Adding images within stories

'A picture speaks a thousand words' is an age-old phrase to which I subscribe wholly. Sometimes, it is virtually impossible to recreate the image you have in your mind through words and the only thing that could do the job is another picture

Can we add pictures to the main body of the story?

It certainly was possible on the old site but I'm not sure if that functionality has been reproduced here yet. I will run some tests and ask around and get back to you.

While the adage does carry some weight, I would advise against using images within the story body. Many members of the site are visually impaired and enjoy the stories precisely because they can rely on screen readers and other assistive tech to bring the authors' worlds to life.

If it is possible to embed images, at the very least provide an 'alt text' descriptive summary of each picture so it becomes more inclusive and can be enjoyed by a wider readership. However, if the main reason for including the image is because you can't accurately describe it, that might prove a tricky endeavour!

hahahahahahahaah - that was a cleverly done! Suggest against the idea, then provide a solution that allows for the idea only to then negate the solution!

Joking aside, your 'all inclusive' direction is to be applauded and to be honest, made me feel rather bad as I would not have even considered this aspect for the reader community.

Point noted 👌

No worries. I'm not being snarky, honest. I'm guilty of neglecting community members: I once wrote a story and included some ASCII art in it as a scene divider 'cos I thought I was being clever. Sent someone's screen reader into meltdown and I felt a total arse for doing it. Lesson learned!

I like having the header photo, but I like my words to tell a story. 🪙🪙

Danielle - everyone has their own experiences and limitations. I, for one, have noticed the difference during RPs between purely words and a mixture of words/pics. I write to cause a reaction... I want to effect ones emotions and I have found that pics definitely do something words cannot do, for me anyway.

But I get what you are saying - as an author, the ultimate measure of success is whether our words alone can create that emotional response we desire. I just don't feel I can do it sometimes just with words... may be one day. I mean, I am just a measly 'rookie scribe' whereas you are a 'blonde bombshell!'

Quote by D33pD4rkn3ss
I mean, I am just a measly 'rookie scribe' whereas you are a 'blonde bombshell!'

Now that you can fix easily enough 🤭

https://www.lushstories.com/forum/settings

Jen -

Quote by Jen

Now that you can fix easily enough 🤭

… as opposed to what that can’t be fixed easily? I am just dizzy trying to figure out what you said. May be it’s just too late for me to be thinking… it’s 2.30am!!!

Jen - thanks for the hint on the ranking. I never did like being told I am a rookie when I have been RP’ing since 1995 and the days of IRC!!

Quote by D33pD4rkn3ss

… as opposed to what that can’t be fixed easily? I am just dizzy trying to figure out what you said. May be it’s just too late for me to be thinking… it’s 2.30am!!!

lol, I just meant it might be simpler to change your forum rank than actually becoming a blonde bombshell.

Hahahahahahah… becoming a blonde bombshell would be quite the feat, I think! Thanks for the clarification though.

Quote by D33pD4rkn3ss
I write to cause a reaction... I want to effect ones emotions

- as an author, the ultimate measure of success is whether our words alone can create that emotional response we desire.

THIS! DeepDarkness, this!

Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and, in some cases, an ass may be worth a thousand Lush coins, but what you said there, even though it was to buttress your desires for pictures in your prose, is the hallmark of the perfect attitude for a writer.

Structure, flow, grammar, and a vocabulary to the point of being sesquipedalian can all be learned and mastered with practice, but writing in a way that evokes emotions within the reader can only come from one's attitude and inner essence. Churning up emotions, be they soothing and languid or raging like volcanic fire, is not success or failure, it is the lofty goal writers constantly dangle in front of themselves as if it were some literary carrot. It is what we strive for. Pursuing that endeavor allows everything else to fall into place.

Well said!

Krystalg - wow, such a charged response! I could almost see you standing delivering some TedX talk on this. If you write with anywhere near this much verve and emotion, not sure I’d make it through your story without having to take a nerve-calming break!!!!

Thanks for your comments!

We can add images to messages but not story bodies. LUSH has promised since the crap change they did what, a couple of years ago now, to give authors better writing tools. Where are they? LUSH has become just another shyte Chatroom site.

Quote by campusvamp
LUSH has promised... to give authors better writing tools. Where are they?

Thanks for the feedback. Please elaborate on what better writing tools the development team should focus on delivering.

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

Thanks for the feedback. Please elaborate on what better writing tools the development team should focus on delivering.

Being an English graduate I have the full 10 volume English dictionary. I'm happy to hire it out at £500 a day.

D x

I don't need writing tools on the site. I have Google Docs, OneNote, and other apps for that. What I need here is publishing tools, and I find the current set works.

Illustrations are not on my radar at present. For that I would need art skills or an artist as a partner. I will point out that simply using downloaded pics carries the risk of treading on someone's IP, even for cover images. Same reason we don't do fanfic here. I always check rights on any images I use that are not from my cameras.

Seeker - valid point on IP and rights... may be 'rookie' for me was an appropriate 'ranking' as many of these issues being bought up are not even beyond, let alone on my horizon... just so wholly focused on delivering a emotion-changing story.

Thanks to everyone, by the way, for making such an interesting string out of what I thought was a simple question!

Quote by D33pD4rkn3ss

Krystalg - wow, such a charged response! I could almost see you standing delivering some TedX talk on this. If you write with anywhere near this much verve and emotion, not sure I’d make it through your story without having to take a nerve-calming break!!!!

Thanks for your comments!

Opinions on my writing vary, but I do write prolifically, and I'm always trying to expand my mastery and meager skills.

Having the ability to embed photos into stories, I would suggest, makes it harder for people who are primarily here to write and try and tell a story using words, to get feedback. I also suggest it would put some pressure on some authors to include photos, though I have no doubt it would encourage more site traffic as people migrate to stories with photos.

If it happens, I suggest it has its own category.

wxt55uk - that is a very valid point and I second your recommendation. Just like in the chat rooms, we have nil-by-pic, we should have the same for stories… but that’s if we ever get the facility to add pics. I think I also agree that it would definitely increase traffic which would play to Lush’s advantage.

Quote by wxt55uk

Having the ability to embed photos into stories, I would suggest, makes it harder for people who are primarily here to write and try and tell a story using words, to get feedback. I also suggest it would put some pressure on some authors to include photos, though I have no doubt it would encourage more site traffic as people migrate to stories with photos.

If it happens, I suggest it has its own category.

It should, I hope, never be the norm. I don't usually even put in the time for a cover photo. In the end, I am a writer, not a visual artist. And not being prone to writing "stroke stories" or to focusing on high traffic categories already penalizes me in views.

Agree about illustrated stories being in their own category at the beginning. Though as they become more common, there might come a point where it makes more sense to put them in the general categories with some kind of tag to identify them for those who want, or don't want, illustrations.

And there would need to be rules about what is allowed. No blood or violence, for instance, would be a given on here. But where would be the line for BDSM and Rough Sex? Do we allow hardcore or just softcore? And so on.

So there is more to it than adding the technical ability to do it and it is not something to be rushed out.