Tips for first time writer?

After reading a lot of stories on here and having some fantasies of my own I'm going to attempt to write my first story. Are there any tips for a first time author? What is the best strategy when starting? Do an outline? How do you add depth to the story? If interested in giving advice I would greatly appreciate any help.

In my signature are links to my tips on writing and how I write sex scenes.

What category would you write in?

A few random thoughts:

1. Start modestly. Don't begin with a novel or multi-chapter story. Start with a story that's modest in length so you can get it done and published without too much work.

2. Write what you like. Write something that turns you on. It's easier and more fun that way.

3. I can't advise you to outline because some writers simply don't do that. Some, like me, like to plot and outline ahead, and others just make it up as they go. Some of the best writers just make it up as they go. I don't know how they do it but it works for them, and it may work for you too.

4. Don't skimp on the sex scene, whatever sort of sex it is.

5. You don't have to follow this guideline, but stories do better in terms of reader response when they are over 2 Literotica pages long. A Literotica page is about 3750 words. So if you care about how well readers respond to your story, try to make it at least about 8,000 words.

6. Remember an erotic story is a story. It's not JUST sex. A story usually has a conflict, which means one or more characters with an unmet need, and the story is about the character dealing with that need.

For instance, a frequent patron of a library finds out that a shy, quiet librarian has a rope fetish. He finds out she's been sneaking books about it from the shelves when she thinks no one is looking. The patron has the same kink. But they're both shy and quiet. So the conflict is how he figures out how to get together with the librarian so they can enjoy their kink together. That's character and conflict. That's a story. It establishes the need, the conflict, the way the conflict works out, and in the end there's kinky sex with rope, the resolution.

Also, I second 8Letters suggestion to click on the thread that is linked to in his signature. He has some excellent tips and so do others that contributed to the thread.

I particularly like Bramblethorn's idea of thinking of a sexual encounter as a conversation. It's not just a physical encounter (E.g., "Then he inserted A into B"). It's two people (or more) communicating with one another. Imagine what they are trying to communicate, and why, and where the conversation goes. It's much more fun to write a sex scene if you think of it that way.

SimonDoom said:

5. You don't have to follow this guideline, but stories do better in terms of reader response when they are over 2 Literotica pages long. A Literotica page is about 3750 words. So if you care about how well readers respond to your story, try to make it at least about 8,000 words.

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Simon is probably right about that, but I personally find it hard to get into a story that's more than three pages long. The stories I've liked most are one or two pages long. And that's typically the length of the stories I write.

My writing process.

Let me describe my writing process. Hope it helps you in getting started in your writing.

I decide the central theme first. Is it about an exhibitionist trying to streak a hotel corridor? Is it an incestuous story about someone trying to fuck a cousin? Is it about a person eager to try BDSM?

After I have decided that, I create a mental outline, of how the story should start, the motives of the main character and the ultimate erotic climax or encounter.

After creating the mental outline, I write it out and start with introducing the characters with their daily routines or actions, describing their setting, the events that lead to the erotic action and the final erotic encounter.

The first draft might be 4000 words long, but on revisiting and editing it, the subsequent drafts may expand to double the word count or even more. I try to edit out the unnecessary parts, any grammatical errors and substitute phrases or sentences.

In the end, I reread my story and see if I enjoy reading it. Does it meet the standards I expect from other stories? Do I feel satisfied with the way story ended? If I think there could be some improvement, I edit it again.

This is my process. But you will develop your own process once you start writing. It's almost like learning how to ride a bicycle: you can only learn once your start doing it.

Once you're satisfied with the final version of your piece, just submit and hit publish. That itself is a big accomplishment according to me, as a writer.

Before I get serious about sitting down to write anything I have pretty strong impression of who the main characters are, what the starting point of the story is and a pretty good idea as to how it ends. Then I make my way from beginning to end, not always in a straight line. If I get stuck I move to a different point in the story.

I know most writers don’t work that way, but it’s been successful for me.

jehoram said:

Simon is probably right about that, but I personally find it hard to get into a story that's more than three pages long. The stories I've liked most are one or two pages long. And that's typically the length of the stories I write.

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Everything I write seems to get longer than I expected. I thought my new one would go about 30k words, it topped 50k. Maybe that hurts my readership, I don’t know. But the story is what the story is, and I don’t worry about it.

MelissaBaby said:

But the story is what the story is, and I don’t worry about it.

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This is a good attitude, but I think you are somewhat unusual. You have stories you want to tell. Your brain seems to go that way, naturally. I think many aspiring Lit authors think along the lines of, "I want to write a story about two people who get naked and have sex at an ice rink and I'm trying to figure out how to do that." They have an idea, but not a story. They have to construct the story. That's how I usually do it. Like, for example, the Penis Fish story idea, which you tipped me off about. It was an idea at first, but not a story. I had to build a story around an idea. In that case I wrote one of my shorter stories -- only 5100 words -- because I didn't feel the idea warranted a longer story. The idea was to draw the reader in, make the reader think, "You've got to be effing kidding," and then get out fast.

I find it enjoyable to read about all the different ways people do this.

The most important rule is write what you want to read. A lot of what I draft are scenes or moments or characters I am not seeing enough of. Those scenes or moments often hit me like a freight train, and I write it down immediately. I have average about 1000 words just off the idea, but I am slow writer and the story needs to be much longer than 1000 words. It's why I have 16 drafts but only one story posted

As Simon says about construction, the idea isn't enough. Sometimes you have to love the construction of a story, corralling the moving pieces, nailing down the characters who end up surprising you. If you have an idea but don't know how to write, I'd spend some time doing a little research about what about a story you like. The setting? Finding erotic in the mundane? Will they, won't they?

Also, writing takes time. I know how I want my stories to sound (mood, atmosphere, pacing), it's years of learning a style. I suggest you start writing and getting practice and eventually lean in to what you think you excel at. I don't outline, but rather build forward and backwards off the scene, fleshing it all out. Good luck!

Gregr3188 said:

After reading a lot of stories on here and having some fantasies of my own I'm going to attempt to write my first story. Are there any tips for a first time author? What is the best strategy when starting? Do an outline? How do you add depth to the story? If interested in giving advice I would greatly appreciate any help.

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All I can do is give you what worked for me. I hope some of it helps you get going on your first story.

I started with stories for my wife. I stuck to what I knew to begin with. It made it much easier on me as I manufactured those first stories.

As said some writers use a formal outline, timeline and character description. I'm a seat of the pants writer, so I just go with the flow. The best advice I can give here is do what you're comfortable with and what works for you.

When I'm writing I try to stay in the story. What I mean by that is I try to stay submerged in the storyline, try to hear my characters, step outside of me and think like they would.

Depth in a story, to my mind, is all about the characters' interaction with each other. the best thing is to make the characters in your story feel as real as possible. They need to have fears, hopes, hates and dreams. They need to like some of the others and dislike a few too. In other words just like real life. I try to make the reader believe they are eave dropping on a conversation.

That is just how I do it. There has been a lot of good advice put up here. Each one of us who has offered something has at one time stood where you are and most (at least I think I do) know how you feel. I hope some of it helps. It's a daunting undertaking to stand at the beginning, about to make your first steps into a new endeavor. Don't let it intimidate you. If an old, semi-educated, fat-fingered, dyslexic, slow-ass typist like me can turn out a half-decent story, I'm sure you can. Hitch up your pants and get 'er done. We'll be wating to read and enjoy it.


Comshaw

Be your self.


But don't be full of yourself.

SimonDoom said:

This is a good attitude, but I think you are somewhat unusual. You have stories you want to tell. Your brain seems to go that way, naturally. I think many aspiring Lit authors think along the lines of, "I want to write a story about two people who get naked and have sex at an ice rink and I'm trying to figure out how to do that." They have an idea, but not a story. They have to construct the story. That's how I usually do it. Like, for example, the Penis Fish story idea, which you tipped me off about. It was an idea at first, but not a story. I had to build a story around an idea. In that case I wrote one of my shorter stories -- only 5100 words -- because I didn't feel the idea warranted a longer story. The idea was to draw the reader in, make the reader think, "You've got to be effing kidding," and then get out fast.

I find it enjoyable to read about all the different ways people do this.

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Perhaps you are right. With all respect to what works for others, the idea of sitting down at a keyboard thinking "OK, I want too write a story about a girl who likes to take it up the ass" or "What if cousins fucked?" seems strange to me.

I generally have a starting theme. Take The Gold Dollar Girls, for example. I wanted to write about strippers, a topic on which I have some knowledge.

First is create the main characters. I sketched out four women who each represented some important aspect of the lifestyle; how it affects your relationships, child custody issues, jealousy and ambition, etc.

Once those personalities began to feel real, the potential conflicts were readily apparent, and as I thought about that, I knew where the story was headed.

The first couple of chapters are a basic introduction of the main characters. I wrote a rough draft of the climactic scenes and then I filled in the gaps.

To me, that just seems the natural way to work. It all begins with the characters.

Often, at night while trying to drift off to sleep, with Jo sound asleep beside me, I imagine a story. Playing out scenario in my head. over and over, I let this loop run though my brain. At some point, I go to sleep, and the loop plays though as dream. Next morning, I write the basics and save them. Do my work for a few hours, and go back to the new concept and write till the first draft is finished.

I learned this technique from my father, who calls this method visualization writing.

The method will not work for everyone. First, you need to have the ability to remember dreams. Second, you must wake up and first thing put the what you remember into a notebook or file on the computer. Thirdly, one should work on it before you lose the threads of your thoughts going in and the dream itself.

I have a ton of quarter to half finished manuscripts that I need to try and reimaging at night see if I can get back the parts I didn't write quick enough.

Gregr3188 said:

After reading a lot of stories on here and having some fantasies of my own I'm going to attempt to write my first story. Are there any tips for a first time author? What is the best strategy when starting? Do an outline? How do you add depth to the story? If interested in giving advice I would greatly appreciate any help.

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Write. Seriously, get words down, be it the first paragraph, an outline, character notes, whatever.

I never outline, I never plot, some of my best characters arrive in the space of a paragraph. My stories usually have a simple image, either to start with, or somewhere in mind to get to, so I write the first sentence, to start. The rest follows, and eventually, I stop. Usually on a premise that might promise more - but what's just been written is always self-contained, or is at a logical chapter break.

Write yourself a first sentence and see what happens.

And Melissa is spot on. Characters, it's always characters - with emotions, motivation, meaning. You're writing erotica, so get intimate, get in close, give readers someone to care for, crave for, desire. Make your fantasy come alive. If you don't fall in love with a character, no one else will.

Start writing!

You are telling a story about people for people to read. Your characters are your people. You have to know them, inside and out. Who they are, how they think, their emotions, their feelings, their desires, their motivations, their anxieties, their likes and dislikes. What are they thinking when they say something or take an action.

Take a step back for a moment and watch yourself as you read this thread. What are your thoughts? How are you reacting? What are you doing at that moment? What does it motivate you to do, or not do? Does It stick with you, are you chewing it over, as your day goes on What action does it trigger. Know you characters. I believe that is the key.

Stephan King, the most famous pantster in horror, maintains in his books about writing, he is never surprised in a story he writes. Three pages after this comment on his latest such book, he talks about creating a throwaway character he intended to use about three times in the story. But the character had different ideas and became the third most important character in the story. Um excuse me, Steve, ole buddy, ole pal of mine, that's a surprise.

I'd say don't be afraid of surprises in your stories, but don't over do the twist and turns or you'll get lost in your own tale.

MillieDynamite said:

Often, at night while trying to drift off to sleep, with Jo sound asleep beside me, I imagine a story. Playing out scenario in my head. over and over, I let this loop run though my brain. At some point, I go to sleep, and the loop plays though as dream. Next morning, I write the basics and save them. Do my work for a few hours, and go back to the new concept and write till the first draft is finished.

I learned this technique from my father, who calls this method visualization writing.

The method will not work for everyone. .

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That's a great name for it. I do the same when sleeping, napping, showering, tuning out my wife...

I describe it as a video running in my head but Visualization Writing sounds so much cooler,

All good advice. I'll venture only to say that if you can cross the threshold from penning a 'porn script' to generating a 'story', you have made it.

A fine line perhaps, but with a story you enter a new universe, with people and emotions and excitement that entirely surpass a mere sex scene.

yowser said:

All good advice. I'll venture only to say that if you can cross the threshold from penning a 'porn script' to generating a 'story', you have made it.

A fine line perhaps, but with a story you enter a new universe, with people and emotions and excitement that entirely surpass a mere sex scene.

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I agree with you completely, Yowser. But I also think that a good portion of the readers who come to Lit come looking for 'a porn script' - more's the pity.

gordo12 said:

That's a great name for it. I do the same when sleeping, napping, showering, tuning out my wife...

I describe it as a video running in my head but Visualization Writing sounds so much cooler,

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I'll let pops know you approve of his technique.

SamScribble said:

I agree with you completely, Yowser. But I also think that a good portion of the readers who come to Lit come looking for 'a porn script' - more's the pity.

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Just like this thread shows authors have many different methods and reasons for being here… readers are the same. I’m not one to (intentionally) normally write for the ‘porn script’ crowd, I always want more of a story around the sex. But I know plenty of those readers might drop by my stories.

I try to open with scenes that definitely read ‘non-porn’ that tells the reader quickly they’re getting more than a specific sex scene. I also hope they look at the story’s word count, the vast majority of my stories are over, some well over, 10,000 words.

I don’t usually go so far as I did in my Winter Holidays 2020 entry, where in my preface I warned readers that the story had very little explicit sex. In fact, the two such scenes it has would barely push it past an MPAA ‘R’ rating equivalent, in 35,000 words. And yes, not tens of thousands of views (in SF&F) but a 4.70+ rating. That story opens with a singer leading a children’s choir singing Christmas songs… so any reader knows immediately that a hunky pizza delivery guy isn’t likely showing up anytime soon.

To the OP’s question, understand these different readerships exist. And Categories matter. Look up threads here talking about the ‘Loving Wives’ category . Review info like this: Love your readers: Categories.

You've said you have a background in reading stories, so you've already got a leg up on a great start. Reading's the most important backbone to writing. Pay attention to what you like, learn from it and what you you don't.

And then? Just start writing. It's cliched, but it's the truth. Write a story, a novella, a novel, whatever hits the page. Write it, finish it, and then give it a few days or a week and read it. Then write something else, and keep at it until you have something you want to share. That's it. That's the magic formula. Good luck!

Gregr3188 said:

After reading a lot of stories on here and having some fantasies of my own I'm going to attempt to write my first story. Are there any tips for a first time author? What is the best strategy when starting? Do an outline? How do you add depth to the story? If interested in giving advice I would greatly appreciate any help.

Click to expand...

Don’t say “I’m going to attempt to write my first story.” Be positive and miss out “to attempt.” Be determined to get it submitted and then, however good or bad, you’ve been successful and you can move on to your second story.

When I write I know who the main characters are and I have an idea of the ending together with a vague idea of how to get there. When it’s finished the ending sometimes isn’t what I originally had in mind.

I know a lot of writers like to list what’s going to happen along the journey and then write the words to fit and it works for them. I personally can’t do that and find it too constricting. Sometimes I take the main road between the two places and sometimes meander along the country lanes. But it’s whatever suits you.

I think it’s been said already you should write a story you would like to read and you’ll find there are people who like to read the same stories as you.

I would suggest, for a first story, between 4K and 7k words. If you’ve got a decent idea that shouldn’t be difficult. When you’ve written it read through it and correct the mistakes. Then read through it again and correct the mistakes you missed the first time. Do that until you are confident not that there aren’t any mistakes but there are none that jump out and spoil the story.

Correct punctuation and spelling are important, which is why I think checking more than once is important, but the most important thing is to make the story enjoyable.

Finally, try to grab the reader with the first sentence if you can but certainly with the first 50 words. Make the beginning strong enough to make them want to read more.

1) Take 5 minutes to learn the basics of female anatomy (for instance, the distance in inches from the vaginal opening to the cervix).

2) Don't introduce a female character by giving her bra size.

3) Your basic structural tools are scenes, half-scenes, and summary. A half-scene combines scene and summary, and can quicken your pacing. Don't begin your story with pages of back-story summary. Sneak in the back-story bits at a time, as it is needed.

4) On the prose level, your basic tools are action, static description, dialogue, and thought (which includes emotion). Express emotions concretely : for instance, instead of "she felt afraid", write something like "her stomach churned".

5) A character's motives are structured by a) need (that which will give them fulfillment) b) desire (what they want out of life) c) goal (what they are trying to achieve in the immediate present), and d) tactics (their plans to achieve their goal). There should be a conflict between two or more of these levels of motives.