What do you include that readers probably don't notice?

[Erozetta]

A nice change from all those recipes that begin with the cook's life story and personal philosophy, with a side trek about an incident when they adopted their first puppy.

Yeah, for this one you just have to get through the cooks sex's life while she and her friend work out the details of her new baking vlog and whether it's hosted on YouTube or OnlyFans. Or somewhere in the middle with Twitch.

 

[yowser]

The story I'm writing now has a recipe hidden in it.

I've done this in a couple stories, but just for fun you might include the recipe (and link it) to Russ' food thread: https://forum.literotica.com/threads/russs-restaurant-and-recipe-repository.1512336/

 

[Erozetta]

I've done this in a couple stories, but just for fun you might include the recipe (and link it) to Russ' food thread: https://forum.literotica.com/threads/russs-restaurant-and-recipe-repository.1512336/

I'm making a whole series of them. Each story is going to be centered around a recipe in some way. First up is caramel filled salted triple chocolate chip cookies

 

[THBGato]

I've done this in a couple stories, but just for fun you might include the recipe (and link it) to Russ' food thread: https://forum.literotica.com/threads/russs-restaurant-and-recipe-repository.1512336/

That's such a clever idea! I've often wanted to include external links in stories, but putting links to forum posts might be a way around that. Genius!

 

[madelinemasoch]

Uh, more than half the story, is what I included that readers probably didn’t notice (back then). The comments section proved that much to anyone paying any honest attention.

I was dismayed to learn a lot of readers just skip to the sex. Most of my stories back then didn’t even have sex scenes. Just domination scenes.

Even then I feel nobody read them closely because for example people said Eliza’s second husband shouldn’t have trusted her, but why wouldn’t the man she cheated on her first husband with (who essentially won her heart with compassion and then lost it because of his own neglect) trust her when she only cheated on him after he neglected her and stonewalled her and basically made it look like he gave up on her just because she kept her first husband’s love letters?? He didn’t even know she kept his ring. So that nuance was completely missed out on. You’d think that was a writing issue but nah, I don’t buy that for a second.

There are so many little nuances and things like that which I never felt were appreciated, like the whole theory behind the main three Cuckold Camp characters, which are actually Eleanor, Natasha, and Leya. Eleanor is the ideal dominant woman (how she both commands and nurtures Matty), Natasha is the slutty extreme (how she takes everyone else’s lover and is implied to be clinically a sex addict), and Leya is the sadistic extreme (how she treats Robin and how she wants to ruin her entire prior relationship with Finn). Nobody cared!

I’m not here to offer sex fantasies first and foremost. I’m here to offer thematic messages.

 

[Kethu]

I wrote a gay-themed fraternity story. The house was called "Phi Upsilon Kappa", so the acronym, of course, spells...

 

[rteny3245]

I included a reference to a Flight of the Conchords song in a story. Then at the end of the story I offered the first person to find it the reward of getting to pick something to happen in the next chapter. The response was about as exciting as watching paint dry in slow motion.

 

[TiberiusPrime]

I wrote a gay-themed fraternity story. The house was called "Phi Upsilon Kappa", so the acronym, of course, spells...

PUK?

 

[JGittes]

Uh, more than half the story, is what I included that readers probably didn’t notice (back then). The comments section proved that much to anyone paying any honest attention.

I was dismayed to learn a lot of readers just skip to the sex. Most of my stories back then didn’t even have sex scenes. Just domination scenes.

...........

"What do you include that readers probably don't notice?" A plot.

 

[madelinemasoch]

"What do you include that readers probably don't notice?" A plot.

Yeah, literally.

It's so sad that you have to laugh.

 

[THBGato]

I was dismayed to learn a lot of readers just skip to the sex.

See, I've had the other experience, and I know other Lesbian writers have had this too. There's a fair chunk of readers there that only want plot.

 

[madelinemasoch]

See, I've had the other experience, and I know other Lesbian writers have had this too. There's a fair chunk of readers there that only want plot.

Big surprise to BDSM writers!

 

[StillStunned]

Uh, more than half the story, is what I included that readers probably didn’t notice (back then). The comments section proved that much to anyone paying any honest attention.

I was dismayed to learn a lot of readers just skip to the sex. Most of my stories back then didn’t even have sex scenes. Just domination scenes.

Even then I feel nobody read them closely because for example people said Eliza’s second husband shouldn’t have trusted her, but why wouldn’t the man she cheated on her first husband with (who essentially won her heart with compassion and then lost it because of his own neglect) trust her when she only cheated on him after he neglected her and stonewalled her and basically made it look like he gave up on her just because she kept her first husband’s love letters?? He didn’t even know she kept his ring. So that nuance was completely missed out on. You’d think that was a writing issue but nah, I don’t buy that for a second.

There are so many little nuances and things like that which I never felt were appreciated, like the whole theory behind the main three Cuckold Camp characters, which are actually Eleanor, Natasha, and Leya. Eleanor is the ideal dominant woman (how she both commands and nurtures Matty), Natasha is the slutty extreme (how she takes everyone else’s lover and is implied to be clinically a sex addict), and Leya is the sadistic extreme (how she treats Robin and how she wants to ruin her entire prior relationship with Finn). Nobody cared!

I’m not here to offer sex fantasies first and foremost. I’m here to offer thematic messages.

You realise that this is Literotica, right, and not the Booker Prize? Readers come here to read sex stories. They might stick around for something deeper, or with more plot or character, but that's not the primary purpose.

A handful of readers will think about a story, and analyse its meaning, but only if it really touches them in some way. Most can't be bothered - and why should they? Lit is a place to spend a few minutes reading hot sex stuff, not to do homework.

 

[stickygirl]

See, I've had the other experience, and I know other Lesbian writers have had this too. There's a fair chunk of readers there that only want plot.

Maybe they just haven't met the right female author yet? Without wishing to open the Gender Hellmouth, there's different strokes for different folks.

You realise that this is Literotica, right, and not the Booker Prize? Readers come here to read sex stories. They might stick around for something deeper, or with more plot or character, but that's not the primary purpose.

A handful of readers will think about a story, and analyse its meaning, but only if it really touches them in some way. Most can't be bothered - and why should they? Lit is a place to spend a few minutes reading hot sex stuff, not to do homework.

Why should less explicit stories be excluded? The author can make that disclosure in the Intro or put it into Non-erotic or Romance categories.

 

[StillStunned]

Why should less explicit stories be excluded? The author can make that disclosure in the Intro or put it into Non-erotic or Romance categories.

I'm not saying anything should be excluded. I'm saying that it seems a bit unfair to complain about readers not giving you what you want if you're not giving them what they want. And even in categories that don't revolve primarily around sex, they want to be entertained, for a few minutes or a few hours, without putting in much effort beyond clicking on the story link. They don't come here looking for homework.

If you want readers to engage with deeper themes, if you want them to think about why your characters are doing what they're doing, make it impossible for them not to. Write compelling characters that draw the reader in. Establish some connection and common ground. Put the reader in the position of your character and make them think how they would have acted or reacted in the same situation.

@madelinemasoch wrote, "I’m here to offer thematic messages." Great, good for her. But without reader engagement with the story or the characters, that's just preaching. You might as well write a parable, and end it with "We learn from this story that..."

 

[stickygirl]

I'm not saying anything should be excluded. I'm saying that it seems a bit unfair to complain about readers not giving you what you want if you're not giving them what they want. And even in categories that don't revolve primarily around sex, they want to be entertained, for a few minutes or a few hours, without putting in much effort beyond clicking on the story link. They don't come here looking for homework.

If you want readers to engage with deeper themes, if you want them to think about why your characters are doing what they're doing, make it impossible for them not to. Write compelling characters that draw the reader in. Establish some connection and common ground. Put the reader in the position of your character and make them think how they would have acted or reacted in the same situation.

@madelinemasoch wrote, "I’m here to offer thematic messages." Great, good for her. But without reader engagement with the story or the characters, that's just preaching. You might as well write a parable, and end it with "We learn from this story that..."

It's not our job to curate a reader's experience. If they don't like an author's work, they won't Favourite them. There are plenty of reasons why I'll stop before I finish the first page and none of them reflect sexual content per se. I find bad grammar as off-putting as bad breath, or for example if a writer sets out referring to women as meat-bags.

We don't have to be literary critics to recognise an author's mindset and if their writing style is the equivalent of rubbing against you in an escalator then they'll only appeal to a certain readership.

ETA
If someone complains about their readers or the comments they leave, I'm sympathetic but I'm not necessarily going to throw dimes in their hat.

 

[madelinemasoch]

I'm not saying anything should be excluded. I'm saying that it seems a bit unfair to complain about readers not giving you what you want if you're not giving them what they want. And even in categories that don't revolve primarily around sex, they want to be entertained, for a few minutes or a few hours, without putting in much effort beyond clicking on the story link. They don't come here looking for homework.

I'm not gonna give them homework. I can't force them to think beyond gooning. But I know someone will.

If you want readers to engage with deeper themes, if you want them to think about why your characters are doing what they're doing, make it impossible for them not to. Write compelling characters that draw the reader in. Establish some connection and common ground. Put the reader in the position of your character and make them think how they would have acted or reacted in the same situation.

I agree.

@madelinemasoch wrote, "I’m here to offer thematic messages." Great, good for her. But without reader engagement with the story or the characters, that's just preaching. You might as well write a parable, and end it with "We learn from this story that..."

But that would ruin it. Somebody can see something in a story that others cannot, based on their background and acumen and experiences as well as their own creativity. Trying to tell them right after they've read it what it's all about would totally violate and restrict the reader.

 

[madelinemasoch]

You realise that this is Literotica, right, and not the Booker Prize? Readers come here to read sex stories. They might stick around for something deeper, or with more plot or character, but that's not the primary purpose.

A handful of readers will think about a story, and analyse its meaning, but only if it really touches them in some way. Most can't be bothered - and why should they? Lit is a place to spend a few minutes reading hot sex stuff, not to do homework.

I have learned from a long long journey (not quite as long as others here in terms of time, considering my young age) that I'm basically here on incident. It just so happens that other platforms do not appear to be as popular or as advanced at spreading your story around and getting eyes on it algorithmically. This is also a safe place to have experiences in terms of sexual content.

I need this place to share stories that are essentially dramatic erotica. At the same time and for the same reason, I have to follow my creative vision. I'm not here for the same reasons those readers are here for. I don't treat reading other stories on the site that way. In fact, most of what I've read in the past year and a half are probably stories that you and other forum posters have written, not much else.

My ideas process is somewhere in a gray area, I think. I am not interested in taking an idea that I get that is all about sexual gratification, which is to say for me as a writer, I need some deeper motivation to finish the story than whether or not I personally find it arousing. Simultaneously almost all my ideas include sexual content that people on other platforms would probably consider excessive. So this is both a good place and not quite the ideal perfect place for me to start publishing stories again. I'm not going to write pure stroker fiction because creatively that would be a waste of time. I would be pumping things out that are not my best work and I probably wouldn't be into it. I want to aim the right way.

I noticed something: certain ideas are formed in what I would call the wrong way for me. The aforementioned Cuckold Camp idea was one of them, in retrospect. The entire setting and even two of the characters' names was contrived by someone else's fantasy that they told me on the internet. It sparked me off and I thought I could do it justice, but what I really wanted to write I think was some kind of allegorical sexual relationship drama, not a story about how erotic cuckoldry is. For example, I came up with a couple of the cucks trying to escape the camp based on logic, almost, like "oh, maybe it would be dramatic and interesting for some of them to try to leave before they get reconditioned into accepting their roles in their relationships as they actually are." That's not a very good way of coming up with ideas. At least, for me.

I think that's why the story doesn't really work anymore and the partial real reason why people were excessively upset about it. I have faith in the fact that if I approach it correctly and gather the ideas more from what you might call "the creative ether" then you might find I have a more positive reception these days. I'm trying really hard to finish what I want to be my first new release and it's just a very slow interrupted process right now.

 

[madelinemasoch]

Readers come here to read sex stories.

You have to be honest: what you're gonna get in a story by a writer who cares is going to be (even if it's a stroker) more than just jerk-off material pornography. Because you can write a stroker very well on a technical basis. So even when these things are just "porn" quote-unquote, a website with stories on it is always going to be more than that. That might be what these people "come for", but they're always gonna get more from us. Otherwise you're just selling yourself short in the first place. And that opens up a whole vulnerability for people to come and attack you as a "porn writer" quote-unquote or some kind "pervert" quote-unquote just for being an artist.

 

[Trionyx]

I’ve got one coming up in which the Brit’s dialog with an American uses ‘colours’ while the American talks about ‘colors.’ We will see if anyone notices.

 

[THBGato]

I’ve got one coming up in which the Brit’s dialog with an American uses ‘colours’ while the American talks about ‘colors.’ We will see if anyone notices.

In my latest, I had a listener phone into the radio show and speak with a Brizzle accent, adding -l onto the ends of words (Canada became 'Canadal', Ramona became 'Ramonal'). I got an email from a reader asking me what had gone on with my proofreading.

Well, at least they noticed!

 

[SissyBrandi19]

I was really thrilled this morning to discover that @joy_of_cooking had spotted my punctuation joke in one of my stories.

Me: Yeah, but you do realise that as a Cambridge graduate I'm allergic to Oxford commas? I hope this means we can still be friends?

Priya: Our friendship will weather this storm, future storms, and your allergy to Oxford commas.

It got me thinking, how much do we as writers put into our stories that most readers will probably never notice. I'm reminded of @AwkwardMD telling us about how she'd used gaming references in her story The Perfect Storm, which had gone completely over my head when I'd read it.

So, share your brilliant references and literary touches that you don't think anyone will ever notice.

I'll start.

Recently, I used the description "sloe black" in a story. I bet 99% of readers think it's a typo.

If you take my stories and lift out every character that corresponds to a prime number? And then re-arrange them to form the message, THEN write the number each letter represents in the alphabet (so 1 through 26) then take every sequence of four numbers - rank order them THEN, finally, take the final 2 numbers of each one IN THE ORDER OF THE RANKING.

Do that, my friend, and you will discover something very very special! You will learn the EXACT feeling...of being in the Army. The numbers? They don't mean shit. But the important thing is you did the task, per the directions. As you were, soldier.

 

[Bloodandglitter]

Almost all my characters are based off a celebrity but the names and professions are completely made up. I basically use their looks to create a completely different character.
I also throw in some lines from movies and TV shows that I like.