Reasons for Writing

[Wifetheif]

I think this pie chart sums it up well.

 

[Hypnobitch01]

I'm intrigued to hear what people's reasons for writing at all are. I think we need more discussion on the forums about writing itself, as an art form. It's Author's Hangout, after all. This can be for your erotica here or elsewhere and for your writing in general, not limited to any specific story, though I'm aware reasons may differ for each one. The reason why I'm interested is because I think there must be some deeper reasoning and motivation beyond just "getting off." The whole "I write to please the readers" shtick doesn't seem sufficient either. There were no readers when you first sat down at the keyboard. Do you want to change the world? Do you want to explore parts of yourself? Do you want to escape into a visualization of a better life? Do you want to alter people's outlooks about erotic subjects? Do you want to play a part in shaping peoples' erotic pretensions and outlooks? Let me hear it.

I used to love writing but I found I could never write anything I actually found engaging enough to finish, so I stopped. I lost my passion for writing, that was until I discovered erotica, and while reading it I thought to myself, “I would love a story with…” I then realized I could write a story with what I wanted. I found passion for writing again and have found a community that really enjoys what I write as much as I do. I feel so happy that I could reignite this passion that my younger self loved so much.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

“I would love a story with…”

Yeah, I think that "If I wrote a story it would go like ..." is a fairly common feeling among those who first get the writing bug.

 

[Senor_Smut]

Man, this is a good topic. Thanks to the OP.

I write for a set of reasons, each of which plays off the others to inform the kinds of stories I write:

1. First and foremost, I write what I wish someone else had written so I could have read it. Be the writer of smut you want to see in the world.
2. I've been a storyteller my whole life, and this is an extension of that.
3. I write to push myself, to make myself a better writer and storyteller. My stories always focus around something I haven't done before: a new format, the perspective character(s) being the sorts I never explored before and don't inherently sympathize with. subject matter or themes I've never written about, etc. If I write a story that's substantially the same as a story I've written before, then I've failed.
4. I gravitate toward female perspective characters. I have no idea why, but I've been told I write them well. Maybe that's a side of myself that I can't explore any other way.
5. For me the most erotic thing about any adult story is the pushing of the characters' boundaries and their exploration of things that are taboo (taboo to them, that is, which can be something that others think is vanilla but my characters don't). A character being guided or urged or coerced into exploring something they think they'll hate, finding they love it, and then having to deal with the fallout and what it means for them as a person is the kernel of most everything I write.
6. My stories tend to be deep-dive character explorations of one or two individuals. I love digging in, finding what makes people tick, and watching them change under pressure to become something they never dreamed they could be.
7. I don't write stories where everything is easy and the world is sunshine and bunnies. I like putting my characters through the wringer to see what they're made of.
8. I definitely do not write stories for likes or people telling me how much they enjoyed them. Don't get me wrong, I love that as much as anybody else when it happens, but as long as I'm happy with what I write, I'm perfectly content if everyone else in the world hates it.
9. It gives me something to do. With my health issues I can't work and I don't have much money, so being able to do something keeps me from extreme measures. My health issues mean I write very slowly, but if I'm happy with the finished product then it's worth it.

 

[Taylor_Knight]

What a fascinating read. I'd like to thank @madelinemasoch for starting this thread.

I found it quite compelling to read through each person's reason(s) for putting pen to paper and/or fingers to keyboard. For myself, I find the relationship I have with my literary counterparts goes deeper than those I have with the people I meet in this 3-dimensional world outside my imagination. I consider myself quite selfish because I just adore spending time, mostly sexually rewarding time, with my delicious invented characters. They feed in me something I don't get from the outside world.
And I wish to add this: I also write to give to individuals that which many people wish they could do but, for whatever reason, lack the will or patience or talent.
It's all so scrumptious.

 

[Areala-chan]

Often I'm writing because I want to challenge myself in some way. When I first started here, I saw the Incest/Taboo category and thought, "Well, that category is for weirdos and perverts, so count me out." A dozen or so years later, I read a book that used the theme of a brother and sister falling in love, and I was like, "Well, shit, if that writer could do it...". So I read a few stories here to take stock of what people seemed to want, and how I could put my own personal touches on the category. Took me two tries to get it right, but when I did, the feeling of satisfaction was immense. The fact it's still on the category top list (albeit down in the ~200 range) coming up on 8 years later without being a serial story blows my mind.

A lot of what I write doesn't get posted, or it doesn't get posted here. But I'm still writing, still wrestling with ideas, still trying to sand down the edges of my sucking while using my feral Gen X powers to 'whatever...' my way through criticism. Most often my own, but that's the life of a depressive-creative type. I write because I can't not write.

 

[Mastered_again]

I write for myself first. I have some thoughts I want to put into words. It's a pleasant distraction. Creating something from nothing. Helps keep my mind sharp from the editing to write more clearly and efficiently. Until I'm satisfied with the plot and the prose.

Put it out there for people to like or not, but there have been enough positive reactions to let me know it's not drivel and they want to come along for the ride.

My stories are positive, probably too idealized for some, but after all the pain and destruction I've seen in 68 years, I want my readers to feel good and leave that behind over a short read.

Am I succeeding? In a small way, yes. And it feels good.

 

[Pauljiggs]

Does anybody write because they HAVE too?
If they don’t write it down they feel they will go crazy?
I build saddles.
Mostly because I want to carve leather.
Most of my day taken up putting saddles together.
But I get enough carving to keep the cravings at bay.
But there are times I will just sit and carve a new flower or a new style of filler stems. Because if I don’t my mind runs away with itself.
Does writing or having stories in your head do the same thing?

 

[WrongFrog]

Does anybody write because they HAVE too?
If they don’t write it down they feel they will go crazy?
I build saddles.
Mostly because I want to carve leather.
Most of my day taken up putting saddles together.
But I get enough carving to keep the cravings at bay.
But there are times I will just sit and carve a new flower or a new style of filler stems. Because if I don’t my mind runs away with itself.
Does writing or having stories in your head do the same thing?

I do. I've never really quit writing, because I can't, but I've spent a lot of years trying to write things that made other people happy and build friendships in serious writing communities. I have been miserable and bored and frustrated with my writing for years.

I hit a wall recently, and decided not to do anything that doesn't make me happy anymore. So, I'm back here writing erotica, and enjoying the company of like-minded hedonists.

 

[Pauljiggs]

I do. I've never really quit writing, because I can't, but I've spent a lot of years trying to write things that made other people happy and build friendships in serious writing communities. I have been miserable and bored and frustrated with my writing for years.

I hit a wall recently, and decided not to do anything that doesn't make me happy anymore. So, I'm back here writing erotica, and enjoying the company of like-minded hedonists.

Boy do I understand hitting the wall.
Doing custom work means doing what the customer wants.
But sometimes I just have do what pleases my eye. Get away from the acceptable styles.
Thank you for your reply.

 

[WrongFrog]

Boy do I understand hitting the wall.
Doing custom work means doing what the customer wants.
But sometimes I just have do what pleases my eye. Get away from the acceptable styles.
Thank you for your reply.

I'm also an equestrian, and I get that obsession too. Completely off topic- as a craftsman, any idea where i can find an old fashioned bareback pad? The kind with the straps for a real girth, not a belly band? Mine (old school Navajo blanket with the thick sheepskin pad) held up for 30 years until I moved to TN, and the rats ate it down to buckles.

 

[Pauljiggs]

I'm also an equestrian, and I get that obsession too. Completely off topic- as a craftsman, any idea where i can find an old fashioned bareback pad? The kind with the straps for a real girth, not a belly band? Mine (old school Navajo blanket with the thick sheepskin pad) held up for 30 years until I moved to TN, and the rats ate it down to buckles.

Yea I do.
Find your local saddle maker and order one. Best option.
But, look up Spanish Bareback Pad.
Most have pretty good riggings built in and many but not all have rings set for stirrup leathers.
Better ones will run you in the $350-$400 range.
Little less than a custom shop will charge you.

 

[WrongFrog]

Yea I do.
Find your local saddle maker and order one. Best option.
But, look up Spanish Bareback Pad.
Most have pretty good riggings built in and many but not all have rings set for stirrup leathers.
Better ones will run you in the $350-$400 range.
Little less than a custom shop will charge you.

I appreciate it.
I'm in the land of TWH and SSH. I ask about bareback pads or gods forbid a decent jaquima for my Paso and get blank states and crickets. I'm still trying to find someone local I trust for my Stuebben, it needs the knee rolls restuffed and patched. The one guy locally I took it to told me to throw it away, because he didn't know how to deal with it, and tried to sell me a flat saddle to replace my AP.

 

[Pauljiggs]

I appreciate it.
I'm in the land of TWH and SSH. I ask about bareback pads or gods forbid a decent jaquima for my Paso and get blank states and crickets. I'm still trying to find someone local I trust for my Stuebben, it needs the knee rolls restuffed and patched. The one guy locally I took it to told me to throw it away, because he didn't know how to deal with it, and tried to sell me a flat saddle to replace my AP.

That’s sucks.
The gaited folks are a little different.
I am a western saddle maker but because of where I am I am getting more and more English saddles in to repair.
There’s a Frenchman down in Santa Cruz that I send most of the big English repairs too. And he sends me the western saddles that fall into his shop.
From what I am seeing is most English riders view their saddles as disposable. New billet straps once and maybe two sets of leathers and then a new saddle is needed.
Not saying that is industry wide but that seems to be what comes into my shop.
I would say find a reputable hunter jumper trainer in your area and find where they take their saddles.
Hit up the bigger boarding stables and ask around.
God knows every horseman knows who the best is.

 

[WrongFrog]

That’s sucks.
The gaited folks are a little different.
I am a western saddle maker but because of where I am I am getting more and more English saddles in to repair.
There’s a Frenchman down in Santa Cruz that I send most of the big English repairs too. And he sends me the western saddles that fall into his shop.
From what I am seeing is most English riders view their saddles as disposable. New girth straps once and maybe two sets of leathers and then a new saddle is needed.
Not saying that is industry wide but that seems to be what comes into my shop.
I would say find a reputable hunter jumper trainer in your area and find where they take their saddles.
Hit up the bigger boarding stables and ask around.
God knows every horseman knows who the best is.

In Florida, absolutely. Here, I'm lost.

I've had my saddle for more than thirty years, and it was a classic when I bought it. Even when I didn't have horses, it still got cleaned once a month. I've never understood how people could toss out their tack unless it was completely destroyed- something like a Stuebben or a beautifully tooled Western. That said, I really appreciate the advice, and I'll quit the hijacking the thread!

 

[gunhilltrain]

For me writing is like building. I think of it like building a bridge... to take the reader from here to there. I work hard to try to make it an enjoyable walk for the reader... I try to build a good foundation with strong supporting beams, and make it a sturdy bridge...by Getting inside the head of my characters, usually two people and guide them through a period, a day, a few hours, or more. I like my characters, and as I go along with them, sometimes they "Sort of" talk to me, point me, suggest how they would act...and I make that change.
But I write because I really enjoy writing, so unfortunately I'm not especially good at it...and it isn't the Golden Gate bridge, it's just a little rickety wooden bridge, but it's my bridge.

It's more like the 145th Street bridge; not spectacular, but functional. Or to put it another way, it's realistic, I hope. And as I said, it gives me something to do in my retirement.

145th Street Bridge

 

[MythMaker]

It's honestly just a hobby for me to do. Something that I can constantly work towards as a goal I suppose. That and wanting to see specific lewd scenarios that I don't think would ever get written otherwise lol

 

[Triplebottom]

I'm a creative at heart. Whether it be stories, music, 3d printing, I always feel like I have this pent up energy to create something that needs to be released. So when I do, I feel satisfied and fulfilled...until I get that itch to create something again.

 

[BreukelenAnima]

The witty, acerbic, and brilliant Dorothy Parker said it best, "I hate writing, I love having written."

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I was looking for this thread when I created a new one of my own: https://forum.literotica.com/threads/why-i-wrote-what-i-write.1611767/

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Why I wrote how I wrote about what I wrote when writing what I wrote.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Why I wrote how I wrote about what I wrote when writing what I wrote.

Say that fast five times, let us know how you go!

 

[Carnevil9]

I write because I love reading. And I figured I could have a better appreciation for what I read if I also spend some time writing. And I was correct; the more I write, the more I empathize with writers and understand what goes into their craft, and therefor the more I appreciate what I read by truly great writers.

I don't write erotica because I necessarily have an affinity for it. It's just that this here Literotica website affords me a venue where I can publish my meagre writing efforts and get a reasonable amount of feedback.

But overall, it is just to help me deepen my love for reading great writing by truly talented authors.

 

[Ms_Macabre]

Cheaper than a therapist and safer than fucking my way through my daddy issues.

 

[NoviceAspen]

I write to explore themes and play out fantasies that I wouldn’t ever experience in real life.

I also write in an effort to overcome some of the shame of my religious upbringing. When other people find my writing appealing, it is kind of healing.

And I use my stories to get myself off. And sometimes my partner.