Tickle Writers #5 - Interview with TickleTales

Contents

1 Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself and your hobbies?
2 When was the passion for storytelling born in you? What about the one for tickling?
3 Do you draw inspiration for your tickle stories from any particular author or source?
4 What tickle scenarios do you love to describe?
5 Why do you think tickle stories are so popular?
6 Do your readers ask or appreciate tickle scenes in particular?
7 Can you give some suggestions on how to write an exciting tickling story?
8 Can you turn your passion for tickle storytelling into a profitable business?
9 What are some goals in this field that you are proud to have achieved?
10 Do you think AIs can harm or improve tickle stories?

Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself and your hobbies?

Yeah! I’m TickleTales. So, I like to write tickling stories for sure. My other hobbies are playing music and card games and video games. I play a couple different instruments and I sing.

When was the passion for storytelling born in you? What about the one for tickling?

I’ve always loved telling stories. We were given a project in school to write a story that was two pages and mine ended up over thirty pages long lol. I have always been a fan of world building, fantasy and sci fi, and character arcs. Something about the way stories impact us as people makes the medium perfect for my own personal expression and it’s something I’ve done all the time whether it’s in my writing here or my songwriting.

My passion for tickling has always just kinda been there. I vividly remember a dream I had when I was really, really young that involved tickling and it just kinda stuck inside me. I’m not sure where it came from or why, but I’ve always been heavily interested in tickling even though it’s something I’ve only recently decided to come to terms with. I used to think it was weird, and still sometimes feel that way, but as I’ve shared more of my stories with other people who are interested and talk about it, the more accepting of myself I’ve become.

Do you draw inspiration for your tickle stories from any particular author or source?

I definitely draw inspiration from anime-style storytelling in general. In animation, you can be much more creative and out there with your ideas than you can in live action or realistic scenarios. I do try my best to ground my characters, but I like the worlds my characters inhabit to be much more unpredictable and fantastical than the real world. I especially enjoy tickle monsters and machines, so those tend to be my go-to aspects in my world building.

What tickle scenarios do you love to describe?

A: For me, it’s almost all upper body tickling. If there’s something I think works best for feet, then I have just as much fun working on those scenes, but nothing beats upper body tickling. I especially like writing lees who enjoy being tickled. To me, being tickled is fun and something to be enjoyed and I just love the idea of a lee not being able to get enough tickling in a story. And again, machines and monsters are my go-tos, although I am trying to branch out a bit.

She begins giggling and quivering in her bonds, her scantily clad body trembling in her bonds as her eyes are locked on the fingers closing in on her underarms. Her light giggling bubbles up from her bound form as her vulnerability becomes ever more apparent. Those fingers are close now, tickling the air a few inches away from her outstretched hollows, the hairless, perfectly smooth skin there excessively ticklish to the slightest touch.
The Tickle Goddess

Why do you think tickle stories are so popular?

Obviously, various fetish scenes have become more popular as the internet has allowed the anonymous sharing of these fantasies. I think stories in general, however, can allow us to visit worlds entirely within our imaginations which permits us to imagine the tickle machine as we would want it to look, or for the tickler to focus on the spots we would want them to focus on. It grants us a bit more permission to live out our fantasies than videos and pictures allow. I do love every medium of tickling art and enjoy all of it. I just think there’s something special about each one that guides me to appreciate one over the other depending on what I’m looking for in the moment.

Do your readers ask or appreciate tickle scenes in particular?

A: Most of my readers love my main mascot, Lucy. She’s a fiery readhead with a fun-loving personality who loves being tickled. Any time I run a poll on who should get a focus next, Lucy tends to win or at least come in a close second. For the most part, I’m honest about the content I offer and I think a lot of my readers know what I include in my stories: upper body tickling often with a focus on belly buttons or armpits and lees who enjoy being tickled even if the tickle torture can get a bit too intense for them in the moment (As can be seen in my most recent chapter of The Ticklish Adventures of Lucy and Friends).

Can you give some suggestions on how to write an exciting tickling story?

I think the biggest and most cliche piece of advice I can offer is to write what you want to write. What do you want to see? What would you like to experience? Write that. If you’re writing stories you don’t care about, that will definitely show through in your writing. Sometimes, my mood will shift mid story and I think, “I can’t write about this right now. I just don’t care about it.” And I think my readers could see that when I would try to push through. Give yourself space to breathe when you need it and write like the wind when you’re inspired.

Can you turn your passion for tickle storytelling into a profitable business?

I sure hope so. My goal is absolutely to maneuver into a more full time creator in the tickling space. I’ve considered starting a studio with real models, I’m working on my art skills so I can draw and animate stories, and I’m constantly trying to improve my writing skills. If anyone wants to help me achieve this, they can support me and we’ll make it happen together!

What are some goals in this field that you are proud to have achieved?

Honestly, just continuing to write and share my stories is huge. I struggle with major depression. It makes it hard to get out of bed and feel motivated to do much of anything. There have been countless times I’ve wanted to quit writing and just walk away, honestly. But I know that this is one of the things I love doing most, so I keep coming back to it and doing even a little at a time or going through planning phases when I can’t quite write good dialogue or scenes. Somehow, my page has just kept on going.

Lucy’s howling laughter again fills the room as the hands continue their ticklish ministrations, dancing along her ticklish tummy without any reservations. They tickle and tickle away, Lucy’s delectable midriff bouncing against her immovable restraints and her bright red hair swishing through the air as she swings her head back and forth. Her eyes are both tightly shut with freshly tickled tears welling up, her already tear-streaked cheeks bright red from the unending ticklish laughter.
Lucy’s Tickle Test

Do you think AIs can harm or improve tickle stories?

This is a tough question for me. I’ve used AI to create images for my stories. I want to be able to provide my stories through an audio medium using real voice actors like I’ve always imagined it. I don’t make much money from my day jobs and my pages don’t make enough to collaborate with artists (yet), so I have to use AI to fill the gaps or else those projects wouldn’t happen. And the projects often suffer for it. I can see my stories come to life in a way, but it definitely is nowhere near as good as if I could work with real artists who have talent, vision, and soul to their work. I do think AI helps us get some projects off the ground. But I don’t think it can ever replace truly talented artists.

As it stands, if I can get my work to bring in enough revenue for it, I plan to rework my audio stories that currently have AI pictures and AI narration to have real art and animation and fully voice acted narration. As it is, though, it already costs me a lot of money just to get the voice actors to cast my Adventures series on YouTube, so it will take a while before that happens.