What is your highest quality story at a literary level?

[ICantLeafYou]

A Girl on the Bus - a 750 word story that often gets a mention.

That was lovely.

 

[AG31]

I feel the same way, but I know it would be one I can't publish on here.

Why can't you publish it here? Breaks a rule? Too short?

 

[mirafrida]

It's hard for me to call anything I do "literary," in the sense that I never set out with "something to say" or strive to uncover deep truths about the human condition.

Also, I tend not to recommend my stuff in general here, because it does reflect my own idiosyncratic erotic fantasy preferences, which will not be for everyone.

But if you are looking for an interesting, creative, and I hope well-written story, I will throw out a couple of possibilities:

This is a sci-fi take on Heart of Darkness, a weird one for me and not one I'd term my best by any means, but perhaps one of my more interesting?
https://www.literotica.com/s/the-darkness-you-bring

This is based very loosely on a Central Asian epic tale I came across, and exists in both prose and poetic forms:
Epic Verse: https://www.literotica.com/p/untying-the-camel-verse
Prose: https://www.literotica.com/s/untying-the-camel

 

[AwkwardMD]

In my opinion, Queen of the Roller Derby. It is, in any case, the work of which I am most proud.

I've been meaning to read this.

 

[Erozetta]

Why can't you publish it here? Breaks a rule? Too short?

Breaks a rule.

 

[visioneer]

I don’t consider anything I write “literary” in the usual sense, but these probably come closet in aspiration:
Shock Wave and In Love’s Domain.

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm really curious. What, short of rule breaking, would seem inappropriate for here? Nothing appeals to everyone. Maybe what appeals to you also appeals to a few others. Can you give us a reason? You, too, @Rollinbones.

Its not inappropriate, it's just some of my stories are what I call hybrid stories, they feature multiple sexual genres (kinks whatever you see them as) and often times lits readership gets put off by having different things going on.

My best example would be a Milf style story, where a young man has a thing for his friend's Mom. I've done a bunch of these, very basic. But this time, she's a Sunday school teacher married to the minister of the church. We then find out that she is a former stripper and sex worker back in her wild youth and he met her as a backslid student in bible college and begins watching her perform live sex shows because he's a voyeur. They marry, he gets back into church, she follows and finds she enjoys it, they marry...

But...the their carnal desires still hold sway and whenever they travel for revivals they find a guy to bring home and he watches her with him, then often times joins in as they're more stag vixen than a cuck scenario. The young man is heading to college out of state so she invites him over, greets him in full 'stripper mode' revealing the reasons she shows very little skin isn't just the church, but she's covered in gothic tattoos. A threesome breaks out and everyone is happy.

But let's pick this apart a bit.

Milf with young man dictates Mature is a good bet.
The threesome now shifts it to group
The fact she's married and her husband shares her and likes to watch now gives off Loving wives vibes
The fact they are running a church is going to set moralists off because how could they be religious, yet sexually wanton?

Wherever I chose to land this comes with a problem because of the number of moving parts.

Being I know this, why waste time posting something that is going to tick some off no matter where it lands, and deal with the "You shouldn't...." comments.

I have a hotwife/cuck incest hybrid where son catches mom with another man, thinks she's cheating, busts into the room with a bat ready to knock the guy out of the house only to see his dad sitting in a chair watching. Kid finds out his mother has been a hotwife for years and finds a photo album of her with dozens of men and movies of her his father filmed. Gets infatuated, porn absurdity rears its head and dad watches the son take mom.

That's going over like a lead brick here. The I/T crowd might not be that put off, but the anti-cheat faction seems to sniff these out no matter where they are.

A taboo e-book that I think is one of my top five all time incest stories wouldn't play well here. Sister is a stripper, brother finds this out when she's the star of the show at a bachelor party and watches her suck off the groom. For whatever reason (cause its porn) this turns him on and he sneaks into her club to watch her. She catches him so he has to now act like he found out and was confronting her and has been guilty ever since. A lot happens in the story and of course they get together

Issue? The gall of me writing a story where sis has a lot of sex with other men didn't care and now that they are a couple, she is only with him, but still dances and he watches and loves men throwing money at her and even touching her a little. I/T is a bizarro world of an extreme kink, yet at the same time some type of 'code' of how these family couples need to behave.

I have more, but you get the gist. In my time here, I have learned for the most part what sinks, what swims and why. I don't mind if a story gets a beating for people just not liking it, but the mixed kinks and damned if you do or don't type of scenario I don't care for. You need to read the room your in and what works best where. All examples I gave have done well in the paid market because its not free, and not just any anon troll can comment, so its set up that the only people reading saw what it was about and picked it up, not just snipers going around snarking at whatever they hate.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I'm curious how others measure the literary quality of one story over another.

Does one story have more character development for greater breadth and depth? Does it have a greater use of literary elements or techniques than others? Is it based strictly on reader feedback or the rating it receives.

For me, most of my highest literary quality stories wouldn't be published here because they do not fit any of the genres on Literotica (middle-grade adventure stories, non-fiction technological, etc.). I've dabbled with stretching the literary comfort zone of readers here with a few stories and been disappointed in their appreciation of these works which do well elsewhere.

From a "value" perspective, I think that my How-To article here contributes more to the production if literary quality than my own stories do. Even if authors don't always employ the advice offered, it will hopefully allow readers to recognize and appreciate the effort when they see it in someone else's stories.

 

[AG31]

Its not inappropriate, it's just some of my stories are what I call hybrid stories, they feature multiple sexual genres (kinks whatever you see them as) and often times lits readership gets put off by having different things going on.

My best example would be a Milf style story, where a young man has a thing for his friend's Mom. I've done a bunch of these, very basic. But this time, she's a Sunday school teacher married to the minister of the church. We then find out that she is a former stripper and sex worker back in her wild youth and he met her as a backslid student in bible college and begins watching her perform live sex shows because he's a voyeur. They marry, he gets back into church, she follows and finds she enjoys it, they marry...

But...the their carnal desires still hold sway and whenever they travel for revivals they find a guy to bring home and he watches her with him, then often times joins in as they're more stag vixen than a cuck scenario. The young man is heading to college out of state so she invites him over, greets him in full 'stripper mode' revealing the reasons she shows very little skin isn't just the church, but she's covered in gothic tattoos. A threesome breaks out and everyone is happy.

But let's pick this apart a bit.

Milf with young man dictates Mature is a good bet.
The threesome now shifts it to group
The fact she's married and her husband shares her and likes to watch now gives off Loving wives vibes
The fact they are running a church is going to set moralists off because how could they be religious, yet sexually wanton?

Wherever I chose to land this comes with a problem because of the number of moving parts.

Being I know this, why waste time posting something that is going to tick some off no matter where it lands, and deal with the "You shouldn't...." comments.

I have a hotwife/cuck incest hybrid where son catches mom with another man, thinks she's cheating, busts into the room with a bat ready to knock the guy out of the house only to see his dad sitting in a chair watching. Kid finds out his mother has been a hotwife for years and finds a photo album of her with dozens of men and movies of her his father filmed. Gets infatuated, porn absurdity rears its head and dad watches the son take mom.

That's going over like a lead brick here. The I/T crowd might not be that put off, but the anti-cheat faction seems to sniff these out no matter where they are.

A taboo e-book that I think is one of my top five all time incest stories wouldn't play well here. Sister is a stripper, brother finds this out when she's the star of the show at a bachelor party and watches her suck off the groom. For whatever reason (cause its porn) this turns him on and he sneaks into her club to watch her. She catches him so he has to now act like he found out and was confronting her and has been guilty ever since. A lot happens in the story and of course they get together

Issue? The gall of me writing a story where sis has a lot of sex with other men didn't care and now that they are a couple, she is only with him, but still dances and he watches and loves men throwing money at her and even touching her a little. I/T is a bizarro world of an extreme kink, yet at the same time some type of 'code' of how these family couples need to behave.

I have more, but you get the gist. In my time here, I have learned for the most part what sinks, what swims and why. I don't mind if a story gets a beating for people just not liking it, but the mixed kinks and damned if you do or don't type of scenario I don't care for. You need to read the room your in and what works best where. All examples I gave have done well in the paid market because its not free, and not just any anon troll can comment, so its set up that the only people reading saw what it was about and picked it up, not just snipers going around snarking at whatever they hate.

Oh, wow. It never occurred to me that someone would not publish because there story was human enough to not fit a single category. I sure hope you re-think your policies and just pick a category by flipping a coin.... or something that lets you choose among 3 or 4 or 5 things.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Publishing 30 stories and the general public like and comment on them is, to me, an accomplishment. The one I'm most proud of is The Ghost of Benannee .

It weaves elements of a depressing part of Australia's history into a modern story. I'd love to publish it elsewhere, maybe with a bit of tweaking, but haven't found anywhere suitable yet.

 

[AG31]

I'm curious how others measure the literary quality of one story over another.

Does one story have more character development for greater breadth and depth? Does it have a greater use of literary elements or techniques than others? Is it based strictly on reader feedback or the rating it receives.

For me, most of my highest literary quality stories wouldn't be published here because they do not fit any of the genres on Literotica (middle-grade adventure stories, non-fiction technological, etc.). I've dabbled with stretching the literary comfort zone of readers here with a few stories and been disappointed in their appreciation of these works which do well elsewhere.

From a "value" perspective, I think that my How-To article here contributes more to the production if literary quality than my own stories do. Even if authors don't always employ the advice offered, it will hopefully allow readers to recognize and appreciate the effort when they see it in someone else's stories.

What I had in mind was that the craft of writing was of a really high caliber, regardless of whether it was plot driven or character driven or description driven or... or...

 

[lovecraft68]

Oh, wow. It never occurred to me that someone would not publish because there story was human enough to not fit a single category. I sure hope you re-think your policies and just pick a category by flipping a coin.... or something that lets you choose among 3 or 4 or 5 things.

The stories are published, but in the pay market. The last few years anything I post here was once for sale, but after time they dry up so I drop something here from time to time, these are just stories I know I wouldn't bother putting here. People get to read them, just not the people here, unless they want to support me by buying them, and some do.

 

[stickygirl]

I write believable romances and Goalposts is what I'd call a rounded story. It's centred on a young trans woman who is welcomed by the other players... I can't say more - spoilers. It attracted quite a few comments and it will make you laugh and cry.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Oh, wow. It never occurred to me that someone would not publish because there story was human enough to not fit a single category. I sure hope you re-think your policies and just pick a category by flipping a coin.... or something that lets you choose among 3 or 4 or 5 things.

No excuses. Last year for the 750 word event, I hit 17 different categories in one story; A Year in the Life. The readers in I/T were not amused that I put it there but that’s where it started. Share the wealth, please.

 

[32aa]

In my opinion, Queen of the Roller Derby. It is, in any case, the work of which I am most proud.

@MelissaBaby Although, I would add that your series 'My rise and fall' was a beautiful and highly emotional story that I totally enjoyed.

 

[AchtungNight]

The fanfic satire of my God of War story is probably my greatest literary accomplishment on Lit. A Step Up comes in second with its good structure, simple plot, and how it still manages to entertain audiences many years after publication.

 

[Areala-chan]

Dead Space: Kendra for general execution. Crash Into Me for specific handling of the subject matter. If somebody's teaching a class on my writing for whatever reason, I hope one of those made the cut.

 

[TheLobster]

@lovecraft68 The first story could probably fit into Novels & Novellas, since I presume touching on some many different themes requires at least 20k words and likely much more. You've got more than enough followers to make that category work for you.

The other two... yeah. Technically incest, and I can see the first one working well enough (reminds me a little of this series), but I doubt either would score great.

 

[lovecraft68]

@lovecraft68 The first story could probably fit into Novels & Novellas, since I presume touching on some many different themes requires at least 20k words and likely much more. You've got more than enough followers to make that category work for you.

The other two... yeah. Technically incest, and I can see the first one working well enough (reminds me a little of this series), but I doubt either would score great.

It's 35k or so, but NN crowd is used to longer more sprawling works which often are less erotic and more "novel" I doubt it would do well there

As for my following, I'll be testing whether or not they follow authors to any category when I put something in EC shortly, EC is a decent category score and reaction wise, but not big on votes and other numbers-in comparison to other categories, so I'll see what I can do there.

For that story EC is the only option as there is no 'niche kink" its about a young woman getting into the escort game so EC is the only place I see it.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

I would say my most literary is Queen of Sorrows, but I only have 2 chapters out of 10 completed, so that one is disqualified. By default I would go with Deep Undercover

 

[APilgrimSquare]

Despite it being my lowest score, I think my recent Mind Control story, My Eliza, has my best writing so far.

 

[OffNSFW]

"Claire's Belly" is a two-hander where I'd say the obsession and the gradually unfolding complexity of the characters make it a cut above my usual work.

For its immersive environment and mood, I might go with "The Pearl Diver."

And, I think for its execution of a clever concept and subtle social message, "There's Always Someone Listening" is underrated.

And, oh, let's throw in "She Smiles With Her Eyes," which feels to me like a novelistic journey in extreme miniature.

I think the rest of my shit is pretty good, writing-wise, but I mostly focus on getting my readers off. I'm a hamburger and fries as opposed to a seven course tasting menu, sexually speaking.

 

[Rollinbones]

Breaks a rule.

Not necessarily but often yes. Reality is not such a pretty beast as to be tamed by rules and taught to walk on a leash. Quite simply put, they would not be appreciated in this community. They do not predominantly concern themselves with sex but include snippets of it alongside ultra-violence and trauma described in minutiae. Against the back drop of such horror, characters really shine. This has been my experience of human trauma. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the face of terror.

As stated, they simply would not be appreciated here. And to sanitise them would destroy them.

Writing here is like showing up for a popularity contest sometimes. That's not a bad thing. Just an observation. We all tune our story telling to feed the reader's expectation. For example, my story Sing Me To Sleep originally ended as she died in the carpark. I tacked on a happy ever after before publishing it here so as not to be punished thoroughly.

 

[AchtungNight]

The Passion series is also a great literary accomplishment for me. Had to really get into the heads of the characters, especially the lead, and pace each story accordingly. This is true of Counseling and Rendezvous as well.

 

[AG31]

As stated, they simply would not be appreciated here. And to sanitise them would destroy them.

Well, not being appreciated and not being accepted within the rules are two different things. I can easily imagine lots of people appreciating a well done story that breaks the rules.