I have not sat down and started writing a spot of erotica in nearly seven years.
I've got ideas bubbling, nearly all the time...but I just have no incentive, at present to write one up. Back when I was actively creating, I'd enjoy a several hours long session of writing, attempting to paint that moment in time for my reader. Trying to place the scents, sounds, mood, lighting, textures, all the senses we humans enjoy - into the 5000 to 10000 characters, and then...as others have mentioned...I would enjoy the next few days of editing, removing extraneous tangents. Swapping synonyms, pursuing alliteration. The delectable turn of the phrase.
In my past, that end-result was always either specifically or generally targeted towards one of two different objectives.
Either I was attempting to trigger the mind-lust of a specific female reader, or...I was online and had been chatting with several different ladies and I simply grew weary of typing pretty much the same reply, every time a chat partner would inquire: "So, what kinds of things - do you enjoy, with your female partner?"
I'd created a small library of scenarios and would simply ask them if they'd like to read my mind, to obtain the gist of my preferences.
So, I was literally trying to increase my opportunities to get laid. To enjoy sex with women who were of an articulate nature, quite probably...after the sex (if it materialized) we could have a few more things to talk about, than cumshots, rimming her asshole, or how big my dick is or isn't. Truth.
Now however, I don't really feel that urgency or need to be fulfilled. I don't need the self therapy of jotting down recollections from my past. I don't require accolades nor applause, and certainly not criticism for anything I might throw down on my word processor or choose to share. I could care less who votes anything I present as a 5 star effort or a 1 star piece of drivel. I don't really care if anyone wishes to leave an easy comment about my stories, poems or something I may have thrown against the wall. If someone finds something that I've presented to be interesting enough that it provokes a comment to me - send me an email. It's more personal. That much I enjoy. Good, not so good, critical or inspirational. It means more to me, that way.
I know my limitations and especially after reading literally dozens upon dozens of other stories on this website, I have a pretty good idea where my imagination and story telling abilities sit...and I'm definitely not in the top 75%, but that doesn't motivate me to attempt to (become better - as, what really is better?) or to place my 'work' at the entertainment level of many, much more talented storytellers. I am comfortable where I sit, on the literary food chain.
When I was 18, 19, 20..I wanted to write. Stories. Entertaining tales. I was a voracious reader and admired those authors who mesmerized me on a continual basis. I still read a lot, not as much as I have in my past, and I still admire many authors, several I've come across on this site. Being a story moderator has its advantages, exposing me to many genres I would ordinarily never even venture into.
I feel that I need a kick to the pants to jump-start my creativity hormones again. Part of this lack of interest I think for me, is that I've since found other tools to explore other areas of creativity which I have come to utilize, to satisfy my craving for the creation of thoughts which careen through my brain.
But I miss writing. I love words, sentences and communication.
My other creativity outlet does not provide any of that. It is all visual.
What motivates you, to write your flavor(s) of erotica?
The same GQP demanding we move on from January 6th, 2021 is still doing audits of the November 3rd, 2020 election.
Interesting post!
What motivates me is the need to learn more about the art of writing. My end goal is to have a finished novel, but I'm not ready for that yet, so I keep writing short stories to try and hone my skills and pick up new tips.
I also love creating new characters and the challenge of trying to make a scene come to life.
My payoff is knowing that I could pull something out of my head and make it to where somebody else can make sense of it and maybe even enjoy it. I enjoy sex, so creating a story around it is even more fun for me. It also pushes me, and is good for me. My job is not academic and does not make me think, and this does. It is so much harder than I thought, but I can see what I ended up with when I submit it and it goes online. Some do it all the time but for me its still pretty fucking cool to see my own words on screen.
My writing - sigh - it is the love of words ... woven and creating a landscape that a reader can not only see as words, but see as an impression, perhaps even feel. When one Feels it ... I have done it well.
Choosing a correct word that conveys exactly what I hoped the reader can/may feel. This not only applies to my erotica writing, but to all my art forms. Now if only I could upload my calligraphy ... lol
Payoff for me - that I have finished it and others have read it ... that the story is not just for my own eyes.
The Bonus Points are the pms that says ... I loved it ... or wow, that sucked.
Van
I write what I like to write and read about. I guess I started writing because I was sick of the same story being rehashed all the time. I have these scenes in my head all the time.I work them over and over until I'm ready to write them...until they need to be written down.
Most of the stuff I have written isn't even erotica and I have yet to publish those somewhere. I don't care about scoring or comments either. My pay off is creating a world for the reader to lose themselves in for however long they take to read my story.
Why do I write? The short answer is I don't know. Story lines materialize in my head and roll
around ad nausium untill I let them out. I think I only went to erotica because I felt that there was a built in audience that would start the story just for the sake of the sex.
After doing this for awhile, I've learned that those who read erotica are really no differant than any other group of readers. They like compelling charactors and interesting stories as much as any other crowd.
What is my payoff. It must be those few comments I get from people who enjoyed my work enough to take a moment of their time and tell me how it affected them. That they became engrossed in the story or even that maybe they just became aroused by my words. In the end, is there a better payoff than that?
I've always written but mainly kept everything to myself locking it away after filling a notepad, Girlfriends would find them and read them and would praise it but i always took their comments with a pinch of salt. I have never written erotica other than what ive posted here (this probably shows haha) however after spending 6 months constantly reading other peoples entries i felt that i should give something back. I dont know if i was wanting to find out what people thought really but the first week or so after posting i get obssessed with viewing figures. Just knowing x amount of people have bothered to read what i wrote, i wasnt as phased by comments or scores but was touched by some comments and mails i received after. My main payback has been that its prompted me to start writing seriously and im now working on "that" novel. Who knows where that will take me.
Ive been quite lazy with my stories on here, I've written when my partner has gone to bed (she has no idea about Lush... and i think id prefer it to stay that way, i like Lush being "mine") and so only allowed myself an hr or two to get everything down then a quick spell check and posting them. In hindsight i would change lots in all of them.. but I think if i let myself critique them they'd never have got posted. In the "novel" ive rehashed every word at least a hundred times haha. My payback has defintely been some form of honest critique and the inspiration its given me.
When someone leaves a comment or sends a message to say how much they enjoyed a story, that's my payoff. When we're talking about erotica, often those comments are explicit. It's like having a lover roll over in bed after the deed is done and whisper, "was it as good for you as it was for me?" I am making love to the reader, and just as in making love, it's not just about getting yours, but knowing your partner got theirs.
I'm a wild and Krrraaazzzy Guy!
I have only been writing fiction for three months now, and it has been a steep learning curve.
The first story I wrote was an attempt to make concrete in my mind something that nearly happened one afternoon when I was nineteen and newly married. The incident had been playing on my mind for some reason I have no answer for, so I decided to get my thoughts down on paper. It involved my then wife and her lover. As I wrote I could not believe where the words were taking me. The euphoria the words elicited was bodily, as if I had ingested some new drug. As the words flowed from me I kept thinking to my self, "I don’t believe it, where is this stuff coming form, this incredible. How could words be taking me to this place?" It was reverie; I had passed to otherwhere.
I think it was Stephen King who said he did not regard himself as the creator of his stories, rather he discovered them, and that they existed prior to his writing them. He likened it to an archaeological dig; the thing was ready formed, he only had to brush away what concealed it. The tools he used would be words and sentences. That is exactly how I feel when I write. I start a story with some germ of an idea, usually an incident from my past or an encounter from day to day and see where it goes. It never fails to surprise me where we end up.
As I have mentioned on the forum before, I am totally hooked on writing. It has started to impinge on my business hours. I have had to be disciplined now and set time aside to do it. Pretty much the same as you would with a recreational drug.
So, Mr. WellMadeMale, to answer your question, I do it because it makes me feel soooo good.
P.S.
And Oh! Thank you for you kind comments on my Ghost FromThe Past story. The encouragement was needed and very much appreciated.
As usual, a thought provoking observation from WMM!
Let me see... Initially, on discovering Lush, I was so entertained by the various stories and styles that I felt almost compelled to try and match the ingenuity of writers who had turned me on... I have a facility with words, though my creative writing output has been limited in the past, and my day-job as a journalist and occasional broadcaster means that it's difficult to MAKE the time to work on the several 'serious' novels and screenplays I've started but not finished... Lush is different!
Here, one can write for a discerning audience about a subject that most of us are very familiar with, that is sex! I'm aware that my interest in the subject is possibly a little, (okay A LOT!) more than others of my acquaintance, (as far as I know...) yet as obsessions or even addictions go, I'm quite happy to admit an involving fascination for all things sexual and feel that if I am indeed obsessed than it's quite a benign obsession, and one I apparently share with thousands of other intelligent people on this site! Go Us!
When I mentioned to a friend and colleague that I was pleased to discover the Lush site and even more pleased that my own offerings had been well received his reaction was that only immature and/or frustrated people would bother to access such a site... My own experience and my conversations with several other writers on Lush absolutely refute this suggestion. I'd like to believe my own stories are imaginative, titillating and well-written, (after some editorial help and advice from the Lush Mafia, WMM included. Thanks Guys!) Other writers on the site display a stunning facility with story form, descriptive text, accurate dialogue, imaginative situation and entertainment value, frequently coupled with what I can only describe as "a sprinkling of Fairy Dust" that marks a true writer...
Anonimity helps. The stories I write are culled from my imagination for the most part, though incorporating many elements of my own life and experiences. It's puzzling that no critic has ever suggested that Tom Harris MUST be a Serial Killer in order to portray the character of Hannibal Lecter so finely, yet I can imagine that erotic story writers who specialise in Reluctance or might receive fewer party invites if that fact became known! I could not publish these stories under my own name merely because many of my friends and colleagues, (though not all) would be profoundly shocked to think I would write such tales... I am unwilling at this time to confront this issue, yet I notice many Lush writers do not have this hang-up. I salute them.
Writers write. It's what we do. Everything you write makes you a better writer if that's what you want to be. Good stories make you think. Good horror stories make you think and be scared. Good erotic stories make you think and come! Now where's the harm in that!
My ultimate payoff is that I've found a resource in Lush that both entertains me and allows me the privilege of entertaining others...
And saying all of this I realise I haven't posted a new story in weeks! I must remedy that!
x S
The reward for me in writing a story is just letting off the thoughts rummaging about in my mind. A few ideas for mini-novels sparked the firewood in my mind setting ablaze a storyline with which I began to write through the encouragement of a special someone who knows who she is.
Had it not been for her I never would have gotten past those first stumbling blocks.
Another part of it is seeing that even a single person enjoys what I've written.
Well I hope I never figure out
Who broke your heart ~ Baby if I do
Well I'd spend all night losing sleep
I'd spend the night and I'd lose my mind
The payoff for me is that someone enjoyed my work. It is also a creative outlet for me as well. However, there is no greater payoff than someone saying that they loved the story.
My writing is just something that can make me feel freer, something that I can produce to make others happy. Getting comments that tell me what they like, and what they don't like, is something that I enjoy because it just means I can learn about people: I can have a way to make people, generally, happy.
Plus, I need to work on my writing in more than just one kind of fiction!
Because my day-to-day work is so visual, I need an avocation that is not. When I approach my "day job" I know I am going to be successful, before I even begin. It's what they pay me to do. I also tend to turn avocations into careers. I make jobs out of them. Writing is something that I struggle with. It forces me to think, improve, and challenge myself. Because I am never satisfied with what I write, I have no worries about it ever becoming a career. (Career = people seek me out, and pay me money to do something.)
For this simple fact, my payoff comes not from scores, or praise, but from critiques, and insights on how to do it better. It is a puzzle that I can't put down.
I should also say here that the jump from visual story telling to the written word is not that big. In the case of the written word I just write what I see in my mind's eye instead of rendering it as an object. The trick is that not everything I see is worth writing about. When I paint I have no problems burying things in dimly lit shadows to bring texture to a scene, and emphasize a focal point. When I write, however, I tend to paint EVERYTHING in blazing, shadow killing, halogen light. It's a problem that I am working on.
My pay off is when I get it right. OH … and I don't just write erotica; but it is dark warm blanket that wraps itself around me, smelling of apple blossoms, and summer suns; and is woven with the threads of stolen kisses rewarded with breathless, wet-tongued encouragement. Who wouldn't want to write about that?
For me... long story short, I didn't realize before it was too late, that my marriage was absent of romance, and eroticism (not to be confused with sex), through my own fault... anyway, by the time I woke up, it was a decade too late to fix things, at least quickly... anywho. I started writing erotic romance to fill that void in my life. I'd been told since I was a a kid that I had a talent for writing. My stories began to receive praise once I was no longer too embarrassed to share them and that little hobby/outlet became a love. That was 3 years ago.
Now I write every day. Every single day,and have ventured into the world of publishing. Being published is just the icing on the cake. I didn't write to get published. I love writing so much, I wanted to do it more, but to do that, I'd have to get rid of my day job and replace that income... so, I started peddling my wares to publishers and I made the cut! (just barely, I suspect, but still)...
So now I'm working on improving my skills, in that dream to make writing my full time gig! People dream about doing what they love for a living and few of us ever do it. I decided to do it... and I'm on my way!
As for here, I love sharing my stories and helping others to learn more about writing. Plus there are some pretty sexy people about... hehehe.
you type a lot for such a small question. Something must have occured to make you fall out of love with the writing, but your still in love with all that writing means to you. 
