How Much Does This Site Influence Your Writing?

[BobbyBrandt]

We see so many posts about picking the right title, the right category, the pros and cons of publishing pieces of a story versus the whole thing, and various other tips on publishing on this site that it makes me wonder:

How does planning to publish on Literotica influence your actual writing?

Do you start writing with the intention of publishing a story here, and if so, how much does that influence what you write and how you do it?

Easy examples would be remaining vigilant in adhering to the rules and policies of the site while writing. However, do you also let the category choices here influence you, or maybe avoid elements that you recognize will trigger negative reactions from select readers (cue Loving Wives theme music)?

In essence, do you write to fit the site or do you write and then see if it fits?

 

[Rob_Royale]

When I first started here, yes. I wanted to build a base of followers so I wrote on subjects I knew would get attention. Incest and LW. For the most part, it was successful, so now I just write what I want.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's a combination for me, because my erotica tastes have been formed over a quarter century of reading stories here. I'd been reading stories for around 15 years before I published one. Through reading I developed a sense of what seems to "work" for different types and categories of stories.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Only in that I have a vague aim to cover every category, eventually. Ironically, the categories I have left are some of my favourites for reading.

My wide range of scores are testament to not necessarily hitting the mark for the 'average Lit reader', whatever that is, though generally a few readers will appreciate each story. The main consideration for Lit is what to call a story and put in the tagline, and any preamble, to give readers an idea of what to expect, to deter those who would hate the story while hopefully intriguing those who might like it.

Sometimes I'll reluctantly remove some acts or fetishes, because I know the more you add, the more readers may be deterred - but equally, the more you drop into your story stew, the greater the chance of a mess rather than each ingredient shining. So that's really just creating a story for anyone else to read, not Lit specific, as opposed to the fantasies that stay in the privacy of my own head...

 

[AG31]

Not at all. My writing is (was) totally personal.

 

[knowhergne]

I started writing completely just for me and out of random curiosity posted something one day and it was decently liked so here I still am.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

In a general sense, not much. My tastes don't run as far to the wild side as many of the people here, and the categories more or less fit what I write.



That said, my current WIP features a bit where the FMC tells the MMC how one of his friends made some inappropriate comments to her when she was much younger.

There is nothing sexual in the conversation, nothing tittilating, (and I wouldn't have written it to be regardless of site rules) I still avoided any specific mention of ages to avoid a flag to try and stay as above board as possible.

 

[yowser]

The site has had two direct effects on my writing, in quite different aspects.

The underage rule leaves out a huge number of tales I have written or would write. So much (mental) sexual life occurs in the vastly confusing years after puberty arrives, yet stories of those times often don't work when you try to shoehorn them into an 18 year old worldview to meet site rules. I totally understand the Lit policy on this, but it leaves a huge swath of potentially fascinating stuff out of contention. The baldest example, of course, is that Lolita would not fly here.

Second, when I arrived here I thought I had fairly broad spectrum erotic interests. Ha. The variety here has led me to venture into far wider waters than I ever would have considered. And that part has been a huge plus, my imagination and writing muscles have gotten exercised in far more extensive and instructive ways than might otherwise have been the case.

So I am regretful for the first, grateful for the second.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

It has a very significant influence: it both pushes me to be more inventive and encourages me to cater to an imagined reader.

I'm mostly concerned with situations in which a character, almost always a man, is aroused in appropriate places. And my imagined reader is always chiding me for not taking into account the experience of the people my main characters lust after.

It's a chore for sure, and it probably takes away bit of the fun in the fantasy. But it also brings a verisimilitude that gives the writing an extra dimension.

So, in short, I hate the influence but appreciate its worth.

 

[AStrangeDesire]

It has in a couple of ways.

As someone fairly new to publishing work:

1. I'm more focused in what I'm writing and not 'meandering' through a series of sexual categories in a single story or series. That and avoiding LW, even though I have stuff that would fit there. Maybe I'll set up a separate account to publish there in the future, who knows
2. I do think about categories before I start, but that doesn't mean I necessarily change the story. Things are going to go in the story even if it'll make it tough to fit neatly into Lit's categories
3. Length is more of a consideration, so that if I split something, I want clean lines between the parts

At the same time, I try to only write stuff that I want to read, without being influenced by some expectations of what will do well or not.

Finally: I've learned that if I have doubt about a section or part, definitely go back and change it. There have been several times when I have not, and have had comments that backed up my initial concerns.

So, lesson learned. Just like in Ronin, 'Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt!'

 

[Stanfield2025]

I read a couple of stories on Lit and those stories inspired me to write erotica in the first place. I needed a platform for the story, so I decided on Lit because of the high readership. Then a spin-off story came from that and I decided to put it on Lit as well. Now I'm done.

 

[ChuckWolf]

Sometimes I'll make superficial changes to a story to make it eligible for a contest or challenge, that's about it.

 

[IWroteThis]

I'd say that you're looking at it wrong. My writing determines its destination, not the other way around. I write my own stories, not content for a specific site. Usually, I'm pretty good at anticipating which bucket to put a story idea in to begin with, but sometimes they go in a different direction. When that happens, I just move them to a different bucket.

That said, I will admit that I did change one story to comply with Literotica's rules. However, the important part was having them one year apart in high school. I realized that holding the FMC back a year before starting school so that she'd be the oldest in her class, rather than the youngest, fit the story better than an actual age difference.

Also, like @ChuckWolf, I adapted a story to happen fully in the office so it would qualify for the On The Job event last year, but that had nothing to do with actual content, just location.

 

[millamomud]

When I started writing, I definitely wrote for Literotica. I tried to make sure there was at least one sexy scene in almost every chapter because that's what I thought readers expected.

Ironically, once it became increasingly difficult to publish my stories here because of reasons, I stopped writing with the site in mind. Instead, I focused on telling the story I actually wanted to tell.

Looking back, I think that made me a better writer. My pacing improved, my characters became more believable, and I became much less interested in adding erotic scenes just because I felt I had to. Now they only happen when the story naturally leads there.

These days I usually write first and only later ask myself where, or even if, a story fits a particular platform. I'd rather adapt a finished story to a site (which I don't) than let a site's expectations shape the story while I'm writing it.

 

[MK_Whimsy]

The biggest influence for me is on story length. If my intent is to post here, I usually try to write at least 5k words. I'm more likely to take shorter snippets and flash-type fiction to other places.

 

[Britva415]

I write to fit the site (it's smut/erotica, Jack) and I know before I start what I want to write and where it's going to land.

The only things I would say I "contrive" are the title, description and tags, and that happens after it's written. Yes, I tune those with gathering appreciative eyeballs in mind, but I don't write to make more people appreciate it. I trust that there are people who will appreciate what I write, and if I were to bastardize it by trying to chase more of them, I would alienate the ones who would have really appreciated the original intended version. So I just write what I would have written anyway, and I know Lit, and some particular category, has space, and is the place, for it.

 

[SmilingLez]

Currently 0%

No longer post here

Edit - I guess I could also say 100% because I no longer post here

 

[Stanfield2025]

Currently 0%

No longer post here

When you did post here, how much would you say the site influenced you?

 

[millamomud]

Currently 0%

No longer post here

I'm like halfway convinced jumping ship is the best option.

 

[SmilingLez]

I'm like halfway convinced jumping ship is the best option.

Writers are the folks generating revenue for this site, and the site owners do not feed us nor give a damn

As always my opinion and YMMV

 

[SmilingLez]

When you did post here, how much would you say the site influenced you?

0% when it comes to creativity.

I am an experimentalist. Check out my poetry contributions on the main site. Same thing with my one revenue generating flash fiction story that somehow didn't get pulled when my entire catalog got pulled from the site after being live for months, without reason

 

[Stanfield2025]

0% when it comes to creativity.

I am an experimentalist. Check out my poetry contributions on the main site. Same thing with my one revenue generating flash fiction story that somehow didn't get pulled when my entire catalog got pulled from the site after being live for months, without reason

Your engagement seems pretty decent. You could've built something off of that. But alas, the site is the way it is.

 

[SmilingLez]

Your engagement seems pretty decent. You could've built something off of that. But alas, the site is the way it is.

When the system sucks the creativity out of a person, you don't reward it

 

[forgotmyantidepressants]

When I first started posting stories, the allure of I/T's viewership made me want to write that genre. I wrote three stories and enjoyed many views/clicks and votes. More importantly, it gave me a new appreciation for the genre and the people who read/write it.

These days, I don't write with genre in mind. If there's no other place for a story, I can always put it in erotic couplings. But I will admit that some of the "writing-as-a-craft" discussion threads have influenced my writing. The POV thread from a few months(?) ago was very good.

 

[millamomud]

When the system sucks the creativity out of a person, you don't reward it

I was pretty bummed after my last rejection and was so frustrated that I didn't write anything new for almost three months.

On the bright side, my drawing skills improved significantly, so I guess something good came out of it.

Ironically, the very same story has been doing quite well about everywhere else.