Why do you write erotica? Are there things you’d change about it if you could?

[lustychimera]

The only thing preventing jokes and more substantial conversations from co-existing are replies like "Hey, that's a joke. This is a thread for substantial discussion!" or "Hey, that's a literary concept/critique. This is a thread for jokes!"

Because then arguments ensue, and arguments are the main way to steer a thread off course.

What are arguments, though? Sometimes I see a sentence and I think, "Hey! Is that an argument?" And I'm not sure.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Well I like writing. A lot. I love being creative and artistic. BUT, finding a subject that holds my attention (thanks ADHD) is hard to find. Sex. THAT holds my attention. Go figure, right? So I gave it a try and the positive responses provided something else I didn't realize I needed.

 

[mildlyaroused]

What are arguments, though? Sometimes I see a sentence and I think, "Hey! Is that an argument?" And I'm not sure.

Hey, this is a thread about substantial literary discussion. Not philosophical musings on what constitutes an argument!

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I also think that there is just too much trivial content on this forum. We often have to fight for some serious thread not to be derailed by the often tedious humor. It's not that the people aren't funny, it's just that it all keeps repeating, endlessly. There should be a balance of serious posts and humorous ones.

To answer the OP, I write (well, wrote...) because there were stories I wanted to tell and fantasies that needed to get out. I also wanted to see if I could write for shit

When I wrote, there was always a war in my head between my fantasy mind that wanted to tell a compelling, imaginative story with deep characters, and my sex mind that always wanted to push everything to the extreme, which would often go at least partially against the nuances of the characters. I tried to balance those minds and I think I didn't do a bad job of it, but still, I wish I could make myself separate them, so I could set them free properly, each in their own type of story.

What would I change around here? There are so many things I would change, and I have voiced many such things, time and again. But this time, I will let myself be irrational and say that I wish there was a category where only pure stroke stories were allowed and nothing else. Also, a category where sex had to be completely and utterly in the service of the characters, plot, and worldbuilding. I wish Lit had a way of making me do what I was unable to do myself

 

[AG31]

Because then arguments ensue, and arguments are the main way to steer a thread off course.

What if they're arguments about the topic of the thread??? I happen to like arguments. They're stimulating.

 

[AG31]

It's not that the people aren't funny, it's just that it all keeps repeating, endlessly.

It's when some entertaining back and forth turns into hi-jacking that's the problem. I don't think I've seen as much of that lately.

I wish there was a category where only pure stroke stories were allowed and nothing else.

Me too!!!! And I wish it were called "simple erotica," not "stroke stories." That's my hobby horse. Search for my name and "simple" if you're intrigued.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

It's when some entertaining back and forth turns into hi-jacking that's the problem. I don't think I've seen as much of that lately.

Honestly, I have seen nothing except such threads for quite a while. I don't know, maybe it's a matter of perspective.

 

[VallesMarineris]

Why do I write erotica?

I’ve always been a writer and a sci-fi fan. I wrote a sci-fi play in the first grade (“Thunk the Robot”).

Here’s the first book I remember reading, which I also consider my first speculative fiction book:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Beyond_Zebra!

It blew my five-year old mind.

I wrote literature. Even got published. But the reward/effort ratio was way too low so I moved to other, more gratifying, endeavors.

But I always had the itch to write. And behind the scenes I read and wrote erotica (though it never occurred to me that I could publish it).

Fast forward to today: I’m in a long term, long distance relationship. I need to find an outlet for my sexual energy. So I start writing again. I search for a place to publish it and find Lit. I send some stuff out and people like it. So I write more. People like that too. And so here I am.

What would I change?

I don’t know. Lit has been around a long, long time. I know from my own professional experience that it’s very easy to add a feature, but almost impossible to remove one. The Air Force is still flying B52s. You can still run DOS in Windows. I just read that the San Francisco Muni still runs on 5.25” floppies. Are you following what NASA is doing to fix Voyager 1?

I do wish Lit would take my advice on improving the statistical algorithms they use to calculate ratings. The Awards page still shows winners from January 2023. And it would be very helpful if tags would get cleaned up. I mean, “non consent”, “non-con”, “non-consent”, and “noncon” are all different tags. Ugh.

But I understand and sympathize if they don’t want to fix something that isn’t totally broken. I suspect they have their hands full just keeping everything running day-to-day.

 

[desecration]

I do appreciate that they've published every "memoir" I've submitted here, including a series on taxi driving in the 1970's.

Very sensible, since if you like what a writer writes on one topic, you may enjoy them on others too.

 

[SimonDoom]

Why I like to write here:

1. I like to write, period. Writing can be difficult, but it's a very satisfying thing to do. It's especially satisfying to see one's story actually published.
2. Erotica is very enjoyable. It's fun to spin fantasies based on one's erotic ideas.
3. There's a creative power to writing. The ability to take an idea, and make it real in writing. The power is limitless. That's very enjoyable.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Very sensible, since if you like what a writer writes on one topic, you may enjoy them on others too.

The one piece of non-erotic fiction I wrote here did better than I had expected. I wasn't sure what would happen with non-fiction, because Reviews and Essays seems to specify sexual topics. They were accepted anyway.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I also think that there is just too much trivial content on this forum. We often have to fight for some serious thread not to be derailed by the often tedious humor. It's not that the people aren't funny, it's just that it all keeps repeating, endlessly. There should be a balance of serious posts and humorous ones.

I tend to agree, but it's easy enough to stay away or glance over a thread to catch its mood. Being in a different time zone helps.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I started writing erotica for my own amusement - I spent a lot of time travelling pre mobile phones and often ran out of anything to read. And some turned into processing parts of my life, or telling stories that often didn't get told, both of which were incentives to continue.

Published a little fanfic (some with sex, most without). Then published here and was blown away by the number of views.

So I submit more stories, either ones that don't get told, or just for my own fun, but some still end up processing parts of my life (After the Funeral, also A Tale of Two Christmases, are ones I'll admit to)

It would be nice to be able to post more about coming of age, first experiences, etc, but given what it would lead to, I understand why Lit doesn't want it (even with some caveat that any under-18 can't be with anyone more than a couple years older). I wrote a story in response to a challenge here - write a first kiss from the perspective of the other person - and then realised I could never post it here. Though the rules aren't as terrifying as people often claim - a mention of sexual activity is fine, just it can't be remotely eroticised.

I've got a couple clunky paragraphs explaining people having had sex while of age in England (16) while not of age for Lit (add discussion of different age limits for gay male sex, or in different countries, and it gets well complicated). Though from my POV, driving at 16 or less is ridiculous and asking for trouble!

 

[StillStunned]

I began writing erotica because my wife enjoys it. I've kept at it because it gives my writing focus, a constant element that I can build my stories around to keep them moving forward.

Also, I enjoy it.

 

[AlinaX]

One of the things that makes fiction so powerful is that it mixes real and non-real and makes the non-real seem real. We have novelists writing war and murder in gory detail, delving deep into the minds of politicians and serial killers, and -

- and shying away squeamishly from sex. The classic fade-to-black, waves washing up on the beach. Or, worse, exaggerating it with flights of fantasy, disguising it behind absurd prose, as if sex is only permissible if it's the highest of literature.

It's cowardly and dishonest. Yes, we can argue that explicit sex excites parts of the mind that distract from engagement with the rest of the story, and certainly that's true if the sex does not advance the plot. It quickly becomes an indulgence.

What I love about Literotica is its essential honesty - on this subject, at least. People fuck. Sometimes they make love. It can be sensual, it can be brutal. It can be romantic, it can be anonymous. Sometimes the sex is the story, sometimes it's just a part of the story. There's no shame in it, unless the shame is it.

Why do I write it? Because it's fun to read, fun to write, fun to be read. What would I change? I don't know.

 

[Jorunn]

Why do I write it? Because it's fun to read, fun to write, fun to be read. What would I change? I don't know.

I write so I can write better. My first story was rejected by Laurel, and I was forced to learn how to properly write dialog. My first few stories received a handful of brutal comments ("You should get a better translation program"). A few months later, I pulled those early stories back. Not BECAUSE of the comments, but because the comments were RIGHT!

I also enjoy reading the stories I write, my focus is perhaps a bit narrow into love and romance, but the elements and locations I employ are things that interest me, and to write my stories better, I do some enjoyable research into those things.

And perhaps others feel this way, there is a great deal of satisfaction when you stop tweaking a word here or there, and finally hit the submit button.

I don't really have any changes to make. I wish readers in some categories were more tolerant of stories that have elements which could place the story into several category (An incestual romance set in a fetish filled future spaceship), but that just requires me to better place my stories. And I wish more readers would comment. I do read them, and comments help me write better. But maybe even more important, when I am down or trapped in writer's block, I go back to read comments, and become re-inspired.

 

[AlinaX]

More comments would be nice.

An incestual romance set in a fetish filled future spaceship

Sounds perfect for SFF.

 

[desecration]

I also think that there is just too much trivial content on this forum.

This is the nature of forums in general, and it's not all bad. People need to relax to communicate, and that's the biggest barrier.

 

[Seadog777]

Why I like to write here:

1. I like to write, period. Writing can be difficult, but it's a very satisfying thing to do. It's especially satisfying to see one's story actually published.
2. Erotica is very enjoyable. It's fun to spin fantasies based on one's erotic ideas.
3. There's a creative power to writing. The ability to take an idea, and make it real in writing. The power is limitless. That's very enjoyable.

Well put @SimonDoom

 

[intim8]

I write erotica because I've always like writing, and this site is the best I've found of any kind of writing site for getting readers and feedback, as well as for building up a body of work and an audience, which means I can practice and experiment and see how it goes. And I enjoy the subject matter. I was a reader on here for a long time before I even had an account, then started submitting.

Also to indulge some fantasies, but it rarely works out that way. I get going and get into a story and characters, and if they ever get around to doing it, it ends up different from the idea I started out with.

What would I change? Oh, lord, tons of things. But I'll limit them to strictly as a writer, not as a reader.

I would like to see threaded comments with notifications so I could get even better feedback.

I too would like to see the age limit relaxed slightly. Not because I want to write underage crap, but because a coming of age story is too contrived when the age is 18. 16+, only if the people involved are of simiar age would be nice (a 25 year old with a 16 year old is creepy, but 18/16 is fine, and very realistic). Also because having an 18+ character relate things in their past, to explain some of why they are who they are, is hard to do when you can only vaguely refer to what happened.

I know that is not going to change here. I can live with it.

I'd like to see a category for more literary work, where the sex is not the whole of the story, and where the kinds of things the categories here are centered around can be mixed and matched better. Novels and Novellas covers that somewhat, but the expectation there is longer stories. SF/F works sometimes, but not every such story fits either of those genres. I know that's not going to happen either. I can live with it.

I'd like to be able to have something like a blog section on my profile, to touch base with readers, to discuss things, stuff like that. I see a lot of writers using their bio for that, and followers do get notified, but that's not really what it is for, it is hard to keep organized, and no comments.

I'd like to see PMs handled on-site instead of email, like conversations are here in the forum. That probably only works for users that have accounts (it could be done with Anons, but that is a harder technical lift), but at least for those, it would be nicer.

I'd like to have a way to selectively give other users access to drafts, for beta reading or even collab.

 

[STrent]

I just wanted to prove I could write something other than a technical report. It’s also been a wonderful exercise in memory and imagination and I know it’s very unlikely to end in a book deal, but I really just wanted to write an erotic or erotic romantic novel and know I’d done it.

 

[lovecraft68]

What if they're arguments about the topic of the thread??? I happen to like arguments. They're stimulating.

There's discussion, and then there are arguments.

The issue is-like many things here-is who decides what is which?

The mod will remove a post with the message "heated discussions are fine, but not personal attacks or 'shaming" I see posts removed that did neither, and posts remain that do both.

So, like many things here, we default to the sites consistent inconsistency, and will add favrotism. What you can say depends on who you are.

But the other thing is often it's the same argument over and over. Every under aged thread(and there's many) will have the same people saying the same damn things, copyright is another. You'd think at some point people would reach the "I'm not going to say it again" point, but doesn't seem that way.

 

[lovecraft68]

This is the nature of forums in general, and it's not all bad. People need to relax to communicate, and that's the biggest barrier.

True, but the expression everything in moderation is a good mantra to go by, and we have the extreme here. When one member of a clique makes some joke or comment, everyone of their friends has to follow suit.

Its like watching dogs sniff each other's asses in the park.

 

[Seadog777]

When one member of a clique makes some joke or comment, everyone of their friends has to follow suit.

Its like watching dogs sniff each other's asses in the park.

The high school cliques are ridiculous.

It's even worse when the "moderator" plays favorites too.

 

[lovecraft68]

The high school cliques are ridiculous.

It's even worse when the "moderator" plays favorites too.

True, but favoritism is the nature of just about any forum.

As for being a member of a clique, I'll pass on that. I'd rather be popular on the story side of things than worry about what people think of me here.