Reading Competition Stories

[DEFCOM5]

As we are in the mist of the Halloween competition, do you read all the stories that are submitted to a contest or a competition?

If not, how do you select what story to read?

Do you read just writers you follow and/or respect?

How do you discover new writers?

More generally, how many stories do you read in average on Literotica in a day?

Do you just read the ones in the category you like best?

I know this is a lot of questions but I know that one way to become a better writer is to read well written pieces. However, my experience here has been underwhelming to say the least. Any tip is appreciated.

 

[Actingup]

I try to read a selection of stories from respected and new authors. Reading every story is too time-consuming, and also turns into drudgery pretty quickly (even with great stories). People will have different approaches, but I think it’s great if we manage to retain that sense of joy and surprise at what other people come up with, as well as learning from established authors and encouraging newbies.

 

[AchtungNight]

Same as I judge all stories. I read what appeals to me and if I enjoy it especially in a particular way, I rate and comment.

 

[DEFCOM5]

@Actingup, how do you identify new authors?

 

[DEFCOM5]

Same as I judge all stories. I read what appeals to me and if I enjoy it especially in a particular way, I rate and comment.

How do you know what story would appeal to you?

For the Halloween contest, there is a just title and author and honestly, I only figured out two writers that I really enjoy.

So I click on it and look at the category and click back (I don't read T/I and LW) for example.

Assuming it is a category I might be interested, I start reading and get mad at myself for having wasted time reading crap.

 

[iwatchus]

I will answer this twice, once for then and once for now.

For the two+ decades I only read here. my reading was bursty. I might not go to the site for a month or two than I might read 20 or 30 stories in a week. I read only in a handful pf categories (E&V primarily) and would scan the list of new stories and look at the top stories from the last 30 days to find new readings. I liked to find a series because that meant less searching and more reading. It was only a decade ago, when I first considered writing, that I became a member and could maintain a list of favorites that I really noticed who I was reading that much.

The first serveral months I was writing, I didn't look at anything else on the site. One time that I got a bit hung on my writing, I started going back to read some. But I had also started spending time here in AH-land and I mostly read stories I saw mentioned here and authors who said things I liked. Coincidentally, @FreyaGersemi and @StillStunned were the last two authors I had favorited before becoming an author myself.

I plan on reading all the stories in each event I have participated in, but I have never made it past ten or so. I made a burst of reading on the post a few months ago where people recommended one of their own stories to read. I stlll have 2/3 of them to read. I just added maybe a dozen stories I had not read that were mentioned in the Lesbian day thread recently. But I have also been trying to read the back catalogs of some people I consider friends here and from some whose writing I especially respect (the sets are not distinct). For a couple of stories that wandered into new categories for me, I trie to sample a number of well received stories in that category to give myself a better idea of what works three. And I have started reading for several people, pre-publication. I am finding I enjoy trying to read critically like that and I think it helps my writing, so win-win as far as I am concerned.

 

[SmilingLez]

As we are in the mist of the Halloween competition, do you read all the stories that are submitted to a contest or a competition?

If not, how do you select what story to read?

Do you read just writers you follow and/or respect?

How do you discover new writers?

More generally, how many stories do you read in average on Literotica in a day?

Do you just read the ones in the category you like best?

I know this is a lot of questions but I know that one way to become a better writer is to read well written pieces. However, my experience here has been underwhelming to say the least. Any tip is appreciated.

Interesting titles and thoughtful descriptions. If the story doesn't resonate after the first page, then I find another. The writer has to care enough to keep me "captive".

YMMV

 

[Djmac1031]

Okay so your questions will of course bring a mixed bag of responses, because what we choose to read, why and how often will vary from person to person.

But there are some obvious responses that will probably keep cropping up: what the story is about, what kink it features, who wrote it, what kind of mood we're in when we wanna read, etc.

Im sure most of us tend to read the same authors on a regular basis. When we find someone who's style we enjoy, we're going to keep coming back usually.

I know many of us try to balance rhat by supporting new authors as well, whether new to writing here or just new to us in the sense we have yet to explore their catalog.

My personal reading habits vary, but if I'm writing, I'm obviously more focused on that and reading far less.

When I'm not writing, it really just depends on my mood. If a friend of mine just published I'll do my best to make time for it, but even then I tend to miss a lot.

 

[lovecraft68]

Unfortunately, I'm one of those here that do not read a lot of stories. I should, but I only have so much time to write, and other people's stories get in my head sometimes and mess with my 'voice'

When I read, it tends to be shorter pieces and in taboo and mature, but I'll give anything a go if its interesting. I never look at the author name, I go by the title and tag

For contest stories I generally only read two or three.

Kind of crappy, but I'm being honest. Because of it I never push my links or ask people to read mine. If they do that's great, but I'm fine with it not happening. There's a lot more readers out on story side than here and that's who we're aiming for.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Well, normally yes. Right now, I’m embarrassed at not being able to find the contest page. Maybe after my nap.

 

[SimonDoom]

I only read a small fraction of stories submitted to competitions. I'll pick whatever looks interesting, and if I get through them I'll give them whatever score I think they deserve.

I can't imagine reading all of them. I don't know how one would find the time to do that.

 

[DEFCOM5]

@iwatchus ,
I think that your suggestions of reading stories recommended by authors in the hang out which are not their own is a fantastic suggestion.
If I push someone else work, it is because I really respect it.

 

[Djmac1031]

@iwatchus ,
I think that your suggestions of reading stories recommended by authors in the hang out which are not their own is a fantastic suggestion.
If I push someone else work, it is because I really respect it.

That's always a good measuring stick; who are your favorite author's favorite authors.

 

[iwatchus]

When I have looked for new pockets of stories after I joined but before I started writing, I sometimes went to look at my favorites favorites

 

[DEFCOM5]

I only read a small fraction of stories submitted to competitions. I'll pick whatever looks interesting, and if I get through them I'll give them whatever score I think they deserve.

That is exactly my issue. I pick based on the title and assuming it is a category I might be interesting, I start reading and BOOM! Here come the bait and switch. Either the title was misleading or the description was a tiny part of the story.

I know that title and description is why people click a story (Backseat Mommy anyone? ) but I have found that it has a low correlation with the quality of the story.

I guess playing the story Russian roulette is the only way to go. I wish the categories description would be available in the contest.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Category

 

[Robin_Starveling]

I don’t read Interracial, Gay, or Lesbian.

If I’ve sampled your work twice and didn’t like it, there won’t be a third.

Since many of the contestants are the same old faces, most of them are probably already blacklisted. Among the lesser-known, I pick randomly based on the title and description.

From the very first line, I can tell whether I’ll keep reading. If you manage to pull me past the first page only to make me back off later, it won’t just be disappointment, it’ll be a grudge.

If I read to the end, I’ll binge the rest of your work.

 

[DEFCOM5]

Category

once an editor, always an editor?

 

[dirk2024]

@Actingup, how do you identify new authors?

Sometimes, I pick up new stories in this thread: https://forum.literotica.com/threads/new-story-advertisments.181349/page-215#post-101611976

Other times, I'm in a mood to explore, so I go by the category I am currently interested in and start looking at titles and taglines and occasionally find new authors there.

But I do tend to stick with authors I follow, though that list does get added to from time to time.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

once an editor, always an editor?

No, just selective in what I read. In fact, that's why I don't edit for others.

 

[AchtungNight]

How do you know what story would appeal to you?

For the Halloween contest, there is a just title and author and honestly, I only figured out two writers that I really enjoy.

So I click on it and look at the category and click back (I don't read T/I and LW) for example.

Assuming it is a category I might be interested, I start reading and get mad at myself for having wasted time reading crap.

Title, author, category, summary blurb. How else? Like many readers, certain categories don’t interest me. I won’t get specific.

 

[THBGato]

Do you read just writers you follow and/or respect?

How do you discover new writers?

Well, we all start from the point of not following any writers or knowing which to respect. So everyone starts with a story, one special story thst grabs you and makes you think "wow! Has that writer written any more?"

For me that was "Walking with Sam" by @onehitwanda So then I read all her lesbian stories, then checked out the writers she followed; read all their lesbian stories, and so on.

One of the reasons why I follow a lot of writers - I figure there's probably other readers out there like me, so it's my way of helping them find other writers they'll probably like.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don’t read Interracial, Gay, or Lesbian.

If I’ve sampled your work twice and didn’t like it, there won’t be a third.

Since many of the contestants are the same old faces, most of them are probably already blacklisted. Among the lesser-known, I pick randomly based on the title and description.

From the very first line, I can tell whether I’ll keep reading. If you manage to pull me past the first page only to make me back off later, it won’t just be disappointment, it’ll be a grudge.

If I read to the end, I’ll binge the rest of your work.

Thanks for weighing in, T, we appreciate it.

 

[Robin_Starveling]

Thanks for weighing in, T, we appreciate it.

For you guys? Any time! Which of AwkwardlySet's stories is your favorite? After spending so much time together, I’m sure you know them all by heart.

 

[lovecraft68]

For you guys? Any time! Which of AwkwardlySet's stories is your favorite? After spending so much time together, I’m sure you know them all by heart.

I haven't read one, and I don't think he's read mine and that's fine.

People can be concerned with forum dynamics and horn tooting, but the smart ones are more concerned with lit's readership, not the small number of people here.

Tens of thousands of people have read my stories, whether anyone here or not does isn't the goal.