What I learned from publishing a Loving Wives story

[Djmac1031]

Okay, for this thread on learning lessons from the LW category, I'll try to spell it out better here:

I never said the author was obligated to do anything.
I said the story was worthy of a 5.
I pointed out what I believed was one reason for a good acceptance by the LW crowd, in that the story shows sharing in a negative light.

The story which I very much appreciated, "The Colonel's Wife", showed them sharing in extra-marital sex, and doing so in a positive light with no negativity. It ends with the couple deciding to try monogamy.

In "Jacob's Progress", as I've mentioned, as written it doesn't show any positives for that swinger club. The two marriages specifically mentioned in that club ended in divorce. It ends with relatively happy endings for the MCs.

"The Colonel's Wife" is currently at 4.18 in LW, and I'm wondering if that might be due to that suggested monogamous ending. And "Jacob's Progress" is at 4.58. So, could that be due to the general vibe I felt that swinger clubs are a negative?

I can't write so well as to get a 4.0 in LW within the first week (as these two stories did), and mine only grow to that level at best after multiple 1-scrapings by the Admins.

My suggestion "...it would have been nice to see your personality developing a few of the other husbands in the neighborhood swinger club.", because I know I'm a shitty writer. My stories have other defects in the writing style, which deservedly detract from a one-to-one comparison with other stories for a qualitative assessment of what the LW crowd is looking for and find acceptable.


My latest effort in trying to show a positive spin on extra-marital sex and definitively showing the husband is NOT being dissed by a cheating wife had one commenter say: "Hell, where are the sheep and dogs? Seems like she has fucked about everybody and every thing else. May as well do some barn yard animals as well." Now, I can't even write that story because LitE Admins would reject it.

Reader interpretation of a story does not mean said interpretation was the authors intent.

My one and only LW story was completely misunderstood by most readers, and I got hammered for it.

Their problem, not mine.

We've all spent countless hours debating the intentions of the LW crowd when it comes to their expectations and how they vote.

We've also spent even more time debating why one story does "better" than another on any given day.

I understand what you're trying to get at, I do.

But I also think it's quite the logistical leap to say one story is rated higher than another based strictly on this idea that one presents swinging in a negative aspect while the other features a more positive spin.

There are countless other variables involved.

 

[EmilyMiller]

For anyone who doesn’t like the direction in which this thread has plunged, please feel free to join us on:

https://forum.literotica.com/thread...blishing-a-second-loving-wives-story.1589252/

Em

 

[dmallord]

I wrote one story for this category. One and probably done, as the saying goes. It was a bucket item ... you know ... try to have one story in each category at least. The lesson learned ... I knew going into the swamp it had alligators, but I chose the path through it anyway ... so no real lesson learned ... I took a bullet for the sake of my bucket list. You can just move on. Life doesn't have a lesson around every corner.

DMallord

 

[Lifestyle66]

I wrote one story for this category. ... I took a bullet for the sake of my bucket list. You can just move on. Life doesn't have a lesson around every corner.

DMallord

I took my thirteenth bullet last Sunday, and I'm working on #14.

Try as I might, I STILL haven't achieved my coverted 1.0 average!

When my previous story was holding at 1.8, the Admins intervened and stripped out about a dozen 1's.

 

[dmallord]

I took my thirteenth bullet last Sunday, and I'm working on #14.

Try as I might, I STILL haven't achieved my coverted 1.0 average!

When my previous story was holding at 1.8, the Admins intervened and stripped out about a dozen 1's.

Your aspirations are so high, friend. You made me curious about my score - I haven't looked back since it was a 2.5, so I looked it up. I was surprised to find it is now 3.05 rated, 13,504 views, 275 votes. As far as I can calculate, none of the votes are a 1. But that's using my spreadsheet to try and figure out Lit's numbers. To get that average, I found it works out to be: 0-1s, 36-2s, 200-3s, 28-4s and 5-5s. Of course, there may be other variations, but those work.

The theme was an allegory of a man who lost his first love by not marrying her, rebounded, and married the next girl he found in a bar; she cheated, and well to tell the end would spoil it. But it seems it wasn't what readers were expecting.

I'm not fond of alligators, so I'm not wading back into the swamp. However, I did get a few nice comments, as I recall.

A tip of the hat in hopes you achieve your goal!

 

[Gamblnluck]

I’m not really down with the concept. Can’t see how a wife cheating is a kink. Feels very 1930s.

Em

It's not that cheating wives are a kink. It is how the husband responds. Does he meekly accept the disrespect or simply not care what or who his wife is doing? That is the main difference between the 2 primary camps there. Even within those areas, character development is important. For me, how your character responds to adversity is the key to a good story.
I write stories for that category and read them daily (well I read a few there.) I look at initial scoring and read the stories with a rating of 3.5 or higher, skipping the others until later. I might come back if the author has published other things I liked.
I write stories like I want to read:I like to see a plot, not a pile of babbling. I also do not care for overly involved sex scenes. I have got too involved in my own plot that the story got away from me (my recent rewrite of Unanticipated).

 

[Gamblnluck]

Your aspirations are so high, friend. You made me curious about my score - I haven't looked back since it was a 2.5, so I looked it up. I was surprised to find it is now 3.05 rated, 13,504 views, 275 votes. As far as I can calculate, none of the votes are a 1. But that's using my spreadsheet to try and figure out Lit's numbers. To get that average, I found it works out to be: 0-1s, 36-2s, 200-3s, 28-4s and 5-5s. Of course, there may be other variations, but those work.

The theme was an allegory of a man who lost his first love by not marrying her, rebounded, and married the next girl he found in a bar; she cheated, and well to tell the end would spoil it. But it seems it wasn't what readers were expecting.

I'm not fond of alligators, so I'm not wading back into the swamp. However, I did get a few nice comments, as I recall.

A tip of the hat in hopes you achieve your goal!

If you are talking about you Diamond story that wound up with barely over a 3 rating, I can tell you why. Your descriptions are very good but you did not tell a story. You have a sex scene that lasts a whole page. You break it up with some kind of description 'buy a lottery ticket' 'me and her in the stacks'.
You MC comes home to find the woman gone. No explanation for why, how etc. Then a one liner that says 'rebound with Red'.
Far too little effort in telling the story and too much description with the little distracting chapter/scene breaks.
That stuff might work for romance or erotic couplings where a plot is not expected.
Also drop all the title page stuff. Most skip over it anyway.

 

[EmilyMiller]

It's not that cheating wives are a kink. It is how the husband responds. Does he meekly accept the disrespect or simply not care what or who his wife is doing? That is the main difference between the 2 primary camps there. Even within those areas, character development is important. For me, how your character responds to adversity is the key to a good story.
I write stories for that category and read them daily (well I read a few there.) I look at initial scoring and read the stories with a rating of 3.5 or higher, skipping the others until later. I might come back if the author has published other things I liked.
I write stories like I want to read:I like to see a plot, not a pile of babbling. I also do not care for overly involved sex scenes. I have got too involved in my own plot that the story got away from me (my recent rewrite of Unanticipated).

I’ve had it explained to me - at great length
- multiple times. I still don’t get it.

It’s cool, not everyone gets how restrained anal is fun.

Em

 

[Gamblnluck]

I’ve had it explained to me - at great length
- multiple times. I still don’t get it.

It’s cool, not everyone gets how restrained anal is fun.

Em

It's in the telling. Restrained anal might not be 'fun' if the author said, "They grabbed her as she walked down the street, tied her over the hood of a car and the four men took turns raping her ass until it was a prolapsed tube of ravaged tissue." But put another way, with the person being submissive, that same restraint might be more than fun.

The problem is here is the better you tell the story and the reader identifies with the characters, the more he or she will respond to the characters. Some authors try to make their descriptions like the old cheap porn stories..."Arggh, she cried as he pounded his mighty python of passion into her pulsating pit." That kind of thing generally gets panned as well in LW, but might work in erotic couplings. I wouldn't know, I almost never read the stories there unless I run across one written by an author I like.

 

[EmilyMiller]

It's in the telling. Restrained anal might not be 'fun' if the author said, "They grabbed her as she walked down the street, tied her over the hood of a car and the four men took turns raping her ass until it was a prolapsed tube of ravaged tissue." But put another way, with the person being submissive, that same restraint might be more than fun.

I should have said wholly consensual restrained anal. Sorry about that.

The problem is here is the better you tell the story and the reader identifies with the characters, the more he or she will respond to the characters. Some authors try to make their descriptions like the old cheap porn stories..."Arggh, she cried as he pounded his mighty python of passion into her pulsating pit." That kind of thing generally gets panned as well in LW, but might work in erotic couplings. I wouldn't know, I almost never read the stories there unless I run across one written by an author I like.

You’ve clearly been reading my stories.

Em

 

[Gamblnluck]

Reader interpretation of a story does not mean said interpretation was the authors intent.

My one and only LW story was completely misunderstood by most readers, and I got hammered for it.

Their problem, not mine.

We've all spent countless hours debating the intentions of the LW crowd when it comes to their expectations and how they vote.

We've also spent even more time debating why one story does "better" than another on any given day.

I understand what you're trying to get at, I do.

But I also think it's quite the logistical leap to say one story is rated higher than another based strictly on this idea that one presents swinging in a negative aspect while the other features a more positive spin.

There are countless other variables involved.

I had to go reread your story. It was one of the few 750 word stories I rate a 5. Your overall score was travesty. It was well written, descriptive and to the point. I did read some of the comments. Some did not like the 'hero'/antihero got killed. BOO HOO. A few do not like the use of guns in our society. I get those comments a lot. (The true man is supposed to right his wrongs with his fists and not rely on a gun.) I lan to read more of your stories. I generally do not read those in the categories you prefer.

 

[Djmac1031]

I had to go reread your story. It was one of the few 750 word stories I rate a 5. Your overall score was travesty. It was well written, descriptive and to the point. I did read some of the comments. Some did not like the 'hero'/antihero got killed. BOO HOO. A few do not like the use of guns in our society. I get those comments a lot. (The true man is supposed to right his wrongs with his fists and not rely on a gun.) I lan to read more of your stories. I generally do not read those in the categories you prefer.

Thank you. Millions of authors, screen writers etc write character deaths by gunshot every year. Nobody bats an eye.

I write one and get accused of condoning murder.

Go figure.

Hopefully you find something else in my catalog you like.

But thanks for taking the time to read it.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I should have said wholly consensual restrained anal. Sorry about that.

You’ve clearly been reading my stories.

Em

To be honest, when I get to a sex scene that is overly long, or goes out into the woods describing details, I immediately skim to where the story itself picks back up. Sometimes if there is a reference to something I missed I go back.

 

[djrip]

Thank you. Millions of authors, screen writers etc write character deaths by gunshot every year. Nobody bats an eye.

I write one and get accused of condoning murder.

Go figure.

Hopefully you find something else in my catalog you like.

But thanks for taking the time to read it.

Seems like most of the commenters would have preferred two murders!

 

[djrip]

To be honest, when I get to a sex scene that is overly long, or goes out into the woods describing details, I immediately skim to where the story itself picks back up. Sometimes if there is a reference to something I missed I go back.

Mine would be quick reads for you, you could skim the whole thing!

 

[Djmac1031]

Seems like most of the commenters would have preferred two murders!

Oh yeah, that too.

 

[Andrew1968]

The Loving Wives category is described as this by Literotica: ‘Married extra-marital fun: swinging, sharing & more.’

Note the inclusion of the colon between Married extra-marital fun and swinging, sharing & more. The essence of Loving Wives is Married extra-marital fun themed stories. Examples of such married extra-marital fun themed stories feature swinging and sharing and more. That’s what Loving Wives is essentially – married extra-marital fun themed stories. Something called “cheating” or “BTB” is not a part of the essential nature of the Loving Wives category. It doesn’t belong there, and people should know that.

The REAL main difference between the “two camps” is this.

Stories featuring wife sharing, wife swapping, willing aware cuckolding and hot-wives are NOT cheating stories as the husband or the wife are aware of what’s going on and either give their explicit and express approval, or the husband or the wife’s approval is implied by the husband or wife’s unwillingness to put a stop to it or put their foot down.

Cheating, on the other hand, suggests that a husband or wife doesn't have knowledge, at least for a period of time, or if ever. Cheating also suggests that the marriage is over, and the couple gets divorced and/or someone seeks some sort of revenge if the cheating comes to light.

That’s the REAL difference between the “two camps.” One group writes and reads married extra-marital fun stories and the other group writes and reads cheating stories, where some sort of revenge is sought, after the cheating is exposed. One group uses the LW category correctly and the other does not.

Married extra-marital fun stories aren’t cheating stories and vice versa. To try and argue that one is the other is a disingenuous act designed by someone who wants to push an agenda...

 

[Lifestyle66]

The Loving Wives category is described as this by Literotica: ‘Married extra-marital fun: swinging, sharing & more.’

Note the inclusion of the colon between Married extra-marital fun and swinging, sharing & more. The essence of Loving Wives is Married extra-marital fun themed stories. Examples of such married extra-marital fun themed stories feature swinging and sharing and more. That’s what Loving Wives is essentially – married extra-marital fun themed stories. Something called “cheating” or “BTB” is not a part of the essential nature of the Loving Wives category. It doesn’t belong there, and people should know that.

The REAL main difference between the “two camps” is this.

Stories featuring wife sharing, wife swapping, willing aware cuckolding and hot-wives are NOT cheating stories as the husband or the wife are aware of what’s going on and either give their explicit and express approval, or the husband or the wife’s approval is implied by the husband or wife’s unwillingness to put a stop to it or put their foot down.

Cheating, on the other hand, suggests that a husband or wife doesn't have knowledge, at least for a period of time, or if ever. Cheating also suggests that the marriage is over, and the couple gets divorced and/or someone seeks some sort of revenge if the cheating comes to light.

That’s the REAL difference between the “two camps.” One group writes and reads married extra-marital fun stories and the other group writes and reads cheating stories, where some sort of revenge is sought, after the cheating is exposed. One group uses the LW category correctly and the other does not.

Married extra-marital fun stories aren’t cheating stories and vice versa. To try and argue that one is the other is a disingenuous act designed by someone who wants to push an agenda...

I hope my latest hall pass story rose to your challenge for being in the correct category.

 

[dmallord]

If you are talking about you Diamond story that wound up with barely over a 3 rating, I can tell you why. Your descriptions are very good but you did not tell a story. You have a sex scene that lasts a whole page. You break it up with some kind of description 'buy a lottery ticket' 'me and her in the stacks'.
You MC comes home to find the woman gone. No explanation for why, how etc. Then a one liner that says 'rebound with Red'.
Far too little effort in telling the story and too much description with the little distracting chapter/scene breaks.
That stuff might work for romance or erotic couplings where a plot is not expected.
Also drop all the title page stuff. Most skip over it anyway.

Thank you. I truly appreciate that you took the time to read the story and provide this valuable insight. I will take this to heart in future stories. Additionally, I intend to revisit the story and use your input to try and improve the storyline. Forum commenters have said, on occasion, there is no need to look back at that and to move on. I find it cathartic to look back, learn from the mistakes, and, where feasible, improve the story for future readers who may happen upon it for the first time.

As to the MC finding his girl gone without an explanation, I see that my attempt to build that explanation in the story through the growing dissatisfaction between the two failed: the working weekends spat, the long hours at work, her taking a part-time job due to increased boredom and finding a new lover in the process. I was sure readers would figure out the growing dissatisfaction with his first lover being left alone was the causative factor.

The story title page background being unnecessary is the second comment I've had [though in another story]. Definitely going to reduce or eliminate that in the future.

Thanks again for your astute insight.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Additionally, I intend to revisit the story and use your input to try and improve the storyline. Forum commenters have said, on occasion, there is no need to look back at that and to move on. I find it cathartic to look back, learn from the mistakes, and, where feasible, improve the story for future readers who may happen upon it for the first time.

Doing that means you've still only got one story. Writing another story means you've got two, which surely is better for future readers.

 

[Andrew1968]

To Lifestyle: yes, all your work posted in LW, meets the LW criteria, in my view. Your writing keeps getting better and better.

 

[LIDiver]

I naively put our first story in LW and was shell-shocked when it got a 1.80 rating out of the gate. We really didn’t think it was that bad even for a first effort.

However, several extraordinary people contacted us privately and explained about the creeper-trolls residing in LW and not to let them get us down because our story actually “doesn’t suck”. One great soul even did the math to show us that the story was averaging 4.8 since the creepers moved on after a month or so.

 

[gordo12]

launching into a tirade was a minority within a minority and not at all representative of the whole

So my takeaway is that LW’s reputation as a den on iniquity is driven by a small fraction of its readership. One whose rabidly pro-heterosexual, pro-traditional views are not necessarily shared by the majority of LW readers.

Em

Finally, somebody else GETS IT. Lot of traffic, votes and comments with a small minority that are shitheads.

Nothing to fear unless you have paper-thin skin.

 

[LIDiver]

Finally, somebody else GETS IT. Lot of traffic, votes and comments with a small minority that are shitheads.

Nothing to fear unless you have paper-thin skin.

yes, and i’ve learned to embrace it. I honestly am pleased when I still get a straggler creeper. I take joy in snuffing out their infantile little voice with a click of the delete comment button.

 

[LIDiver]

I thank you, those who asked…The story is titled, “Tory’s Emergence”

https://literotica.com/s/torys-emergence