Quote by Jen
No worries
One at a time, please. We're super busy, so we ask that people wait until they've had something published before submitting another. We generally just return subsequent submissions if the author has more than one waiting.
Good to know, Thanks. I shall continue to wait. Sometimes the anxiety limbo gets to me and I just channel it into another story, but sometimes that doesn't help the anxiety limbo. That's why I wanted to check.
I have been trying to look to see if this has been posted any where else, if someone else asked it or not, so if I missed it, and someone else has already asked this, I apologize. But are we allowed to submit more than one story at a time? Like if we have drafts that are ready, do we gotta wait for the mods to approve one story at a time before we send in another or can we send more than one at a time? For instance, if we are trying to clear our drafted stories out, or if we are working on a series or on the omnium track, or trying to do a collab while someone is avail to do a collab (which may be posted on the other person's profile if need be ) etc?
Gotcha, Thanks to both of you for your replies. Much appreciated!
So in my quest for the omnium badge, I am wondering how strict the mods are with category strictness, especially if things overlap. Could someone write an erotic poem on a true event and put it in the true category? I know the only category supersede is 'incest fantasy' but what about the other ones? like with the true poetry idea, or like a cuckold that is also about loving your wife, does it go in wife lovers or cuckold, is it the author's choice, or is it like the mods' final say on category regardless of the author's placement, (unless the author puts a note for the mod upon submission) I'm just wondering about this cos a lot of my ideas for stories do straddle a few categories, and while I may try to put it in one category to get the omnium badge, it may get moved by the approving mod, if they think it belongs better in another category, where I have already posted a story for. So just wanted to know how strict the mods are with that, to keep mindful of it as I go along. Thanks.
Quote by RowanThorn
Age verification on porn sites is something we need but is tough to implement. Honestly, we don’t need a 12-year-old surfing porn sites with no context.
That being said it’s also nearly impossible to set it up without privacy issues being fundamentally questioned. So I agree with these verifications in spirit but there’s no great framework with how to make it work.
This sounds like a failure of parenting if adolescents access adult sites, Yes, age verification is important but most adults/parents don't know how to set up parental blocks on the media services they pay for, to protect underage eyes from seeing things they don't need to see. Teach parents that, and it solves a large chunk of the problem, That way when folk are of appropriate age, they can do grown folk things.
Oooh yay an Omnium Badge thread, I went looking to make one cos I am on that quest too! But yay its already been made/started by someone else. I made a check list on a Google Doc to keep track, just like I have a Google Doc of my to-be-written erotica queue list of ideas, and basically go down the list of either and match them up. I made a list of all the categories and then I put check list boxes by them, and when I submit a story in the category I check it off once the story is approved. I know I have a few that are more than one, but that's a different list in a different doc of how many of each, or it may even be in a long hand notebook somewhere that I used to keep near my desk to jot down stray ideas that are easier to write long hand than type. But yeah! I am loving the journey to the Omnium Badge, I already know which categories will be hardest for me to write, So I am saving those for last probably.
I am curious, how readers decide to read a story. Do you see the title and go 'hey this looks good' and dive in right away? or is there more of a process of Oooh, this title seems intriguing, followed by an ah yes the cover art looks even more interesting ( and if there is no cover art do you navigate away?) and then finally, having the first line draw you in and you just have to see where it goes? or some variant of that?
Do you only read erotica stories when you are looking to get off and if you go soft then you don't finish the story? Do you read the stories for the art of eroticism depicted within it? Just curious how people go about picking a story and reading it to the end, probably cos I am struggling with reading things myself lately and am trying to understand why that is.
Does the format of the story vs poem come into play at all? For anyone with reading disabilities, are there certain things you take into consideration to help you read when you really want to? I'm curious to everyone's thoughts on this.
1. Who are you (e.g. pen name, how you make a living etc)? Luce Devlin. I work freelance (misc. fields).
2. If you could host a dinner party for any five people (dead or alive), who would they be? Okay, I need to do two dinner parties, The first one would have Octavia Butler, Laurell K. Hamilton, Douglas Adams, Jim Butcher, and Anne Rice, and then the second party would have Sojourner Truth, Laverne Cox, Michelle Obama, JK Rowling, and Donna Haraway. Mostly because I feel like the conversations that would spawn during both dinners would be very interesting. LOL.
3. Riskiest place you’ve done it? Eh. In my parents' house, had to be quiet and try not to get caught.
4. Best writing tip you’ve ever received? Write the things you most want to read.
5. Which famous author does your writing most resemble? Oh geesh, hell if I know, that's something someone else will have to tell me and no one has compared my work to any other writer, that I can remember? I think I am too weird that I kind of stand apart from the crowd a bit.
6. Favourite story (and author) on Lush? Heh, well it's not on here anymore since she left and came back, but it won a comp, it was the story Catharsis by Violet Vixen. And regarding my favorite Lush Author in general, I honestly need to read more on here to say anyone overall. But to list a favorite story that is still on here, I will shamelessly plug one of my own stories, which is The Offering of A Reborn Bastard. It's not a comp story, but it is one of my favorite stories that I wrote.
7. Any advice for new members of Lush? Don't be afraid to be your authentic erotic self. Just because what you write isn't trending, doesn't mean someone out there isn't enjoying your work and is too quiet to say anything. People notice you even if you think no one is. It is one of the things I have learned being on this site. Keep writing if it makes you happy. Cos ultimately your stories should arouse and entertain you, before anyone else. And my fave bit of advice specifically for erotica writers: Write hard (pun fully intended)
And for the non-writers new members of Lush - Leave comments, the writers appreciate it. And have fun!
I learned about tags from fanfiction - which is mostly to help filter out unwanted content. So my tags are mostly like warnings of 'Hey if you don't like stories about this thing, may not want to read this' cos I ultimately want my readers to enjoy the story and not get squicked halfway through and then abandon the story, no matter how good I think it is. That said, if there are things I write about a lot, where they have become a theme or a stock thing I write about, then I may leave it out, as it's not a key thing in the story, or if it is not a 'big deal' about the story, Like it's a wibbly thing using tags, cos you do gotta kind of omit some of them sometimes, and other times, it is like a 'head up' if you don't like this content click away, which, on a site like this with the tags on the bottom, I don't know how many people scroll down to look at the tags before they dive in the story or not, but like yeah.
Quote by M_K_Babalon
Hmmm.... I wouldn't say getting fixated on a certain thing makes one lazy. A one trick pony, maybe, surely. Doing the same thing in different ways, at least when it looks like improvement or some sort of innovation, is not really the bad thing you make it sound like. But I think those people can get stuck just doing the one thing, then it's not so much laziness still, but stagnation. The key probably lies in the stories, all the same thing on the basis, but what's inside. Steven King only writes horror, but I'm sure few books could be said to be just like the others. In a way any of this could be pidgeonholed, but they do it to themselves, anything else is "too hard" or whatever excuse.
I wouldn't say trying something new is jumping the shark, at least as far as the new being something different; going from bondage to watersports, or whatever. Perfecting the craft goes as far as ones mental conception, but is that perfecting ones own craft, or doing something that changes the entire thing as a whole? At some point a subject will be exhausted, at least with their own personal creative attempts, but I guess that depends on how flexable a certain thing is, and how specific a subject is. Bondage and Watersports seems like two narrow themes, while say, Lesbian, as the other user mentioned; so much can be done with that.
Hm, I feel your use of the term 'jumping the shark' reads a bit off?? To quote/copy paste from Wikipedia - Jumping the shark is a negative term "used to argue that a creative work or entity has reached a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with, or an extreme exaggeration of, its original purpose."
But yeah 'stagnation' is an interesting word, tho, I feel like if someone is stagnant, they wouldn't be writing at all? But like also, Bondage and Watersports have alot in common when you strip it down to the base emotions of both of them. They are both about 'tension' and 'release' which is the core of most erotic things and writing in my opinion. You build tension via foreplay and dialog etc. and then it builds to a release or climax. In bondage and watersports case, the release of the binds, or release of the hold in watersports 'case. But like that's kind of why I am asking the question cos when you boil things down as much as they can to the carnal forces of the matter, it borders on being 'formulaic' in a way. But at the same time its like how do you separate 'formulaic' from 'framework' like sentence structure is a framework, grammar is a framework, the plot diagram that some people learn in school, is a framework of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, but the fun can be to do things out of order, but then it tips the scales in a way of being 'experimental' 'esoteric' or 'avant-garde' and thereby only reaching a very niche audience if any audience at all..
I feel I may have digressed a tiny bit, but yeah. I'm pleased many people have weighed in on the topic/question, as it has been on my mind a lot and it is helpful to hear other people's thoughts/ opinions/viewpoints etc.
Quote by RowanThorn
I wouldn’t necessarily use the word ‘lazy’, but I have seen authors who have absolutely astounding output of very similar stories. There are some stories here that hundreds of parts and a couple thousand words each. I find the unengaging because it feels like it’s spinning it’s wheels after so many chapters. It can be done, no doubt. But it’s a challenge.
One way to look at this is refinement. Other way is to look at it as a fixation which doesn’t necessarily improve. There’s a place for that though. I have comfort shows I’ve watched dozens of times.
Also a good point! I do the same with comfort shows, and Refinement is a good word!
Quote by kistinspencil
What if it is a format that calls to you? I have written Micros exclusively for several years now. With 175 done and 99% with a lesbian slant, it does seem narrow and repetitive in nature, but I hope not lazy as proposed. I work hard making each distinct in character and action, something fully story-like, not a sex scene transcription. I hope that would overcome the "Right, here comes another" but I'm not sure it does most days.
I have written some longer pieces in a similar lesbian vein, but those did begin to feel repetitive, so stopped. Having no desire to dance hetero or embrace many of the category kinks, I settled into the Micro sandbox, where I can build my little castles.
This is kind of what I am getting at. Like what you describe sounds like you are more of developing a 'writer's brand' of being a writer that writes lesbian and/or micro-stories on purpose. I'm wondering where it becomes that vs. being a writer who can ONLY write a certain thing cos they are either too lazy to imagine anything else or don't want to imagine anything else. Or aren't experienced enough to feel they can write anything else or whatever the reason. That is specifically different than saying I want to be an erotica writer that only writes this kind of erotic content, so I am gonna write and share this kind of content and gather an audience/following that likes this content that I want to write and feel there should be more of or that I enjoy writing cos it turns me on and other people may be turned on by it to ..etc.
I will be honest I hadn't considered format so that is a good point. I was thinking mostly about the plot because while I sense I may have a growing reputation of some sort on Lush - after I started entering competitions before then it felt like very few people knew I was here lol - I have a long list of stories on my to-be-written queue and I am concerned at the similarity of some of the ideas and wonder if I am either getting lazy or if there is an idea that I need to write a few times before I get it the way I want as it were OR maybe it is just that whole ' a picture is worth a thousand words' adage, yeah? If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a concept or idea/ fantasy is - at least according to Lush - worth ten thousand, right? And maybe it's not just ten thousand words, but ten thousand iterations or interpretations of how that concept/idea/fantasy can be depicted or described/written?
Is it a sign of lazy writing, if one gets fixated on a certain idea/ fantasy and most of their writing is kind of different iterations or ways that fantasy/ idea can be written?
Like when does it become a style /brand/genre, vs, being a lazy writer or a writer who can only write one thing? Like formulaic writing of-- this happens, then this happens, then that happens, the end, and the only thing that changes is the names and maybe the backdrop of the world but everything else is the same.
As a Lush example if someone has a fantasy/kink and only wants to write on that, does that make them a lazy writer or is it like with other artists they are in a 'Blue Period' or a 'I really need to write these bondage kink stories out my system for a while ' as an erotica equivalent example? I am curious what other writers think about this.
Cos it's like how do you tell the difference between being pigeonholed as only writing this type of thing, and having a brand/ style to your work of 'oh they write really good bondage stories' or 'their style is like this' and it's because of the forty times they wrote a bondage story ( btw bondage is just an off the top of my head example) that is why they are ''highly recommended'' for readers to return to them, but if they change their mood and decide, oh, yknow what I want to write a few impact play stories now, are they a sell out cos they don't write bondage any more? Like when does it become 'jumping the shark' vs 'perfecting their craft' Thoughts???
I'd love to be a porn director for movies based on my erotica stories.
Agender Femme Boi / Trans Nonbinary and Aspiring Drag Queen
My everyday fashion, though, is basically a wrestling match between androgyny and comfort.
I like to exist between genders as well as challenge the expectations of them.
Quote by WilliamGrey
So, what do you look for in a well written character? I'm interested because I'm aware it's something I could improve in my own writing.
Hmmm, I'm honestly not sure. I haven't given it deep thought, but off the top of my head.... let me think...
... to be clear, first of all, the main characterization issues that get on my nerves in other people's writing are the women, honestly. Even LKH who is a woman, Anita Blake gets on my nerves after a while. Merry Gentry is marginally more tolerable. It is a male gaze world out there, and writing tolerable female characters who aren't just parroting some trope, is a real challenge.
I guess, I look for characters who may have their own issues but the story shows how they get past them. I know it's more realistic to have characters get stuck in their shit as people do, but, like people read to escape and to be inspired if you make the mirror too on point, it can be hard to keep reading cos its too close for comfort on how even in fiction, people get stuck in their own issues.
Like in erotica, if someone has a hangup over how they have a certain affinity toward a certain kink, for example, have them meet a character that helps them learn its okay to be kinky, rather than have them self-flagellate over it the whole story.
I guess it's like if I read a story and I still want to talk and hang out with a character from that story and learn more about them and such, then that is a well-written character in my opinion. I think of characters as their own people. I guess that is why so many writers people watch for fun. It's a kind of research to see how people act so they can duplicate it in their work.
Soo, the sexiest story I have written, I believe is this one -- https://www.lushstories.com/stories/gay-male/the-offering-of-the-reborn-bastard
It resonated in my mind for weeks after I wrote it. And it was edged for months begging me to write it. It was this story that made me feel, okay maybe I should look for an erotica publisher so more people can read it. I feel like If I had read this story in an erotica anthology by someone else, It would make the stories I return to often to re-read just because its so damn delicious. And I think it fully captures my 'style' of writing erotica as a writer. I often re-read this story feeling shocked that I actually wrote it and not someone else who is like professionally published and well known.
Just when I thought getting a COMMENT on my stories was good, y'all went and added tips. This is a neat idea, I hope it doesn't get tossed in a few months/years time because people took advantage/abused it. I have been on this site a long time ...ish. But no one really noticed me until I got brave enough to enter the comps. It's easy to forget how big this site is. But still, hope the tips/coins thing is a step in a hopeful and helpful direction. Makes me wonder - the comp entries, are they gonna get replaced by 'coins' ?? I have never won one, so I have no idea how the top three prizes work. I would hope the top three slot prizes stay the same but maybe some coin tips for the runner ups could be good? I don't know.
Quote by WilliamGrey
I used to find the Merry Gentry and Anita Blake Vampire Executioner novels of Laurel K. Hamilton a real turn on as she has some brilliantly erotic sex scenes.
I eventually went off them after one book got to chapter four and the main characters were still in bed; you can have too much of a good thing.
I am a fan of those books too. I left for a different reason. But I do like the scenes / books I read of both those series, and a series of similar genre like Keri Arthur and Sunny but I am very picky about how characters are written and LKH kind of ... didn't meet my standards LOL.
Quote by Ensorceled
So what's the easy way to get to the comp entries now that the big banner is gone?
I typically click on my entry (or any entry - I have a few in my reading list I still need to read and maybe one or two in my favorites) and then click that entry link in the top right of the story. Then bookmark the page for good measure.
Quote by Ensorceled
I really like stand alone stories that share a universe with other stories. I wouldn't call it a series or link them together. Maybe a hint the stories share characters and events, at most.
I feel like when I think of writing series - it is a lot like this model. I would call it a series or link them together though, in case someone wants to stay in the world and see other stories in that world, kind of like an an anthology or mini omnibus of a world - snapshots of different lives of people who live in the world thru the vignettes, and stories / poems type thing, is kinda how I imagine it.
Quote by Jen
Honestly, this is the first I've heard of that, so not intentional, but good that it fits in!
Maybe it can unintentionally happen on another year? Max Word Count Comp only in November! 
Happy November Lushies! I must admit it is quite clever that they had this max word count competition to occur during NaNoWriMo. This is I think my first november competition, is this a common and intentional thing every year? If there was a comp in november that I was in in the past - I probably wasn't doing NaNoWriMo at the same time, but I think the irony/possible coincidence was thoughtful and amusing?
Just logged in to see the changes. I do like the new layout as I have seen so far. I may have to re-word my bio a tiny bit since they they have a drop down option to read more - and I am wordy, so that's the only thing I have noticed so far that I may change, but I think it looks cool so far.
Quills (a movie staring Geoffery Rush based on a written play by Doug Wright about the historical figure the Marquis de Sade the father of Sadism - we get the word from his actual name, I believe).
that is the first movie/book/play that came to mind. It depends though how you are defining erotic.
What is your main motivation for coming to Lush Stories?
I wanted an outlet to write my erotica - learn my kinks etc. Esp. since I am into weirdly specific things that don't show up the way I wanted in mainstream erotica that I have read so far. So I figured I would write my own. And Literotica did not look very user friendly to me. I am also very much an erotica geek so I wanted to find other geeky friends to talk to literary analysis style about erotica - haven't found that yet, but I am enjoying watching my writing skill and voice develop the more I write and post here. So thank you Lush Stories for existing!
Yes. Years ago. We didn't have the internet at home so if I wanted to watch or read anything online, including ...p0rn, I had to go to the public library to use the Wi-Fi there. I got pretty good at finding hidey spots near an outlet for me and my laptop.
Remind me - for comps we're are not allowed to collaborate, right? even for a long epic comp like the Noir one?
