New author, and how to start your stories

[TarnishedPenny]

Thank you, Simon.

There is most certainly a lot of overlap. And I fully acknowledge that generalizations need to be taken carefully. That said, I do believe that men and women have, broadly speaking, different entertainment tastes. No? OK, just two words for your consideration:

Chick flick.

Oh, certainly, lots of guys liked Steel Magnolias and Bridges of Madison County and lots of gals enjoyed Die Hard and Iron Man. But there are some pretty obvious bell curves.

Similarly, there are women whose favourite bar drink is beer, but for every gal with a Bud, there’ll generally be two with a cooler or a white wine. Tastes differ. That’s not bad, but it is real.

Look at so-called feminist porn. There’s generally (again ‘generally’) more emphasis on plot and characterization. There’s usually sex, and usually sizzling-hot sex, but not without the other.

 

[SimonDoom]

Thank you, Simon.

There is most certainly a lot of overlap. And I fully acknowledge that generalizations need to be taken carefully. That said, I do believe that men and women have, broadly speaking, different entertainment tastes. No? OK, just two words for your consideration:

Chick flick.

Oh, certainly, lots of guys liked Steel Magnolias and Bridges of Madison County and lots of gals enjoyed Die Hard and Iron Man. But there are some pretty obvious bell curves.

Similarly, there are women whose favourite bar drink is beer, but for every gal with a Bud, there’ll generally be two with a cooler or a white wine. Tastes differ. That’s not bad, but it is real.

Look at so-called feminist porn. There’s generally (again ‘generally’) more emphasis on plot and characterization. There’s usually sex, and usually sizzling-hot sex, but not without the other.

Steel Magnolias is nails on a chalkboard to me. Die Hard: Christmas classic.

 

[Bramblethorn]

As a reader, I don't mind ten or twenty thousand words of intro if I know there's a payoff coming. It's when I can't tell whether there is a payoff in store that length really becomes a problem.

 

[burgwad]

It's interesting to me how one goes through phases. I'd written a number of long, slow burn stories with back story, character development and so on; but I'm now writing some quick and dirty stories, which for me are the equivalent of strokers.

I suspect I have a long, more complex, story brooding, waiting to surface. My subconscious gets rather busy sometimes - it usually manifests itself with long, complex dreams - last night's could have been a story.

I'm not going to go looking for the quote, but I seem to recall David Foster Wallace likened his writing career to poops. When he was just getting started on Infinite Jest (which is 1000s of pages long) he reportedly told his editor "I'm ready to take my big shit." I'm not sure that he ever called his short fiction or essays "little shits" but I feel like the analogy holds, especially in alignment with what you've described as "phases." Sometimes you go to poop and holy crap it's a huge one. Other times, maybe even most times, you go to poop and it's something a little simpler, more straightforward. But it's all poop.

 

[Djmac1031]

You'd be surprised how often you the author feels your preamble is too long when it's not.

If a reader is just looking for a stroker story, odds are they'll either speed read / skip your setup and go right to the sex scenes, or find another story.

But readers who actually want a STORY that actually captures their interest as well as titillating will appreciate a well written, fleshed out setup.

Write YOUR story.

 

[Belegon]

How do you guys feel about preambles, or non-smut story? Do you struggle with this too? I have experience in writing non-erotica stories, and I'm swiftly learning that it's a structurally very different task.

I personally find it difficult to keep myself invested if I don't create characters that are interesting to me. I'm writing to tell the characters story, not to practice my wording or presentation of the actual sex. As always, others will have different answers and priorities, but for me, if the characters aren't coming alive in the first couple pages, I'm unlikely to finish the story... It's probably going to get shoved into a WIP (Work In Progress) file and sit until I randomly come back to it. Sometimes doing so sparks something in me and it gets finished, but just writing pure sex doesn't push my artistic triggers. If I'm invested in the characters, the sex itself will often be the part of the story where my fingers can't keep up with my mind and the sex will get written comparitvely fast. Think like I spend a week or at least several days setting up things, perhaps 6-8 thousand words over 2-4 days, then if I'm sufficiently invested I'll pound out a sex scene of three to four thousand words in just a few hours.

I have a similar approach to what I read or even watch when it comes to pornography. Something where a couple just comes onscreen and starts fucking is unlikely to hold my interest. I need some kind of setup, a scenario to get me going.

 

[YmaOHyd]

My experience is almost the opposite. I love writing the parts where they're not quite getting to the sex. And I enjoy the aftercare bits. But the actual mechanics of sex are quite difficult. It comes to me eventually, but it's high-effort writing. Three thousand words of sex takes a similar amount of time and much more energy than five thousand words of two people at a bar talking shit, circling around the idea of hey, maybe we should go back to my place, maybe we're in love, let's try this thing on and see if it fits but not quite knowing how to make that leap.

That said, I've written one 750-word story that's supremely unsexy and one that's got something like 25,000 words of verbal foreplay before anything physical happens, so I've got a lot to learn.

 

[kitmarlowe]

I've only just started writing erotica, but I'm a full time writer in my other life and I've been reading smut for a very long time. I'm personally a very big fan of the slow burn, and of stories that are good on their own merits that also happen to have good, steamy sex in them. I basically write and read literary fiction, and I want to know about the internal lives of the characters before I can bring myself to be interested in how they have sex.

 

[Nynah]

My experience is almost the opposite. I love writing the parts where they're not quite getting to the sex. And I enjoy the aftercare bits. But the actual mechanics of sex are quite difficult. It comes to me eventually, but it's high-effort writing. Three thousand words of sex takes a similar amount of time and much more energy than five thousand words of two people at a bar talking shit, circling around the idea of hey, maybe we should go back to my place, maybe we're in love, let's try this thing on and see if it fits but not quite knowing how to make that leap.

That said, I've written one 750-word story that's supremely unsexy and one that's got something like 25,000 words of verbal foreplay before anything physical happens, so I've got a lot to learn.

I'm the same way when I'm writing. The buildup and especially the teasing that lead into sex come quite naturally to me but when it comes time to actually describe the acts themselves, I find that I need to be in the correct mindset. It usually takes me much longer because I'm not only trying to get myself to put words to proverbial paper, but I'm constantly editing and revising on the fly because it needs to read and feel just as good as the rest of what I've written.

 

[kitmarlowe]

I'm the same way when I'm writing. The buildup and especially the teasing that lead into sex come quite naturally to me but when it comes time to actually describe the acts themselves, I find that I need to be in the correct mindset. It usually takes me much longer because I'm not only trying to get myself to put words to proverbial paper, but I'm constantly editing and revising on the fly because it needs to read and feel just as good as the rest of what I've written.

I find I'm the same with every genre I write, to be honest. The internal stuff and the character interactions flow naturally, but I'll often find myself writing things like [exciting action scene goes here] during a draft so that I can come back to the fight/chase/really steamy sex scene when I'm in a more appropriate frame of mind for it.

Thankfully all good writing happens in editing and redrafting, right?

 

[Nynah]

I find I'm the same with every genre I write, to be honest. The internal stuff and the character interactions flow naturally, but I'll often find myself writing things like [exciting action scene goes here] during a draft so that I can come back to the fight/chase/really steamy sex scene when I'm in a more appropriate frame of mind for it.

Thankfully all good writing happens in editing and redrafting, right?

I have tried using the [insert exciting scene that I will come back to and write later] technique for a few stories and each time I've done that, I've ended up having to completely rework the stuff that came after because of what I wrote for the exciting scene. It's a really useful writing hack and I've seen many friends use it to great effect, I just wish my gremlin brain let me actually use it properly.

 

[kitmarlowe]

I have tried using the [insert exciting scene that I will come back to and write later] technique for a few stories and each time I've done that, I've ended up having to completely rework the stuff that came after because of what I wrote for the exciting scene. It's a really useful writing hack and I've seen many friends use it to great effect, I just wish my gremlin brain let me actually use it properly.

That's absolutely devastating tbh, I genuinely couldn't function as a writer without doing that!

Fwiw I read both chapters of Model Roommate yesterday and loved them, so whatever your process is, it's working.

 

[YmaOHyd]

I have tried using the [insert exciting scene that I will come back to and write later] technique for a few stories and each time I've done that, I've ended up having to completely rework the stuff that came after because of what I wrote for the exciting scene. It's a really useful writing hack and I've seen many friends use it to great effect, I just wish my gremlin brain let me actually use it properly.

That's also what's happened to me when I've tried moving past a scene that's not working. Either my brain shuts down and I can't move past it into something I actually have a clear idea for or going back to write the bit I'd skipped causes the characters to shoot off in a different direction. When I was working on the second chapter of What's Left of You (the first chapter available at Literoticas near you!), simply doing a [describe this action later] for a two-sentence description of an action that I couldn't quite see in my mind caused the whole action to get moved to a different physical location at a different time with a different outro into a very small scene I really like, where the coprotagonists bicker lightly over how many pineapple chunks one needs to trade for an apple slice. How the heck that came from a couple people swimming in a pond, I don't know.

 

[Nynah]

That's absolutely devastating tbh, I genuinely couldn't function as a writer without doing that!

Fwiw I read both chapters of Model Roommate yesterday and loved them, so whatever your process is, it's working.

My process generally involves a lot of muttered swearing along with liberal and judicious use of the Backspace key.

I am glad you enjoyed my work though, that's always nice to hear.

That's also what's happened to me when I've tried moving past a scene that's not working. Either my brain shuts down and I can't move past it into something I actually have a clear idea for or going back to write the bit I'd skipped causes the characters to shoot off in a different direction. When I was working on the second chapter of What's Left of You (the first chapter available at Literoticas near you!), simply doing a [describe this action later] for a two-sentence description of an action that I couldn't quite see in my mind caused the whole action to get moved to a different physical location at a different time with a different outro into a very small scene I really like, where the coprotagonists bicker lightly over how many pineapple chunks one needs to trade for an apple slice. How the heck that came from a couple people swimming in a pond, I don't know.

I'm glad that worked out for you in a good way, from the sounds of it! My brain works on a very linear path so I need to write my stories sequentially, which is why my work often takes a long time because if I encounter a scene I have a difficult time writing, the entire process is held up until I can get past that point, usually by brute force. At this point I'd take what happened in your story because I am also very much a pantser/discovery writer.

 

[BoiBlackcinder]

Hello, literotica authors.

Thought I'd introduce myself (I can't resist a forum) before I start commenting everywhere. I'm of the long time lurker/first time poster variety, and tend to gravitate to the noncon/reluctance categories of various predicaments. My reading is pretty eclectic, though, and so too will my spread of stories if I get into this hobby for any length of time! Hopefully, those who have followed me so far can keep an open mind, lol.

Something I wanted to get some advice on, though. I am guilty of opening a story and skipping straight for the porn to catch an idea of the vibe before I get invested. Most times, I go back and start at the beginning again, lol, but I tend to feel like a smut story needs to sell me on its preamble. Superfluous story details that don't contribute to the overall eroticism can be boring, but that may just be my taste. At the same time, layering in some background, motivation, and character can really supercharge the smut when you get to it (especially in a noncon/reluctance context, but I imagine this is still true for other categories).

I've started a new series and I realise I have spent a lot of time on set up, trying to explain a married couple's dynamic and the reasons and motivations behind the predicament they will wind up in. I got two Microsoft word pages deep before I realised nothing had happened, so I revised. Now it just feels too thin, and like I'm diving in too soon.

How do you guys feel about preambles, or non-smut story? Do you struggle with this too? I have experience in writing non-erotica stories, and I'm swiftly learning that it's a structurally very different task.

I struggle with this myself. Normally when reading stories, i too, skip right to the nasty, just to see if it is for me. If so, i go back and read from the beginning. I would like to tell a great story that includes erotica, so i've started work on something different. I normally write erotica in 1st person POV, but new story will be third. I think many people reading our stories here are looking for porn, so if you publish something new and different, be prepared for rejection. I think that my erotica is good stories, but I want to change the focus to more story and less sex. It may bomb and disappoint my readers, but I want to make the effort.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I think that my erotica is good stories, but I want to change the focus to more story and less sex. It may bomb and disappoint my readers, but I want to make the effort.

Or you do what I did, and have non-porny stories right from the get go. I don't have the View counts that some authors have, but what I do have is multiple comments like this:

What a lovely piece of loving, sexy writing! I so appreciate you bringing a story to this category where *both* partners are mature. Like the tags say "November November." And the way you build the characters is so skilful, fine details that reveal so much about each of them and their relationship. And the sex is so warm and satisfying.

Or this:

Props be damned, I could use a cigarette after that. (And I haven't smoked since college!)

I love these two. They feel so desperately human. I'm very jealous of them. I can't wait to explore more of their sumptuous relationship. Although I will, because your stories have a lovely way of filling the mind for a good long while.

 

[Belegon]

I find I'm the same with every genre I write, to be honest. The internal stuff and the character interactions flow naturally, but I'll often find myself writing things like [exciting action scene goes here] during a draft so that I can come back to the fight/chase/really steamy sex scene when I'm in a more appropriate frame of mind for it.

Thankfully all good writing happens in editing and redrafting, right?

fight scenes and sex scenes have something in common for me. I rush thru them both... but I have to say that probably has to do with 12 years doing/teaching martial arts. I can visualize and describe the sex because I've done it or at least thought about doing it. I can write a fight scene because I sparred every Friday night for years and have been to a great many tournaments where I sparred. Now, sparring isn't fighting. I take care to not injure people when sparring. If it's a fight, with serious intentions, I'll do what I need to do to win. But sparring is enough like a fight that I can say it's almost like I've been in thousands of fights over the last twenty years. That absolutely makes it easier for me to invent/choreograph/write a fight scene.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I rather like starting with a bit of the sex so people know what they'll be getting, then flash back to how they got there. I also write a fair few stories about established couples or at least people who have shagged before, so the story isn't the obvious 'how they got together' option.