Collecting Stories

I have already gotten a few emails from balloon fetishists telling me how their fetish started, and what they like to do with balloons, and what other fetishes (if any) they have, and I can already, at this early stage in the process, discern two important facts:

First, I really have my work cut out for me. These stories are detailed and intimate and open and honest, but they elicit even more questions. And I think I have only gotten a tiny hint, even with all the years I've spent in online forums with other balloons fetishists, of the enormous variety of interests and experiences that I am going to be exposed to.

Second, this is going to be a fascinating experience. Even over the course of reading just these few emails, I have found myself thinking things like, "I never thought of that," and "I thought he was leading to something just like my own experiences, until he said that."

I think that by the time I have finished researching this book, I will have changed a lot of my own conceptions about what it is to be a balloon fetishist, in ways I never imagined. And while I usually start a book or story with some idea of what the end product will look like, I have a feeling that for this book, the final form will bear little resemblance to what is currently in my head.

It might be the most interesting writing experience I've ever had.