Authors writing one story over and over

[dgreen1813]

Does anyone else notice how some authors fall into the trap of essentially writing one story over and over?

I get that one of the golden rules here is to write what satisfies you, but at a certain point it gets lazy. I've noticed that for several authors, 90% of their stories follow the same general theme and/or storyline and the characters share several identifiable elements with one another, even if names and backgrounds change.

In some cases, this can be done well. For authors like thatboi21 and komrad1156, even though their stories are generally very good, you know what's gonna happen before even reading them. In the former's stories, an older woman will cheat on her husband with a teenager (and in most of his stories, the physical descriptions and characterizations of both male and female characters largely remain unchanged) and in the latter's, an older woman will fall in love with a younger man (there's usually some sort of military background for at least one of the characters). Occasionally komrad writes stories with the inverse dynamic (older woman/younger man) as well, but even those follow the same general structure. Even though both are amazing authors, it can get frustrating to see their stories get so derivative of one another from time to time.

This is even more frustrating when the author's stories aren't good. For example, I've run into some authors whose stories are all about their bully fucking their mom, and going further all the stories were similarly written and a similar length, to the point where their stories were all basically carbon copies of one another. Not surprisingly, his stories are generally seen as terrible (averaging about 3.5 stars per story). Another author whose name I don't remember has written about 100 stories, all of which see some accomplished, beautiful woman in her late 40s/early 50s inexplicably fall in love and pursue a relationship with some 18 year old wimp. His stories don't get much better reviews.

In conclusion, I get why people do this and it can even be done well. But it's frustrating to see people write what's in essence one story again and again.

 

[Agent0069]

Well, so far I tried to write each story in a new category with a different fetish and relationship dynamics, and I’ve noticed that it leads to viewers not lingering in my profile at all. I publish a story, it gets views and reviews, a small uptick in view count on one or two other stories, and the reader is gone.

So, there probably should be a balance in what you do.

(Or it may be due to me being a crappy author that can only interest a readers with a specific fetish and nothing more - that is also a possibility)

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Some people simply don't thrive on challenges. They found something that worked for them or that readers enjoyed and have decided to stick with it.

 

[OverconfidentSarcasm]

I kinda get the impression that you think every story on this site has been written by someone aspiring to become an "accomplished author", or something along that line. I don't think that's the case, though.

I feel like a good 90% of the stories here have been written by people who just like to share their... well... masturbation fantasies, really. There are very few stories that I would say hold literary value. So, for me, it makes perfect sense if some of them are stuck in a certain pattern.

Also: I THINK I know which author you meant when you mentioned their "stories are all about their bully fucking their mom". And, if I'm right, then the author's username should tell you all you need to know.

 

[Lifestyle66]

(Or it may be due to me being a crappy author that can only interest a readers with a specific fetish and nothing more - that is also a possibility)

Hey! I resemble that remark!


Some of us here are not just "authors", writing everything and anything just to write. We're here writing only or mostly what we'd like to find and read.

The challenge I take in varying my characters and writing are mostly aimed at drawing out reactions to better understand the audience in "Loving Wives." They're an interesting and easy group to poke, with many being so judgmental. But I am now trying my own version of a Burn-the-Bitch story just to see if they'll give me more than that 3.5 rating. (It's still part of my poking at them.)

 

[yowser]

Writers here have an extraordinary range of motivations, so your observation is neither inaccurate nor surprising. I am always impressed with authors here who have breadth to their corpus, which usually means they are both skilled as well as not afraid to try something beyond their normal boundaries.

That said, I have no trouble with writers indulging whatever floats their boat, and Lit is an excellent place to spread wings and see how far you can go with a running start and a few flaps.

It does remind me of the old joke, however, which I cannot duplicate exactly, where someone asserts that Vivaldi was an enormously prolific composer (100+ works! - others may know the precise number) but then the rejoinder is just that he wrote the same damn piece a hundred different ways.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Sorry, I'm not apologizing for writing about hot, redhaired trans women that find love and support. just not going to do that.

 

[StillStunned]

PG Wodehouse had a very successful career writing the same story over and over again. When a critic commented that one book was just the same story with different characters, he wrote another which he proclaimed was the same story with the same characters.

 

[lovecraft68]

Here's your assignment. I want you to write 15 stories, and I want each one of them to all be very different from one another.

Come back when you're done.

I love when readers on a free site that offers 10's of thousands of stories complain about the content.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I kinda get the impression that you think every story on this site has been written by someone aspiring to become an "accomplished author", or something along that line. I don't think that's the case, though.

I feel like a good 90% of the stories here have been written by people who just like to share their... well... masturbation fantasies, really. There are very few stories that I would say hold literary value. So, for me, it makes perfect sense if some of them are stuck in a certain pattern.

Also: I THINK I know which author you meant when you mentioned their "stories are all about their bully fucking their mom". And, if I'm right, then the author's username should tell you all you need to know.

That's a result of social media and the Internet. Back in the days of print (anybody remember photo-offset printing?) it was difficult to get published anywhere. Even a very "loose" college newspaper I was on came out maybe five times per semester. Space in there was limited. Typesetting and printing costs had to be met from the "student activity" fee every student had to pay.

Now just about anybody can have a blog, a YouTube channel, an Instagram account (or Lit!), and so forth, and there are no boundaries in the sense of quantity. I never published anything between graduation from college in 1977 to joining Lit in 2018.

 

[Britva415]

at a certain point it gets lazy

Seems to me like repeating the same busywork over and over is the opposite of lazy

 

[Voboy]

The writers here aren't getting paid, OP. They're not beholden to anyone but themselves. They all have their own motivations, and you don't know what those are.

Too bad you can't, y'know, just hit that back button once you realize it's the same story.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I agree with most of the points above, but also: you don't actually know that these are the only stories those authors are writing.
All you know is that they're the only stories they're publishing from that account. Plenty of artists work under more than one name as a way of distinguishing between the different types of material they create. In particular, people who write for LW are often encouraged to firewall that from their other work to avoid having haters cross the streams.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Some people write for themselves, and no one else. There have been plenty of stories over the years about some person dying and family goes through their things and find a dozen manuscripts that they never even gave to someone else to read, let alone trying to get published.
So, why did they write them? For themselves.
There's probably some deeper psychological stuff going on, but if it makes them happy let it be.
I don't really understand it, but then again I don't need to.

 

[madelinemasoch]

Unfortunately it seems like things are getting worse and not better in the writing world. Not only does there appear to be some lack of tolerance for higher concepts on the Literotica site, but also, there are people repeating themselves over and over again.

In order to revive writing as an art form especially in the realm of erotica, we have to be willing to take risks. We have to reach beyond the threshold of thinking of our stories in terms of fetish, category, and label and start to write from a standpoint of higher consciousness. Think not only about the technicalities of writing as a craft but also about the character relationships and what unique qualities they are characterized by.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Unfortunately it seems like things are getting worse and not better in the writing world. Not only does there appear to be some lack of tolerance for higher concepts on the Literotica site, but also, there are people repeating themselves over and over again.

In order to revive writing as an art form especially in the realm of erotica, we have to be willing to take risks. We have to reach beyond the threshold of thinking of our stories in terms of fetish, category, and label and start to write from a standpoint of higher consciousness. Think not only about the technicalities of writing as a craft but also about the character relationships and what unique qualities they are characterized by.

It's not the site itself that is intolerant. Within the rules, one can use any style or content that one wishes. Perhaps it's best not to be too concerned with what others are writing or reading here.

 

[madelinemasoch]

It's not the site itself that is intolerant. Within the rules, one can use any style or content that one wishes. Perhaps it's best not to be too concerned with what others are writing or reading here.

I'm more referring to audience reception to certain types of stories that are more literary and less pornographic.

 

[ICantLeafYou]

I feel like a good 90% of the stories here have been written by people who just like to share their... well... masturbation fantasies, really.

That's definitely 100% of my fictional stories. I want to flesh out the fantasies I have, give life to them.

I have aphantasia and zero mind's eye/visual imagination at all. But if I put my fantasies into words, I can really explore the details of the scenes in a way that I can't with my imagination.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I think, when someone is really into a kink, they see variety that those of us who are somewhat less into the kink, do not.

"Hey in story 1 his wife cucks him with the guy from work. In story 2 his wife cucks him with a workman in their own home. In story 3 his wife cucks him with a guy in the gym. Taken together these stories work comprehensively show...she can cuck you anywhere."

"In story 1 the busty widower seduces the young poolguy because she's sad and lonely now her husband is gone. In story 2 the busty divorcee seduces the young poolguy because she's a varacious cougar. In story 3 the busty wife seduces the young pool guy because her husband is firing blanks and it's her last shot at another child. See the emotional cores are completely different."

"In part 1 Rachel eats camembert off Sophia's buttocks. In part 2 Sophia eats stilton off Rachel's breasts. These are clearly at two opposite ends of the Lesbian Fromage Kink (e.g. hard and soft)"

And so on...

 

[THBGato]

I'm more referring to audience reception to certain types of stories that are more literary and less pornographic.

Try writing in Lesbian. My top ranked story at the moment (which is quite high in the top list) features no sex, just a kiss. Meanwhile, Bi_Cathy's "I'd go gay for you" doesn't even feature a kiss, yet has 100k+ views and 78 comments. Readers there are very appreciative of both those with literary pretensions (me) and those who are genuinely literary.

 

[StillStunned]

I'm more referring to audience reception to certain types of stories that are more literary and less pornographic.

I have a few stories that are definitely less pornographic and hopefully lean towards the literary side. Not many people have read them, but they do alright, and they've had above-average numbers of comments.

 

[summer_reine]

Judging people and calling them out by name is a bit harsh. As you said; people write what they like and what feels good for them.

There are much kinder ways to say what you did. Such as:

I wonder why some authors tend to stick to a theme and only change details; this isn't limited to the authors with lower ratings. Some highly rated and prolific writers follow the same patterns and it is disappointing to me because I enjoy their writing but find the stories become boring when they are simply repeated narratives. I prefer when an author branches out and explores, stretching their creative muscles. Is that not the same for everyone here? I'd love to discuss the topic further.

 

[TheLobster]

Try writing in Lesbian. My top ranked story at the moment (which is quite high in the top list) features no sex, just a kiss. Meanwhile, Bi_Cathy's "I'd go gay for you" doesn't even feature a kiss, yet has 100k+ views and 78 comments. Readers there are very appreciative of both those with literary pretensions (me) and those who are genuinely literary.

Heh, so Lesbian Sex is yet another case of misleading category name & description that creates a mismatch with expectations of actual readers’. Kinda like Loving Wives, come to think of it, and another piece of evidence that the category doesn’t fulfill its function.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Heh, so Lesbian Sex is yet another case of misleading category name & description that creates a mismatch with expectations of actual readers’. Kinda like Loving Wives, come to think of it, and another piece of evidence that the category doesn’t fulfill its function.

Not so much. Sure, there's two types of stories, the slow realisation that X has Feelings for Y, and the ones that are full of filth, but there isn't the hate from fans of one for the other type of story.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I'm more referring to audience reception to certain types of stories that are more literary and less pornographic.

My most popular and best rated stories have no graphic sex in them.