What do you view as your best achievement as a writer?

[Bazzle]

Rum bottles are often awkward shapes. Champagne bottles have that nice smooth gradation.

Emily

Guess Juliana will have to celebrate her finds somehow

 

[EmilyMiller]

Guess Juliana will have to celebrate her finds somehow

Sometimes often I write stuff that comes into my head before thinking about whether I should really say that or not

Emily

 

[lovecraft68]

The reaction to the first chapter of SWB. The comments and private feedback expressed how shocked and stunned they were, and how different the story was from the rest of taboo category.

That doesn't mean it was good, but to have so many readers of I/T say they'd never seen anything like it, made me feel good.

There was never anything like that series before, still isn't nor will there be. Because...

Its that fucked up.

 

[EmilyMiller]

So my own answer. There are stories to which I have much greater emotional attachment, that meant more to me to write. There are stories which - at least to my biased opinion - have a certain crystalline purity of purpose, which I believe I execute pretty well. There are stories where I let my imagination run riot, and yet found ways to ground my ideas in something at least self-consistent.

And then there is Heaven and Hole…

It’s my longest stand-alone story (though the combined Coleoidphilia Trilogy is twice as long), but it wasn’t just length [insert joke here]. It was complexity.

It has a convoluted plot, with foreshadowing, misdirection, and twists. It includes the largest set of characters I have ever juggled, with very few of them not having major roles to play at different points. It has mythological world building. It has vastly different tones in different sections. I believe it works as a thriller. It has many, many different sex scenes, each with a purpose to serve. It has upsetting themes and scenes, as well as humorous ones and even redemption. Oh, and I tried to intertwine it with @Djmac1031 ’s shared universe stories. It’s a combination of high fantasy with low farce and a bit of action and adventure thrown in. Did I mention the sex?

In short, it was way, way, way too ambitious for an author at my early stage of development to take on. My achievement was a) actually finishing the fucker and b) being pretty happy with the result.

I did have the benefit of an army of beta readers and Dj being Dj. But I never knew I could create something like that.

Emily

 

[Cagivagurl]

Something like this must have been asked before, but I’m a lazy bitch, OK?

This doesn’t necessarily mean your favorite story, it doesn’t necessarily mean your longest story, it doesn’t necessarily mean your most viewed or highest rated story. I suppose it could be any of:

1. The first story that convinced you that you could actually write
2. Something where you felt you were technically spot on (even if other aspects were less strong)
3. Conversely, something where you really nailed an emotion - or even a sex scene (I mean really nailed )
4. If you are in to world building, a story where you felt this was self-consistent and compelling
5. A character you fell in love with (and maybe others did too)
6. It might even be some external factor, like you won or placed in a comp - or some author you really rate commented favorably on your story

I suppose it’s totally up to you how you interpret this.

I won’t jump in with my ideas, will do that later.

Emily

Here goes.
Anybody who has ever red one of my stories knows that my grammar is atrocious.
I make no apologies for the. If you can't handle mistakes. Don't read anything I write.
What makes me think I can write?
Well, a couple of stories, I actually managed to get two and to in the right places. That made me feel proud.
Every story I have written contains bits I like, dislike, loathe, love and some just cringe.
I will never be technically spot on.... I could do this for a million years and still get it wrong.
My characters become special to me as I write. Ilove them all, even the villains. They are my creations. I gave them life, which is why I'm so protective of them.
I guess, I do like it when a fellow writer compliments something I've written. That makes me feel nice.
I do not and never have considered myself a writer.... Merely somebody who loves to play with words.

Cagivagurl

 

[EmilyMiller]

Here goes.
Anybody who has ever red one of my stories knows that my grammar is atrocious.
I make no apologies for the. If you can't handle mistakes. Don't read anything I write.
What makes me think I can write?
Well, a couple of stories, I actually managed to get two and to in the right places. That made me feel proud.
Every story I have written contains bits I like, dislike, loathe, love and some just cringe.
I will never be technically spot on.... I could do this for a million years and still get it wrong.
My characters become special to me as I write. Ilove them all, even the villains. They are my creations. I gave them life, which is why I'm so protective of them.
I guess, I do like it when a fellow writer compliments something I've written. That makes me feel nice.
I do not and never have considered myself a writer.... Merely somebody who loves to play with words.

Cagivagurl

Hiyah

I only recently (like a few months) given in to calling myself an author / writer. Then mostly as a matter of convenience.

Emily

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Here goes.
Anybody who has ever red one of my stories knows that my grammar is atrocious.
I make no apologies for the. If you can't handle mistakes. Don't read anything I write.
What makes me think I can write?
Well, a couple of stories, I actually managed to get two and to in the right places. That made me feel proud.
Every story I have written contains bits I like, dislike, loathe, love and some just cringe.
I will never be technically spot on.... I could do this for a million years and still get it wrong.
My characters become special to me as I write. Ilove them all, even the villains. They are my creations. I gave them life, which is why I'm so protective of them.
I guess, I do like it when a fellow writer compliments something I've written. That makes me feel nice.
I do not and never have considered myself a writer.... Merely somebody who loves to play with words.

Cagivagurl

But, by definition; as someone that loves to play with words, you are, in fact, a writer...

 

[samhasstories]

I do not and never have considered myself a writer.... Merely somebody who loves to play with words.

That's as good a definition of 'writer' as any I've heard, however you consider yourself.

EDIT: Damnit, @ShelbyDawn57!

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

That's as good a definition of 'writer' as any I've heard, however you consider yourself.

EDIT: Damnit, @ShelbyDawn57!

Great minds and all that.

 

[samhasstories]

Great minds and all that.

Your mind always just seems to be great faster than mine.

 

[Rob_Royale]

For me, it was taking the leap and doing it. And when my first story got these sorts of responses ... I realized that I had to make this part of my life and that meant coming clean about it with my wife. You'd have to know my wife to understand what a chance I was taking. Thankfully that went well and the rest is smut history.

by xxxxxxx on 10/25/2022
5 stars +++++. For a first story on Literotica, it was GREAT. Actually, for a second, fifty second or five hundred and fifty second, it was great. Please do not stop writing. Good luck.

 

[BarracudaSwordfish]

I think my first big achievement was plucking up the courage to get published in the first place.

Since then I've had a few moments that have genuinely astonished me, never having expected to get any views, scores or comments.

But probably most proud of my last story 'Some Guys Have All the Luck.' It was no 2 story in Mature category in the 30 Day list and has dipped in and out of the Top 50 All Time since then.

 

[onehitwanda]

So...

I do not and never have considered myself a writer.... Merely somebody who loves to play with words.

I don't care; I love you anyway.

For me... I wrote a real book. I designed a cover, and laid it out how I liked it. I taught myself to use the horrific AWS kindle publishing tools, and the opensource tools that are infinitely better. And I published it, and a whole lot of people downloaded it and read at least one page before giving up.

It's a terrible book - but it's mine; I did all of it, by myself, it's something I finished and as bad as it is I can still go back and look at it on my kindle and be proud of achieving it.

A++ would never do again

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm proudest of my take on the Arthurian myth, The Dark Chronicles, which I took ten months to write (104,000 words), mainly because I had the chutzpah to do it. The last chapter has only 3,500 Views, which I consider, near enough, to be readers who actually read it, but those guys are my golden readers.

My other "most important story" is Rope and Veil, where I learned erotica can really touch people, and make them see things differently. It's a story of a woman with paraplegia, and the able bodied man who falls for her. Amelia is one of my favourite heroines.

When you get a comment like this, you know words are important:

Gorgeous
I am a wheelchair user. You have a great sense of what it means. She is beautifully seen, strong and vulnerable. I have never thought to include my disability in my writing, but you inspire to. I will write and post. Thank you.

 

[Djmac1031]

Geez, you just love asking complex questions, don't ya? Lol

Okay I'll give this a whirl.

The first story that convinced you that you could actually write

Other than something I'd written on a Pink Floyd fan site decades ago, I hadn't ever attempted writing a story until The Doctor Is In... Me.

It's not my greatest writing. But the response was overwhelmingly positive. And I thought "Hey, look at that I did it. Maybe I should try again."

Something where you felt you were technically spot on (even if other aspects were less strong)

Again ill go with The Doctor Is In...Me.

Because I researched prostate exams and prostate milking to get the technical, medical aspects correct.

Conversely, something where you really nailed an emotion - or even a sex scene (I mean really nailed )

Emotion - early on, Jenna Part 8.

More recently, I apparently tugged some heart strings in 750 words with Reunion.

If you are in to world building, a story where you felt this was self-consistent and compelling

Tie between my White Room series and our shared Angels & Demons Saga.

A character you fell in love with (and maybe others did too)

Oh that's easy. Jenna. From The Jenna Arrangement series

It might even be some external factor, like you won or placed in a comp

No comment. (Hangs my head in defeated shame)

or some author you really rate commented favorably on your story

@onehitwanda said I made her cry with Reunion.

She's also threatened revenge for it.

 

[MelissaBaby]

That's a tough question but my inclination is that Queen of the Roller Derby is the best thing I have written. Regrettably, because it is over 50k words, I submitted in in Novels and Novellas. If I had put it in Lesbian, it would have received the greater readership I think it deserved. On the plus side, it's got a rating of 4.91 and has been in the N&N All Time Top Ten since it was published.

It was the first period piece I wrote, taking place primarily in Detroit in the 1950s. I put a lot of work into researching it and felt like I did the historical details justice. I am very pleased with the narrative, the characters and the tone of my writing. And I learned a hell of a lot about roller derby and the history of my adopted city.

 

[Djmac1031]

I'm trying to come up with a plot line for Juliana Jones and the bottle of rum.

Yo ho hoe.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Rum bottles are often awkward shapes. Champagne bottles have that nice smooth gradation.

Emily

That really cheap type of rum tastes terrible. It had to be half cola in the glass to be palatable.

I have stories on three sites, and some of them are versions of stories on the other two. It's been quite a mess, but I'm trying to discipline myself to keep them separate from now on. (I'll probably fail at that anyway.) The first thing that convinced me that I could write fiction was a screenplay years ago for an already existing movie. I thought it was better than what the pros did, but even Michael Cimino couldn't get a five-hour movie released. (He failed anyway at four hours.)

Someday I may make a prose version of it. Or maybe I should just move on.

 

[EmilyMiller]

That really cheap type of rum tastes terrible. It had to be half cola in the glass to be palatable.

I like Appleton. And they sell it in Wegmans

 

[Zootonius]

Opened a thread on achievements as a writer and found a discussion on rum. Par for the course here.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Opened a thread on achievements as a writer and found a discussion on rum. Par for the course here.

Inspiration comes in all shapes, sizes, and proofs…

 

[karina_jayde]

My biggest writing accomplishment has nothing to do with Literotica, or even traditional writing in general.

About 10 years ago, I put out a public Google doc with a large table for use in DnD games, a collection of sidequests and silly little events and random encounters. It's something I've used over the years, and some of the entries helped to inspire entire story arcs. Hundreds, possibly even thousands, of people have accessed it. I still get comments on it, usually once a month or so, from people who have used it or enjoyed it.

So a random little piece of writing has inspired, all told, conceivably hundreds of hours of TTRPG gameplay, and no doubt inspired tons of stories and fun interactions at the table.

Probably has the best work input to impact ratio of anything I've ever worked on.

 

[Cagivagurl]

So...

I don't care; I love you anyway.

For me... I wrote a real book. I designed a cover, and laid it out how I liked it. I taught myself to use the horrific AWS kindle publishing tools, and the opensource tools that are infinitely better. And I published it, and a whole lot of people downloaded it and read at least one page before giving up.

It's a terrible book - but it's mine; I did all of it, by myself, it's something I finished and as bad as it is I can still go back and look at it on my kindle and be proud of achieving it.

A++ would never do again

Thank you

 

[AG31]

That really cheap type of rum tastes terrible. It had to be half cola in the glass to be palatable.

I have stories on three sites, and some of them are versions of stories on the other two. It's been quite a mess, but I'm trying to discipline myself to keep them separate from now on. (I'll probably fail at that anyway.) The first thing that convinced me that I could write fiction was a screenplay years ago for an already existing movie. I thought it was better than what the pros did, but even Michael Cimino couldn't get a five-hour movie released. (He failed anyway at four hours.)

Someday I may make a prose version of it. Or maybe I should just move on.

Can you tell us what the three sites are?

 

[Zootonius]

This feels more like a confession, but here it goes.

I was starting what would become my second series A Luck Flat Tire, when I thought about the I/T genre. And in particular, why father/daughter stories are so creepy. That led me to ask if one could write such a story that, not creepy, or at least less so. And so, the idea for my first series He wanted her to be happy took hold. Despite my terrible grammar, the three chapters of the series hold a score over 4.7, telling me I must have some skill at writing erotica. Still, He wanted her to be happy is my problem child. I am bit embarrassed that I wrote it. And I feel like some priest is going to tell me to recite fifteen Hail Marys for confessing I wrote it.

For 2 and 3, I like to think I can write good internal dialog. Perhaps idealized, but I like writing about that time before the lovers become lovers. The emotions and wondering if the other one feels the same. Plus that first sex scene and passions of making love with someone the first time.

My favorite character is Sarah from His Professor Aunt. A freewheeling lover of sex. Who had had many experiences and loves to make love to both sexes. And introduces her nephew into her world of the erotic. Chapters of His Professor Aunt have become my most popular. So, inexplicably, I must have some talent.