Deeker's Diaper Page- What Not to Write

Deeker's Diaper Page

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by Bratling

As the author of a few stories and the reader of hundreds, and most of all as a loudmouthed jerk, I still recognize that I have no right telling people how to write their stories. I do however think I can point out what myself and numerous other literate individuals here dislike in the stories we read. So here's a list of some themes and common mistakes that, while they might not make a story unreadable, they really do take the reader out of the story and ruin all that suspension of disbelief.

First of all, your story should not kick off with a listing off of rules. No one would do this. Ever. And it makes things a little obvious. When you list rules about how the boy has to behave in diapers, you basically give away the entire plot of your story while simultaneously displaying a lack of creativity. And it�s not at all exciting or involving. Diaper punishment does not involve forms, people! Lets see a bit less of "Should the punishee agree to the terms of diaper punishment, as well as the sub terms outlined in section 5b, he shall sign here, here, and initial here and date here and here." That's what a dry list of rules sounds like. Instead, if you must use this crutch, how about just add them in over time. Let them be revealed through showing rather than telling. Example: say something sassy in a big boy voice and discover that this is not allowed, so forth.
Using diapers is almost never done in the past tense. Why would you relegate what for a lot of people is a focus of the story to essentially be back-story? The obvious exception is for night time wetting, but this requires its own description, and can be just as interesting as conscious loss of control. "He had wet his pants" is not something that should ever be seen in a story. It's the same as saying "the man looked down and happened to notice he had gotten shot" in a war story. Exception is in the case of advanced regression of course, but until then, Let�s look at the actual occurrence of that loss of control, and so forth.
Also, medicine is not a be-all-end-all of regression. People take Metamucil every day and are not reduced to babbling infants. So let�s not use "he put a laxative in the drink" as the MacGuffin of our plot, shall we? If you want to involve medicine in a story, all the more power to you, but learn about it a bit. And please, no magical regression drug. Even if you write in a previous sentence that mom or aunty is a scientist. If you want to BASE your story upon that and flesh out the concept, go for it, but don�t introduce that element just as a catalyst for regression. Another medical styled scenario I've seen more than once is the magical car crash/sports injury/bullet that causes incontinence. That's kind of a cheap way of going about things and these stories, in avoiding a more realistic explanation, also generally ignore the potential medical and psychological effects of the trauma. Its invariably true that the victim of the accident is just fine except for needing diapers. If you want to go that route just go all out and say it�s a gypsy curse. Heck, I wouldn't mind seeing a skillfully done tale of magic being used in regression.
Don't make it clear that it is a diaper story in your first paragraph. "HEY LOOK OMG DIAPERS" is what you�re saying here, and it doesn�t make the story any better. Use some subtlety. Would a character we just met start immediately expounding on his undergarments in any story? Would a mother? Not at all. In the first paragraph of not quite an accident I only mentioned diapers, and I think even that needs to be edited a bit. So, especially in the case of a first person story, lets have it feel like we're learning a secret, rather than having an ADHD lunatic scream at us about what he wears to bed. Reveal it later on.
If you can�t create an involving and topical world, stick with the real one. Futuristic stories or alternate present stories often fall flat due to a lack of proper setting and back-story. Either that or they have little bearing on the characters in them.
If you can�t work with the real world or create one of your own, start using your keyboard for a pacifier rather than using someone else's characters or environments. You might find it to be an interesting take on the source material, but the reaction of, ya know, everyone else ever will be either laughter or uncomfortably closing the window. Admittedly some of us HAVE wondered "is celebrity/character maybe a diaper lover?" or something like that, but the basis for a snickered line in an IM conversation is not the basis for a readable story. When writing diaper stories we are aware that we have a niche audience. When writing stories about the time Megatron turned Optimus into a bedwetter, you must be aware that your niche audience consists of you. And maybe Starscream.
Your character�s age is NOT shown just by repeatedly their age. "Fullname J Lastname! You are X years old and not a baby anymore! This (insert accident or misbehavior) has got to stop!" might be okay for an exasperated mother to say once, but making too many allusions to the characters age is a silly thing to do. Instead try to show how old they are by how they act and react to situations, so forth.
Not every woman has a fully equipped nursery. I did a survey, it was very scientific. Trust me. If you�re going to go with the regression angle as most do, it has to go slow. Speaking of which:
Regression has to go slow. Consider reading up on developmental milestones that an adult would fall back through on the way to babyhood. That's years of development and some stories remove it in a matter of hours? Using force or rules to excuse this just doesn�t work. Being put in a diaper and having an accident in it doesn�t make one incontinent. There can be an urge to get to the good stuff, but once you get that out of your system you'll see that you've really hurried things along and don�t have a lot to look forward to, which is why too many stories here are so short. Save some for later. I know the adult baby mentality isn't one of patience, but this does pay off in spades.
A word on titles. Using the words "best story" or "ultimate diapering" or anything of that nature automatically proves that your work is sub standard. Either that or that its fanfic about some self-aggrandizing rapper. I don�t know which would be worse. Also, if the plot of your entire story is explained in the title, its probably too short or you need a different title. Try looking through the story for a good phrase.
Here's a litmus test to see if you're qualified to write stories: Do you read? I mean, not can you read, but do you. If you don't pick up at least a couple of books a year for purposes besides school, you really have no business trying to write anything. Another litmus test is to ask yourself whether your idea has been done before. I can see just by a search of the archives that a lot of people barely even seem to read the other stories on this site, much less actual books. The character of the strict aunt who likes to put her nephew in diapers is frightfully played out which is something people would notice if they read more here before writing.
Also, I know demanding realism in fantasy literature is a bit of a silly thing to do, but lets try to give things a sugary frosting of believability.
"You must wear diapers now." "Yessum." Is not good dialogue or characterization. By the same token neither is the other extreme which I've seen:
"You must wear diapers now." "NEVAR! CURSE! EXPLETIVE! FLIP OUT!" Go for a happy medium of resistance that you're comfortable with. Seeing a character gradually, grudgingly accept their situation can be enjoyable when theres some resistance martialed early on. If a character doesnt resist diapering, lets explain why.
As nice as it would be, the simple fact is the whole world does not wear diapers. How realistic is it for a boy who wears diapers to have every boy he comes in contact with to also already be a diaper wearer? Too often, this predictably leads to a mutual diaper change and a mutual masturbation session.

Just to point out how glaring and overdone these themes are, here is a parody story to help illustrate some examples:
Billy Meets His Aunt and Also Diaper-Hitler by "Travis T."