Need help with story category

[subdued_passion]

So, I'm a bit uncertain about which story category would best fit the story I'm currently finishing up.

Essentially it is a love story but there are non-humans involved as well as sex with a non-human.

I know as a rule if a story has erotic elements with non-humans it qualifies for the NonHuman category, however I've written the story in a manner where I want the reader to feel conflicted at the end over whether the supernatural world was real or not. I'll fail in that objective if I start off by labeling it as a non-human story.


I'm leaning towards Romance, but I doubt if it will go down well with the readers in that category.

At a little over 21k words it can't be posted as a novella either.

So... your thoughts/ suggestions?





[SIZE="-3"]PS- This is my first AH thread, I feel like I'm wearing my first big girl pants.[/SIZE]

 

[NaokoSmith]

So, I'm a bit uncertain about which story category would best fit the story I'm currently finishing up.

Essentially it is a love story but there are non-humans involved as well as sex with a non-human.

I know as a rule if a story has erotic elements with non-humans it qualifies for the NonHuman category, however I've written the story in a manner where I want the reader to feel conflicted at the end over whether the supernatural world was real or not. I'll fail in that objective if I start off by labeling it as a non-human story.


I'm leaning towards Romance, but I doubt if it will go down well with the readers in that category.

At a little over 21k words it can't be posted as a novella either.

So... your thoughts/ suggestions?





[SIZE="-3"]PS- This is my first AH thread, I feel like I'm wearing my first big girl pants.[/SIZE]

I have a Nonhuman chapter of my story posted in Gay, so it's possible to do this. Bear in mind that Laurel will re-assign the story if she thinks you haven't chosen the right category. She has a lot of experience - I mean in story stuff! and is often right, e.g. I wanted a story put in Fantasy once but she put it in Gay and it did nicely there.

Maybe Sci-Fi and Fantasy is an option? Readers there are very kind. Readers in Nonhuman are kind, too, and give good votes. I'm not sure about Romance, I don't think I've posted a story there.

(Very nice those pants are, too! )

 

[lovecraft68]

So, I'm a bit uncertain about which story category would best fit the story I'm currently finishing up.

Essentially it is a love story but there are non-humans involved as well as sex with a non-human.

I know as a rule if a story has erotic elements with non-humans it qualifies for the NonHuman category, however I've written the story in a manner where I want the reader to feel conflicted at the end over whether the supernatural world was real or not. I'll fail in that objective if I start off by labeling it as a non-human story.


I'm leaning towards Romance, but I doubt if it will go down well with the readers in that category.

At a little over 21k words it can't be posted as a novella either.

So... your thoughts/ suggestions?





[SIZE="-3"]PS- This is my first AH thread, I feel like I'm wearing my first big girl pants.[/SIZE]

One option is novels and novellas which contains a little bit of everything. YOu could make it 6 or 7 short chapters The only problem is very poor readership numbers.

You mentioned it is 21k so perhaps what you could do is start it in romance and the chapter that will reveal the character is not quite human could go in Non Human?

Romance may take the whole thing if it does not degenerate into "Okay he is a werewolf now he is going to sprout fangs and tear some throats out" If its more subtle it could work.

I am going to follow this thread because I will be in the same boat soon. A story that contains lesbian, bdsm and the main character is a witch.

P.S we would rather you not be wearing any pants.

 

[subdued_passion]

I have a Nonhuman chapter of my story posted in Gay, so it's possible to do this. Bear in mind that Laurel will re-assign the story if she thinks you haven't chosen the right category. She has a lot of experience - I mean in story stuff! and is often right, e.g. I wanted a story put in Fantasy once but she put it in Gay and it did nicely there.

Maybe Sci-Fi and Fantasy is an option? Readers there are very kind. Readers in Nonhuman are kind, too, and give good votes. I'm not sure about Romance, I don't think I've posted a story there.

(Very nice those pants are, too! )

I considered Sci-Fi and Fantasy as well, sadly I don't think it's fantastic enough. I know the NonHuman readers are very generous, but it has so little sex and text filled with weird names that I feel they will feel disappointed.

One option is novels and novellas which contains a little bit of everything. YOu could make it 6 or 7 short chapters The only problem is very poor readership numbers.

You mentioned it is 21k so perhaps what you could do is start it in romance and the chapter that will reveal the character is not quite human could go in Non Human?

Romance may take the whole thing if it does not degenerate into "Okay he is a werewolf now he is going to sprout fangs and tear some throats out" If its more subtle it could work.

I am going to follow this thread because I will be in the same boat soon. A story that contains lesbian, bdsm and the main character is a witch.

P.S we would rather you not be wearing any pants.

I'm posting it as one story, I learnt my lesson about not splitting stories into chapters after my experience with my Complicated story.

I see romance as a good fit too, because it is a love story, there's drama and very little sex and of course all those feelings.

 

[lovecraft68]

Well if it has feelings then......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRaI7ZOmTr4

The slide show is quite romantic.

Seriously it will work there as long as you don't plan on the whole "clan war" thing that is all over NH and have a lot of violence and nastiness. They're a light hearted group over there they just want those damn feelings and some "love making"

 

[NaokoSmith]

I considered Sci-Fi and Fantasy as well, sadly I don't think it's fantastic enough. I know the NonHuman readers are very generous, but it has so little sex and text filled with weird names that I feel they will feel disappointed.





I'm posting it as one story, I learnt my lesson about not splitting stories into chapters after my experience with my Complicated story.

I see romance as a good fit too, because it is a love story, there's drama and very little sex and of course all those feelings.

It sounds like Romance will be a good category. Maybe if you compare the votes to votes other Romance stories are getting, rather than to overall story votes, and of course see what the comments are like. I have some stories which score low but the comments are adulatory and I get lots of emails too, saying: "Please do more," so I figure I am doing something right for someone

I'm sure you already thought of this; write a blurb in the box for additional instructions about why you are choosing the category you have selected, otherwise Laurel may just pop it in a different category.

 

[RejectReality]

Nonhuman, in my opinion.

The weird names and such you're mentioning might very well turn off readers in Romance and get you skipped over. In Nonhuman, that's not an issue.

Simply posting it to Nonhuman doesn't preclude the possibility that there aren't any real nonhumans in it, or dull a "were they or weren't they" type of ending.

I've done several bait-n-switch stories in the past where the entire story seems to be one thing, but turns out to be something else in the end. They were fairly well received in much harsher categories ( Loving Wives and Mind Control ) so you should do fine in a much more accepting category like Nonhuman.

 

[LadyVer]

Non Human. Romance readers usually are looking for human romance. Non human readers are looking for nonhuman romance or sex.

 

[laptopwriter]

NaokoSmith brings up a good point...

If you do decide to post in Romance, or even Erotic-Couplings, make sure you write a note to Laurel and explain why you want it in that category. She'll listen to reason, but if you don't let her know, she just might put it where she feels it goes.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Put it in Loving Wives...that should throw them for a loop.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Put it in Loving Wives...that should throw them for a loop.

OMG, I am so tempted now to write a werewolf story and put it in Loving Wives!

ETA:
It would of course involve a black werewolf.

 

[LadyVer]

Put it in Loving Wives...that should throw them for a loop.

LOL

 

[slyc_willie]

Non Human. Romance readers usually are looking for human romance. Non human readers are looking for nonhuman romance or sex.

You may be right. I have a story in Romance in which the main character is a ghost. That's not revealed until the end, though; throughout the story he acts as any other normal person. I suppose if he was more obviously non-human, Romance wouldn't have been the category for it.

 

[sr71plt]

Sounds like nonhuman to me. But, if you would like to see it in Romance, why not mark it that way? The editor will change the category if she feels strongly about it.

 

[LadyVer]

You may be right. I have a story in Romance in which the main character is a ghost. That's not revealed until the end, though; throughout the story he acts as any other normal person. I suppose if he was more obviously non-human, Romance wouldn't have been the category for it.

Interesting. I could see where it could fit Romance, especially if the buildup is slow like romance usually is. What's the word count?

 

[slyc_willie]

Interesting. I could see where it could fit Romance, especially if the buildup is slow like romance usually is. What's the word count?

It's just shy of two full Lit pages, so I'm going to say about 6k words. It doesn't have much sex, either; just a single masturbation scene.

 

[Hypoxia]

It's just shy of two full Lit pages, so I'm going to say about 6k words. It doesn't have much sex, either; just a single masturbation scene.

Does anyone watch the masturbation? Then it could go into Exhibitionism.

 

[LadyVer]

It's just shy of two full Lit pages, so I'm going to say about 6k words. It doesn't have much sex, either; just a single masturbation scene.

Great story! I almost cried. I would say that it fit the Romance category more than any other.

 

[slyc_willie]

Does anyone watch the masturbation? Then it could go into Exhibitionism.

In fact, the main character does watch, but the story's been sitting in Romance for 7 years now. No need to change it.

Great story! I almost cried. I would say that it fit the Romance category more than any other.

Thanks. I wrote that for the 2007 Valentine's Day contest. It placed pretty close to the winners.

 

[Handley_Page]

So, I'm a bit uncertain about which story category would best fit the story I'm currently finishing up.

I'm leaning towards Romance, but I doubt if it will go down well with the readers in that category.

At a little over 21k words it can't be posted as a novella either.

So... your thoughts/ suggestions?

Non-human, but at 21000 or so words it runs to about 6 or 7 Lit pages.
I'd suggest two sections, and choose the category from there.

 

[subdued_passion]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I've noticed that a few of you said that if the category seems like a misfit the person reviewing the story will post it where they fit. I'm skeptical about that. I recently wrote and posted a story, Devi, in the LW category clueless to the fact that Loving Wives are supposed to be the cheating variety. I learnt that only after the story was posted and some of the authors pointed out that it would've been a better fit in Romance.


My story doesn't have any weres or vampires or even a lot of sex, but I suppose NonHuman is where it'll have to go. [sigh]

I liked the suggestion of splitting the story into two sections as I have written it in two parts (although the first part will be 4 Lit pages and the second barely 2).

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Theme-plot determines category. GONE WITH THE WIND goes in Romance cuz its about Scarlett's infatuations with Ashley and Rhett tho she flirts with most men. Whats the core of the story?

OLD BOYS, OLD GIRLS by Edward P. Jones is a romance tho little of the story has anything to do with romance. The principal character goes to prison for many years, forfeiting his girl, Yvonne, his parents and siblings, and all his friends. He comes out, works as a dishwasher in a diner, and takes a room in a flop-house. One day he passes Yvonne in the hall. She doesn't recognize him, and she's a drug-addicted hooker with a room close to his. He frets and struggles with his feelings for her and his low self-esteem. When he collects his courage to talk to her he finds her on her bed, dead with a broken neck. He bathes her body and grooms her, launders her clothes and linens, and cleans her bed and room so she'll be presentable when the landlady finds her.

 

[subdued_passion]

I've posted the story. Part I has some non-human erotica so I posted it in NonHuman and posted the sex bereft Part II in Romance.





I am very tempted to act on Zeb's suggestion. It'll work great in a werewolf story because they already do the group sex thing. Just need to write it in a way that you don't know that the characters are wolves till the last para.

Hmmm...

 

[NaokoSmith]

I've posted the story. Part I has some non-human erotica so I posted it in NonHuman and posted the sex bereft Part II in Romance.





I am very tempted to act on Zeb's suggestion. It'll work great in a werewolf story because they already do the group sex thing. Just need to write it in a way that you don't know that the characters are wolves till the last para.

Hmmm...

That seems like a good way to go, I was thinking of saying why don't you split it in two and post in different categories.

I came back in to mention, tho, that by accident I posted my latest werewolf chapter which has lesbian sex in it in NonHuman, where it has been placed. Then I thought I'd put the next chapter which has gay sex in it into NonHuman too, cuz there is a bit of changing going on in it. But it's been moved to Gay Male, LOL.

Do come back and tell us when the story uploads, won't you!

 

[3113]

Non-human right category for "Magical Realism"

I want the reader to feel conflicted at the end over whether the supernatural world was real or not. I'll fail in that objective if I start off by labeling it as a non-human story.

Non-human actually IS the place for stories with such twist endings. In fantasy lit, such stories are often called: "Magical Realism." This as compared to straight-up horror or sci-fi/fantasy where readers don't want any ambiguity. So, if you write up a story with a ghost and, at the end you want the reader to say "Was it real?" That's "magical realism" and Non-human is a good place for it. If you want the reader to say, "Shit! They had sex with a ghost!" (scary) horror. Or "Shit! they had sex with an alien/elf" and it wasn't scary, sci-fi/fantasy.

Could you have the story of the ghost in Romance? Absolutely! There are stories in a lot of other categories with ghosts (one of the best I've ever read here was in BDSM). BUT...if it's in romance the aim is pretty much to bring a bitter-sweet tear to the eye. To have some woman on a date with her lover, and at the end we realize she was either with a ghost or lost in her own mind, that he's been dead all these years The reader doesn't sit around afterwards wondering if it was real or not, because that doesn't matter. What matters is that they are still together somehow... (How romantic! *sniff*). That's "Romance."

This is not the same as leaving the reader wondering: "did she or didn't she make love to a ghost?" If the aim is a Pan's Labyrinth ambiguity, rather than wistful sighs at lost love...then Non-human really is the best category for it. It'd be the same if you wrote a novel and it was labeled "magical realism." Readers would know that they'd get ambiguous supernatural. Which is what you want, because if a reader comes to it wanting romance and gets "magical realism" instead they could get mad. They don't want to play mind-games with the author, they want romance! Non-human readers want that eerie feel of "was it real?" So, no need to sigh over having put it in that category. It's the right one for readers who will "get" what you're going for and love it.