

I have really been enjoying all the Marvel films as well. As a kid growing up, I never cared for Iron Man. But I absolutely LOVE Iron Man in these movies. Which video game do you find yourself most involved with?

This goes back to creating characters and really crafting my own stories -I'm big on Role Playing Games. Stuff like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect. I love being able to explore, move at my own pace, make decisions that effect the world. Other types of games -shooters, racing, sports, whatever- they're all well and good, but it's a lot more fun for me if I can have my own unique adventure.

I know what you mean about how your stories are vs real life. The things we write about, we would never want to see in reality, but it sure is fun in fantasy. What would you like to say towards the fans of your work? What does their feedback mean to you?

Right, and the things we write about can't happen in real life anyway. Most of the time an actual human is only going to laugh so much -or not at all depending on the circumstances- before they just become annoyed or angry. I love the fantasy, I think I've written over 100 stories at this point, but that's all it is, there's a clear line that should never be crossed.

To my fans, heck, I guess I'd just like to say thank you more than anything. The messages and critiques and responses I've received over the years have made me into a better writer and continue to do so. There's nothing more energizing than having people out there actively looking for new stories, it's what encourages me to create new ideas and put real effort into this. I mean, I will honestly spend 15+ minutes sometimes on a single paragraph, just getting the wording right. Or I'll research how something works so it doesn't sound off in the finale product. As much as these stories are written for my own amusement, that extra energy I put in is absolutely for the fans and it's worth every second.

I am anxious to see a new generation of writers. Seeing that you are a legendary veteran author of tickle fiction, what advice would you give to new aspiring writers out there?

You're way too kind my friend! I've always felt a little...call it embarrassed, to dispense any kind of advice because I never want to come off like I think I'm some kinda big shot. I guess though, if I were to tell anyone wanting to write something, it'd be to craft the kind of story you want to read. And when I say that I don't just mean in terms of plot, characters, action, etc, but presentation too.

Do you want to read a story that has no paragraphs? Probably not, no one else does either, so make good use of paragraphs. Use punctuation, use spellcheck -which isn't by any means to say my work is perfect, but at least make an effort. You might have written the greatest story on Earth, and if you've put it out in public chances are you want people to read it -so make it readable.

And I'm generalizing here, because there are always exceptions, but if you create a piece of art that you aren't passionate about I truly believe you won't be doing your best work. If the story you're writing feels like a chore, then it is a chore. But if you're so excited about the idea you can't stop typing, you've got something special and it will show through in the final product. Just as, if you grind through and are bored, that's going to come across as well, the work will suffer for it.

I mean heck, if you're not having fun what's the point? At the end of the day it's all about the laughs!

Well I know I am not the only one that wants to say THANK YOU for delighting us with the years of wonderful stories. It goes without saying that you have given this community of tickle fans a treasure chest of entertainment. I want to thank you for taking the time for participating in this interview and allowing the tickle community to know more of what goes on behind the scenes when coming up with a story. It has been a great honor.

Any time my friend, it has been an absolute pleasure!





I hope you all enjoyed this! I want to thank all of my interviewees Jersey Tickler, i64ever and TickleMantis for participating. Let me know what you think!
 
Great stuff! Two of the best authors in the history of the forum in conversation with each other.

Now if only there was a way to coax Primetime into writing fiction again.... ;)
 
Great interview! It's always cool to see two writers talk about their craft together, especially in so specific a genre like this.
 
Once again, nice work, primetime. I love these interviews!

TickleMantis was one of those writers whose stories really blew my mind when I “discovered” them all those years ago, since so many aspects of them seemed to tap into my own fantasies. It was one of those “wow! I guess I’m not the only one…” moments, and served as an inspiration for my own stories, writing and sharing them. I’ve enjoyed the ever-expanding catalog, and always look forward to a new story.

And nice mention of Grolsch, too, another favorite of mine. I don’t think he’s posted a story in a long while, but the man deserves some propers.

Thank you primetime. And thank you TickelMantis.
 
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