What motivates you?

[TeroWright]

I want to know what keeps other authors in the writing mood if they find that their work doesn't really garner any attention.

I find that there are maybe a handful of readers who follow my stories and comment, but that hasn't really changed at all in the year or so that I've been writing and posting my stuff. Maybe that's what I get for writing very niche stories, but I like them the way they are and I'm darn near certain that stories like mine don't exist, otherwise I'd imagine that they'd be doing a little better.

What keeps me going with them is that I've set up a 10-year timeline that I plan to fill in the blanks on, there's just very little drive, if any, to produce new stories in a timely manner.

I don't just post here to Literotica, but also the Mousepad (which gets decent views but little feedback), and on my page at Facebook (which gets ZERO anything even with a small member base - like 50+ members). I don't know of other forums or anything where I can post my stories, so with what I have, feedback is almost non-existent. This isn't really about drawing in feedback to my work, it's just about that lack of motivation to keep going.


So, I raise the question - what motivates you to write if you feel that you have little or no motivation to do so to begin with?

 

[Handley_Page]

A] Breathing
B] Attempts to do better.

 

[Omenainen]

Well, I’m such that it’s next to impossible to get me to do anything I don’t want to do, also when I’m the one who’s telling me I should. So, if I would have “little or no motivation to begin with” I would not write.

 

[sirhugs]

Just like any other work, i set myself goals. 200 words per day minimum. Only very few days are too busy to prevent that. Most days I exceed it.

Except when I was ill, I seldom lack motivation for long. although I will never be among Lit's most popular writers, I get enough feedback and hit counts to keep me motivated.

Also, if I don't have a story on the go, after a couple of days, I get an itch that I can feel physically. Then only ill health can keep me from writing. I need the creative outlet. And to get these damn ideas out of my brain.

 

[Brutal_One]

I think I am similar to you in that I have this story arc with a timeline that I have previously written but it seemed I could bring it here to Lit and share it. It has a small following and readership and in general gets good ratings from those who choose to vote.

There is a set time I think story wise and in some ways it helps me put a full stop finally in what is an unfinished symphony (a bit grandiose maybe but the analogy works).

I think too it will complete my foray into publishing so will be thankful to Lit for that as the story will always have a home and readership here.

Brutal One

 

[PennameWombat]

<snip>
So, I raise the question - what motivates you to write if you feel that you have little or no motivation to do so to begin with?

We’ve been discussing this the last few days in another thread: https://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1531167. Most anything to say here is being said over there.

None of us can answer why you should be motivated or what it is you want. I get few comments but appreciate the ones I do get. I don’t normally write in Fetish (I have one story there) but most of the categories to which I submit are generally the lower-traffic ones so I satisfy myself with what viewers I get. This general point is oft-discussed.

8Letters did a solid overview of reader traffic by category: https://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1487508&highlight=story+stats. That shows Fetish is a relatively low-traffic category and low-commenting as well and if, as you say, your stories are quite specific then it’s not surprising you’ll have less interest. Take a look at the chart at the link. If what you need to be motivated is higher viewership numbers it could be posited you’ll need to broaden your writing.

But there was another thread (but I’m tired of hunting them down) that discussed “how many inactive authors are on the site?” Inactive meaning they’d posted stories but haven’t in some arbitrary length of months or years. No one knows but it’s not a trivial number.

 

[TeroWright]

PennameWombat, thanks for the heads up on the similar topic. I even noticed the OP, BrutalOne, on the first link you mentioned commented on mine, making their comment make more sense now. Guilty as charged for not scrolling through the topics before making my own post. My bad.

That said though, I'm getting different replies on this thread, so perhaps the different wording will encourage a different train of thought? Who knows.

For me, I've observed that when readers comment and say they can't wait to see what happens next, that encourages me to write versus when a post is made and no comments or likes or favorites are received, then I tend to take a break from writing because I don't feel that I'm on anyone's "anticipated" list (there's probably a different, more obvious term for that, but it's escaping me right now), and therefore a new story might take a few months to come out, or even a new part (or chapter) may take longer to come to mind because there's no rush, if that makes sense.

Another part of it for me is that I'm relatively new to writing, and I don't actually know if I'm getting any better at telling a story compared to when I started. Well...I should redact some of that, because I know I don't feel cringe when reading my stuff back to myself like I used to. When I signed up here, I was under some impression that more experienced writers came here versus sites like the MousePad for example, and that maybe I'd get pointers on word usage or something like that. I know now that if I want feedback like that, I have to ask for it in the specified forum, otherwise, the tidbit about the Fetish material here being somewhat 'low traffic' compared to other categories tells me everything I need to know about what I should expect.

 

[SyleusSnow]

I write only for the fawning praise and bootlicking adoration of the fans

Originally it was to see if I could write, then get better at it. Lately the motivation seems like mental self-flagellation as I struggle to get words on paper.

 

[lovecraft68]

I think one you start writing and unleash that mus, you're always a writer. You write because you want to, but also need to.

I'm sure there are other motivations, but I think those are at the core for everyone.

My first series here was incest, which is the most popular category, but my series was dark, depressing, violent and went against a lot of what people expect there.

I had chapters that when they were first published only saw 50-60 votes...think about that, an incest story with 50 votes...meanwhile "Look my sis has tits" mindless fluff was getting 1000+ votes

But I kept writing because the story needed to be written and it became a bit of a personal challenge to keep writing even though no one was reading because my theory is your stories are your baby written your way, and if nothing else that's what you tell yourself.

A lot of people come here looking for what's popular, they want to pander more than they want to create.

Like the saying goes, you do you, the readers will come, it just takes time to build the following for your style.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Never a problem for me. I just keep on writing because I want to write. Readers are a bonus.

Right now, today, my buzz is inspiring a good writer here, who hasn't written for a long time, to write again. I'm editing 12k words of a story she wrote because she fell in love with a character of mine, and wrote another story with her in it. It doesn't get better than that.

Both efforts will go up in the next week or so - she's way faster than me, I need to get mine finished!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

The past couple of months... nothing. Before that just the joy of telling a story. Now, I haven't written more than a 1,000 words in the last couple of months. I had some of my meds changed and it looks like one or more has made me really not care about much, lately. I guess I should go in and have a talk with my doctor about this, but I really don't care... kind of caught in a loop.

I know I should, but I really don't care, I know I should care, but... ad infinitum.

 

[SimonDoom]

My motivation to write swings wildly. I am not disciplined, and I don't set or come close to following any prescribed goal of writing a particular number of words per day. Some days I don't write at all. Other days I write thousands of words.

All sorts of different things motivate me:

I love coming up with new ideas for stories. Probably too much. I have a long list of story ideas and of just-started stories. Finishing is harder for me.

I like coming up with a turn of phrase. I enjoy the look and sound of words. Sometimes I'll write a sentence and I will get a lot of pleasure out of having written it.

I like to keep getting better. Sometimes, though, this gets me going, and sometimes it stops me in my tracks. Sometimes I'm writing and I think, "This isn't as good as I want it." And I stop. It was easier to write three years ago when I had no expectations of myself.

I enjoy getting a reaction from readers. It's fun to know that other people have enjoyed the stories (and I've learned not to mind that some do not). I enjoy getting comments. Even when it's a critical comment I know I've had an impact on someone in some way.

The idea that I can spin a story out of my head and publish it to this Site is motivating. It's wild to think about. I'm in my 50s and until a few years ago I hadn't done any creative writing since high school. It's extraordinarily satisfying.

There's a fun, naughty pleasure in knowing I've created a persona who exists in cyberspace and has published 32 erotic stories that thousands of people have read and some untold number of people have masturbated to. Four years ago that person didn't exist. There's a certain pleasurable escapism in it.

 

[lovecraft68]

The past couple of months... nothing. Before that just the joy of telling a story. Now, I haven't written more than a 1,000 words in the last couple of months. I had some of my meds changed and it looks like one or more has made me really not care about much, lately. I guess I should go in and have a talk with my doctor about this, but I really don't care... kind of caught in a loop.

I know I should, but I really don't care, I know I should care, but... ad infinitum.

Seeing this comment hits home because as time has gone by my ADHD has become progressively worse and has accelerated noticeably in the last year, and its harder to focus.

I can write a few hundred words effortlessly, the story is there, but next thing I know I'm on youtube or e-bay or reaching for a stack of comics to scan for e-bay...then back to writing.

My wife thinks its time to try meds and my #1 concern is what you just posted that it could affect my writing

 

[gunhilltrain]

I want to know what keeps other authors in the writing mood if they find that their work doesn't really garner any attention.

I find that there are maybe a handful of readers who follow my stories and comment, but that hasn't really changed at all in the year or so that I've been writing and posting my stuff. Maybe that's what I get for writing very niche stories, but I like them the way they are and I'm darn near certain that stories like mine don't exist, otherwise I'd imagine that they'd be doing a little better.

What keeps me going with them is that I've set up a 10-year timeline that I plan to fill in the blanks on, there's just very little drive, if any, to produce new stories in a timely manner.

I don't just post here to Literotica, but also the Mousepad (which gets decent views but little feedback), and on my page at Facebook (which gets ZERO anything even with a small member base - like 50+ members). I don't know of other forums or anything where I can post my stories, so with what I have, feedback is almost non-existent. This isn't really about drawing in feedback to my work, it's just about that lack of motivation to keep going.

So, I raise the question - what motivates you to write if you feel that you have little or no motivation to do so to begin with?

I took a look at your submissions page, and you are doing very well in the year you've been here. You have been submitting about two stories per month, and your scores - they have been truly excellent. You have already collected four red H marks.

If you are just looking at the numbers - I know that would motivate me. I've been here more than twice as long and I wish I was doing that well. With all due respect - I'm not trying to give you a hard time - but often when people come on here to complain about a lack of response and then I look at their submissions page - it's like, wow! You must be doing something right.

Comments on this site can be a little on the light side (except for Loving Wives, of course). Sometimes there just won't be any. I'm sure at this point you must have collected at least some followers. It's a big site, and they may not always comment or favorite a story, but they are there.

If I were you, I'd say to myself, "This has been a very successful venture for me." Have a ten-year timeline if you wish, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just keep writing what you wish and don't worry about being in a "niche" category. You've found an audience for it.

 

[oggbashan]

I write because I have to. My Muses keep kicking me if I don't.

I have so many stories in a state of part completion that I want to finish but before I do, more story ideas occur.

When I was diagnosed with lung cancer, I wanted to finish all the outstanding stories before I died. I realised that I couldn't so I posted many of the incomplete stories as the four-part oggbashan stew.

But since then I have posted more stories and have half-a dozen in various stages of completion. I posted 52 last year. I might post more than that in 2020.

 

[SimonDoom]

I find that there are maybe a handful of readers who follow my stories and comment, but that hasn't really changed at all in the year or so that I've been writing and posting my stuff. Maybe that's what I get for writing very niche stories, but I like them the way they are and I'm darn near certain that stories like mine don't exist, otherwise I'd imagine that they'd be doing a little better.

You have hit the nail on the head. I checked out your story file, and all but one of your stories is published in fetish, which is not a highly read category. Your stories cover an unusual combination of fetishes and kinks. There's nothing wrong with that, but you can't expect to garner a large audience.

If you want a bigger audience, there are things you can do. Publish stories to other categories with more readers. Write standalone stories rather than chapters in series. Give each story a tighter erotic focus, and give the reader a better idea what the story is about in the story title and tagline and use of tags. As it is right now, when I scan your submission list, I have no idea what your stories are about or if they will appeal to me. I'm sure other would-be readers feel the same way. You're losing possible readers because they have no idea if they want to read your stories or not.

You've gotten good responses to your stories so there's definitely a readership for them. If you are looking for motivation then you could make a project of taking affirmative steps to connect your story collection with a larger readership.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Seeing this comment hits home because as time has gone by my ADHD has become progressively worse and has accelerated noticeably in the last year, and its harder to focus.

I can write a few hundred words effortlessly, the story is there, but next thing I know I'm on youtube or e-bay or reaching for a stack of comics to scan for e-bay...then back to writing.

My wife thinks its time to try meds and my #1 concern is what you just posted that it could affect my writing

Well, is sounds like you are already having a problem with the writing. It seems your getting distracted easily. That's what is happening to me. I know which med is doing it, it just if I switch back, then the insomnia kicks in again.

Good luck.

 

[KeithD]

I've yet to be hit with the "too little motivation" bug that extends beyond a couple of hours. I can see that it can exist for others, though, and that it might exist for me at some point (like if I ever lose my eyesight. I think that would do me in). I do have a loose writing goal of 1,000 words every day, feeling better if it hits 1,400 words (which provides a half million words/year), but I don't slit my wrists if I don't achieve that.

 

[litfan10]

Since the eighties, I've had a comic strip by my desk on my messages corkboard. It's from the comic strip Shoe. The professor is sitting at the bar. The waitress asks him where does he get his ideas. He answers "My mortgage is my muse."
keeps a perspective.

 

[KeithD]

Since the eighties, I've had a comic strip by my desk on my messages corkboard. It's from the comic strip Shoe. The professor is sitting at the bar. The waitress asks him where does he get his ideas. He answers "My mortgage is my muse."
keeps a perspective.

Reminds me of one of the framed pieces of art I have on the wall behind my home office computer monitor. It's a postcard from the 60s, showing a smiling Adlai Stevenson, with the words, "What I'd really like to do is sit in the shade with a glass of wine in my hand and watch the dancers."

 

[PennameWombat]

PennameWombat, thanks for the heads up on the similar topic. I even noticed the OP, BrutalOne, on the first link you mentioned commented on mine, making their comment make more sense now. Guilty as charged for not scrolling through the topics before making my own post. My bad.

That said though, I'm getting different replies on this thread, so perhaps the different wording will encourage a different train of thought? Who knows.
<snip>
Another part of it for me is that I'm relatively new to writing, and I don't actually know if I'm getting any better at telling a story compared to when I started. Well...I should redact some of that, because I know I don't feel cringe when reading my stuff back to myself like I used to. When I signed up here, I was under some impression that more experienced writers came here versus sites like the MousePad for example, and that maybe I'd get pointers on word usage or something like that. I know now that if I want feedback like that, I have to ask for it in the specified forum, otherwise, the tidbit about the Fetish material here being somewhat 'low traffic' compared to other categories tells me everything I need to know about what I should expect.

If you want to ask for detailed feedback on a whole story there’s always this option: Awkwardmd’s reviews under the Story Feedback forum.

That said, in this forum we regularly have subjects around story construction, and these will look at word usage or punctuation in isolation. If you have a phrasing question or such, those come here regularly. But for full Story feedback you can ask in Story Feedback or ask AwkwardMD.

And you might get the very rare comment that usefully applies to your ‘writing.’ I’ve had a couple across my stories, mentioning things they’d noticed (e.g., clarity when one person is speaking but another person is doing something at the same time.) But this, at least for me, is rare.

 

[THROBBS]

What motivates me?

"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do.”
― N.H. Kleinbaum, Dead Poets Society
Spoken by Robin Williams in the movie of the same name.

Certainly, I draw (and rarely write) because I feel I have to put an idea on "paper", often actual paper.

But, to share, to post... that is to woo women. If no women are wooed, then to get some sort of positive feed back, so that I might feel alive.

 

[gunhilltrain]

"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do.”
― N.H. Kleinbaum, Dead Poets Society
Spoken by Robin Williams in the movie of the same name.

Certainly, I draw (and rarely write) because I feel I have to put an idea on "paper", often actual paper.

But, to share, to post... that is to woo women. If no women are wooed, then to get some sort of positive feed back, so that I might feel alive.

I'm probably taking you too literally, but you can't really woo women with online writing. The readers are scattered all over the United States and indeed the world. Maybe you meant it in a figurative sense?

Could you show your writings or drawings to women you've met somewhere? (Reminds me of that old joke, "Want to come up and see my etchings?") I have no idea. I'm really rusty when it comes to dating techniques, and what I did know once is probably obsolete now.

 

[THROBBS]

I'm probably taking you too literally, but you can't really woo women with online writing. The readers are scattered all over the United States and indeed the world. Maybe you meant it in a figurative sense?

Could you show your writings or drawings to women you've met somewhere? (Reminds me of that old joke, "Want to come up and see my etchings?") I have no idea. I'm really rusty when it comes to dating techniques, and what I did know once is probably obsolete now.

Literally. In this day and age, wooing is often done first on-line.
I reckon that the majority of folk on the bulletin boards hope to woo....someone.

I could and have shown both, in person. Though it has been quite awhile since I have been in circumstances where that was a reasonable course to pursue. In the physical world, one does not typically lead with that gambit. When I worked with people, in person, on a regular and long term basis, getting to know someone was natural. I would not invite just anyone or everyone up to see. my etchings (yes, I have made etchings).

For quite a few years, I have been out of an office setting and work freelance.

 

[TeroWright]

If you want a bigger audience, there are things you can do. Publish stories to other categories with more readers. Write standalone stories rather than chapters in series. Give each story a tighter erotic focus, and give the reader a better idea what the story is about in the story title and tagline and use of tags. As it is right now, when I scan your submission list, I have no idea what your stories are about or if they will appeal to me. I'm sure other would-be readers feel the same way. You're losing possible readers because they have no idea if they want to read your stories or not.

I've never been good with restrictions. I always felt that if I had to follow guidelines or stick to one focus only, that my stories would never be as good as they otherwise could be. Mine get posted in the Fetish category because they all have the trample/foot fetish at the character's core, and the one story (at this time) that is posted in Letters & Transcripts also has that interest talked about, but it's only talked about, not acted on, so that was my justification on the category selection.

The fact that so much happens in each story in order to make it pseudo-realistic makes it hard for me to narrow down what should be put in a 'tag line' because that would only be a small part of the story, and readers going in and only expecting what they read in the tag line might be disappointed by how little it actually happens.

I feel like the Fetish category is really the only safe one for the stuff I write because of the core undertone mentioned above. Yeah, there are different kinks explored (poly couples, lesbian/bi, various foot and trample scenarios, etc), but I've heard about how anal readers can be in certain categories, and it's not motivational at all to have a story be hated just because it doesn't stick to the one thing they expect to read about.

I'm working on shorter stories in the future that should make the tag line easier to fill out and draw attention, but the ones with several parts to them can still be tricky for me to narrow down correctly.