Correlation of Emotional Reaction to Story Content and Rating

[Milo_Grigsby]

I recently posted a story in the Loving Wives section that generated a lower rating and more comments than I have gotten on other stories, ranging from real appreciation of the story (1 comment) to dimissing the genre (cuckoldry) to outright anger at the actions of the protagonist.

The general line of the story is the wife of a retired man has been trying to talk him into swinging. Because he has refused she tells him, in as loving a way as possible, that she is sexually bored and intends to be with another man anyway. The man is stricken with such despair at this he is unable to take any action and simply watches as she leaves for her date. I won't spoil the ending.

For very real reasons, both evolutionarily and societal, sexual fidelity is a highly charged issue, especially when applied to women. I chose to explore this and allow the emotions of the protagonist (the husband, told in first person) to go where they may. Even as I was writing it, it generated some surprising and interesting emotional reactions in me.

What I found interesting about the responses to the story was not so much the comments. As I said, this is a highly charged issue, but the low rating (less than 3). In my opinion the writing is as high a quality as my other works, which so far have been rated well above 4. I'm not hurt or offended by this, if you write you are going to be criticized. But it's interesting that people would actually give a story a low rating apparently not on the basis of the quality of the writing but, from what I can tell, on the basis of the emotional reaction it seemingly elicited.

Interested in hearing from other writers on this.

 

[NotWise]

In my experience (not in LW) readers respond favorably to strong emotional content.

But this is LW, and it was your male character's emotional reaction. See the current thread about men and emotions. Your low score may reflect the negative reaction that some male readers have to other men showing emotions.

 

[Lifestyle66]

If you look through the other threads in the Authors Hangout, you find the Loving Wives reaction discussed repeatedly.

When you write and post in other categories, the readership there is looking for more specific types of stories. But it seems in LW, the readers' interests span a greater range. There are those who want to read swinger stories, and others who want to read about cheating wives. Those looking for cheater stories fall into the extremes of hating cheaters or others getting excited by that relationship.

You'll find those hating extra-marital affairs are more prevalent in LW, and they take it out on you with what we refer to as "1-bombs". Even if you title your story and describe it as "They're Swingers" and "Husband has fun watching his wife fuck another guy.", the readers in LW will still click on it and hate it.

Stories in LW which rate well are those where cheating ends in divorce, with the cheater losing in some way (missing access to their kids or some other more violent retributions.)

 

[Voboy]

HEA stories usually get much, much better ratings than non-HEA stories, at least in my catalog.

Why does it seem odd to you that a story that elicits a positive emotional reaction would make a reader like that story better? Seems natural to me.

I also think you're going to fall into the "all readers prefer X or Y" trap: people rate for different reasons, but they also read for different reasons. Some want a quick orgasm and no character development; others want the opposite. Often, the same reader might want different things at different times. And they'll rate accordingly, one presumes.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think there's definitely a connection. Look at the stories that win contests. They tend to be longer than average and have more character development, which makes it easier for the reader to get emotionally invested in the story.

 

[HordHolm]

But it's interesting that people would actually give a story a low rating apparently not on the basis of the quality of the writing but, from what I can tell, on the basis of the emotional reaction it seemingly elicited.

I think it's hugely unsurprising. Imagine how you respond to different types of music, for instance. Do you always respond more favourably to a complex symphony compared to a 'simple' pop song? Any symphony we are likely to hear surely has a higher quality of writing - simply from the complexity of writing a symphony, which requires particular technical skills - than a pop song. And yet a pop song might have a more favourable response: it might be more accessible, have good melodies or beats, or have a vocal/lyric which evokes an emotional response.

 

[SimonDoom]

But it's interesting that people would actually give a story a low rating apparently not on the basis of the quality of the writing but, from what I can tell, on the basis of the emotional reaction it seemingly elicited.

Interested in hearing from other writers on this.

Think about why people come here to read stories in the first place. Many or most come for stories that will turn them on. For many or most there's a deeply held emotional component to what turns them on. If you turn them off, they're going to react negatively. If you turn them on, they'll react positively. If you turn them on in a physical way AND are able to provide an emotional connection, so much the better for many readers.

 

[MrPixel]

You'll find those hating extra-marital affairs are more prevalent in LW, and they take it out on you with what we refer to as "1-bombs". Even if you title your story and describe it as "They're Swingers" and "Husband has fun watching his wife fuck another guy.", the readers in LW will still click on it and hate it.

I have a different thought on the incel-in-Mom's-basement take on the 1-bombers. These "guys" - we presume they're young men - target stories depicting a married couple experiencing sex outside of that covenant, rewarding (or not punishing) stories where the transgressor "gets their just desserts". I don't think the idiot factor is that cut-and-dried. What if... well... what if there is an intentional and loosely-coordinated effort by a conservative religious faction to troll LitE to make authors feel doubt about their efforts, teaching them a lesson that they shouldn't be exploring and by inference condoning marital infidelity?

That postulate is a bit of a stretch, of course, but there seems to be such an ongoing and dedicated effort in the three years I've been authoring to think it possible it's just a handful of "hobbyists" perched at their keyboard itching to inflict their vandalism. They'd get tired of it sooner or later. This concept, in my distorted world view, fits into the same mentality pushing book banning and online pornography laws. The vehemence and hatred frequently echoed in comments could easily be explained by this, too. Never underestimate religious zealots - regardless of the harm they inflict, God/Allah/FSM is always on their side.

Prevention or at least detection? Not possible. But considering this possibility might be another insight into the motives.

Oh... why LW and mostly not the other topics? Rich, reliable target. Too much work ferreting out stories elsewhere. They'd have to read them. Eww. Icky.

 

[AG31]

I recently posted a story in the Loving Wives section that generated a lower rating and more comments than I have gotten on other stories, ranging from real appreciation of the story (1 comment) to dimissing the genre (cuckoldry) to outright anger at the actions of the protagonist.

The general line of the story is the wife of a retired man has been trying to talk him into swinging. Because he has refused she tells him, in as loving a way as possible, that she is sexually bored and intends to be with another man anyway. The man is stricken with such despair at this he is unable to take any action and simply watches as she leaves for her date. I won't spoil the ending.

For very real reasons, both evolutionarily and societal, sexual fidelity is a highly charged issue, especially when applied to women. I chose to explore this and allow the emotions of the protagonist (the husband, told in first person) to go where they may. Even as I was writing it, it generated some surprising and interesting emotional reactions in me.

What I found interesting about the responses to the story was not so much the comments. As I said, this is a highly charged issue, but the low rating (less than 3). In my opinion the writing is as high a quality as my other works, which so far have been rated well above 4. I'm not hurt or offended by this, if you write you are going to be criticized. But it's interesting that people would actually give a story a low rating apparently not on the basis of the quality of the writing but, from what I can tell, on the basis of the emotional reaction it seemingly elicited.

Interested in hearing from other writers on this.

Yes, I wish that there were two ways to rate a story. One has to do with how will the story was written. The technical issues. The other being how much it appealed. For the later I think responses should be restricted to people who are naturally fans of the genre. I have no business, I think, giving a tentacle story any kind of a rating on how much it did or didn't appeal to me.

 

[Voboy]

Yes, I wish that there were two ways to rate a story. One has to do with how will the story was written. The technical issues. The other being how much it appealed. For the later I think responses should be restricted to people who are naturally fans of the genre. I have no business, I think, giving a tentacle story any kind of a rating on how much it did or didn't appeal to me.

Couldn't disagree more.

A site like this has two options when soliciting reader feedback: more freedom, or less freedom. Meaning, either create an open-ended system with minimal safeguards, or impose barriers to make feedback harder to give. Laurel and Manu have chosen the former; you're proposing the latter.

There are clear pros and cons to each, but on a sex site where relatively few users are going to be comfortable revealing their identities? Their idea beats yours by a mile.

Let's say we use your idea. Two ratings. Voters would need to provide a qualification to vote on the technical specs, presumably, so... only English majors and other writers could vote on the technical issues, perhaps? And other writers would be biased, especially in contests, so shouldn't be allowed to vote? You're left with the English majors. I've known many of those who can't write for shit and never properly learned grammar. And even if they all did, you'd be fortunate to get more than four or five votes per story.

For the other rating, how on earth would that be measured? And why shut out happy generalists who like a lot of different stuff?

No. If they're going to err, I'd always rather the site owners err on the side of more freedom, not less.

 

[Lifestyle66]

I have a different thought on the incel-in-Mom's-basement take on the 1-bombers. These "guys" - we presume they're young men - target stories depicting a married couple experiencing sex outside of that covenant, rewarding (or not punishing) stories where the transgressor "gets their just desserts". I don't think the idiot factor is that cut-and-dried. What if... well... what if there is an intentional and loosely-coordinated effort by a conservative religious faction to troll LitE to make authors feel doubt about their efforts, teaching them a lesson that they shouldn't be exploring and by inference condoning marital infidelity?

That postulate is a bit of a stretch, of course, but there seems to be such an ongoing and dedicated effort in the three years I've been authoring to think it possible it's just a handful of "hobbyists" perched at their keyboard itching to inflict their vandalism. They'd get tired of it sooner or later. This concept, in my distorted world view, fits into the same mentality pushing book banning and online pornography laws. The vehemence and hatred frequently echoed in comments could easily be explained by this, too. Never underestimate religious zealots - regardless of the harm they inflict, God/Allah/FSM is always on their side.

Prevention or at least detection? Not possible. But considering this possibility might be another insight into the motives.

Oh... why LW and mostly not the other topics? Rich, reliable target. Too much work ferreting out stories elsewhere. They'd have to read them. Eww. Icky.

When I looked back at LW stories of the past they seemed to rate much higher, until about three years ago. IMO, those written since about the time of the COVID lockdowns seem to be hated more so than previously. If it were religious zealots, I think that would be somewhat of an unlikely coincidence. If the religious zealots were here in a coordinated attack, I would think they'd target gay, lesbian, and other categories, too.

As for comparing LW ratings to other categories, most of the other categories by their very names are targeting people looking for a specific fetish, whereas IMO LW sounds more generic. That generic appeal may be why those stories get more views than stories in other categories.

I wrote my story "A Gathering of Trolls" and posted it to LW, trying to draw the basement dwelling incel-type trolls to attack it. But it didn't fare any better or worse than my other stories, getting about 8K views and finally settling at 2.94 average with 170 votes. My latest story has over 500 votes and averaging 2.97. So, IMO, that serves as evidence we're dealing with just generic haters of extra-marital sex, whether they're getting laid or not. There are plenty of disgruntled divorced people out there.

 

[SimonDoom]

I have a different thought on the incel-in-Mom's-basement take on the 1-bombers. These "guys" - we presume they're young men - target stories depicting a married couple experiencing sex outside of that covenant, rewarding (or not punishing) stories where the transgressor "gets their just desserts". I don't think the idiot factor is that cut-and-dried. What if... well... what if there is an intentional and loosely-coordinated effort by a conservative religious faction to troll LitE to make authors feel doubt about their efforts, teaching them a lesson that they shouldn't be exploring and by inference condoning marital infidelity?

I wouldn't bring up the religious/political explanation without some proof, and there is none. I've received and read plenty of these types of comments, and I don't get a religious/conservative/political vibe. The vibe I get is that these are avid readers of the kinds of LW stories THEY like (which doesn't seem consistent with the political spin) and they don't want to see stories of the other kind.

 

[MrPixel]

I wouldn't bring up the religious/political explanation without some proof, and there is none.

OK, good enough. Just a thought.

 

[Duleigh]

it's interesting that people would actually give a story a low rating apparently not on the basis of the quality of the writing but, from what I can tell, on the basis of the emotional reaction it seemingly elicited.

Interested in hearing from other writers on this.

I wrote a multi-chapter story about a white male and a Vietnamese female and their romance, heartbreak, and life together, the story was put in the Novel/Novella category and got a 4.9 rating over 14 chapters. I wrote a little sex romp between them for the 750 word a little sex romp for the Year of the Rabbit and I put it in interracial category and got a 4.2. Next year I'm going to write the exact same story with minor changes for the year of the dragon and put it in a different category and see what the voting looks like.

There's folks out there who just love to be offended. I had one "gentleman" who got very angry with one of my stories because it was "Nothing but rape!" I had to reply, "What do you expect out of the Non-Consensual category?"

 

[Bramblethorn]

I have a different thought on the incel-in-Mom's-basement take on the 1-bombers. These "guys" - we presume they're young men - target stories depicting a married couple experiencing sex outside of that covenant, rewarding (or not punishing) stories where the transgressor "gets their just desserts". I don't think the idiot factor is that cut-and-dried. What if... well... what if there is an intentional and loosely-coordinated effort by a conservative religious faction to troll LitE to make authors feel doubt about their efforts, teaching them a lesson that they shouldn't be exploring and by inference condoning marital infidelity?

That postulate is a bit of a stretch, of course, but there seems to be such an ongoing and dedicated effort in the three years I've been authoring to think it possible it's just a handful of "hobbyists" perched at their keyboard itching to inflict their vandalism. They'd get tired of it sooner or later.

I think you underestimate how persistent obsessed people can be. Three years is nothing. If anything, it can become self-perpetuating, because the more time somebody invests in something like that the harder it is to admit the time was wasted.

I wouldn't be surprised if religion helps shape some of the ideas that put somebody on the road to LW-troll-dom but I don't think it requires a religious conspiracy to explain the behaviour.

 

[Seadog777]

I recently posted a story in the Loving Wives section that generated a lower rating and more comments than I have gotten on other stories, ranging from real appreciation of the story (1 comment) to dimissing the genre (cuckoldry) to outright anger at the actions of the protagonist.

The general line of the story is the wife of a retired man has been trying to talk him into swinging. Because he has refused she tells him, in as loving a way as possible, that she is sexually bored and intends to be with another man anyway. The man is stricken with such despair at this he is unable to take any action and simply watches as she leaves for her date. I won't spoil the ending.

For very real reasons, both evolutionarily and societal, sexual fidelity is a highly charged issue, especially when applied to women. I chose to explore this and allow the emotions of the protagonist (the husband, told in first person) to go where they may. Even as I was writing it, it generated some surprising and interesting emotional reactions in me.

What I found interesting about the responses to the story was not so much the comments. As I said, this is a highly charged issue, but the low rating (less than 3). In my opinion the writing is as high a quality as my other works, which so far have been rated well above 4. I'm not hurt or offended by this, if you write you are going to be criticized. But it's interesting that people would actually give a story a low rating apparently not on the basis of the quality of the writing but, from what I can tell, on the basis of the emotional reaction it seemingly elicited.

Interested in hearing from other writers on this.

The Loving Wives category is full of pretend, phony, baby carrot sporting, limped dick, hypocrites, that wouldn't know what to do with a real woman, so they stay inside with their blow-up dolls, and project onto authors.

You want to get an emotional reaction from readers, so take the low score and know that you did a good job. LOL.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My highest rated stories are also my most intimate, so I'd say, of course there's a connection between rating and emotional connection. But I don't write in LW, so it's high rating correlating with positive emotion, not the other way around. I really don't understand the LW mindsets.

 

[Seadog777]

My highest rated stories are also my most intimate, so I'd say, of course there's a connection between rating and emotional connection. But I don't write in LW, so it's high rating correlating with positive emotion, not the other way around. I really don't understand the LW mindsets.

It's fun to piss off the projection phonies.

 

[madelinemasoch]

When I looked back at LW stories of the past they seemed to rate much higher, until about three years ago. IMO, those written since about the time of the COVID lockdowns seem to be hated more so than previously. If it were religious zealots, I think that would be somewhat of an unlikely coincidence. If the religious zealots were here in a coordinated attack, I would think they'd target gay, lesbian, and other categories, too.

As for comparing LW ratings to other categories, most of the other categories by their very names are targeting people looking for a specific fetish, whereas IMO LW sounds more generic. That generic appeal may be why those stories get more views than stories in other categories.

I wrote my story "A Gathering of Trolls" and posted it to LW, trying to draw the basement dwelling incel-type trolls to attack it. But it didn't fare any better or worse than my other stories, getting about 8K views and finally settling at 2.94 average with 170 votes. My latest story has over 500 votes and averaging 2.97. So, IMO, that serves as evidence we're dealing with just generic haters of extra-marital sex, whether they're getting laid or not. There are plenty of disgruntled divorced people out there.

Then they should get off the internet and find a new wife. I'm absolutely tired of these people.

 

[Duleigh]

My highest rated stories are also my most intimate, so I'd say, of course there's a connection between rating and emotional connection. But I don't write in LW, so it's high rating correlating with positive emotion, not the other way around. I really don't understand the LW mindsets.

Same here, when I fall in love with a story as I write it, it seems that the reader falls in love with it also and votes accordingly. As for LW - it's nothing I've ever chosen to experience so I haven't even read it, but I hear the anguish of the writers in that category. I never understand the readers, if you don't like the concept of LW, why are you reading it???

 

[Rob_Royale]

How are you surprised? The story starts off with every married man's worst nightmare, and you expect people to NOT react emotionally?

 

[Duleigh]

I can see it for the first time entrant to this site, but for someone who has been here more than once? It's like saying "If you hit your thumb with a hammer it will hurt." and the next thing you hear is "OW! Why didn't you tell me it will hurt?"

If they don't like it, why do they read it?

 

[onehitwanda]

If they don't like it, why do they read it?

Some people need something to be angry about.

 

[lc69hunter]

How are you surprised? The story starts off with every married man's worst nightmare, and you expect people to NOT react emotionally?

Therein lies the difference. Your assumption that that is every married man's worst nightmare is pretty expansive, and nowhere near true, but it drives the BTB stories and those who tend to comment anonymously in the LW category

 

[Lifestyle66]

Then they should get off the internet and find a new wife. I'm absolutely tired of these people.

Same here, when I fall in love with a story as I write it, it seems that the reader falls in love with it also and votes accordingly. As for LW - it's nothing I've ever chosen to experience so I haven't even read it, but I hear the anguish of the writers in that category. I never understand the readers, if you don't like the concept of LW, why are you reading it???

For both of you: Why do you write at all if you don't want your readers to get emotional about your story or characters?

Did Steven King with his novels with the anticipation his readers would fall in love with horrors?

As I pointed out with my Trolls story, it didn't get the basement dweller reactions we might anticipate. And the LW stories I've read which seem to rate highest are those where all extra-marital sex ends in divorce.

IMO, those we're determined are trolls in LW are people who have probably experienced in real life a similar cheating situation, and they're emotionally connecting with these stories and characters. You've shown them a Steven King horror, and it's bringing out their reactions from their own experiences, having seen their own family dismembered. And just as King has his dedicated followers, those from broken marriages are always going back looking for more.

As a writer of LW stories, I merely adjusted my expectations to recognize and appreciate that it's not about achieving a Red-H. It's about getting the views! I've reached MORE readers with my story by putting it in LW rather than playing it safe and posting to Erotic Coupling, Mature, or Group Sex. My latest "Hall pass" story has over 38K views in just two weeks! But it's rated at 2.97 with over 500 votes! Those from broken marriages hate the husband who allows his wife to have fun with sex, and they hate the wife for having fun. But they read my story!