It's just more human when folks ain't Gary Stu's and Mary Sue's.

Quote by RowanThorn

The fact that I haven’t seen any makes me pretty sure it was a no. I got permission for a series to reference characters from other works but it was because I had a cosplayer dressing as them.

I hadn't really explored the genres, so I wasn't sure.

Quote by Seeker4

Which is really one of the reasons I feel the Novel category can go. There's no way you can write a proper novel with sex in every chapter and have it be interesting. Plot and character development are what need to drive longform fiction, with sex as part of those. It should probably happen every few chapters, not every chapter. A bunch of sexual encounters strung together does not a novel make.

I've gave my opinions on the thread discussing that. Sites like this aren't always novel friendly in design. Examples of that would be Wattpad, AO3, or Quotev. Sites like Lush and Lit turn novels, or chaptered stories in general, into a series. I recall saying it could be done away with, on that site design reason alone. But I also don't wanna write novels for free... but I do write novelettes, or novellas. Generally no more than ten chapters.

Sex done right, can be plot or plot adjacent. I have a story where there's sex, or along the lines, in almost every chapter. That's actually one of the things that differentiates my erotic stories from my general stories, that have sex in them. I have a romance novel that's about 60k, or a bit more, it has... I think... six or seven sex scenes in it, and a LitRPG that's nearing 80k, and has like three. The one I'm alluding to, and explained in another quoted comment, here, is twelve chapters so far, or ten, and there's maybe two or three chapters that don't have sex in it.

Quote by GrushaVashnadze

Not necessarily. Plot and character development can happen through sex and in sex. See e.g. Alison Goes to London, which contains tons of sex, and of which mods (even!) have said: "The evolution was brilliant, the world-building intricate" ... "wonderfully constructed story ... managing to keep that wide a narrative arc up over 19 chapters ... Alison will stand the test of time."

I wouldn't say they were wrong about it either, but you're also right. I've got an story, that probably has the most sex out of anything I've written, most of it is plot, or plot adjacent.

In the beginning, the guy is looking for his birth mother in the town over, and a prostitute strikes up conversation with him, because he keeps returning to the same bar after his searches. They end up having sex, and more seems to start to come from it, when he takes her on a date. When he gets a good look around her apartment, the next morning, he finds out that she is his mother with help of his PI. He finds out not only his families history, but meets family he never knew he had, along with finding out that so many of them live in the city, and even went to high school with him. Not just that, but their incestious ways dates all the way back to their royal ancestors in europe to the point it's genetic. It was all kept from him by his now dead dad, and stepmom, who was best friends with his mom.

If there was a next level up beyond average erotica, stroke stories, and romance novels, true erotic literature on par with things like Harry Potter, Great Gatsby, etc, where there's significant depth, and not all sex needs to be purple prose, I think it could be a contender.

Quote by dronette56

Leave a friendly note to the mod and tell us where that line is. "Hey, Moddy, I know that what I did <here> and <here> is unconventional, but it's intentional. BTW, I love what you've done with your hair!"

We will happily back down unless it's unreadable, in which case we will push back. We can't tell whether an author doesn't understand typical grammar rules or is sidestepping them for style unless we are already familiar with the author's work.

I did. I try to explain things in a way that doesn't come off as angry or antagonizing, because I really have no issues with story requirements, as I feel they help make me a better writer.

Quote by Jen

Literally never heard of this.

I might be misremembering, but I went to check, and I couldn't find who said, or who I thought said it.

Quote by Seeker4

That's always a sticky one and part of why I would probably never do longform here. If I was doing a novelette or longer work, there would inevitably be chapters that were all plot and character with little or no sex. Unfortunately, you will likely find that those chapters get skipped by much of the Lush community. Some are just here for the sexy stuff.

That's about along the lines of what she said about it. If that's the case, I'll pay more attention to what I put here. I write on several sites and I don't mind catering to a sites need, because then, everything I write, isn't everywhere, which is fine, plus everything I write can't be everywhere because of site rules. And that is why I have a link tree, and a blog waiting for stories that are just too black sheep to have a home. I know on Lit, there are folks that like the plot, and other things around the sex, and I just don't write Skinemax sex scenes.

I'm waiting on the last chapter of Spare Parts to get released. After that, it's back to working on that high school story, and trans story. I'm not sure how well fanfics do here, or if they're even accepted, but I have two of those partially laid out, that I'll get to, once those are finished. I'm thinking about removing a story from my other pen name, and placing it under this one, due to being mostly sex.

The less people messing with that AI nonsense, the better.

I joined Inkitt in november, and they also have a group of mods to approve stories, they also prioritize works 10k+, and at least for me; it's even worse than here. I submitted five short stories, and only the third had been accepted.

As much as folks complain about here, and Lit, and it does seem on average this site is on par with Lit on submissions, regardless of membership, sure the mods do have a life, but it's still a group versus one person, and lit is strict in it's own right... that said; Lush is a better site than Inkitt, as far as my experience so far. So I'm not really complaining about here, because the less work needs to be done on a story, the faster it gets accepted, just like on Lit. No work needs to be done on those short stories, taking months is unacceptable, regardless of site preferences and processes. And one needs to dance between the site and the app to get shit done. I have novels I can put on there, but there's no incentive to do so, when what I already put there, is just sitting for who knows what.

Almost never.

I was told by a mod, that one main thing they and the site goes by, is Chicago writing style. Sometimes that can conflict with ones writing style, by pushing for something that reads more... clinical, for lack of a better term. There's a line between guidline adherence, and ones creativity. Recently, one proposed I completely rewrite the first chapter of my new novelette, because of the lack of sex. I seem to have gotten the same two mods with all submissions, and I think she's cool people. It's not really a grievance, and she's just trying to do her unpaid job.

I do still find it odd, that despite everything, submissions take as long as they do on Lit. Most of everything I have here, was there first, and I'm trying to release this new joint, here first.

I find that cover maker nie impossible to deal with, so I make my own elsewhere. Honestly, I don't like going through the effort for something free.

Hookers Guide To The Galaxy.

Quote by Seeker4

It is the same ownership and software, basically Lush's sister site for publishing non-erotic, mostly SFW fiction.

Oh! Kinda like how FFN has FictionPress. I just might make an account on there. I've been wanting a place that isn't Wattpad for my non-erotic work. FictionPress doesn't work with my phone or Firefox, SOL is annoying as shit, and Writingdotcom only gives you ten free slots, and Quotev doesn't seem to have a large active userbase.

Quote by Seeker4

Just like literary magazines, the Lush team sets whatever standards they feel necessary to create the site they are aiming for. If you don't like those standards then, yeah, submit elsewhere. As you apparently have done.

That's why I'm on more than one site. I ain't new to this game. I've been writing on Lit, since 2011, and have a FFN account, I know how to write within guidlines. FFN doesn't even allow sex. I'm on, like ten sites.

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know

If they don't adhere to our standards, then it's unlikely that they'll be missed here. I also know that many publishers frown on dual submissions or 'double-dipping.' It's essentially self-plagiarism. All content should be 'exclusive.'

Yeah, that's usually traditional publishers, not sites like this one. I have seen, maybe two sites that want exclusive content. But every site I publish on, doesn't care. They're concern is actual plagiarism. I'm on several. Fanfic sites, for example, do not. I read submission guidelines, tos, and the faq of every writing site before I join. If I recall; even KDP and Smash doesn't mind it.

I'm not really concerned if they'd be missed or not. I don't get snide comments like this. I'm not complaining that I can't post them here, or about the site specifically. It was a general grievance about censorship one has to deal with, in general. With the number of sites that employ socially left thought police, like TikTok, YouTube, NextDoor, and especially Facebook, one would think sites like these would be the last bastion of freedom of expression, at least to a reasonable point. Especially with the way people attack books. I've been seeing the Demolition Man landscape creeping up for years now, and one day we won't have a place to outwardly express ourselves. It'll be a digital Ferenheit 451, where we'll have to risk even the most vanilla of erotica on the dark web, and possibly incure some sort of punishment and social demerits.

It's not like the two stories are something heinous, like snuff, or . They'll find a home, and one that isn't like buying a Jay-Z CD at Walmart. That's why I'm on more than one erotica site.

It's not a big deal, either way, but I prefer a bush, unless it's a dude.

Swallow. It's already there, won't typically hurt you, and it's already been tasted, spitting ain't gonna change that.

Depends on who it was, the situation, and if there was money involved.

A lot

Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know

Depends how you handle it. If your story is about Jews finding love with each other while being persecuted during world war 2, for example, that's one thing. If you're writing about Jews discovering their submissive sexuality in a Nazi concentration camp, I would think that crosses a very obvious line. Acknowledging that racism, prejudice and oppression exist is not a problem in most stories. Centering and glorifying it is. So, use some good sense and try not to be an 'edge-lord' intentionally being provocative and controversial for the shock value (it often comes off as desperate for attention rather than challenging the status quo). Also, if you use any racial epithets like the "N-word" etc., you'll probably see your story returned by the mods with at least a strong warning not to do it again, so try to avoid those. If that all sounds challenging and restrictive, then yeah, maybe write about bad teeth instead.

...well that's two of my stories that'll be exclusive to Lit. One would think writing sites would be warriors of expression and anti censorship, at least context depending. I found RoyalRoad to be the worst.

I don't care about covers that much.

A few stupid guidlines, too...

Quote by Seeker4

As a writer, I'm kind of leaning to 100% story these days and focussing on material that will end up on SS (or maybe other markets). But for here, I'd say somewhere between the 50-50 option and the 25-75 option lies my sweet spot. Where a given story lands depends on the story.

As a reader, probably around the 50-50 mark. If I'm reading smut, I generally there for the sex, not just a story.

That looks like a carbon copy of here, sans erotica.

At some point, if you're writing so much backstory, it may as well be a story in itself. There's ways to do it. I have an old novel where the mc has flashbacks. Currently working on a short story where it opens with a past scene of the mc's father dying, to help set why she's the way she is. I don't even think it's a whole page.

The Liberals Cookbook, like that Anarchist Cookbook, but with stuff like DEI and Sweet Baby Inc in it.

Quote by WannabeWordsmith

Absolutely. Novels was invented when the site was first created. Before we could link chapters together.

I get that a series isn't the same as a novel but we have good reason for the 10k limit.

Firstly, the volunteer moderators won't necessarily have time to read 150000 words.

Secondly, page speed, although less of an issue with larger bandwidths available, is still a concern on mobile devices and those out and about or in poor coverage areas.

And thirdly, a wall of text - even if it's broken up with formatting (which we don't offer much availability) into "chapters" isn't very helpful, especially if a reader wants to come back to a piece later. They have to scroll and scroll and scroll to reach the part they were at. That could of course be mitigated to some degree by an automatic ToC if they happened to be at a suitable chapter break, but if they were mid-chapter it's not going to help much. This is not a kindle experience.

Also, if one part had some sort of familial relationship, the entire piece would need to be moved to that category. And people can hide that category from their stories list so they'd never find it.

We used to put tags at the top of the story but since they're shown in the list, you know what you're getting before you click through sonthe actual tags are relegated to the bottom when viewing the story itself. Less to skip over.

Edit: site search and tag browsing are an ongoing annoyance. Hopefully will be fixed one day.

The 10k limit makes absolute sense to me. I honestly don't know how Laurel handles 750+ word submissions, and nearly hundreds a day, by herself. I don't remember the max count per page on lit, but it auto populates another page for anything longer than a single page. But really, and I may have explained it poorly; that's not what I think Lush should do, it was more so an example of a site that functions similar, but has that option. The issue is novel chapters are seperate submissions, instead of actual pages added, like Wattpad or Quotev does. I don't know how much restructuring that would be, though.

Have a few irons in the fire. Have had writers block for a long while, started rewriting some story layouts, that seemed to get things going. Two of them are erotica; a satirical generic high school story, and a transgender story. The others are for elsewhere. I just might publish them here first, and then to Literotica.

Quote by Kee

Having read all this thread my first thought was to axe Novels, but giving it more thought I suggest something of a compromise: leave it for those few people that really want to write what would legitimately fall into a Novel. In other words a multi chapter story with a connecting arc of characters and plot that has a real beginning, middle, and conclusion, where no chapters can stand alone. To me the difference between a novel and a series is the novel is as I just stated and a series is a group of stories that can stand alone but do have characters that may move in and out and there is no over arching story line that connects them all with a clear beginning, middle, and ending as modern fiction novels do.

That's what the difference is. A novel can be a series(Full series by Charlotte Huges), but a series isn't always a novel. It's like the difference between my Trigun graphic novels, and my Calvin and Hobbes books. One is a series of novels telling one story, while just one C&H book is a series of stories, that have no connections or order.