Quote by M_K_Babalon
Hmmm.... I wouldn't say getting fixated on a certain thing makes one lazy. A one trick pony, maybe, surely. Doing the same thing in different ways, at least when it looks like improvement or some sort of innovation, is not really the bad thing you make it sound like. But I think those people can get stuck just doing the one thing, then it's not so much laziness still, but stagnation. The key probably lies in the stories, all the same thing on the basis, but what's inside. Steven King only writes horror, but I'm sure few books could be said to be just like the others. In a way any of this could be pidgeonholed, but they do it to themselves, anything else is "too hard" or whatever excuse.
I wouldn't say trying something new is jumping the shark, at least as far as the new being something different; going from bondage to watersports, or whatever. Perfecting the craft goes as far as ones mental conception, but is that perfecting ones own craft, or doing something that changes the entire thing as a whole? At some point a subject will be exhausted, at least with their own personal creative attempts, but I guess that depends on how flexable a certain thing is, and how specific a subject is. Bondage and Watersports seems like two narrow themes, while say, Lesbian, as the other user mentioned; so much can be done with that.
Hm, I feel your use of the term 'jumping the shark' reads a bit off?? To quote/copy paste from Wikipedia - Jumping the shark is a negative term "used to argue that a creative work or entity has reached a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with, or an extreme exaggeration of, its original purpose."
But yeah 'stagnation' is an interesting word, tho, I feel like if someone is stagnant, they wouldn't be writing at all? But like also, Bondage and Watersports have alot in common when you strip it down to the base emotions of both of them. They are both about 'tension' and 'release' which is the core of most erotic things and writing in my opinion. You build tension via foreplay and dialog etc. and then it builds to a release or climax. In bondage and watersports case, the release of the binds, or release of the hold in watersports 'case. But like that's kind of why I am asking the question cos when you boil things down as much as they can to the carnal forces of the matter, it borders on being 'formulaic' in a way. But at the same time its like how do you separate 'formulaic' from 'framework' like sentence structure is a framework, grammar is a framework, the plot diagram that some people learn in school, is a framework of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, but the fun can be to do things out of order, but then it tips the scales in a way of being 'experimental' 'esoteric' or 'avant-garde' and thereby only reaching a very niche audience if any audience at all..
I feel I may have digressed a tiny bit, but yeah. I'm pleased many people have weighed in on the topic/question, as it has been on my mind a lot and it is helpful to hear other people's thoughts/ opinions/viewpoints etc.