Authors writing one story over and over

[TheLobster]

I don't like this idea. It would turn Lit into social media with what you see subject to the Algorithm.

Ah yes, the scary "algorithm" that selects stories by tags and sorts them by publication date. Truly the beginning of an end, and a descent to the lowest common denominator.

It's definitely better that authors have to jump through ridiculous hoops like multiboxing several accounts for different kinds of stories than have the website support a feature that was common twenty years ago, before anyone heard about "algorithms" in the scary woo-woo meaning.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Stop gatekeeping.

How many stories a reader has written has no bearing on their right to complain about the content here.

I think you missed the point.

 

[Probus888]

I write to please myself as I don't enjoy watching TV any more. I've uploaded in many different genres here from Non-Erotic (some older HP Lovecraft inspired horror) to humorous tales to erotic horror to 750 word stories. I like to challenge myself rather than writing the same old thing over and over. Now I'm writing a rather dark story about an abusive cult (Spanked in Church). I've got a crime / noir in mind as well for later. It's nice when other people read and especially comment on my stories but I do write mostly for my own pleasure.

 

[mirafrida]

I'm not the type of person to write a story I'm not "into". If I'm looking for a detached brain-puzzle exercise I will just do the crossword.

Like most people, there is a specific range of things I'm "into" and many more I am not. And necessarily, that range of things will, to some degree, dictate aspects of the story.

So... yeah? There are going to be recurring patterns within my stories. Within those parameters I try my best to keep it interesting, mostly because I want the writing process to be interesting for me, and secondarily because I have no more desire to be repetitive than anyone else.

But the OP's idea seems to be that I should intentionally write stuff I don't want to write because "I should," which seems... off

 

[cadeauxxx]

It's their story, so who cares?

This site offers you the freedom to publish whatever you want, following guidelines. As long as said guidelines are not violated, you can post whatever you want. There aren't any other major erotic publishing sites like Literotica where you can do that.

I have a lot of respect for the authors on this site who just ignore all negative comments and write whatever they want and don't care who it bothers. I mainly post in the Celeb/Fan Fiction section where a guy named DickThePimp has posted hundreds of stories. His work typically get low ratings and the comments get full of anonymous cowards telling him how much he sucks, yet he don't care. He don't allow the hecklers to make him stop (if anything it just motivates him). I respect this greatly.

The great Frank Zappa once hilariously named an album 'Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar', this is pretty much how I feel in regards to writing. No need to be a MegaCity Judge looking over other authors. As I stated before, Literotica is such a great site due to the freedom we have with writing. There's no point in worrying about what someone else thinks of your writing. If you build a writing style and just write enough, eventually you'll gain fans. There's a lot of 'bad' authors who have hundreds to thousands of followers.

 

[madelinemasoch]

It's their story, so who cares?

This site offers you the freedom to publish whatever you want, following guidelines. As long as said guidelines are not violated, you can post whatever you want. There aren't any other major erotic publishing sites like Literotica where you can do that.

I have a lot of respect for the authors on this site who just ignore all negative comments and write whatever they want and don't care who it bothers. I mainly post in the Celeb/Fan Fiction section where a guy named DickThePimp has posted hundreds of stories. His work typically get low ratings and the comments get full of anonymous cowards telling him how much he sucks, yet he don't care. He don't allow the hecklers to make him stop (if anything it just motivates him). I respect this greatly.

The great Frank Zappa once hilariously named an album 'Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar', this is pretty much how I feel in regards to writing. No need to be a MegaCity Judge looking over other authors. As I stated before, Literotica is such a great site due to the freedom we have with writing. There's no point in worrying about what someone else thinks of your writing. If you build a writing style and just write enough, eventually you'll gain fans. There's a lot of 'bad' authors who have hundreds to thousands of followers.

Still, your comment reminds me that there are two separate issues here: subject matter on one hand and writing quality on the other. One should strike a balance between writing what they want to write in terms of subject matter and simultaneously getting better at writing quality, in my view. This is because, to my mind, a good writer can employ any subject matter and still make it interesting. I think Literotica as a platform obscures this difference to the point in which readers conflate subject matter with writing quality; i.e., if it isn't about what I want it to be about, then it's "bad writing". Objectively speaking, this isn't true. Someone can have a very well-written story that isn't about something that a given reader wants to read about. Also, someone can have a story that is about what a given reader wants to read about, but it's written so badly that it's no longer interesting or erotic to said reader (this has happened to me before while reading other people's stories). It seems to me that readers on this platform are prioritizing subject matter over writing quality, to the point in which the former blurs into the latter.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that writers should not give up on improving their craft just because certain readers don't appreciate their stories due to subject matter/content decisions. A writer should strive to be so good at their craft on a technical and intuitive level that it doesn't matter what their stories are about, readers still appreciate them. This opens up the avenue for deeper themes and meanings to be conveyed through stories that certain readers wouldn't otherwise be interested in, regardless of said interests, simply because the writing is so good.

 

[lovecraft68]

You can have different ways to get to the finish, but the finish is often the same.

In any genre, there are core elements the readers look for, smile when they get them, aren't happy when they don't. Same folks who will take the same lunch to work with them every day and continue to enjoy it, and...is there anything wrong with that?

Most visual porn is the same scenarios over and over with different actors, and guess what? They all get wanked to.

If your goal is to keep trying to push 'different' go for it. If you're someone who writes the same basic premise many times over, then go for it.

Do you and do it as best you can.

In the meantime, don't complain how others choose to do it. Don't like it, move along.

Or write your own.

 

[lovecraft68]

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that writers should not give up on improving their craft just because certain readers don't appreciate their stories due to subject matter/content decisions. A writer should strive to be so good at their craft on a technical and intuitive level that it doesn't matter what their stories are about, readers still appreciate them. This opens up the avenue for deeper themes and meanings to be conveyed through stories that certain readers wouldn't otherwise be interested in, regardless of said interests, simply because the writing is so good.

If the writer wants all this.

This is a free site, and many authors here are simply having fun telling a dirty story. Not all come here to improve the craft and polish their work and sharpen the skills, some are happy that people are reading their writing. There are also a lot of readers here who come here to read a sexy story, get off. and log off.

They're not stroking to "Oh...oh my god, that use of unreliable narrator! Oh, Hmm, those perfectly placed comma!"

"Yes, baby, yes! Right there, honey, you're so close to delivering on that brilliant foreshadowing!"

Or...

"God, why do you keep telling when you should be showing? Seriously, I could do this myself."

When someone asks for advice, advice should be given. If someone is content to do as they do, leave them alone.

 

[madelinemasoch]

If the writer wants all this.

This is a free site, and many authors here are simply having funny telling a dirty story. Not all come here to improve the craft and polish their work and sharpen the skills, some are happy that people are reading their writing. There are also a lot of readers here who come here to read a sexy story, get off. and log off.

They're not stroking to "Oh...oh my god, that use of unreliable narrator! Oh, Hmm, those perfectly placed comma!"

"Yes, baby, yes! Right there, honey, you're so close to delivering on that brilliant foreshadowing!"

Or...

"God, why do you keep telling when you should be showing? Seriously, I could do this myself."

When someone asks for advice, advice should be given. If someone is content to do as they do, leave them alone.

I'm improving my craft because I have to; as a writer, I have to want all of this. If I didn't, I would have quit.

I guess I'm just not interested in producing pure stroke material. Also, what qualifies as stroke material for me is so different from others that I have to become a better writer in order for others to even understand what it is I'm stroking to. My comments come from my own personal position in my own path as a writer. I'm not seeking to give unsolicited advice, only to contribute higher conceptual thoughts that others may even find interesting.

You yourself must relate to this, as an author who has made it in the self-publishing domain.

 

[Voboy]

I agree that a lot of people (not just writers) are perfectly happy with their level of skill, and are not seeking to improve at all. Those people might be capable of improvement, just not interested.

Now... is that a valid point of view? I think it is, largely because it's a point of view I share. I'm happy with what I'm writing here. I could probably "make my stories better," but I don't want to: I'm not motivated to improve. Among other reasons, I don't think perfection is either possible or desirable, and I have no interest in working toward it. Part of what makes life interesting, to me, are the flaws and the roads not taken. There are times I knowingly leave errors in my pieces because, in my mind, those errors might be good for the story somehow. A lot of that is intuitive; I spend very little time "editing."

I can't know what motivates anyone else but me, so I don't see why I can make any kind of proclamation about what they "should" do.

I don't want to read the boring swill that constitutes some dude's fortieth story about a son fucking mom, but whoever wrote that is clearly motivated by something. I'm glad this site gives them a place to express themselves, and I'm also glad that I don't have to read it.

 

[TheLobster]

They're not stroking to "Oh...oh my god, that use of unreliable narrator! Oh, Hmm, those perfectly placed comma!"

"Yes, baby, yes! Right there, honey, you're so close to delivering on that brilliant foreshadowing!"

Or...

"God, why do you keep telling when you should be showing? Seriously, I could do this myself."

Don't be so hasty. There are kinks on this heaven and earth that are beyond the ken of even the most storied smut writers.

 

[lovecraft68]

Don't be so hasty. There are kinks on this heaven and earth that are beyond the ken of even the most storied smut writers.

Okay, Horatio....

I am sure there are people with a grammar fetish out there.

Hmm, just think of the tag line for a grammar based erotica

"That time when a woman with a period is a good thing."

 

[Emilymcplugger]

The reason why people write a lot of the same stuff is because writing different stuff is really frickin’ difficult. I mean, I look at my output, all of which so far slots into group.

ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE.
Sequel where a separated couple reunite at an orgy.

HOT AND FUZZY
Sex version of HOT FUZZ

CARRY ON CRUISING
A young couple find out the cruise they’re on is actually for swingers.

THERE’S A LOT OF ME ABOUT
Man has sexual adventures as he’s mistaken for doppelgängers.

HORNMANJI
A couple host a party and this mysterious, magical game brings them closer together.

And lastly COUPLES THERAPY (ongoing)
Two people pretend to be a couple to scam an obnoxious TV counsellor.

Now although all have different themes they all arguably have similar bits in them due to it’s my brain coming up with the story. Let’s face it we all try to write new stuff but hitting those tropes is sometimes inevitable.

So, it doesn’t matter if someone writes 100 different stories or one story 100 times, the truth is it takes effort and if the story is good or bad at least they’ve tried.

 

[THBGato]

I am sure there are people with a grammar fetish out there.

A comment on my story The Third Date from the AH's very own @joy_of_cooking
"as a Cambridge graduate I'm allergic to Oxford commas" glorious. Five stars for that alone.

In terms of the OP's comment, I am basically writing the same story over and over again: they all (except for my non-erotic The Parting Glass) feature a woman who thought she was straight discovering that she isn't. They all end more or less HEA. I try to vary how this happens, and the barriers these women face on their journeys, but they are basically very similar.

Mind you, if you believe Christopher Booker, there are only 7 plot types out there, so originality is clearly both extremely hard and over-rated.

 

[StillStunned]

I am sure there are people with a grammar fetish out there.

We're called editors.

Hmm, just think of the tag line for a grammar based erotica

"That time when a woman with a period is a good thing."

"My red pen is going to wreck your colon!"

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm improving my craft because I have to; as a writer, I have to want all of this. If I didn't, I would have quit.

I guess I'm just not interested in producing pure stroke material. Also, what qualifies as stroke material for me is so different from others that I have to become a better writer in order for others to even understand what it is I'm stroking to. My comments come from my own personal position in my own path as a writer. I'm not seeking to give unsolicited advice, only to contribute higher conceptual thoughts that others may even find interesting.

You yourself must relate to this, as an author who has made it in the self-publishing domain.

I think this is what I'm getting at. You want all these things because its what drives you, and that works for you.
I was just making the point that there's so many authors on this site and there are various levels of how seriously they all want to take it.

As far as stroke goes. I learned that its not as easy to write as you think when you're someone who for a long time wrote only slow burns. I did a couple for anthologies and no matter how simple the premise, I kept wanting to give these folks a back story, add some conflict, build something up.

It showed me that when you're someone who tries for more involved stories, writing a flat out fuck piece has an odd feeling of freedom to it.

 

[lovecraft68]

"My red pen is going to wreck your colon!"

Consensually of course.

 

[StillStunned]

Consensually of course.

I only get out the red pen if I'm paid to. Offer, acceptance, meeting of the minds.

 

[lovecraft68]

I only get out the red pen if I'm paid to. Offer, acceptance, meeting of the minds.

Grammar Findom.

Now we have a new fetish

 

[MrHereWriting]

In conclusion, I get why people do this and it can even be done well. But it's frustrating to see people write what's in essence one story again and again.

It is, that's why my favorite books are:
James Bond, Professional Chef
Jack Reacher, Twitch Streamer
Dr. Who Lounges About
The Day Sherlock Holmes Couldn't Deduce Shit
and a whole lot more.

This topic reminds me of Matt Groening vs Fox Producers when he wanted to make Futurama.

The Fox Producers wanted him to make Futurama, aka, The Simpsons in Sci-Fi.
Matt Groening wanted to make something completely different.

At the heart of things though, he was making another 22 minute animated comedy series.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I don't know if we'll ever get there but I think the ideal future would be offering a custom home page for every Lit user that would include tailored story feeds based upon user-selected tags and categories to suit the users' needs. The Site would aggregate the choices made by readers and feed the data back to authors so authors could then choose categories and tags to maximize their ability to reach the appropriate reader groups.

Almost sounds like ArchiveOfOurOwn.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

I've never written the same thing twice, even here. For example, I write a bit of incest, the only thing any of them have in common is the incest. Ah dunno about yall, but I write other things in other places, I don't just write erotica.

 

[SamBomb]

It worked for AC/DC.

Not for me, although I noticed a few themes/kinks keep reappearing.

 

[Lucy_Lastic]

Does anyone else notice how some authors fall into the trap of essentially writing one story over and over?

It's not an issue, you can always move on, and it's only annoying if the story doesn't float your boat. If I go down the rabbit hole of a single author's stories it's because I found the first one particularly stimulating or it chimed with a scenario that excites me, in which case I often go looking for more of the same.

 

[CherryCupcake]

I once went to a writer's conference. One of the professional writers was a romance writer and she was clear that romance writing is all about the tropes. The readers want to relive the same story with just enough changes to pretend it's fresh.

I suspect, erotica has much the same thing. If you're really turned on by a certain thing, you will return to it, and seek it out. Let us face the fact there a pelvic thrust is a pelvic thrust. It's really easy to repeat yourself when writing erotica. The best way to avoid that is to make the story about people, who happen to fuck. Not about the sex itself.