Fantasy and Reality

[Isabella_Santiago]

I've just had my first story published on the site and plan on writing a lot more. I had planned a few 'ideas' out but some wonderful feedback has definitely encouraged me to get them written out. I say 'ideas' because for the most part, they are glamorised true stories. Or even the amalgamation of a few different similar experiences.

What I'm wondering is if should mix the fantasies I want to write about among them. Is there an etiquette or convention to this or is it better to just leave people wondering? Or should I not mix them at all? I think some of them might be obvious that they are fantasies, but does it make a difference to a reader if it is true or not?

 

[BlindKitsune]

I'd say mix them, use your real experiences to fuel an amazing story rather than worrying about sticking too close to the true stories.

Look forward to reading more of them!

 

[lovecraft68]

I think its fine to write whatever you want and you will always find people that enjoy it. There my be some haters too, but the good usually outweighs the bad here.

As far as if people know they are fantasies or reality based...unless you say something in an author's note like "based on..." I think the assumption is all stories are fantasies and I don't think it matters if they think you are writing from experience

It may be worth mentioning that going by what some people have said in the feedback forums, sometimes when an author says "True story" some people get turned off thinking its made up and you are some how trying to play them, to others it has no bearing.

There is plenty of readers for everything here so turn it loose and write what you want.

 

[visioneer]

Go where ever your muse leads you. There are no conventions or guidelines regarding fantasy versus reality in stories. As noted by lovecraft68, every reader on Lit can find stories to love, and a few will always find stories to disparage.

As a Lit author, my stories are entirely fiction. As a Lit reader, I don't care whether a story originates in fantasy or reality - I just care that it is well-written and sufficiently engaging to hold my attention.

 

[sr71plt]

There isn't just one Literotica reader wanting everything just one way, Isabelle. Write the story as you want it and it's extremely likely that there will be readers here who like that approach to a story. No one can tell you what "the Literotica reader" wants about anything and it's pretty much a frustration in spinning wheels and procrastination to ask about it.

 

[glynndah]

You mean everything I read on Lit isn't real?!?

I'm crushed.

A welcome for the little newbie from the good little witch.

 

[Hypoxia]

Welcome to LIT fantasyland. Watch where you step.

My stories are various mixes of reality and fantasy, ranging from straight reporting to totally made-up shit. Some of the fantasies are quite non-sexual, with non-standard political-religious-social settings. Most are what-ifs. Many are extrapolations: what if this trend or feeling continued? Some are personal explorations: what if that person were still in my life, or if I had done something else at a certain point? Some are just play: what if this absurd event occurred?

No matter how over-the-edge the fantasy goes, reality ties it down, keeps it structured. No, people will not *really* morph into sentient banana slugs when struck by mystic thunderbolts, but everything else in Big Banana is real, including the SlugFest. Trust me. Whereas only the setting in Randy Randy (the Pornomancer) is real and the rest is total horseshit, hopefully entertaining.

Find the proper explosive ratio of fantasy vs reality and you'll do well.

 

[sr71plt]

Yep, internal consistency.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

I've just had my first story published on the site and plan on writing a lot more. I had planned a few 'ideas' out but some wonderful feedback has definitely encouraged me to get them written out. I say 'ideas' because for the most part, they are glamorised true stories. Or even the amalgamation of a few different similar experiences.

What I'm wondering is if should mix the fantasies I want to write about among them. Is there an etiquette or convention to this or is it better to just leave people wondering? Or should I not mix them at all? I think some of them might be obvious that they are fantasies, but does it make a difference to a reader if it is true or not?

I understand your affinity for "true" stories. Before settling into a space here at Lit., I preferred reading and writing so-called true stories. I didn't set up camp here until I had become frustrated by the abysmal writing at those other sites. For me, I think, it has to do with my interests in voyeurism and exhibitionism. Stories that I knew were fictitious didn't satisfy me the way that "true" stories did.

As a result, my earliest stories here were slightly fictionalized accounts of true events. I never labeled them as true due to the fact that they were only about 75-80% accurate, and the rest was made-up.

At some point I began to appreciate the effort that goes into writing a fictional piece of work. Creating characters out of whole cloth and inventing plot lines is now far more interesting to me than retelling old war stories from my misspent youth.

But that's me.

Turning to your specific questions, no, there is no convention as to how much of a story can or should be fiction and how much should be fact. Writers here cover the entire spectrum, from 100% fiction to 99.9% fact. My only advice is that if you do want to tell true stories, do not be a slave to the facts. This is not a newspaper. Your goal is not to educate and inform. Rather, you want to entertain your audience. Make choices that enhance the readability and interest level of your story.

And I wouldn't worry about labeling your stories as true or fantasy. Just write the story and let the reader wonder if it really happened. In most cases, they are going to assume it is fiction, even if you tell them otherwise. Why argue about it? Just write the story in way that works best for you.

 

[SandraMustard]

I understand your affinity for "true" stories. Before settling into a space here at Lit., I preferred reading and writing so-called true stories. I didn't set up camp here until I had become frustrated by the abysmal writing at those other sites. For me, I think, it has to do with my interests in voyeurism and exhibitionism. Stories that I knew were fictitious didn't satisfy me the way that "true" stories did.

As a result, my earliest stories here were slightly fictionalized accounts of true events. I never labeled them as true due to the fact that they were only about 75-80% accurate, and the rest was made-up.

At some point I began to appreciate the effort that goes into writing a fictional piece of work. Creating characters out of whole cloth and inventing plot lines is now far more interesting to me than retelling old war stories from my misspent youth.

...

This could have been written about me and my husband. Even the fetish matches. We came from a male-dominated site where the membership focused on just exhibitionism. My first short descriptions of experiences were well received but my longer 'stories' were panned by the majority that wanted jerk material about their crude habits. We came here.

My first stories were mostly true like SoFlaBBWLvr, with fantasies thrown in to make the endings more thrilling. I've written a few totally fictional stories, my latest being the one I like the best. Most of my more current RL stories are 100% true because we have gone thru major changes that don't need fabrication to titillate.

You've come to a good place to develop your writing. There are readers here for every fetish and type of story. Write what pleases you and reap the rewards.