Has there ever been a True Story category? Should there be one?

[HuckPilgrim]

It seems like an oversight that there is no category for true stories. Maybe it's because so many of us use handles and pen names to separate our real life personas from our erotic fiction adventures, but I think it would be a great category. I realize you can always just use an existing category and offer an author note (This is a true story!), but it would be more of a commitment to the genre (of telling true stories of titillating personal erotic experience) if there were a category explicitly for true stories.

It might just be me. I read a lot of memoir and I enjoy knowing that the author put the story together expressly to tell me something about her life. It adds an extra dimension that fictional stories, even if they include an author's note claiming they're real, don't really reach.

What are your thoughts? Would you post in such a category? Would you read in such a category? Would you write in such a category?

 

[sr71plt]

I wouldn't be surprised if the content of the story would lose out to comments and ratings concentrated on whether/whether not the reader accepted it as true.

 

[HuckPilgrim]

I wouldn't be surprised if the content of the story would lose out to comments and ratings concentrated on whether/whether not the reader accepted it as true.

That is sort of a base impulse that drives a lot of what happens in memoir, so I wouldn't be surprised either if that happened here, too. In fiction, the readers want to know, How much of this is true? In memoir, it's just the opposite.

Still, I think it would be a good, worthwhile category. Some authors play to that sort of controversy. The ones that don't just have to find a way to live within it.

 

[lovecraft68]

It seems like an oversight that there is no category for true stories. Maybe it's because so many of us use handles and pen names to separate our real life personas from our erotic fiction adventures, but I think it would be a great category. I realize you can always just use an existing category and offer an author note (This is a true story!), but it would be more of a commitment to the genre (of telling true stories of titillating personal erotic experience) if there were a category explicitly for true stories.

It might just be me. I read a lot of memoir and I enjoy knowing that the author put the story together expressly to tell me something about her life. It adds an extra dimension that fictional stories, even if they include an author's note claiming they're real, don't really reach.

What are your thoughts? Would you post in such a category? Would you read in such a category? Would you write in such a category?

I think the assumption by the readers in a 'true' section would be "yeah right"

And personally I would have a hard time thinking any differently. Not that I'm saying people haven't had these experiences, but when its being pointed out, hey this is true, its an eye roll for me.

ON the other hand when people say "based on" I give it some leeway because they are pretty much saying they are embellishing.

But to take your idea further...if someone wrote a non consent story in the true category could we send it to the police as a confession of rape? Or if some one write an under age incest story can we get him for child abuse?

Hmmm

 

[Mister_Chris]

If someone wrote an under age incest story, it would never be published on Literotica.

But your point is well taken. Given that adult incest is a real-world criminal act, any incest stories labelled true would constitute confession of a criminal act.

And I think such a category would open itself to rampant abuse, containing stories so far fetched and unlikely that they could never be considered true. This would call all stories to fall under suspicion, and destroy the relevancy of the category.

However, it might make sense to have a 'tall tales' category, or a 'humorous sex' category. Such stories would include unlikely but barely-plausible stories, possibly with a humorous twist. Currently, there isn't a place in Literotica for humorous or clearly unlikely sex stories. I think it might be interesting to put the reader in a position where he didn't know whether to scream 'bullshit!', laugh, or ejaculate.

 

[jomar]

They'd all start out, "Dear Lit, I never thought it would happen to me..."

 

[FrankenCluster]

I think this is a great idea and have wondered why it wasn't a section too. I do see the problems people have brought up though. On Reddit there is a subreddit called "creepy" I believe with weird tales where it's against the rules to argue something isn't real.

 

[lovecraft68]

If someone wrote an under age incest story, it would never be published on Literotica.

But your point is well taken. Given that adult incest is a real-world criminal act, any incest stories labelled true would constitute confession of a criminal act.

And I think such a category would open itself to rampant abuse, containing stories so far fetched and unlikely that they could never be considered true. This would call all stories to fall under suspicion, and destroy the relevancy of the category.

However, it might make sense to have a 'tall tales' category, or a 'humorous sex' category. Such stories would include unlikely but barely-plausible stories, possibly with a humorous twist. Currently, there isn't a place in Literotica for humorous or clearly unlikely sex stories. I think it might be interesting to put the reader in a position where he didn't know whether to scream 'bullshit!', laugh, or ejaculate.

Well as for incest...lit is world wide and it is legal in some places providing over 18 and consensual...well age of consent so younger.

Hmmm it would be like Law and Order...

"Ripped from the headlines! Older couple find hot young thing at a club and....

 

[lovecraft68]

They'd all start out, "Dear Lit, I never thought it would happen to me..."

Now don't even try to tell me all those Penthouse letters were lies....they were true, right? Right?

 

[CyranoJ]

What are your thoughts? Would you post in such a category? Would you read in such a category? Would you write in such a category?

Depends on what's allowed in it. If non-con and incest were bracketed out, maybe (not into having the line of fantasy with either of those kinks blurred), though as others have said it would be hard to see how you'd avoid "Penthouse Letters" syndrome.

 

[lovecraft68]

Not just incest and non con

If the LW crowd started up over there because people were writing true stories of how their wives have sex with guys in front of them or cheat or swing....

There goes the neighborhood.

 

[jomar]

Now don't even try to tell me all those Penthouse letters were lies....they were true, right? Right?

The ones I wrote were.

 

[Hypoxia]

Given that adult incest is a real-world criminal act, any incest stories labelled true would constitute confession of a criminal act.

SOME relationships labeled as 'incest' are illegal in SOME jurisdictions, so "adult incest is a real-world criminal act" is only true at SOME times and places.

But I digress. I doubt a True Story category would work here. Add a TRUE STORY tag and see if readers believe that. Many of my pieces are either closely based on actual events or contain straight reporting -- but there's much fiction in there too, because otherwise the accounts would be rather boring or insane. Unlike reality, fiction must make sense. Don't let reality ruin a good story.

 

[sr71plt]

Anybody holding their breath for any of this to happen?

 

[HuckPilgrim]

They'd all start out, "Dear Lit, I never thought it would happen to me..."

Haha!

 

[HuckPilgrim]

Depends on what's allowed in it.

It has to be true to go in True Story!

Or you have to at least be willing to say that it's true. If the Smoking Gun guys come along and exposes you for a liar, or if you end up on Oprah with red eyes, weeping and sniveling on her couch, well, then, you'll have no one to blame but yourself!

But, seriously.

I'm sure it would get its fair share of "abuse," in that some folks wouldn't honor the spirit of the category and would put in stories that weren't true, or that they wanted people to believe were true because of the creep factor (You did what?, OMG, that's illegal!), but that's all part of the charm of the category. On a site like Lit, I'm sure it would be a haven for cheaters, adultery, and all sorts of interesting behavior. If people start to confess crimes, I suppose that puts them in hot water. I'm not sure what the advantage would be, except to troll those easily excitable among us. If you did a crime, and you post a story about it in a category called True Story, I think you deserve whatever you get.

 

[sr71plt]

You make it sound so much like it would be right at home at Literotica.

 

[slyc_willie]

I've written a couple of stories that were based on true stories. One was about me and an ex-girlfriend, another was an experience a friend of mine claims he had one night at work. In both cases, I took artistic license and embellished certain parts to either exaggerate for effect or to "clean up" what was, in actuality, a rather awkward, if very erotic, scenario.

I seriously doubt a True Story category would go over well. As has been pointed out, there would be the eye-rolling crowd that would attack such stories because they either don't believe or don't want to believe the content of the story, and then there would authors who spuriously write something and claim it as true with no real way -- or apparent need to -- provide any evidence such a story actually happened.

I have a few real-life experiences that would make readers think I'm full of it if I wrote them down, and many more that aren't really sensational enough to devote a story to. If anything, I'd write a romanticized version of how I met my wife and put it in Romance without even indicating it's a true story. Claiming something as being true, after all, is like painting a target on the story and inviting people to shit all over what is probably a cherished memory.

 

[HuckPilgrim]

I think I see your point. If someone tried to do a Wilt Chamberlain, "I slept with 20,000 women", I would be all about the eye rolls. But it all depends on how you do it. You can use your memoir to brag, but it's not like bragging is a requirement of the genre.

Some stories are more interesting because you know they're true going in. Anything in exhibitionist, for example. I like stories about cheating partners, if they're done honestly. So much of erotica is fantasy, and there's nothing wrong with fantasy, but sometimes it's nice to see something different. And by different I don't mean realistic fiction. I mean a true story. A story where the understanding, the implicit contract between the author and the reader, is the exact opposite of fiction.

It would be a fun experiment.

 

[slyc_willie]

I think I see your point. If someone tried to do a Wilt Chamberlain, "I slept with 20,000 women", I would be all about the eye rolls. But it all depends on how you do it. You can use your memoir to brag, but it's not like bragging is a requirement of the genre.

Some stories are more interesting because you know they're true going in. Anything in exhibitionist, for example. I like stories about cheating partners, if they're done honestly. So much of erotica is fantasy, and there's nothing wrong with fantasy, but sometimes it's nice to see something different. And by different I don't mean realistic fiction. I mean a true story. A story where the understanding, the implicit contract between the author and the reader, is the exact opposite of fiction.

It would be a fun experiment.

But there would be no way to actually qualify any story as being true other than its placement in a "True Story" category. The interpretation of what is real and what is not, especially when it comes to erotic storytelling, really lies within the mind of the reader. I could claim night and day that everything I have written is a true account, but ultimately, the true test of that lies within the reader. In other words, simply saying it is so doesn't make it so.

Simply put, a True Story category on Literotica wouldn't fly, in my opinion. This site deigns to offer the best expectations of quality any free to post Internet story site can hope to achieve. Part of that expectation is that the content of the stories posted here are fantastic. If the added variable of "reality" was thrown in as a mark of content, I think it would detract from the site as a whole. Erotica isn't necessarily about what happens in the real world any more than a Disney movie gives a promise of "happily ever after." These stories are snapshots, clips taken from a moment in an author's mind, or, in some cases, numerous moments.

As far as I'm concerned, a True Story category would cheapen Literotica. While there exist a legion of commenting trolls who seem to take every Incest, Mature, Loving Wives, Gay Male or Lesbian story as being a true account, to actually qualify any such story as such would compromise any level of integrity the author would hope to portray.

Essentially, a True Story category would very quickly degenerate into a flame war in the comments section of just about any story posted there.

Now, on the other hand, I agree with your "but it all depends on how you do it" comment. I'd love to think I'm a good enough writer that I could faithfully recreate a true-life scenario in my prose. But, so what? I would have no way of actually convincing my readers that what I am writing is a true account, in which case I could achieve the same effect -- without inviting a flame war -- by simply artfully crafting what would be portrayed as a fictional tale in a realistic way.

And that, then, is the ultimate challenge of realistic fiction: how to present a situation which is described in such a way that it could be seen as actually having happened. Now, keeping the reader's focus in mind, do you really think that a realistic description would win out over a fantastic one?

I find your comments above interesting, especially those regarding E/V and LW stories. By your words, I'm told you think the stories in E/V are all real. Now, obviously, I don't think you're that dumb. I've posted several stories there that are not true accounts. I hope I haven't burst your bubble.

I'm not even going to touch on LW.

It makes me wonder, though, if you think the E/V category has an undue amount of "true life" stories in it, or if you just read the scenarios and are able to explain to yourself that they could happen in real life. If that's the case, then I give kudos to whoever you have been reading, as well as to your own vivid imagination.

In the end, the addition of a True Story section of the site would be a colossal waste of time, in my opinion. Better for us writers to do the best we can, if we are so energized to do so, to craft well-written stories that bride the gap between the utterly ridiculous and the potentially plausible. Because that's where fiction finds its home.

 

[NaokoSmith]

Hey Huck!


There are several true stories in some of the Writers' Challenges and Exercises threads. I read some lovely ones in the 'sexy smell' thread. Ogg once wrote about a smell of baking, I think, and Aktion wrote such a super one that he wrote it up into a story.

First Time is also advertised as being for 'true' but also fictional stories.

Mostly, though, I agree with the guys - you can see what a lot of comments even the idea of such a category generates! It would probably get trolled and pulled apart.

Besides, what is truth? As a postmodern, I see it as just a PoV. I could write a story about my first time, that would be the story of how I experienced it. The way my partner experienced it could be completely different, his story would be a different story, although just as 'true'. I might say my 'real' first time was actually when I had full on penetrative, although you might laugh and say: "No, no that time you did a 69 when you were a bit drunk was sex, that was your first time." Or I might say my 'real' first time was when I first had an orgasm, that's the 'true story' of when I first had sex.

I sort of like the enhanced versions of 'true' stories . I like how the writer considers what went on and bends it to make it speak to a wider readership. You can usually see where that happens, which is fun in itself. I also like the stories where the writer explores this issue. Maybe writes from a number of different PoV's to show that one perspective on an event isn't 'the true story'. Or manages to write it so that only one perspective is given, and you understand how that is a limited view but it's 'the truth' as far as that person can tell it.

The 'true story' is just a starting point. It does have an appeal, when a story has the 'ring of truth', the author says: "This really happened." You can get that in a lot of categories, though. Trying to read a story I like in 'true stories' might be a minefield as I pick my way through the incest and snuff shockers ("Oh my Gawd! did that really ... did you actually ...? Surely not!") to find a sweet romance with which to enjoy my bar of Prestat Earl Grey with a twist of lemon chocolate.

Maybe the 'true story' tag is the twist of lemon which adds to the pleasure of a good story on here, rather than being like 'biography' in the bookshops - a popular category itself.

 

[Mister_Chris]

SOME relationships labeled as 'incest' are illegal in SOME jurisdictions, so "adult incest is a real-world criminal act" is only true at SOME times and places.

Hi, Hypoxia - gotta disagree with you re incest laws. Adult incest is actually illegal in all 50 US states. There may be countries around the world where it is legal, but it is not legal in the US.

This is not to suggest that the laws are often enforced; but they are there, and they are enforced on occasion. I checked into this in detail in researching my 'Milk and Cookies' 2-parter (My favourite stories, and my lowest scores, and I'm so sad).

Here's a link to a Slate article regarding one such case.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/12/is_incest_a_twoway_street.html

Cheers - MC

 

[litmlove]

I think this is a great idea and have wondered why it wasn't a section too. I do see the problems people have brought up though. On Reddit there is a subreddit called "creepy" I believe with weird tales where it's against the rules to argue something isn't real.

Yeah, the "suspension of disbelief" rule: everybody commenting must respond as if the stories were real. It's incredibly empowering and fun.

 

[CyranoJ]

Hi, Hypoxia - gotta disagree with you re incest laws. Adult incest is actually illegal in all 50 US states. There may be countries around the world where it is legal, but it is not legal in the US.

It is apparently technically legal in New Jersey due to an omission in the criminal code... though how long New Jersey's going to continue to want that distinction is anyone's guess.

Most countries around the world prohibit incest including "consensual" adult incest (I've seen it claimed -- unsourced -- on WikiPedia that Israel doesn't, but so far as I can tell that's actually a fabrication from anti-Semitic sources). There are lots of conflicting claims about legality and enforcement in various countries, AFAICT outside of Japan, the single largest exception is India. Which doesn't mean the practice is culturally countenanced there, just that it's generally dealt with under other, broader laws or by means outside the courts (often "honour killings" as claimed here anyway).

 

[glynndah]

I've written a couple of stories here that were based on "true" events. One or two were practically word for word; the others were embellished quite a bit, but any of the participants would definitely recognize the stories. I think I even wrote a note at the top on at least one of them stating it was all true.

This being said, I definitely would not want to see a "True" category for all the reasons listed in this thread far more articulately by Naoko, slyc and others.

All that being said, I must admit those letters in Penthouse were my favorite part, but I never once believed they were "true".

A from the good little witch.