The experience of trying to write Humor & Satire

[Not2Pervy]

A lot of the stuff I've published on this site started with the desire to push myself and try something new. Humor & Satire has always been a tempation, and I finally have something I think I'm ready to submit. But more so than anything else I've written, I have close to absolutely no idea what the reaction to my story might be. Will people think it's funny, sort of mildly amusing, or just a miss entirely?

For those of you who have tried writing something in Humor & Satire, what was the experience like for you? What reaction did you expect from your story, and what reaction did you receive? Regardless of audience reaction, were you happy with the result?

For those who have been tempted, but haven't done it, what holds you back?

 

[SimonDoom]

Yes, I've written a story for this category. Here's my advice. Have fun doing it and do it for yourself. Don't have big expectations about views and scores. People's tastes in humor vary widely, and you can't make everybody laugh. I had a GREAT time writing the story that I submitted to this category, and I found it to be very worthwhile. I got some nice feedback. But it's one of my least-viewed and lower-rated stories.

Do it and see how it goes. You have nothing to lose, right?

 

[yowser]

It's a fun, if little trafficked, territory. Go ahead and put your thing out there, nothing really to lose. Humor is hard to write, I think harder than sex, and most of what shows up there, to me, is way overdone. Personally I am fond of the understated, the subtle, the wordplay and juggling/swapping expectations parts, but humor tastes are as varied, I think, as erotic tastes.

Half of my HS stories get Scarlet Hs, the others (two are 750 atrocities, so maybe that counts for some displeasure) don't, and I know very well my laughter-sense is not universal. Go for it.

 

[RejectReality]

Yeah, it's lightly trafficked and the responses are widely varied. Write there for your enjoyment, because the odds of getting much of any benefit from it otherwise are slim.

 

[NotWise]

For those who have been tempted, but haven't done it, what holds you back?

You can write stories for your amusement and the amusement of others and put them in their appropriate erotic categories. Humor may actually boost reader appreciation in other categories, so why put something into humor and satire that could go somewhere else?

 

[SimonDoom]

You can write stories for your amusement and the amusement of others and put them in their appropriate erotic categories. Humor may actually boost reader appreciation in other categories, so why put something into humor and satire that could go somewhere else?

Years ago I published a Loving Wives spoof story in Loving Wives, and I had at least one reader tell me it was inappropriate for that category and I should have published it in Humor and Satire. Years later I published a cuckold story in Humor and Satire, and I had a reader tell me that he would have given me a higher score if I'd published it in Loving Wives.

Point is, you can't win. Just do whatever and have fun and be prepared for the fact that not everybody will share your sense of humor. Write the story and don't overthink the rest.

 

[PennyThompson]

I've never written specifically for the H&S category, but I write a lot of dialog and situations that I personally find very funny, in other categories. I just think sex and sexy situations are usually inherently funny

I get a pretty good amount of feedback from people that seem to appreciate the humor, and haven't gotten any negative feedback from people who want their smut to be laugh-free...

Okay that's not entirely true. One of my cherished beta readers commented "nooo not a joke here" at a moment of climax in one of my drafts, so I toned that one down slightly

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've got three stories in H & S, two pretty good Red Hs, the third not so good. What drops off in score was made up for in comments - the people who got it, told me so, and had a laugh along with me.

Tricky though, coz what's a belly laugh for me might be a cringe for you, and vice-versa. Humour is not universal!

 

[rob_bicurious]

My 750 word entry is humor but I put it in "Gay" as it is "mano a mano"

Perhaps it should have been better received there, but I thought it might just be completely lost.

At least two people found it amusing enough to comment, so it did find a small audience.

https://www.literotica.com/s/sherlock-holmes-case-family-jewels

 

[RetroFan]

I have written in Humor and Satire - a couple of 750 word stories - but there's very few readers there so it's really not worth it.

I often use humour to date my stories to the eras where they are set. For example, slacker surfer-dude comedies were very popular circa 1987-1994, so when writing a story that played out like one of these movies for the Summer Loving contest one year I set it in 1989. In another story I wrote set in 1964 at the height of the British Invasion has the main protagonist's religious zealot of a mother worrying about the influence of 'The Insects' upon modern teenagers.

Sometimes I'll use parody. In one of my stories set in the early 1970s a guy is trying to find his cousin when she has been abducted by Bigfoot and is lost in the forest, before finally finding the encampment where the Bigfoot are living and have his cousin held as a prisoner, using her as a type of slave. He also notes that the Bigfoot have been active stealing items from local towns and villages, one of which is a garden statue that is a replica of The Statue of Liberty. Making an attempt to free her, this is thwarted when more of the ferocious apes appear on the scene and he has to take cover, and is so frustrated that he gets down on all fours, slamming his fist into the ground repeatedly at the base of the statue, imitating a famous movie scene of the late 1960s...

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Not many readers. I posted once there with a story for Geek Pride -Submissives of Catan - knowing that the intended audience would get the drift from the title (events show the titles and author, but not description nor category to the reader). It's a fun wee story that devolves into over 50 boardgame puns. People seemed to quite like it despite the puns (I admit I was carried away, but you want sensible writing from me, you pay...) It would have been OK in BDSM if I'd left the last page off.

 

[Not2Pervy]

Perhaps strangely, in many ways I think it might be harder to put myself “out there” trying to write humor than it does to do so writing about something as intensely personal as sex.

 

[Not2Pervy]

Opening myself up to ridicule but at least the readership numbers are low.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Humour is very subjective. All you can do is write what you think is funny, and see if people share your sense of humour.

I've done 2 × 750 word stories based on a British comedy show. Those who know the show loved them, others were probably confused...

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I’ve done some. None did badly, but it’s not something I can summon up at will. I do admire those who apparently can.

 

[SimonDoom]

My two humor and satire stories have scores of 3.82 and 3.93, making them my second and third lowest scoring stories. They are my two least-viewed stories. But I had a blast writing them and I enjoy the positive comments I've received for them. I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. I've never looked back.

 

[PapaRomantic]

i found the 750 word vehicle a good way to break into the HS category. I'm not sure how people sustain humor for a longer story. I agree with the much smaller number of views, but I am getting a very nice ratio of comments to views with my submission.

 

[Belegon]

Humor is as personal a thing in many ways as sex is. Most of us benefit from the ability to place stories in specific categories and therefore we have a better chance of reaching the audience that is looking for the type of story we are writing from a sex POV. Even then, with the categories, you can find multiple writers, every day, who seem to have had trouble reaching the audience they were searching for despite the help of categories. In writing for a largely undefined category, you are doubling your challenge.

So, I do feel like thick skin will be a requirement for keeping your confidence up in this direction. You could miss peoples sense of humor, miss what arouses them sexually, or easily miss both. I say go for it, but be very realistic about the chance that scoring highly is going to be extra difficult.. Write it for you.

 

[ronde]

A lot of the stuff I've published on this site started with the desire to push myself and try something new. Humor & Satire has always been a tempation, and I finally have something I think I'm ready to submit. But more so than anything else I've written, I have close to absolutely no idea what the reaction to my story might be. Will people think it's funny, sort of mildly amusing, or just a miss entirely?

For those of you who have tried writing something in Humor & Satire, what was the experience like for you? What reaction did you expect from your story, and what reaction did you receive? Regardless of audience reaction, were you happy with the result?

For those who have been tempted, but haven't done it, what holds you back?

I've written several in this genre, and while my ratings in this genre aren't super high, I've been happy that they aren't really low either. The important part is I have a lot of fun writing those stories.

 

[sinfantasy]

Promoting my first submission in Humour and Satire.
cupids-cry-modern-romance-minefied
I was very sceptical of this submission and if not for 750 words, wouldn't have dared to touch it... but turns out it was received very well... Views are too low though

 

[Rustyoznail]

Goes with the category, unfortunately. You should see a lift when the list comes out.

BTW, I liked it.

 

[VallesMarineris]

My two humor and satire stories have scores of 3.82 and 3.93, making them my second and third lowest scoring stories. They are my two least-viewed stories. But I had a blast writing them and I enjoy the positive comments I've received for them. I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. I've never looked back.

My first story in H&S (https://literotica.com/s/alices-worst-day-ever) was just published as part of the 750 word challenge. It's at 3.5, my lowest score ever. They're tough graders over in H&S.

But it was fun to write.

 

[SimonDoom]

My first story in H&S (https://literotica.com/s/alices-worst-day-ever) was just published as part of the 750 word challenge. It's at 3.5, my lowest score ever. They're tough graders over in H&S.

But it was fun to write.

I've written "humorous" or satirical stories for other categories as well, and in general my impression is that there are so many different attitudes about humor that it's very difficult to get a high rating with a humorous story. Some people have no sense of humor. Some people don't want humor mixed in with erotica. Some people have a sense of humor, but it's totally different from mine. So you take your chances, lower your expectations, and have fun with the experience despite the probable negative blow back.

 

[12oclocktales]

The problem with the Humor/Satire category is there’s no room for error: if the reader finds your theme humorous and all your jokes funny, all your nutty incidents spot on and relatable, you’ll get 5 stars. Slip up just once and the reader will knock it down to 4 stars. My guess is that no other category demands such high standards as H/S.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

i found the 750 word vehicle a good way to break into the HS category. I'm not sure how people sustain humor for a longer story. I agree with the much smaller number of views, but I am getting a very nice ratio of comments to views with my submission.

It's not like the whole thing has to be funny.