Tips for Creating Stories Women Appreciate

[lovecraft68]

Hah, I guess you mean that the question at the top of this thread has no one answer? I was finished with this on another thread when I got pulled back in.

The one right answer is....it depends on the woman.

But that one answer isn't sexy or specific enough and eventually we'll get the usual male suspects showing up to tell women what they like.

This is getting close to joining underage and 'can I continue another author's story" in having its own drinking game.

 

[Imakewetspots]

To elaborate on what I like, intelligent women who have bonds with other characters. Or smart women who have difficulty forming bonds with other characters. Please give us a journey of discovery. There can be a conniving bitch as the antagonist or a disgusting man who stands in her way. It needn't be a love story. We can have sex for the sake of sex, but still feel it emotionally. We don't care about penis size, breast size, or a perfect body (at least I don't). We care about the struggles, the heartache, the victory or defeat. We want women we can relate to who are strong in spirit and sometimes physically strong.

Pass a bowling ball through your penis and tell me how tough you are. If you can't do that, you have no idea how tough a woman is!!!

Putting soap box back in closet.

Yeah, women get the tough prize for sure! I’d probably cry like a baby just to get a catheter shoved in there!

I like your tips though. I’ll see what I can come up with!

 

[AG31]

There is no single answer to "what do women find attractive?" but a lot of stories don't make much effort to give any answer;

Excellent!!! (Context tells us B meant "attractive about men."

 

[AG31]

There is no single answer to "what do women find attractive?" but a lot of stories don't make much effort to give any answer; the woman wants to fuck the guy merely because the story requires that he gets to fuck.

I thought some more about this and think it might be a really important insight for men who want to write stories that appeal to women. Unless the author is gay, it stands to reason that he would find it easier to lavish attention on the female in his story. But straight women aren't interested in women's physical characteristics. They might be interested in the woman's interiority, but I, for one, want to know a lot about the guy in the story.

 

[gunhilltrain]

The one right answer is....it depends on the woman.

But that one answer isn't sexy or specific enough and eventually we'll get the usual male suspects showing up to tell women what they like.

This is getting close to joining underage and 'can I continue another author's story" in having its own drinking game.

I guess it's inevitable, but after six years here, I see the same topics coming around in AH after a while. For one thing, new people join the site fairly regularly. Also, in social media it's so easy to just post anything. There are guys (mostly guys) who have blogs and YouTube channels and some say the same thing, often every day, for years. The boldest ones actually set up side hustles as "life coaches" and get people (usually other men) to send them money for advice. Often they seem to have no qualifications for this activity but they sound like they know what they are talking about.

 

[lovecraft68]

I guess it's inevitable, but after six years here, I see the same topics coming around in AH after a while. For one thing, new people join the site fairly regularly. Also, in social media it's so easy to just post anything. There are guys (mostly guys) who have blogs and YouTube channels and some say the same thing, often every day, for years. The boldest ones actually set up side hustles as "life coaches" and get people (usually other men) to send them money for advice. Often they seem to have no qualifications for this activity but they sound like they know what they are talking about.

My wife is a certified life coach....dammit, I knew she was scamming me!

 

[Imakewetspots]

I thought some more about this and think it might be a really important insight for men who want to write stories that appeal to women. Unless the author is gay, it stands to reason that he would find it easier to lavish attention on the female in his story. But straight women aren't interested in women's physical characteristics. They might be interested in the woman's interiority, but I, for one, want to know a lot about the guy in the story.

I’ll keep this in mind. Scanning through my stories, I can see that I spend a lot of energy describing females but little on the males.

 

[Britva415]

I’ve been writing off and on for the past few years and I enjoy it immensely as a hobby. I have no interest in making a living from it or using it to segway into meeting people. That said, I am always wanting to improve. My ultimate goal would be to write stories that women truly enjoy. Based on the comments I currently get, it would appear men love my stories. It’s nice to hear but still not my target audience. And I get few comments from women so it’s hard to know what women might think about them. Unless the lack of female comments is basically answering my question.

It is my belief that I write great romantic stories but I probably am way too graphic in the sex scenes. Perhaps even to the point of crudeness from a woman’s perspective. I have nothing to support this. Just a gut feeling.

For the past couple years, I’ve tried to read stories from women hoping they would be writing a story they find personally erotic. But I’m also forced to consider many of the writers are trying to build a name in the hopes of someday earning a stream of income from their work. If so, I expect they would write for their audience rather than themselves.

If you’re getting the vibe that I’m overthinking, you’re probably right. I often do.

So, any tips on how to tweak my stories to be more appealing to women? And what areas do women prefer most? (I assume romance).

Even if you were to succeed, it might not get you any more or better feedback on Lit from women. There is just such an overwhelming unbalance of visitors and readers toward the male side of the scale.

 

[Trionyx]

I have written a few stories with emphasis on the female character. I don’t have a specific recipe but I seem to pass the test occasionally.

One comment read:

“Wow. Just, wow. You are either a woman or you had help. That was the best female character lead story I have read on here. Sweet Jesus.”

That may be a bit over the top but it was gratifying nonetheless. If you’re interested in reading the story, check out Shivering Sarah.

 

[AG31]

Even if you were to succeed, it might not get you any more or better feedback on Lit from women. There is just such an overwhelming unbalance of visitors and readers toward the male side of the scale.

How do you know that? It surprises me, as the conventional wisdom says that men prefer visual things over literary.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

It is my belief that I write great romantic stories but I probably am way too graphic in the sex scenes. Perhaps even to the point of crudeness from a woman’s perspective. I have nothing to support this. Just a gut feeling.

While it is true that the romance readership leans heavily female, it is a total myth that women don't like hot heavy steamy sex.

I'm going to say everything that @mildlyaroused said above, but I am going to say this very loudly and emphatically to blow you over the head with it because it has been said many many many many MANY times on this forum and the male writers don't care/listen. I will tell you, as a woman trying to find something decent to read here, the NUMBER ONE total turnoff that stories here have is BORING UNSEXY MALE CHARACTERS!

Now before I delve into this, I will say that I am so glad that you even asked this question because it means that you actually care about something that most writers here don't care about. So I'm giving you the answer in as unmetaphoric way as possible: write a sexy man - or seven - but please, just one we beg you, ONE sexy man.

The vast vast VAST majority of male characters on lit are lumps of fucking clay! The women are all hot and do all of the heavy lifting and the men are faceless dicks who get laid usually by absolute sheer luck or in rare cases one step above that, by getting rewarded for being a simple boring nice guy. These men have no skills, no charm, no game and they don't do ANYTHING (not one single thing) in the story to turn the woman on. They ALWAYS sit back and let the woman take the lead, ALWAYS. The woman starts the flirt, the woman escalates, the woman climbs on.

Not only are female readers not turned on by these weak guys, we also can't identify with these dumb bitches who are jumping these lame guys for no fucking reason except to do them a favor. Like @Erozetta says above: she can climb anyone she wants, why this bum?? It's a bad plot to start with only made worse by the fact that it's published here 100 times per day. It's old, tired and shitty.

Now, there's nothing wrong with this (it's a free hobby site and I'm not here to judge people's fantasies) but if you really want to engage with female readers, give us sexy men - men with skills, men who are decisive (DE-CI-SIVE *hint-hint* - god, male chars are sooo fucking soft on lit!), men with charm. James Bond or Tyler Durden would be nice, but you'd be surprised how sexy a plumber who can fix the leak in my basement might be.

Every woman likes different types of men. Some like that classic clean cut suit and tie. Some like a rugged mountain man. Some like poets and artists. Some are into devotion. Some are into gypsies. The list goes on. But there is something underlying ALL of those types and that is the ability to make a confident move on the woman. This NEVER happens on lit! Some women like a man who is 100% aggro but you;d be surprised how just one confident move can swoon.

He walked up to her and offered his arm. "I need to make an appearance in the next room and I could use some arm candy. You'll do just fine, so shall we?"

(knees weaken!!!!)

This. There is no single answer to "what do women find attractive?" but a lot of stories don't make much effort to give any answer; the woman wants to fuck the guy merely because the story requires that he gets to fuck.

Exactly this. This may be fine for a fantasy but it makes a shitty tired old (lack of) plot and lame story, especially for women readers.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

If you're going to post to Romance, make sure you know what a Romance is.

Only if you need a Red H.

Classic romance has a rigid cookie cutter template with very few options. If you stick to it, your plot will be tired and boring. However, it is totally fine to color outside the lines so long as there is a significant emotional focus on a relationship.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Some good advice already.
You asked about language, and like everything else it depends.
I'm sure there are women who would prefer euphemisms like "manhood" rather than cock, but they probably aren't on Lit.
That doesn't mean there isn't a point where you will start to alienate a certain segment of your audience. There was a discussion here awhile back and the use of "gash" for vagina was pretty universally disapproved of.

There needs to be a reason why the characters are together. That said it also needs to be a good reason. Just because he's 6ft tall with washboard abs doesn't mean every woman's panties just spontaneously fall off. The most ridiculous trope in smut is the whole "She inadvertently sees his 9 in cock and now she has to have him".
Yeah...no.

What makes him interesting to her?

 

[Britva415]

How do you know that? It surprises me, as the conventional wisdom says that men prefer visual things over literary.

I'm surprised you're surprised.

But as long as we're asking "how do you know?" let's ask OP how they know the comments they've gotten so far have been from men?

There's more than one conventional wisdom. Yours supports the idea that more women read commercial romance novels. Literotica isn't that.

 

[Imakewetspots]

While it is true that the romance readership leans heavily female, it is a total myth that women don't like hot heavy steamy sex.

I'm going to say everything that @mildlyaroused said above, but I am going to say this very loudly and emphatically to blow you over the head with it because it has been said many many many many MANY times on this forum and the male writers don't care/listen. I will tell you, as a woman trying to find something decent to read here, the NUMBER ONE total turnoff that stories here have is BORING UNSEXY MALE CHARACTERS!

Now before I delve into this, I will say that I am so glad that you even asked this question because it means that you actually care about something that most writers here don't care about. So I'm giving you the answer in as unmetaphoric way as possible: write a sexy man - or seven - but please, just one we beg you, ONE sexy man.

The vast vast VAST majority of male characters on lit are lumps of fucking clay! The women are all hot and do all of the heavy lifting and the men are faceless dicks who get laid usually by absolute sheer luck or in rare cases one step above that, by getting rewarded for being a simple boring nice guy. These men have no skills, no charm, no game and they don't do ANYTHING (not one single thing) in the story to turn the woman on. They ALWAYS sit back and let the woman take the lead, ALWAYS. The woman starts the flirt, the woman escalates, the woman climbs on.

Not only are female readers not turned on by these weak guys, we also can't identify with these dumb bitches who are jumping these lame guys for no fucking reason except to do them a favor. Like @Erozetta says above: she can climb anyone she wants, why this bum?? It's a bad plot to start with only made worse by the fact that it's published here 100 times per day. It's old, tired and shitty.

Now, there's nothing wrong with this (it's a free hobby site and I'm not here to judge people's fantasies) but if you really want to engage with female readers, give us sexy men - men with skills, men who are decisive (DE-CI-SIVE *hint-hint* - god, male chars are sooo fucking soft on lit!), men with charm. James Bond or Tyler Durden would be nice, but you'd be surprised how sexy a plumber who can fix the leak in my basement might be.

Every woman likes different types of men. Some like that classic clean cut suit and tie. Some like a rugged mountain man. Some like poets and artists. Some are into devotion. Some are into gypsies. The list goes on. But there is something underlying ALL of those types and that is the ability to make a confident move on the woman. This NEVER happens on lit! Some women like a man who is 100% aggro but you;d be surprised how just one confident move can swoon.

He walked up to her and offered his arm. "I need to make an appearance in the next room and I could use some arm candy. You'll do just fine, so shall we?"

(knees weaken!!!!)



Exactly this. This may be fine for a fantasy but it makes a shitty tired old (lack of) plot and lame story, especially for women readers.

I love your enthusiastic response! A splash of cold water can be a healthy thing.

Okay, I promise to write a good, hot story with a super sexy, charming, charismatic stud of a man at its core! And he’s going to work his ass off getting the babe, too!

I have to admit that many of my stories have guys that aren’t well described, aren’t fleshed out well as people, get the hot babe WAY to easy, and so on. There have been a lot of great responses and I feel silly that these things didn’t hit me on my own.

I’m glad I posed the question. I have half a dozen fun stories already written but never submitted for publication. I’m going to see if I can massage it accordingly.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Not only are female readers not turned on by these weak guys, we also can't identify with these dumb bitches who are jumping these lame guys for no fucking reason except to do them a favor. Like @Erozetta says above: she can climb anyone she wants, why this bum?? It's a bad plot to start with only made worse by the fact that it's published here 100 times per day. It's old, tired and shitty.

Don't hold back there, Pink, tell us what you really think

 

[AG31]

I'm surprised you're surprised.

But as long as we're asking "how do you know?" let's ask OP how they know the comments they've gotten so far have been from men?

There's more than one conventional wisdom. Yours supports the idea that more women read commercial romance novels. Literotica isn't that.

No, I was referring to conventional wisdom about men's and women's taste in erotica/porn. Men, visual, women written.

 

[Britva415]

No, I was referring to conventional wisdom about men's and women's taste in erotica/porn. Men, visual, women written.

Yes, you said that the first time. And that conventional wisdom does support the idea that more women than men read commercial romance novels.

As long as we're repeating what we already said: That conventional wisdom doesn't contradict that there are other conventional wisdoms too. That conventional wisdom doesn't contradict that Literotica is, on the whole, very different from that.

There are at least three conventional wisdoms which make me think that this author might not see any difference in his comments if he manages to write differently.

I already named one of them: More (many more) Lit readers are men.
Also: Men are more likely to draw attention to themselves by leaving comments.
And: The proportion of readers to commenters is already too small to use them to measure women's appreciation.

That's the thing about "conventional wisdom:" None of it is 100% true. Not my three, but not your one either.

 

[Imakewetspots]

Yes, you said that the first time. And that conventional wisdom does support the idea that more women than men read commercial romance novels.

As long as we're repeating what we already said: That conventional wisdom doesn't contradict that there are other conventional wisdoms too. That conventional wisdom doesn't contradict that Literotica is, on the whole, very different from that.

There are at least three conventional wisdoms which make me think that this author might not see any difference in his comments if he manages to write differently.

I already named one of them: More (many more) Lit readers are men.
Also: Men are more likely to draw attention to themselves by leaving comments.
And: The proportion of readers to commenters is already too small to use them to measure women's appreciation.

That's the thing about "conventional wisdom:" None of it is 100% true. Not my three, but not your one either.

You could be correct that I’ll never see any appreciable change in reviews. I guess I can live with that if I am able to adjust my writing and walk away with a belief that some women appreciate the stories.

Based on the responses, there are a few changes I need to make. Many of my current stories, while decently rated, might not grab a female audience therefore they may give up shortly into the story.

One other thing I’m going to try is reading the stories of female authors who took the time to respond here. If I’m lucky, those stories will reflect what they enjoy reading rather than just writing to a male dominated audience.

I suppose to some, it might seem silly that I’m attempting to alter my writing style. I generally get good ratings so I’m not bombing out. But when I write a new story, I try to imagine how thrilling it would be that my work actually motivated a lady to touch herself. I know I’ll never know that of course but it’s a thrilling fantasy, if not a healthy goal to strive for. Being a straight guy, I don’t get turned on by the idea of guys getting off to my work. I know it’s reality and I’m good with it, but I prefer to picture a lady pleasuring herself while reading my stuff.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

How do you know that? It surprises me, as the conventional wisdom says that men prefer visual things over literary.

I've seen people quote statistics of profiles here. I don't know how scientific they are but the numbers are something like 50% male profiles, 20% female and 30% couple/undeclared. If we extrapolate that 5 to 2 ratio of men to women that's roughly 70% male. This sounds about right if you browse author profiles yourself, poke around the forums or step into chat. Literotica definitely skews male.

True, men are more visual in general. It's a big (but not the only) reason why porn skews heavily male. Also, make no mistake, literotica may be text heavy and pic lite, but it is a porn site for all intents and purposes. This is why stories on lit are generally stroke heavy and plot lite. Also note that literotica generates most of its traffic through banners on porn sites. Remember, lit can't post a banner on kijiji. It is limited to where it can advertise, so it advertises on pornhub where 90% guys are watching. They click the banner and come here. We have an audience of men - men who are NOT interested in characterization.

Also, stroke stories may be words but they are visual in nature. They lean on physical descriptions of the female lead - big boobs, big hair, high heels, short skirt, low cut top, but also skimp (or even omit altogether) the male lead's description. Why? Because many men don't want a visual of another man. It's a turnoff.

This does not mean that you can't write a story with plot and characters and world building and still be popular. You can, but it;s just a lot harder than tossing up a quick mom/son and getting 20k hits and a fat red H on your first submission in 1 day.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

One other thing I’m going to try is reading the stories of female authors who took the time to respond here. If I’m lucky, those stories will reflect what they enjoy reading rather than just writing to a male dominated audience.

You are a very wise man.

I suppose to some, it might seem silly that I’m attempting to alter my writing style.

It depends on why you want to change. Do you want to please the audience, or do you want to push yourself as a writer? There is a big difference.

 

[ronde]

In a lot of my reading here, a few things become evident and those things probably don't appeal to women. That's because the descriptions of the characters and their actions are fantasies and not reality.

About 99% of people are just OK looking. They're not extremely handsome, muscular studs nor are they gorgeous women with perfect figures. In my somewhat limited experience, men may think they're hot, but women will compare their attributes to those of the female character in the story, and most women see a different body in the mirror than a man sees when he looks at her.

I always chuckle when I read about a 12 inch cock that's 6 inches around. Not only are most men much smaller, but most women wouldn't want that cock because it would be at least uncomfortable if not painful.

I also chuckle when I read about a woman who wears a 44 DDD bra. Men probably fantasize about that. A woman reading that might look at it as minimizing her sexuality because she's only a 32B.

Anal sex required a lot of lube, preparation, and time for a woman. Just changing from slot b to hole c between strokes isn't likely something she's going to enjoy if she enjoys anal sex at all.

As has been often said, men tend toward unidirectional and logical thinking about themselves and what they're doing. Women tend toward an expansive and emotional view of themselves and what's going on around them. Maybe today's generation is different, but women are also taught from birth that sex is something special between a man and a woman. A woman has a lot more physical and emotional involvement in sex than a man does because they're only a virgin once and because of the risk of pregnancy. They'll be more reserved about sex until they at least know the guy well.

In short, write your characters as three-dimensional people with the thoughts, hopes, fears, and other personality traits all humans have to one degree or another. Write their physical descriptions as something that would fit the people you're around every day. Save the stereotypes for secondary characters. Stereotypes are a good way to describe one of those secondary characters without using a lot of words, but they won't reach a reader like a description of someone who is "normal".

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I love your enthusiastic response! A splash of cold water can be a healthy thing.

Okay, I promise to write a good, hot story with a super sexy, charming, charismatic stud of a man at its core! And he’s going to work his ass off getting the babe, too!

I have to admit that many of my stories have guys that aren’t well described, aren’t fleshed out well as people, get the hot babe WAY to easy, and so on. There have been a lot of great responses and I feel silly that these things didn’t hit me on my own.

I’m glad I posed the question. I have half a dozen fun stories already written but never submitted for publication. I’m going to see if I can massage it accordingly.

I don't mean to be a bitch about it, honestly. Like I said, I intended to put it VERY bluntly, to whack you over the head with it, because two or three times per year this topic comes up and I make this point and a couple of male writers go "hrmm, interesting," and kinda ignore it.

Yes, there are other factors that help engage with female readers, such as emotional focus and a little more drama instead of just straight up smut, but even when those things are included and we feel some excitement in the buildup, it's a huge letdown when we get to the sex scene and the female lead ends up just using the boring guy as a dildo. Her own dildo doesn't need food and water, thanks. Like srsly.

And I will say that there are some pretty darn good writers here in the AH that disappointingly STILL use this tired sorry dynamic - unicorn woman makes boring guy's day - which proves in the end that the story is barley more than the same old male fantasy of guy getting laid with little to no effort on his part. Despite their skills, their stories just never elevate. Again, there's nothing wrong with that fantasy, but if you want to connect with female readers, it's a big fat fail.

You asked the question and I applaud that question, and this is this the honest answer which that question deserves.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I’ve been writing off and on for the past few years and I enjoy it immensely as a hobby. I have no interest in making a living from it or using it to segway into meeting people. That said, I am always wanting to improve. My ultimate goal would be to write stories that women truly enjoy. Based on the comments I currently get, it would appear men love my stories. It’s nice to hear but still not my target audience. And I get few comments from women so it’s hard to know what women might think about them. Unless the lack of female comments is basically answering my question.

It is my belief that I write great romantic stories but I probably am way too graphic in the sex scenes. Perhaps even to the point of crudeness from a woman’s perspective. I have nothing to support this. Just a gut feeling.

For the past couple years, I’ve tried to read stories from women hoping they would be writing a story they find personally erotic. But I’m also forced to consider many of the writers are trying to build a name in the hopes of someday earning a stream of income from their work. If so, I expect they would write for their audience rather than themselves.

If you’re getting the vibe that I’m overthinking, you’re probably right. I often do.

So, any tips on how to tweak my stories to be more appealing to women? And what areas do women prefer most? (I assume romance).

I don't generally target a gender-specific audience but one of my beta readers is my wife, and what she says that she likes has typically been echoed by other women.

 

[Imakewetspots]

Some good advice already.
You asked about language, and like everything else it depends.
I'm sure there are women who would prefer euphemisms like "manhood" rather than cock, but they probably aren't on Lit.
That doesn't mean there isn't a point where you will start to alienate a certain segment of your audience. There was a discussion here awhile back and the use of "gash" for vagina was pretty universally disapproved of.

There needs to be a reason why the characters are together. That said it also needs to be a good reason. Just because he's 6ft tall with washboard abs doesn't mean every woman's panties just spontaneously fall off. The most ridiculous trope in smut is the whole "She inadvertently sees his 9 in cock and now she has to have him".
Yeah...no.

What makes him interesting to her?

Had to say your last paragraph of advice gave me a pretty good laugh this morning over coffee!

Not to take my own post off topic but when you commented on the use of the word, ‘gash,’ even I as a guy winced a little. I scan new stories when I’m bored and I get a good chuckle when I find something that’s ridiculously, over the top vulgar and crude but the comments are all, ‘Bravo! Bravo!’ It’s nice to hear you say most in Lit don’t care for that because I wasn’t so sure.