Writing Categories Defined?

[ButlersOwn]

Dumb Old Guy/FNG Question: Been through the writer's recources, guiedelines, FAQs, etc. Is there a listing of the writing categories and definitions of the broadness (or not) of each category? It's probably right under my nose, but I'm not seeing it. Not used to working in message/discussion boards. "Whaddya mean, you've never seen a typewriter before?" [ I know--it belongs in a museum. ] Thanks much. Please drop me a note at hotmail: ButlersOwn.

 

[SamScribble]

Don't think there is a 'definative' listing - although I could be wrong. But I'm happy to share my 'experience' (for what it's worth). PM me your questions - if you think it might be useful.

Cheers, Sam

 

[geronimo_appleby]

Dumb Old Guy/FNG Question: Been through the writer's recources, guiedelines, FAQs, etc. Is there a listing of the writing categories and definitions of the broadness (or not) of each category? It's probably right under my nose, but I'm not seeing it. Not used to working in message/discussion boards. "Whaddya mean, you've never seen a typewriter before?" [ I know--it belongs in a museum. ] Thanks much. Please drop me a note at hotmail: ButlersOwn.

Loving Wives is not about loving wives.

 

[PennLady]

This is the index page: http://www.literotica.com/stories/index.php

It lists the categories with their short descriptions, which is a help but may not clear everything up. Loving Wives can be about loving wives, but usually it's not, in my limited experience. It's more "slut wives," as it used to be on another site, and involves cheating in some fashion.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

How much detail are you looking for? I've used the advanced search function to look for thread titles in the AH that include specific category names. For example, I was confused about the differences between erotic couplings and romance, and found a couple of great old threads.

 

[oggbashan]

This is the list...

Anal - The butt, and nothing but. (3136)
BDSM - Bondage, D/s, and other power games. (18676)
Celebrities - Parodies & erotic fan fiction about famous people. (5715)
Chain Stories - Collaborations between Literotica authors. (501)
Erotic Couplings - Wild one-on-one consensual sex. (33136)
Erotic Horror - Bizarre, shocking, scary, and sometimes sexy. (1970)
Exhibitionist & Voyeur - Watching, and being watched. (10768)
Fetish - Feet, panties, food, and other kinky things. (7000)
First Time - Memories & stories of people's first times. (3786)
Gay Male - Men loving men. (8078)
Group Sex - Orgies, swingers, and others. (14123)
How To - Advice and suggestions from our readers/authors. (757)
Humor & Satire - A humorous take on all things sex. (1869)
Illustrated - Erotica with accompanying original visual artwork. (315)
Incest/Taboo - Keeping it in the family. (24173)
Interracial Love - It's all black & white, and white & Asian, and... (6130)
Lesbian Sex - Women who love other women. (9067)
Letters & Transcripts - Fictional erotic correspondence. (1142)
Loving Wives - Tales of adventurous married women & their mates. (18075)
Mature - May / December lust & love affairs. (6926)
Mind Control - Erotic hypnosis and mind control. (2090)
Non-English - Erotic stories in other languages. (1)
Non-Erotic - Fiction without a sexual focus. (2868)
NonConsent/Reluctance - Fantasies of control. (11078)
NonHuman - Aliens, ghosts, androids, and more. (4927)
Novels and Novellas - Erotic fiction with a broader scope. (8875)
Reviews & Essays - Your take on art, films, & all things sexual. (1007)
Romance - Candlelight, wine, and a soft kiss. (10564)
Sci-Fi & Fantasy - Erotic tales set in futuristic or fantastic worlds. (6287)
Text With Audio - Erotica with aural accompaniment. (917)
Toys & Masturbation - Battery-operated vegetables, etc. (2356)
Transsexuals & Crossdressers - Erotic tales of gender bending fun. (3369)


Some of these categories are obviously limited and specific:

Anal; Celebrities; Chain Stories; Exhibitionist and Voyeur; First Time; Gay Male; How To; Illustrated; Incest/Taboo; Interracial Love; Lesbian Sex; Letters & Transcripts; Reviews and Essays; Sci-Fi and Fantasy; Text With Audio; Toys and Masturbation; and Transsexuals and Crossdressers.

The others? Putting a story in the wrong one can get abusive feedback.

 

[3113]

Just ask us, sir.

Best thing to do is come here and ask us if you have any ambiguities or qualms about where to put a story. There is no way that the index there could possibly detail the subtleties of what audiences of these categories want/don't want, subtleties we old timers have gotten to know through trial and error. The one thing you need to remember is that there really no point in putting your story in a category where it won't get read and readers of these categories can be astonishingly picky.

For example, unfair and wrong as it sounds, if your story features gay male sex into gay male it should probably go (although horror and sci-fi/fantasy are, for the most part, okay with gay male vampires, elves, etc.). Doesn't matter if the guys have sex with a woman, too, which--you'd think--would put it in group. Readers of group, you see, want only hetero sex--like two women having sex with one man. If two men go at it, they'll be turned off and stop reading.

That's what it's all about--turn-ons and turn-offs. Some categories you can have all kinds of things (horror for example, can include scenes that are BDSM, gay/lesbian sex, anal, group) and the readers will be fine with it. Others want only one or two particular things and if you try to add in something else they'll be turned off (however romantic a love story between mother and son, the romance readers don't want to see it--the incest folk do). Yes?

 

[Stella_Omega]

Some of the things they don't tell you: "Loving Wives" is actually a mishmash of: cuckolded husbands, vengeful wives, vengeful husbands. If your couple actually love each other, they go into erotic coupling instead. If they love each other and indulge in swinging they go into group sex.

NO minors EVER have sex or ever had sex, on lit. That's just the way the owners roll. People spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways around that, and hollering censorship. Get over it, the site is privately owned and they can make whatever rules they want.

You can write about sex with animals if the animals are magical and can talk or are from another planet. Then it goes into the "non-human" category and all is good.

The lesbian category is for pretty blond girls. With nice long fingernails. If your lesbians are actually lesbian, you'll get complaints from male readers. BDSM trumps lesbian content.

Gay male trumps absolutely everything else. If your BDSM story features two men, it goes into gay male. If your group sex story has two men who touch each other, readers will complain. If your incest story is about brothers or father-son, it goes into gay male. If your gay male story includes a woman, it still goes into gay male.

Incest fantasy is most popular if it ends with a happy-ever-after and maybe the woman being pregnant by her incestuous lover. If somehow the couple can wangle a real marriage license so much the better.

 

[3113]

Incest fantasy is most popular if it ends with a happy-ever-after and maybe the woman being pregnant by her incestuous lover. If somehow the couple can wangle a real marriage license so much the better.

Every man wants to marry his mother?

 

[geronimo_appleby]

Some of the things they don't tell you: "Loving Wives" is actually a mishmash of: cuckolded husbands, vengeful wives, vengeful husbands. If your couple actually love each other, they go into erotic coupling instead. If they love each other and indulge in swinging they go into group sex.

NO minors EVER have sex or ever had sex, on lit. That's just the way the owners roll. People spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways around that, and hollering censorship. Get over it, the site is privately owned and they can make whatever rules they want.

You can write about sex with animals if the animals are magical and can talk or are from another planet. Then it goes into the "non-human" category and all is good.

The lesbian category is for pretty blond girls. With nice long fingernails. If your lesbians are actually lesbian, you'll get complaints from male readers. BDSM trumps lesbian content.

Gay male trumps absolutely everything else. If your BDSM story features two men, it goes into gay male. If your group sex story has two men who touch each other, readers will complain. If your incest story is about brothers or father-son, it goes into gay male. If your gay male story includes a woman, it still goes into gay male.

Incest fantasy is most popular if it ends with a happy-ever-after and maybe the woman being pregnant by her incestuous lover. If somehow the couple can wangle a real marriage license so much the better.

incest stories are all about love.

... i don't know how it all works; i just write the shit.

 

[3113]

The lesbian category is for pretty blond girls. With nice long fingernails. If your lesbians are actually lesbian, you'll get complaints from male readers.

So no lesbians are reading the lesbian category?

 

[geronimo_appleby]

So no lesbians are reading the lesbian category?

you could start a poll?

 

[Stella_Omega]

So no lesbians are reading the lesbian category?

Oh, sure-- but they are hardly the main percentage. I got many complaints from men that my women were too manly... and that my "girl on girl action" (a very common phrase) didn't make sense to them

On the other hand, one man just recently told me that "Her Woods, Her Pleasure" blew the top of his head right off. So it all evens out...

 

[geronimo_appleby]

Oh, sure-- but they are hardly the main percentage. I got many complaints from men that my women were too manly... and that my "girl on girl action" (a very common phrase) didn't make sense to them

On the other hand, one man just recently told me that "Her Woods, Her Pleasure" blew the top of his head right off. So it all evens out...

i thought all lesbians wore atrocious shoes, had sinister nails and false boobs!

... or is that just porn lesbians.

 

[lovecraft68]

incest stories are all about love.

... i don't know how it all works; i just write the shit.

Half. The other half are "sis looked hot so why not?" and for the follow up chapter the entire family joins in. These are invariably the ones with the highest scores.

 

[jomar]

You can get away with a lot in terms of the category if you have a good description or put an author's note at the top of your story.