Errant Smut Slinger
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Errant Smut Slinger
Famous Track 20k+
Quite Neighborly 26237 -> 28348 -> 29607 (+1259)
Fixed Wright Up 26149 -> 27024 -> 27487 (+463)
Milf Allie 25786 -> 26585 -> 27079 (+494)
Selfie Stuck 21176 -> 22660 -> 23374 (+714)
Her Cut to the Chase 25926 -> 26409 -> 26642 (+233)
Morning Jo 18925 -> 22868 -> 24299 (+1443)
Souvenir 21185 -> 21503 -> 21647 (+144)
Summer's Heat 21565 ->22138 -> 22392 (+254)
Jerk 21351 -> 21744 -> 21883 (+139)
Kitty in the Cream 22929 -> 23319 -> 23540 (+221)
Three Alarm 24217 -> 24517 ->24665 (+148)
Hard Times 22506 -> 22823 -> 22985 (+162)
Good Will 23901 -> 24186 -> 24327 (+141)
Taste the Rainbow 20085 ->20431 (+346)
Sunny Daze 20779 -> 21526 (+747)
Legendary Track
Nude Holly Day 81714 -> 83257 -> 84094 (+837)
Dip in the Lake 60592 -> 60975 -> 61303 (+328)
A Fine Substitute 54190 -> 55974 -> 56474 (+500)
Like Riding a Bike 41763 -> 42739 -> 43306 (+567)
I've got 5 stories between 19k and 20k views, one of which will probably join the 20k club before the end of the year.
As expected, traffic has been light while I wasn't producing any new work. I only recently released a few new stories, and probably have a couple more in the pipeline.
The two newest stories ( Morning Jo and Selfie Stuck ) continue to draw larger than average views in this list, and the page 1 of popular for the category also do far better than average. Wish I'd taken a reading on "Coming in Third" before posting the prequel "Coming in Second" to see how much traffic the new story drove to the existing one. It was likely a significant boost. Dropped the ball there.
Quite Neighborly keeps inching toward the bar, and will probably hit before the end of the year. If I keep putting out new stuff, it might even clear by the middle of next month.
I'll plug my contest story "Innocent Blood" here again. Go give it a read and a vote. Vampire story with an unusual twist on the standard formula.
https://www.lushstories.com/stories/horror/-innocent-blood-.aspx
Quite Neighborly 26237 -> 28348 -> 29607 (+1259)
Fixed Wright Up 26149 -> 27024 -> 27487 (+463)
Milf Allie 25786 -> 26585 -> 27079 (+494)
Selfie Stuck 21176 -> 22660 -> 23374 (+714)
Her Cut to the Chase 25926 -> 26409 -> 26642 (+233)
Morning Jo 18925 -> 22868 -> 24299 (+1443)
Souvenir 21185 -> 21503 -> 21647 (+144)
Summer's Heat 21565 ->22138 -> 22392 (+254)
Jerk 21351 -> 21744 -> 21883 (+139)
Kitty in the Cream 22929 -> 23319 -> 23540 (+221)
Three Alarm 24217 -> 24517 ->24665 (+148)
Hard Times 22506 -> 22823 -> 22985 (+162)
Good Will 23901 -> 24186 -> 24327 (+141)
Taste the Rainbow 20085 ->20431 (+346)
Sunny Daze 20779 -> 21526 (+747)
Legendary Track
Nude Holly Day 81714 -> 83257 -> 84094 (+837)
Dip in the Lake 60592 -> 60975 -> 61303 (+328)
A Fine Substitute 54190 -> 55974 -> 56474 (+500)
Like Riding a Bike 41763 -> 42739 -> 43306 (+567)
I've got 5 stories between 19k and 20k views, one of which will probably join the 20k club before the end of the year.
As expected, traffic has been light while I wasn't producing any new work. I only recently released a few new stories, and probably have a couple more in the pipeline.
The two newest stories ( Morning Jo and Selfie Stuck ) continue to draw larger than average views in this list, and the page 1 of popular for the category also do far better than average. Wish I'd taken a reading on "Coming in Third" before posting the prequel "Coming in Second" to see how much traffic the new story drove to the existing one. It was likely a significant boost. Dropped the ball there.
Quite Neighborly keeps inching toward the bar, and will probably hit before the end of the year. If I keep putting out new stuff, it might even clear by the middle of next month.
I'll plug my contest story "Innocent Blood" here again. Go give it a read and a vote. Vampire story with an unusual twist on the standard formula.
https://www.lushstories.com/stories/horror/-innocent-blood-.aspx
Errant Smut Slinger
If you're burnt out on writing sex, and only on that part, it's highly likely that the problem is you feel as if you're repeating yourself. That's why I say to take a venture into the weird, whether it be odd locations, some fetish, or tentacles.
If you're full on unable to write, it may be that you do need to step away for a while. I just got back to writing after yet another long hiatus. When I jumped back in, I decided to do it with vignettes. Really short ( for me ) stories that focus on a single sex act. Sometimes, focusing on one thing and going deep into detail with it can crack your feeling of repetition.
If you're full on unable to write, it may be that you do need to step away for a while. I just got back to writing after yet another long hiatus. When I jumped back in, I decided to do it with vignettes. Really short ( for me ) stories that focus on a single sex act. Sometimes, focusing on one thing and going deep into detail with it can crack your feeling of repetition.
Errant Smut Slinger
Stick them somewhere weird before the scene starts. Broom closet. The back of a VW microbus filled with shovels and rakes and implements of destruction. A hammock. A vat of Jello. Anywhere that potentially requires getting into strange positions or provides environmental interactions.
Riff off that.
Not necessarily appropriate for every story, but anywhere that a little humor, insanity, or destruction of property is appropriate, you can use it to distract yourself from writing the bump and grind.
There's something to be said for writing some Sci-Fi/Fantasy/NonHuman stuff and figuring out the logistics, too. Fairies, giants, lamias... Fantasy is really my original wheelhouse as far as erotica is concerned, and it provides lots of potential to keep you interested in the sex scenes, if you enjoy writing the genre.
Maybe all you need is a detour into the weird to revitalize you.
Riff off that.
Not necessarily appropriate for every story, but anywhere that a little humor, insanity, or destruction of property is appropriate, you can use it to distract yourself from writing the bump and grind.
There's something to be said for writing some Sci-Fi/Fantasy/NonHuman stuff and figuring out the logistics, too. Fairies, giants, lamias... Fantasy is really my original wheelhouse as far as erotica is concerned, and it provides lots of potential to keep you interested in the sex scenes, if you enjoy writing the genre.
Maybe all you need is a detour into the weird to revitalize you.
Errant Smut Slinger
You've got a lot of low-read niche left, trust me. LOL Fantasy, Supernatural... they're dead zones on Lush.
Horror sat in my to-do list for so long because you can't do actual horror on Lush. When I write horror, it's disturbing, dark, and people die in horrible ways. It's always bad people, but still... I had to subvert my definition of what a horror story should be, forget the title of the category, and write to the content of the category.
For me, Steampunk is left because I know nothing about it. Watersports, I just haven't come up with an idea that I like yet. Have several ideas for Uniform, but none of them have fully congealed. Trans I haven't started seriously brainstorming on yet.
Mind Control is still there because trying to make it fit within the boundaries at Lush and still do something at least somewhat novel has severely vexxed me. I'm seriously considering a story that subverts the category by not using real mind control/hypnosis. More or less that many men lose most of their sense when they see a nice big pretty set of tits. They may as well be mind-controlled. Even have a nice wordplay title for that one, if I can ever get it to congeal.
Novels will be the last one, for certain. I could probably cheat and move "Jackin' Jill" there, because it's more than long enough, but I'd rather write something new that doesn't quite fit anywhere else. Probably one of those wild sowing of oats adventures that has lots of kinks, and thus can't really be contained in a single category.
I know it's barely going to get read here. Will probably do fine on another site that uses tag-based navigation, and may get a little better read rate elsewhere because longer stories have more traction, but the category is still weak on readership.
For now, I'm trying to finish my other two Halloween stories. One's brand new, and moving right along. The other is still fits and starts, and I plotted the damn thing 2 years ago. Think I'm going to skip to the sex ( which is clear in my head ) and then come back to the transition afterwards.
Horror sat in my to-do list for so long because you can't do actual horror on Lush. When I write horror, it's disturbing, dark, and people die in horrible ways. It's always bad people, but still... I had to subvert my definition of what a horror story should be, forget the title of the category, and write to the content of the category.
For me, Steampunk is left because I know nothing about it. Watersports, I just haven't come up with an idea that I like yet. Have several ideas for Uniform, but none of them have fully congealed. Trans I haven't started seriously brainstorming on yet.
Mind Control is still there because trying to make it fit within the boundaries at Lush and still do something at least somewhat novel has severely vexxed me. I'm seriously considering a story that subverts the category by not using real mind control/hypnosis. More or less that many men lose most of their sense when they see a nice big pretty set of tits. They may as well be mind-controlled. Even have a nice wordplay title for that one, if I can ever get it to congeal.
Novels will be the last one, for certain. I could probably cheat and move "Jackin' Jill" there, because it's more than long enough, but I'd rather write something new that doesn't quite fit anywhere else. Probably one of those wild sowing of oats adventures that has lots of kinks, and thus can't really be contained in a single category.
I know it's barely going to get read here. Will probably do fine on another site that uses tag-based navigation, and may get a little better read rate elsewhere because longer stories have more traction, but the category is still weak on readership.
For now, I'm trying to finish my other two Halloween stories. One's brand new, and moving right along. The other is still fits and starts, and I plotted the damn thing 2 years ago. Think I'm going to skip to the sex ( which is clear in my head ) and then come back to the transition afterwards.
Quote by naughtyannie
Some of the categories are very niche, and don't get many reads for that reason. I spend ages writing my "Steampunk" story, but it's barely scraped over 1000 hits. On the other hand, my "Watersports" stories have been very popular for some reason, and I thought that would be a very specialized fetish!
Also, it's sometimes hard to decide which category to put a story in. I try and select one relevant to the key theme of the story, but even then I often change my mind and move them. My "Satanic Seduction story" has been in at least three categories: "Supernatural", because one of the characters is a devil; "Seduction", because there are two different sorts of seduction in it; and currently "cheating", because that's the moral crux of the story. I could probably think of reasons to put it in a couple of others too...
Errant Smut Slinger
Time to admit I'm an idiot.
What had happened is that during some flamboyant mouse maneuver, I accidentally moved my Chrome window just a tiny bit. Because it restarts each time exactly as you left it, it stayed that way.
The bottom of the window was behind the taskbar. So was the pagination for the hidden galleries.
What had happened is that during some flamboyant mouse maneuver, I accidentally moved my Chrome window just a tiny bit. Because it restarts each time exactly as you left it, it stayed that way.
The bottom of the window was behind the taskbar. So was the pagination for the hidden galleries.
Errant Smut Slinger
Chrono Trigger from Chrono Trigger and The Dreamwatch of Time from Chrono Cross. They not only trigger fond memories of the game, but I've built up these mental videos in my head ( which probably will never actually get made, because I don't possess the skills ) hyping up the final chapters of my story "Sisters of the Mists" that I've been struggling to finish since '08. That's the year my Baileykins passed away, and I originally started writing the first story in the series "Danica" for her, tailored to her fetishes, and with a main character that had a lot of her in it.
It was the very first thing I ever posted for other people to read, because she insisted it was too good to keep to ourselves, and kept pushing me on it.
Those two songs are the soundtrack for those mental videos, and the visuals follow the beats. I can see that image of Andrea kneeling next to a grave with tears streaming down her face during the slow part of Chrono Trigger, with Danica and everyone else stand behind her, lending what support they can. Right as the music swells into the ending, Andrea clenches her fist, which erupts into bolts of furious lightning as she defiantly stands, wreathed in fire and lightning, her hair whipping in the wind, and her tears turned to ice. Celes calls up the mists, Danica teleports, and they go to face the final battle against what Zoraster set in motion so long ago.
There's a tremendous amount of varied emotional baggage tied up in those two songs.
It was the very first thing I ever posted for other people to read, because she insisted it was too good to keep to ourselves, and kept pushing me on it.
Those two songs are the soundtrack for those mental videos, and the visuals follow the beats. I can see that image of Andrea kneeling next to a grave with tears streaming down her face during the slow part of Chrono Trigger, with Danica and everyone else stand behind her, lending what support they can. Right as the music swells into the ending, Andrea clenches her fist, which erupts into bolts of furious lightning as she defiantly stands, wreathed in fire and lightning, her hair whipping in the wind, and her tears turned to ice. Celes calls up the mists, Danica teleports, and they go to face the final battle against what Zoraster set in motion so long ago.
There's a tremendous amount of varied emotional baggage tied up in those two songs.
Errant Smut Slinger
My comp story filled out the Horror category for me as well. Here's what I have left.
Mind Control
Novels
Steampunk
Trans
Uniform
Watersports
Mind Control
Novels
Steampunk
Trans
Uniform
Watersports
Quote by naughtyannie
My competition entry also gave me a new story category - Horror - which was enough to get me the "Prolific Writer" Badge, for posting in 80% of the Lush story categories. That's a total of 43, as far as I can tell. Never in a million years did I imagine I'd cover that many when I started posting here 8 years ago!
In case you're interested, the ones I've still not written in are:
Fantasy & SciFi
Femdom
Mind control
Love stories
Money
Monster Sex
Novels
Reluctance
Supernatural
Swingers
Uniform
I actually have a plot for a supernatural story, and ideas about a couple of the others. Watch this space...
Errant Smut Slinger
You'd have to come up with another qualifier to replace the 10 vote minimum for contests. Also would need to change the criteria for the "Popular" tab on the story listings ( # of comments, perhaps? or # of Favorites, or # of Likes ) or eliminate it entirely.
I don't know how it would sit with the readers who do vote, either. Granted, you get almost as many comments here as you get votes, but there are always a subset who prefer to show their approval without having to come up with words. I'm sure there are those who don't feel comfortable leaving comments on contest stories, as well. That's fairly common for a variety of reasons.
Maybe just replace it with a like button? No dislike. Convert the current # of votes each story has over into the like count.
That would certainly stick in the craw of anybody who purposely put a malicious lower vote on a story — changing their poo-flinging into defacto approval. LOL
Then those readers who prefer the silent approval can see it stamped on the story, and know they've made their contribution.
Just spitballing some things, as I'm perfectly fine with things as they are.
I don't know how it would sit with the readers who do vote, either. Granted, you get almost as many comments here as you get votes, but there are always a subset who prefer to show their approval without having to come up with words. I'm sure there are those who don't feel comfortable leaving comments on contest stories, as well. That's fairly common for a variety of reasons.
Maybe just replace it with a like button? No dislike. Convert the current # of votes each story has over into the like count.
That would certainly stick in the craw of anybody who purposely put a malicious lower vote on a story — changing their poo-flinging into defacto approval. LOL
Then those readers who prefer the silent approval can see it stamped on the story, and know they've made their contribution.
Just spitballing some things, as I'm perfectly fine with things as they are.
Quote by nicola
I love your philosophy.
I read stories based on a multitude of factors. Those which have an interesting title, a one liner which draws me in, enticing tags ... And a quick scan of the first paragraph will be enough usually to see if the author has the chops or piques my interest.
I suspect most people feel the same.
Maybe we should do away with the scoring system altogether?
Errant Smut Slinger
Not even close to famous, but my Horrorween story is live! Go give "Innocent Blood" a read and a vote, won't you?
Shy virgin Kara receives a dire prediction from the fortune teller at the Halloween Festival.
https://www.lushstories.com/stories/horror/-innocent-blood-.aspx
Shy virgin Kara receives a dire prediction from the fortune teller at the Halloween Festival.
https://www.lushstories.com/stories/horror/-innocent-blood-.aspx
Errant Smut Slinger
Thank you much. Now, to see if I can finish it this year, or if it finds a home in the Next Year folder yet again.
Errant Smut Slinger
I know the policy on using song lyrics, but how about movie and television quotes, or attempts to emulate them? I'm fairly certain I've used a few of these before, because I'm me, but that would have been the odd one-off, and this one is using it a lot more extensively, and is a critical element of the storyline.
I've got a story going where the MCs are dressing up as the Joker and Harley for a Halloween party. They're trying to win a contest, and both do good impressions of the characters, on top of having crafted excellent costumes. It's their ace in the hole that they think will make them stand out.
I don't use many of them, but I am using a few lines that are direct quotes from across the Joker canon. "Wait 'til they get a load of me" from '89, "Why so serious?" from Dark Knight. I'm also using some paraphrasing of lines such as "You put the fun in funeral" from Harley. The first two are actually attributed in the narrative, because it fits into the story. He's dressed as BTAS Joker, doing the Hamill voice, and borrowing lines from other Jokers for his impression. If I have him doing any Hamill lines, there's no logical reason to attribute them in the narrative beyond pure nerdosity of quoting episode numbers or titles, which I don't feel like fits the character.
As to the emulation, that's the nicknames, which are used far more frequently. Mr. J, Puddin', Pumpkin Pie. and the general not ha-ha funny, more stab-stab funny style of the dialogue of the characters.
( That last description is itself a quote paraphrase from the Arkham Redemption sketch on Robot Chicken. See why I say there's little doubt I've done it before? )
Figured I'd ask in advance, so I know if I can post this one here. ( 'Cause I ain't changin' it
)
That's provided I actually finish the damn thing this year. I plotted it out two years ago. Wrote the opening scene last year, and finally got to the part I'm asking about this year.
I've got a story going where the MCs are dressing up as the Joker and Harley for a Halloween party. They're trying to win a contest, and both do good impressions of the characters, on top of having crafted excellent costumes. It's their ace in the hole that they think will make them stand out.
I don't use many of them, but I am using a few lines that are direct quotes from across the Joker canon. "Wait 'til they get a load of me" from '89, "Why so serious?" from Dark Knight. I'm also using some paraphrasing of lines such as "You put the fun in funeral" from Harley. The first two are actually attributed in the narrative, because it fits into the story. He's dressed as BTAS Joker, doing the Hamill voice, and borrowing lines from other Jokers for his impression. If I have him doing any Hamill lines, there's no logical reason to attribute them in the narrative beyond pure nerdosity of quoting episode numbers or titles, which I don't feel like fits the character.
As to the emulation, that's the nicknames, which are used far more frequently. Mr. J, Puddin', Pumpkin Pie. and the general not ha-ha funny, more stab-stab funny style of the dialogue of the characters.
( That last description is itself a quote paraphrase from the Arkham Redemption sketch on Robot Chicken. See why I say there's little doubt I've done it before? )
Figured I'd ask in advance, so I know if I can post this one here. ( 'Cause I ain't changin' it
)That's provided I actually finish the damn thing this year. I plotted it out two years ago. Wrote the opening scene last year, and finally got to the part I'm asking about this year.
Errant Smut Slinger
I miss ICQ. I'll always associate that "Uh Oh" with my Baileykins, as that's primarily how we communicated before she moved in. Especially after the thousand dollar phone bill. LOL
I had for about fifteen minutes, in hopes I could use it as my email alert when they killed off messenger. I instantly hated it and went on an extermination run to get rid of it. The raging disease that is Itunes has never, and never will be on anything I own.
If you want to talk about a frustrating program related to , Netmeeting beats it hands down. Complicated and wonky as hell.
I had for about fifteen minutes, in hopes I could use it as my email alert when they killed off messenger. I instantly hated it and went on an extermination run to get rid of it. The raging disease that is Itunes has never, and never will be on anything I own.
If you want to talk about a frustrating program related to , Netmeeting beats it hands down. Complicated and wonky as hell.
Errant Smut Slinger
Quote by noll
Not sure what phone you have, but on iOS Chrome is really just a wrapper around a dumbed down Safari engine. It's not related to Chrome on any other platform (except for the shared WebKit origins).
Galaxy S9. Would test on my tablet as well, but I haven't had it on the charger since I finished my last gaming session, and it's dead as a doornail.
Errant Smut Slinger
Maybe time isn't going to be a factor after all. I'm already writing the main culmination, with only a little closer that follows that.
At 3400 words already, staying in the limit is still going to be a problem.
Later: Or maybe not. First draft clocked in at a little over 4200 words, leaving me 700 some-odd to play with when I give it a read after working on something else to get it out of my head. I'm thinking I can add a little more imagery to one scene, which is the "horror" part of it, and perhaps tweak a few more weird details out of the sex.
Twelve hours from concept to first draft. It's so nice when that happens.
At 3400 words already, staying in the limit is still going to be a problem.
Later: Or maybe not. First draft clocked in at a little over 4200 words, leaving me 700 some-odd to play with when I give it a read after working on something else to get it out of my head. I'm thinking I can add a little more imagery to one scene, which is the "horror" part of it, and perhaps tweak a few more weird details out of the sex.
Twelve hours from concept to first draft. It's so nice when that happens.
Errant Smut Slinger
Don't know what it could possibly be. I certainly didn't modify anything overnight, and after clearing the cache + disabling all extensions, there was no change. No issues anywhere else on the site, or on any other site. I'm getting pagination for the emoticons on the left side as I'm typing this.
Really weird. I'm using Chrome on my Win 10 PC.
Just checked on my phone, and it's working perfectly fine in Chrome there.
Really weird. I'm using Chrome on my Win 10 PC.
Just checked on my phone, and it's working perfectly fine in Chrome there.
Errant Smut Slinger
Yeah, it worked in Opera.
Strange that it was working perfectly fine in Chrome last night. I always upload my cover image and banner just before or just after submitting a new story, and I always check to make sure the image is there after uploading. Had no problem clicking the page number and confirming the upload last night.
Unless Chrome or a plugin auto updated overnight, I don't know what could be causing it.
ETA: cleared my cache, disabled all extensions, and still no luck in Chrome.
Strange that it was working perfectly fine in Chrome last night. I always upload my cover image and banner just before or just after submitting a new story, and I always check to make sure the image is there after uploading. Had no problem clicking the page number and confirming the upload last night.
Unless Chrome or a plugin auto updated overnight, I don't know what could be causing it.
ETA: cleared my cache, disabled all extensions, and still no luck in Chrome.
Errant Smut Slinger
Just checked again, and no pagination for me.
ETA: Okay, I logged in through Opera, and it works there. Still no love in Chrome, which is what I usually use to access Lush ( and everything else related to this pen name )
ETA: Okay, I logged in through Opera, and it works there. Still no love in Chrome, which is what I usually use to access Lush ( and everything else related to this pen name )
Errant Smut Slinger
Got a concept, but fitting it into the word limit and finding the time to write it is a problem, as usual.
Errant Smut Slinger
I was going to grab the banner I uploaded for my latest story, and discovered that the pagination for the hidden galleries isn't generating. That means I can only access page 1, where the image I want isn't. This was working last night when I uploaded the banner.
Errant Smut Slinger
As it stands, any vote that drops the score below a perfect 5 seriously impacts its future readership. It doesn't have any immediate effect, but the lions share of views coming from readers who didn't discover you through another story already are coming in from the "most popular" and "most viewed" lists — and disproportionately from the top half of the first page of those lists, which more or less means a perfect 5 is required.
Though it does seem to me that there's been an attitude shift within a large enough segment of the readership away from "all or nothing" voting to begin to chip away at that. Time will tell whether it has an impact on those two critical lists, moving the 5 boundary closer to the top of page 1.
If I'm right about that trend, and it has the expected impact, the problem has already been solved, and will just take time to erode away the all or nothing wall. If scores less than 5 land more frequently in that sweet spot, the impact of a "4 bomb" will become less of a heart-wrenching experience.
At which point, everyone will move on to dirges about "3 bombs".
Though it does seem to me that there's been an attitude shift within a large enough segment of the readership away from "all or nothing" voting to begin to chip away at that. Time will tell whether it has an impact on those two critical lists, moving the 5 boundary closer to the top of page 1.
If I'm right about that trend, and it has the expected impact, the problem has already been solved, and will just take time to erode away the all or nothing wall. If scores less than 5 land more frequently in that sweet spot, the impact of a "4 bomb" will become less of a heart-wrenching experience.
At which point, everyone will move on to dirges about "3 bombs".
Quote by sdsioux
I got a response to a story that I gave a 4 rating to and the response was "you win you learn." A 4 rating is good. Does that mean that anything short of 5 is a failure? I really think something needs to be done.
Errant Smut Slinger
I think it varies by site.
Where you have a wider range of narrower categories ( such as here ) deviance isn't nearly as shocking, because the category chosen will typically be a bright neon sign saying "This is something different than you're used to."
The same applies to sites that use tag based navigation rather than categories. The tags will be prominent in the listings, and provide that same neon sign.
When you have a smaller selection of wider categories, it can get dicey. You may not know what you're getting into until it hits you in the face. That's where readers get irritated by deviations from the norm.
Here, there's not much reason to worry about the occasional one-off, or even branching out into a new area of interest. Longtime readers may get irritated if an author completely takes a branching fork, and doesn't continue to produce some of the work they're known for. If an author is just expanding their horizons, while continuing to produce the familiar work people are used to, readers aren't going to mind much. If it's something they know they're not going to like, there's that neon sign saying "Skip this one and wait for the next release."
On a site like Lush, the categories are going to betray any attempt to be completely unpredictable.
In my experience, readers by and large prefer a degree of predictability. How well they react to deviance is entirely dependent upon how deviant it is ( a strictly romance writer suddenly coming out with a sci-fi non-con story, for example ) and how many warning signs they have before opening it. It's investing time in something that makes you cringe and close it unfinished that causes readers to back away.
Where you have a wider range of narrower categories ( such as here ) deviance isn't nearly as shocking, because the category chosen will typically be a bright neon sign saying "This is something different than you're used to."
The same applies to sites that use tag based navigation rather than categories. The tags will be prominent in the listings, and provide that same neon sign.
When you have a smaller selection of wider categories, it can get dicey. You may not know what you're getting into until it hits you in the face. That's where readers get irritated by deviations from the norm.
Here, there's not much reason to worry about the occasional one-off, or even branching out into a new area of interest. Longtime readers may get irritated if an author completely takes a branching fork, and doesn't continue to produce some of the work they're known for. If an author is just expanding their horizons, while continuing to produce the familiar work people are used to, readers aren't going to mind much. If it's something they know they're not going to like, there's that neon sign saying "Skip this one and wait for the next release."
On a site like Lush, the categories are going to betray any attempt to be completely unpredictable.
In my experience, readers by and large prefer a degree of predictability. How well they react to deviance is entirely dependent upon how deviant it is ( a strictly romance writer suddenly coming out with a sci-fi non-con story, for example ) and how many warning signs they have before opening it. It's investing time in something that makes you cringe and close it unfinished that causes readers to back away.
Errant Smut Slinger
One of the big 3 ( SOL ) does use 10 point scoring.
There's virtually no difference in the scoring distribution. So much so, in fact, that the site runner implemented a complicated weighing system that virtually nobody understands just to make the visible scores spread out more. Raw scores have actually been hidden, because only Einsteins could make sense of the difference between the two numbers.
They even tried an optional split scoring system dividing up technical, plot/characters, and enjoyment for a while. Because the majority of the scores cast under that system were the same across all categories offered, it was eventually dropped.
It's the same no matter what system you use. Most people won't vote at all, even when given the option to do so anonymously. Those who do tend to be on the extremes. Either they loved it and give the max score, hate it and give the minimum score, or are jackasses trying to game the system by giving the lowest score they think won't be removed as fraudulent.
Likewise, no matter what scoring ( or contest judging ) system you have in place, a large segment of authors will believe it unfairly disadvantages them.
Yep. Just leave well enough alone. Lush can boast the highest vote to comment ratio of all the big three. A comment, no matter how simple, is of more value than a click of a score.
There's virtually no difference in the scoring distribution. So much so, in fact, that the site runner implemented a complicated weighing system that virtually nobody understands just to make the visible scores spread out more. Raw scores have actually been hidden, because only Einsteins could make sense of the difference between the two numbers.
They even tried an optional split scoring system dividing up technical, plot/characters, and enjoyment for a while. Because the majority of the scores cast under that system were the same across all categories offered, it was eventually dropped.
It's the same no matter what system you use. Most people won't vote at all, even when given the option to do so anonymously. Those who do tend to be on the extremes. Either they loved it and give the max score, hate it and give the minimum score, or are jackasses trying to game the system by giving the lowest score they think won't be removed as fraudulent.
Likewise, no matter what scoring ( or contest judging ) system you have in place, a large segment of authors will believe it unfairly disadvantages them.
Yep. Just leave well enough alone. Lush can boast the highest vote to comment ratio of all the big three. A comment, no matter how simple, is of more value than a click of a score.
Quote by nicola
I can confirm this is not true.
Traffic on the desktop site has remained around the same level since we made the switch over to the new mobile platform.
On the mobile site, we've actually seen quite a drop in traffic as a result of the change. It seems that quite a percentage of people preferred the no frills read only mobile site. That's probably where you're seeing the dip in views. It's not from more people using the mobile site.
When we first started, we had a simple thumb up or thumb down option. It didn't work.
No other site we researched uses a 1-10. It would be almost impossible to implement that now considering 55,000 stories have been voted on using a 1-5.
We tried allowing anonymous voting. It was abused, particularly during competitions.
The scoring will remain the same for the foreseeable future.
Errant Smut Slinger
Well, here was a nice bit of inspiration to try to get me writing again. I had someone reach out to me through my Facebook page, asking if she could read some of my stories aloud, while providing some visuals — if you know what I mean ;)
Part 1 of "Nailed" just went live on Pornhub, and it delivers LOL
I've had several readers mention what my stories have inspired, and even a few pictures, but video evidence... That's a new and welcome one.
There is a link on my website forum, as I'm not sure where this sits on the "competing sites" scale, so I'm not going to link it directly.
You can always open it up and read along if you decide to check it out.
Nailed on Lush
Hoping part 2 and many more will be along soon.
Part 1 of "Nailed" just went live on Pornhub, and it delivers LOL
I've had several readers mention what my stories have inspired, and even a few pictures, but video evidence... That's a new and welcome one.
There is a link on my website forum, as I'm not sure where this sits on the "competing sites" scale, so I'm not going to link it directly.
You can always open it up and read along if you decide to check it out.
Nailed on Lush
Hoping part 2 and many more will be along soon.
Errant Smut Slinger
I think I'm going to sit on my hands a while longer, since Gav is on a tear adding new features. Make sure the storm is over before starting the grind of going through my list to take advantage of them.
Errant Smut Slinger
Very nice!
I go on gaming sabbatical for a... uhm... few months *cough* and pop in to see new chapter coding and famous/legendary badges on the story pages.
Much appreciated, even though I'm going to have to go through my list and edit all those chapter stories to take advantage of it at some point LOL
I go on gaming sabbatical for a... uhm... few months *cough* and pop in to see new chapter coding and famous/legendary badges on the story pages.
Much appreciated, even though I'm going to have to go through my list and edit all those chapter stories to take advantage of it at some point LOL
Quote by gav
How does this work for you?
https://www.lushstories.com/?type=badge&badge=FamousStory
Errant Smut Slinger
When did that chapter linking option appear?
Nice.
....
Crap.
Now I've got to edit all the existing chapter stories.
Nice.
....
Crap.
Now I've got to edit all the existing chapter stories.
Errant Smut Slinger
Quite Neighborly just hit 29k ( on the dot, with a new comment, favorite, and score ta boot )
Give it a read and help push it over the top. Maybe that will help me get over my writing motivation slump.
Give it a read and help push it over the top. Maybe that will help me get over my writing motivation slump.
Errant Smut Slinger
Thought I'd do an update and some analysis as I try to get back on the writing horse. I've been more or less gaming since the last story came out.
Famous Track 20k+
Quite Neighborly 26237 -> 28348 (+2111) 5.0 score, Top of Popular for category, RR
Fixed Wright Up 26149 -> 27024 (+875) RR
Milf Allie 25786 -> 26585 (+799)
Selfie Stuck 21176 -> 22660 (+1484)
Her Cut to the Chase 25926 -> 26409 (+483)
Morning Jo 18925 -> 22868 (+3943)
Souvenir 21185 -> 21503 (+318)
Summer's Heat 21565 ->22138 (+573) RR
Jerk 21351 -> 21744 (+393)
Kitty in the Cream 22929 -> 23319 (+390)
Three Alarm 24217 -> 24517 (+300)
Hard Times 22506 -> 22823 (+317)
Good Will 23901 -> 24186 (+285)
New to the 20k+ club
Taste the Rainbow 20085
Sunny Daze 20779
Legendary Track
Nude Holly Day 81714 -> 83257 (+1543) 5.0 Score, Top of Popular for category
Dip in the Lake 60592 -> 60975 (+383) Since May, rather than Feb. like all others
A Fine Substitute 54190 -> 55974 (+1784) 5.0 Score, Page 1 of Popular for category
Like Riding a Bike 41763 -> 42739 (+976) 5.0 Score, Page 1 of Popular for category, RR
Naturally, my views stagnated without new work coming out. That's the #1 takeaway for anyone. Keep producing new work if you want your old work to be read. If you dig back through this thread, you can see the ebb and flow of views when I'm producing nothing, producing normally, and producing at an accelerated pace. The more new work you put out, the more your old stuff gets read, and work related to current work sees the largest bump in views.
The second thing is that an Recommended Read isn't necessarily a boost. Simply having that accolade doesn't affect readers all that much over the long run. In the short term, it has a lot more effect than it does once a story slips deep into the back catalog.
The third thing is that appearing on the popular/most viewed lists does affect things. Those lists are absolutely being used by readers, as evidenced by the stories appearing on the first page of those lists seeing a significant increase in readership. Those stories holding #1 spots get an even larger boost. I only just realized I had the #1 spot in Swingers yesterday. A Fine Substitute and Like Riding a Bike are another demonstration of the limited attraction of an RR. Substitute doesn't have one, while Riding does. Substitute is only a couple of places higher on page 1 of the Milf list, yet has nearly double the reads.
I will note that Substitute has an element of , as she's the mother of his FWB. That's probably a contributing factor.
Another one that's not completely in the data above is "Yule Snow", which has an RR, came out at nearly the same time as "Morning Jo", has a much stronger element, and yet is less than half the views. One contributing factor there is that reluctant Milf is my wheelhouse, so those stories are naturally going to be read more.
As for sticking to the theme of the thread, I'm going to recommend something that's years away from famous this time. "Jerk" is a ( currently ) two part story of a nerd who has been bullied by one of the popular boys his whole life. The bully's mom has always smoothed things over one way or another. This time, our nerd has had enough, and his bully is 18, meaning the whole game has changed. Mom needs to resort to more enticing means of placating him, and catching him staring at her tits gives her an idea.
The first part is linked above, as are all the stories now, so feel free to contribute to any of them by giving them a read.
Famous Track 20k+
Quite Neighborly 26237 -> 28348 (+2111) 5.0 score, Top of Popular for category, RR
Fixed Wright Up 26149 -> 27024 (+875) RR
Milf Allie 25786 -> 26585 (+799)
Selfie Stuck 21176 -> 22660 (+1484)
Her Cut to the Chase 25926 -> 26409 (+483)
Morning Jo 18925 -> 22868 (+3943)
Souvenir 21185 -> 21503 (+318)
Summer's Heat 21565 ->22138 (+573) RR
Jerk 21351 -> 21744 (+393)
Kitty in the Cream 22929 -> 23319 (+390)
Three Alarm 24217 -> 24517 (+300)
Hard Times 22506 -> 22823 (+317)
Good Will 23901 -> 24186 (+285)
New to the 20k+ club
Taste the Rainbow 20085
Sunny Daze 20779
Legendary Track
Nude Holly Day 81714 -> 83257 (+1543) 5.0 Score, Top of Popular for category
Dip in the Lake 60592 -> 60975 (+383) Since May, rather than Feb. like all others
A Fine Substitute 54190 -> 55974 (+1784) 5.0 Score, Page 1 of Popular for category
Like Riding a Bike 41763 -> 42739 (+976) 5.0 Score, Page 1 of Popular for category, RR
Naturally, my views stagnated without new work coming out. That's the #1 takeaway for anyone. Keep producing new work if you want your old work to be read. If you dig back through this thread, you can see the ebb and flow of views when I'm producing nothing, producing normally, and producing at an accelerated pace. The more new work you put out, the more your old stuff gets read, and work related to current work sees the largest bump in views.
The second thing is that an Recommended Read isn't necessarily a boost. Simply having that accolade doesn't affect readers all that much over the long run. In the short term, it has a lot more effect than it does once a story slips deep into the back catalog.
The third thing is that appearing on the popular/most viewed lists does affect things. Those lists are absolutely being used by readers, as evidenced by the stories appearing on the first page of those lists seeing a significant increase in readership. Those stories holding #1 spots get an even larger boost. I only just realized I had the #1 spot in Swingers yesterday. A Fine Substitute and Like Riding a Bike are another demonstration of the limited attraction of an RR. Substitute doesn't have one, while Riding does. Substitute is only a couple of places higher on page 1 of the Milf list, yet has nearly double the reads.
I will note that Substitute has an element of , as she's the mother of his FWB. That's probably a contributing factor.
Another one that's not completely in the data above is "Yule Snow", which has an RR, came out at nearly the same time as "Morning Jo", has a much stronger element, and yet is less than half the views. One contributing factor there is that reluctant Milf is my wheelhouse, so those stories are naturally going to be read more.
As for sticking to the theme of the thread, I'm going to recommend something that's years away from famous this time. "Jerk" is a ( currently ) two part story of a nerd who has been bullied by one of the popular boys his whole life. The bully's mom has always smoothed things over one way or another. This time, our nerd has had enough, and his bully is 18, meaning the whole game has changed. Mom needs to resort to more enticing means of placating him, and catching him staring at her tits gives her an idea.
The first part is linked above, as are all the stories now, so feel free to contribute to any of them by giving them a read.
Errant Smut Slinger
Personally, I worry less about eliminating the word, and more about limiting how many times it is the beginning of a sentence in succession. That's what's visually jarring. ( Applies to any word, really, but names, pronouns, etc. are the most common repetitions ) It sticks out when it begins several sentences in a row. Anywhere else in the sentence, the eye passes right over it without so much of a speed bump. The same applies to having it start multiple paragraphs in a row, when you're writing with the shorter paragraphs suited to reading on a screen.
If you go overboard with eliminating the word, it doesn't come off as natural. To me, the goal is to keep the narrative sounding as much like natural speech as possible, while making it more visually appealing.
I'm talking about natural "storytelling" speech, which is a different animal from conversational speech to begin with.
If you go overboard with eliminating the word, it doesn't come off as natural. To me, the goal is to keep the narrative sounding as much like natural speech as possible, while making it more visually appealing.
I'm talking about natural "storytelling" speech, which is a different animal from conversational speech to begin with.