Literotica Authors 13: YKN4949

For about five years I have been conducting a series of interviews with authors on Literotica. This is the 13th in the series, with the author YKN4949. This author is very prolific with many multipart stories, most with a rating of 4.5+ (the standard to have a story labeled "hot"). I think you'll appreciate the insights that this author has shared with us.

I hope that you enjoy this series of interviews. Please feel free to send me your feedback, including suggestions of some of your favorite authors you would like to see interviewed. These are the words of the authors themselves; I have conducted a light edit only for formatting, typos, and consistency.

Your bio in your Literotica profile doesn't have much information about you. Would you be willing to share a little more info about yourself?

No, thank you. On Literotica, I am only YKN4949 and my profile and my stories speak for themselves.

Do you remember when you first discovered that you liked reading erotic literature? How did this come about?

I remember back in the early days of highish-speed internet, I had access to LimeWire. If anyone does not remember that service, it was a peer-to-peer file sharing thing kind of like Napster. Except, instead of music, it was EVERYTHING. Anything that could be put into a file could be shared and downloaded by anyone on earth. It was generally a cesspool of viruses if I remember correctly. But just the idea, at the time, of being able to find anything you wanted with the click of a button (and free!) was exciting. And I did find cool stuff on it, occasionally.

Once, I was looking for pornography on LimeWire (which was one of the fun things about LimeWire, in a time before streaming video). And I cannot remember the search I put in, but in addition to pictures and some short video clips, I saw that there was a word processor file (or something like that). Those downloaded much more quickly, so I clicked on it. It was an erotic story about lesbian twins. It was very bad. But it opened a whole new world of erotica to me.

As a thank you to the long-dead LimeWire, I make sure that all my writing is placed here on Literotica, where it is free to anyone who wants it.

When did you first begin writing your own erotic literature? What prompted you to write your own?

I don't remember exactly when I started writing, but it was at least a few years before I started posting it on Literotica. I had to teach myself to write before I felt comfortable letting other people read it. I am still not 100% comfortable about it, but I have gotten better about it.

I do, however, remember why I started writing. It was mainly out of frustration. I had a hard time finding the exact story I wanted. I would find stories, some by writers much more talented than I was or will ever be, but it would not be exactly what I wanted in terms of plot. I got sort of tired of starting to read a story, realizing I wanted something else out of it, and giving it up. I realized I was being too picky with other people's writing. And if there was something I really, really wanted to read, then I should go ahead and just write it. Maybe someone else was looking for it too.

Most of your stories fall into two categories: Transexuals & Crossdressers, and Incest/Taboo. Can you tell us how you developed an interest in these themes for your own writing?

The short answer is that I think both of those categories are extremely sexy and there is just a limitless pool of erotic potential there. But the more specific answer would be that I write in the Incest/Taboo category in part simply because it is easy to get lovey-dovey without losing the edge of the kink factor. I adore lovey-dovey stuff and usually want happy endings, but I also like to get weird! Incest/Taboo allows for that. These stories are about people who love each other, who would love each other anyway, but find that they want more. A different level. And they can't really be open about it. The love, more than the act, makes the taboo. And that just provides a ton of material. And on Literotica, we can go further than porn can (with its silly "step" sibling/parent thing) and tell the real taboo.

Beyond that, there is just the technical challenge. Relatives do not, generally, just find themselves in bed together. I strive for a rough realism in my stories, so a fun aspect of the Incest/Taboo category is maneuvering characters who are not primed to have sex with one another into a situation where it feels natural or inevitable. If it feels like it could have really happened, then I think it is hotter and I have done my job.

I write in Transgender/Crossdresser category because one of my favorite themes is that sex (usually good, loving sex) can help a person become a better version of themselves. Most of my stories follow along those lines, no matter how different the plots are. A YKN4949 story has a person, they have a problem, they overcome that problem with the help of sex, and come out the other side happier or more peaceful people. Usually, I like to have this happen by having characters accept one another for who they are through the power of sex. So my stories are often about spiritual or emotional transformation. And I just think transgender stories fit neatly within that. People who become themselves physically through their efforts are maybe primed to become themselves emotionally and spiritually too. Healing from pain through love and acceptance also comes naturally in this category. And one nice thing about writing transgender stories is that I hear from lots of transgender readers and have learned a lot about their experiences. They even help me write more accurately! I admire them a lot.

What is your typical writing style - do you work in shorter bursts, writing a section of a story and then putting it aside and returning to it? Or do you sit down and write a story from beginning to end? Do you work on multiple stories or poems in parallel, or sequentially?

I usually write in intense bursts where I am writing every spare minute for sometimes days, sometimes weeks. Then I can't stand to write. I read or watch TV or something, but I can't even imagine writing. I might stop in the middle of a sentence and just drop it. Then I will come back for another burst later. It can be frustrating, because I often forget what I was writing and must read the whole story again to get caught up. But I can't seem to get myself to work any other way.

And I can absolutely only work on one story at a time. I like to write the beginnings of stories the best, when you are moving all the pieces into place. The second half is often a bit more difficult for me. Not because those aren't fun scenes (most of the sex is in the second half of my stories) but because I feel like I have already done the work setting the scene and don't want to work anymore. If I worked on multiple stories at once, I would have dozens of starts and no completed stories. Actually, that was what happened to me early on as a writer. I had to develop discipline to finish things. And I found I could only do that if I finished before starting something new.

How do you decide between standalone stories versus those that have multiple chapters? When you start a new story, do you decide upfront if it will be standalone versus chapters, and how do you decide how far to take a story? Or do you make those decisions based on reader reaction?

This is one area where I have made a change in how I write based on my experience with Literotica. Early on, I would just write a chapter of a story. If readers liked it, I would try to write another one. Or I might have an idea for a longer story, publish a part, get some bad (or no) reaction, and give up on it. I found this to be unsatisfying for a variety of reasons. My multi-part stories either did not flow well (because they weren't planned out as multi-part stories) or they were prematurely abandoned.

So I started planning a lot more. Now, I come up with the story idea first. And I think of how many sex scenes that story would naturally have. Each individual sex scene is the anchor of a chapter. So, if I think through the plot of my story and it naturally has four sex scenes, it is a four-chapter story. If there is only one real scene in the idea, then there is just a standalone story. I let the plot I come up with dictate the length of the story, the number of chapters, and the number of sex scenes. Then I write the whole thing out.

Even when I wrote the Sultannah series, which was just a massive undertaking, I wrote the whole thing out before I published chapter one. That way, even if people hated it, I could publish the whole thing and it would be complete. I try to respect the story and hope it finds an audience. And I don't try to revive a corpse. If the story is done, its done. Even if the readers love it. Sorry everyone!

A comment on one of your stories (A Caged Bird Sings, part 1) states, "Your transsexual stories are superb. You are the doyenne of writers of such stories, because you combine maximum coverage of the sex acts with maximum quality of style. The two combine, of course, to yield the greatest enjoyment." In your writing, how do you balance the need for plot in your stories with the "hotness" factor necessary to get attention on Literotica?

First of all, thanks to the commenter - that was sweet! I don't necessarily have a set formula for this, but trial and error over time has sort of taught me what I (and my readers) like best. I like a ton of exposition. If you want a Gonzo experience, go watch porn. Porn is great, I'm not knocking it. You read erotica to get something different. Something porn can't do. I want to create a world and a plot that feels real (even if only real based on the sort of crazy rules I make up for that story). I want texture and I want real emotional connection. I want the reader to wonder how the conflict would be resolved, even if there wasn't a raunchy sex scene coming up (though, I promise, there is). Then, when I feel the story is real, I dig into the sex. And detail is key. Readers shouldn't have to do too much work with your sex scenes, they should unfold on the inside of their brains. So I guess my strategy is -- give it everything. Take the time to set up the sex so it is real, then respect the sex scene enough to give the detail it deserves.

When you're not busy writing your own stories, what are you favorite kinds of stories to read on Literotica, and why? Do you stick primarily to the two categories in which you write, or are there others you enjoy reading even though you don't write them?

I would say that I read mostly in the three categories that I write in (I also write a good deal of lesbian stories, though not to the same degree as my two main categories). Though I often have a hard time finishing other people's stories. When I find one I really love, it tends to inspire me to write more instead! Two other categories I like are non-human stories and sci-fi stories. I wrote one series (What It Takes) that was a non-human/sci-fi sort of thing. I enjoyed writing it, but I don't have as many ideas in that category. Maybe that is why I like it. Literotica writers can be so imaginative!

Many readers wonder about the sex lives of the authors they like reading. Are any of your stories based on your own experiences, or are they pure fiction?

I don't kiss and tell!

Outside of your erotica, do you do other types of writing, either for work or pleasure?

I do both. I write a lot for work. It is not fiction, somewhat technical. It doesn't scratch the itch though! I must write fiction. I also write some non-erotic, fiction stuff that I will probably never share with anyone.

Any specific advice you would give to authors new to writing erotic literature on Lit?

Listen to your good-faith critics. I mean, there are always trolls out there who write "this sucks." Don't worry about them, they are just trying to get a rise out of you or something. But there are some readers who will give you criticism you need. I remember I published an early story called "Scarlett's Challenge." It is an okay story (I mean it has a decent score, so I guess others liked it to). But one person wrote an anonymous comment about how they loved the opening paragraph because I wrote about a kiss that they liked. I remember the comment and looked it up again today. The person said, "That initial paragraph, a description of a soft seduction, charmed me into reading further. The story seemed to bog down with a repetition of tedious seductions. Try mastering the tease of that first paragraph in each lustful encounter."

When I first read the comment I was not happy. And I knew that meant that the person had struck a real nerve, not just complained about something dumb. I reread the opening paragraph, and then the rest of the story. And the anonymous commenter was right. The first paragraph, with all its tenderness and detail, was a thousand times better than the rest of the story. I used that first paragraph as a model for how I would write from that point forward. The detail, the care. The next story I wrote was "Never Have I Ever." It is still one of my most popular and commented on stories. I never looked back. That is just one example. There are dozens of times when I read criticism and changed the way I wrote to make it better.

So, ignore the trolls but don't weed out the legitimate criticism. My writing has gotten so much better because I try to listen to my readers.

Anything else about you or your writing that you would like our readers to know?

Just thank you all for reading my stories. I can't describe what a thrill it is to know that people read and enjoy what I write. Please do not hesitate to comment on my stories or send me a message (including on Reddit, where I have the same username and tend to reply more readily). It is a real honor to hear from anyone who engaged with my writing.