Do you ever worry your stories are too similar?

[TwistedManc]

Fairly new to the forum side but loving it here!

I'm nearly coming up to 70 stories and although I'm no professional writer, I think they're not bad. Most of them are rated hot, but then again I have ones that I almost knew weren't good when I wrote them!
Anyway, after that many stories I fear that they are all becoming the same or written too similar. I worry that people will get bored of my writing style and that I need to find a new way to write to keep people interested.

Really I'm looking for any advice, if any of you have this fear and if there's anything to overcome it? I'm tempted to write a completely new type of story just to test myself

 

[HeyAll]

Sometimes similarties are a good thing if people like it. The same way that most movies are similar. The formula works and people know what to expect.

Having said, I'm always looking for new angles and new stories. The trick is to master the basics and then look for different angles to approach after that.

 

[TwistedManc]

Very true, I need to master my grammar and spelling first before I try anything too adventures. Thank god for my editor or no one would read my work!

 

[yowser]

I haven't looked at your list, but here's one thought: write in an unfamiliar category.

This might get you some new characters, and the pleasure connected in trying to live in an unfamiliar head can be vastly engaging.

A minor (and thoroughly unrealistic) goal of mine is to hit all the category pinball bumpers, but it turns out it is really hard to write a kink or erotic interest that you don't possess.

 

[SimonDoom]

Nope. I don't worry about it. I mix it up. My stories range from, "Oh God, not another mom and son on the seat together story" to "Seriously, aliens that look like penises?"

I think the reality is that when you write an erotic story the chances are very high that you are covering ground that at least at a broad level has been covered many times. But there are infinite ways you can put your own unique stamp on it. Try to do that, and try to do the best job you can doing it.

I checked out your submission list and it looks like you already have covered many different categories and story types, so it seems like you have nothing to worry about in terms of variety. Some authors literally write stories in the same category every time. There's nothing wrong with that, if they get satisfaction from it.

If you ARE concerned, then when you are working on a new story in a familiar category, do this exercise: Come up with ONE thing that makes your story different from all the others you've written, and focus on that one thing, whatever it is.

 

[AlinaX]

At nearly 200 stories, and as someone who gets bored easily, I often worry that I'm retreading too familiar ground. Futanari... Anal... Chastity belts... Sigh. (lol)

Sometimes I go weeks feeling almost depressed about the idea of writing. Sometimes I start stories and abandon them because they lack any sense of originality.

And eventually an idea occurs that actually has wings, and it's fun again to write.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

In terms of plot and concept no, most of my ideas are quite far apart, but my style of writing tends to be consistent enough that my kinks show through and I sometimes wonder if there's repetition that readers recognize and hopefully don't roll their eyes about.

 

[Voboy]

It's on all of us to keep things fresh. Since we're not writing [here] for money, there needs to be some other reason why we're doing this. I do it for enjoyment and as a creative outlet, meaning I'm constantly looking to AVOID similarities among my stories. It's one of the main reasons why I ended my long SF series: it's not that I started getting bored, per se, but after awhile I sensed myself settling for low-hanging fruit while I was plotting.

So? I ended it. I'm looking to go in new directions, not keep retreading the same territory. I'm not saying that my solution is the right one for every writer, but I'll just say YES! I do worry about it, but not too acutely. I think I do a pretty good job keeping things fresh.

And if not? It's okay. Lit is a tolerant place. Writers like SamuelX and Ashson need audiences too, and I'm sure they enjoy themselves. Good on them, I say, but it's not what I'm aiming for.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Fairly new to the forum side but loving it here!

I'm nearly coming up to 70 stories and although I'm no professional writer, I think they're not bad. Most of them are rated hot, but then again I have ones that I almost knew weren't good when I wrote them!
Anyway, after that many stories I fear that they are all becoming the same or written too similar. I worry that people will get bored of my writing style and that I need to find a new way to write to keep people interested.

You don't need to be all things to all people.

I like reading a lot of different genres: SF, fantasy, romance, to name just three. Some authors only write in one of those genres, and that's not a problem. When I want SF I'll read the ones who like writing SF, when I want romance I'll read the ones who like writing romance. I read faster than any one author can write, so it works out fine for all of us.

It can be good to stretch yourself by writing outside your comfort zone. I have a personal goal of never writing the same story twice, so I have work in several different categories here. That works with my personal goals, but it does have its drawbacks. Readers often stick to one category, so every time I post in a new category I'm starting almost from scratch in building a readership. When I post different kinds of stories in the same category - e.g. a happy-ever-after romance followed by a break-up story - inevitably there will be some readers who were hoping for the same thing they read last time.

Bearing in mind that you're not getting paid for writing here, I would advice that you focus on what you want to write rather than guessing at what others want to read. If you are getting bored of writing similar stories, that's a problem. If readers are getting bored of similar stories, there are plenty of other authors they can go to, and then they can come back to yours when they're in the mood for your brand.

IME, if I'm excited about writing a story - no matter how niche and unlike my previous works - something about that enthusiasm comes through in the stories and attracts a positive reader reaction.

Really I'm looking for any advice, if any of you have this fear and if there's anything to overcome it? I'm tempted to write a completely new type of story just to test myself

That sounds like the kind of temptation one should yield to!

 

[jehoram]

While I have a lot of respect for writers who can write the same story over and over again and get excellent ratings, I'm not one of them.

If I'm writing a story and feel that I'm just rehashing some character or plot device I've done before, I either toss the story or try to find a way to make it distinct from my other work. Sometimes I fail. Sometimes I succeed, but the story doesn't do as well as others. But I'm writing for my own pleasure, and my happiness with the result is my only standard.

 

[Cali_Love]

My plots and situations are all a million miles apart from one another (keep in mind, small sample size of 7 published stories). My turn of phrase though, that I'm not sure I can change. Not sure if I even want to.

 

[HopelessDreams]

I was concerned that Symbiosis: The Prequel was too derivative of my earlier works. But, because it was an addition to my earlier Symbiosis story from half a year ago (with the prequel fleshing out the characters' personalities and history with each other, as well as patching any potential plot holes from the previous story), I figured that it might be better for me to post it sooner instead of waiting until I came up with more novel ideas for it.

When I uploaded it, I thought it would be my lowest-rated story, but it ended up becoming my highest-rated story by far! Still, I usually don't enjoy rushing myself, and for new fantasies to become emotionally meaningful for me they often need to be fueled by developments in my life outside of erotica. So, now I'm going through a period of focusing more on other areas of my life, all the while coming up with new erotica ideas at my natural pace until I have enough for a more distinctive story.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Fairly new to the forum side but loving it here!

I'm nearly coming up to 70 stories and although I'm no professional writer, I think they're not bad. Most of them are rated hot, but then again I have ones that I almost knew weren't good when I wrote them!
Anyway, after that many stories I fear that they are all becoming the same or written too similar. I worry that people will get bored of my writing style and that I need to find a new way to write to keep people interested.

Really I'm looking for any advice, if any of you have this fear and if there's anything to overcome it? I'm tempted to write a completely new type of story just to test myself

Similar can be intentional and beneficial. In "universe" stories and series stories, similarities are expected.

I wrote my first story here in 2015, which became the foundation for a universe of six, soon to be seven additional stories with many of the same characters and plot dynamics. It wasn't until 2019 that I ventured into more erotic content for the first time and since have challenged myself to expand into areas previously untouched in my stories.

One suggestion would be to challenge yourself by writing a story in a different perspective than others.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

My style is often quite similar, intelligent snarky people getting it on, without any marriage fetish or depersonalisation involved. But my topics and categories range a lot, and my viewpoint characters range quite a bit too (different sexes, disabilities, nationalities, and one immortal hellbeing who's admittedly still a Londoner).

I do sometimes have stories like one I'm working on currently where it's the same two guys, having sex, yet again. Only the first draft was actually about a funeral and coming to terms with deaths and such*, and I was considering Non-Erotic as a home for it, before realising that one way these particular guys would deal would be by having sex. So I'm writing that in, along with rather a lot of research...

*Yes, sometimes writing is therapy.

 

[Djmac1031]

Yes, and no.

I worry more about using the same descriptions for sex acts or sex organs repeatedly than using the same theme in multiple stories.

You can write about the same theme regularly as long as you putva fresh take on it.

I had an idea for a new story recently that actually became three ideas for a story but all of them starting out with the same premise: someone sending nude pictures to the wrong person by accident.

Instead of choosing between the ideas, I decided to write all three.

The first one is already published and I'm working on the second.

All three will feature completely different characters, different settings, and, to a degree, different results.

Writers, but especially erotica writers, recycle the same IDEAS all the time. The trick is keeping them fresh and putting a new and unique stamp on each one.

But we can't write like someone else, we can only be ourselves, so of course we're going to wind up with similarities in many of our own stories.

The way I see it, that's fine. Not all readers read every one of our stories. Especially if it's a category that doesn't appeal to them.

So odds are not too many readers are gonna catch it if we wind up writing scenes in different stories featuring similar wording or actions.

 

[rosebudliquor]

From my limited participation, I'd say the folks you're reaching with the question are ones that care about the writing experience and quality, so they're going to have developed approaches such as those articulated already to avoid repetition. There are thousands of others on lit who write basically the exact thing again and again without worrying about it because it turns them on, and some who write their one story, maybe in multiple parts, until it's told, then never post again. You could write almost the exact same story over and over, and if there's an audience for it the first time, the same audience will be there every other time; you're the one most likely to get bored first.
For myself, so far I have mostly put in minor variations of character and relationships (and to a lesser degree situations). I'm at the point where it's that one thing that's different that gets me to write another, and the limits inherent in describing and narrating sexual activity that threaten my enthusiasm.

 

[MyBareTorso]

Fairly new to the forum side but loving it here!

I'm nearly coming up to 70 stories and although I'm no professional writer, I think they're not bad. Most of them are rated hot, but then again I have ones that I almost knew weren't good when I wrote them!
Anyway, after that many stories I fear that they are all becoming the same or written too similar. I worry that people will get bored of my writing style and that I need to find a new way to write to keep people interested.

Really I'm looking for any advice, if any of you have this fear and if there's anything to overcome it? I'm tempted to write a completely new type of story just to test myself

Not sure if this would work for you, but I am currently attempting to write a story in every Literotica category. It's been great fun, and has made me utilise my particular kink (CFNM) and recurring character in many different ways. I still satisfy my chosen interests, but in ways I wouldn't have if I stuck to my usual categories. I wrote an epic Sci-Fi/Fantasy story which I was very happy with, solely by challenging myself to do it. This has made writing on Literotica even more enjoyable for me. As many others on here have said, this is about what you enjoy. If you get off writing about the same things, go for it!

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'm on story number four and yes, there is a resemblance. I've been accused of being a world builder.
So the first 6000 words are character development and fleshing out the settings. Then the sexy stuff begins and the rest of the story is the characters building a relationship and participating in some life-altering sex. The people, places, and circumstances are all different, but the format is the same.
I'm honestly not sure it's an issue. My stories are all 18000+ words so folks aren't usually going to sit down and read them all one after another, where they might notice the pattern. In any case, I'm going to make sure that my next story is a break from the pattern.

 

[sirhugs]

Like Simon, I checked out a few of your stories. you tend to start by introducing the characters. I did select on that starts in media res (in the middle of the story), but adter a handful of paragraphs, you are back to character building.

A freshness exercise might be to write without character development until late in the story - just focus on plot and scene setting. Sort of the Law and Order approach.

That may also help you with "show not tell".

For me, I have a rule not to write two incest stories in a row, which forces me to find fresh approaches.

 

[AWhoopsieDaisy]

Fairly new to the forum side but loving it here!

I'm nearly coming up to 70 stories and although I'm no professional writer, I think they're not bad. Most of them are rated hot, but then again I have ones that I almost knew weren't good when I wrote them!
Anyway, after that many stories I fear that they are all becoming the same or written too similar. I worry that people will get bored of my writing style and that I need to find a new way to write to keep people interested.

Really I'm looking for any advice, if any of you have this fear and if there's anything to overcome it? I'm tempted to write a completely new type of story just to test myself

I think you'll find even with authors who play in a variety of genres that each author has a set of themes and tropes that appear in a majority of their works.

There's a little nuance between each works use of said themes but the core idea is usually the same.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I think you'll find even with authors who play in a variety of genres that each author has a set of themes and tropes that appear in a majority of their works.

There's a little nuance between each works use of said themes but the core idea is usually the same.

There are essentially only four endings in literature - the happy ending, the sad ending, the bitter-sweet ending and the Scooby-Doo ending.

The specific forms of these on (the heteronormative side of ) Literotica are

1. Happy - Same time next week?
2. Sad - Then she put her clothes back on and walked out of my life.
3. Bitter-sweet - My wife's new lover has a bigger penis than me. (She's happy so I am as well, I guess?)
[4. Scooby-Doo - those pesky kids don't meet Literotica's age restriction]

 

[Gamblnluck]

My stepson made a comment about Hallmark channel movies. "25 actors, ten plots, and 200 movies." Look how many times Romeo and Juliet has been done or at least the basic idea. To me, it is all in the story telling, the twists and turns and the setting.
I like to try to tell a slightly different story. Maybe even different genres. I have tried incest submission (because I cannot personally think about screwing my mother, sister or daughter). But the idea of being taken over and forced is something that I can turn into a story.

 

[Gamblnluck]

My stepson made a comment about Hallmark channel movies. "25 actors, ten plots, and 200 movies." Look how many times Romeo and Juliet has been done or at least the basic idea. To me, it is all in the story telling, the twists and turns and the setting.
I like to try to tell a slightly different story. Maybe even different genres. I have tried incest submission (because I cannot personally think about wanting to screw my mother, sister or daughter). But the idea of being taken over and forced is something that I can turn into a story. Along the same line a niece or nephew by marriage or stepchild. But I change up the plot.
My main problem is my scenes seem repetitive to me as well as the descriptions. Give me some other ways to describe a well spanked ass other than blistered, spanked raw and a few others.

 

[Euphony]

Give me some other ways to describe a well spanked ass other than blistered, spanked raw and a few others.

As with many physical acts, the human body only has so many physical responses. Even fewer if you consider the pool of knowledge your readers *may* be working with (I like to believe fetish authors do research enough to outclass a chunk of the audience)

Use a character's emotional palate. A blistered ass (or wetting sex or lightly stroked shoulder, et al.) is what it is but the recipients joys, worries, fears, shames, make the experience a person's own (which most try to do in encounters)

 

[KeithD]

At this stage of my writing, my muse does drop some plotlines that I start developing in my mind, only to stop and think . . . "I've done that before."