theyread*

[damppanties]

As authors, we all talk about our writing from our point of view. But what do you feel readers get out of the stories you write? Do you aim to get certain emotions, experiences or any other reactions out of your readers? What would be the top 3 or 4 things you feel that readers get out of your stories and not out of other authors'?




* This thread is dedicated to our resident reader, shereads.

 

[gauchecritic]

1 New words
2 suspension of disbelief
3 a desire to read to the end.

 

[damppanties]

3 a desire to read to the end.

And you do this better than others, how?

 

[dr_mabeuse]

A writer should open your eyes to the extraordinary in the ordinary. That's what I try to do. Notice things. Pay attention. Give people the words to describe things they ordinarily wouldn't even notice.

When you do that, you open the world up for people and make it bigger. You give them extra space for living. That's what they mean when they say that reading enriches you.

 

[neonlyte]

I try to lay bare emotion, in all its forms, and give readers the inspiration to see the multi-hued nuances of living.

Reading ought suspend belief and encapsulate the reader in the written world until they fear for the end of the story and no more pages are available to turn.

 

[oggbashan]

1. Stories about their particular fetish.
2. Never knowing what I might write about next.
3. Either very short (50 words) or very long (several Lit pages) stories unless I don't feel like either.

Og

 

[gauchecritic]

And you do this better than others, how?

by the previous two points. (and striving for Zoot's ideals, who nearly always says what I really wanted to say but don't.)

 

[Stella_Omega]

I like Doc's "Extraordinary in the ordinary." That's one of mine. I tend to stay away from royalty, millionaires, Beautiful People. If I write superpowered heroes or villains, I try to bring them into a sense of the ordinary.

I try to write accurate sex, nothing that's impossible to do, nothing that would leave somone maimed. And I try to make accuracy hot.

One thing that's very important to me is the lack of women protagonists in popular media. And another thing that I try to rectify is the "sweet and gentle" stereotype in lesbian sex. I'm not against it-- but it doesn't ring my bells. My writing is propaganda for women against the pervasive notion that men are active, women passive.

Am I successful? I got one email from a reader who said; "FUCK, I never knew women could be so hot! Now I wish you would write the same story only make Griffin a boy."

Am I the only person who strives toward this goal? No-- thank goodness, there are other women who relish strong women. And some men, too.

 

[wildsweetone]

enlightenment and reminder.

i like to give the reader something different to think about, some slightly different perspective. i also like to point out something that is right under their noses that they've previously overlooked.

 

[damppanties]

One thing that's very important to me is the lack of women protagonists in popular media. And another thing that I try to rectify is the "sweet and gentle" stereotype in lesbian sex. I'm not against it-- but it doesn't ring my bells. My writing is propaganda for women against the pervasive notion that men are active, women passive.

Am I successful? I got one email from a reader who said; "FUCK, I never knew women could be so hot! Now I wish you would write the same story only make Griffin a boy."

Am I the only person who strives toward this goal? No-- thank goodness, there are other women who relish strong women. And some men, too.

That's interesting. That's what readers get out of a Stella story.

So what distinguishes a Dr. M story from a gauche story or a neon story? Anything?

 

[damppanties]

enlightenment and reminder.

i like to give the reader something different to think about, some slightly different perspective. i also like to point out something that is right under their noses that they've previously overlooked.

sweet one!

hi.

 

[wildsweetone]

sweet one!

hi.

hi beautiful.

 

[Stella_Omega]

enlightenment and reminder.

i like to give the reader something different to think about, some slightly different perspective. i also like to point out something that is right under their noses that they've previously overlooked.

Anything in particular? I mean--That's my goal, too...

 

[neonlyte]

That's interesting. That's what readers get out of a Stella story.

So what distinguishes a Dr. M story from a gauche story or a neon story? Anything?

Speaking for myself, I have a leaning toward two strong characters who balance one another, I don't explore the naked earthiness of a Gauche story, even his urban settings have me furtively and metaphorically fumbling in the undergrowth. And I can't write the everyday extraordinary in Mab's unique style. My stories generally have a strong time line, I'm interested in the way time distorts relationships... the idea of youthfullness being in sharp relief, where decisions are easy (if innocent), passing of time adds layered reasoning and you can fuck on a whim not because it's possible but because you want to and know how to handle the consequence.

 

[wildsweetone]

Anything in particular? I mean--That's my goal, too...

to be unhelpful - nothing and everything.

many stories and poems appear to be written with only one intention, to get the reader to see things as the author sees them. but there's more to writing than that. i like to 'connect' with the reader, to get them involved. to get them to realise that the story or poem could be something that they themselves have experienced or would like to experience.

by showing them through my writing that they can experience what i write, i tend to use simple language, simple objects, things they can trip over in their day to day lives. and then i try to expand on them, to see every minute detail. i have had my eyes opened and want to give that gift to others, to help them see what is right beneath their noses, with a many dimensional view.

 

[Liar]

Entertainment. Anything else rings a bit presumptious, to be honest.

 

[Corylea]

As a writer, I'm afraid I'm still at the stage of trying to turn the ideas that bubble up from the unconscious into a coherent story.

I'm drawn to writing stories where characters face uncomfortable truths and where facing those truths turns out to be worth the cost. (Did I mention that I'm a therapist in real life? The thing is, I wrote stories like this before I became a therapist; it's just the way I am.) I have some stories in this vein that contain BDSM but no sex, so I haven't posted them on Lit, but if you add those stories to what's already on here, it becomes pretty obvious.

 

[Corylea]

One thing that's very important to me is the lack of women protagonists in popular media.

YES!!!

And another thing that I try to rectify is the "sweet and gentle" stereotype in lesbian sex. I'm not against it-- but it doesn't ring my bells. My writing is propaganda for women against the pervasive notion that men are active, women passive.

Yes, and thank you very much for that! Anybody reading most lesbian fiction would assume that women have sex with one another by blending auras or something and never get sweaty, physical, and animalistic.

 

[starrkers]

I seek merely to give the reader something enjoyable to while away some time, or to give them somewhwere to forget the stresses of their existence.
It's what I look for when I read, and it's what I hope to give when I write.

 

[gauchecritic]

Entertainment. Anything else rings a bit presumptious, to be honest.

That's entirely possible Liar, and your aims in writing may be wholly entertainment but...

I'm pretty certain that I've seen you at least agree that the writer, consciously or otherwise, inserts themselves into characters. So by this action aren't you telling your readership even a little bit of what it's like to be you?

That's not just entertainment is it?

If you can agree to that, then why is discovering that your writing has elements other than entertainment presumptuous? Not necessarily that that's what you set out to do but that it might, on reflection, be a part of your writing?

and Starrkers

It's what I look for when I read, and it's what I hope to give when I write.

You can watch TV or movies for entertainment, isn't there something 'other' that you get from reading?

and for WSO. after far too long away.

 

[damppanties]

I seek merely to give the reader something enjoyable to while away some time, or to give them somewhwere to forget the stresses of their existence.

It's what I look for when I read, and it's what I hope to give when I write.

Masala stories.

In Bollywood, movies that do the same thing - provide pure entertainment aimed at giving viewers something to forget the stresses of their daily lives - are called masala movies.

 

[SeaCat]

I try to give my readers a view into a normal human beings life in abnormal circumstances. On the other hand I try, upon occasion to make the reader view normal situations with a new view.

What the hell, I write stories I'm interested in writing. If someone comes away from reading them having learned something that is great.

Cat

 

[Liar]

That's entirely possible Liar, and your aims in writing may be wholly entertainment but...

I'm pretty certain that I've seen you at least agree that the writer, consciously or otherwise, inserts themselves into characters. So by this action aren't you telling your readership even a little bit of what it's like to be you?

That's not just entertainment is it?

If you can agree to that, then why is discovering that your writing has elements other than entertainment presumptuous? Not necessarily that that's what you set out to do but that it might, on reflection, be a part of your writing?

Not to discover it. If someone gets some kind of enlightement out of what I write, even though I didn't intentionally plant it there, more power to them. To expect it, though... or to strive for it, would be presumptuous, of me.

Instead, let me ask you: Why is entertaining not enough? Why is it (seemingly to you) less than, instead of a worthy goal in itself? Why do you say "just" entertainment?

You can watch TV or movies for entertainment, isn't there something 'other' that you get from reading?

I can watch tv and movies for transcendence, elightment and epiphany too. Or for escapism. Or for harmless fun. Same thing with listening to music. Or looking at a painting. Or reading a written story.

 

[jomar]

As authors, we all talk about our writing from our point of view. But what do you feel readers get out of the stories you write? Do you aim to get certain emotions, experiences or any other reactions out of your readers? What would be the top 3 or 4 things you feel that readers get out of your stories and not out of other authors'?




* This thread is dedicated to our resident reader, shereads.

Honestly, I don't think of trying to elicit things from readers other than them finishing and hoping they enjoy the story. I haven't reached that stage yet, so if something higher level occurs it's an accident, but I'll gladly take partial credit.

 

[Corylea]

Instead, let me ask you: Why is entertaining not enough? Why is it (seemingly to you) less than, instead of a worthy goal in itself? Why do you say "just" entertainment?

For those of us who struggle with depression, "just" entertainment can save our lives. Take my mind off of how crappy I feel (on the days that are like that), and I think you've just done a major service.