How the writing itself impacts you

[Brutal_One]

There have been posts before along the lines of “who you write for” but where I am picking up the pen so to speak after quite a break to continue the series and having completed the latest chapter it struck me how the sheer pleasure of the writing, the art as it were, impacts me. Knowing you can write, create, whatever the story or how well written or otherwise.

I can still remember having the very first Chapter published here.

The joy of writing I guess.

How do other authors view this? Set aside the reaction. Just how does it make you feel when you hit that Publish button?

Brutal One

 

[drscar]

There is something cathartic about pushing "Publish," I think. When I'm at that point of the process, the finish line so to speak, it is the culmination of many hours (sometimes months) of an exhausting effort. The time spent thinking, living with characters and plots, unraveling mysteries and the timing of twists and turns - all of it can be exhausting.

There's a bit of fear, too. Did I leave in a typo? Did I have a gaping plot hole? What if someone isn't in the right 'mood' when they read the story (I don't write 'gonzo' sex scenes, so not everyone is in the right mindset when they read something with more emotional depth).

Ultimately, though, it's every much a release as a prolonged orgasm. In many cases, that release is so complete that I actually don't really remember many of the details or story lines. I've often gone back and re-read things that I've written years later, not realizing that I had inserted some insight into the story that I'd completely forgotten.

I do write mostly for myself - I write the kinds of stories that I would like to read. So when I finally get the chance to feel it's time to hit "publish," it typically means that I've found closure with that story and it's time to move on.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I enjoy the process of writing. From conception to completion. It is cathartic for me as well, a type of mental therapy, where I work out my own demons or relieve past events, good and bad.

I can be a cop, a PI, a doctor, an evil master mind (or the polar opposite) and from the safety of my home office. With the cat perched on a stool watching the tropical fish, wishing he could eat them, I sit at my desk and create my own world.

What could be better?

 

[SimonDoom]

It feels great. It's extremely rewarding to finish a story and hit the submit button. I've done it 41 times (not counting poems) and every time it's an interesting and satisfying experience. The road to get to that point is a little bit different for every story, and that's part of the fun. Sometimes it's long and slow, and other times it's short and quick.

The other interesting thing I've observed is that the more I write, the more I want to write. I have an ungodly number of unfinished stories, but I've managed to get through some of them this year and that feels great.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I thought about why I write. I like to tell a story. I want it logical or at least logical in the universe it is presented.
It is a little cathartic. I recently wrote about how my first wife left me. it never got out of the draft file. It hurt but it made me realize I lived through it and have done well. The rest of the family has done well.
I can't say I am expressing my fantasies either. I get an idea that might be out in left field and go with it.

 

[DarkWhispers2U]

Just how does it make you feel when you hit that Publish button?

Brutal One

Usually terrified. I grew up an oral storyteller. I am not a writer, but life has a way of changing on you and adaptation is necessary, so...

Terrified. Definitely terrified.

 

[Brutal_One]

Demons begone!

There are some great replies. Most of which I think are similar to my own emotions when hitting submit. There are demons I guess to to be exorcised but that is the cathartic bit and you need this type of edge anyway to have your story reach outside your own comfort zone at times. But be sure writing at times can be like being in a lab and creating something new or at least experimenting once your characters become more alive and can ‘talk to you.’

Brutal One

 

[MillieDynamite]

I thought about why I write. I like to tell a story. I want it logical or at least logical in the universe it is presented.
It is a little cathartic. I recently wrote about how my first wife left me. it never got out of the draft file. It hurt but it made me realize I lived through it and have done well. The rest of the family has done well.
I can't say I am expressing my fantasies either. I get an idea that might be out in left field and go with it.

I'm working on story based on my adoptive fathers love a black woman in the 1970s. In the real world they came close to a marriage, but the conflict between her family and her, and his family and him, put a a strain on the relationship. However, that wasn't what ended the relationship.

My father has always been popular with women. Even now, in his mid-sixties, women flirt with him, openly in front of mum. Back then, when he was young, it was even more a thing. And being a sexual man in his youth, he flirted back, a lot. Mum is his third wife, they are happy, he does flirt a little but nothing more.

Back in the day, he yielded a lot and it cost him girlfriends, fiancées, and wives. Which is what happened between him and Carmella. Though, they both say, he never cheated, but the fear of it made Carmella not follow through and break up with him. I'm not playing up his wondering eye, though it will be in the story, and I'm having a happy ending on the story.

I may lose followers with a happy every after ending!

 

[ElectricBlue]

How do other authors view this? Set aside the reaction. Just how does it make you feel when you hit that Publish button?

It's a buzz. I'm confident enough in my writing now that I no longer fuss about the usual technical stuff, and my range of content is wide enough that my readers will recognise the EB style, but it will often take them somewhere unexpected.

 

[HeyAll]

I've always said that there are three pleasures in writing:

Thinking of ideas, the actual writing, and then people reading/enjoying it.

How do other authors view this? Set aside the reaction. Just how does it make you feel when you hit that Publish button?

By the time I hit the Publish button, I'm exausted, because by then I've just run the story through grammarly.com and made a bunch of other small edits. Then copy/pasted it, reviewing to make sure all the lines are in proper place. Giving it a final skim.

On top of that, hoping there aren't any typos or screw ups.

Revising a story for improvements is fun, but editing for errors/mistakes is real work.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I've always said that there are three pleasures in writing:

Thinking of ideas, the actual writing, and then people reading/enjoying it.



By the time I hit the Publish button, I'm exausted, because by then I've just run the story through grammarly.com and made a bunch of other small edits. Then copy/pasted it, reviewing to make sure all the lines are in proper place. Giving it a final skim.

On top of that, hoping there aren't any typos or screw ups.

Revising a story for improvements is fun, but editing for errors/mistakes is real work.

My father says publishing a story, for free, for money, for fun, is always like sex but not, quite, as satisfying in the moment. I agree!

 

[lovecraft68]

Writing is a gift, and that's something I tell myself when I get frustrated with it, or come down hard on myself if I can't get something done or feel it wasn't just right.

I get to do this, is what I tell myself

And when the story is flowing, the muse is hot, the story writes itself and you just know its good, is a hell of a rush, especially because fact is, not everyone can do it, but we can.

On other occasions it can be a curse. Once a writer always a writer, and the times where you're struggling, drawing blanks, re-writing because you're not confident, but still can't quit because we have to keep going because we have that gift.

As for once I publish...for here its always been "next" and for sale its still 'next' but with wondering how it will sell compared to my previous books.

 

[MetaBob]

Just how does it make you feel when you hit that Publish button?

Like I'm giving birth, whether it's a story, a song, a poem, whatever else, or an actual child. That child will have to make it on its own merits. It's a little scary, a little thrilling. I often can't let go so I re-read and edit, but these days I don't resubmit. I don't know if or where the updated versions will ever see the light of day, but I write for myself, not others. Others don't write the stories I want to read (even though others sometimes write stories I like very much indeed). That's why I write.

 

[Rob_Howard]

There is always something different about reading my story in the final draft form and then reading it in the final published form. When I see my story in the published form, it feels like my art is on display in an art gallery; only to be spoiled by the lower than expected ratings .

The journey of edit and re-edits from the first draft to final draft is so exhausting, at the same time, it's very hard to stop myself from editing the final draft one more time. I hit the publish button after taking a leap of faith, and also from the exhaustion of continuous editing, grammar checks and reformatting.

I can only wonder how does it feel to have a work published in print.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I can only wonder how does it feel to have a work published in print.

Pretty good. Even if I'm the only person who bought a copy!

 

[PennameWombat]

<snip>
How do other authors view this? Set aside the reaction. Just how does it make you feel when you hit that Publish button?

Brutal One

For decades I’ve had a handful of stories I’ve wanted to share. Some were always erotic in nature, others not.

I’ve read the claims from ‘authors’ who said the same but “I just sat and hammered out my novel and sold millions.”

Fortunately I discovered most of those claims were bullshite … or I was just hopeless, because there was no way I was gonna force that to any level that even I could read. Even finally taking a speculative fiction writing workshop I still wasn’t sure until another student said “you finished a story?”

My first few stories were using that guidance to let those tales flow. My reaction was, first, wonderment at finishing, and second, surprised joy when others read and enjoyed them.

Since, more of my stories have been constructed from any number of sources - dreams, random encounters, extrapolation of my original thoughts. Finishing is always a bit of relief but also worry at what the reaction will be. 2021 has been some rather ambitious stories that never quite gelled but I released them anyway… and one that surprisingly landed way beyond expectations.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've always said that there are three pleasures in writing:

Thinking of ideas, the actual writing, and then people reading/enjoying it.
...
Revising a story for improvements is fun, but editing for errors/mistakes is real work.

It can be a fun brain-teaser, figuring out why certain parts of the story work and others dont, and how to fix parts of it - does the whole structure need changing? Or once I've written the fun bits, how to get from A to B? Sometimes what seemed like an insurmountable hurdle can be dealt with in one sentence.

So I'd have four pleasures:
1. Imagining the scenes, fleshing out the ideas from an original erotic image.
2. Writing it down, trying to capture those feelings in a linear language. Be impressed how fast I can produce strings of 5-10k words.
3. A bit of initial editing and then the big mind-bending puzzle of making a vision work as a story, not just some scenes. If I feel like it. The really fun bit is knowing I don't have to do it. Finally, that moment when I feel a story has coalesced together. Polishing is quite fun, because I'm reading a story I like.
4. Releasing the story. Again, it doesn't really matter what people think of it. But knowing that in 4 years on Lit, a quarter of a million people have clicked on my stories and thousands have actually read them - that's pretty amazing.
And some people have really enjoyed them and thanked me. For those couple hundred people (possibly some thousands), I'm happy to keep amusing myself this way.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

It's fun. Also, it let's me get some of the weird shit in my head out of there.

Lately though, it been a struggle even though I really like to write. I have a great time starting the story, then as it's gets to the good parts, I struggle to get past them. Sometimes I skip them and continue with what happens after the good part.

Other time, I just go to another story I'm struggling with and continue with that one.

I still get a thrill out of finishing one and posting it here.

My head is still filled with weird shit though that needs to get out. And I like to punch the keys and fill the page with words.

 

[gunhilltrain]

It's fun. Also, it let's me get some of the weird shit in my head out of there.

Lately though, it been a struggle even though I really like to write. I have a great time starting the story, then as it's gets to the good parts, I struggle to get past them. Sometimes I skip them and continue with what happens after the good part.

Other time, I just go to another story I'm struggling with and continue with that one.

I still get a thrill out of finishing one and posting it here.

My head is still filled with weird shit though that needs to get out. And I like to punch the keys and fill the page with words.

I've found out that the weird shit in my head is pretty mild compared to some of the other things I've seen on here. But yeah, it's nice to have complete control of the process. If it works or doesn't work, I can't put the responsibility on an author or a filmmaker. For better or worse, it's all mine.

I will only edit a published story for some serious typos or plot inconsistencies. It's a long wait to get it re-approved. For a single misplaced letter or punctuation mark, I usually let it go.

 

[gordo12]

There have been posts before along the lines of “who you write for” but where I am picking up the pen so to speak after quite a break to continue the series and having completed the latest chapter it struck me how the sheer pleasure of the writing, the art as it were, impacts me. Knowing you can write, create, whatever the story or how well written or otherwise.

I can still remember having the very first Chapter published here.

The joy of writing I guess.

How do other authors view this? Set aside the reaction. Just how does it make you feel when you hit that Publish button?

Brutal One

It's like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. First, I have to create all the pieces. Sort it out. Make sure it flows and all parts back up the other parts. That's a challenge.

The first time I pushed the submit button, I felt sick about it. Now, I'm not bothered much. The last story was published around 11:30 pm. I didn't bother looking and forgot about it the next morning. It was lunchtime before I remembered to log in and check.

 

[stickygirl]

It's like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. First, I have to create all the pieces. Sort it out. Make sure it flows and all parts back up the other parts. That's a challenge.

The first time I pushed the submit button, I felt sick about it. Now, I'm not bothered much. The last story was published around 11:30 pm. I didn't bother looking and forgot about it the next morning. It was lunchtime before I remembered to log in and check.

I find it interesting how some people write - for you it's a jigsaw for me it's more a journey. I know the destination but never know exactly how my characters will get there.

I'm baffled how my characters will say or do things that I, the author, would never have imagined. The scene becomes real and more than imaginary. Possession?! Maybe dream-writing? Trance-like? I'm not sure, but I love being in that space then afterward reading the words that appeared. I know, weird shit.

As for hitting Submit: by that stage my first story was 'now or never' and 'what do I have to lose?'

 

[yowser]

I'm baffled how my characters will say or do things that I, the author, would never have imagined. The scene becomes real and more than imaginary.

Interesting. Almost author as 'voyeur.'

 

[gordo12]

I find it interesting how some people write - for you it's a jigsaw for me it's more a journey. I know the destination but never know exactly how my characters will get there.

I'm baffled how my characters will say or do things that I, the author, would never have imagined. The scene becomes real and more than imaginary. Possession?! Maybe dream-writing? Trance-like? I'm not sure, but I love being in that space then afterward reading the words that appeared. I know, weird shit.

As for hitting Submit: by that stage my first story was 'now or never' and 'what do I have to lose?'

I agree about the journey. That part is in the creation of the pieces. As a pantzer, I have no idea where the story is going beforehand.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

Personally, I feel relieved at this point. "Good. Done. Sent. Now I can move on to something else." I have entirely too many unfinished stories half-written.

 

[Andrew1968]

How do I feel after I hit the publish button? I feel relieved. I feel exhausted, wiped out and brain dead. I feel disgusted and revolted by this fucking thing I’ve created – I just want to get rid of it and let the characters run riot - out there - in your head. I feel tentative, lest I have stuffed something up.

I end up investing so much time in the damned thing. I’m there with my eyes closed, trying to visualize everything so clearly, and then I’m opening my eyes and trying to conjure the language to describe what I am seeing. I’m psychological mining and just trying to sincerely get it down. My latest effort, which I published a couple of days ago, took a while to write, but then took hours and hours and hours of reading and re-reading - editing and correcting, again and again - and I’m still not satisfied. I wish I was goddamned smarter – I have to go through it again and again, just to make it seem like real people are having natural conversations. I mean how much effort do you have to take to get rid of the awkward quality in dialogue and give life to flesh and blood characters?

(Bear with me – I’m crashing after forcing this thing out and am in crash mode right now)

I can’t read much of my stuff, once it is out there. Writing erotica sucks ass… Honestly… Yeah, yeah, I’ll be writing more shit soon…

(Gets up to get more bourbon)