I'm Curious.

[BFG85]

Having read a fair amount of stories from various sections of this site. Can someone explain to me why a story about a faithful couple doesn't really score that well. Or get many comments?

Many cheating wife stories score well and many swinger/open marriage/slut wife/cuckold stories score well. But when a wife or husband stays faithful to their partner the scores tend to be not very good.

Is it because faithful/monogamous marriages are now old fashioned or just plain boring to read about? Even if the couple are adventurous in their own way inside the limits of their marriage vows. Even some of the 'Romance' stories have cheating wives or husbands in them for various reasons and they score highly or at least better than most in that category. As I understand it Romance stories don't or at shouldn't have cheating husbands and wives in the stories.

Or maybe marriage/faithfulness/monogamy is an outdated church inspired idea that should be scrapped because no one cares about the vows they took. And people are bored with the whole idea.

What do people think?

 

[Carnevil9]

Just a guess here, but I'd say people would rather read about something they don't do, rather than just a reflection of their (possibly dull) real lives.

 

[favoritesgoddess]

It's a good question, but I don't really know the answer. The best I can figure out is that erotica plays towards people's fantasies, and I don't know if anyone in this day and age really fantasizes about settling down with just one person.

It seems more likely to me that the fantasy of cheating on a spouse or cuckolding is popular because there's still a taste of the forbidden about it. Cheating is still considered "bad" and who doesn't like to fantasize about being bad?

I don't think my marriage vows are outdated or unimportant. I care very much about them. In fact, I wonder if it isn't those vows and promises that make the fantasy so much more titillating.

 

[Paasha]

Readers want fantasy porn; everything else is reality they can get for themselves.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Having read a fair amount of stories from various sections of this site. Can someone explain to me why a story about a faithful couple doesn't really score that well. Or get many comments?

Many cheating wife stories score well and many swinger/open marriage/slut wife/cuckold stories score well. But when a wife or husband stays faithful to their partner the scores tend to be not very good.

Is it because faithful/monogamous marriages are now old fashioned or just plain boring to read about? Even if the couple are adventurous in their own way inside the limits of their marriage vows. Even some of the 'Romance' stories have cheating wives or husbands in them for various reasons and they score highly or at least better than most in that category. As I understand it Romance stories don't or at shouldn't have cheating husbands and wives in the stories.

Or maybe marriage/faithfulness/monogamy is an outdated church inspired idea that should be scrapped because no one cares about the vows they took. And people are bored with the whole idea.

What do people think?

I don't know...my "In the Library" is my highest scoring story...

 

[CWatson]

Partially it's because Loving Wives is a battleground with no set definition on what should be in it. Some authors dump their infidelity stories there because they're not sure where else to put them, and some authors dump their "husband and wife getting it on" stories there because... they're not sure where else to put them. There are armed camps of readers who like both stories, and they're having something of a holy war, with the stories as a battleground.

But by and large I agree with everyone else's analysis. Porn is about wish-fulfillment. So why read a story about something you can get every day, and have already got bored with? You want something exotic. Hence, the more 'extreme' stuff gets higher readership.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

I don't think anyone has addressed the issues.

Sure, Loving Wives is a battleground between cuckolds and unfaithful wives, but that doesn't answer the question.

BF, this is a story thing. Whether you get your wife to pick up hunks in the local bar or divorce her for being unfaithful, you have a bit of a plot. A post where a loving, married couple have sex is - quite frankly - boring, however well written.

What a lot of writers don't recognize is they are writing for third parties. We need tension, development - the whole fiction three act play - to get invoved. The sex act, in writing, is very different from a DVD. There has to be a frisson, a point where we ask what is going to happen, to make a story work. That goes from Dan Brown to us scribbler ants.

A story where a happily married couple do something romantic yet banal to have sex is so anemic we all click back quickly.

 

[scouries]

what do people think?

QUOTE bmg85 Having read a fair amount of stories from various sections of this site. Can someone explain to me why a story about a faithful couple doesn't really score that well. Or get many comments?

Many cheating wife stories score well and many swinger/open marriage/slut wife/cuckold stories score well. But when a wife or husband stays faithful to their partner the scores tend to be not very good…What do people think?

What I think (and know from years of score analysis) is that your observation is incorrect!

In fact “romantic happy ending” stories invariably score much higher than “open marriage/slut wife/cuckold” stories do. Our readers want sex (and lots of it) but they are also romantics at heart. Simply scroll through the scores in the “last 30 days” for the various categories and you’ll quickly learn the truth.

Comments on the other hand are another story completely. The reality is that 99% of stories put up on LIT get very few comments (under 5). Our readers simply don’t like making comments.

The exception is the LW category. Comment writing has almost become an art form – on many of the most famous LW stories the comments are as important as the story itself.

sarahhh is the one LITEROTICAN who’s been regularly able to break through the comment barrier without writing LW stories. And two of mine (the most commented stories on LITEROICA) were also able to break through. Interestingly these two had very happy endings.​

​

​

james r scouries esq.

 

[PacoFear]

In fact “romantic happy ending” stories invariably score much higher than “open marriage/slut wife/cuckold” stories do. Our readers want sex (and lots of it) but they are also romantics at heart.

I'm actually with the Jimsters on this one. Generally speaking, the masses seem to crave their happily ever after ending as a bit of something sweet to round out their smutty experience.

The Mexican (don't ask, bad inside joke).

 

[sr71plt]

No, no one can tell you how the voting works that way. There are tens of thousands of readers reading on this site--a totally different mix of interests represented from moment to moment. There do seem to be a larger percentage of readers of a couple of interests than for others, but there's no way of catching this tiger by the tail. From moment to moment, it's a raccoon rather than a tiger.

 

[BFG85]

Thank you.

Thank you to the people who have left a comment on this thread. To be honest I didn't really expect a real answer as many of you have said. Voting and comments seem to be a personal thing.

I will admit I don't see anything wrong with a story about a married couple or a couple in a relationship that plays within thier vows. But that's just me.

But I do understand that many readers read stories that have some kind of plot or tension that keeps us reading and then when we get to the end some readers are unhappy and some wonder why they have just read that story. But again it's personal thing.

Well thanks again.

 

[KillerMuffin]

There are some good points raised here. It's impossible to get a handle on the Lit audience. 1.4 million unique visitors a day do not all fall within the same mindframe. There are some commonalities, though.

They want sex. (Why come Lit, else?)
They want to read something that feels new and interesting when they read a new story. (Humans are always like that.)
They like the naughty, and naughty is about breaking some kind of taboo in some form. Taboo is anything from using words that are inappropriate (like calling a beloved person a "slut" in the most affectionate manner, rather than "love") to having sex with your zombied werewolf parent that plans on eating you after having sex with you.

Some people come here just to be offended because they get off on moral superiority. It's why adultery gets the most attention. Not only does it break taboo, it offends people, so stories get it from both sides of the paradigm.

One other reason is the writing itself. Faithful spouse stories may have a tendency to be written with an extremely limited audience in mind (e.g. one's spouse) and then shared as an afterthought with Lit's readership. Much fewer adultery stories are written in second person compared to the faithful lover stories written in second person. Second person is the one POV almost guaranteed to either get a back-click or a low vote.

Like the pilot said, it's difficult to get a good, accurate read on the Lit Audience and their whys and wherefors, but speculation can be helpful.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

I'm actually with the Jimsters on this one. Generally speaking, the masses seem to crave their happily ever after ending as a bit of something sweet to round out their smutty experience.

The Mexican (don't ask, bad inside joke).

Yes, we want a happy ending - even the NY Times list proves that but. . .

A story, erotic or not, must have a dynamic to keep the reader interested.

Jim is wrong in concentrating on the conclusion. We want the rise and fall of the big dipper to keep us reading before the happy ending. Without the tension there is no conclusion.

 

[scouries]

QUOTE ace No, no one can tell you how the voting works that way. There are tens of thousands of readers reading on this site--a totally different mix of interests represented from moment to moment.

The question was why “a story about a faithful couple” doesn’t score as well as a “swinger/slut wife/cuckold” one. The answer is very simple – it doesn't work that way.

QUOTE pacoman I'm actually with the Jimsters on this one. Generally speaking, the masses seem to crave their happily ever after ending as a bit of something sweet to round out their smutty experience….The New Mexican

I assume that our pilot friend is now somewhere in the new mexican wilderness – maybe he’ll stop in and see you. And gabby tells me there is very good news on the 100+ COMMENT front for you.


QUOTE

Like the pilot said, it's difficult to get a good, accurate read on the Lit Audience and their whys and wherefors, but speculation can be helpful.

I'm just quoting KM cause of her AVATAR. Actually you can get a pretty good read on our audience. Just look at all the numbers we have available to us. See the owlwhisper stories to start...

QUOTE

Jim is wrong in concentrating on the conclusion. We want the rise and fall of the big dipper to keep us reading before the happy ending. Without the erection there is no conclusion.

Yes the “big dipper” is very important. However most readers only want to hear about the “rise” of the “big dipper” not it’s “fall”.

It’s hard not to “concentrate on the conclusion” when that was the question posed. And the answer is, ""happy ending" stories generally score higher than “swinger/slut wife/cuckold” ones, not the opposite.


jrs esq.

 

[TxRad]

QUOTE ace No, no one can tell you how the voting works that way. There are tens of thousands of readers reading on this site--a totally different mix of interests represented from moment to moment.

The question was why “a story about a faithful couple” doesn’t score as well as a “swinger/slut wife/cuckold” one. The answer is very simple – it doesn't work that way.

QUOTE pacoman I'm actually with the Jimsters on this one. Generally speaking, the masses seem to crave their happily ever after ending as a bit of something sweet to round out their smutty experience….The New Mexican

I assume that our pilot friend is now somewhere in the new mexican wilderness – maybe he’ll stop in and see you. And gabby tells me there is very good news on the 100+ COMMENT front for you.


QUOTE

Like the pilot said, it's difficult to get a good, accurate read on the Lit Audience and their whys and wherefors, but speculation can be helpful.

I'm just quoting KM cause of her AVATAR. Actually you can get a pretty good read on our audience. Just look at all the numbers we have available to us. See the owlwhisper stories to start...

QUOTE

Jim is wrong in concentrating on the conclusion. We want the rise and fall of the big dipper to keep us reading before the happy ending. Without the erection there is no conclusion.

Yes the “big dipper” is very important. However most readers only want to hear about the “rise” of the “big dipper” not it’s “fall”.

It’s hard not to “concentrate on the conclusion” when that was the question posed. And the answer is, ""happy ending" stories generally score higher than “swinger/slut wife/cuckold” ones, not the opposite.


jrs esq.

Sorry Charlie but you don't have a clue. The only reason “swinger/slut wife/cuckold” stories score lower is the continuing feud between factions in Loving wives. Break those factions up and the scores would be much higher across the category as they are on sites where they are separated.

Maybe you need to get out in the real world. Lit is just one site an you can't draw all your conclusions from just here. Well, you can and do but you'll be wrong more often than not.

 

[BFG85]

On a slightly different topic.

Today/Tonight (depending on where you are in the world.) There were several Non-cheating LW stories. Most of them have had little or no comments and checking the scores they have had low scores when put against the Cheating wives/Cuckold stories it seems the Cuckold stories have more comments and seemingly better scores.

Is it a tradition that if you don't like a content of story readers then vote 1 star in protest against a story they don't like? Why vote at all if you don't like a story? I would think that not voting is the same a voting zero? Or am I wrong?

Anyway I really think that the LIT webmasters should think about a Cuckold category and what I would perhaps call a Faithful wife category. or maybe a Cheating wife/husband/Adultery category then surely people can read the type of story they want to read without all the sniping that goes on between the various camps. Although readers that like a good old fashioned LW story can look for the Adultery category and the Cuckold readers can find their stories and then readers like myself can read Faithful wives/husband adventurous stories.

Of course I know this won't happen it's been talked about a lot on this Forum. But I guess the battle rages on and no one will win the war. Oh well.

 

[Scotsman69]

My experience is

that my loving romances score far higher than anything else I write and post here.

Have a look. Especially at 'Melanie', and 'Journey into Melanie's Reality'.

They are written from the reality of the enduring love we share.

Scotsman69

Having read a fair amount of stories from various sections of this site. Can someone explain to me why a story about a faithful couple doesn't really score that well. Or get many comments?

Many cheating wife stories score well and many swinger/open marriage/slut wife/cuckold stories score well. But when a wife or husband stays faithful to their partner the scores tend to be not very good.

Is it because faithful/monogamous marriages are now old fashioned or just plain boring to read about? Even if the couple are adventurous in their own way inside the limits of their marriage vows. Even some of the 'Romance' stories have cheating wives or husbands in them for various reasons and they score highly or at least better than most in that category. As I understand it Romance stories don't or at shouldn't have cheating husbands and wives in the stories.

Or maybe marriage/faithfulness/monogamy is an outdated church inspired idea that should be scrapped because no one cares about the vows they took. And people are bored with the whole idea.

What do people think?

 

[favoritesgoddess]

For me, for any story to be at all interesting there has to be conflict. Some conflict. My problem with most loving wives/happy couples stories is that there is no conflict at all.

Happy endings are more satisfying as the logical result of a conflict resolution.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

I will admit I don't see anything wrong with a story about a married couple or a couple in a relationship that plays within thier vows. But that's just me.

But I do understand that many readers read stories that have some kind of plot or tension that keeps us reading and then when we get to the end some readers are unhappy and some wonder why they have just read that story. But again it's personal thing.

For me, for any story to be at all interesting there has to be conflict. Some conflict. My problem with most loving wives/happy couples stories is that there is no conflict at all.

Happy endings are more satisfying as the logical result of a conflict resolution.

BFG, goddess has answered your question. There is nothing wrong with a story about a faithful relationship but unless it has page-turning tension, it is boring.

Yes, Jim and Paco are right but just repeat a cliché of fiction. We readers want a conclusion where right is assuaged but we read toward that conclusion expecting choppy waters before arriving in the haven of bliss.

There must be a reason - of interest - to make us read a story. concentrating on the ending is too simple.

 

[BFG85]

Thanks Elfin.

I still don't understand why such stories can't be 'interesting' but that's just me.

Don't worry Elfin this thread will drop out of sight like many others have. And yes I get the point. The various writers on this thread have given their reasons and I agree with them. I don't like them but I am not a writer.

So thank you for everyones input.

 

[bashfullyshameless]

Fantasy v. Reality

First off: I've never been married, but I've never cheated on a girlfriend, either. I've had opportunities and probably would've gotten away with it, but I found the thought mortifying. I'm currently in an open relationship, and while I'm comfortable with it, I'm not the type to advocate for the lifestyle actively.

I suspect I'm pretty average on Literotica in that there are many stories that I find really hot as fantasies, but would never touch in reality. Erotica is a lot like action/war stories that way: it's great on film or in print, but real people aren't being hurt by anything. Reality's a whole different ballgame.

The concept of a genuinely hot erotic/porn story of a faithful married couple isn't alien to me. Hell, maybe I'll try it someday as a challenge. If in cruising the site I found something that fit that category, I may or may not read it, but not based on disinterest in erotic monogamy.

I can't remember the name of the story now, but I found one not too long ago wherein a husband came home to find a woman in lingerie waiting there to take care of him because his wife had "taken the night off," and arranged entertainment for him. It was really pretty sexy, but the punchline in the end -- the woman actually was his wife, and this was just a game she played -- made it much, much hotter in the end.

 

[Average_Writer]

Thank you bashfulshameless.

I don't know but I think you were talking about this story? if it wasn't then sorry about that. If so it's one of mine.

http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=494064

AW

 

[bashfullyshameless]

AW,

That was totally it. Thank you. Favorited.

 

[susanr33]

I think a sexy story of a couple has a lot of merit if it explores the unknown elements of each other and becomes a fantasy of discovery between them. A lot of wives are unaware of their mans inner most secrets and vice versa. I may write a revealing story one day...

 

[TxRad]

AW,

That was totally it. Thank you. Favorited.

He is one of mine you might like. May Showers I have several more if this is what you are looking for.