I consolidated several essays under this title late in 2005 and
have updated it from time to time. This latest revision was done
in February 2011.
JOE DOE: MASTER STORYTELLER
by
C. Lakewood
Joe Doe is not called a "master storyteller" for nothing. I am
convinced that he was the single most important factor in the
success of the original Strip-Searched group. And I sometimes
worried whether a minuscule response rate in the polls and the
occasional post of "Awesum story, Joe!!!" were thanks enough. At
the beginning of 2004, I got the notion that we might encourage
more feedback by holding a contest in which members would choose
their favorite JD stories -- and tell why. So I did an article
on Joe, updated it about a year later, and was working on yet
another brief update when the group was torpedoed. The present
article is a consolidation of those earlier ones, with some new
material added.
(Of course, the initial articles sank without a ripple of response,
which was disappointing...then. Nowadays, I have given up trying
to increase member participation, and I'm much happier as a result.
But I still find JD's writings an interesting subject for analysis.
Fortunately, he himself has supplied a framework for that.)
******************************
What makes "a good strip search story"?
First of all, let me lay out the criteria -- or, rather, let JD
himself do it in the sixth item he ever posted.
In his article, "A Good Strip Search Story," which, incidentally,
ought to be the vade mecum of anyone aspiring to write such a
story, Joe sets forth seven characteristics or elements:
1) The victim should be innocent of any crime that would
justify her stripping.
2) Events should conspire against the victim to gradually
remove her control over the situation; she isn't
strip-searched because she is a hardened criminal; she
is stripped because of a series of trivial mistakes or
unlikely coincidences.
3) Her predicament may be arranged by a rival, or by a
malevolent authority figure abusing his power, or it
may be totally accidental. But, no matter how bizarre
the circumstances, she is quickly powerless to resist.
4) The victim may consent to some or all of her search, and
she might become aroused by some aspects of it. But she
should also find the whole procedure deeply and intensely
humiliating.
5) The victim should be powerful, successful, and intelligent.
She should fully appreciate the injustice of the outrageous
indignities she is subjected to. If the victim tries to
use her superior power or intellect to avoid stripping,
she'll be thwarted by her inferiors.
6) The perpetrators should enjoy the search and go out of
their way to make it as humiliating as possible. They
should be of a lower social class or be a rival seeking
vengeance. In a way, the strip search is a role reversal.
7) The ending should imply that there are still more
indignities to come.
Of these seven elements that he outlined, I personally think that
number 1 needs to be modified. Time after time in JD's stories,
the "victim" IS guilty of something -- arrogance, most commonly
-- and usually does deserve at least some of what she gets.
Nicole, in "Bug in the System," is an excellent case in point;
there are many others. (The central character in "Lost in the
Translation" is a classic example.) Another common theme is the
woman who "asks for it," but gets much more than she expects --
like Judge Ashley Marsh in "Other Side of the Mirror" (etc.) or
Sharon in "Inspection." But these women are hardly "innocent"
either.
Number 7, which encourages the reader to actively engage his own
imagination, is now considered a hallmark of his stories. It
provides a context for readers' fantasies -- and for possible
sequels. In my own stories, I have likewise tried to provide a
resolution, but not necessarily a conclusion.
(While on the subject of sequels, I should remind everyone of JD's
extraordinary literary generosity in allowing members almost carte
blanche to do sequels. I started out writing a couple, in fact,
and at least one group member -- Arty -- has, in my opinion, done
some of his best work writing them.)
But, for me, JD's core concepts are contained in items 4, 5, and 6.
Power reversal is key. One doesn't have to be a nihilist to enjoy
seeing an arrogant fat cat getting her comeuppance. (A few years
back, the great Parker wrote a story entitled "Charlotte," in which
a ruthless, self-absorbed, super-rich bitch dominates and, for all
practical purposes, destroys a poor, young, female hotel desk
clerk. This story, while not without its moments, is ultimately
unsatisfying. How much more powerful it would have been if the
Domme/sub roles had been somehow reversed.)
Aspiring porn writers can learn a lot from reading JD -- I know I
did. The pacing, the paragraphing, the twists and turns (sometimes
surprising and often humorous), the tidy but "open" endings (number
7 on his list) are all worthy of study.
Indeed, he explained the reason for that sort of "teaser ending"
-- which is now a hallmark of his stories and which often goads
readers into screaming for a sequel. In a message that appeared
in January 2003, titled, "Response to Various Authors and Critics,"
he pointed out that "the mechanics of the searches tend to be very
similar: the setups, scenarios, and mental state of the characters
are what make the stories unique.... I think the 'teaser' stories
allow me to explore various fantasies without becoming overly
repetitious."
It works for me.
But his stories are certainly not perfect. There are plenty of
things in his originals that the more punctilious among us would
certainly consider defects. (Many of these, however, have been
corrected in the edited versions, and JD's mechanics have improved
significantly of late.) But, in my opinion, all of the blemishes
-- the inadequate proof-reading, homophone errors, metaphorical and
often corny names (Mr. Codger, Ms. Dyke, Coach Leer, Capt. Gropem,
Mrs. Spite, Judge Dithers, etc.), questionable demographics (half
of Doeville seems to be named "Johnson," for example), misused
quote marks, bad punctuation, over-used proper nouns and under-used
pronouns, historical inaccuracies, occasional plot glitches, etc.
-- do not alter the fact that he remains, indeed, a "master
storyteller."
******************************
Numerology Notes
The curious numerical patterns found in JD's stories are intriguing.
Consider the numbers assigned to various characters...
Ashley Marsh ("Harsh Judgment"): 288-38377-7378 (Prison)
Brittany ("Visit to Doeville"): 3733-58583-3838 (Prison)
Carrie Paris ("12 Days of Christmas," Pt 11): 338-3838-3484 (Prison)
Chris Kelly ("Pacific Blue Riddle"): 3738-3838-84478 (Prison)
Chris Monday ("Earn What You're Worth"): 5748-383483-84488 (Slave)
Cynthia Jackson ("Photo Analysis," Part 3): 3738-3843-3838 (Prison)
Debra Norton ("TV News Babe in Jail!"): 8848-4848-A8 (Prison)
Heather Grant ("Pending Arrest"): 18383-8383-47478 (Prison)
Jennifer Lowe ("Santa Search"): 85585-83383 (Prison)
Miranda Gray ("Gothika"): 337-3838-5757 (Asylum)
Natalie Natt ("12 Days...," Part 2): 7383-38383 (Prison)
Nichole Blunderprone ("Bug in...System"): 338-3834-3887-383 (Prison)
Susan Price ("Robosearch"): 18383 (Badge number)
Terri London ("The Neglected Note"): 138388 (Refugee camp) and
("L.U.R.D"): 5875-4844-8789 (Prison)
Tracy Smith ("Newsbabe Tracy's Halloween Scoop"): 3838-3738 (Prison)
Wendy Wicker ("Figurines," Part 1): 7338-3838-4747 (Prison)
And to laws ("12 Days...," Part 2): 738-383, 3883-383, & 38383-3838.
The 3s and 8s suggest a mammary fascination, perhaps; what the 4s
and 7s mean, though, is anybody's guess.
******************************
My Story Ratings
The list below is highly idiosyncratic, and most of the ratings
are subject to change. If I were making a list sometime in the
future, for example, I probably would pick the same stories
(almost all of them, anyway). I'm sure that "Bug in the System"
(in my estimation, JD's masterpiece) would be at the top, and that
the 4-star stories would still have four stars, but there would
undoubtedly be some shuffling of titles amongst the other three
categories. (A couple in the 1-star group might not be included
at all. Indeed, "House Call" has been on and off the list several
times. Several others have repeatedly just missed the cut, for
one reason or another.)
And note that this is a list of the stories that I personally
consider most exemplary; just because I omitted a story, don't
imagine that I necessarily think it's a bad one.
But it is true that you won't find any of the sci-fi, time travel,
or superhero stories here -- and only one historical. While trying
different contexts is commendable, I just don't think these stories
quite measure up. His métier is elsewhere.
In compiling this list, I considered every Joe Doe story so far
posted -- from the first one in the "Strip-Searched" group (SS1),
which appeared 10 September 2001, through those in Stripsearchtwo"
(SS2), from autumn 2005 to 31 March 2008 (the end of SS2), and then
in "Stripsearchthree" (SS3), very briefly in 2008. (The stories
posted to SS3 from 10 October 2010 are included in a separate
list.)
5-star
Bug in the System
4-star
75% Off (pts 1, 2, 4; pt 3 by Ashley Marsh; 5 by Lakewood & friend)
Foreign Forms
Gothika
Open Book Exam
Other Side of the Mirror
3-star
Back in School (Joe's 3rd story posted)
Drive for Humiliation, version 2
Inspection
Just Like Old Times
Lost in the Translation (the 7th post)
Repeat Offender
Trick or Treat
2-star
12 Days of Christmas
Bimbo Barbie's Close Shave (+ sequels by Kopema and by Deputy Duffy)
Costumes and Pumpkins
Crazy Mistake
Linda's Labor Day Lesson
Memorial Day Was No Picnic
Pacific Blue Riddle
Searching Sara
Test Drive (pts 1 & 3; pt 2 by Wraith)
Virtual Search
Visitor Policy Q&A
What Happens in Mexico...
1-star
Boring Party
Brewbottom, Letter Perfect, Parole (+ a sequel by Lakewood)
Doughnuts
House Call
Justice for Judge Tracy
Lakewood's Costume Shop III: Denise Takes Her Medicine
One Question Too Many (Joe's 4th story posted)
Phone First
Revolutionary Inspiration
Uninformed Then Uniformed (pts 1, 2, 3; pts 4-5 by FatherJim and
Lakewood; pt 6 by Lakewood)
Worst Part is the Waiting (+ a prequel and 3 sequels by Arty)
Also getting one star are two special groups:
First, both for merit and (especially) for originality...
Charlie's Angels Unthrottled
and
Commercials We'd Like to See
More Commercials We'd Like to See
Still More Commercials We'd Like to See
Second...
Calendar Girls (30 & 31 December 2005)
and
Ornaments (23 December 2005)
I originally included these last two primarily because at the time
I feared they might well be the last brand-new stories we ever got
from JD. Happily I was wrong, but take another look at them: he
brought together a host of his favorite characters...perhaps for
a final reunion. Because of that, I was reminded of Parker's
farewell story, "(fore)Closure."
Ratings Update, 2010+
I hesitate to mix the following in with the rest, for, after the
passage of some 5 years, I'm just not as familiar with all the
stories as I once was, and I'm pretty sure that I can't apply the
same criteria in the same way. So 3 stars, say, in 2010 may be a
bit different than 3 stars had been in 2005.
3 or 4-star
Friendly Mailman (pts 1-2; pt 3 by Lakewood)
Full Employment Act (pts 1-2; pt 3 by Lakewood)
3-star (at least)
Harsh Judgment
2-star
Sucker Bet (pt 1; pt 2 by Lakewood)
Rationale: Both "Mailman" and "Act" were developed in fine fashion
from fresh plot ideas. "Bet" is also promising, but it needed a
Part 2. "Judgment" was, I think, longer than it should have been,
but Part 7 was so extraordinarily good that, in my estimation, it
elevated the entire story to 3-star rank...at least.
******************************
I hope this article prompts people to go back and re-read JD's work
-- not just those stories above, but as much of the entire canon as
possible -- and judge for themselves. And, if one consolidates
separately posted chapters, the "entire canon" consists of 150
titles, to date. It includes some very long, complex stories, like
"Harsh Judgment" and "Twelve Days of Christmas." All can be found
on my ASSTR site.
To put this into perspective, in the mid-90s "deirdre" wrote
and posted 156 rather minimalist stories, She is considered
extraordinarily prolific and has been acclaimed by some as "the
Internet's greatest writer" (which she certainly was not). All
these stories are short, and many are really mere fragments that
end abruptly and, for me, unsatisfyingly. Moreover, many of
those that might be considered more or less "complete" are wildly
improbable. One -- "Company" -- is utterly absurd. Others are
sort of twisted "slices of life." Though she did write a few
memorable stories, I think her work pales in comparison to JD's,
both in quantity and quality.