Mystery and suspense or all the details?

[Jennitalia]

I love to write stories however, I'm the type that likes to keep the mystery appeal and leave the readers feeling like they want more. Somehow, I don't get alot of responses that make the readers intrigued. Do most readers want to know all the details these days? I am explicit with all the sexual acts but I like the readers to stay engaged with them trying to figure out who did what. Maybe I lost my mystery within myself? Am I boring now? Geez....
Please advise.

 

[PuckIt]

I love to write stories however, I'm the type that likes to keep the mystery appeal and leave the readers feeling like they want more. Somehow, I don't get alot of responses that make the readers intrigued. Do most readers want to know all the details these days? I am explicit with all the sexual acts but I like the readers to stay engaged with them trying to figure out who did what. Maybe I lost my mystery within myself? Am I boring now? Geez....
Please advise.

Probably I should keep my mouth shut and let someone else more prolific (or at least who doesn't take extended "vacations" from posting and then can't remember their stupid password or even which email they used to sign up) answer.

But, it's been my experience that detail is valued more than mystery and suspense. A couple of years back, I jotted a little Halloweenie where I scattered all kinds of hints about who was under the mask, but never came right out and said. That story to date is still my most commented on with people arguing (through comments) about who it was and just what kind of wang I sucked that I didn't finish it by telling them flat out while others defended they liked the result just fine.

I figure fuck 'em if they can't take a treat with a trick. You can't please everyone and they weren't the audience you were reaching out to anyway. There will still be ones like us who like a little something left to work out for ourselves.

 

[sr71plt]

This is a huge reader site. There is no one Literotica reader. There's isn't even a "most Literotica readers." Just write it the way you like it and there will be those who like that--and those who don't. "What do the readers want?" is just an unanswerable wheels spinning question here.

 

[Carnevil9]

I wrote a three-chapter story where the first two set up a fairly obvious scenario. Then, when you read the third chapter, you suddenly question all that had gone before. It generated a fair bit of discussion in the comments, and I was quite pleased with the level of engagement from the readers/debaters.

 

[8letters]

I love to write stories however, I'm the type that likes to keep the mystery appeal and leave the readers feeling like they want more. Somehow, I don't get alot of responses that make the readers intrigued. Do most readers want to know all the details these days? I am explicit with all the sexual acts but I like the readers to stay engaged with them trying to figure out who did what. Maybe I lost my mystery within myself? Am I boring now? Geez....
Please advise.

I read your two highest rated stories, Better than Milk and Female Boss gets New Male Assistant. Both are less than a page. In "Better than Milk", the female protagonist has sex with a man who sneaks up on her and then slips unseen out the door. In "Female Boss gets New Male Assistant", the female protagonist has a fantasy about having sex with a male coworker she sees for the first time. Neither story got a comment.

I'm not going to be much help as I like my stories longer than yours. I'd guess that there are one-pagers like yours that have had some success. I'd suggest you find a few, study them and then try writing something similar.

 

[Hypoxia]

No matter how we rationalize, we LIT authors are only writing for our self-gratification. We (usually) try to write stuff that produces results we like. If those results include positive (or *any*) reader feedback, fine. If we satisfy a fan club, that makes us feel better, so it's fine. Whether we enjoy enraging or engaging readers, that's also fine. Whatever turns us on.

Write what you want to write, the way you want to write it. Those parameters may evolve, or you might try very different approaches and genres; they needn't stay fixed, static. Write stuff both with and without detail. Test case: produce two parallel stories, one for each style. See how they're received.

 

[SimonDoom]

Like 8letters, I read your story Better Than Milk. A few comments:

1. It's hard to build up a lot of suspense in a one page story. You haven't given the reader enough to get involved with the mystery you are presenting. I agree with 8letters that a longer story would be better suited for including mystery, if that's what you want.

2. Your character/narrator, during the story, doesn't seem especially concerned with the mystery surrounding the identity of her unknown lover. If you included more narration of her thoughts and confusion about the matter, the reader would care more.

3. Readers like dialogue. I have noticed that stories with dialogue on this site tend to do better. If you can move the story forward with dialogue, so much the better. If the mystery lover in the story spoke to the narrator, it might make it more compelling, and heighten the sense of mystery about who the unknown lover is.

4. I recommend shortening some of your paragraphs. I especially recommend putting dialogue into separate paragraphs. It's easier to read and digest online.

5. Be careful about mixing up present and past tense. A lot of readers don't notice this or care about it but I notice it every time and find it distracting.

 

[NotWise]

I read a couple of your stories. That's easy to do since they're quite short--almost flash fiction.

You're writing niche stories and posting them to the most general category on Lit. EC readers will take (or leave) almost anything. It's hard to expect a big response.

Is there a category where people are looking for very short stories, mostly with anonymous sex?

 

[Desiremakesmeweak]

This is a huge reader site. There is no one Literotica reader. There's isn't even a "most Literotica readers." Just write it the way you like it and there will be those who like that--and those who don't. "What do the readers want?" is just an unanswerable wheels spinning question here.

Yep. Totally agree with that.

 

[Jennitalia]

Thank you

Thank you to all who gave advice and recommendations. They are helpful!
I do tend to rush through the plot but I'm the type who fast forwards over the kissing and undressing part of a porn and gets right in the action. I do need to slow my roll down a bit when it comes to heightening the story with narratives.
Thanks again.