Virgin Reflections

[ShamBaLa]

Not sure what I thought would happen when I broke down and became a contributor. After years of enjoying stories, exploring various forums and writing erotica only for my own entertainment, in December I decided "what the hell." Over two months I picked seven stories out of the stable and hit Publish. I swore I would not care about stars or number of views, having read the mathematical pit falls of ratings. That didn't work out.

Four are over 4.5. one hovers around 4.42/102 with 11.6 clicks. https://literotica.com/s/pleasures-of-ancient-debauchery. It's an experiment in an Ancient Rome period piece. That it is over 4 and got over 100 votes I find amazing. The lowest was another experiment. I tried to pack in as much MFM wife sharing raw sex into a short piece with no plot and it still got a 4/55 10.6 clicks.

The first story ranked 54 in top 100 stories read in December and stands at 4.58/694 and 46.3k views. Beginners luck. A trilogy of stories starting with Babysitting for the Winston's (4.68/263 and 25.6k) are well received.

Part 3 is in Edit turn around because the embedded links to the first two stories don't work, https://www.literotica.com/s/night-ends-with-mfm Night Ends with MFM is 4.75/12 only 5.7k. So I know it only takes a couple troll votes to drop that score. https://literotica.com/s/erotic-exotic-central-america-trip is the latest. It's a short story at 17,000 words, which I know doesn't get much traction in some categories. Its only been up for a week. Three people liked it enough to vote. LOL. Oddly, I think it is one of my better pieces, he said with no ego at all.

The unexpected side effect is not being able to tell anyone I write here. Much less that I got a couple good ratings. My SO knows, sort of, but would be uncomfortable with some of the story lines and "activities."

So thanks to the many Authors in this forum where their insights and sharing have paved the way and answered so many questions. Thanks for listening. Thanks to Laurel and her crew for being patient with yet another Virgin. Literotica is one of my few safe spaces.

 

[AlexIce]

I was in the same boat as you at one point and it takes a lot of guts/courage to hit that submit button the first time.

I used to be long time reader who would read stories in their spare time and told myself one day that I would write a story of my own one day. All it took to get to that point was a rotator cuff surgery that left me out of work for 4 months.

I'll never forget the first time I submitted my story and was shocked to see it at the top of the charts ratings wise and it is something that I will always cherish.

In any case, welcome to our little corner of the internet!

 

[SimonDoom]

Welcome and glad you are having a good time. I understand the deal; I don't share what I do here with anyone in the "real" world so it's good to get all those feelings off my chest in this forum.

Just remember it's all bark and no bite in this forum, so if you run into a mean stray just bark back and you'll be fine.

 

[JGittes]

Welcome aboard.

I had a few ackward experiences where I revealed I wrote erotica and the reception was less than enthusiastic. Things were patched over by mutually pretending that conversation didn't happen.

However, remember you are a storyteller, so make use of that skill. I tell people I started writing about ten year ago when I retired. I'm rarely asked more detail about the subject matter, but if someone does ask, I reply with a generic 'fiction that I publish online.' Your scores and views indicate that you are successful and well received, so you can proudly talk about that. I've never been pushed further. This lets you talk about writing.

My stories are long and I've taken some 3 to 4k word scenes, a dinner date for example, that don't have any sex in them and lightly edited out 'strong language' and such. I've had success with handing some of these to people who want to read something I've written.

If you ever decide to take writing classes or workshops, DO NOT EVEN THINK OF SAYING WHAT YOU WRITE. I've made that mistake twice because I'm a slow learner. My experience is people in those sorts of classes believe they're undiscovered New York Times Best Seller List authors and will look at you like your're the turd in their punch bowl.

Also what others have said, thick skin and all. The most important thing is to enjoy the ride.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

Your story is similar to mine, and we even both did an Ancient Rome story, lol. Scary.

Glad you decided to take the plunge, and I’m looking forward to reading more of your stuff!

 

[ShamBaLa]

Thanks for the support and kind words from all above. So much resonates with me. So this is the only safe place to talk about my work or read about others who get something out of writing erotica. I'm good with that. Sort of like my HS Hush Hush Club. I guess i've been writing in some form since 5th grade. I had two HS English teachers who were influential. One of them was very "special" and took a "personal interest" in developing my writing skills. Among other things. Ahem.

In college I took a couple writing classes even tho I wasn't an English or journalism major. One prof was real big on Existential writing. So what was suppose to be a 200 level "creative " writing class was a continual exercise in making us into extensionist writers. Never did get the hang of that. Or the point.
Well, back to figuring which of the dozen plus stories in the file folder are worth polishing up.
Meanwhile it's all on the DL
Thanx

 

[MillieDynamite]

Welcome aboard, you've boarded the Good Ship Fuckalot; we're all in for rough seas.

 

[Comshaw]

Welcome aboard, you've boarded the Good Ship Fuckalot; we're all in for rough seas.

Rough seas...uuuup...and down...uuuup...and down... The upward thrust of the wave is determined by the intensity of the storm.

Comshaw

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Welcome! It’s weird, isn’t it? The ones you love get a mild ‘meh’ from the audience,

Hang in there - it’s a fun ride.

 

[ShamBaLa]

Welcome! It’s weird, isn’t it? The ones you love get a mild ‘meh’ from the audience,

Hang in there - it’s a fun ride.

I think I was a coward for not putting the travel story in LW. Would have gotten more eyeballs I suspect.

I'm hanging in. Wrist and ankle straps tight.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I think I was a coward for not putting the travel story in LW. Would have gotten more eyeballs I suspect.

I'm hanging in. Wrist and ankle straps tight.

Eyeballs, yes. LW is supposed to be the one with the highest readership.

Against that is the apparent certainty of downvotes, shrieking abusive comments and general Wrong Neighbourhood chaos. I don't go there, personally.

YMMV and good luck.