Why do you write?

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I started writing when I was small. I come from writers. Mark Twain is a kinsman of mine, so is Samuel Johnson, and others not so well known. Writing is in my blood.

Writing to me is compositional and performance art, like playing an organ and drawing. My idea is to capture the spirits of perception, experience, and meaning in bite size morsels that resonate in the reader. My idea is to put across the gist of a truth or premise about life using irresistable written manipulation to do it.

 

[cherylashi26]

For myself. I have all these stories in my head and I can't stop thinking about them until they're down on paper. It's rather maddening; I either can't sleep, or wake up in the middle of the night, with my head full of ideas.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

I'm less interested in seeing two people shagging than in exploring why it's happening.

I agree. I think there has to be some reason whey people do things, even fuck. Otherwise it's just random behaviour.

 

[Roleplay_LouiseUk]

Very good question...

I started writing for the pure fact that I really do enjoy writing however wasn't sure if I had any writing talent that anybody would like to read however since getting some really good feedback I tend to write more because of the people. I get some requests especially about my latest story 'Strangers in Paradise' so I will start making it into a series rather than just one part story. I have however started a few other stories that I have done just to see how things turn out. So I guess my answer is ... A bit of both.

 

[Spacefender]

Why do you write?

Anymore I don't really know why. It's certainly not due to any real talent for it on my part. Popularity isn't a factor either. Nothing I've ever written has been popular and I certainly don't expect that to ever change. I can't even say it's about the joy of writing either. Sometimes I enjoy it but a lot of the time it's a pure drag trying to write.

I can't really say it's a case of ideas trying to get out of my head and onto paper (or the computer screen in this case) because if that were the case I should be much more prolific. My ideas apparently aren't trying very hard.

It's not like I write anything exciting. Mostly my stories are about characters who sit around and talk without doing much other than the occasional fuck. Nor are the conversations they have insightful or meaningful. Mostly the conversations seem to meander around without ever really going anywhere other than in circles.

Sometimes I think that I write only to prove to myself that I can. Problem is that I haven't proven it yet. Maybe once I manage to prove to myself that I can I can finally frigging stop.

 

[Cruel2BKind]

I used to write short stories, but with the exception of a few, I could never finish them.

Erotica gives me a formula. With the formula, I can always finish my stories, and I have to say that after all these years of notebooks filled with half-baked half-written ideas, the sense of closure is very addictive.

Also, feedback.

I wrote my short stories in the feeble hope that they could one day be published. That was a one in a million chance, especially now that I look back at them. I probably cannot publish these, but I get a reaction. At heart, I am an attention whore, and I love the feedback.

In fact, I've bookmarked this site on my computer under the name 'Feedback'

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Anymore I don't really know why. It's certainly not due to any real talent for it on my part. Popularity isn't a factor either. Nothing I've ever written has been popular and I certainly don't expect that to ever change. I can't even say it's about the joy of writing either. Sometimes I enjoy it but a lot of the time it's a pure drag trying to write.

I can't really say it's a case of ideas trying to get out of my head and onto paper (or the computer screen in this case) because if that were the case I should be much more prolific. My ideas apparently aren't trying very hard.

It's not like I write anything exciting. Mostly my stories are about characters who sit around and talk without doing much other than the occasional fuck. Nor are the conversations they have insightful or meaningful. Mostly the conversations seem to meander around without ever really going anywhere other than in circles.

Sometimes I think that I write only to prove to myself that I can. Problem is that I haven't proven it yet. Maybe once I manage to prove to myself that I can I can finally frigging stop.

Hey dipstick!

I looked at one of your stories. Its better than average. That is, you got the rhythm down pat, and just need to make your moves smoother. Most writers never get the hang of the rhythm.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I used to write short stories, but with the exception of a few, I could never finish them.

Erotica gives me a formula. With the formula, I can always finish my stories, and I have to say that after all these years of notebooks filled with half-baked half-written ideas, the sense of closure is very addictive.

Also, feedback.

I wrote my short stories in the feeble hope that they could one day be published. That was a one in a million chance, especially now that I look back at them. I probably cannot publish these, but I get a reaction. At heart, I am an attention whore, and I love the feedback.

In fact, I've bookmarked this site on my computer under the name 'Feedback'

FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE by George V.Higgins.

"I got guns to sell," Jackie Brown said. "I done a lot of business and I had very few complaints. I can get you four-inchers and two-inchers. You just tell me what you want. i can deliver it."
"How much?" the stocky man said.
"Depends on the lot," Jackie Brown said.
"Depends on what I'm willing to pay, too," the stocky man said. "How much?"
"Eighty," Jackie Brown said.
"Eighty?" the stocky man said. "You ever sell guns before? Eighty is way too high. I'm talking about thirty guns here now. I can go into a goddamned store and buy thirty guns for eighty apiece. We got to talk some more about price, I can see that."
"I'd like to see you go into a store and order up thirty pieces," Jackie Brown said. "I don't know who you are and I don't know what you got in mind and I don't need to know. But I would sure like to be there when you tell the man you got some friends in the market for thirty pieces and you want a discount. I would like to see that. The FBI'd be onto your phone before you got the money out."
"There's more'n one gun store, you know," the stock man said.
"Not for you there ain't," Jackie Brown said. "I can tell you right now there isn't anybody for a hundred miles that can put up the goods like I can, and you know it. So no more of that shit."

I read your HOW TO essay about dialogue. Here's a sample from George V. Higgins, maybe the best dialogue writer ever. His books are nuthjin but dialogue.

 

[lance gt]

FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE by George V.Higgins.

"I got guns to sell," Jackie Brown said. "I done a lot of business and I had very few complaints. I can get you four-inchers and two-inchers. You just tell me what you want. i can deliver it."
"How much?" the stocky man said.
"Depends on the lot," Jackie Brown said.
"Depends on what I'm willing to pay, too," the stocky man said. "How much?"
"Eighty," Jackie Brown said.
"Eighty?" the stocky man said. "You ever sell guns before? Eighty is way too high. I'm talking about thirty guns here now. I can go into a goddamned store and buy thirty guns for eighty apiece. We got to talk some more about price, I can see that."
"I'd like to see you go into a store and order up thirty pieces," Jackie Brown said. "I don't know who you are and I don't know what you got in mind and I don't need to know. But I would sure like to be there when you tell the man you got some friends in the market for thirty pieces and you want a discount. I would like to see that. The FBI'd be onto your phone before you got the money out."
"There's more'n one gun store, you know," the stock man said.
"Not for you there ain't," Jackie Brown said. "I can tell you right now there isn't anybody for a hundred miles that can put up the goods like I can, and you know it. So no more of that shit."

I read your HOW TO essay about dialogue. Here's a sample from George V. Higgins, maybe the best dialogue writer ever. His books are nuthjin but dialogue.

Sorry Jimmy, but that dialogue sucks. I wrote better stuff in high school. Even my latest attempt at non-descriptor dialogue is better than that. I can have up to 6 people conversing and there's no problem knowing who said what. This is poor, period.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Sorry Jimmy, but that dialogue sucks. I wrote better stuff in high school. Even my latest attempt at non-descriptor dialogue is better than that. I can have up to 6 people conversing and there's no problem knowing who said what. This is poor, period.

Robert Mitchum played Eddie Coyle in the movie.

 

[lance gt]

Robert Mitchum played Eddie Coyle in the movie.

I believe I saw it. I'm pretty sure all the descriptors were left out, lol.

The 'he said' is so poor. The one thing it lacks is emotion/impact. No expressions, or mannerisms used, while speaking. In essence, it would make me use the book as toilet paper and fire starter, instead of reading it. Descriptors aren't there to keep track of who says what, they're there to input the emotion and substance into the dialogue. You either set the scene in the body of text, or write it in with the dialogue, but either way, that's what keeps the reader glued to the page.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I believe I saw it. I'm pretty sure all the descriptors were left out, lol.

The 'he said' is so poor. The one thing it lacks is emotion/impact. No expressions, or mannerisms used, while speaking. In essence, it would make me use the book as toilet paper and fire starter, instead of reading it. Descriptors aren't there to keep track of who says what, they're there to input the emotion and substance into the dialogue. You either set the scene in the body of text, or write it in with the dialogue, but either way, that's what keeps the reader glued to the page.

Its a popular book, and Elmore Leonard swears Higgins taught him all about writing, even after Leonard had many best sellers. Go figger!

 

[Spacefender]

I believe a rather famous writer once said that good dialogue doesn't need a whole lot of support. Because I'm an uneducated lout I forgot who it was that said it. The basic idea was if you need to tell your readers the emotional state of the characters then the dialogue isn't doing its job. Having your characters emoting at top speed really detracts from the story.

I've read too many stories where the characters are alternately grimacing, fidgeting, snarling, shrugging, sighing and who knows what all, in the space of a single short conversation, just because the author is trying to avoid the 'he said, she said' quandary. The problem is too much of that draws way more attention to itself than 'he said, she said' does.

My opinion is that if the dialogue is good then 'he said, she said' doesn't much matter. If the dialogue sucks then all the descriptors in the world won't save it.

 

[sr71plt]

My opinion is that if the dialogue is good then 'he said, she said' doesn't much matter. If the dialogue sucks then all the descriptors in the world won't save it.

It matters for prolonged dialogue. Readers can easily lose track who is saying what. And it matters for dialogue between more than two characters.

 

[topace]

I write for my readers. Seeing the feedback I get on my stories always gives a smile, and makes me want to write even more.

I include the sex because I feel it's an essential part of a good romantic story for me. Occasionally I like the sex with no romance, but then it's not as right IMHO. So far I haven't written in a condom or other forms of safe sex, but one of my characters is ****ing rich (cause he's the best at what he does for a living) and he's a responsible guy towards his partners due to his dad leaving when he was just 5.

I also enjoy the thrill of the guy knowing he could plant a baby in his partner. I also like showing the consequences of not using protection - sometimes as a setup for a sequel to my story.

 

[Bramblethorn]

It matters for prolonged dialogue. Readers can easily lose track who is saying what.

IMHO it depends a lot on the content. In dialogue like the Higgins excerpt above, the nature of the conversation makes it hard to lose track: the guy who wants to buy guns cheap is Mr. Stocky, the guy who wants to sell guns dear is Brown, it only needs one set of tags at the start. OTOH, if you've got two characters who are agreeing with one another and exploring the same theme together, it needs to be tagged more often (at least when it does matter who's saying what).

 

[oggbashan]

I write to get the plot bunnies out of my head.

Once I have posted a story on Literotica, I can forget it...

...and start another plot.

Finishing a part-written story is harder than starting a new one. Although I have more than 200 posted 'stories' on Literotica as oggbashan and jeanne_d_artois I have far more stories waiting to be finished.

 

[gentledemands]

I write to get the plot bunnies out of my head.

Once I have posted a story on Literotica, I can forget it...

...and start another plot.

Finishing a part-written story is harder than starting a new one. Although I have more than 200 posted 'stories' on Literotica as oggbashan and jeanne_d_artois I have far more stories waiting to be finished.

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.

John Steinbeck

 

[SamScribble]

Why do I write? Because I like to eat and I'm not very good at lifting heavy objects or doing anything repetitive.

 

[jomar]

Like Ogg, I've also written to get it from pestering me.

 

[nicecthulhu]

Do the stories just have sex or do thay have purpose, are they reflective on the greater world? Do they send a message?

They're stories about adults and adults have sex. Romance adds a nice flavour to a story. I sometimes try to give a story a theme: making assumptions, finding yourself, gaining some self-worth, facing your mistakes, etc. I try to keep it positive because there's more than enough darkness in the world. Some stories are just meant to be fun.

 

[someoneyouknow]

Partly because I'm bored, partly because I'm frustrated at being bored, partly because I have an active imagination and partly, now, to prepare myself for the possible writing of a book.

I once wrote the beginning of a story in IRC and someone suggested I write the whole thing and post it on Lit. Which I did.

I don't write for anyone in particular, I just try to make the story believable and interesting. It's not as if someone else hasn't written something similar.

 

[Spacefender]

It matters for prolonged dialogue. Readers can easily lose track who is saying what. And it matters for dialogue between more than two characters.

I find that in cases like that the problem is easily solved by using the character names if there is any doubt about who is saying what. There are also other ways of clueing the reader in as to who is speaking at a particular time.

I guess this issue is another benefit of writing in the first person; it gives you another personal pronoun to work with.

 

[Handley_Page]

'Cos it's fun

 

[lance gt]

I find that in cases like that the problem is easily solved by using the character names if there is any doubt about who is saying what. There are also other ways of clueing the reader in as to who is speaking at a particular time.I guess this issue is another benefit of writing in the first person; it gives you another personal pronoun to work with.

A clue I use, is in the character development. I try to give each character distinct speech patterns. The words and the way they use them, are clear indicators of who is saying what. I like to use the characters names in the dialogue as well, the same as a person would during any conversation with someone they know well.

I agree with the over-use of descriptors, describing fidgeting, nail biting, etc., can be detracting. The emotions should have been set up in the body of the story and only serious changes in emotion/action should be used during dialogue and then back to detailed description in the body. The dialogue shouldn't be distracting to understand, trying to understand what's being said, while descriptions of emotion and movement confound it.

I generally stay away from 1st person writing myself. I've done a couple of stories like that and find 3rd person let's a reader equate with it more.