Should author stick to a single genre?

[MillieDynamite]

My muse is working out at the gym, toneing up her powerful white body, kicking some ass, and avoiding working at the garage today. My other muse, the one in my head, is on vacation again, drinking mai tais and pina coladas with handsome, well-endowed men, for-fucking-getting she's a lesbian muse to a lesbian writer.

I write primarily in T/CD, but some of my highest rated stories are in other categories. follow your muse. Write the story she brings you, and enjoy the experience.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

We clearly have very different muses. Mine's like a hyperactive kitten that keeps bringing me new gifts, wants to play with them for five seconds, then gets bored.

I've shared my WIP folder with you, and she brought me something something brand new today.

 

[BryanRichardson]

I’m working on the survivor challenge https://forum.literotica.com/forums/survivor-contest.30/ so I am specifically writing in all the categories I can. I’ve got lots of story ideas, and so far they have fallen into lots of different categories.
I thought the transgender category was going to be hardest for me, but while writing for next months Geek challenge I have accidentally fallen into a story that fits it perfectly. The story is about Magical trading cards of images of the players bodies. You magically get more cards by giving orgasms, and people get cards of you in proportion to how many orgasms you have. If someone collects a complete set of your cards they get a magical sexual favor from you. And they can choose to temporarily change your gender to get that favor…

 

[nice90sguy]

I wrote in a number of categories when I started here, when I was more interested in exploring my sexuality and writing abilities than I am now. I think it's important to set yourself writing challenges and step out of your comfort zone, if you want to improve. But not all the time, of course.

 

[Not2Pervy]

My last ten stories have been in nine different categories. I'm following my muse, but nudging her in new directions. I will say, however, that as I've been pushing myself and exploring new areas, I've noticed that my follower count has risen much more slowly. Of course, that could be due to the crappier quality of my explorations. No matter. I will travel where my muse takes me.

 

[MillieDynamite]

"You're travelling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the @2not2Pervy Zone!"

My last ten stories have been in nine different categories. I'm following my muse, but nudging her in new directions. I will say, however, that as I've been pushing myself and exploring new areas, I've noticed that my follower count has risen much more slowly. Of course, that could be due to the crappier quality of my explorations. No matter. I will travel where my muse takes me.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Yes. Category would be too specific for an author to write a story. For e.g. someone only write incest/taboo category would be rare. But some one writing a specific types of story is more likely.

No it isn't. There are writers here that only, or practically only write I/T, or in LW, or Gay. Somebody or two in this very thread said they only write in [catagory]. I wouldn't be surprised if there was somebody who only wrote in T&C, and only wrote Trans Dom/Male sub stories. There's more than enough "trans roommate iniates sex on snaller male" stories to err me on the side of right.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Some writers are fine being a one-trick-pony, for whatever reason, but I wouldn't say should stick to one genre or catagory. I'd say more people don't, than do.

I don't, and I don't want to. The idea feels stifling to my imagination. I've only ever written in three or four catagories, anyway, and the genres, to some degree, if you can call them that, vary. I have two incest stories, both are mom/son, but they're vastly different. I've got fantasy stories with Fae, ghost, and demons. Even the things I lean heavy on, aren't all I write.

 

[HordHolm]

The only time I'd say that someone should stick to one category is when publishing something with chapters.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

The only time I'd say that someone should stick to one category is when publishing something with chapters.

Even then, while that may reduce your number of readers, I don't think it's necessary. One of my series starts in EC, then has two chapters in E/V, EC and then BDSM. I give a heads-up at the start that ch.5 is the climax with some mild BDSM and same-sex activity.

Still more readers than I would have got in N/N, which I have used but for a long complex story, rather than anything with clear erotic sections.

Having said that, my first series here was in GM, with a note that purely heterosexual chapters would be in EC. I shouldn't have bothered, as the GM readership can cope with the odd bit of man/woman sex, whereas the EC readership didn't get drawn to investigate the rest of the story at all. Fewer longer chapters would probably have kept more GM readers.