Can't share story success with family/friends

[cigarettelion]

All my life, any time I've ever had successes, or really anything interesting happen to me personally, one of the most enjoyable parts of those moments is being able to share them with family and friends. And maybe it's a little childish of me, but especially my parents. Like, "Hey Mom, I got all A's this semester!", or "Hey Dad, I changed the alternator on the Jeep, all by myself!" Maybe it's kind of silly, but I don't think I'm alone there?

I've had pretty decent success my first two years as a writer on this website. I had never written anything in my entire life before I wrote my first story for this website, and honestly, I'm sort of proud of myself. But for the first time ever, I can't share what I've done with anyone I know. I can't be like, "Hey Mom, guess what? My latest sibling incest story has been very well received!" I mean, I COULD, but...no thank you.

I guess what I'm wondering is if anyone else out there has ever even thought about this. Most of us probably operate under a certain amount of anonymity, and I just wanted to know if any of you ever wished that you could put a face to your work sometimes, even though many of us never would. Maybe it's worse for those of us who write about incest or anything else really taboo. I'd like to tell those close to me about my accomplishments on this site, but I never will. I can't even say that I write stories of any nature because then they'd ask to read them, you know?

Again, just curious to see if anyone else had ever thought about this. It's not like it really bothers me THAT much, but sometimes it would be nice to share what it is that I...ahem, do.

 

[SimonDoom]

Sure. I think about this all the time.

I have shared the fact that I write erotic stories online with a few people I know, but I haven't told them my pseudonym, so as far as I know they have never actually read my stories.

It's like being two different people. My online persona is disconnected from my real life. I'm OK with that. I see it as sort of liberating.

 

[KeithD]

Yep, I write in the mainstream too and it's difficult when something happens with the writing and I have to be careful about talking about it to family and friends depending on whether it happened in my mainstream or my erotica work.

 

[TadOverdon]

I have two people who are involved with the sex stories I write - my partner/collaborator and our artist - so we can celebrate a little when we release something. I'm not sure I could expend the creative energy I do on this if I were 100% anonymous.

I have a friend who knows that I write sex stories, but doesn't know my pen name and hasn't read them that I'm aware of - I've got no reason to think that she'd be looking for porn fiction online for her own amusement, but who knows? Odds are long against.

EDIT TO ADD: The spousal overunit reminds me that his adult children know (not the pen name or content. Just the "we write porn."). I'm not sure whether I block that, or they do. On the one occasion that we mentioned it, I've never seen two people more interested in talking about absolutely anything else in the world. LOL

 

[cigarettelion]

I wasn't fully forthcoming in my original post, mainly because I felt that I had rambled enough. But my wife knows that I write and that it's brother/sister stories. I have a few more friends that I've told I write erotic stories, but have refused to give them any more info than that. I'm mainly uncomfortable with people I know reading how I write my sex scenes. Oh yeah, and the whole sibling thing too...

It's very interesting to read everyone's replies. Makes me feel less alone in this little world of ours! Thank you all for responding!

 

[MrPixel]

I share with my wife. She edits my stories, and enjoys them, tho' she's not a fan of the graphic sex depictions. The closest I've come otherwise is her telling my stepmother I'm "writing romance novels" as I recover from my heart attack last fall. She (stepmom) accepts that since she was aware of my father's love poems written to his mistress of 50 years ago.

Beyond that? No. Nee. Nej. Non. Nicht. Nein. Nyet. Not gonna happen. While not exactly "a pillar of the community", I have a lot of civic and other community involvements where any association of my person with "smut" would be a problem.

 

[lovecraft68]

My wife knows and supports everything I write so I can talk to her about the type of stories I wouldn't to other people.

Even my first erotic horror work I couldn't talk about because at the time they were published under the same pen name as a lot of kinkier works. Since I created a pen name just for that type of work now I've told a few people about it, mostly other horror fans, but even then, there is hardcore sex involved and some people are just prudes period.

 

[jsmiam]

Congratulations on your success

Congratulations... you've done well!

 

[jsmiam]

Congratulations on your success

Congratulations... you've done well!



Edit: Double post - I blame technology!

 

[cigarettelion]

Thank you!!!

 

[SimonDoom]

My wife knows and supports everything I write so I can talk to her about the type of stories I wouldn't to other people.

I think this is great. Consider yourself fortunate. I would enjoy having a partner with whom to share all my creative and kinky scribblings.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

My partners and a few kinky friends know I write stuff here, but apart from a scene write-up I posted here because I couldn't think of how else to get it to my friend's phone, and a story that is me and spouse so I asked if I could use his name, I don't generally chat about my stories, except to two people. Spouse has skimmed through the descriptions and the story about him, and was very proud when I placed in a contest and asked if I could do that again and get more money. (No, but then I've not really tried - I write what I like which doesn't generally get 25 let alone 50 votes...)

I did post on a message board to my friends when that story placed, leading to one friend being most amused at being named in it - I needed some names of friends living about 10 min from what is clearly my house, so just wrote their actual names seeing as they were pretty generic and not related to the main plot. Just as well!

Elsewhere I've written some niche fanfic which has been very well received, plus some which is very popular among about 10% of the fandom but freaks out the majority. The fandom is mainly women over 50. About half agree at least two characters are definitely Not Straight - hotly disputed - but not that many want to read about them getting it on, or any heterosexual pairing, to be fair. I'd love to get the credit in person for the non-sexual stuff but then the rest would also be associated with me. A few friends know, but that's it.

 

[Comshaw]

I have friends and family I can share with what I do here, and I have friends and family I can't. It is what it is. I've never been one to want to brag about my accomplishments. I get a personal satisfaction when I accomplish something, and for me that is enough. The fiercest competitor I've ever had is me.


Comshaw

 

[windar]

Sure. I think about this all the time.

I have shared the fact that I write erotic stories online with a few people I know, but I haven't told them my pseudonym, so as far as I know they have never actually read my stories.

It's like being two different people. My online persona is disconnected from my real life. I'm OK with that. I see it as sort of liberating.

I agree. I'm not on any online sites under my real name. I've seen too many problems from that. I mostly write with a co-author so we share our successes on-line, though we've never met in person. But no one in my real life knows for a whole number of reasons.

There's a number of stories out there about people discovering their father wrote porn/erotica. Here is one that is pretty interesting
https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/news/a41426/my-dad-was-a-porn-legend/

 

[stickygirl]

Yup. I've edited down a lesbian story and shared with a good RL friend who is straight, but enjoyed it. Then I completely rewrote a short one recently, after my BF mentioned my writing to my mother over Xmas so she was keen to see evidence. I really like the non-erotic version - it made my metaphors work overtime and I may publish it here.

I've also shared that SFW version with a few friends/family with mixed results that I'm still trying to process. Two previous partners haven't replied at all so maybe they think I'm writing about them? Or they haven't bothered reading or they just didn't like it but didn't want to say.

Happily at Lit I have two fellow authors who I regard as extended family so I don't have to hide sexual content from them. You know who you are and I love you both

 

[SamScribble]

Yes, I have friends and family who know that I write erotica as well as mainstream fiction. My sister, a seemingly straight-laced, upright pillar of society, used to call me ‘my brother, the pornographer’. I often sent her works, both erotic and otherwise. And I usually remembered to give her advance notice of which category the new work fell into, since she sometimes read the mainstream stories out aloud to her grandchildren. I think there was only one occasion on which she suddenly had to stop reading to them part way through.

 

[Rustyoznail]

No one, apart from one fellow Lit writer, knows my RL name. Although if anybody could be bothered following breadcrumbs in my posts I'm sure they could have a fair guess.

The only person I don't want to read my stuff is my wife. Some of my stories could be seen as wanting to get it on with people very close to us, and that could be awkward.

It's actually a shame. I think she'd be impressed with my work.

 

[Agiel]

I wish…

There isn’t anyone, family or friends, who know I write erotic stories. I wish there was. Not because they could tell me how great they think my stories are, or supply ideas or collaborate, but just to be able to talk to someone about it. But if they want to tell me how good they think I am I wouldn’t be so ungentlemanly as to stop them.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm divorced, and I feel for people who are married but feel they can't share what they do here with their spouses.

I didn't start writing and publishing until after I was divorced. I don't think my spouse would have been receptive to my stories, but I don't know. It was so long ago. I wasn't seriously thinking about publishing dirty stories way back then. I can imagine that it must be strange to publish stories of this type but not to tell your partner. I'm single, so it's not an issue for me.

Personally, for all its warts, I find this to be on the whole a nice and supportive community for writing and publishing these stories. I get all the feedback and support I need here in the online world and don't need it in the real world.

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm divorced, and I feel for people who are married but feel they can't share what they do here with their spouses.

I didn't start writing and publishing until after I was divorced. I don't think my spouse would have been receptive to my stories, but I don't know. It was so long ago. I wasn't seriously thinking about publishing dirty stories way back then. I can imagine that it must be strange to publish stories of this type but not to tell your partner. I'm single, so it's not an issue for me.

Personally, for all its warts, I find this to be on the whole a nice and supportive community for writing and publishing these stories. I get all the feedback and support I need here in the online world and don't need it in the real world.

I was married, then divorced. First wife was a real piece of work in many ways, and no way anything creative could have ever come out of me in that trainwreck.

My second wife believes in me when I don't and after I told her I used to write she kept telling me she saw me doing it again, and I was like, nice, but doubt it. Then I wrote a role play scene out I wanted us to do but she was away for work and I didn't want to lose it.

Been writing ever since and she's very supportive even with the things she's not into she wants me to read it to her. We're still into role playing and some of my stories came from those scenarios, including my two most popular stories vote and comment wise

That and being that my girls have been out of the house a few years I have a lot of time that's my own. My wife runs two businesses online and works her job from home these days and she's always busy so I do my thing until around 8, then we meet up for some coffee, TV and chill to have some time together.

I'm very fortunate to have the time and support, many here don't have either

 

[NC_Coastal]

Yeah, no one knows I write here, and that's a good thing. I write for a living, and this would not be a good career choice to let it get out.
The feedback has been cool. Normally, all I get is people telling me how much they hate what I write. They're all morons. You guys are merely depraved.

 

[windar]

Maybe it's a bit like being a secret agent..."Sorry, dear can't talk about it..." Or a Mafia don...

 

[Voboy]

See, this is why you make friends here. Real friendships are possible from Literotica.

I've forged genuine relationships with people here, and it's gratifying to be able to share this side of my life with them.

 

[Lifestyle66]

I'm long divorced from my first wife who wouldn't have appreciated me writing stories here. My second wife has become my muse, providing me with many of the edgy quotes I put in the stories.

I have her read my stories and I take feedback from her on changes. Other than her, I have one friend who reads all of my work. And my (current) wife has even suggested getting my daughter (English major in creative writing) to review my stories for compiling into an indie book.

So, our kids know of our sex-focused life (cringing when we talk about it). But, as my wife says "That's their problem!"

 

[Nylonian]

My partner knows and she's happy for my success but she's not cool with me sharing it with our friends. One of my friends knows but they don't know what name I write with.