On Writing: the perfect Series for Literotica

[BobbyBrandt]

I agree with what you say, but what does chapter length have to do with the literary quality of the story?

Okay, we'll exclude purposely short 750 word stories and focus on chapter stories and series for the sake of this discussion...

If the first chapter of a story on Literotica barely fills one page, that is typically a reliable indicator (at least for me) that the story's quality will be lacking. It screams impatience along with amateurish character and story development on the part of the writer. There are exceptions, and I'll admit that. However, they are few and far between.

It's the sum of the whole, so if there are short chapters interspersed among longer ones in a completed story, that is perfectly acceptable IMO. Some scenes take longer than others to develop and resolve. Some scenes are quick, "wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am" events that don't require a lot of words to describe them. But if the scene is so insignificant that it takes less than 3,750 to describe it, why have it in the story to begin with?

Again, these are just my views as a reader, here and elsewhere. I don't read pamphlets when I can read books.

 

[djrip]

Hello fellow authors

New to Literotica, I need your advice. I have published here three short stories as samples of my writings (different categories), and I am so glad one of them made it to the HOT list, notwithstanding two errors I believe I made (labeling it as BDSM instead of Non-Consent, and making it longer than one page, which prevents some readers from rating it, especially those recruited in chat).

Now, I am almost ready to start a new Story Series, which I guess is the ‘right’ format in Lit, because my goal is to understand if my Erotica writings are good enough, and (if the answer is positive) gather an audience, a group of readers who like my characters and my plots, and help me improve them by giving feedback.

Here are my questions:

1. The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?
2. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?
3. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?
4. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?
5. Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?

Thank you in advance for your pieces of advice!

Best

Nancy Jo

Welcome!

1 - I think the consensus among all I've heard talk about this topic is, readers penalize stories for being too short with lower ratings. Take any contest; the winners are 5-10 lit pages. Personally, my older submissions are 1-2 pages, and average in the 4.0 - 4.5 range; my newer stories are 3-4 lit pages and average in the 4.4 - 4.8 range. It takes length to build an interesting story and develop characters, it takes length to give readers time to get into the story and be immersed in it, and also time to get aroused and get off if they're going for that.

2 - Like some others, I think the most important thing is a satisfying chapter. A cliffhanger for what's coming up is fine, not having one is also fine, but make sure the current chapter is satisfying, or why would someone be interested in going on to the next?

3 - so in media res implies having a scene, and then going to a point earlier in time for the next part. Which is fine, of course. But you can also just have a scene about whatever is important happening, and just sprinkle any necessary backstory into that scene through dialog or a character briefly remembering something, which is what I tend to do.

4 - Personally I am fine with chapters jumping around in categories. Some strongly feel that you should pick one that fits with the overall series and stick with it. That's more the case with chapters in a series (like Stranger Things episodes or the Matrix films), vs a series of related stories that can each stand alone (like Simpsons episodes or the Indiana Jones films).

5 - Sounds great!

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Okay, we'll exclude purposely short 750 word stories and focus on chapter stories and series for the sake of this discussion...

If the first chapter of a story on Literotica barely fills one page, that is typically a reliable indicator (at least for me) that the story's quality will be lacking. It screams impatience along with amateurish character and story development on the part of the writer. There are exceptions, and I'll admit that. However, they are few and far between.

It's the sum of the whole, so if there are short chapters interspersed among longer ones in a completed story, that is perfectly acceptable IMO. Some scenes take longer than others to develop and resolve. Some scenes are quick, "wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am" events that don't require a lot of words to describe them. But if the scene is so insignificant that it takes less than 3,750 to describe it, why have it in the story to begin with?

Again, these are just my views as a reader, here and elsewhere. I don't read pamphlets when I can read books.

Have you considered that most people don't write in regards to Lits word count/chapter length? Or that a lit page isn't even standard, so to speak? Personally I think lit works that way out of some sort of conveniences, to intentionally set a limit. A single page on ao3 has a 50k character limit, for example. What I'm publishing currently, the chapters are seven to ten-ish standard pages long. I think the first and second chapter are both ten msword pages long, yet the first chapter is one lit page and the second is two. It's only noticable because lit auto adds a page, most other sites don't do that. I don't see the length of lits pages to be a goal, just like I don't see AO³ or Wattpads 50k page to be a goal to get near. Chapters should be as long as they need be, or whatever the author wants. Hell... a friend of mine is reading a book where the chapters are 1-6 pages long. It literally has one page chapters in it.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

And to the OP: there is no perfect story. Perfection is a fallacy, it don't exist. However good or great you think you or your work is, doesn't matter as much as what your readers think. And that's any performance art, whether it book, visual, or sound.

 

[ElectricBlue]

There are thousands of high-quality erotic stories here by hundreds of writers with different, yet exceptional literary styles - proving that it can be done. There is no "one way" to get it right, but there are so many ways to get it wrong.

I agree, but the fundamental fact remains - many published writers come here to Lit with their first goes at erotica, and they bring with them their main-stream conventions and expectations, which might be limitations.

Writing for arousal requires a different approach, if you want your reader to orgasm. A perfectly crafted 3000 word story might be exquisite, but unless you're a fifteen year old boy, I doubt it's going to be long enough for arousal. There's a different rhythm needed in arousal erotica, for starters, and sometimes you don't need plot and drama, but you do need intimacy and mood. That's only ever my point, when I say, write a little longer, maybe, because it's not the New Yorker.

I don't think our "published writers" have even thought about that side of erotica, from the many posts I've seen, like the OP's.

The OP reckons 2500 words is enough. For trigger fingers, maybe, but that's not much time for a long slow evening read.

My latest, which I submitted yesterday, is 12k words. There's no plot as such - two women find an accommodating man and take him home - but I suspect it will make readers happy. We'll see.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Okay, we'll exclude purposely short 750 word stories and focus on chapter stories and series for the sake of this discussion...

If the first chapter of a story on Literotica barely fills one page, that is typically a reliable indicator (at least for me) that the story's quality will be lacking. It screams impatience along with amateurish character and story development on the part of the writer. There are exceptions, and I'll admit that. However, they are few and far between.

Exactly this. It's a dead give away (second only to the back story info-dump in the first three-hundred words) that you've got a beginner. Sometimes they've got the chops to grab you, but usually not.

 

[Euphony]

Exactly this. It's a dead give away (second only to the back story info-dump in the first three-hundred words) that you've got a beginner. Sometimes they've got the chops to grab you, but usually not.

But how can I understand ANYTHING if I don't get a full weather report first?

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

FWIW, the first story I submitted here ten years ago was a 20,000 word monster!

I have very spare prose style so my longest recent story is a hefty 9000. Other stories that I've gotten good comments on are 3000-5000. That's more than enough to tell a decent story without rushing.

My natural rhythm though is 2500-word chapters. That's what I used for my Planet CMNF series. It's enough to set up an erotic situation, deliver 2-3 sexy set pieces, and bring it to--if not a cliffhanger--a natural pause in the action.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Wow, I thought I posted something in this a few minutes ago. I wonder if I did it in the wrong thread?

 

[MillieDynamite]

What about Vampires that twinkle, werewolves that are football stars, people playing games for food, kids making their way through mazes, and dragons?

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I agree, but the fundamental fact remains - many published writers come here to Lit with their first goes at erotica, and they bring with them their main-stream conventions and expectations, which might be limitations.

Writing for arousal requires a different approach, if you want your reader to orgasm. A perfectly crafted 3000 word story might be exquisite, but unless you're a fifteen year old boy, I doubt it's going to be long enough for arousal. There's a different rhythm needed in arousal erotica, for starters, and sometimes you don't need plot and drama, but you do need intimacy and mood. That's only ever my point, when I say, write a little longer, maybe, because it's not the New Yorker.

I don't think our "published writers" have even thought about that side of erotica, from the many posts I've seen, like the OP's.

The OP reckons 2500 words is enough. For trigger fingers, maybe, but that's not much time for a long slow evening read.

My latest, which I submitted yesterday, is 12k words. There's no plot as such - two women find an accommodating man and take him home - but I suspect it will make readers happy. We'll see.

I don't disagree.

That's the distinction between the the "Lit" and the "erotica". I just believe the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

 

[madelinemasoch]

Writing for arousal

Writing for arousal... I guess I'm doing that, sometimes, maybe. I'm writing to make points...

 

[TheRedChamber]

Here are my questions:

1. The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?

One thing that I think happens a lot here and which is partly a result of how Literotica is set up is that chapters (as you'd find in an ordinary book) and submissions (one chunk of writing that is submitted and published on the site at one time) tend to get conflated. I tend to write naturally in book chapters and it seems to me like a natural way of structuring a story - and I find 3,000 words is a good length for such a chapter. However, I wouldn't submit a longer story chapter by chapter. Either I'd publish it all at once (if it's say less than 20,000 words) or I'd break it into a few parts based on the flow of the story. Why? Not all chapters are going to be equally satisfying. Even if your story is one in which multiple sexual encounters are happening regularly, you're probably going to need at least one non-sex chapter every now and then to set-up the next round of fun. But most reader generally expect some amount of action in each published submission and your down chapters are likely to score less (and potentially scare away newer readers) if you don't satisying this (not everyone expects this, but enough people do to probably put a dent in your score). Besides, if I'm enjoying a longer story, it's a (admittedly fairly minor) pain to have to stop and mess around clicking links to get to the next chapter.

1. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?

A lot of people have already answered this and I think the important thing to remember is that, by the end of each submission, you need to have given the reader a reason to want to read the next one. Bobby made the distinction between a chapter story and series (what I'd describe as a story series vs and episodic series). If you're writing an episodic series, I'd say that the best way to achieve this is simply to make the episode so amazingly great that people will naturally want to read the next one ('Wow, Captain Kirk fighting a lizardman barehanded on the surface of a strange planet was so amazing, I can't wait to see what happens to him next week'). With a story series, I'd say, you need to finish each submission with the reader having a vague idea of where the story is going next and wanting to find out exactly what happens. Especially, I'd say, by the end of the first submission the reader should have a pretty good idea of what the story is about and what the main source of dramatic tension is going to be.

1. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?

I think 'In media res' can be a bit of a misleading term - starting a story 'in the middle of things' is not necessarily the same thing as starting a story with a huge amount of backstory. A lot of novice authors begin their stories with something like...

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is James Bond and I'm a secret agent. Both of my parents were killed when I was young. I've always been attracted to danger (and beautiful women lol) and with no-one around to worry about me, after I graduated from Oxford with a first class degree in Oriental Languages, I joined MI6. People say I'm quite handsome and some have even compared me to a young Sean Connery...

You can probably do a better job of writing this than I have, but generally, these types of introductions come across as clunky and the general advice is to avoid them. A true 'In media res' beginning would be something like...

As Bond landed hard on the rocks, he felt his left ski break. He hoped the pain in his leg wasn't a sign it was broken, though it hardly mattered - running or limping, it was inevitable that the assassin would catch up to him now. He felt in his pocket, the Enigma encoder was still in one piece after the fall. Perhaps he should take this chance to throw it off the cliff before he felt the inevitable bullet from the sniper rifle in the back his head...It had all begun three weeks ago, when M had called Bond into see him in his office...

(It's not strictly necessary to do a flashback here, but in any case, there's clearly vast bits of plot that will need to be worked in later)

In Media Res is a perfectly fine way to tell some stories, but a simpler approach would be something like.

Bond raised his gun and fired three shots, one after the other, three seconds apart, then grunted in frustration. Only one had landed straight in the centre of the practice target. The other had hit the outline of the body but further out, at the left shoulder. Had the target been alive and right handed, they might have gotten off a shot before they fell. Still it was better than last week, barely, though that was probably more because Bond had foregone his usual round drinking the pervious night and actually gotten a decent nights sleep before today's evaluation. The results were telling him the same thing his muscles had after the Cairo mission - he was getting too old for this. "M wants to see you," said a voice behind him...

Here, you are not telling anyone the backstory and (providing this story doesn't build on the Cairo mission) you're not starting in the middle of the story, but you are starting with at least some action and setting up some of the dramatic tension about Bond's age which will (no doubt) play out through the rest of the story. Even for someone who knows nothing about James Bond, you've implied some basic information - he works in a dangerous profession, drinks and travels.

1. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?

This comes up a lot and the general consensus is to stick to one category if at all possible.

1. Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?

I've not read anything like this - there's a literally a million stories on Literotica, so it's likely that someone has done something similar, but it hardly matters - I doubt its so cliched that people won't want to read it, and, indeed, sounds like a good idea.

 

[NancyVeeners]

Ive never heard of this as a problem or complaint. Out of curiosity, where does this theory come from and what is the thought process on why?

Most people here in the AH hold this opinion: they/we view longer than one page as better for scores because it results (loosely) in fewer “impulse” scores, some of which will be low scores for bad reasons. The extra attention span to reach page 2 makes a notable difference in the amount of thought put into a score.

A Literotica page is roughly 3750 pages, not 2500.

Good luck and welcome!

Thank you Jsmiam for your answer and your help. You are right, 3750. Not a problem, nor a complaint. And I guess you are right about 'impulse' scores. The problem with 'the extra attention span' is that some casual readers--those who don't like you as a writer yet--just don't reach the second page because they are more interested in chatting. Some of them told me so, promising they would read the story 'later' and never rated it. Not a significant sample for statistical purposes, but it makes sense. Best. Nancy Jo.

Ive never heard of this as a problem or complaint. Out of curiosity, where does this theory come from and what is the thought process on why?

Most people here in the AH hold this opinion: they/we view longer than one page as better for scores because it results (loosely) in fewer “impulse” scores, some of which will be low scores for bad reasons. The extra attention span to reach page 2 makes a notable difference in the amount of thought put into a score.

A Literotica page is roughly 3750 pages, not 2500.

Good luck and welcome!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Thank you Jsmiam for your answer and your help. You are right, 3750. Not a problem, nor a complaint. And I guess you are right about 'impulse' scores. The problem with 'the extra attention span' is that some casual readers--those who don't like you as a writer yet--just don't reach the second page because they are more interested in chatting. Some of them told me so, promising they would read the story 'later' and never rated it. Not a significant sample for statistical purposes, but it makes sense. Best. Nancy Jo.

I think Lit has two broad groups that don't in fact cross over much. There are the folk who tend to stay "Forum side" - Chat , the playgrounds, the personals, and so on; and then there are the "Story side" readers, here for the stories.

Most of us here in the AH are writers, so the second group is our target audience. If you're coming in from Forum side, I'm not sure I'd be correlating too many behaviours from there into the reader community. They're two separate beasts, I reckon.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Welcome!

1 - I think the consensus among all I've heard talk about this topic is, readers penalize stories for being too short with lower ratings. Take any contest; the winners are 5-10 lit pages. Personally, my older submissions are 1-2 pages, and average in the 4.0 - 4.5 range; my newer stories are 3-4 lit pages and average in the 4.4 - 4.8 range. It takes length to build an interesting story and develop characters, it takes length to give readers time to get into the story and be immersed in it, and also time to get aroused and get off if they're going for that.

I'd agree that there's a strong correlation between length and rating. But new authors might want to know that a story's score isn't just about what percentage of readers liked it; it's also about how many of the readers who disliked it made it through to the vote page.

I agree with the comment that stories less than one page are rarely satisfying here. It's not that I require long stories, I've read some great pieces that were under 3000 words. Just that those authors don't seem to be here.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

My latest, which I submitted yesterday, is 12k words. There's no plot as such - two women find an accommodating man and take him home - but I suspect it will make readers happy. We'll see.

I'll keep an eye out for it to publish.

 

[NancyVeeners]

My advice as a writer:

Establish whether you are writing a chapter story or a series. That will be the key in how your stories get told correctly. Chapters are part of a whole. They should have logical breaks, but they don't have to be cliffhangers. A series story needs to have its own beginning, middle and end. It shares themes with other parts of the series, but is stand-alone otherwise.

Study the category for your story (and there should only be one category for any completed story) to see what readers prefer. Some categories favor shorter submissions while others prefer longer.

My advice as a reader:

Make it clear to me whether the story is chapters or a series. This is important because I won't start to read an incomplete chapter story but I will start reading the first in a series of stand alone stories.

I would read a story with a scene that doesn't appeal to me as part of a broader premise that caught my attention, but I would not seek out a chapter or series in a category that didn't appeal to me. For example, if a story I was liking had a gay male scene, I would read it, but I would not venture into the gay male category here to do so. I think you will lose readers by placing different scenes into different categories here.

Thank you for your illuminating answer.
You are right: a 'Chapter Story' (I guess you mean a novel) is very different from a Series, both from the writer's and (importantly) from the reader's point of view. I am familiar with novels, both as a reader and as a writer. But hardly with the (literary) concept of 'Series'.
I believe that--albeit a successful format in TV shows, since a long time ago, and in particular today, e.g. on Netflix--it is something unusual in the contemporary publishing industry. It resembles eighteen-century's French Feuilletons, that were actually called 'Series' in English.
But the technological support is very different, reading a series online marks an enormous difference from reading it in a newspaper (by the way, a very big newpaper, this is the meaning of Feuilleton). It looks like a very interesting and less crowded 'blue ocean' and I definitely want to try it. So, thank you Bobby for helping me clarify my intent.. I am writing a Series and I will publish it as soon as its first pages reach a level of acceptable quality. By the way, I am reading your novel 'His Daddy's Car' (and I see that its length conforms to the industrial standards), because--concidences!--one of my short stories also has classic cars as centerpieces.
Thank you again and best from the Mediterranean!
Nancy Jo.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Thank you for your illuminating answer.
You are right: a 'Chapter Story' (I guess you mean a novel) is very different from a Series, both from the writer's and (importantly) from the reader's point of view. I am familiar with novels, both as a reader and as a writer. But hardly with the (literary) concept of 'Series'.
I believe that--albeit a successful format in TV shows, since a long time ago, and in particular today, e.g. on Netflix--it is something unusual in the contemporary publishing industry. It resembles eighteen-century's French Feuilletons, that were actually called 'Series' in English.
But the technological support is very different, reading a series online marks an enormous difference from reading it in a newspaper (by the way, a very big newpaper, this is the meaning of Feuilleton). It looks like a very interesting and less crowded 'blue ocean' and I definitely want to try it. So, thank you Bobby for helping me clarify my intent.. I am writing a Series and I will publish it as soon as its first pages reach a level of acceptable quality. By the way, I am reading your novel 'His Daddy's Car' (and I see that its length conforms to the industrial standards), because--concidences!--one of my short stories also has classic cars as centerpieces.
Thank you again and best from the Mediterranean!
Nancy Jo.

When I think of mainstream, published literary examples of a series of related stand-alone stories, I think of the Alex Cross books by James Patterson, the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child, or the Jack Ryan books by Tom Clancy. All novels as you mentioned, but there are also series books consisting of cookbooks, travel journals, and many non-fiction/self-help subjects.

Here on Literotica, I view my "Before They Were Stars" and "Uncle Sugar Daddy" stories as stand-alone stories in the same series. I don't view them as "episodes" as compared to a television series, but others might.

You mentioned starting to read "His Daddy's Car", and I thank you for your interest. I hope that you enjoy it. It is the first in a "universe" of stories where many of the same characters intermingle, but the stories are mostly unrelated. Then there are a couple of my stories that are "satellites" off of this universe.

In the end, there are any number of ways to relate stories to one another. I write for mainstream publication as well as online, so I simply find it more disciplined and convenient for me to stick to established norms that I believe most readers are accustomed to. From the time in primary school when they may have started reading Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, both traditional "series" of books, expectations were likely implanted in them as to how a story should be structured and told.

Writers certainly have more flexibility here to be adventurous and try new concepts where splitting up stories is concerned. Their audience will tell them how successful their adventures are.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Hello fellow authors

New to Literotica, I need your advice. I have published here three short stories as samples of my writings (different categories), and I am so glad one of them made it to the HOT list, notwithstanding two errors I believe I made (labeling it as BDSM instead of Non-Consent, and making it longer than one page, which prevents some readers from rating it, especially those recruited in chat).

Now, I am almost ready to start a new Story Series, which I guess is the ‘right’ format in Lit, because my goal is to understand if my Erotica writings are good enough, and (if the answer is positive) gather an audience, a group of readers who like my characters and my plots, and help me improve them by giving feedback.

Here are my questions:

1. The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?
2. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?
3. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?
4. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?
5. Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?

Thank you in advance for your pieces of advice!

Best

Nancy Jo

Firstly:
I am no expert, an amateur. What I am offering, is nothing more than my opinion.
Step one (For you)... Write the story in its entirety. From start to finish.
Then, look back over the story, natural breaks will appear. Where you can split the story into chapters....
Having written several (Chapter stories. The longest being 17 chapters) There is an inherent trap if you don't have the story finished....
What readers don't like, is WAITING! and I received several emails / comments in this regard. Because I was posting as I wrote, and there were long gaps between chapters apparing.
If your story isn't finished, you find yourself rushing to get the next chapter finished. It invariably affects the quality of the writing.
There is no rule about chapter length, the natural breaks are obvious. Mine averaged about 7,000 words.
If readers have to wait for the next chapter, they lose interest, and your scores will suffer accordingly...
Don't worry about leaving cliff hangers. Write the story, finish it, and then worry about where the beaks will come.
IMPO... Do not split the story into different categories. Not everybody who reads your story will follow you. They may only read in one category. By posting in different categories, they will lose some chapters.
Remember, this is my opinion only, and at the end of the day. I know nothing....
Cagivagurl

 

[MillieDynamite]

This thread reminds me of the whole "Perfect Country Song," by David Allen Coe, called You Never Even Call Me By My Name, where he told someone he'd written the perfect country song, and his friend told him it wasn't so he added extra virus to make it so.

 

[NancyVeeners]

I'd agree that there's a strong correlation between length and rating. But new authors might want to know that a story's score isn't just about what percentage of readers liked it; it's also about how many of the readers who disliked it made it through to the vote page.

I agree with the comment that stories less than one page are rarely satisfying here. It's not that I require long stories, I've read some great pieces that were under 3000 words. Just that those authors don't seem to be here.

Thank you Bramblethorn for your answer, that made me meditate... I am new to Lit, but hardly a new author. although I mostly write scientific papers. In creative writing, I write Women's Fiction, often crossed with other genres: historical fiction, thriller, SF, romance, and (sometimes) erotica. But Erotica is a sui-generis genre. I am intrigued by the similarities and differences between Erotica and other genres, and what you write resonates with my previous experiences more than the opinions of other authors in this debate. They believe that short stories cannot be good stories. I believe they can: indeed there are excellent (very) short stories out there. But I don't know if this is the case in Erotica. I now realize that I tried just that with my three samples: I (humbly) tried to build interesting characters and hopefully a nice plot in an erotic short story. Very short for Lit 'consensus' standard it seems. I am not committed to very short stories, but I believe they are a useful exercise, and they may show the author's quality. So, thank you for your 'minority opinion' and your lovely provocation 'Just those authors don't seem to be here'. But I am here now! Just joking of course, I have so much to learn here, and I am grateful to all the colleagues who are answering my questions.
Finally, congratulations on your outstanding ratings! I am reading The Flogging Will Continue, I love it, and it resonates with some of my 'corporate' settings.
Best from the Mediterranean
Nancy Jo

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'll keep an eye out for it to publish.

Honey Always Tastes Better From the Pot

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Honey Always Tastes Better From the Pot

Great tale. Thanks

 

[NancyVeeners]

I haven't spoken on here before, but I can help you a little here on the writing end of things.

2. Strive to end your chapters on a cliffhanger, but don't be beholden to them. When people think of cliffhangers, they normally think of something big, but that doesn't have to be the case. A cliffhanger is meant to be exciting and propel the momentum of your story. It is the promise of something to come in the next chapter.

Some examples:

• A decision the protagonist must make.
• A threat of some kind.
• Something signifying hope.
• Foreshadowing.
• Anything that feels urgent (deadlines, meetings, someone's life on the line, ect.).
• An unexpected character appears.
• An interpersonal conflict.
• Ect.

And, most importantly, be honest with your cliffhanger. Don't do the old 'man hangs from a cliff and the situation is dire, then next chapter he effortlessly gets to safety and there was no actual danger'. Follow through with your promise and keep the flow of your story going.

3. Never info dump everything immediately. You want to give information gradually in your narrative. Whether you begin in medias res is a personal choice and wholly depends on the tone of your story and your voice as an author. Do whichever feels more organic.

Dear LanaN

Thank you for your answers to my question, they made me think. And I believe you are right on both points you discussed. But I am a writer, not a literary theoretician, so I tried to synthesize your contribution to the discussion (and others) in a new series titled The Secret Garden Show, whose first episode has just been published in Lit, here:

https://literotica.com/s/the-secret-garden-show-ch-01

Indeed, I closed the episode with a cliffhanger of sorts, but it emerged as a natural ending to the episode, as you suggested. And the whole problem 'in medias res or not' evaporated as I narrated the backstory through dialogues and protagonists' thinking.

Thank you again for your help. I had fun writing this new story, and I hope you have the time and are in the mood to have a look. And I look forward to your opinion.

Best

Nancy Jo