Porn for the plot?

[TomBom]

Do most people on here read for a quick wank or for the plot?

I've been writing as a hobby for a little while and just wrote my first erotica. It was a lot of fun and definitely freeing. Instead of tip-toeing around certain things like you have to do in other stories, with this, I just went balls to the wall, the absolute craziest shit I could think of in the moment. For this one story that seemed to work and still somehow kept a loosely coherent plot, but going forward, it would be more satisfying to get into less jerk-offy stories.

Do those go over well on this site? Or are there certain categories you have to stick to to get the right readership?

I'd be lying if I said I just wanted to write, people's opinions be damned. Validation feels good, getting fair feedback feels better, and I'd rather not make either of those harder than they need to be.

Are most readers like, "hurry up and get through this stupid plot stuff and get to the fuckin' already!" Or are there categories where people prioritize emotional attachment more than sex acts?

What are the unwritten rules of the categories, I guess? I get there's a romance category, but kinks are way more fun to write about.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Hi! Welcome to the madhouse that is writing.

The usually-recommended ‘rules for categories’ referral is to Tx Tall Tales’ Love Your Readers. Highly recommended.

As to strokers vs plot and character, there’s something for everybody, a market for both.

 

[Voboy]

The standard Authors' Hangout reply to this sort of question: There's no such thing as "most readers."

Write a good story. The audience will find it. Then write the next one. Rinse and repeat.

My advice? Write the story you'd want to read. Don't worry about "most readers."

To your other question, yes, there is a learning curve involved in picking categories whose trends seem to support certain types of stories. Read a lot of the material here and those trends will quickly become apparent.

 

[RejectReality]

Romance, obviously. Mature rewards solid relationship stories. ( especially May/December ) Not much personal experience, but I'd hazard to guess that Gay Male and Lesbian Sex would both appreciate a tale with more depth. Even Incest readers can appreciate a story that's a story instead of just a setup and screw.

There's a readership out there. Probably a little less in categories like Anal, Toys & Masturbation, & Fetish, because those are keyed in more on the sex act than others. Even in those categories you'll find readers who appreciate a deeper story, though.

 

[PennameWombat]

Do most people on here read for a quick wank or for the plot?

Yes.

I've been writing as a hobby for a little while and just wrote my first erotica. It was a lot of fun and definitely freeing. Instead of tip-toeing around certain things like you have to do in other stories, with this, I just went balls to the wall, the absolute craziest shit I could think of in the moment. For this one story that seemed to work and still somehow kept a loosely coherent plot, but going forward, it would be more satisfying to get into less jerk-offy stories.

Do those go over well on this site? Or are there certain categories you have to stick to to get the right readership?

These are referred to as 'strokers'. There are also stories with tens of thousands of words and very little sex that are highly-rated. I have some of both sorts among my higher-rated stories. And among my lowest-rated... YMMV.

I'd be lying if I said I just wanted to write, people's opinions be damned. Validation feels good, getting fair feedback feels better, and I'd rather not make either of those harder than they need to be.

Are most readers like, "hurry up and get through this stupid plot stuff and get to the fuckin' already!" Or are there categories where people prioritize emotional attachment more than sex acts?

Per the link, refer to the Category article already referenced. That said, Romance here is like Romance in the 'real world,' the meeting or the 'just miss', the chase, the HEA or HFN, readers expect the tropes, along with an erotic slant and open door is fine if the build up leads to it. Science Fiction readers like good world building alongside the erotica/sex, just like any SF&F readers.

What are the unwritten rules of the categories, I guess? I get there's a romance category, but kinks are way more fun to write about.

There's Fetish, BDSM, Toys...

But it's not strictly that specific Categories want strokers and others want plot+. All of the Categories have a mix of readers in that regard and both kinds can do well anywhere. I have a long, plot-heavy story in Fetish that's reasonably highly-rated, and the 'fetish' doesn't even show up until halfway through (although it's alluded to earlier). But, yes, each has its tropes and the article TarnishedPenny referenced is the best guide around.

One subject that gets discussed here often is story length. A Literotica page is about 3700 words (a story has to be at least 750 words to be posted.) As a rule, stories that are two to six pages seem to be a sweet spot for many readers. But there are stories that are well over twenty lit pages (70,000+ words) and they can do quite well.

 

[TomBom]

Yes.

These are referred to as 'strokers'. There are also stories with tens of thousands of words and very little sex that are highly-rated. I have some of both sorts among my higher-rated stories. And among my lowest-rated... YMMV.

Per the link, refer to the Category article already referenced. That said, Romance here is like Romance in the 'real world,' the meeting or the 'just miss', the chase, the HEA or HFN, readers expect the tropes, along with an erotic slant and open door is fine if the build up leads to it. Science Fiction readers like good world building alongside the erotica/sex, just like any SF&F readers.


There's Fetish, BDSM, Toys...

But it's not strictly that specific Categories want strokers and others want plot+. All of the Categories have a mix of readers in that regard and both kinds can do well anywhere. I have a long, plot-heavy story in Fetish that's reasonably highly-rated, and the 'fetish' doesn't even show up until halfway through (although it's alluded to earlier). But, yes, each has its tropes and the article TarnishedPenny referenced is the best guide around.

One subject that gets discussed here often is story length. A Literotica page is about 3700 words (a story has to be at least 750 words to be posted.) As a rule, stories that are two to six pages seem to be a sweet spot for many readers. But there are stories that are well over twenty lit pages (70,000+ words) and they can do quite well.

That's exactly the info I was looking for--especially the word count. That's good to know.

I just wasn't sure if I'd be wasting my time or egging on a trolling by posting plot centric stories in the fetish categories. But now I won't worry about it and just post in whatever category fits.

Thanks for taking the time!

 

[Rob_Royale]

I am a world builder and people seem to enjoy it. The first 6k words of my stories are character and setting and no one has bitched yet. There is a reader for every story.

 

[lovecraft68]

Romance, obviously. Mature rewards solid relationship stories. ( especially May/December ) Not much personal experience, but I'd hazard to guess that Gay Male and Lesbian Sex would both appreciate a tale with more depth. Even Incest readers can appreciate a story that's a story instead of just a setup and screw.

There's a readership out there. Probably a little less in categories like Anal, Toys & Masturbation, & Fetish, because those are keyed in more on the sex act than others. Even in those categories you'll find readers who appreciate a deeper story, though.

From the start my taboo stories were always slow burns with an attempt at conflict and an effort to be as plausible as the out there category allows.

After a few years I posted a 6k or so stroker for something different. The score is a good .20 below my average in I/T and although it had some good comments there was a few saying they liked my other style better, and one stated "Okay, you got his out of your system, get back to what you're good at"

It made me think on it. In a way its a victim of your own success set up, they follow because they like what you do, and they don't like anything different. On the other hand, it might have grabbed new readers who go by the "I read nothing over a couple of pages" rule.

Also makes me wonder if the same is for the opposite, if someone known for stroke published a 6 page slow burn how would their readers react?

But as I learned early on the only thing consistent here is inconsistency, so who knows?

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

Have a reader in your mind (just one is enough) while you write , and try to get his dark hard / her pussy wet . There are enough readers here to make that a successful , simple strategy - it will succeed with enough people to make you feel validated.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't think you can generalize about what "most people" want because the Literotica readership is so large and diverse. There's an audience for just about everything, so my recommendation is to do the best job writing the story you really want to write. People are turned on by different things. Write what turns you on.

Personally, I think even an openly wank-oriented story is better if there's some effort at making a real STORY -- something with a little character development, something of a plot, some erotic tension and buildup. All of this, plus a satisfying culminating sex scene, can be handled within 2 Literotica pages, or about 7500 words, or less. For me personally, the sweet spot is around 3-6 Literotica pages for a good erotic story, which is longer than the average published short story. I like a good titillating buildup. But that's just me. It's not anything universal.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Have a reader in your mind (just one is enough) while you write , and try to get his dark hard / her pussy wet . There are enough readers here to make that a successful , simple strategy - it will succeed with enough people to make you feel validated.

I can make dicks hard and pussies wet whenever I want. What's the point of all the work to do it here if I don't have a story to tell?

 

[Lifestyle66]

The others here have given you very good advice in general on what and how to write what you've described.

One more point: IF as you described, you're looking for the validation and feedback, THEN you must avoid the Loving Wives category! And don't tag your stories with things like "swingers", "shared wife", or anything else which might attract those "burn-the-bitch" trolls. They will find your story and 1-bomb it, leaving shitty comments.

This is a free site, so anyone can post whatever they choose to write. And anyone can click on it to entertain themselves with their toxic comments ... free of charge. So, keep that in perspective when posting here. They are merely a small, vocal, toxic few out of the 8 billion people on this planet.

Enjoy the moment!

 

[sweetdreamssss]

People love plot as long as the plot is interesting...The more they invested in characters,the better it will be to read but some of them just drag the intros too long...

 

[RejectReality]

From the start my taboo stories were always slow burns with an attempt at conflict and an effort to be as plausible as the out there category allows.

After a few years I posted a 6k or so stroker for something different. The score is a good .20 below my average in I/T and although it had some good comments there was a few saying they liked my other style better, and one stated "Okay, you got his out of your system, get back to what you're good at"

It made me think on it. In a way its a victim of your own success set up, they follow because they like what you do, and they don't like anything different. On the other hand, it might have grabbed new readers who go by the "I read nothing over a couple of pages" rule.

Also makes me wonder if the same is for the opposite, if someone known for stroke published a 6 page slow burn how would their readers react?

But as I learned early on the only thing consistent here is inconsistency, so who knows?

Unfortunately, I won't be the one test running that one. Anything like that would end up going to Les, where it wouldn't be off-brand.

Well, barring another cover image layer file going missing anyway. That's how Nude Holly Day got to stay an RR story. What Ails was written for a site where you can only have one pen name, and it was intended to be exclusive to there, but ended up getting posted here when that place went bonkers last year. So RR got a Sci-Fi & Fantasy despite that being against my "rules". ( Steampunk-lite ) It was off-brand enough to hurt the score, I believe. I think it would have performed much better as a Les story, but that one would have been annoying to deal with in my database, so RR got to keep it here as well.

I started compartmentalizing early on. It's another layer of selecting the readership in the same vein as venue and category to me. My pen names are another way of putting a story in front of the people who are most likely to enjoy it.

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

I can make dicks hard and pussies wet whenever I want. What's the point of all the work to do it here if I don't have a story to tell?

Yeah I agree you’re kind of gilding the lily

 

[Agiel]

Write a story you would read and enjoy if you hadn’t written it and then decide which category it belongs in. You will find some will like it and some won’t. That’s life. Don’t try and understand the ins and outs of a fart.