Story introductions - yes or no?

[Jmanchu]

I think introductions are best seen as "exposition." And there are pros and cons to exposition.

The pros is it can more easily just be a quick info dump that might otherwise be more difficult to explain naturally for the author to put information the reader might need to know, especially if its fantasy with a complex background for a story or setting, or a complex magic system.

The con, obviously, is the fact that its most of the time an exposition, especially at the start of the story, which you generally shouldn't start a story with since you want the story to be interesting enough that the reader wants to read it from the start. And expositions in a story, I see them like if a story was a movie... then an exposition is the equivalent of the author or maker of the movie pressing pause on the movie to explain to you something that is going on in the movie or about the setting before hitting the play button for you to enjoy again. Or having a block of text pop up right before you sit down to watch the movie, like Stars Wars does, and I don't think most people find anything in there particularly memorable about that. Interesting for some people, maybe, but how much of that info is really needed to enjoy the movie I wonder?

I think most readers... or movie-watchers... would much rather just enjoy their piece of entertainment and put the parts of the story as they read along. A lot of times I think it's better to try to work the details.

Introductions or disclaimers should only really be there if there's something you, as the author, wants to make clear about the story before someone jumps into it, like an FYI before the story starts or something that wouldn't be clear just in the story itself or helps to explain something about the setting. It's not necessary to read or write really, but some authors do it for personal choice either to enrich their story for further enjoyment or to make clear on certain standpoints considering the contents of their story.

I know that the Robert E. Howard of Conan the Barbarian has an introduction(In the Complete Chronicles of Conan the Barbarian) that summarizes the entirety of the Hyborian Age detailing the overall lore and age of the nations and empires of his setting(A fantasy depiction of human prehistory, the Pre-Cataclysmic age up to the end of the Hyborian Age) up to the point where his fictional setting converges with early pre-medieval history of the current world. And the age of the Hyborian Kingdoms is where Conan's story is supposed to be if I remember. It's not needed to really read the story and understand everything that's going on since most authors, especially professional fantasy authors, have a lot of lore for their stories that don't really make it into the writing itself but the history and lore that isn't explicitly mentioned or reference still is there to shape the story as the writer crafts his work. It's more of a personal choice of Robert E. Howard that he includes this information, but if you do take the time to read it, it does help to really shape the feel of his fictional setting, but again, it's not necessary. He's not the only one who does this, and some other authors might put this otherwise missing lore into encyclopedia types of work.

Or if it's fantasy or has a magic system in the setting that might need explanation and they just want to get that info out of the way quickly. Some authors might put a brief explanation to help make certain things clearer so people can understand what the hell is going on when magic happens... if it's needed to understand the plot or the rules of what dictates the "science" of the magic.

Another reason why an author, usually here, might make an introduction or more specifically a disclaimer could be to give a heads up for any potentially controversial topics that might be explored in the story for the reader to make a choice whether it's a story they want to read or not before embarking on it.

If you ask me, oftentimes, introductions aren't needed. That's their biggest con. If you buy the Chronicles of Conan the Barbarian, which includes a chapter-length introduction, the reason the author can get away with that more easily is simply because it's organized into an entirely separate chapter making it possible for a reader to just skip it and flip to the part of the book where the actual first chapter of the story starts, but the format for Literotica doesn't quite make that easy, since it's all going to be one part or inside page 1 of your story. That's another con. In the end, it's your decision on how you want to write and organize your story, whether or not you feel like adding an introduction is helpful.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I use them on occasion. One story for instance involved pre-decimal British currency and that merited a brief explanation.

 

[AchtungNight]

Sometimes a lengthy Conan type intro is needed for the unfamiliar. My God of War story has to summarize several video games for exposition, include disclaimers, codes, spoiler warnings, a brief statement on the story… I am not doing that big an intro again ever.

 

[Bamagan]

I'll second the people who say it's a good practice for certain stories to have an author's preface or introduction, especially if it's a longer story or series of stories that might cross between categories. It's nice to know, generally speaking, what you're getting into, and personally I'd rather not be surprised by something like scat or insectoid alien ovipositioning when I was looking for, say, some mother-daughter incest. Although the Series controls do give authors the option of writing such an introduction to the collection of stories without needing to add it to any one story, which is nice, since it does allow you to jump more directly into the tale being told.

 

[KeithD]

I've used them, but not often. If they enhance the story, yes, if they mainly tell the reader what's in there that the reader might not like, no.

 

[mirafrida]

It would be nice to dispense with author's notes, but I write a lot of NC/R, so I feel I must do my best to convey that my fiction does not condone any sort of real-life behavior that is coercive or misogynistic, and to warn readers about elements they might find triggering.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Yes. Every story. A brief intro because some of my stories are connected but not serialized. Also if the story includes ANY sort of non-monogamy between married couples, I think it's prudent to let the reader know beforehand. I will sometimes include a closing paragraph, very brief, to let readers know if I have further plans for the characters, and to thank them for reading my work.

 

[oneagainst]

Good evening.

I notice that some submissions on Lit have introductions before the story proper starts.

Do you do this?

Pros and cons?

Thank you.

Absolutely, if you have non con, sadism, femdom, etc.... A one liner to let the reader make an informed choice is just courteous. Plus avoids some of the 1-bombs from people you triggered the ick factor in.

Also yes if, like me, you're publishing books in multiple chapters. Again, a one line synopsis, brief and to the point and then straight into the action. I also might include links to previous stories for the reader to find the background, which saved on having to do the massive distracting "previously on South Park" intro blurb.

A standalone story or the opening chapter, absolutely not (kink trigger warnings aside). Parachute the reader directly into the speeding car and have at it.

 

[Britva415]

it's kind of like the intro breaks the 4th wall for me

Yeah, kind of like the cover, the dust flap, or the back of a book.

I consider it to be 4th-wall-breaking when it happens during the story in progress, not before the beginning or after the end.

 

[Britva415]

Sometimes a lengthy Conan type intro is needed for the unfamiliar. My God of War story has to summarize several video games for exposition, include disclaimers, codes, spoiler warnings, a brief statement on the story… I am not doing that big an intro again ever.

I feel like this is a different thing than a brief "author's notes" type of "introduction."

An introduction which is in-universe information is basically part of the story, just not told narratively.

We're calling author's notes "introduction" just because it's at the beginning of the body of the content of the story since Lit doesn't give us another field to put it in, but when it contains out-of-universe, outside-the-story information, it's different from an "introduction" which, if these were books, would be part of the manuscript.

 

[Britva415]

The arguments against author's notes because of 4th-wall-breaking make me want to say, what about the subtitle field? What about the title? What about tags? What about category? What about the blurb on the back of a paperback novel or inside the dustflap of a hardcover novel?

I feel like author's notes for meta-data serve the same purpose as those things. If it's OK for a subtitle or a back-cover blurb to break the 4th wall (I don't agree that it even does that at all, but just for the sake of argument) then why not an author's note in a Lit story.

What if Lit offered a field for "author's notes" so that we weren't tempted to put them before the beginning of the story? It would be the same content. Would people still view it negatively?

 

[bumpercars]

I include a one-line content warning where appropriate, but nothing else. I want the title and subtitle to provide all of the information you need to get started - the story should do everything else.

 

[Northstar4695]

I’ve used an intro several times to warn about violence or other potentially upsetting things in stories. I’ve also put a short (like two lines) synopsis of the previous chapters in my series in case anyone wants to jump right in.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Yes, with every story for quite a while now. Mine are usually long, so I like to warn readers up front, and quite often I did a little bit of comment on why I wrote the story or in some cases I just have fun with an intro. I like them, I enjoy writing them, and for myself, I think it's great way to crack the ice and let readers know whats in store for them if they continue. But that's just me

 

[EmilyMiller]

Good evening.

I notice that some submissions on Lit have introductions before the story proper starts.

Do you do this?

Pros and cons?

Thank you.

I used to routinely do these, especially for partly auto-biographical stories. I do it much less now and indeed have removed some intros, or moved them to end notes, when editing an older work (e.g. when I can’t stand the typos anymore, or am writing a sequel).

I write less autobiographical stories now, but the one I wrote most recently has no intro, through the original draft did.

Em

 

[ruddygore]

I'll probably put one in a story I'm working on now. Just to warn that what appears to be a cat is not a cat. But you have to wait until you get about 10,000 words in before she reveals she's actually a herald of Bast and does have a humanoid form. Meanwhile the guy is trying to figure out why she seems interested in his junk.

 

[Voboy]

I often put in a couple of sentences at the beginning, designed to place my stories properly within my "universe." Or, if there's an important term that needs defining, I might put it there (think I've done that once). Lastly, for my medieval stories, I'll include a quick linguistic note explaining why I chose to make my eleventh-century Saxons sound like 21st-century Americans.

I think of it as a way to short-circuit questions people might ask.

 

[oneagainst]

Given that a picture tells a thousand worlds, here's a link to my latest story. The intro is two sentences, giving story synopsis, link to a backstory and trigger warnings, demarcated to separate from the story text so the eye can skip onto the action. On a technical point, and if you have a world behind the scenes, those links not only allow you to give backstory without cluttering up the current story page, but they can be a powerful driver into your existing bibliography, reinvigorating old works. This story at its peak was driving about 3,000 views a day into my network, and older books were getting faved by new readers. The boost is harder to engineer but worthwhile if you're going to be publishing a web of stories.

Or you could just write in I/T and get the same views/day... quicker, easier, more seductive...?

 

[Djmac1031]

If you're talking about an intro that talks about what the story is about, then generally, no.

If you're doing a series, I can see a VERY brief "Previously" recap before jumping in to the next chapter.

But for single stories, I'm not a big fan.

I do use a Forward for any disclaimers/warnings I may wanna put up front, and I use an Afterwards almost all the time to talk a little bit about where the story came from, thank beta readers or collaborators, etc.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

No, I don't tell people how to read me.

You shouldn't have to explain your writing. Writing is explaining. If you have to explain your writing, you didn't write it right. Either that or you're just trying to avoid negative feedback and poor votes.

 

[alohadave]

trying to avoid negative feedback and poor votes.

Is that really a bad thing? If a couple sentences stops people from downvoting (though I doubt the efficacy of that), why not do it? More so, who is it hurting?

You shouldn't have to explain your writing. Writing is explaining. If you have to explain your writing, you didn't write it right.

Authors here have a lot of superstitions and firmly held beliefs and it's amusing how convinced that their way is the right and only way. What works for you doesn't work for someone else. Neither of you is right, you just vary in your opinions.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I say no, except on very rare occasions (and only on a long story that wanders about a bit, sexual content wise), where I'll say, "This story contains x, y, and z, so if you don't think you can handle that, don't start reading." It's directed at the children who shouldn't be here, if they're not adult enough to skim past content that "offends them" without moaning about it.

Otherwise, if you need an introduction, "what's gone before," you didn't start the story early enough.

 

[BobbyLaker]

I use them on occasion. One story for instance involved pre-decimal British currency and that merited a brief explanation.

Thanks.
Sadly, I'm old enough to be able to switch effortlessly between the two

 

[BobbyLaker]

I include a one-line content warning where appropriate, but nothing else. I want the title and subtitle to provide all of the information you need to get started - the story should do everything else.

... and the tags?

 

[Djmac1031]

... and the tags?

I honestly think most people don't actually check the tags.

At least not in newly posted stories. Maybe when they're searching for something specific of course.

But we've all gotten complaints about stuff in our stores people didn't like that we specifically tagged for just that reason.

I think most readers see story title, teaser, and catagory and that's it.