Writing for yourself or ...

[CharleyH]

I was posting to the SDC and this question came up for me in the midst of my post:

Do we write for ourselves or do we write for others?

It's an age old argument, I know, but I truly believe that we write for others. Anyone want to bite on a writing topic today?

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Charley,
I really think it's different than a simple "me or them" answer.

For most of the writers on Lit, including myself, they/we write the stories we want to write for ourselves, but we also choose, unconsciously or otherwise, to write the stories we know will be read and enjoyed (sometimes hated) by the general reads.

 

[oggbashan]

I started writing (as an erotic author, if I am erotic) to try to produce acceptable stories for Yahoo Adult Fetish Groups because the standard of stories posted seemed so poor. Many of the existing stories were 2nd person and very short.

Much of my output was produced for those audiences which is why so much is Fetish.

Some stories I wrote just for myself.

Some I wrote because my Muses demanded them.

Some I wrote to annoy and irritate fetishists e.g. The Vinyl Dress.

Some I wrote as a satire on the category e.g. The Giant Squid as a satire on Tentacle Porn.

So my answer is a bit of each.

Og

 

[CharleyH]

Charley,
I really think it's different than a simple "me or them" answer.

For most of the writers on Lit, including myself, they/we write the stories we want to write for ourselves, but we also choose, unconsciously or otherwise, to write the stories we know will be read and enjoyed (sometimes hated) by the general reads.

My questions are rarely black and white and you are playing with me, JJ. Semiotically - I hope that I see.

 

[deliciously_naughty]

I was posting to the SDC and this question came up for me in the midst of my post:

Do we write for ourselves or do we write for others?

It's an age old argument, I know, but I truly believe that we write for others. Anyone want to bite on a writing topic today?

The stuff I've done for lit is primarily for my own entertainment.

My blog and the stuff I"m working on for publication is for others. And it's better, bluntly, because I care more and make more of an effort when I alone am not the primary audience.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

I believe that most artists (authors, poets, painters, sculptures, architects, etc) do what they do with their peers in mind: other artists, critics, specific people whose opinion they respect or with whom they have a personal rivalry or close relationship.

They might occasionally do something for themselves, without any consideration for others, but that's an exception. Those works might even never been seen in public, if they're being truthful about them being just for themselves. Work done only with the anonymous general audience in mind abounds, that's true, but I don't know if we want to go there. There are enough Da Vinci Code replicas on the shelves and Hollywood endings at theatres.

 

[CharleyH]

I started writing (as an erotic author, if I am erotic) to try to produce acceptable stories for Yahoo Adult Fetish Groups because the standard of stories posted seemed so poor. Many of the existing stories were 2nd person and very short.

Much of my output was produced for those audiences which is why so much is Fetish.

Some stories I wrote just for myself.

Some I wrote because my Muses demanded them.

Some I wrote to annoy and irritate fetishists e.g. The Vinyl Dress.

Some I wrote as a satire on the category e.g. The Giant Squid as a satire on Tentacle Porn.

So my answer is a bit of each.

Og

Thanks Og. Where are the stories you wrote for yourself? Mine are in my closet.

I suppose the dichotomy I am getting at in theory is that it's a cop-out to think that one writes for oneself when one publishs their stories (free on a forum like this, or otherwise paid) particularly here and in the face of switching on the Lit-vote button, and voting being such a concern amongst many Lit authors (not you included, as I know your experiments).

Do we write for ourselves? And what is the difference between when we actually do write for 'ourselves'.

 

[Unsung Muse]

Funny, I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately...
(well, not exactly your question, but close)

I make a concerted effort to write "for others",
but the "me" keeps getting in the way.

I feel strongly that it should be the other way around
(i.e. draw from personal experiences/feelings/situations/etc...
THEN fictionalize it), & think I keep getting it backwards.

 

[Belegon]

I write with others in mind...I want the opinions, want to know if I communicated my thoughts the way I wanted to...I want to titillate or entertain.

But, whether or not to write at all? As opposed to what I write about? That's for me.

 

[CharleyH]

The stuff I've done for lit is primarily for my own entertainment.

My blog and the stuff I"m working on for publication is for others. And it's better, bluntly, because I care more and make more of an effort when I alone am not the primary audience.

Hi delicious - good to see you after all these years. Hm, I would immediately think that a blog would be written for you - much in the way a diary is? Interesting, though - can you tell more?

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I write for me. What I want, the way I want it, let others be damned if they don't. I submit my work in the hopes that others will like it, and I crave their feedback, but it was written for ME.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

My questions are rarely black and white and you are playing with me, JJ. Semiotically - I hope that I see.

In reality, Charley, we are all feeback whores. If we wrote strictly for ourselves we would die of our own dismal stories.

I do write what I chose to write for my own edification. However, most of those stories are never posted because I know they will not be adored by the reading audience.

 

[oggbashan]

Thanks Og. Where are the stories you wrote for yourself? Mine are in my closet.

...

Any readers will have to work that out for themselves.
I have put several of them on Literotica.

Many of the stories I started writing for myself are unfinished because there is no compulsion on me to complete them.

After the first couple, my 15 x fifty-word stories were written because the AH expects me to enter them in contests. The Christmas ones this year were the most difficult to complete. I'm not sure whether I'll continue. Theya re becoming a chore and they are hard work.

Og

 

[tanyachrs]

That's where I am. I can't make it hot if it's not hot to me, but when it's all done I sure hope other people will find it hot too.

 

[CharleyH]

I believe that most artists (authors, poets, painters, sculptures, architects, etc) do what they do with their peers in mind: other artists, critics, specific people whose opinion they respect or with whom they have a personal rivalry or close relationship.

They might occasionally do something for themselves, without any consideration for others, but that's an exception. Those works might even never been seen in public, if they're being truthful about them being just for themselves. Work done only with the anonymous general audience in mind abounds, that's true, but I don't know if we want to go there. There are enough Da Vinci Code replicas on the shelves and Hollywood endings at theatres.

I agree. I am not sure that you can consider wanting or publishing your writing as writing for yourself, or at least say it in all seriousness in the same breath.

Those who publish on Lit and elsewhere, do it because they desire an audience ... people enjoy circle jerks more than dark room, self-masturbation sessions.

 

[CharleyH]

Any readers will have to work that out for themselves.
I have put several of them on Literotica.

Many of the stories I started writing for myself are unfinished because there is no compulsion on me to complete them.

After the first couple, my 15 x fifty-word stories were written because the AH expects me to enter them in contests. The Christmas ones this year were the most difficult to complete. I'm not sure whether I'll continue. Theya re becoming a chore and they are hard work.

Og

So, writing for yourself has no gratification on Lit?

 

[CharleyH]

Funny, I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately...
(well, not exactly your question, but close)

I make a concerted effort to write "for others",
but the "me" keeps getting in the way.

I feel strongly that it should be the other way around
(i.e. draw from personal experiences/feelings/situations/etc...
THEN fictionalize it), & think I keep getting it backwards.

Can you say more?

Perhaps it is not what you write more than how you do so? Never read anything by you, so I can't do more than take your word for it.

 

[oggbashan]

So, writing for yourself has no gratification on Lit?

A few people have appreciated the stories I write for myself, but in general they go unnoticed and take months to reach 10 votes, if they ever do.

I post them here because that gives me proof of copyright. Once posted on Literotica they are 'published' and copyright runs from that date.

The stories I write for others, specifically fetishes and incest, have more obvious success but my stories still have a limited appeal.

I get gratification from completing and posting a story. Once I have posted, I've generally finished with that story, forget it, and move on to another. I have more ideas for stories than I could possibly write. My folder for 'current drafts 2006' is subdivided into six folders with about 30 incomplete stories in each. Then there's 'current drafts 2005'; 2004; 2003...

If I scrapped all my current drafts, and believe me I have considered it, I could produce as many story ideas in a week. That is why I started my fifty-word series. It uses 15 plots in 750 words.

Og

 

[Aurora Black]

I started off writing for myself, but now I'm a literary whore.

 

[Munachi]

i write for myself: i want lots of attention, and i hope writing gets me some of that. hehe.

 

[CharleyH]

I write with others in mind...I want the opinions, want to know if I communicated my thoughts the way I wanted to...I want to titillate or entertain.

So true.

 

[Minervous]

.....

 

[StormRising]

I write for myself- if others like or dislike it, it's just a bonus.

 

[CharleyH]

i write for myself: i want lots of attention, and i hope writing gets me some of that. hehe.

Munachi. Now now - Do you really write for yourself if you are an attention whore?

 

[damppanties]

And what is the difference between when we actually do write for 'ourselves'.

The difference, for me, is that the writing I do for myself (which remains on my hard disk and on my blog) is undeniably dark and very painful. It is innermost me. The fictionalised stories I write for 'me' are also of people in pain and darkness. I don't think I can share it with just anybody. Whereas on Lit, I mostly write fluff - romance with a happy ending or some smut. My stories on Lit are just for the high of feedback and some experimentation.

And Charley, you should read Unsung Muse.