Writing Healthy Relationships

When I clicked on this article I hoped for an article about "Writing Healthy Relationships" Not your ramblings about your struggles as a transgender, and your kink shaming about "Ass to mouth" and such.

As someone who has recently realized they are a trans woman, this was wonderfully affirming to read! Thank you so much!

Thank you for your truthful and helpful essay. I found several points were well made and helpful. I do think you did oversimplify some of the "groupings". But on the whole I enjoyed your honesty and found your essay enjoyable.

I happen to be one of the "middle aged hetero male " writers who tried my hand at the TS scene. It was an amazing journey, and I found a lot of help from many on the site, and thoroughly enjoyed seeing my erotic attempt turn more into a love story. I will take many of your suggestions to heart if I can get back on track and write again. Thank you for your wonderful essay.

cliptoe

Full disclosure, I'm not into the ts/tg etc. category. I read this essay based on the title and it led me into facts I didn't really want to know. But I'm not sorry I read it, and I think your advice is useful to all writers, because generalized, it applies across ALL categories. Namely, know your subjects, know your target audience.

As a female who writes hetero stories, I know what you mean about 'realism' and even though I also agree with the complaints that 'it's fantasy, realism doesn't matter', it's the little realistic details that draw me into a good story. The complete lack of realism makes me cringe and move on, and both male and female authors are guilty of this at times. Generally, I think women care more about it, though. For instance, I know it doesn't matter if people wear condoms in a made-up story, but it feels better to me when I know people do, or at least discuss why they don't. Obviously no author can please everyone, and that's why we have the option to favorite the authors whose stories, and whose versions of realism, resonate with us. Thanks for the thoughtful essay!

Ok...This site pretty much helped me realize that there was something different about me. Silly I know, that an erotic literature site helped me realize that transgender was even an option. There are some good stories on here, and as someone heavily into the bdsm scene the submissive and even some of the reluctant consent stuff gets me going (not that I, or pretty much anyone would ever appreciate anything without prior consent, but I'm getting off topic here). You may be kinda harsh in your denunciation of stereotypes and overused tropes, as people have pointed out. However, not that anyone should really care, but even as literotica helped me on my first step to realizing my identity, with hindsight it has also been the source of my greatest misconceptions, fears, and hangups. Odd that a section of the site dedicated to tgs and cds has some of the most transphobic crap passed off as tg erotic literature... stories that feel the need to remind us constantly that the characters involved are "really men", stories that explicitly state that a transwoman has no way of ever living as successfully as a man, stories that interject about how the main character has to be an impossible 5'3 and that anything other than a birdlike frame wouldn't ever "pass". I believed some of this nonsense for the longest time; that I had to choose a career or my gender identity - until - shocker - it turned out to be categorically untrue. Stories written by people who know nothing about us, or transwoman who transistioned decades ago in a time when "transvestite" drag shows were the only acceptable profession, actually not only harm the public view of the minority, but can prevent some girls from getting the help they need.

Plus, c'mon guys. Us girls want to get off as much as you do, and when you use the wrong pronouns its a total buzz kill :P