A question about sharing our personal stories?

[Black_Knyght]

Let me start with some context: A little over two years ago my wife and decided we wanted to try an ethical non-monogamy lifestyle. Through her best friend we made several swingers connections and have happily never looked back once.

That said, my wife has recently expressed an interest in sharing some of our activities online in some form of story (all names and locations changed, or course!). A friend suggested Reddit or Literotica, so I thought I'd venture a question here as to how to actually go about doing that? Neither of us is a writer, though my wife and her best friend believe they can work something readable up between the two of them.

We've read a number of stories here but never considered posting anything before and honestly have no idea how it works, what the deal with Editors is, or what size/format requirements there might be. Hoping for a little information and maybe advice on getting started with this idea of hers.

Thanx to any and all serious replies in advance.

 

[Bamagan]

Here are links to the Stories and Publishing FAQs. Those should answer most of your basic questions related to content limits, length, formatting, and the like. No editor is required, although many people are willing to offer that guidance once you have something you feel is close to ready.

 

[Black_Knyght]

Here are links to the Stories and Publishing FAQs. Those should answer most of your basic questions related to content limits, length, formatting, and the like. No editor is required, although many people are willing to offer that guidance once you have something you feel is close to ready.

Thank you for that.

We just completed reading all the links for this posted on Literotica. Still have questions concerning Editors and cost and the like though

 

[Bamagan]

Thank you for that.

We just completed reading all the links for this posted on Literotica. Still have questions concerning Editors and cost and the like though

The volunteer editors are, as might be expected, free. In addition to the link, when you have a story ready, you can just go to the editor's forum and make a post to tell a bit about it and see if anyone is available and interested.
The site itself is free, so posting the story costs nothing aside from your time and effort.

 

[AchtungNight]

My advice is that you make clear your stories are fictional and intended as entertainment. You are on the right track for this already, planning to change names. I presume you also may want to spice up encounters here and there, build your fictional universe, and so forth. Exploring the “How To” section of Literotica, also the Reviews & Essays, and Fanfiction sections, should help with this.

 

[Euphony]

Also, while it can feel like a place like this would have a proficiency bar to entry, it really doesn't.

There isn't much beyond meeting the above mentioned requirements for content and basic basic readability.

This ain't a knock but an invitation to try things. Motivation is a huge driver to become an "author" and you're in the full tank of racing fuel portion of the journey. USE IT.

Little successes beget more little successes which, in turn, drive more interest in craft, getting better, finding new ways to better say what you want to say (and being rewarded by good reception for doing so.)

Don't let little stuff trip you up, especially in the "fragile" now.

Editors are fantastic and will greatly increase readability BUT better to just write (and submit) more early on than get too hung up on honing early efforts into high level fiction.

Write. Write more. Odds you'll end up writing much better down the line increase substantially.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I see most of your questions have been answered. It can be tricky to find an editor (and harder to find the right editor for you), so you may need patience there. It's sometimes easier finding editors after you've got a story or two posted, as some are reluctant to put up their hand without being able to see what they're letting themselves in for.

One thing to watch out for when adapting real-life experiences: a lot of new authors fall into a "police report" style of writing where they focus on listing everything that happened in the order that it happened, and it can end up feeling rather flat. Don't rely on it being exciting to readers just because it was exciting when it happened to you; it's something that takes work. There was a recent thread about this kind of writing that might be worth a look: https://forum.literotica.com/threads/how-would-you-help-first-time-writers.1597437/

 

[Altissimus]

Just for clarity, given the tone of your original post, I thought it worth mentioning that there are authors about who will happily take a commission to write your story, from the details you provide, should you so wish. You could achieve this in a number of ways, but could conceivably choose an author that writes 'stories you like' and approach them directly. I suspect several might be open to such an idea.

Or you could do it yourself for free.

 

[KachinaDoll]

Go for it. None of us are perfect. There are some good tutorials on here. For grammar and spelling, try an online checker such a Grammarly.

 

[oneagainst]

First, just write something. It could be a scene or maybe a fantasy, whatever gets your pulse going. Concentrate on showing what you find hot about it: write it for yourself as the primary audience. Minimum is 750 words, get as smutty or not as you want. It's your story.

Don't bother too much about needing to get beta readers or editors because honestly there are 3 of you already, which should be enough to weed out the basic issues. Oh, and use spell check.

Then pick a category or post a synopsis into this thread and you'll get some of the best hands in the business at placing a story to tell you where it goes.

Publish. You are likely not to get a lot of traction on a first work, but don't dwell on that. If you liked it and it stood up for you as a good story then the chances are if you put relevant tags on it, a like minded reader will discover you on search.

Repeat until you've told all the stores you want to tell. Some writers empty the well spring in three or four stories, which is totally fine. Some die still trying to empty it.

 

[Wonderer67]

Good luck writing and/or finding an editor.

I think most people have already answered your questions.

Most importantly, change names and make no indications that anything happened IRL. I would also not even mention that it really happened.

Last year I submitted a poem based on a real life experience - the most innocuous thing ever - and they rejected it. So just be careful about mentioning “real life.”

 

[Lifestyle66]

I've taught a lot of classes, and I never assume everyone starts with the same basic understanding. So, to answer the question of "How do I get started publishing here?" ...

When you start on Literotica and the "Stories & Pics" main page, click on your log in name at the top to go to your "My Works" author's homepage.

Click on "New Story" at the top of that , and select "New Story" from the pop-up.

You'll have a page where you can copy and paste your story's title, text, description, etc. At the bottom of that page, click "Save the Draft", then when it's saved, click "Preview & Publish". This allows you to see how the formatting appears when it goes live. You can go back by either the webscreen back arrow or at the bottom of that preview page with the "Make Changes".

You story remains in draft for as many times as you like to make changes, until you're ready and click "Publish" at the bottom of the Preview. Then your story will be in "Pending" status, which you will see as a category on your Works page. You can still make changes after that, but every time you make another change, it goes back to the bottom of their stack to review before it will be published.

The site Admins will review your story usually within a few days, then it's status will change to "New" when you look at it in the Pending screen. This means it will actually go live on their site at about 1:30 AM (EST) on the date indicated.

Then just sit back and watch as the stats change for number of views etc. If the Admins find any reference to underage sex, or anything else against their rules when the review it, it will be sent back to you to correct and resubmit.

Everything else about quality, editors, etc is just your personal choice. This site makes it an easy and free learning process for even shitty amateur writers like me to get started. But even after almost three years posting here, I'm still trying.

 

[Black_Knyght]

Thank

The volunteer editors are, as might be expected, free. In addition to the link, when you have a story ready, you can just go to the editor's forum and make a post to tell a bit about it and see if anyone is available and interested.
The site itself is free, so posting the story costs nothing aside from your ti

The volunteer editors are, as might be expected, free. In addition to the link, when you have a story ready, you can just go to the editor's forum and make a post to tell a bit about it and see if anyone is available and interested.
The site itself is free, so posting the story costs nothing aside from your time and effort.

Thanks! That's very handy to know.

 

[Black_Knyght]

My advice is that you make clear your stories are fictional and intended as entertainment. You are on the right track for this already, planning to change names. I presume you also may want to spice up encounters here and there, build your fictional universe, and so forth. Exploring the “How To” section of Literotica, also the Reviews & Essays, and Fanfiction sections, should help with this.

After reading through a number of things yesterday we realized that above and beyond our initial plan to change names and locations we were going to have to label them as fiction. My wife believes our activities are fairly spicy already but we'll have to see what comes of that. As for building a fictional universe, that may prove to be quite a hurdle. As I said before she wants to share our personal stories, and how that could be fit into a fictional universe seems daunting at best.

 

[Black_Knyght]

Also, while it can feel like a place like this would have a proficiency bar to entry, it really doesn't.

There isn't much beyond meeting the above mentioned requirements for content and basic basic readability.

This ain't a knock but an invitation to try things. Motivation is a huge driver to become an "author" and you're in the full tank of racing fuel portion of the journey. USE IT.

Little successes beget more little successes which, in turn, drive more interest in craft, getting better, finding new ways to better say what you want to say (and being rewarded by good reception for doing so.)

Don't let little stuff trip you up, especially in the "fragile" now.

Editors are fantastic and will greatly increase readability BUT better to just write (and submit) more early on than get too hung up on honing early efforts into high level fiction.

Write. Write more. Odds you'll end up writing much better down the line increase substantially.

Thanks fot that advice

 

[Black_Knyght]

I see most of your questions have been answered. It can be tricky to find an editor (and harder to find the right editor for you), so you may need patience there. It's sometimes easier finding editors after you've got a story or two posted, as some are reluctant to put up their hand without being able to see what they're letting themselves in for.

One thing to watch out for when adapting real-life experiences: a lot of new authors fall into a "police report" style of writing where they focus on listing everything that happened in the order that it happened, and it can end up feeling rather flat. Don't rely on it being exciting to readers just because it was exciting when it happened to you; it's something that takes work. There was a recent thread about this kind of writing that might be worth a look: https://forum.literotica.com/threads/how-would-you-help-first-time-writers.1597437/

Okay, good to know. Especially since neither of us has any experience as a writer

 

[Black_Knyght]

Just for clarity, given the tone of your original post, I thought it worth mentioning that there are authors about who will happily take a commission to write your story, from the details you provide, should you so wish. You could achieve this in a number of ways, but could conceivably choose an author that writes 'stories you like' and approach them directly. I suspect several might be open to such an idea.

Or you could do it yourself for free.

Interesting. We hadn't considered that.

 

[Wonderer67]

Looking forward to hearing your tales of spice!!

 

[AchtungNight]

After reading through a number of things yesterday we realized that above and beyond our initial plan to change names and locations we were going to have to label them as fiction. My wife believes our activities are fairly spicy already but we'll have to see what comes of that. As for building a fictional universe, that may prove to be quite a hurdle. As I said before she wants to share our personal stories, and how that could be fit into a fictional universe seems daunting at best.

I understand that. It’s up to you how to proceed.

My personal experience had me get started on another site that was devoted to fantasies regarding celebrities. I had some friends there, fellow writers, who were achieving success, and I wanted to follow in their footsteps a bit. My first tale- “Fear, Lust, and Vanity” was a femslash fantasy about a popular magazine cover. It got me high praise and a level of success that I have not reached since. So I went a bit further and imported a character based on me into a follow up story called “The Rendezvous” which was also femslash about characters based on real people. The character was just a random club manager, not intended to do much beyond help the story’s main players get together. Later, he went further and had his own hookups due to my insecurities and anxieties- it has been helpful to me to live vicariously through Doug Ramsay sometimes. I consider him a variant of me similar to Marvel’s character Kang- a me from another dimension who is more outgoing and has had better luck meeting and hooking up with various women- famous and otherwise. He’s also a billionaire entertainment mogul, so that probably helps.

Later, things went further. Doug’s security expert pal Clarke became an older bigger blacker version of me who grew up with apartheid and other challenges, existing in the same dimension. He’s also bisexual- Doug and me are straight- and Doug will gladly indulge in group sexual activity with Clarke- he just wants a woman present so he can concentrate on her and let Clarke do the same- Clarke won’t be touching Doug and is content with fantasy regarding it. You can imagine how creating such a character can help build tolerance in a writer who’s had issues with homophobia over the years.

You can take your ficverse in similar directions if you like. Just play it carefully and see where you want to go and what your peers will accept. Your friends may have regrets about sexual encounters that didn’t go down certain paths or fantasies about other people. It’s not hard to imagine a fictional universe where things went differently. Doug Ramsay and Keira Knightley are members of the same secret society similar to the Illuminati that also has a swinger’s network built into it. This enables them to become friends with benefits (my story “Inside Out”). Later, Emily Blunt comes to Doug’s club and connects with him, they hook up for a while before she meets and marries John Krasinski. He helps her become friends with benefits with Anne Hathaway (my story “A Step Up”).

In real life, the man I am has never met either of these celebrities and would have close to zero chance at hooking up with them. In fantasy land…

You probably get the idea by now. And if you read my work, have guessed that the characters Marie O’Day, Jodie Lee Nichols, and Lisa Coleman (Doug Ramsay’s non-famous friends with benefits) are based on past girlfriends of mine. It’s with the real person’s permission in two of those cases, the third is legally protected by making the character a very different version of the original person on whom she was based. I’d do the same with any other real person on whom I based an onscreen character in my work if I actually knew that person in real life.

Again, you decide how far you want to go. Good luck.

 

[SimonDoom]

After reading through a number of things yesterday we realized that above and beyond our initial plan to change names and locations we were going to have to label them as fiction. My wife believes our activities are fairly spicy already but we'll have to see what comes of that. As for building a fictional universe, that may prove to be quite a hurdle. As I said before she wants to share our personal stories, and how that could be fit into a fictional universe seems daunting at best.

I think you are overthinking this. It's not complicated. Change the names and locations. Do NOT say at the outset that the stories are real. Don't reveal details in the stories that might plausibly "out" the people being written about against their will. It's that simple. Do that and you'll be fine. You don't need to do complicated world building or creating a fictional universe.

 

[EmilyMiller]

After reading through a number of things yesterday we realized that above and beyond our initial plan to change names and locations we were going to have to label them as fiction. My wife believes our activities are fairly spicy already but we'll have to see what comes of that. As for building a fictional universe, that may prove to be quite a hurdle. As I said before she wants to share our personal stories, and how that could be fit into a fictional universe seems daunting at best.

The formula, “based on a true story”, or “inspired by real events” is fine. I write quasi-autobiographical stuff here and state it as such. But it’s not documentary. I exaggerate (the horror!), I combine events (or create amalgams of people), I compress time, I add made up sections to make the story flow.

Never had anything sent back for those reasons.

Em

 

[AchtungNight]

I think you are overthinking this. It's not complicated. Change the names and locations. Do NOT say at the outset that the stories are real. Don't reveal details in the stories that might plausibly "out" the people being written about against their will. It's that simple. Do that and you'll be fine. You don't need to do complicated world building or creating a fictional universe.

Yeah, what Simon said. Emily also gives great advice. You don’t have to go as far as me if you don’t want to. And in fact, for some writers, I would not recommend it. Good luck.

 

[EmilyMiller]

The formula, “based on a true story”, or “inspired by real events” is fine. I write quasi-autobiographical stuff here and state it as such. But it’s not documentary. I exaggerate (the horror!), I combine events (or create amalgams of people), I compress time, I add made up sections to make the story flow.

Never had anything sent back for those reasons.

Em

Oh - and as per @SimonDoom - don’t include identifying details. Like I never mention which college I was attending in my stories (though I’ve been criticized that this omission makes them unbelievable ). I sometimes use real first names (or slight variants of them), but only ever made up surnames (or no surnames at all). I change some aspects of appearance, or biography.

Em

 

[SimonDoom]

The formula, “based on a true story”, or “inspired by real events” is fine. I write quasi-autobiographical stuff here and state it as such. But it’s not documentary. I exaggerate (the horror!), I combine events (or create amalgams of people), I compress time, I add made up sections to make the story flow.

Never had anything sent back for those reasons.

Em

The one counter-consideration one should think about when doing this is this: Is it reasonably possible that someone who knows you would read the story and identify the character as you, and then identify the other people in the story? It's fine to out oneself; it's not fine to out other people. I assume you are probably careful enough that this isn't a risk, but it's something one should keep in mind when writing stories based on one's real-life experiences.

 

[Bodington]

I would venture to say that having come with the phrase an "ethical non-monogamy lifestyle" to describe your marital sex life is a good indication that you should have no trouble in concocting an entertaining readable story.