Your favourite category to write for?

[EvelynEden]

Just popping in for another curious query~

What's your favourite category/genre to write for on Lit, and why?

Is it because it matches your own tastes, because the readers of that particular genre are the most vocal, or maybe it's just a category with a lot of traffic and a lot of love to give? Or, could it be something else?

Whatever it is, I'd love to hear it!

Cheers

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Except for Part 1 of my story arc (which will be Romance), I'll be writing strictly for the Lesbian Sex category.

Life experience is why.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Several years ago I dropped the first of my Floating World series into Mature, and it took off like a rocket (not like a LW or an Incest rocket, because those folk use different combustants). Now there's a niche, I thought - a bunch of appreciative, intelligent comments, high score/view ratios, good scores overall, minimal trolling and, even if a few squick police didn't like something, they were polite about it. They even acknowledged that it was their own preference, which has to be unusual.

I've done nicely in Romance too, with my Amelia stories (about a woman with paraplegia and the able-bodied man who falls for her). There's a sliding scale between Mature and Romance I think - it comes down to the tissue count to decide - cleaning up sticky mess or wiping tears away.

I've also done okay in sci/fi and fantasy, which is the best place for... stories set on Titan or retelling of the Arthurian myth.

Last time I counted them up, I've got stories in thirteen different categories, so I go where the stories go, not where the readers are.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

As a visually impaired kid, I didn't have many friends and even less reasons to go outside much. Instead of having my face kicked in by my local bullies, I've spent most of my time raiding Dad's shelf full of paperbacks of all sorts. I've read Moorcock and Zimmer-Bradley (the former was fun, the latter... not so much. That Beltaine scene in Mists of Avalon still haunts me), I've read Robert E. Howard, I've read some weird Italian shit, Aasimov, Lustbader (both his Japan-centric stuff and - more importantly, the Sunset Warrior books), the "Raven, Swordmistress of Chaos" books (stupid stories, but hot, weird sex!) and a ton of other stuff. Didn't take long to lose my soul to Dungeons & Dragons and BattleTech and while browsing my favourite local game store, the owner dropped a hot new book my way, called "Neuromancer" by William Gibson. Add to that heaps and heaps of Terry Pratchett. And H.P. Lovecraft. A very goth and very kinky girlfriend at the time showed me. (Am I allowed to say that because of the 'no underage' rule?). There is an unhealthy amount of game-lit in my collection still, all the Forgotten Realms novels, tons of Battletech, Shadowrun and Warhammer/WH40k. My reading "diet" is definitely a bit skewed

Anyway, I like the freedom building my own universe gives me. I can control everything - even the laws of nature if need be, which is highly liberating. Also, I can wrap certain themes in a way sensitive people (usually) don't freak out about as if they were written realistically - racism, sexism, xenophobia, disability-phobia (if there's a technical term for it, I bloody don't know it). Also, I can put in practically any amount of sex - from mild flirting to wild, exuberant tentacle sex orgies - without having to worry about the category police rolling in and complaining.

I've tried a bit of Horror, autobiographic stuff, a road movie script together with Zeb Carter, one I/T story which many people think IS autobiographic - but nothing gets me the same amount of praise as my fantasy stuff. I'm stuck in that particular corner of the LitVerse and I kinda like it here - even if said I/T story has almost as many views alone than all my other stuff combined.

 

[TxRad]

My favorite category is the one the next plot bunny I grab takes me to. After over 250 stories it don't make much difference. My fans might disagree. Most of them seem to think I should spend all my time writing sequels.

 

[PaxNurgle]

My writing tastes are similar to Blind Justice. A bit of sci-fi, fantasy, and supernatural all factor up into my stories, and while there is erotica present, it typically isn't the main focus of the story, rather it is merely a backdrop (enough to justify the NC-17 or R rating, in other words.) I will confess: I originally started writing BDSM, female domination stories, but for various reasons I won't go into, I shifted gears- I prefer reading OTHER people's BDSM/femdom stories as opposed to writing my own.

 

[SimonDoom]

What a good question to start a thread! I can't recall this precise question being asked before.

I've written more incest stories than any other type, but that's definitely not it. It's Exhibitionist and Voyeur, for me. Some of my incest stories have elements of this category, so it's the closest thing to a common denominator in my stories. I'd probably have to do some self-psychoanalyzing to figure out why, but it probably has something to do with having spent most of my life fairly buttoned up, literally and figuratively, and only cutting loose and pushing certain boundaries since I entered middle age.

The broader theme that drives my interest in erotica is people pushing against their own internal boundaries and boundaries imposed by society to pursue erotic pleasure. E&V illustrates this theme in a particularly appealing way for me, but it's not the only category that does so.

 

[RelentlessOnanism]

Incest, incest, INCEST. Nothing else interests me, to be honest.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'd probably have to do some self-psychoanalyzing to figure out why, but it probably has something to do with having spent most of my life fairly buttoned up, literally and figuratively, and only cutting loose and pushing certain boundaries since I entered middle age.

Suzie cut the top three buttons off Simon's shirt. "There ya go, bro. I learned all about buttons from EB." She grinned, and spun on her toes, looking as always, adorable.

EB looked up. "Jungian, or Freudian? Wait. Silly question. Hi, Simon's mom."

Carry on .

 

[lovecraft68]

Here its Incest/Taboo...with mature the second

Off here I've been enjoying writing erotic horror.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

The very first story I wrote to publish here at Lit was Sci-Fi. Since then I have written in many categories. Yet I seem to always have stories for Loving Wives and Incest/Taboo.

 

[GroverLang]

I write in several categories, all of which I normally read, except a story each for two categories when an idea popped into my head. I did try dipping my toe into Loving Wives once but after struggling to get to 2k words in four weeks I realised it was never going to happen.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I've got stories in thirteen different categories, so I go where the stories go, not where the readers are.

As is so often the case, I find myself agreeing with EB66. I too follow the stories; it is the stories who write themselves and I am but their amanuensis.

I've published them in 16 different categories, but looking at them now, I can't see a pattern, one in which stories in this category or that garner more views, more favourites or higher ratings. It's very mixed; in terms of just scores, I've SF and Romance both at the top and at the bottom, for instance.

There are a number of categories I don't write for, most of them simply because they don't interest me. Asides from that, my favourite category - per TxRad - is the one I'm working on.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

So far I've got three stories and a fragment in BDSM (the latter was my first posting on Lit, for a friend of mine). Readership appears to have plummeted recently, though.
One story and a 750-word challenge in Erotic Couplings, and working on another, as for once it's a nice sweet heterosexual couple.

One that Laurel put in Fetish, which went down well, being a crossover story.
One Lesbian Sex, which wasnt appreciated, partly because it's more of a fragment than a story, also I suspect BDSM overtones and established relationships don't appeal so much.

If I got to design the categories or required tags, most of my stories would be described as 'Psychological' and 'Queer as Fuck'. People having sex - who cares? Why people are having the sex they do, or how plausible people could end up in situations - that's what I'm interested in.

I'm working on a long story atm and figuring out how to divide it into chapters - I could have ones in Fetish, Gay Male, and Anal, or parcel it all up as a Novel/Novella, guessing it's too filthy for Romance. I'll decide once more of it's complete - currently having lots of fun fleshing out the characters and they keep going off and having conversations.

Oddly, though I love reading SF, I've never tried writing any - I've never had an idea I could flesh out enough. If I did write anything fantastical, it would probably be London-with-a-twist, rather like 'Rivers of London', but making extra effort not to look like I'm copying Mr Aaronovitch.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

I have published stories in 10 different categories so far. The category with the most submissions is Nonconsent/Reluctance. I do not like stories that feature forcible rape, and this is not the type of story I write. Rather, I prefer stories where a character in dire circumstances is presented with a difficult choice, and one of the alternatives involves sex.

I currently have three or four projects at various stages of completion, most of which will fall in Noncon/Reluctance. However, I think I may be transitioning to another category in the near future. Noncon/Reluctance is not particularly receptive to female antagonists. The alternative category - Fetish - has a much lower readership so there are factors to take into consideration.

 

[HeyAll]

My favorite are what I write; incest, lesbian, group, sometimes anal.

I really love BDSM stories and dom/sub elements. Sadly, no one reads BDSM anymore so I focus parts of those themes (tamely) towards my group sex stories.

 

[jehoram]

Looking at my Author page, I find that my favorite category is Group Sex, with some representation of Exhibitionism/Voyeur, and a sprinkling of other categories. That makes sense.

Here's the link: https://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=1216391&page=submissions

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

I’m story focused rather than erotic/genre focused, so I work backwards after writing to figure out what category might work.... I don’t pretend to be a master of this process. Sometimes, I’m just left wondering where to stick a story.

For example, I have a recent story, Parted, where, in the denouement, the protagonist stands in the shadows and masturbates while watching the girl he (thinks he) is having an affair with have sex with another man and confide in that man how unhappy she is. The protagonist is much older than his paramour but it’s not really a Mature story. There’s some voyeurism in that one scene, but not really, and the story itself isn’t E/V. The protagonist fetishizes his paramour but it’s not a Fetish story. He’s arguably cucked by her, but he’s the one cheating on his wife, so it’s not Loving Wives. The story is dark but it’s not Erotic Horror.

After nixing every other category, I put it in Erotic Couplings.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I’m story focused rather than erotic/genre focused, so I work backwards after writing to figure out what category might work...

Oddly, that’s generally the way I do it, too, Vix.

 

[vanmyers86]

I like the romance and first-time genres best - they dovetail with my general outlook and are just plain fun to write. Last night, I finished up my first, and probably only, incest story. It damn near killed me, trying to get the dynamics right.

Of course, part of that may be because my reaction to the pandemic really affected my writing. It's the longest and darkest story I have written for this site, and I wound up changing a key plot point because it just went to a bad place for me. I am glad I wrote it, because it was a serious challenge, but I don't think I would do another.

It's funny - I love reading science fiction and fantasy, but apparently have no ability to create it. So I will keep enjoying the stories by people who have that gift.

Interesting question. Thanks for asking it!

 

[gordo12]

As a reader of LW for the last twenty or so years I focused on LW although my first was Sci-fi. In the coming year I have romance stories written, one faux incest to add to the pile. Still I think LW will get most of any new efforts.

 

[JamesMiehoff]

I'm with Tx. I write the stories and then publish them in the category that seems most appropriate.

With the exception of the two series stories, which were never going anywhere but Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

James

 

[submissivewendy]

Fav category

Lesbian sex.

Trying different themes, d/s, romance, incest, sci fi, adventure, mystery, revenge, trying to draw on my own experience and tastes, seeing what readers like.

 

[EvelynEden]

What a good question to start a thread! I can't recall this precise question being asked before.

I've written more incest stories than any other type, but that's definitely not it. It's Exhibitionist and Voyeur, for me. Some of my incest stories have elements of this category, so it's the closest thing to a common denominator in my stories. I'd probably have to do some self-psychoanalyzing to figure out why, but it probably has something to do with having spent most of my life fairly buttoned up, literally and figuratively, and only cutting loose and pushing certain boundaries since I entered middle age.

The broader theme that drives my interest in erotica is people pushing against their own internal boundaries and boundaries imposed by society to pursue erotic pleasure. E&V illustrates this theme in a particularly appealing way for me, but it's not the only category that does so.

Ayy, thanks Simon! I'm usually pretty generic with my questions so I'm glad something decent slipped through for once hahah

 

[EvelynEden]

My favorite are what I write; incest, lesbian, group, sometimes anal.

I really love BDSM stories and dom/sub elements. Sadly, no one reads BDSM anymore so I focus parts of those themes (tamely) towards my group sex stories.

How sad! I didn't realise the BDSM category was dead Is there any particular reason why the viewerships died or was it just another victim of time?