Self imposed rules

[sirhugs]

... and what to do about them.
to write my last story because I made myself an arbitrary rule that I don't post two incest stories in a row, and my prior entry had been A Perfect Thunderstorm ch. 3, which generated lots of demand for Ch. 4.
I thought I would have trouble with ch.4, but ended up stalled for quite a while before turning out The Old Lady Next Door. I feared the anti-depressants had stolen my creativity.
Oddly, the morning I saw The Old Lady posted, the beginning of ch. 4 just flowed.

Do you have arbitrary rules? Do you follow them always, or are they flexible?
Do you find that sometimes the next story just flows once you have struggled on the prior one?
Is my arbitrary rule silly? I created it to avoid being typecast as just an incest writer.

 

[lovecraft68]

Good post, has me thinking about it.

While I mull it over, I don't think there's anything wrong with having a set of personal rules for yourself. Its a form of discipline and part of your process. Having said that we all know rules-even ours-are made to be broken, and we also change over time so if you deviate from them, I wouldn't see it as a big deal.

 

[StillStunned]

I don't do NC, the stories and characters have to feel real, and I want my prose to be the best I can do. Other than that? No rules that I can think of.

And whether or not a story flows depends on other things. If I'm in the mood, I can write half a dozen stories. If I'm not in the mood, it could be a month between writing anything productively.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't do NC

But do you see that as a rule? I'd see it more like there are categories you don't feel comfortable exploring.

 

[StillStunned]

But do you see that as a rule? I'd see it more like there are categories you don't feel comfortable exploring.

You can have NC in other stories besides just the NC/R category.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Rules no, but limitations on what content I will write about.

 

[lovecraft68]

You can have NC in other stories besides just the NC/R category.

Semantics, I'll change it to "content" that you don't want to explore. I'm the same when it comes to flat out NC, but I will explore dub con from time to time.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Only post good stuff.

I never post anything until it is finished, from beginning to end and edited thoroughly and I am satisfied with every line, including the title and description. No afterthoughts. Nothing is ever written in stone until the final edits are all complete and proofed, and this includes multi-chapter works. Chapter 1 is not posted until the entire story is finished and approved, the wrap party is over and the DVD extras are complete.

Nothing is ever perfect and I may not give you the best, but you will always get my best. I refuse to short change that.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I also have some self-imposed rules that I follow. They are not always rational. But should you break them? If you allow yourself to break them even once, with the exception of some really special circumstances, you can't really go back to imposing those rules upon yourself, in my opinion. It wouldn't work. If those rules didn't hinder you in some ways, they wouldn't have been proper rules

What you can do is modify your rules over time as a reflection of your process and mindset evolving. But once you make the change, you stick to it. No going back. That's my take.

 

[AchtungNight]

My rules are similar to StillStunned and Pinksilkglove’s plus I have to keep things realistic and within site boundaries- sometimes I let the moderators make the call. I also have rules about trying to feature a new different setup, link, position, or psychological struggle with every story. And I have to be satisfied with the story before I publish it. Since I’m often my own worst critic, that last one is especially bad.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

I've written a lot of NC/R, and I basically have three self-imposed rules: 1) the rapist must be sexy, the kind of guy for whom any woman would gladly spread her legs if only he would ask; 2) the FMC must end up pregnant as a result; 3) the FMC must have a happy ending. Number two is my own specific preference while numbers one and three are shared by myself and a lot of my readers, hence why I stick to them.

 

[sirhugs]

Only post good stuff.

I never post anything until it is finished, from beginning to end and edited thoroughly and I am satisfied with every line, including the title and description. No afterthoughts. Nothing is ever written in stone until the final edits are all complete and proofed, and this includes multi-chapter works. Chapter 1 is not posted until the entire story is finished and approved, the wrap party is over and the DVD extras are complete.

Nothing is ever perfect and I may not give you the best, but you will always get my best. I refuse to short change that.

I do not necessarily complete multiple chapters before posting the first. A lot of my series start out as standalone stories that inspire me to continue (nothing like positive feedback to trigger a sequel !)

 

[Publius68]

No cup sizes.

Also, I learned the hard way, do not start posting a series until you have at least a first draft of the whole thing. You can definitely wall yourself in otherwise.

 

[KeithD]

The only "rule" that springs to my mind is that I have to think there's something unique about this story to write it, which gets very hard after the thousandth story.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

No cup sizes.

Also, I learned the hard way, do not start posting a series until you have at least a first draft of the whole thing. You can definitely wall yourself in otherwise.

This sort of thing happened to me with The Master. It started with a great idea which never developed into a coherent plot for an extended series, and so the three parts I published meandered until I ran out of creative steam and just gave up on it.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I no longer do NC and there are a few other categories in which I simply have no interest. Outside of that, no major rules, but let’s see.

Cup/willie sizes are not mentioned unless there is a special reason, something for which the reader’s imagination might not work.

I try to write real people with, however beautiful I make them, real human defects - that drop of lemon juice that makes a pie tasty rather than merely sweet. Sometimes I flatter myself that I succeed.

I try to write for the literate, although not necessarily for the snobbish. I think I’ve managed that once or twice.

Research is important to me. Details matter.

Those will do for a start.

 

[karina_jayde]

One rule is to never publish something unless it's a standalone, or a segment of a story that is already completed.

I learned this the hard way, when life got in the way and caused me to leave my readers hanging, resulting in a 5 year wait between installments.

Another rule for me is to write what I would want to read. I don't write for other people. I write to explore fun ideas and adventures, not to follow trends or to get the most views.

For a time I brainstormed some incest stuff to get more views/follows, but that just wouldn't have worked, as that's not what I'm into.

 

[Bamagan]

The first two rules of Write Club are: you do not talk about Write Club. And the last rule is, if it's your first night, you have to write.
(And if anyone tells you your tits are too big, don't despair, it's just hazing.)

 

[EmilyMiller]

Self imposed rules​

Never have two horny, levitating, sentient, shape-shifting, telepathic octopuses make out together. Just too hard to write.

Emily

 

[intim8]

No cup sizes.

Also, I learned the hard way, do not start posting a series until you have at least a first draft of the whole thing. You can definitely wall yourself in otherwise.

OTOH, there's the thrill of working without a net, and the challenge of fitting subsequent chapters within those walls. Plus, this is Lit, there's more tolerance for continuity errors. Can't abuse that, but a series can still work with minor ones.

 

[intim8]

Never have two horny, levitating, sentient, shape-shifting, telepathic octopuses make out together. Just too hard to write.

"He put his fifth tentacle on her lower mantle and it turned into a carp."

 

[AchtungNight]

I personally don’t like continuity errors and will aggressively try to eliminate them.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't have any rules, and if I came up with one I'd probably be figuring out ways to break it.

 

[HordHolm]

They're not so much rules, as guidelines...

 

[EmilyMiller]

I don't have any rules, and if I came up with one I'd probably be figuring out ways to break it.

That’s a rule, hun

Hofstadter would be so proud

Emily