Story introductions - yes or no?

[Britva415]

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

There's nothing different about Literotica stories compared to all the books which make it into print which contain any or all of the following:

Author's notes
Foreword
Introduction
Preface
Acknowledgements
Library of Congress data
Dedication

So, one or the other of the following two things have to be true:
1. All those published and in-print authors who included any or all of that shit aren't writing it right.
2. These elements do other jobs besides "explaining their writing."

 

[JGittes]

Usually, I have an idea of what I'd like to read when I walk into a brick-and-mortar bookstore. I walk over to the Romance section, and if I'm looking for something by an author I know, great. If I don't have someone in mind, I know the book covers convey a certain amount of information. There are five or six standard styles to conventionally guide a reader to their preferred sub-genre. Then I read the back cover blurb. Five or six sentences that are usually an elevator pitch for why I should read the story.

I agree with a few posts above that most readers do not read the tags, particularly on new stories. A great title and tagline are important, but that will only get the click to view the first page of the story. A blurb of a few sentences serves the purpose of the cover designs and back cover blurbs to let a potential reader it will be worth their time reading your story all the way through.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

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?

It's not giving your audience much credit if you have to tell them how to read the piece. In that sense it's very poor form. It smacks as hack amateur. If before the story even starts there's a disclaimer "this story was written as a ... blahblah ... so keep that in mind ... blahblah ..." I can read between the lines what it really says is "before you criticize anything in this piece be forewarned that all negative feedback should just stay away ..." if the author has such little confidence in what he's getting across (and such thin skin to boot) it doesn't give the reader much confidence that the piece will be any good. It does not exactly entice to read much further. The author has just missed the whole first rung on his first step.

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.

But some of us are better writers.

 

[Djmac1031]

I mean i suppose it depends on what you put in the intro; what it's purpose is.

Sometimes the character limit on the Short Description really isn't enough to tease a story well, so if you wanna extend that teaser with an intro, I suppose that can work.

For example:

In Small-town USA lives a couple with a dark secret; they like to swing. But small, conservative towns have big ears and loose tongues, so how do they go about finding another couple to play with while maintaining their privacy?

Let's find out, shall we...?


That would be a good hook for me. I'd wanna find out more.

Now, here's a BAD example:

This is the story about Bobby and his crush on the girl next door, Suzy, and how he finally gets up the courage to ask her out.

I don't need an intro for that. Just start in with the story and set the stage there.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

There's nothing different about Literotica stories compared to all the books which make it into print which contain any or all of the following:
2. These elements do other jobs besides "explaining their writing."

But the disclaimers we see here on lit far often than not don't do anything but attempt to explain what you;re about to read.

 

[Bamagan]

An introduction or preface that gets potential readers who abhor the stylistic choice of including them to bypass the story has arguably justified its own existence thereby.

 

[Britva415]

But the disclaimers we see here on lit far often than not don't do anything but attempt to explain what you;re about to read.

It's fine to point that out, with regard to specific instances.

I thought this discussion was on the overall phenomenon and that you were making a blanket statement about all Lit stories. Forgive me if I projected too far.

Anyway, obviously all Lit authors aren't of the same caliber.

 

[Britva415]

It's not giving your audience much credit if you have to tell them how to read the piece. In that sense it's very poor form. It smacks as hack amateur. If before the story even starts there's a disclaimer "this story was written as a ... blahblah ... so keep that in mind ... blahblah ..." I can read between the lines what it really says is "before you criticize anything in this piece be forewarned that all negative feedback should just stay away ..." if the author has such little confidence in what he's getting across (and such thin skin to boot) it doesn't give the reader much confidence that the piece will be any good. It does not exactly entice to read much further. The author has just missed the whole first rung on his first step.

Sure, we've all seen authors whose introductions are like this.

Many don't do this, they do something else. They don't try to persuade the reader in any way, they simply inform in a way which gives the reader something to go on in deciding whether to read the story at all or not.

To the extent that, because the meta-data showed them it might not be what they're looking for, a reader who chose not to read the story won't downvote the story, I also say, "is that really a bad thing?"

 

[Djmac1031]

I usually don't put too many "warnings" on my stories.

That said, I wrote a dark comedy/horror piece for the Halloween contest one year and figured it would only be fair of me to warn off readers who might not enjoy certain aspects of the story.

So I threw this in at the beginning:

Authors Forward: Story contains violence, gore, non-consent and incest. Just what any good horror story needs, right?

Tried to inject a little humor in it while letting readers know in advance it was gonna get messy.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

An introduction or preface that gets potential readers who abhor the stylistic choice of including them to bypass the story has arguably justified its own existence thereby.

In other words, writing to not be read ... hrmm, interesting choice.

 

[Bamagan]

Here's an analogy.
Literotica is kind of like a buffet. The quality of the individual dishes can vary widely, but beyond that, sometimes the consumer just doesn't recognize the item in question and is scratching their head, wondering if it's worth the risk of sampling. After all, some people are allergic to almonds, and other folks just don't like them. So even if the dish is masterfully prepared, the presence of almonds will make it unpalatable for some, and might cause anaphylactic shock in others. It's fair to blame the consumer if they pick the mixed nuts and then complain about the exact mix of nuts found, they really ought to know better. It's a little bit the fault of both parties if they pick the green bean casserole, which for some reason a lot of people put almonds in (even though some of us find that mysterious and inexplicable), but is pretty widely known to happen. Chalk it up to inexperience and let it be a moment of learning and reflection on varying tastes. It's kind of bizarre and off-putting, however, when the almonds turn up in the mashed potatoes, and makes one wonder if the chef is crazy or malicious or something, or just doesn't know how to cook for other people.
Putting a recipe card that lists at least the potentially problematic ingredients might seem unsubtle or a form of mollycoddling, but most chefs (except maybe the crazy and/or malicious ones) would rather not see someone spit up or choke on the meal they worked so hard to prepare. Some people are just too oblivious or stubborn to benefit from warnings, or maybe they want the restaurant closed down for daring to prop up the almond industry (they're really water-intensive to cultivate, after all!). But a lot of other folks will appreciate the head's up.

 

[Bamagan]

In other words, writing to not be read ... hrmm, interesting choice.

More like writing for a specific audience. Some things are broadly popular, and some are not. I consider it a courtesy to make it easier for people to decide up front if my kinks are compatible with theirs. I don't much care for people wasting my time, so if a few words of warning will help me prevent wasting theirs, I consider it a worthwhile exchange for everyone.

 

[BobbyLaker]

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.

I suspect you're right ... more for searching. It's what I do myself sometimes.

 

[BobbyLaker]

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

Thanks Chloe - much appreciated.

 

[BobbyLaker]

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.

Not at all what you intended, I'm sure, but it made me recall an old ad for a pub/restaurant chain which included the immortal line:

"Have you dined at a Harvester before Sir?" (approximately) before the unfortunate punter underwent his training in menu navigation ...

 

[BobbyLaker]

There's nothing different about Literotica stories compared to all the books which make it into print which contain any or all of the following:

Author's notes
Foreword
Introduction
Preface
Acknowledgements
Library of Congress data
Dedication

So, one or the other of the following two things have to be true:
1. All those published and in-print authors who included any or all of that shit aren't writing it right.
2. These elements do other jobs besides "explaining their writing."

Here's an analogy.
Literotica is kind of like a buffet. The quality of the individual dishes can vary widely, but beyond that, sometimes the consumer just doesn't recognize the item in question and is scratching their head, wondering if it's worth the risk of sampling. After all, some people are allergic to almonds, and other folks just don't like them. So even if the dish is masterfully prepared, the presence of almonds will make it unpalatable for some, and might cause anaphylactic shock in others. It's fair to blame the consumer if they pick the mixed nuts and then complain about the exact mix of nuts found, they really ought to know better. It's a little bit the fault of both parties if they pick the green bean casserole, which for some reason a lot of people put almonds in (even though some of us find that mysterious and inexplicable), but is pretty widely known to happen. Chalk it up to inexperience and let it be a moment of learning and reflection on varying tastes. It's kind of bizarre and off-putting, however, when the almonds turn up in the mashed potatoes, and makes one wonder if the chef is crazy or malicious or something, or just doesn't know how to cook for other people.
Putting a recipe card that lists at least the potentially problematic ingredients might seem unsubtle or a form of mollycoddling, but most chefs (except maybe the crazy and/or malicious ones) would rather not see someone spit up or choke on the meal they worked so hard to prepare. Some people are just too oblivious or stubborn to benefit from warnings, or maybe they want the restaurant closed down for daring to prop up the almond industry (they're really water-intensive to cultivate, after all!). But a lot of other folks will appreciate the head's up.

Chapeau!

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I like the analogy with back-of-book blurbs - it's another opportunity to sell the content and deter those who won't like it.

Obviously you don't want the blurb too long for a short story, but for a long one, if someone is put off by a blurb length, it's probably for the best.

I often use an intro like "Warning: this story contains British English, bisexual behaviour, and lots of booze."

If readers don't find that mildly amusing, they probably won't like the story. I've also sometimes put the list of tags as an upfront intro, again to reduce the complaints.

 

[Thefireflies]

I've used introductions but I'm trying to cut back or cut them altogether unless they're necessary. I do feel it necessary to apologise straight up front for spelling and grammar errors, to pre-empt readers who don't realise this is amateur writing (and they still get upset for minor mistakes). Also, if a story is linked to another story, or an entry in an author's challenge, I will tell the reader up front.

 

[Cagivagurl]

I use intros for one thing only.
To thank people who have helped me.
I feel it is important to acknowledge people who have generously donated their time and talent.

Cagivagurl

 

[Djmac1031]

I use intros for one thing only.
To thank people who have helped me.
I feel it is important to acknowledge people who have generously donated their time and talent.

Cagivagurl

I do that as well, but usually save it til the end.

 

[Cagivagurl]

I do that as well, but usually save it til the end.

I do it at the start....
I understand the readers might not get to the end...
LOL
Cagivagurl.

 

[Djmac1031]

I do it at the start....
I understand the readers might not get to the end...
LOL
Cagivagurl.

Fair.

 

[Cagivagurl]

My stories have limited appeal...
Not everybody's cup of tea.

 

[BobbyLaker]

Many thanks to those who've contributed to this thread. There's some really useful pointers for a newbie such as me.

I'm seriously thinking of adding a standard intro at the start of each submission, similar to an allergen warning on food.

This story may contain Hanky-Panky!

That should about cover it

 

[bumpercars]

... and the tags?

I don't count on people reading the tags before they read the story. I feel like the tags are mostly for search purposes, although some folks may use them differently.