Why Do You Write Forewords or Afterwords?

[Paul_Chance]

Another thread sparked a bit of curiosity in me.

If you write forewords and afterwords, why do you do it?

If you're opposed to doing it, or if you've simply never done it, why?

I am open to it, I've just never done it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I don't think they're necessary.

Most people seem to regard them as squick warnings, but the category and tags do that (by saying what the story is about, not what it isn't).

I'll occasionally add a little writer's note, but only once have I mentioned content (and that was for a 104k novel). The site editor has added a "This story has incest themes" note to two stories, not in the I&T category.

 

[MyBareTorso]

I always do an Author's note with a few indicators as to what is in the story...kind of like a back-of-book-blurb thing. I also let the reader know what kind of sexual activity is in the story. As a reader, I like forewords/Author's intros...many readers don't, but my thinking is they're probably the easiest thing to skip if you're averse to them. I italicize my intro to make it easier to identify, and skip if the reader so chooses. I also see it as a means to directly communicate with the reader.

 

[AchtungNight]

Content warnings, disclaimers, sometimes author’s notes.

 

[AG31]

Another thread sparked a bit of curiosity in me.

If you write forewords and afterwords, why do you do it?

If you're opposed to doing it, or if you've simply never done it, why?

I am open to it, I've just never done it.

Yes. More the norm than not.

Forwards - mostly to tell readers than my stories are fantasies, not real life depictions of dungeons or POW camps or whatever.

Afterwords - to describe or point to my (so far as I know) unique experience that precipitated my fantasies and writing.

Have I got you hooked???

 

[AG31]

I also see it as a means to directly communicate with the reader.

Yeah, me too. I really do wish more readers communicated. Doesn't have to be positive. I just wonder.

 

[KeithD]

I've always thought giving background of one sort or the other for stories--in forewords or afterwords--would be of interest to readers, and I do include such discussion a lot in the introductions to published short story anthologies, but I've never seen evidence that Literotica readers care. I've employed them occasionally, but never saw responses here.

 

[Bamagan]

When I do it, it's typically to provide information about the story that isn't necessarily conveyed by the title, blurb, or tags. Since Literotica is principally category-based, I generally want to mention if my story straddles those boundaries (and they almost always do). I consider it a courtesy, although one person's courtesy can sometimes be perceived as condescending by someone else.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

If you write forewords and afterwords, why do you do it?

It's done to protect the score.

Whether authors realize it or not, that is why. The vast majority of writers write for a score much more than they claim to (again whether they realize it or not). There is nothing wrong with this, but so many authors fool themselves into thinking that they are not prioritizing the score much more than they think that they are, often to the point where the score is more important than the story that they are telling.

Most of this has to do with the very weak category system on lit. People read largely here for kinks, and by largely I would venture to guess somewhere in the 90% range. Then main way that people find their kink is through the categories, yet there are many categories which are wide-ranging or otherwise ambiguous in their kink. Some examples of this:

Incest: if you dont give the mom/son crowd mom/son, you will get downvoted in some way.
Incest again: if you give step or in-law cest you will get downvoted in some way.
BDSM: if you give a brutal dom, the caring dom crowd will downvote you.
BDSM again: if you give a caring dom, the brutal dom crowd will downvote you.
Group: if you stick a second male into the orgy the no-homo crowd will downvote the fuck out of you.

And we all know about LW ...

I could go on.

Notice that no one ever puts an anal warning on the top of an anal story. That's because anal is probably the easiest most specific and most unified crowd to write to. Just stick it in her ass and make sure that she likes it. Bonus points if she protests at first but then after trying comes to her senses and realizes that it's the best thing in the world. (roll eyes) Anal is the least polarizing category and so no one ever thinks of putting warnings there.

Other categories with polarization, or other vagueness or ambiguity to their briefs bring out the warnings and disclaimers. It's just to protect the score against downvoters.

If the categories that are too big and too vague were divided into appropriate sub-categories we would see a lot less of these forewords warnings and disclaimers.

No go ahead and crap on me like you usually do.

 

[djrip]

I feel awkward writing stuff that's not the story, like having a conversation with the readers? I get hung up on the wording as if I were writing an email to a girl I was trying to impress in high school or a job I'm applying for. I'll write a sentence and then go that sounds stupid. The story itself, I don't feel that way.

 

[Winter_Fare]

Out of courtesy for people who might be trying to avoid certain content, and sometimes if there's been a long gap between parts of a series I will recap.

 

[Djmac1031]

Other categories with polarization, or other vagueness or ambiguity to their briefs bring out the warnings and disclaimers. It's just to protect the score against downvoters.

I've only ever written warning disclaimers on two stories.

The first was my Halloween entry story, Night Of The Giving Head.

Now, despite it being entered in the Erotic Horror category, I figured, since it was something a little new for me (my stories so far were all simple little sex tales) to add the following disclaimer at the beginning:

Authors Forward: Story contains violence, gore, non-consent and incest. Just what any good horror story needs, right?

It was my tongue in cheek way of saying "hey, just forewarning you in case that stuff isn't your thing."

Also, since Incest can be a No No for many readers and it wasn't in the Incest catagory, I again wanted them informed up front.

To me that was less about "protecting ratings" and more about simply informing my potential readers so they could decide whether to carry on or not.

More recently, on my latest, Riders On The Storm:

DISCLAIMER:

The following features elements of Non Con, violence and gore. If these go against your sensibilities I understand. But I'm hoping you'll stick with it.

Again, to me, this was less about the ratings and more about informing readers, because my narrator (SPOILERS) turns out to be a rapist, and while not wanting to ruin a plot twist, I at least wished to clue readers in that there could be a triggering element within the story.

I do agree with you that it can get a little ridiculous sometimes. There should be no need to *WARN* readers about every little kink in your story beforehand just to make sure you don't "offend" anyone.

So I save those kinds of disclaimers for the most controversial; Non Con, gore and violence.

 

[Voboy]

I do it because my stories are all interconnected, so I like to VERY BRIEFLY place the new story roughly in with its fellows. I also like to point out it's a contest entry (if it is).

Very rarely, I'll also include a tongue-in-cheek "trigger warning." Mostly to mock the idea of trigger warnings, though I do see the point to them.

The afterword is briefer, and it's usually a reminder that it's a contest entry. I don't beg for votes; I always advise the reader to visit all the entries and vote up their favorites.

 

[UnquietDreams]

Another thread sparked a bit of curiosity in me.

If you write forewords and afterwords, why do you do it?

If you're opposed to doing it, or if you've simply never done it, why?

I am open to it, I've just never done it.

I am in the midst of my Valentine's Day story, and I think I will add an afterwards on it. Mostly because I want to explain what it was based on, and I am pretentious enough to use a classical story and anxious no one will realize how brilliant I am without it...

 

[Djmac1031]

To the original question:

I write Afterwards almost every story. I have since the beginning.

Why? Because it offers me a way to talk directly to my readers. It's really that simple.

Sometimes it's just to give them a little insight into where the story came from, what inspired it etc.

Sometimes I'm also thanking beta readers and others who've helped me along the way.

Sometimes I tease a sequel, or the next chapter if it's a series.

And then finally it just let's me thank people for taking time out of their life to read something I wrote. To let them know I appreciate it. And to encourage them to comment and tell me their thoughts on it.

And I find that works. My stories get plenty of comments most times.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Anal is the least polarizing category and so no one ever thinks of putting warnings there.

Up to a point. They're not very tolerant of anything else - hints that sex toys might be used on a man as well as a woman, references to queer stuff even if not described, and there's some readers who have strong views on what body parts should contact in what order (some object to any story without a woman giving a guy a blow job...)

If people look at a contest list, they don't see what category it's in, so I take greater care to point it out.

A story about to go, has this:
"WARNING: if you just clicked on the list of Literotica Valentine's Day stories, please note that this story is in the Gay Male category. It contains men fucking each other, and also British English.

If either of those repulse you, please hit Back now. I have many other stories with only heterosexual or lesbian sex, but I'm afraid the Englishness is unavoidable."

If people don't find that mildly amusing, they likely won't like the story, either. If they do, they may. I want readers, but really only ones who might appreciate the story.

 

[Bramblethorn]

When I do it, it's typically to provide information about the story that isn't necessarily conveyed by the title, blurb, or tags. Since Literotica is principally category-based, I generally want to mention if my story straddles those boundaries (and they almost always do). I consider it a courtesy, although one person's courtesy can sometimes be perceived as condescending by someone else.

Mostly this.

For a series, I'll include notes to give readers some idea where it's going (particularly important if later chapters get into territory that's not obvious from the first) and how often they can expect updates.

Also to thank people who assisted (beta readers etc.) and at the end of a long series, to thank those readers who stuck with it.

It's done to protect the score.

Whether authors realize it or not, that is why. The vast majority of writers write for a score much more than they claim to (again whether they realize it or not). There is nothing wrong with this, but so many authors fool themselves into thinking that they are not prioritizing the score much more than they think that they are, often to the point where the score is more important than the story that they are telling.

I expect that's a consideration for some. But I often see forewords/afterwords even on places like Ao3 which don't have story "scores" to protect (there's 'kudos', but that's effectively an upvote system with no downvote), and where the tagging system reduces the need for in-line content warnings.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Why Do You Write Forewords or Afterwords?​

I used to write forewords to quasi-autobiographical stories, to explain that’s what they were and a bit about the setting they shared. Even with these types of work - which I still write occasionally - I’ve stopped doing this.

I use endnotes to cover things I think a reader might be interested in, but which would clutter the text. For example, in Emma & Lily’s Halloween, I explain that the vampire they inadvertently dust wasn’t blasted out of existence.

I also use end notes to explain linkages to other stories. My own or friends’. And I religiously acknowledge anyone who helped me with the story. Alpha readers, beta readers, people I bounced ideas off of (assuming they are OK to be mentioned of course). I might also mention if I plan a future related work.

Emily

 

[dmallord]

Sometimes. I like to upfront recognize editing by others and again at the end for the same. If the story is for an event I note that upfront.

I don't consider anything about a score issue.

Sometimes I feel like it; sometimes I don't.
Why? Because ... do I really need permission or a reason that pleases you?

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Forewords and afterwords, it kind of just evolved. My first foreword was on my second story, a story that could have been ambiguous concerning the age of the MC, so I stuck a big banner at the top of the story.

The next was a gentle warning about extreme, or what my naiveté told me was extreme behavior, followed by a longer one when I started my First Contact series, begging the readers to be generous since I'd never done Sci-Fi before. Since it was the first chapter, it also included my first afterword, "to be continued..."

From there it became commonplace for me to give a brief introduction, kind of a welcome, come on in kind of thing where I'd also ask for a comment. This morphed and grew to adding a an afterword saying thank you for stopping by, and reinforcing my desire for feedback.

AS to why I do it now, I guess it feels comfortable. I'm inviting strangers into my home to hear a story I've crafted just for them. It just makes sense to welcome them and give them a little heads up about what to expect, maybe touch on an interesting factoid about where the idea came from or something to look for. My afterwords have likewise changed and grown. Have to say thanks for stopping by, and it can't hurt to remind them about that feedback.(don't know if it works or not)

I just feel it frames the experience and makes it more personal, maybe even building a sort of rapport between me and my readers.

Whether it does what I think or not, whether my asking for feedback has any effect, well, I can't say, but I'll keep doing it because it feels right to me.

 

[Priscilla_June]

I always write my Author’s notes as forwards. I want to encourage engagement so Im hoping they at least start off with that feeling at the beginning. And of course I like to give them a hint of what they are getting in to. Idk if that buys me any avoidance of dissatisfied bombs or not.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I often do both.

A foreword in erotica I think is important. For instance, if you're not into cuckold stories, you would avoid the LW category, but if you're reading a sci-fi story, you'd probably appreciate a heads-up that it features cuckoldry. Categories like sci-fi/fantasy, fan-fic, and a couple of others, can hide all sorts of stuff. If it happens in space or Narnia it usually goes in sci-fi/fantasy by default. I use the forward in such categories to remind readers to check the tags and make sure they are cool with the content.

At the end, I add an Author's Note thanking the reader for stopping by, and then mention whether there will be a future chapter or mention any other stories they might find the characters used again.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Sometimes. I like to upfront recognize editing by others and again at the end for the same. If the story is for an event I note that upfront.

That is neither a foreword, a warning nor a disclaimer.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I seldom provide author notes other than to advise readers of the length of a story before they get too invested in it.

Now, I do frequently use a frame story as a prologue, and occasionally an epilogue as a cliffhanger to the next related story. These are both part of the story, however, and not simply me speaking to the readers.

 

[jhealy55]

I only use it in order to preempt complaints about how slowly I get to anything overtly sexual.

I can understand how some people might think that a commitment to reading 4-5k words is roughly equivalent to having a date order something that only lists "market price" on the dinner menu.

So if they expected at least a blowjob or something more tangible by the end of the chapter, I think its fair to warn them in advance that they are at least 2-3 more chapters away from anything more than a hug or a quick peek down the blouse.

It also forewarns those who were looking for a quick release that their complaints will be mocked relentlessly and/or their comment deleted if they choose to proceed.