Multi-Category Series: Which Pairs Work Best?

[Kasumi_Lee]

About a month ago, I posted a thread discussing the feasibility of series with different chapters in different categories. If the chapters' themes differ enough to justify putting them in different categories, can this work as long as the series as a whole follows a coherent arc? Opinions were divided about trying it, but the loose consensus was yes.

I deliberately avoided giving specific hypothetical examples because I didn't want to muddy the waters with debates about which categories would pair best together. That's a separate discussion, which I'm creating now with a few possible pairings:

1) Chapter One in LW: a cheating wife sleeps around behind her husband's back; Chapter Two in NC/R: husband finds out about his wife's betrayal and arranges revenge (a "rape the bitch" ending instead of "burn the bitch").

2) Chapter One in NC/R: a woman (married or single) is raped by a stranger; Chapter Two in I/T: nineteen years later, the woman's son is grown up and the spitting image of her rapist, she has a sexual relationship with him, helping her to achieve closure.

3) Chapter One in Interracial: a divorced White mother-of-one is dating a Black man to the chagrin of her 18-year-old White son who hates his prospective stepfather for reasons he won't state in polite company; Chapter Two in I/T or NC/R: divorced White mother and Black boyfriend intend to try for a baby together, her son can't stand this and forces himself on his mother; the climax of chapter two involves the White mother in labor with her Black boyfriend supporting her, only for her apparent infidelity to be discovered when the baby is born totally White.

Personally, I've always stuck to one category for all chapters in each series, and quite a few other people in the previous thread do so as well. But if you were to write a series with a coherent story arc covering two categories (three or more would be hard to pull off), which ones would you pick and what would the series synopsis be?

 

[SimonDoom]

1) Chapter One in LW: a cheating wife sleeps around behind her husband's back; Chapter Two in NC/R: husband finds out about his wife's betrayal and arranges revenge (a "rape the bitch" ending instead of "burn the bitch").

2) Chapter One in NC/R: a woman (married or single) is raped by a stranger; Chapter Two in I/T: nineteen years later, the woman's son is grown up and the spitting image of her rapist, she has a sexual relationship with him, helping her to achieve closure.

3) Chapter One in Interracial: a divorced White mother-of-one is dating a Black man to the chagrin of her 18-year-old White son who hates his prospective stepfather for reasons he won't state in polite company; Chapter Two in I/T or NC/R: divorced White mother and Black boyfriend intend to try for a baby together, her son can't stand this and forces himself on his mother; the climax of chapter two involves the White mother in labor with her Black boyfirend supporting her, only for her (apparent) infidelity to be discovered when the baby is born totally White.

Personally, I've always stuck to one category for all chapters in each series, and quite a few other people in the previous thread do so as well. But if you were to write a series with a coherent story arc covering two categories (three or more would be hard to pull off), which ones would you pick and what would the series synopsis be?

The first problem here is that it sounds like all three of your examples might violate the nonconsent rule, because in none of the three cases does the nonconsensual sex sound enjoyable. It sounds like outright rape. The site doesn't allow that (in principle, at least).

If I were you I would submit the stories as a single long story rather than in chapters in different categories. Put the story in the category that fits best. Not only will it probably be received better, but by writing it as a single story you may force yourself to give the story more coherence than if you go into thinking it's a two-category story.


Part of the issue here is that all three of your proposed stories involve nonconsent. Nonconsent is a problematic category to fuse with other categories. People either like it or they don't. I/T readers tend to like gentler, more romantic stories.

An example of two categories that go well together is Exhibitionist & Voyeur and I/T. But if I did that I would always write each chapter so it could plausibly go in I/T, because the reads will be several times higher. A good rule of thumb is that if you CAN submit it in I/T, submit it in I/T.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

If I were you I would submit the stories as a single long story rather than in chapters in different categories. Put the story in the category that fits best. Not only will it probably be received better, but by writing it as a single story you may force yourself to give the story more coherence than if you go into thinking it's a two-category story.

I think that was covered in the previous thread cited above. Writing multi-category series isn't something I've personally done, or would be likely to do, it's just a possibility that may or may not work.

Part of the issue here is that all three of your proposed stories involve nonconsent. Nonconsent is a problematic category to fuse with other categories. People either like it or they don't. I/T readers tend to like gentler, more romantic stories.

You're welcome to critique my examples, and your comments about the difficulty of pairing NC/R with other categories are well taken, but I was specifically asking for people to provide their own examples of pairings that might work well. The three hypotheticals I gave were provided solely to get the conversation going.

An example of two categories that go well together is Exhibitionist & Voyeur and I/T. But if I did that I would always write each chapter so it could plausibly go in I/T, because the reads will be several times higher. A good rule of thumb is that if you CAN submit it in I/T, submit it in I/T.

Grown-up son spying on mommy in chapter one, and then getting to do the deed with her in chapter two? Sounds good.

The first problem here is that it sounds like all three of your examples might violate the nonconsent rule, because in none of the three cases does the nonconsensual sex sound enjoyable. It sounds like outright rape. The site doesn't allow that (in principle, at least).

I've written enough NC/R stories in my time to know how to conform to the guidelines (it's as simple as making her wet or giving her an involuntary orgasm), and also to know that you can't possibly tell whether the victim does or doesn't derive pleasure from those bare-bones summaries unless you've read the actual scenes (which haven't been written yet, because their hypotheticals).

For the record, the actual rule reads as follows:

Ravishment/non-consent fantasies in which the “victim” receives no thrill or enjoyment from the acts, or is seriously and/or permanently physically harmed/abused/maimed/killed.

The fantasy in question is in the mind of the writer/reader. The spirit of the rule (I can say this since dozens of NC/R stories of mine to date have passed muster) is that the victim must not be hurt, and adding involuntary pleasure forced upon her (or him) is the generally the way to go.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

I'm the outlier, because I think sticking with one category makes the most sense, and that's what I've done with my three series.

I think the first scenario, keeping the entire story in LW makes the most sense, since it's the relationship, the cheating and the aftermath that is the arc of the story.

In the second scenario, I'd keep things in I/T, because that's the fundamental arc, as it's less about the rape and more about the woman and how she overcomes it, with her son.

In the third scenario, I'd keep it in IR (this is what I've done with my own stories) because the crux of the story is about the fact that the IR relationship is what's driving the behavior of some of the main characters, and the twist is of an IR flavor (and I appreciate reversing the trope).

In the end, I think it comes down to what is the core story you're telling - what category does the core story belong in. That there are events that fit Non-con or I/T in the various scenarios don't fundamentally alter what are at heart an LW, I/T or IR storylines.

This is why I've stuck with IR for all my stories, beyond the desire not to screw up my fanbase by moving chapters so they may miss them - fundamentally, my stories tend to be about relationships between people of various races, and its the relationships that are more important than the sex acts they engage in during the relationships. I could put some of my stories in group sex, anal, lesbian, romance, EC, I/T, gay male, or a half dozen other categories, but in the end, the one overarching theme for everything is IR, and that's why I kept it there.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Which categories work best together?

I think there are some that have natural connections; BDSM and Fetish kind of live in he same neighborhood. NC/R is probably just a short jaunt down the street.
Most of what I write is in T/CD which seems to play nicely with First Time, Anal and NC/R depending on the story.

Pick a category and you can write in that space with Lesbian or Gay characters or from the POV of a voyeur, so...
I guess I'm saying that they can all fit well together depending on the story.

I think the more interesting question is, which categories don't fit and please explain why?

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

I think the more interesting question is, which categories don't fit and please explain why?

Romance and NC/R immediately spring to mind (I don't think I need to explain why).

 

[spiderboi]

Romance and NC/R immediately spring to mind (I don't think I need to explain why).

I think NC pairs well with GM if you're changing up categories between chapters. Straight guy gets turned out in the first chapter and actively pursues consensual same sex interactions in subsequent chapters is what I've seen and enjoyed.

And it's actually why I think NC and Romance can go together really well too haha It won't be a healthy romance for sure when you're crossing those categories, but I love a dark/toxic romance and I've seen authors swing it satisfactorily.

I can't honestly think of two categories that can't be made to fit somehow. There are categories I don't personally like together because the thought is gross to me (IR + MC, for example), but I've definitely read and enjoyed things that violate my personal preferences before. It just has to be well done.

 

[Bamagan]

Romance and NC/R immediately spring to mind (I don't think I need to explain why).

I dunno. Stockholm Syndrome is a thing. It could start out with NC/R and then (inexplicably to many people) evolve into something tender. It would be a story perhaps likely to alienate both category audiences, though, especially if it was compellingly written.
Edit: I get the impression, though, that a number of so-called 'bodice ripper' romance novels more-or-less follow that paradigm, although they may not go as hard as a lot of the NC/R stuff here.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

(IR + MC, for example)

I find this an interesting pairing. Not that I don't see where you're coming from, but if I were to call out a pairing with MC, it would be IT, especially if it were a parent controlling a child. Just the idea sends my cringe meter off the charts.

 

[Mastered_again]

I used multiple categories in the series I've written. It follows the sexual evolution of one couple, so using NC/R, Anal, EC, E&V, and Group fit. Certain categories generate more clicks than others. Only a guess, but maybe 100 have read all chapters.

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

I find this an interesting pairing. Not that I don't see where you're coming from, but if I were to call out a pairing with MC, it would be IT, especially if it were a parent controlling a child. Just the idea sends my cringe meter off the charts.

Mind Control is a category I've never looked at or thought about, and the idea of it makes me cringe, although as an NC/R writer, I'm not one to judge too much.

 

[Mastered_again]

...although as an NC/R writer, I'm not one to judge too much.