How much do you share beforehand?

[usable001]

How much do you share, and with whom, when you are writing, and the story isn't done yet?

I glanced at a trio of sentences at the end of chapter four of a novel and said to myself, "Those sentences are a really cool microcosm of the story as a whole." Then it occurred to me that I don't know anyone who would care and wouldn't want to also read the whole thing immediately.

 

[Duil2]

I've chosen not to tell anyone in my family or friend circle that I'm writing erotica and even if I did, they probably wouldn't read it.
I do sometimes send my stories to beta readers or editors found here on Literotica but that's usually when the story's finished.
During writing I tend to use these forums. AH is just the place for that and there are a few threads you could use.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I've made some online friends, people from Lit and similar spaces, that I'll sometimes run things by, and who run things by me. One person in real life knows what I do, but she's not that interested.

Plus, like Duil2 said, some of the threads in AH are about sharing cool things you wrote as you're writing (One Line, Share your Writing Gems, etc) or asking for help (creating a thread about a specific question, or something like How Do We Feel About...? for quick opinions).

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I don't write or publish anything that would embarrass me, so I have several people, including my wife and close friends, who alpha and beta read for me. One of these is a retired Navy Chaplain who has taken to writing and publishing his own stories here.

My stories are not smut-free, but people I know recognize them as fictional works that do not reflect on me or my real-world beliefs/behavior.

I think a lot of others would be surprised at the reception they would receive among people that they know with, "Hey, I'm thinking of writing a rather steamy story. Would you mind taking a look at it for me and give me your thoughts?"

 

[sirhugs]

I'm not telling.
They know who they are.
I've had Lit chums that I've shared with almost from the beginning almost 25 years ago, but the identities have changed over time.
Very few people in my non-Lit life know about this.

 

[NotWise]

People in the AH coffee shop hear way more about my stories than I expect they want to, but I rarely quote the text.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I bounce ideas off @Eosphorus every now and again. We have similar tastes in erotica. Aside from that, not much sharing going on.

 

[Areala-chan]

I have a small cadre of beta readers and friends that I will share WIPs with, and who occasionally share theirs back with me. Mostly they are online, but I have a couple in my offline existence who know what I write and read it as well.

 

[JohnBJohn]

My wife knows that I write here, I had to justify the time I'm spending on the computer. She's read one or two stories with me, but for some reason never managed to finish...

 

[deathlynx]

I post some hints here at AH. Sometimes a bit more than hints. Share Your Writing Gems does sound like a thread that would suit your example, and is somewhere I shared a particularly pithy couple of lines of dialogue that I really appreciated.

 

[ColtonWrites]

I wish I had someone to bounce ideas off of. I do have those moments where I go "oh, man, isn't (x) a good example of (z)?" And there's nobody to share them with.

But that's why I publish!

 

[deathlynx]

I wish I had someone to bounce ideas off of. I do have those moments where I go "oh, man, isn't (x) a good example of (z)?" And there's nobody to share them with.

But that's why I publish!

There are undoubtedly people here (on Lit, if not AH) that would be more than willing to work with you on that. I'm not very familiar with the other forums, but someone can certainly direct you to one where you might be able to post to find someone.

Or, if you find a fellow author who's work you like/respect you could reach out and ask. The later, obviously takes quite a bit of self-confidence and be prepared for people to decline (hopefully politely) as many of us have so much on our plates that we don't really have the time for more than brief brainstorming.

 

[SmilingLez]

I've always been open, so visability is not an issue for me. Erotica is only a tiny slice of my pie. I do thank you for bringing up the topic because it inspired me to write a micro fiction story. For your enjoyment

+++

I see you in those dark corners, hunched over your keyboard at midnight. Terrified of the browser history. The search terms. The words you've committed to a screen.

You've got this whole other life locked away like it might infect everyone around you. Your family. Your friends. Your partner. Gawd forbid they knew what you actually think about. What makes your pulse quicken.

So you write it all down in the shadows, clinical and careful, compartmentalized like a disease you're managing. And the saddest part? You think you're protecting them. You think your silence is love.

But really you're just terrified they'll leave. That they'll see the real you and decide you're not worth staying for. So you keep writing. Keep hiding. Keep telling yourself it's fine, it's fine, it's fine.

All while the thing you created sits there, brilliant and true and completely untouchable. Because admitting it exists means admitting you exist. And that's the real cowardice, isn't it? Not what you write.

That you won't let anyone know you're brave enough to write it at all.

 

[forgotmyantidepressants]

One of the toughest things about writing (and I assume other creative hobbies in general), is that no one else cares. Especially when you're an amateur.

 

[usable001]

One of the toughest things about writing (and I assume other creative hobbies in general), is that no one else cares.

That goes double when the work you want to talk about isn't complete, which is why I started this post.

 

[Bazzle]

I will farm my work out to anyone willing to read my words before publishing. The more feedback I get the better!

 

[usable001]

How much do you share... when you are writing, and the story isn't done yet?

I've always been open, so visability is not an issue for me. Erotica is only a tiny slice of my pie. I do thank you for bringing up the topic...
I see you in those dark corners, hunched over your keyboard at midnight. Terrified of the browser history. The search terms.

Are we talking about the same topic?

 

[UnexpectedLuggage]

I'll share a general idea of a story, but I try not to share too much because I want people to actually read the story.

 

[crookedletter]

I shave it all except for like a little landing strip down the ...

Thank you . I read it that way at first too, and the question didn't surprise me in the slightest.

As for the actual question, the only thing I've shared with people before at least a draft is done is my novel in progress. I shared some sections relatively early with some writer friends and got some feedback that helped me work out whether or not it was doing what I hoped it was doing. I think it helped.

I do the same with story drafts, but only really with non-erotic stuff. I'm not sure how they'd react if I shared the stuff I post here. Honestly I think they'd be cool with it, but I'm not ready to let those worlds collide just yet. My wife is my one reader for that stuff, for now at least.

I do think peer feedback can be incredibly useful. As writers we know what we're going for, we know the story that's in our heads, and it can be hard to read our own stuff without seeing what we've attempted rather than what we've achieved. Readers -- especially, I think, if they're writers themselves -- can help us see what we're blind to in our own work.

 

[JohnBJohn]

Since I've started my own little literary world with characters appearing in multiple works, I have published a rough timeline in my bio. It lists each story and their place in the timeline, plus which characters appear where. I also lost a couple of stories that I'm working on it plan to write on the future and I'll have a short blurb or two to tease my readers. These do give up some plot ideas

 

[usable001]

I wish I had someone to bounce ideas off of. I do have those moments where I go "oh, man, isn't (x) a good example of (z)?" And there's nobody to share them with.!

Have you visited the Story Ideas forum?

 

[Voboy]

I have online friends, who also tend to be fans of my writing, and I'm not opposed to telling them what I'm working on if it comes up organically. I've been known to take an idea from a fan, or to be encouraged by others.

But never would I ever ask them for any input into what I'm writing. If I'm having a debate with myself about which phrase to use, it would NEVER occur to me to ask anyone else to referee. It's my story, and I bear the responsibility of picking the words.

 

[OddLove]

My circle is so small you could fit it in a New York City closet studio apartment, and none of them know I write erotica. But I have spoiled the general direction of a story on a few occasions to commentors on stories. Not as a teaser, but more to set expectations fairly.

For example, a few months back there was a commenter who pleaded for me to keep a main character strictly straight and drop the cuckold stuff, and I just wanted to be honest with the direction so they could make the choice to uninvest and stop reading.

Unfortunately, since there's no real two-way communication in the comments, I have no way of knowing of that person returned to see my reply.

But I have seen random excerpts in the forums before and found them enticing enough to go read the story so I do believe the "teaser" technique can be effective.

 

[EmilyMiller]

How much do you share, and with whom, when you are writing, and the story isn't done yet?

I share sections of work with @Djmac1031 as I write them. Have done for years. He does the same. It’s both motivational and part of my review process: both me re-reading / editing the new section after I’ve PMed it to him and him picking up on issues.

On occasion, I’ve done the same with other people - as part of collabing or if the subject is one that would resonate with them.

Once I have a first draft, it’s out of alpha-reading and into beta. I don’t have people beta read everything I write, it tends to be selected stories for selected reasons.

 

[Djmac1031]

I share sections of work with @Djmac1031 as I write them. Have done for years. He does the same. It’s both motivational and part of my review process: both me re-reading / editing the new section after I’ve PMed it to him and him picking up on issues.

On occasion, I’ve done the same with other people - as part of collabing or if the subject is one that would resonate with them.

Once I have a first draft, it’s out of alpha-reading and into beta. I don’t have people beta read everything I write, it tends to be selected stories for selected reasons.

it's been a good back and forth benefit for both of us. Even if there's not much feedback on the storytelling itself. it generally just helps to have someone say "yeah thats working."

And if its not, thats helpful to know too.

Sometimes we delve deeper into helping each other work out storytelling and plot details, other times its more just looking for typos or grammar errors.

But it's always been mutually beneficial