>>8615717
Everything you said is a prime example of things artists do to impede themselves.

>if I had any faith in my ability to write smut

Faith without action is just wistful, lackadaisical hope. Try hoping in one hand and shitting in the other, see which one fills up first.

The way you strengthen faith in your abilities is through work and experience. There are things that can't be earned except through doing. Even if you make something terrible, at least you have something concrete to look at and see, "okay, this, this, and this are wrong," and then you can focus on improving those things so they won't be problems. They might even become strengths. James Earl Jones used to have a debilitating stutter, you know.

>didn't want to take time away from my """serious""" writing.

So you actually do know how to write adequately? Then you must already be familiar with principles of good writing. All that applies just as much to erotica as it does to standard fiction. Hell, fetish fiction is even easier to write and hold people's interest, because the sex appeal is a built-it hook.

>proceeded to lose pretty much all motivation and horniness

That's an issue with inspiration and conviction, then. For things that take greater effort and time to complete, you need something longer burning than ephemeral arousal. It's like the difference between trying to run a marathon fueled by carbs or sugar.

>my [slow burn] style[...]has very niche appeal

Now you're just sabotaging yourself. Interest in slow burning stories isn't so small that it's niche. There are a lot of people who prefer slow burners.

What you said should be a red flag to you for your motives, if you're thinking less about making what kind of art that means the most to you and more about what you think will be more popular. If you really wanted popularity above all, you'd just write banal factory tour checklist stories

TL;DR: Stop being your own worst enemy anon, and make some art that satisfies you, for you

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