Concept behind "Forbidden Instinct" by Alain Gomez


You know, I'll be honest: I have mixed feelings about this story.  Forbidden Instinct and I never really "clicked" while I was writing it.  Which means, knowing my luck, that somehow this will be the story that makes me rich and famous.  That way when people ask the source of my inspiration I can give an eloquent "uhhhh....ermm...yeeeeah...." as a response.

I feel the resulting story is entertaining enough and I like the premise.  I really wanted to sort of begin to explore a certain type of romance.  The idea of women having to choose freedom in knowledge vs. freedom in family is interesting to me.  I want to try this plot framework again but maybe with a different setting.

While I may feel lukewarm about the story itself, I learned quite a bit while writing it.  For one thing, I learned more about what I don't like to write.  For another, I was able to explore that 5,000+ word short story range (this one clocks in at a little over 6k).  It really changes the whole dynamic of the short story.  I know that 5,000 words is more socially acceptable right now as a standalone, but you really do have a completely different story on your hands.

So, in short (pun!), there really wasn't much of a solidly formed concept behind this story.  Which probably led to most of the issues I had writing it.  But as a learning experience, it was invaluable to me.

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