The Value of a Good Image

I find the easiest and most rewarding part of the story to write is the dialogue. For that, of course, one really can't rely on pictures - but during sex, there generally ISN'T a lot of dialogue, and what there is tends to be somewhat cliche and repetitive. The action is likewise cliche and repetitive; there just aren't going to be a lot of big surprises there. (I should note that in REAL LIFE, I think sex is pretty great and I really don't mind if it's generally more-of-the-same, but in writing that can get boring pretty fast). The addition of pictures, if they are chosen carefully, can break up that monotony.

I also make it a rule that the story needs to be just as readable without the illustrations; the pictures don't replace the text, they match the text and supplement it. When I show a picture of Alayna the Warrior Queen, the next (or preceding) paragraph is a detailed description of that picture; usually less than the proverbial thousand words, but enough so that if the photo were absent, the story would be complete nonetheless. It's kind of like I write the story, and the pictures show what might result if someone tried to illustrate in photos what I had already written.

If I may be so conceited as to say so, I think that the illustrations work in my stories because I spend a lot of time choosing exactly the right pictures, cropping and editing and even Photoshopping them as necessary; and I use them as tools rather than crutches.

That having been said... I know what SeriousBrainDamage means about "killing the imagination". I'm a big Game of Thrones fan, but I found I could not watch the TV series; I had established images in my head from the books, and the characters and settings generally failed to match those images, and I couldn't reconcile it (the ONLY characters who looked like I imagined them were the Lannister twins).
 
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Xenolan said:
If I may be so conceited as to say so, I think that the illustrations work in my stories because I spend a lot of time choosing exactly the right pictures, cropping and editing and even Photoshopping them as necessary; and I use them as tools rather than crutches.
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I give you credit for that, i skimmed through some of your work, but i still feel like either they are an unneeded decoration (your case) or replace the actual story.
My opinion is just my own and maybe i'm a bit of an integralist, but when i feel like reading something erotic, pictures are just distracting.
Every medium has it's perks, sometimes i watch a porn or read a manga and i enjoy them, so i'm not claiming that writing is superior.
It's just different, and i don't like the contamination.

Xenolan said:
For that, of course, one really can't rely on pictures - but during sex, there generally ISN'T a lot of dialogue, and what there is tends to be somewhat cliche and repetitive. The action is likewise cliche and repetitive; there just aren't going to be a lot of big surprises there.
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You are missing the fun then...
 
SeriousBrainDamage said:
Also stories full of pictures feel rather bad to me.
I'm a novice at writing, but the strength of the written word should be that of unleashing the immagination, pictures just kill that.
Putting there a nice frame out of a porn, or a profile photo of an hot girl from the internet instead that coming up with a good, arousing description of your character is just cheap for me.
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This right here.
Whenever I see a story full of pictures, especially photos, I reflexively click away. It feels like either the writer is too lazy/bad to do any proper description work for their characters, or the writer thinks the readers are idiots without imaginations.
If the writer can't be bothered to describe why a woman is sexy, why should I be aroused when they go on to describe the sex?
I come to written porn to get something you can't get from pictures, videos or comics, so having those elements forced in is supremely unwelcome for me, like someone putting crisps in my ice cream.

Plus, I feel kind of weird reading a NonCon/Mind Control/Blackmail/etc. story, if it's illustrated with someone's real-life daughter...
I love me some noncon when it involves some imagined fantasy-girl (in fact, I feel like the ability to put those kinds of transgressive elements in is one of the big strengths of writter and drawn porn!), but I feel kind of dirty if I'm supposed imagine this real woman who I don't know getting raped... but that's maybe just me being weirdly selective about my moral compass
 
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Sthaana said:
Whenever I see a story full of pictures, especially photos, I reflexively click away. It feels like either the writer is too lazy/bad to do any proper description work for their characters, or the writer thinks the readers are idiots without imaginations.
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SeriousBrainDamage said:
I don't like the contamination (of pictures).
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Well, here we'll have to agree to disagree. Illustrations have been part of the writer's toolbox since moment one - actually, since the first recorded stories were told ONLY with illustrations, one could say that they were part of the toolbox before moment one. I find that illustrations, if well-chosen and used sparingly, can give the written story a life and color which it would otherwise lack.

Sthaana said:
Plus, I feel kind of weird reading a NonCon/Mind Control/Blackmail/etc. story, if it's illustrated with someone's real-life daughter...
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TOTALLY agree with you there. That's why I use pictures of pornstars. They're all still someone's daughter (the women are, anyway), but at least they had pictures taken with the full intention of having someone masturbate to them.
 
SeriousBrainDamage said:
I'm a novice at writing, but the strength of the written word should be that of unleashing the immagination, pictures just kill that.
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A story with a lot of pictures is just a picture story.
It's like the difference between a book and a comic/manga.
Neither is bad, they are just different.
(Though I prefer the pictureless version, only using a cover picture)


Xenolan said:
Illustrations have been part of the writer's toolbox since moment one - actually, since the first recorded stories were told ONLY with illustrations, one could say that they were part of the toolbox before moment one.
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I rather think that the first stories, besides cave painting, were told verbally (with facial play, intonation, and gestures).
 
I've seen pictures in stories work well, but then others that over relied on them too much. In essence if used well they can definitley enhance the story but you can also run the risk of readers skipping through for the pictures rather quickly than the story itself.

I've always hesitated putting art and images inside of my stories as one always worried about the rights issue and also because I'd spend too long trying one to fit the character/scene described.

I've always put value in a cover photo as it helps draw attention and can better sum up the theme of your story that the title and short description can, although can sometimes find it hard to find exactly what I'm after that is relevant and eye catching.
 
Cover art I see too often is porngraphic here, which is understandable. If you want to stand out not having a porngraphic image can't hurt. Having no image doesn't help at all.

For images within a story as long as the author uses them in moderation. everything in moderation is a good thing.
 
mindtheMILF said:
Cover art I see too often is porngraphic here, which is understandable. If you want to stand out not having a porngraphic image can't hurt. Having no image doesn't help at all.

For images within a story as long as the author uses them in moderation. everything in moderation is a good thing.
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I would disagree when it comes to having a pornographic story image. At least, as long as you bother to find something that actually matches up with the themes of the story.

Of course, since a lot of stories tend not to be very unusual in terms of setting or content you do end up with a bunch of generic nudity and in that regard I think "Less is more" is the best way to go. An example would be the story Bosom Buddies. I don't really find the story itself interesting to me but the image catches my eye every time it is on the front page.

In terms of image inside a story I think they can work but you do need to be careful. The combo of a good image and well written prose can play off of each other to make a stronger story than either would be by themselves.

However if you just toss them in so you don't have to go to the effort of actually writing stuff then that is obviously not such a good idea.
 
Images definitely help. My more popular stories are the ones with explicit pornographic images. I tried to be subtle by using black and white sketches for cover art, but those stories were not as popular.
 
Lasta said:
Images definitely help. My more popular stories are the ones with explicit pornographic images. I tried to be subtle by using black and white sketches for cover art, but those stories were not as popular.
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Yeah, I just realized that.
I added a cover image to my story, published a small, kind low-effort chapter (to link a side thread back to the main storyline) and woke up with over 50 notifications lol.
Before I added the cover, I only ever got maybe 30 max.
 
I often draw inspiration from images I see. For example, I'm currently writing a story, and the main hook is a couple of picture-inspired characters. I have decent writing ability, but I hit writers block a lot, and things like a set of 29 albums with Candice Brielle can hike up a story in my mind.
 
I did a bit of an experiment on this, with my Mutata Draco story.
After several months, the story had 16 chapters and 50 likes. I added a cover image and another chapter and, lo and behold, it's now got 93 Likes, a sharp increase in favourites, and a bit of commenting going on.
It wasn't even a sexy cover image.
 
I too conducted a small experiment. My Dawn of the Gods story had a very fluffy but unsexy cover, so I changed it to a less accurate but blatantly pornographic image and added a new chapter. Twenty new favorites in five days, dozens of "likes" and a half dozen comments the first day.

Anecdotal evidence is not especially revealing, but it would appear that pornographic images are used by most top stories for a reason.
 
I'll say that the importance of a cover image can be a bit overstated. I think the important thing is having one period; it makes a story look professional. But ultimately the story will live or die by it's own merits, not by how pornographic its image is. Obviously everyone's experiences will differ, but I know that the image for my story is the most throwaway of afterthoughts and never the less I've been pretty pleased with the response.

I'd argue that it's more helpful by far to make sure you're properly tagging your story's fetishes.
 
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