Using my 750 word stories as a proxy for the popularity of Lit categories

Here's my list of 750 word stories, which includes Incest and Loving Wives stories. I've also included the publication year. One of the stories was not actually submitted for the 750 word event but was close enough in length (774 words) that I chose to include it. I've ranked them by total number of views so far.

Incest 1 -- 129.8K views (2020)
Incest 2 -- 98K views (2022)
Incest 3 -- 59.9K views (2022)
Loving Wives --47.1 K (2022)
Incest 4 -- 41.9K (2020)
Group Sex --24.1K (2022)
Mature 1 -- 14.5K views (2020)
Exhibitionist & Voyeur -- 10.2K views (2024)
Mature 2 -- 8.9K views (2024)
Humor & Satire -- 6.7K views (2023)
 
The ideal category for this is Illustrated. The stories get high views, but there are relatively few of them, so they remain on the new story lists much, much longer than other stories and get even more attention as a result.
That's an interesting idea, except that I can't draw to save my life and Lit won't accept generative AI.

But @ElectricBlue has some wonderful drawings and should give Illustrated a try:

https://www.literotica.com/i/drawings-by-electricblue
 
Here's my list of 750 word stories, which includes Incest and Loving Wives stories. I've also included the publication year. One of the stories was not actually submitted for the 750 word event but was close enough in length (774 words) that I chose to include it. I've ranked them by total number of views so far.

Incest 1 -- 129.8K views (2020)
Incest 2 -- 98K views (2022)
Incest 3 -- 59.9K views (2022)
Loving Wives --47.1 K (2022)
Incest 4 -- 41.9K (2020)
Group Sex --24.1K (2022)
Mature 1 -- 14.5K views (2020)
Exhibitionist & Voyeur -- 10.2K views (2024)
Mature 2 -- 8.9K views (2024)
Humor & Satire -- 6.7K views (2023)
It’s like there is a site for I/T, one for LW, and then all the rest.

I often wonder whether this reflects society’s kinks, or just Lit being known for those two things.

I find just sex, well sexy, without the taboo elements. Seems I’m in a minority. Then I suppose people view impact play and water sports as taboo. Each to their own.

Emily
 
I often wonder whether this reflects society’s kinks, or just Lit being known for those two things.

I find just sex, well sexy, without the taboo elements. Seems I’m in a minority. Then I suppose people view impact play and water sports as taboo. Each to their own.

Emily

I suspect it's a combination of general interest and Lit being known for these things.

I can understand others being puzzled by the popularity of taboo, but, personally, I like it. I find stories involving some sort of taboo to be sexier. For me the internal conflict is appealing, i.e., "I really shouldn't do this, but I want it too much to stop."
 
I suspect it's a combination of general interest and Lit being known for these things.

I can understand others being puzzled by the popularity of taboo, but, personally, I like it. I find stories involving some sort of taboo to be sexier. For me the internal conflict is appealing, i.e., "I really shouldn't do this, but I want it too much to stop."
Not aiming to be insulting, but do you think this is an age thing. Like tacos are no longer enough, I’m bored of just tacos, I need really spicy Tabasco?

Emily
 
Not aiming to be insulting, but do you think this is an age thing. Like tacos are no longer enough, I’m bored of just tacos, I need really spicy Tabasco?

Emily

I'm beyond insulting about things like that, so don't worry. Yes, in part, I think it is. My erotic tastes have gotten spicier with age. I suspect too it's generational, because your generation has fewer taboos and the concept of taboo may seem silly or retrograde to you. More than anything, it's probably just personal. I like erotic stories with a lot of internal conflict. Man v. self. Man v. societal norms. That sort of thing. It's sexier to me that way.
 
Not aiming to be insulting, but do you think this is an age thing. Like tacos are no longer enough, I’m bored of just tacos, I need really spicy Tabasco?

Emily

I don't think that "should I or shouldn't I" is really an age thing. I'm not 21 anymore but I'm not 60 neither. That internal conflict is hawwt! (fans self)
 
interesting data. Looks about right I suppose.

I wouldn't be able to post similarly stats; all my stories would be thrown off by varying length of time being online to be too accurate.

But I suppose it's no shock at all my Most Viewed stories are Incest, followed closely by my one Anal entry.
 
I'm beyond insulting about things like that, so don't worry. Yes, in part, I think it is. My erotic tastes have gotten spicier with age. I suspect too it's generational, because your generation has fewer taboos and the concept of taboo may seem silly or retrograde to you. More than anything, it's probably just personal. I like erotic stories with a lot of internal conflict. Man v. self. Man v. societal norms. That sort of thing. It's sexier to me that way.
I get that. Maybe I’ll think differently at fifty.

I’ve done a fair few things that are not so mainstream, but the motivation has always been the physical or mental sensations themselves, not any forbidden element. Whether that’s generational or personal, I don’t know. It’s not atypical for ND people to take a more matter-of-fact view of sex, I guess. This could also be a factor.

Emily
 
interesting data. Looks about right I suppose.

I wouldn't be able to post similarly stats; all my stories would be thrown off by varying length of time being online to be too accurate.

But I suppose it's no shock at all my Most Viewed stories are Incest, followed closely by my one Anal entry.
My top ten most viewed (overall, not 750 word) are:

1. Harper’s Reckoning
Infidelity has consequences.
05/18/2023 in Loving Wives Stories

2. Jacob's Progress
New job. New town. New women. Can a widower find healing?
06/07/2023 in Loving Wives Stories

3. A Big Stretch
Walking through a big butt-plug insertion.
09/15/2022 in Anal Stories

4. Mouth to Ass
Putting two of my holes to good use.
10/05/2022 in Anal Stories

5. A Family Ritual
Turning 18 is a rite of passage, especially for Tiffany.
02/24/2024 in Incest/Taboo Stories

6. Mors Immatura
A father and daughter-in-law struggle to rebuild their lives.
06/30/2023 in Incest/Taboo Stories

7. Strapped-down & Strap-on
My best friend takes advantage of me.
01/25/2023 in BDSM Stories

8. In My Ass - A Fantasy
Your first time.
06/17/2023 in Anal Stories

9. In The Restroom
I take a break from work.
09/21/2022 in Toys & Masturbation Stories

10. House Call
A sick man finds he has really good insurance
10/09/2023 in Erotic Couplings Stories

A Big Stretch and In The Restroom were the first and second stories published under this account. And Mouth To Ass was not long after. So time is a factor with them.

It’s pretty clear that LW / I/T dominate, then (at least for me) Anal.

Emily
 
Not to derail things too far, but the incest category is probably the one thing @EmilyMiller and I disagree on, but not entirely.

I've written a few incest stories and, no surprise, they're some of my most popular. Views, ratings, comments etc.

I don't think I need to go off on the tangent between reality and fantasy; we've had the discussion / debate ad nauseum.

I agree with Emily that the idea of REAL incest is "icky." More than icky. Frightening actually.

But I also understand and agree with @SimonDoom about the fantasy of it; the "taboo" nature, the "Firbidden Fruit," the "breaking social constructs and norms" element to it.

IF it's done right. And frankly a lot of incest stories here are lazy. Family member finds other family member hot. They fuck. Yawn.

It's why I don't write them that often. I think my best version of an incest tale was my three part Caring For Carrie series and I don't know that I could do it again any better than I did there.
 
My top ten most viewed (overall, not 750 word) are:

1. Harper’s Reckoning
Infidelity has consequences.
05/18/2023 in Loving Wives Stories

2. Jacob's Progress
New job. New town. New women. Can a widower find healing?
06/07/2023 in Loving Wives Stories

3. A Big Stretch
Walking through a big butt-plug insertion.
09/15/2022 in Anal Stories

4. Mouth to Ass
Putting two of my holes to good use.
10/05/2022 in Anal Stories

5. A Family Ritual
Turning 18 is a rite of passage, especially for Tiffany.
02/24/2024 in Incest/Taboo Stories

6. Mors Immatura
A father and daughter-in-law struggle to rebuild their lives.
06/30/2023 in Incest/Taboo Stories

7. Strapped-down & Strap-on
My best friend takes advantage of me.
01/25/2023 in BDSM Stories

8. In My Ass - A Fantasy
Your first time.
06/17/2023 in Anal Stories

9. In The Restroom
I take a break from work.
09/21/2022 in Toys & Masturbation Stories

10. House Call
A sick man finds he has really good insurance
10/09/2023 in Erotic Couplings Stories

A Big Stretch and In The Restroom were the first and second stories published under this account. And Mouth To Ass was not long after. So time is a factor with them.

It’s pretty clear that LW / I/T dominate, then (at least for me) Anal.

Emily
None of the above is in my top ten for rating. Harper’s Reckoning is my lowest rated story.

Emily
 
Not to derail things too far, but the incest category is probably the one thing @EmilyMiller and I disagree on, but not entirely.
I freely admit that some of my stance is like an ex-smoker being rabidly against smoking.

Emily

UPDATE: rabidly is exaggerating, I’m rabidly against non-con, I/T is just a bit squick
 
Some categories work better for long form or short form.

Sci Fi and Fantasy seems like the natural place to write multi-chapter, multi-novel epics.

The more popular categories work better for 'stroke' stories designed to be read one-handed. ;) Short format is going to work best there because your reader is now 'working' on a timeline with both hands.
 
What we could do is take each category and check all stories posted in the last 7 or 14 or 30 days and count up all the hits and divide by the number of stories. This would be fairly accurate.

However, I did a quick check of the new list and there are almost 1600 stories posted in the last 7 days. Clicking on each one and noting down the category and number of hits I roughly estimate would take 8-12 hours. As much as I'm tempted, even I don't have time for that. If anyone else wants to try, or if someone knows a quicker way ...
 
What we could do is take each category and check all stories posted in the last 7 or 14 or 30 days and count up all the hits and divide by the number of stories. This would be fairly accurate.

However, I did a quick check of the new list and there are almost 1600 stories posted in the last 7 days. Clicking on each one and noting down the category and number of hits I roughly estimate would take 8-12 hours. As much as I'm tempted, even I don't have time for that. If anyone else wants to try, or if someone knows a quicker way ...
You (or someone) needs to write a script. Beyond my meager skills.

Emily
 
Not aiming to be insulting, but do you think this is an age thing. Like tacos are no longer enough, I’m bored of just tacos, I need really spicy Tabasco?

Emily
Not in my case. When I discovered Lit, ten years ago, I wandered into every category just to sample the wares. I simply could not believe the volume of incest content - what the fuck was that all about?

I mean, I knew about Anais Nin and her father, but this thing American boys seemed to have for their mothers? Seriously? Mum made me sandwiches for lunch and made a fuss over my girlfriends, for fucks sake! The whole notion of wanting to bang your mom was ridiculous to me. Paging Dr. Freud.

Sibcest I could better understand, having a sister five years older than me, who was the first adult woman I ever saw naked; but then I have a little sister too, six years younger - and she's my little sister. Really?

Back then, I put it all down to the moral hypocrisy / sexual repression that seems a part of American society, that you don't see so much in Australia. Or at least, in my circles, I didn't. Or a bunch of middle class kids who never got much love from their parents. I still don't get the popularity of I&T. Having said that, I have two PacoFear stories in my Favourites, and a couple of stories of my own with incest sub-themes, so it's a sexual flavour, but not the obsession it is for some.

And then I read some LW content. Half a dozen stories was enough for me. Misogyny Central with homophobia thrown in, and a whole bunch of toxic divorces. Erotic? I didn't think so. Then, in other last five years, the cuck thing seems to have taken a stronger hold, at least in threads started in this forum. That's just as weird. There's a whole bunch of angry people out there, that's for sure, but I wouldn't call it erotica.

If the whole of Lit is a microcosm for the whole of society, god help us - but I don't think it is. It's an oddball skew of a strange fantasy land. If Jonathon Swift wrote about it, he'd have the world we know and two big islands separated by, hopefully, very deep water. Because you don't want the inhabitants swimming across, not really.

But an age divide? I personally don't think so. My children are more sexually conservative, I think, than I am, but society as a whole is more sexually tolerant compared to the last quarter of the C20th. But remember, I'm talking about Australia, not America. Looking in from the outside, I sense that America is far more internally split than it was twenty years ago (that's pure perception, not analysed data).
 
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