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do you write for the reader? or yourself?

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Guest
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I was wondering what everyone's thoughts are regarding male writers vs. female writers. I've been reading stories here for a while, and I feel like people are generally more attracted to female writers.

Second question -- We always see what's trending - incest stories are always popular, as are reluctance. But do you write to get high marks, comments, readers, etc? or for your own unique fantasies? writing for yourself may not have an audience, but feels so much better, imo

max
Dancing_Doll
Alpha Blonde
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Hmm... not sure about this. A lot of the top writers on this site (and by top writers, I mean some of the 'most followed', with consistently high scoring stories) are men. If I look at that echelon of writers, I see it fairly balanced between men and women.

If you're just talking about getting a ton of votes, then the edge probably goes to women (especially those with naked photos of themselves). It's a social site, and a lot of guys will read the stories written by women they are attracted to and/or hoping to chat with. I think quantity of votes isn't necessarily a great way of assessing the "quality" of writing. Incest stories and female writers will typically be more popular that way. But... does the reader care about the rest of that author's portfolio? Do they favourite that story or choose to 'follow them' as an author? Something like that takes a little more commitment than a random vote in my opinion, so guys shouldn't be discouraged.

For me, I write to tell an entertaining story, but I'm aware of what my readers want/expect. The audience definitely affects what I write or how I write it. I've pushed the envelope before with mixed results. Some people might be willing to stay with a story I've written, even though the dirty factor might be way past what they are comfortable with, but I try to balance things out with stories that are more 'mainstream' as well.

I recently wrote a story (for someone) that won't be published online because it's a personalized fantasy with no limits/rules and is probably too dirty for most readers. When you take away the idea of an audience, it really takes you to a different level of erotica. It's an interesting exercise for a writer... I definitely learned a few things about myself...
Magical_felix
Wild at Heart
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When I'm writing a story it's totally for my own amusement. There are several things I KNOW I should do to make them more appealing to a wider audience of readers, I just don't. I don't because I just like writing the fun parts. I'm not saying that I don't care whether people read and vote on them. I'm saying that when I'm actually writing I don't have the readers in mind.
Guest
Lurker
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Hey Felix! I love your writing! And dancing dolls!

I tend to agree with you, Felix. Although, perhaps "agree" is not the right word. It's not a debate, just style.

dancing doll is someone I've considered when thinking about this question. I absolutely love her stories, and they are consistently unique and very "her". She has a particular voice and readers follow her, I thought wherever. I think that is quite an achievement. I'm actually surprised to hear she considers the audience as much (not that it's a lot) as she does.

thanks for your replies, it means a lot. i find writing erotica to be therapeutic and tend to put myself ahead of the audience. which is likely neither good nor bad, but will likely offend some readers. I go back and forth on the issue. However, Doll's point is good that considering the audience could lead the writer into new ground, and learn something about themselves.

PS - I'm totally excited you both replied to this message! You're awesome

max
Guest
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I basically write for the pleasure and experience of writing. For example, writing with my lady, Barenecessity, was exceptionally fun. Combining two writing styles from different parts of the world was interesting and quite enjoyable. I like to think I learn a little more each time I write a story.

I am not into targeting a particular audience with my writing. Yes, one could look at the stats and taylor stories to met a supply and demand signal but then writing would lose the "fun" aspect for me.

Don't get me wrong, I get a lot of personal satisfaction knowing a particular story has been read and enjoyed by others but the whole voting thing isn't much of a concern. I do enjoy seeing comments from readers especially those that give insight into what they liked about the story (or didn’t like for that matter).
Guest
Lurker
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I guess I write to amuse/arouse myself most of all....

BUT some of my best rated/received stories ('Hotel Rendevous') were written because of a fellow Lushies' suggestion that I write a "fisting" story or a "bi-sex" story.....

And it's kinda liberating to write "to order"...... And a challenge....

But even at that I mostly write what turns ME on.... (And I'm always deeply flattered and impressed that other afficionados get it as well....)

And they don't, always!!!!

xx SF
DirtyMartini
Purveyor of Poetry & Porn
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As for the first part of the question, I agree with D-Doll...of course, I always agree with her...

As for the second part...I have to admit, the only reason I started writing was sort of a challenge to myself to see if I could get a story on another site's "Hottest Fantasy" list...

I think I've "progressed" a bit since then, Ok sort of, but I have to say I most definitely would not write if I did not have an audience...I really don't write entirely for myself, though I've found writing rewarding in ways I could not have predicted, I still need an audience...

As for trying to predict what readers may want, I've had mixed results with that...I've been influenced by feedback on earlier stories, but if I try too hard to predict what people may want to read, I usually fail miserably...

So, for the most part they are my own fantasies...but again, I would not write without an audience...

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scooter
Active Ink Slinger
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I write for myself,,,
Kickass question tho
Fogticus
Active Ink Slinger
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I write for myself but at the same time I do make an effort to please the reader. I regard my stories as acts of sex.– set up and character development being the foreplay – the culminating action, the deed itself – and my reader as my partner. I always want to please my partner.

My stories are all personal fantasies of one sort or another that have turned me on. At any given time when my mind is not occupied with the real world, I will have the fragment of some fantasy floating in my brain. Writing gives me the opportunity to explore where these fragments might lead. I usually don’t know how a story will end until I sit down and begin to write it. Once begun my stories almost write themselves.

While I do not write for votes or comments, I do very much appreciate when a reader takes the time to give me their feedback. I post my stories for others to read and getting that feedback is the only way that I know someone is actually reading. And of course, it is nice to know that someone out there is getting turned on by what I wrote.
Christie
Active Ink Slinger
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I write for myself. Sometimes other people like what I write, sometimes they don't.
Espresso
Active Ink Slinger
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I love hearing what other writer's think about things like this.

For myself, I write what I'm compelled to write and hopefully the audience will find it. I get off on getting others off. But I have to be passionate about the story myself or I can put that oomph into the story that makes it "zing". It would be easy for me to just write a sexy story. But I like having my own unique voice. I try to write what stories I would love to read and I'm proud to share.

I think I'm doing well with this outlook. The reader can feel my passion/excitement. And I have actually drawn people who didn't know they liked my type of story while finding those who have been craving it. It's a win, win.
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Vita
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My reasons for writing are similar to those of Espresso. I love that people get off reading what I write, but at the core I write because I find it exciting. I find that if I can't be passionate about a story, it just comes out poorly, and then no one wants to read it anyway.
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Simonize
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I write for the reader, I love to hear about something I created made someone so hot they had to play with themselves, especially the females smile I also write from the perspective of what I would do in the situation so I try to bring out the realistic side of myself in that.
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Cheltenham
Active Ink Slinger
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My last couple of submissions have been for me. I didn't do a series I wrote, justice. So I am elaborating on it now with additional chapters and it is wrote with the readers in mind, definitely, but I have myself in mind because the story includes some more taboo topics like time travel and involves a celebrity.

There is another series that I want to add to, but again I need to be inspired to do so. Without inspiration, I feel the reader won't be able to experience the same sensations I do when I write.
Well I hope I never figure out
Who broke your heart ~ Baby if I do
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I'd spend the night and I'd lose my mind
coguy
Active Ink Slinger
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I don't think I write it for myself or for the readers - the story or poem just happens! I draw inspirations from many places, conversations, incidents and my own fantasies. They float in my mind like globs of paint. Then comes a moment when a faint image starts to appear; I pull the canvas and start painting a picture with broad brushstrokes and fine touches - dipping my brush in those globs of paints that are floating in my head.

For my first submission, "The Stormy Night", the inspiration came from my chats early on with some of the fine "one-on-one chat" conversations I had with some of the members on Lush. One day, a particular profile picture caught my attention that provided the opening line for the poem, and the rest flowed. The responses validated that I did connect at emotional level with quite a few readers, but the votes and viewership is rather pathetic.

"Our Babysitter" was a somewhat humorous rendition of my erotic fantasies. It resonated with a wide range of audience and I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. Purposefully, I left an opening for follow ups, and readers responded to it, guessing where the story would lead to.

Its prequel, "Our Babysitter - The Beginnings" was my attempt to explore the sensibilities of the "bi-curious" psyche. Being a male, I was nervous if I could do justice to the subject. It did seem to resonate with the target audience, and the response is consistent with the subset of female readers on the site that identify themselves as Lesbian, Bi, or Bi-curious - it did not resonate with a wider audience.

The poem titled "Just For You - Annie" was a poetic response to the nice poem "Just For You - Guys" from Annie Harrison (naughtyannie). It was kind of a personal dialog with her. This poem had a very specific audience - Annie herself. I don't think anyone can appreciate it unless you read both our poems side-by-side ;)

"Pastor's Daughter" was a bold attempt to test my readers. A melancholy ending for an erotica is a kiss-of-death. Even though I could have an alternate happy ending, I knew what I was doing. Shocking the readers was the intent, and by responses I received I know that I succeeded. Everyone who read it and cared to reach out to me to provide feedback, appreciated the plot and rendition, but said they didn't like the ending smile

All that said, I agree with all the points made earlier in this thread - if your goal is to achieve a high rating, make your erotica truly erotic, pick a subject matter that resonates with a wide (predominantly male) audience, be a female author, and last but not the least, have some truly erotic pictures in your profile ;)
Guest
Lurker
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Honestly, I write because I want to write-- the content that I write about is for the readers. I agree with everyone here: sometimes the story just comes out, sometimes I do it because of requests, sometimes I just like to know that I can please someone. I just love to write and started doing erotica because more people respond to those stories-- not to mention the few challenges it held for me.
unabashedurchin
Rookie Scribe
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This one is easy for me - I really don't write for anyone but myself. My stories are mainly ways for me to release sexual tension that I probably would not have another chance to relieve. The series I am currently writing is meant to help me do just that. If other people like them, that's awesome, but that's not the purpose behind it.
Unknown User
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My answer is a two-fold. I write firstly for myself and my own amusement, as a way to express my kinks. That being said, I endeavor to turn my unique fantasies into something that rates highly by trying to write them well.

I also love that people get off from what I write... so to a certain extent I do write for an audience.

I don't know how well I accomplish this but I've found that I'm not really that concerned about it. As long as there are people out there that can appreciate my work alongside me then that's good enough for me. My writing is probably pretty shitty, but if it touches someone then that's all that matters to me.

Writing can be a tough process so I have written things "to order", so to speak. This gives me a challenge, like other posters have said. I also love the reaction when it turns out well and they really like! smile
Guest
Lurker
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I write for myself, I figure if other people like it YAY, if they don't, its not the end of the world
but when someone says that they enjoyed it or got aroused by it, it inspires me to write more and the day is just a little brighter ^_^
Jingle
Active Ink Slinger
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I write for the reader. I take what I like and what I know and try my best to write it in a way that other people enjoy. Because I want my work to be a pleasurable experience for other people, I have incentive to keep working on my technique and style.

Incoming rant! Take cover! Ohhh the humanity!!!


Think of it like a Christmas present. Most people buy Christmas presents according to their own tastes, by which I mean they'll be in a store, see something interesting, and because they like it, they assume the recipient will like it too. After years of terrible gifts that have wasted time and money, this is something I keenly understand.

When you post a story, you ARE giving it to someone. People are going to read it and the amount of effort put into it's writing shows.

People will say things like 'well if it's not your style, just move on', but what about the people who do like that sort of thing? Wouldn't you want to give them something of quality? I do pick and choose through the different categories for something that I will like and I do avoid the subjects I dislike, and I am always disappointed when something I should like was given so little love and attention in its creation.

If you write for yourself, why post? Because you want to share. Sharing means caring, caring means editing. If you write for yourself and then decide to share it, I would assume that you would tidy it up and make it presentable.

Here's a great example that I just thought up: you buy panties for yourself, little pink ones because you like little pink panties and to you they're sexy as hell. When you get home you decide to share them with your Panty Enthusiast Club that meets that night. When you whip them out during the meeting, did you make sure they were clean and presentable or did you just leave them wrinkled and skid-marked? Yes, you did buy them for yourself and your pleasure, but when you choose to bring them to a public forum, there is a certain amount of decorum that must be observed. Edit those things on 'delicate' then tumble dry! Same with writing. Someone who writes for themselves and doesn't bother to clean up their work before presenting is the person who brings nasty panties to the Panty Club.

There are people who write for themselves and then post their work after making sure it was presentable. To them, kudos. It's really a wonderful thing, like bringing your favourite toy to show and tell, wanting to share something you love with people who love the same kind of thing. If the toy were scruffy and dirty, it would show that the person didn't care about it, and if they don't care, why should anyone else care about it? And if no one cares about it, why bring it in?

This is a forum for people passionate about erotic writing, isn't it? Passion means caring. Caring means editing. Love means continually striving to be better. If you don't love your writing, other people won't either, because you've given them nothing in it to love.

I guess this is mostly a rant about people who vomit their 'writing' into our laps and use the 'I just write for myself, I don't care what you think about it' slogan as an excuse to avoid putting in the effort to make their work presentable. It's a rant against people who blunder in, expecting praise, and when none is given they pull that 'for myself' card out as a 'get out of jail free'. They're abusing the community.

Insensitive jerks giving thoughtless gifts!

blahblahblah insert more ranting blahblah *storms off muttering*

(And this doesn't mean that people shouldn't post unless their work is perfect, it just means I have seen writers who are truly attention whores, and today they're pissing me off. I am really enjoying lush, and people who abuse the site as a means to get attention make me sad.)
Guest
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Guest
Lurker
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This is a really interesting thread, even though for myself I find the question almost unanswerable. I love fantasy (something in my head) but writing is a whole other thing. If I didn't think/hope that someone somewhere would be aroused by what I write, I'd never find the energy to do it. On some occasions I will add a dollop of something that isn't personally my "thing," e.g. incest. This is clearly an ingredient that perks up a story for many readers here and I don't mind adding it to my personal turn-ons if it will be more fun for the readers.

This brings me to what I really love about Lush, besides the stories themselves: the comments. I'm not here to cyber or meet anyone in the social/sexual sense, but I love the meeting of the minds. It would be pretty lonely to be putting stories out there into cyberspace without any reply.
nellieneska
Active Ink Slinger
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I don't know about stories being written by women being more popular. Some of my favorite authors on this site are men honestly. I think there is no way to accurately tell which is more popular. Votes/Comments are nit a good way of judging the quality of a story. I have seen some great stories get low scores at the same time of seeing really shitty stories get great ratings. So this system is not an accurate representation of good and bad or liked and disliked.

As for who I write for. In the beginning I wrote for myself, it was my way of expressing something that needed to be expressed. As time went on and people started giving me more positive feedback, I began to write for others and not myself. I realized this not to long ago and just recently started writing for myself again and I feel better about my work because of it. Though I do still hope that people enjoy what I write.
If you can't fuck yourself ... who can you fuck?
charmbrights
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Quote by Guest
... But do you write to get high marks, comments, readers, etc? or for your own unique fantasies? ...
When I was writing novels it was definitely for the money.
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SensualDesires83
Active Ink Slinger
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I write for both, myself and for my readers. When I am writing a story, I write for the sheer joy it brings me and how it makes me feel to be able to create something with words that not only I like, but also what my readers will enjoy.

Writing is therapeutic to me from both standpoints. It makes me feel good to create something I know that readers will either enjoy or hate. Mentally, it touches me when I am able to come up with a story and know that my readers will be reading it. I like to wonder what they are thinking while reading one of my stories and if they got the same feeling I did as I created it.

And it's a win-win situation either way if readers liked it or disliked it. I take criticism either way and make something out of it. Not every story I write is going to appeal to readers. There will always be differences. That's when, as a writer, one should take negative criticism and make a positive out of something else.

That's what writing is for me and why I enjoy writing for both.
"So don't cry to me.
If you loved me,
You would be here with me.
Don't lie to me,
Just get your things.
I've made up your mind."

--Evanescence
Buz
The Linebacker
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I write for both. I definitely desire for the readers to enjoy my stories and writing and to like it enough to give me positive feed back. Sure my ego can always use a little stroking. I also get a sense of accomplishment out of creating the story and in my case with my college stories I am getting a lot of things off my chest since I am writing about what really happened. In some cases very unpleasant things. It has been emotionally therapeutic to tell things in an anonymous fashion that I cannot tell or talk about to my friends in my face-to-face world.
Guest
Lurker
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What an interesting thread, I've loved reading other people's answers so I guess I should add mine, its easy.

I write 100% for me, I wrote lots of my stories years before I even knew about Lush.

I publish for all the readers and I have to admit that I love it when they tell me they enjoyed them and it hurts when they tell me they didn't.
Guest
Lurker
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I always write myself! I already know I cannot please all the readers so I don’t bother to. It is a great feeling to know my readers find my stories entertaining, fun, and realistic.