On Writing: the perfect Series for Literotica

[NancyVeeners]

Hello fellow authors

New to Literotica, I need your advice. I have published here three short stories as samples of my writings (different categories), and I am so glad one of them made it to the HOT list, notwithstanding two errors I believe I made (labeling it as BDSM instead of Non-Consent, and making it longer than one page, which prevents some readers from rating it, especially those recruited in chat).

Now, I am almost ready to start a new Story Series, which I guess is the ‘right’ format in Lit, because my goal is to understand if my Erotica writings are good enough, and (if the answer is positive) gather an audience, a group of readers who like my characters and my plots, and help me improve them by giving feedback.

Here are my questions:

1. The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?
2. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?
3. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?
4. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?
5. Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?

Thank you in advance for your pieces of advice!

Best

Nancy Jo

 

[LanaN]

I haven't spoken on here before, but I can help you a little here on the writing end of things.

2. Strive to end your chapters on a cliffhanger, but don't be beholden to them. When people think of cliffhangers, they normally think of something big, but that doesn't have to be the case. A cliffhanger is meant to be exciting and propel the momentum of your story. It is the promise of something to come in the next chapter.

Some examples:

• A decision the protagonist must make.
• A threat of some kind.
• Something signifying hope.
• Foreshadowing.
• Anything that feels urgent (deadlines, meetings, someone's life on the line, ect.).
• An unexpected character appears.
• An interpersonal conflict.
• Ect.

And, most importantly, be honest with your cliffhanger. Don't do the old 'man hangs from a cliff and the situation is dire, then next chapter he effortlessly gets to safety and there was no actual danger'. Follow through with your promise and keep the flow of your story going.

3. Never info dump everything immediately. You want to give information gradually in your narrative. Whether you begin in medias res is a personal choice and wholly depends on the tone of your story and your voice as an author. Do whichever feels more organic.

 

[NancyVeeners]

Thank you Lana for your useful note!

 

[IsabellaEmily]

Here are my questions:

1. The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?
   
   I don't think there is a perfect rule here. I've had readers complain that something is too long, while others will comment on the same piece and claim it's too short.
   
   My best advice: don't stretch something just to make it a preset length, but don't cut something off at 2,506 words because you're already six words longer than you think you should be.
   
   I started by looking how long chapters and stories were on here that I liked, and I've rolled that into my own style. I'm certainly not saying that my style is what you need to do....but 2,500 words or 12,500 words....just be true to the story you want to tell.
   
   
2. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?
   
   If it's natural to end mid action in order to bridge to the next chapter/entry then by all means do so.
   
   But you don't have to. I'd rather read about the characters at a quiet resting point in the action at the end of the chapter than encounter some sort of forced moment.
   
   Clifffhangers need to be resolved (or else it's a cheat) so you almost have to pick up in that moment.
   
   By ending without a cliffhanger you have options. Say you end with two characters falling asleep. You have several options at that point.
   Something wakes them up.
   Someone wakes them up.
   One of them wakes up worried/horny/angry.
   The action picks up when they awaken in the morning.
   The action picks up the next evening and one of them says "I can't believe how well I slept last night."
   
   
3. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?
   
   Again this is your choice. There are well written examples of writers who start with backstory, and of others who start mid action, and of authors who include introductions.
   There are also examples of poorly written stories that start with each of those.
   A well written and interesting story can overcome whichever style you use, and a poorly written story cannot overcome even the most carefully chosen style.
   
   
4. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?
   
   There are several here who could give you a better answer, (that's true of everything I've written in this response!) but my advice is to stay true to your characters. Jumping to a new category just for the sake of trying it might be jarring to a reader. Especially if they're invested in the characters and story and all of the sudden you take those characters into a non-consent scenario, or have one of them have sex with a family member, or you introduce pee play or anal play or vomit or pain or...well you get the idea.
   
   If it makes sense for your story to have a character try something new then GO FOR IT. If it's in a new category just to shake things up you might lose some readers.
   
   
5. Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?
   
   I have tried that...to an extent. I am very interested to read yours, since it sounds really interesting and fun.
   
   I have taken user suggestions for two different series. I didn't let the readers choose too much story wise, but they did ask for the characters to do and experience specific things in response to my asking for suggestions.
   
   I often get unsolicited reader suggestions for ongoing stories, and I think probably most authors here do. Most of the suggestions are well meaning but don't fit with my plans. Things like "You should have the next-door neighbors turn out to be nudists and they come and join in." or "She should ask her boss to finger her anus while she calls her sister on the phone." Sometimes their suggestions fit the tone of the story, and sometimes they're just kink requests that make me wonder if they even read the story.
   
   I also have a series called Fetish Focus that involves new characters for each entry (like an anthology) with each entry focused on a fetish suggested by readers. Some just suggest the fetish, others have suggested the fetish and character names and the location and even specific sexual acts within the fetish.
   
   While some these are not stories that are near and dear to my heart, they are often fun to write as they have me exploring something new.
   
   I hope these answers help, even if they don't work for you and your style/talent/story. As they say "Your mileage may vary!"
   
   If I can be of any more help, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. A rising tide raises all ships, and any written erotica that encourages a reader to look for and find another erotic story is a good thing.
   
   Emily

 

[IsabellaEmily]

Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?

I have added you as a favorite in anticipation of this story.

In the meantime, I'll dig into your other stories. It's always nice to chat with other Literotica writers.
Emily

 

[Altissimus]

Subjective answers. Here are mine.

1 The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?

Absolutely not. The length of each chapter should be exactly as many words as is needed to write that chapter - no more no less. My work (excluding the 750 word submission, which is... er... 750 words) varies from 2,300 to 23,000 (ironically) but averages in the 10-12k space. If I draw a conclusion based on how my stories score, it's reasonable to assume people like them and that length isn't an issue.

IME, what readers want is a story. I think 2,500 is pretty slim for that.

2 Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?

While a cliffhanger is helpful, it needs to be one that fits the story as a whole. Including a cliff hanger is great, but throwing one in for the sake of doing so will be obvious and, ultimately, detrimental. Concentrate on an 'ending', not a cliffhanger. If you have to force the ending, you haven't finished your chapter. See answer to point 1.

3 Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?

Depends on the story. Starting at the beginning is fine, but quite a few take the 'in media res' option. There's no right answer here, it depends on the story you want to tell.

4 I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?

Very controversial question. Many have strong views on this, saying mixing categories is 'Very Bad{TM}'. A cursory look at my catalogue will show that I've mixed categories in many series, and I haven't seen any detrimental side effects (I also write non-con related stuff, and have branched from there both to lesbian and romance, for example, or from non-human to non-con.)

My answer would therefore be 'select the category that best suits the chapter you're submitting', but you'll get a range of options on this one.

5 Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?

There's various 'interactive' story sites you could consider for this direction, where authors accept suggestions on how to write the next chapter in a 'choose your own adventure' model.

Bonus question #6

Note that view drop off over a series is very much a thing. Way more people read part 1 than part 5, and the drop off continues the longer it is. Less than 10% of the readers that started my longest series have, as yet, read the last part.

As you're talking a lot about chapters here, I would strongly advocate that a (say) 50k story is far better in three parts of 15k than 100 parts of 2.5k. And a 50k series is not particularly long on Lit.

 

[jsmiam]

Hello fellow authors

…and making it longer than one page, which prevents some readers from rating it, especially those recruited in chat).

Ive never heard of this as a problem or complaint. Out of curiosity, where does this theory come from and what is the thought process on why?

Most people here in the AH hold this opinion: they/we view longer than one page as better for scores because it results (loosely) in fewer “impulse” scores, some of which will be low scores for bad reasons. The extra attention span to reach page 2 makes a notable difference in the amount of thought put into a score.

one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?

A Literotica page is roughly 3750 pages, not 2500.

Good luck and welcome!

 

[Mastered_again]

Perfection is in the eye of the beholder.
I've had complaints about the length of my stories, typically 3-4 lit pages. But no way in hell I'm going to change how I write.

I've written for several categories, but I wouldn't be comfortable trying to cover them all for its own sake. A story goes where it goes, whatever category it fits

 

[NancyVeeners]

1. The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?
   
   I don't think there is a perfect rule here. I've had readers complain that something is too long, while others will comment on the same piece and claim it's too short.
   
   My best advice: don't stretch something just to make it a preset length, but don't cut something off at 2,506 words because you're already six words longer than you think you should be.
   
   I started by looking how long chapters and stories were on here that I liked, and I've rolled that into my own style. I'm certainly not saying that my style is what you need to do....but 2,500 words or 12,500 words....just be true to the story you want to tell.
   
   
2. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?
   
   If it's natural to end mid action in order to bridge to the next chapter/entry then by all means do so.
   
   But you don't have to. I'd rather read about the characters at a quiet resting point in the action at the end of the chapter than encounter some sort of forced moment.
   
   Clifffhangers need to be resolved (or else it's a cheat) so you almost have to pick up in that moment.
   
   By ending without a cliffhanger you have options. Say you end with two characters falling asleep. You have several options at that point.
   Something wakes them up.
   Someone wakes them up.
   One of them wakes up worried/horny/angry.
   The action picks up when they awaken in the morning.
   The action picks up the next evening and one of them says "I can't believe how well I slept last night."
   
   
3. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?
   
   Again this is your choice. There are well written examples of writers who start with backstory, and of others who start mid action, and of authors who include introductions.
   There are also examples of poorly written stories that start with each of those.
   A well written and interesting story can overcome whichever style you use, and a poorly written story cannot overcome even the most carefully chosen style.
   
   
4. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?
   
   There are several here who could give you a better answer, (that's true of everything I've written in this response!) but my advice is to stay true to your characters. Jumping to a new category just for the sake of trying it might be jarring to a reader. Especially if they're invested in the characters and story and all of the sudden you take those characters into a non-consent scenario, or have one of them have sex with a family member, or you introduce pee play or anal play or vomit or pain or...well you get the idea.
   
   If it makes sense for your story to have a character try something new then GO FOR IT. If it's in a new category just to shake things up you might lose some readers.
   
   
5. Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?
   
   I have tried that...to an extent. I am very interested to read yours, since it sounds really interesting and fun.
   
   I have taken user suggestions for two different series. I didn't let the readers choose too much story wise, but they did ask for the characters to do and experience specific things in response to my asking for suggestions.
   
   I often get unsolicited reader suggestions for ongoing stories, and I think probably most authors here do. Most of the suggestions are well meaning but don't fit with my plans. Things like "You should have the next-door neighbors turn out to be nudists and they come and join in." or "She should ask her boss to finger her anus while she calls her sister on the phone." Sometimes their suggestions fit the tone of the story, and sometimes they're just kink requests that make me wonder if they even read the story.
   
   I also have a series called Fetish Focus that involves new characters for each entry (like an anthology) with each entry focused on a fetish suggested by readers. Some just suggest the fetish, others have suggested the fetish and character names and the location and even specific sexual acts within the fetish.
   
   While some these are not stories that are near and dear to my heart, they are often fun to write as they have me exploring something new.
   
   I hope these answers help, even if they don't work for you and your style/talent/story. As they say "Your mileage may vary!"
   
   If I can be of any more help, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. A rising tide raises all ships, and any written erotica that encourages a reader to look for and find another erotic story is a good thing.
   
   Emily

Emily!
You are a successful author on Lit (congrats! Almost ALL your stories are on the HOT list! You are amazing sis! And I just LOVE your Ode) yet you took all the time necessary to write a detailed answer to each of my questions! Your suggestions resound with what I think (with a few exceptions I discuss in the following posts), so they consolidate my format for the series I want to write, and they really have fueled my motivation in writing it. I usually write other genres (Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction, SF, and other genres, often crossed in my short stories and novels), but Erotica is an especially challenging genre and a real pleasure to write. Thank you!

PS: caveat: I am taking your offer to connect seriously…

 

[BobbyBrandt]

My advice as a writer:

Establish whether you are writing a chapter story or a series. That will be the key in how your stories get told correctly. Chapters are part of a whole. They should have logical breaks, but they don't have to be cliffhangers. A series story needs to have its own beginning, middle and end. It shares themes with other parts of the series, but is stand-alone otherwise.

Study the category for your story (and there should only be one category for any completed story) to see what readers prefer. Some categories favor shorter submissions while others prefer longer.

My advice as a reader:

Make it clear to me whether the story is chapters or a series. This is important because I won't start to read an incomplete chapter story but I will start reading the first in a series of stand alone stories.

I would read a story with a scene that doesn't appeal to me as part of a broader premise that caught my attention, but I would not seek out a chapter or series in a category that didn't appeal to me. For example, if a story I was liking had a gay male scene, I would read it, but I would not venture into the gay male category here to do so. I think you will lose readers by placing different scenes into different categories here.

 

[AlinaX]

Hello fellow authors

New to Literotica, I need your advice. I have published here three short stories as samples of my writings (different categories), and I am so glad one of them made it to the HOT list, notwithstanding two errors I believe I made (labeling it as BDSM instead of Non-Consent, and making it longer than one page, which prevents some readers from rating it, especially those recruited in chat).

I don't know anything about readers recruited in chat. That seems very specific and not something worth worrying about. It can be a surprise to new authors here that a full Lit page of about 3750 words is actually on the short side.

Now, I am almost ready to start a new Story Series, which I guess is the ‘right’ format in Lit, because my goal is to understand if my Erotica writings are good enough, and (if the answer is positive) gather an audience, a group of readers who like my characters and my plots, and help me improve them by giving feedback.

Here are my questions:

1. The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?

It is possible to write good stories and chapters that fit within a single page, but I find that 1000 words makes a decent scene, and three scenes make a decent short story; as such, anything less than about 3000 words can feel incomplete and unsatisfying. 5000 words is something of a sweet spot to aim for as a chapter or a short story.

Now, if you have a long series of 2500-word chapters, I guess that's possible, but you'd better be dishing out those chapters in quick succession so that the story as a whole feels like it has substance. The final (eighth) chapter of my Ship's Whore series clocks in at 2800 words, and feels short to me, but it is a definite ending to a longer story.

1. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?

Only if you've got the next chapter ready to roll out.

1. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?

Let the story tell itself. If it's a very long series, you might want to add a sentence at the top. Same if you find yourself merging threads from different series (e.g., character crossovers).

1. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?

It's not unknown. Whether it's good or bad will depend on what you're mixing.

1. Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?

A story of a woman whose seduction into ever more elaborate kinks for the entertainment of an audience she has no idea about? Variations on it have been done, and asking readers to suggest plot developments has been done, but the real question is how exciting you find the idea and how well you are able to develop the plot and write the story.

Thank you in advance for your pieces of advice!

Best

Nancy Jo

 

[ColinPiper]

I always have beginning, middle and end in mind, even if it's subtle. If I was to do a series it would be a common theme rather than a continuation of the same story (this is why detective novels work - same character, different setup and payoff each time). I don't like stories with many chapters where it seems the writer is just doing it "on demand" because it's popular, but they don't know where or when it's going to end - unless they were getting paid, I guess. The author may finally get tired of it and it fizzles out, or it remains forever unfinished.

An alternative would be to think of something novella/novel length, and split into chapters, but have the whole thing complete before publishing the first chapter. This would be a big task though.

Anyway, good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[NancyVeeners]

Subjective answers. Here are mine.


Absolutely not. The length of each chapter should be exactly as many words as is needed to write that chapter - no more no less. My work (excluding the 750 word submission, which is... er... 750 words) varies from 2,300 to 23,000 (ironically) but averages in the 10-12k space. If I draw a conclusion based on how my stories score, it's reasonable to assume people like them and that length isn't an issue.

IME, what readers want is a story. I think 2,500 is pretty slim for that.


While a cliffhanger is helpful, it needs to be one that fits the story as a whole. Including a cliff hanger is great, but throwing one in for the sake of doing so will be obvious and, ultimately, detrimental. Concentrate on an 'ending', not a cliffhanger. If you have to force the ending, you haven't finished your chapter. See answer to point 1.


Depends on the story. Starting at the beginning is fine, but quite a few take the 'in media res' option. There's no right answer here, it depends on the story you want to tell.

Very controversial question. Many have strong views on this, saying mixing categories is 'Very Bad{TM}'. A cursory look at my catalogue will show that I've mixed categories in many series, and I haven't seen any detrimental side effects (I also write non-con related stuff, and have branched from there both to lesbian and romance, for example, or from non-human to non-con.)

My answer would therefore be 'select the category that best suits the chapter you're submitting', but you'll get a range of options on this one.



There's various 'interactive' story sites you could consider for this direction, where authors accept suggestions on how to write the next chapter in a 'choose your own adventure' model.






Note that view drop off over a series is very much a thing. Way more people read part 1 than part 5, and the drop off continues the longer it is. Less than 10% of the readers that started my longest series have, as yet, read the last part.

As you're talking a lot about chapters here, I would strongly advocate that a (say) 50k story is far better in three parts of 15k than 100 parts of 2.5k. And a 50k series is not particularly long on Lit.

Hello Altissimus

Subjective answers. Here are mine.


Absolutely not. The length of each chapter should be exactly as many words as is needed to write that chapter - no more no less. My work (excluding the 750 word submission, which is... er... 750 words) varies from 2,300 to 23,000 (ironically) but averages in the 10-12k space. If I draw a conclusion based on how my stories score, it's reasonable to assume people like them and that length isn't an issue.

IME, what readers want is a story. I think 2,500 is pretty slim for that.


While a cliffhanger is helpful, it needs to be one that fits the story as a whole. Including a cliff hanger is great, but throwing one in for the sake of doing so will be obvious and, ultimately, detrimental. Concentrate on an 'ending', not a cliffhanger. If you have to force the ending, you haven't finished your chapter. See answer to point 1.


Depends on the story. Starting at the beginning is fine, but quite a few take the 'in media res' option. There's no right answer here, it depends on the story you want to tell.

Very controversial question. Many have strong views on this, saying mixing categories is 'Very Bad{TM}'. A cursory look at my catalogue will show that I've mixed categories in many series, and I haven't seen any detrimental side effects (I also write non-con related stuff, and have branched from there both to lesbian and romance, for example, or from non-human to non-con.)

My answer would therefore be 'select the category that best suits the chapter you're submitting', but you'll get a range of options on this one.



There's various 'interactive' story sites you could consider for this direction, where authors accept suggestions on how to write the next chapter in a 'choose your own adventure' model.






Note that view drop off over a series is very much a thing. Way more people read part 1 than part 5, and the drop off continues the longer it is. Less than 10% of the readers that started my longest series have, as yet, read the last part.

As you're talking a lot about chapters here, I would strongly advocate that a (say) 50k story is far better in three parts of 15k than 100 parts of 2.5k. And a 50k series is not particularly long on Lit.

Hello Altissimus (nice pseudonym BTW)
thank you for your answers to my questions, and even more for the answer to the Bonus Question. Very useful, very appreciated.
I am inclined to agree with you on most issues, with a notable exception for the 'Absolutely not...'
This is because--while I really love the freedom Literotica gives its authors--this freedom is not the norm in the publishing industry. Length is almost compulsory--for example--when you write a novel and you want to pitch it to a literary agent. Lenght of the novel, the synopsis, the blurb, the pitch... If you adopt the 'wrong' lenght you are out even before being considered. Of course, even 'out there' you can oppose the norm--creative writers need to break the rules after all--but not in debut works. My debut work was a short story published in an anthology (Women's Fiction/ Historical Fiction, no Erotica except the fact that it narrates a week of the life of Beate Uhse). The limit was set at 7,000 words and an excellent story was rejected at the last minute because it was over that limit. So I am used to hard (and soft) limits. Freedom is not commonplace in publishing, and I find the exercise of respecting limits very useful. More on that in the next post, this one is already too long.
Thank you again Altissimus, and congratulations on your writings, I have read a few of them, and I believe you are talented, and I am your follower now. Good luck with your writings!
Best
Nancy Jo

 

[Altissimus]

I am inclined to agree with you on most issues, with a notable exception for the 'Absolutely not...'

As the author, you retain 100% right over what you do. That's your prerogative, and don't let an editor, a commenter, or a helpful AH member tell you otherwise.

That said, having had a read through of the other comments on this thread, one could politely point out that some very experienced authors have all said broadly the same thing on this point: 2,500 words is an artificial boundary, and artificial boundaries don't help good story-telling. It's erotica, not a thesis. It's a story, not a book review.

 

[Demiurging]

According to a google search I'm dimly remembering from a few years ago, the typical chapter for most published fiction is somewhere between three and five thousand words. I'd say that's a fairly good benchmark for the amount someone's going to read in one sitting without getting fatigued and meaty enough on the other side.

 

[ElectricBlue]

This is because--while I really love the freedom Literotica gives its authors--this freedom is not the norm in the publishing industry. Length is almost compulsory--for example--when you write a novel and you want to pitch it to a literary agent. Lenght of the novel, the synopsis, the blurb, the pitch... If you adopt the 'wrong' lenght you are out even before being considered. Of course, even 'out there' you can oppose the norm--creative writers need to break the rules after all--but not in debut works. My debut work was a short story published in an anthology

Don't confuse erotica with main-stream publishing.

One of the primary purposes of erotica is to get people off. Why bother publishing on Lit, if that's not an aim? 2500 words? Unless your reader has a two-stroke mower, that's not much time to get aroused and satisfied.

This comes up often, and the consensus from the smut-meisters (based on comments received to stories) is that an optimum chapter length, and pretty much a minimum story length, is 2 - 3 Lit pages (7000 - 10000) words.

You gotta give readers time to get their rocks away! Time yourself one day - I bet you'll want more than 2500 words.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Hello fellow authors

New to Literotica, I need your advice. I have published here three short stories as samples of my writings (different categories), and I am so glad one of them made it to the HOT list, notwithstanding two errors I believe I made (labeling it as BDSM instead of Non-Consent, and making it longer than one page, which prevents some readers from rating it, especially those recruited in chat).

Now, I am almost ready to start a new Story Series, which I guess is the ‘right’ format in Lit, because my goal is to understand if my Erotica writings are good enough, and (if the answer is positive) gather an audience, a group of readers who like my characters and my plots, and help me improve them by giving feedback.

Here are my questions:

1. The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?

A Literotica page is more like 3700 words, usually. It's fairly common for chapters to be about 2-3 Lit pages, around 10k words, but the only hard limit is a minimum of 750 words. You're better off writing them to the length that feels right for your story rather than trying to chase some magic number.

1. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?

Again, there's no magic formula for this. Cliffhangers can be effective when used sparingly. But they don't take the place of telling a compelling story throughout the whole chapter. If I get to the end of the chapter to see "TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO FIND OUT WHETHER THEY ESCAPE THE TIGER!" and I've been spending the last ten thousand words thinking "I don't care about any of these people", I'm not tuning in next time.

Just about any technique loses its magic if you keep mashing on the button too hard. Readers start thinking "almost at the end of the chapter, must be due for another cliffhanger" and that takes them out of the story. Plus, readers need to breathe sometimes; non-stop action gets fatiguing eventually.

Some other options for maintaining interest:

• Instead of a cliffhanger, give readers a decent resolution to that chapter, but then offer a hint of what's next: "Tune in next time to find out what happens when our heroine meets her Mr. Wrong!"
• Have more than one story arc going on at a time. As @BobbyBrandt mentioned, sometimes a series is one big story told in chapters (Lord of the Rings, for instance) and sometimes it's a bunch of stand-alones that work with the same universe (The Simpsons). But there are also a lot of mixed models out there.
  • A common one with drama series is to begin with self-contained episodes (crime happens at the beginning of the episode, crime is solved at the end, everybody goes home) and then to gradually build up a longer-term story (crime happens at the beginning of the episode, crime is solved at the end... but the solution to that crime gives a clue about the man who killed our heroine's parents!) So each episode gives readers some kind of resolution, but it also gives them a reason to stay tuned. Some shows will have several layers of story arcs - e.g. Life on Mars (BBC) had episode arcs, season arcs, a series arc (Sam Tyler), and then a bigger arc that continued into Ashes to Ashes.
  • Another approach, instead of long-term arcs, is just to have several different short-term arcs on the go at any one time; in each instalment enough of them get resolved to give the audience some satisfaction, but others continue on to the next chapter, and some new ones appear to keep things going.
• Write characters that people like enough to think "I'd read more about this one!" even when the story is complete.

1. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?

Another it-depends.

The opening of a story sets the reader's expectations and it's what they use to figure out whether they want to keep reading. If the middle of the story seems like a better way to do that than telling it chronologically, then by all means use in medias res. But don't use it just for the sake of using it. Think about what you want your readers to know about the story early on, and decide accordingly.

Some examples:

My story "Anjali's Red Scarf" is about a 23-year-old woman who tutors a 16-year-old, becomes a mentor/protector to her and then a friend, and then seven years down the road ends up hiring her as a "sugar baby". If I'd told that story in chronological order...well, the first ten thousand words or so would have been about a 23-year-old becoming closer to a 16-year-old, and a lot of readers would probably have noped out of that. I wanted to tell the backstory, because it's important to how their relationship works, but I wanted to make sure readers understood early on that this was going to be about a relationship between two adults.

So I began with a few paragraphs at the point where that relationship is about to start, establishing both of them as adults, before jumping back to the beginning.

"Loss Function" is about a romance that ends with the narrator losing her wife to early-onset dementia. Told chronologically, that would've been a hell of a downer ending and I didn't want to do that to readers in Romance who weren't looking to get ambushed that way. So I began the story just after Nadja's funeral...not so much in medias res as post res, I guess. That let me change the arc from "they fall in love, then Nadja gets sick, then she dies, bummer" to "in the end, Nadja dies, but let me show you how they faced that".

Also it let me start the story with a scene where Trish is telling Nadja how her funeral went, which I thought might snag some readers' curiosity.

1. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?

This would work better for the "collection of stand-alone stories" model than for a single tightly-plotted story. Readers tend to stick to their preferred categories; even when they love your work in the category where they found you, it can be hard to get them to check out stories in other categories.

If you're writing a single story in multiple parts, probably better to pick the category that best fits the story as a whole and post it there.

Welcome and good luck!

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Don't confuse erotica with main-stream publishing.

One of the primary purposes of erotica is to get people off. Why bother publishing on Lit, if that's not an aim? 2500 words? Unless your reader has a two-stroke mower, that's not much time to get aroused and satisfied.

This comes up often, and the consensus from the smut-meisters (based on comments received to stories) is that an optimum chapter length, and pretty much a minimum story length, is 2 - 3 Lit pages (7000 - 10000) words.

You gotta give readers time to get their rocks away! Time yourself one day - I bet you'll want more than 2500 words.

@electricblue66 This doesn't speak to you directly, but your comment inspired me to write this:

At the end of the day, it's still literature, no matter how smutty it gets.

Erotica is common in mainstream publishing and getting more popular every day. Why shouldn't the quality of works here begin to reflect that trend?

IMO, the "Lit" part of the site name gets ignored far too often with the advice frequently doled out here in the forums.

While the site does allow deviation from literary norms, such as posting chapters of the same story in different categories, those practices do nothing to further the development of a writer's skills in a true literary sense. This doesn't matter to many, and I believe that reader feedback and story scores overall suffer as a result. If we as writers don't care about the literary quality we publish, why should readers care to provide ratings or feedback?

This goes beyond grammar, syntax, and spelling errors. It goes to story structure, character development, and publishing disciplines that take a backseat to achieving as many sticky-palm readers as possible.

There are thousands of high-quality erotic stories here by hundreds of writers with different, yet exceptional literary styles - proving that it can be done. There is no "one way" to get it right, but there are so many ways to get it wrong.

 

[AchtungNight]

Don’t end on cliffhangers unless you plan to resolve them or want to leave readers “wanting more”. And in the latter case, don’t expect them to answer requesting it. Or to make requests in general. Though requests are always nice.

 

[Altissimus]

...but there are so many ways to get it wrong.

I will never read your story if...

 

[EmilyMiller]

Hello fellow authors

Hello Nancy

New to Literotica, I need your advice. I have published here three short stories as samples of my writings (different categories), and I am so glad one of them made it to the HOT list, notwithstanding two errors I believe I made (labeling it as BDSM instead of Non-Consent, and making it longer than one page, which prevents some readers from rating it, especially those recruited in chat).

Well done!

Now, I am almost ready to start a new Story Series, which I guess is the ‘right’ format in Lit, because my goal is to understand if my Erotica writings are good enough, and (if the answer is positive) gather an audience, a group of readers who like my characters and my plots, and help me improve them by giving feedback.

Please bear in mind that I have only been writing for a year, so what do I know?

Here are my questions:

1. The length of each ‘chapter’ should be max one ‘Literotica’ page (about 2,500 words I believe). Right?

No. There is no formula for chapter length. Do you mean chapters within a single publication, or are you going to publish each chapter separately? Either way, the chapter ends when the topic the chapter is covering is covered. Not before ot after. I have chapters (within a single published work) that vary in length quite a lot.

1. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?

No. Not necessarily. It could just be that something is resolved. Or a decision is taken to do X. Or a new element is introduced. Or the FMC got her face painted. It’s probably helpful to have some momentum, to make the reader want to keep reading, but that doesn’t have to be a cliffhanger.

1. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?

Opinions vary. FWIW I used to info dump, now I seldom do. I think that’s a common trajectory.

1. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?

If that’s what you want to write, yes.

1. Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?

Not me.

Thank you in advance for your pieces of advice!

Best

Nancy Jo

Good luck!

Em

 

[Tomh1966]

Many are far better than I here but I will say the following definitively.
I use the 3750 word per page as a guide to be reasonably accurate.
14K words is my limit for a fast read. Longer stories go onto my spreadsheet for future reads, but I have to make time for them. Yes I made a spreadsheet with title, my grade, and a brief synopsis so I don't read the same story 87234 times. I can also look up stuff if I want to wade through it. Keyword search is helpful.
My point is 10-14K max per chapter, not 1 page. I know some people will only read one page. I dont believe it is many.

Final advice: Tell your story because you aint getting paid.

Oh and if you are going to write in Loving Wives, be prepared for unpleasant people. Some are useless trolls and some will spend two hours finding every error. I read the ones that point out real errors and have learned from them. I appreciate them, especially if the errors are complex and they are willing to sign their name.

 

[SimonDoom]

My random thoughts:

1. Your story idea is great, and has many possibilities. Go for it.
2. Your proposed chapter length is too short, IMO. First of all, Lit readers like longer chapters than that. The ideal chapter length is at least two "Lit pages" (Lit page = 3750 words). If each chapter is a complete episode, which it sounds like it should be, then I think you will need more words than that to do justice to each episode. I recommend doing chapters of 7000+ words each.
3. Cliffhanger? No, not necessarily. It's far more important that each chapter should deliver the goods promised by whatever category you've posted it in. If you post it in Anal, then make sure your chapter is a fully satisfying anal story. This is much more important than having cliffhangers.
4. No backstory. Jump into the story at a fun, interesting point to grab the reader, and fill in the backstory as needed as the story progresses. The backstory could be revealed, for example, early in chapter 1 during a conversation between your main female character and someone else with whom she is discussing the concept.
5. Many people write multi-chaptered stories where each chapter goes in a different category. This can work, but the risk is that some readers, who look only for certain categories, will drop out or choose not to read your story from the beginning. Be prepared that you will get wildly different receptions for your different chapters, because different categories have different levels of popularity. Some categories mix with each other OK. For instance, in the case of your story you could have chapters that encompass BDSM, exhibitionism, group sex, fetish, maybe lesbian, and I think it would work. But I wouldn't mix BDSM and non-con.


Good luck!

 

[alohadave]

1. Should each chapter be closed by a ‘cliffhanger’?

Each chapter? No. Use it sparingly.

1. Should I begin ‘in medias res’ or introduce the series' backstory (or does that go in the intro)?

If you want to, do it. In media res is a popular storytelling device.

1. I would like to write episodes belonging to different categories (non-consent, BDSM, exhibitionism, and more). Is that a wise idea?

You'll get different answers to this and none of them are right or wrong. If the chapters are fairly well self-contained, then go for it. If the just have a different kink in the chapter, but the narrative thread is strong, then use the same category.

1. Finally, the story (a classy businesswoman ‘recruited’ for a new erotic TV series, think Histoire d’O meets The Truman Show) would be perfect for writing episodes ‘on demand’ for writers and followers. Has anybody tried that?

Plenty of Patreon writers solicit input on stories about what to include in subsequent chapters. For some it's a perk of their higher levels of membership.

If you don't want to go through that, you can solicit for input in the comments or on your profile page.

 

[SimonDoom]

@electricblue66 This doesn't speak to you directly, but your comment inspired me to write this:

At the end of the day, it's still literature, no matter how smutty it gets.

Erotica is common in mainstream publishing and getting more popular every day. Why shouldn't the quality of works here begin to reflect that trend?

IMO, the "Lit" part of the site name gets ignored far too often with the advice frequently doled out here in the forums.

While the site does allow deviation from literary norms, such as posting chapters of the same story in different categories, those practices do nothing to further the development of a writer's skills in a true literary sense. This doesn't matter to many, and I believe that reader feedback and story scores overall suffer as a result. If we as writers don't care about the literary quality we publish, why should readers care to provide ratings or feedback?

This goes beyond grammar, syntax, and spelling errors. It goes to story structure, character development, and publishing disciplines that take a backseat to achieving as many sticky-palm readers as possible.

There are thousands of high-quality erotic stories here by hundreds of writers with different, yet exceptional literary styles - proving that it can be done. There is no "one way" to get it right, but there are so many ways to get it wrong.

I agree with what you say, but what does chapter length have to do with the literary quality of the story?

The OP wants to write a long story in chapters. There are many ways to carve up the story into chapters, but it seems to me how it's carved up is much less an artistic choice than a practical one.

Having read many, many Literotica stories, I think authors often make the mistake of making chapters shorter than they should be. They just don't quite "work" in a satisfying way if they are too short. There's too little time for the narrative of the chapter to develop and for the erotic element of the chapter to come to a satisfying conclusion. The result is that the stories don't get the views and scores that they otherwise could.