Straddling Categories

[polynices]

I'd be interested in other people's thoughts about the problems associated with deciding on the proper category when posting a story on Literotica.

Although many stories fit neatly into one or other of the given categories - Lesbian, Gay Male, Group Sex, Masturbation, etc. - a lot don't. I imagine many writers who post here write their story first and only try to decide on a category when the story's finished. At that point, they may find the story contains elements that could fit into a number of different categories - that, in fact, the story straddles two or more. In fact, I'd suggest that stories are often better, richer, etc, for being difficult to categorize.

I also wonder if categories are really over-archingly significant to readers? They're clearly useful as a broad guide to content, but are the majority of readers so focussed on a particular kind of sexual act that they intentionally ignore stories with other focuses? Obviously, I can't speak for anybody else on this, but I find there's very little match in my own reading between the category a story is in and the story's quality, either as writing or as an erotic reading experience.

I'm not trying to start a campaign to change Literotica's category set-up, by the way. I recognise that the current system has been very successful and that it has the virtue of (relative) simplicity. I also understand that it's very unlikely to change anyway, whatever anyone says here. However, I'm interested in hearing what effect, if any, the need to conform to the established categories has on Literotica's writers.

I'd be interested in any thoughts anyone else may have.

- polynices

 

[driphoney]

I'd be interested in other people's thoughts about the problems associated with deciding on the proper category when posting a story on Literotica.

Although many stories fit neatly into one or other of the given categories - Lesbian, Gay Male, Group Sex, Masturbation, etc. - a lot don't. I imagine many writers who post here write their story first and only try to decide on a category when the story's finished. At that point, they may find the story contains elements that could fit into a number of different categories - that, in fact, the story straddles two or more. In fact, I'd suggest that stories are often better, richer, etc, for being difficult to categorize.

I also wonder if categories are really over-archingly significant to readers? They're clearly useful as a broad guide to content, but are the majority of readers so focussed on a particular kind of sexual act that they intentionally ignore stories with other focuses? Obviously, I can't speak for anybody else on this, but I find there's very little match in my own reading between the category a story is in and the story's quality, either as writing or as an erotic reading experience.

I'm not trying to start a campaign to change Literotica's category set-up here, by the way. I recognise that the current system has been very successful and that it has the virtue of (relative) simplicity. I also understand that it's very unlikely to change, whatever anyone says here. However, I'm interested in hearing what effect, if any, the need to conform to the established categories has on Literotica's writers.

Anyway, this is all speculation - but I'd be interested in any thoughts anyone else may have.

- polynices

It's true that a lot of stories could be cross-categoried. But are most readers here focused on a particular type of sex act? Are you kidding!? Oh yeah! Most aren't here to consume great literature, and even in mainstream fiction people have their genre preferences, right? I think one thing reading sex provides is fantasy. You get this little thing going in your head. Could be simple, could be wild-ass. No way, in reality, would you or maybe could you, actually do that, but it's wide open in your fantasy life. Usually those fantasies are specific. So, you come here hunting for it. Often you like it so much, you can't get enough and keep reading more ways to do that same fantasy.

As for conforming, I think most stories here are short stories with only one or two scenes of sex. It's pretty easy to write whatever your mind gives you and then find a category that fits well enough. You always go with the "riskiest" or "naughtiest" element in your story. Because genre does matter to the reader, you better not shock a reader. A couple of sub-categories have been suggested though.

The rub usually comes in chaptered stories. As you develop plot and let your characters roam about, they get into situations. Often sticky situations. Right now my one-and-only story is in Interracial. That's a broad category, as is novellas. I've done a couple kinds of sex and the story's stayed put. I'm glad because my one or two fans will be looking out for it there.

That's my take on it, for what it's worth.

 

[PacoFear]

It's true that a lot of stories could be cross-categoried. But are most readers here focused on a particular type of sex act? Are you kidding!?

As for conforming, I think most stories here are short stories with only one or two scenes of sex. It's pretty easy to write whatever your mind gives you and then find a category that fits well enough. You always go with the "riskiest" or "naughtiest" element in your story.

I think it's natural to have a story straddle more than one category. Many of my posts span multiple cats. Heck, my most popular one at the mo' is a romance-fantasy-lesbian-incest.

On one level, it's important to categorize your story in a way that helps the readers with that particular sexual leaning locate it. That'll help with reader volume. I've often wished that Lit let us post our stories in more than one category for this purpose.

On a second level, it's nice to fulfill a reader's expectation(s). That'll get you nice scores, if you care about that. (I'll say it - I can be a score whore). Step one of meeting expectations is avoiding delivery of a flavor of sex that a reader does not like. That'll get you killed. Put yourself in your reader's shoes: readin' along, dum-dee-dum, hey this story's kinda hot -- oh dear god! Why did he just jam an X into her Y?! And why is she Z-ing?! That's disgusting! Ugh, one star for ruining my mood. Bastard.

To address the latter problem, I usually tip a reader off with a quick author's note in the beginning of a story letting him know what other types of sex (other than the category's designation) that he's going to run into. I see it as a courtesy of sorts, I'm respecting the reader's time.

If it helps, I present unto you my no-doubt shitty thought model for the reader selection process here on Lit: this place is a sort of restaurant. Most people show up here when they're a bit peckish so to speak. In the same sort of way they'd skim a menu, readers are looking over the assorted categories. A reader who generally prefers pasta (say "lesbian") is going to drift towards that part of the menu.

Here's where things get interesting: even within pasta/lesbian he's got nuanced likes and dislikes, perhaps generally ones, perhaps ones based on his mood at that particular moment. For whatever reason, he may have a yen for first time young lesbian, chock full of awkward blushing romance. Or maybe May/September lesbian with an older woman seducing an impressionable and willing young thing.

For me, the titles and the little quick descriptive tidbits Lit allows us to use are just like the titles of a dish on a menu. I use both to try catch a reader's eye. Once they click on my story, I sketch out the story's ingredients in the same way any chef in his right mind would.

Seriously, compare "Linguine with clams in white wine, lemon, butter and fresh herbs" with "Romantic lesbian, two test-stressed coeds turn to toys rather than than boys."

Now, who's hungry?

-PF

 

[Jake Marlow]

So many stories fit into more than one catagory that's silly to restrict us to only one. On my own website I put my stories into each catagory that applies. If something invovles a cheating wife I'll almost always put it there, even if that cheating invovles threesomes or group sex. Reluctance/Nonconsentual could also loosely apply to so many stories, really. Don't so many of the stories posted here start with reluctance? Now Nonconsentual is whole different thing. You can only really go with your gut.

 

[Experiencedguy]

I think a lot of people have missed your point.

When I cruise through the new stories section (which I try to look at daily), I do look for certain genres, and ignore others. The kicker is the punch line. For example, if the story is listed as NonConsent/Reluctance, I would rarely look at it. But if the punch line read: Sis is forced into bukkake, I would definately read it. The catagory does nothing for me (personally), but I am into both bukkake and incest.

So, based on what I just gave you, the story could be either NonConsent/Reluctance, Incest, or Group Sex. With the proper use of the punch line, it doesn't matter what genre you post it under, I'm going to read it.

Best of luck

 

[driphoney]

I think a lot of people have missed your point.

When I cruise through the new stories section (which I try to look at daily), I do look for certain genres, and ignore others. The kicker is the punch line. For example, if the story is listed as NonConsent/Reluctance, I would rarely look at it. But if the punch line read: Sis is forced into bukkake, I would definately read it. The catagory does nothing for me (personally), but I am into both bukkake and incest.

So, based on what I just gave you, the story could be either NonConsent/Reluctance, Incest, or Group Sex. With the proper use of the punch line, it doesn't matter what genre you post it under, I'm going to read it.

Best of luck

We did?

And I agree. I rarely cruise through the New list, but if I do, a byline can drag me out of my faves. Not too far out, but curiosity has taken me off course a time or two.

 

[Tappy_McWidestance]

Almost all of my stories could certainly be in multiple categories. I've also noticed, based on my submissions, some categories get read more often than others. When I look at the New list I do cruise for just a few categories so I wish we could sort the New list by category. There are a few types I don't read often, but I would definitely like to exclude the ones I don't ever read.

I don't expect Lit to change how they do things. They have their site setup this way for a reason and we don't pay to use it so that is good by me. On other site I read just uses the tags submitted by the author which makes it easier to see what you're going to get. I do prefer that only because I'm sure I'm missing some great stories here simply because they don't sound right at a glance.

 

[peebudy]

Tappy - I'd second that vote for being able to filter the NEW list by category. Ideally, there's be checkboxes next to the list of categories that you could check for the ones you wanted to see.

In the interim, you can go to the Search Stories page and click Advanced Search. There you can select a category and then choose stories one week old and less. This will give you the most recent posts in that particular category.

Most of my stories deal with pee play and I find that there's not much traffic for that sub-section of the Fetish category. It looks like some of the more main stream categories like Erotic Coupling get more traffic, but that makes sense.

Hope this helps

Pray for rain!
-- peebudy

 

[BillyBobJoeEd]

I think a lot of stories could be fit into multiple categories. A group sex tale could also be voyeur/exhibitionist or loving wives or interracial. Lit should give us checkboxes for the categories when we're submitting a story and let us check more than one if the story fits

 

[Cold_Eyes]

On top of just trying to determine a category, there's also Lit reader expectations to take into account. I'm still fairly new to Lit and its politics, but even I know that Loving Wives means "cheating wives" (and I have no idea if it was intended this way) and posting a story there will result in either the "wimpy cuckold" camp or the "whoring out wife" camp ripping it apart, or both. Exhibitionist and voyeur is a bit strange as well, since it seems acceptable to put mass amounts of straight sex into E&V, as long as there's just a little bit of E&V in there. Incest/Taboo seems to be incest-only as well. The name suggests that there should be stories about priests and nuns in there as well.

I've also never figured out where the line between romance and erotic couplings is. Romance seems to allow homosexual relationships as well. Filing a story under Romance seems to be the same as affixing it with a label that says, "Warning! Not much sex here." I have an unfinished lesbian story, but, if I get around to posting it, I feel like it would go under Romance better than Lesbian Sex because it's sparse on the sex.

I think story tags solve the problem to some extent. A good tag search can pinpoint what you want a lot of the time and I prefer searching by tags instead of category. The only downside is that some authors don't tag or use strange or worthless tags.