I actually kind of get that. A lot of the times, images authors will use doesn't fit the one in my head and actually ends up indirectly distracting me from what I'm reading even if not intentional. That doesn't mean all images are bad, obviously. But I honestly, don't care for them being used with about every page.
Ah, I was more thinking of the times when I substitute an image for describing something: that "a picture is worth a thousand words" thing... This can be especially useful if what you're describing is something hard to put into words, like an aquatic humanoid species...
Yes, kind of. Authors can describe basically everything and if done nicely, each reader creates their own picture in their head. Then, there is an image which just shouts in your face "YOU'RE WRONG!" Or the image is basically a substitute for description, kind of an easy excuse to skip it completely. It is even worse when it comes to more complex scenes as there aren't enough pictures of one set to cover the scene, except the author is retelling the picture set. Also, an author can put your focus on a special part of the character's depiction which is important or just should be emphasized. Depending on the photographer, that might also apply to images, though then you need the perfect image. So if I read a story, I don't want to see pictures. (A cover picture is fine as it might influence the reader before reading the descriptions while it could also be understood as a concept and not as an actual depiction. Having pictures for writing purposes (especially in collaborations) makes sense as well, though the reader doesn't have to see them.) Well, I'm fine with floor plans, game boards or sth which just helps to keep the overview. And a thousand words are much better than a single picture
That is until you've spent three or four months trying to find the perfect thousand, or even ten thousand, words to convey the entirety of THIS: And your utter failure to do so has held you up in publishing your new chapter in a formerly popular story almost that entire time... EDIT: I tend to agree with you in general, you note how rarely my stories use pictures to describe things, but I sometimes find that there's just no other way to get my point across efficiently...
a rough outline could be something like "a purple, humanoid frog with wings, horns, and a huge, funny mouth with fangs" Well, to take that example, you could write things that aren't really obvious from that picture. Does it have two big and two small eyes or is it only one pair? Are that really wings on the back or some kind of bone? Is the skin rather wet and slimy, or dry scales? But I know the frustration not to find the right words ^^
I tend to avoid using pictures, although I would really love to, kind of because they burden you with detail. I know the frustration of having a great image in my head for something, a complex pattern of body paint or a way that the colours of the sky intermingle as the sun sets, and I know that I can't make people see exactly what is in my minds eye. The problem is that if I do include a picture it A) is most likely to not be exactly how I want it to be and B) locks in how I have to describe that thing from then on. Like in the case of that creature from Spore, I honestly wouldn't fully describe it when it was first seen. Maybe I would highlight something about the way it moved or smelt, something general that gives the reader a idea of it's size or some other quality I want to highlight. Then as the story advances and more details are needed I can point out its other features as they come into play. One of the things that make me bounce off of stories is when they give a detailed description of something the first time it appears. Also pretty much any story that starts "My name is X and I'm a Y"
Hmm don't want to kink-shame or open up any cans of worms, but I find a lot of race-based stuff kind of offputting. I get that for a lot of us different races are hot in different ways, but making a big deal out of it to the point of having interracial sex be the main draw of the story (as if it's still some kind of taboo in le current year) is just weird to me... Maybe it's because I'm not american so I have fewer hangups about race, or maybe it's because I model the stories I read and write on Hentai, where everyone is just "nonspecific Manga-race"... Another thing that makes me roll my eyes are what I call "halfway-kinks". That's stuff like Mind Control, Step-Sibling Incest, etc. Stuff where there's a clear taboo being prodded at, but never really engaged in. Like: "Yeah I'm turned on by women getting stripped of their agency and used for sex with no regard for their consent, but not, like, in a rapey way!" or "Yeah incest is hot, but not if they're related to one another..." Then there's photos mid-story. There's a whole thread about that, but everytime I see a photo of some random model on the page I just tune out.
Yes... I think that getting descriptions piece by piece creates a more detailed image in the reader's mind and stabilizes it over time.
I disagree. This method triggers the 'internal image violation' problem for me far worse than a photo or such. For me a photo SHATTERS the self made image, it's like "this is the AUTHOR'S internal vision of the character, DEAL WITH IT." and I either shrug or leave the story entirely. To my mind the 'death of a thousand cuts' of this slow reveal method is a far worse thing because it strings you along for fifteen or twenty chapters before you finally quit rather than doing it all at once: and when it is done all at once, especially if done early in the story I often don't get angry I go "Cool! So THAT'S what (character X) looks like!" and go right on reading with a clear mental image that I can bookmark and refer back to later.
I think the list of "what is a turn on" would be shorter: Generally it is anything that can cause illnesses (scat play) or is disgusting (urine play) Then there is ones I am too familiar involving rape: two or more men term abuse when it is not done right (a "cool down period" or aftercare) futa (I know there will be some hate for that) male sub (I imagine myself in the place of the male, and if the male is the sub, then I just can't get into the mindset, since it turns into me becoming the dom and making the domme the sub by any means) and the biggest one of all: COMPLETE DISREGARD for the core of BDSM (SSC/RACK, with the exception of the confusing consensual non-con, if that is established quickly)
I think I'm weird as being among the select few people who actually enjoys this over dom males. I like cute boy subs more than aggressive dom alpha male types....which is doubly weird since I'm really more of a masochist type myself but..there you go. And then it's made triply odd, as I sort of like dominant females more than passive and submissive ones. But then...I never really picture myself as the male character in most cases. I know that's not to the preferences of the vast majority of people on here, but they are mine.
I find mind-wiping mind control boring as hell in most situations. Various forms of mind alteration - fine. Temporary full mind control with further reaction and consequences - fine. Control over someone's body without control of their mind - fine. Sex with someone sleeping\unconsciousness - fine But I fail to understand how people can enjoy storylines that consist of fucking biosexrobots with no emotions (or always happy to serve emotions).
I do like dominant females, if their subs are also female. Playing as a female character with a sex mod (Sexlab in Skyrim) it's the same as male subs, since the character I am, is me. But writing, I can make the narrator character (if its in second and female) become either a sub o a Domme.
I've not seen anyone mention this in the thread so far, but I think I've mentioned it before in another. I really hate a story that starts with a complete anatomical description of the main characters. I will simply instantly stop reading at that point. This is a more readable example (the descriptions are shorter and interspersed with other text) of what I mean: https://chyoa.com/story/At-the-Cabin.6097 I'm sure it's a great story and certainly is about a topic I enjoy, but I just cannot make it past that first page. Also, as I get older (I'm still in my 30's), stories about teenagers. I prefer reading about people my age having sexual experiences, as a window to those things I'm not experiencing. Now that I've started teaching teenagers this year, I'll probably find them disturbing on top of being boring.
Coming back again a day later... I also hate it when a lazy author adds a new chapter to someones story and is inconsistent with the use of present/past tense or choice of first/second/third person. This should be a ban-able offence! At the very least, in moderated stories they shouldn't be approved!
That's why I always put my characters around my age (25 currently) and for the narrator, it is never truly mentioned what age they are. Until the next generation, teenager stories will always feel dull and boring. Thanks the majority of Millennials....
Really not into mind control, really more so mental changes like in many bodyswap stories...dealing with some new desires is one thing but becoming a completely different person just ruins the body swap/change. Also not into cheating/being cheated on, nonsexual body fluids (including diaper play)...just not for me.
