The beauty of Imperfections

Hello everyone. I’m trying to think like an author and realize that some of my fantasies might not tap into the sexual imagination of most readers. You see I have always had a weakness for women who are not conventionally attractive. I don’t mean unattractive women but confident, mature women with imperfections rather than lithe young women. Not that they aren’t attractive but I find an older woman with imperfections somehow more real. More forbidden than the perfect model material most people envision in their fantasies. When I say imperfections, I don’t mean disabilities or serious scars, I mean little things like crows feet around a mature woman’s eyes, a birthmark somewhere intimate, a a slightly overweight tummy or perhaps the kind of muscularity which (whilst not unnatural and unattractive), would rule her out of most people’s fantasies. A woman with maturity and stature who oozes confidence, that slightly slightly well built shy and awkward geeky girl who has a bossy persona and an unlikely form of beauty which leaps out only when she has cast her spell on you. That hippieish earth mother type with hairy armpits or the much older woman who is clearly elderly, nevertheless has a curvaceous and physical vitality which would put most younger women to shame.

I love imperfections but I fear most readers are hoping to read about slim perfect women who fit the traditionally attractive mold.

I suppose my question is, will writing about imperfect women as the most desirable individuals work on the page?

And also, if you are like me and find little quirks and imperfections incredibly erotic. What are those little idiosyncrasies and foibles which make a woman more attractive rather than less, driving you to distraction when you see them?

I think it works more in certain topics.

Like if you're writing for a milf loving crowd, then readers might like reading about slightly sagging breasts or some wrinkles, etc...

If youre writing for sci fi, then readers might like the dorky thing. Heck, a lot of people in all categories like the dorky college girl turned slut.

LucyHall2 said:

I suppose my question is, will writing about imperfect women as the most desirable individuals work on the page?

And also, if you are like me and find little quirks and imperfections incredibly erotic. What are those little idiosyncrasies and foibles which make a woman more attractive rather than less, driving you to distraction when you see them?

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I don't think that readers on Lit necessarily expect you to describe your character as if she were a porn model. That itself would be a niche, and there are no categories on Lit for "Fucking a porn model." Probably most readers want the woman to be attractive, but as the writer, you get to define what that means.

Don't be worried so much about what you think readers might want. Write your characters. Make them attractive, make them real, any way you want.

Personally, I'm not particularly attracted to imperfect women -- or to perfect women, for that matter. If you are going into detail about someone's appearance then it seems easier to describe the perfect, and much more difficult to describe the imperfect. In many cases, it might just be easier to limit your physical descriptions and let the reader fill in the blanks in their own mind.

I do tend to write my characters as young and flawless, but talent, character, personality, experience, and other things, are always part of the formula, and sometimes the most important part.

LucyHall2 said:

I suppose my question is, will writing about imperfect women as the most desirable individuals work on the page?

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The way to find out in your specific circumstance is to write it, post it, and then watch it. And that's how you learn to write well--it's by doing it yourself and then do it again and again.

Well that’s good to hear. I guess this is all about imagination for me and certain triggers I have experienced in my life. Writing about perfect women seems to me like a restriction on my creativity. I guess it’s the same as I feel about visual erotica. Art which leaves something to the imagination and vintage erotic photography which was created long before commercial pornography, breast implants and Brazilian waxes. Just real strangely imperfect yet perfect, ordinary women in all their natural glory in front of the box camera. I love it

You'd be surprised. If you start writing "real" women (which is, after all, what you're describing here) you will find appreciative readers, because not everybody wants to identify with a cliched "perfect" image. Some of course want nothing else.

But here, I think, you will be deafened by the chorus, "don't write who you think the audience wants (coz you'll be wrong about that half the time), but write who YOU want to write." Your audience will soon turn up.

If you write about lubricious pneumatic porn stars, you'll attract readers who are attracted to lubricious pneumatic porn stars. If you write about real people, you'll attract readers who are attracted to real people.

I think what KeithD said. There's no perfect answer. Write what you want to write as well as you can, post it, and see how it does. If the thing you write turns you on more than some alternative version, then chances are you'll find a readership that also will be turned on. And it will be much more satisfying for you to do it that way.

I think there are plenty of readers who want stories about imperfect people rather than perfect porn-model types. Do a good job of describing them in a sexy way, and you'll get appreciative readers.

LucyHall2 said:

I love imperfections but I fear most readers are hoping to read about slim perfect women who fit the traditionally attractive mold.

I suppose my question is, will writing about imperfect women as the most desirable individuals work on the page?

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I don't know if readers who expect "perfect women" are the majority. They do have their numbers, judging by the number of stories here that cater to them. But I rather dislike the idea of pandering to an audience, though I certainly have done it.

Writing imperfect women who are desirable can absolutely work, I believe. I've done that too, got views and favorites and no hate mail.

I think one key to making it work is that your woman should have confidence. Maybe a hook could be that the story starts with her maybe somewhat lacking that, but she gets a lot more as it progresses. How that happens could be the basis of dozens of different plots.

Let's not forget imperfections in the personality of the character!

As a reader, those tend to be more memorable and defining than a passing reference at the start to model looks or porn star worthy bodies. Characters I enjoy pop in my mind because they seem real and have the flaws and imperfections in their behavior that make you believe they truly are.

LucyHall2 said:

I love imperfections but I fear most readers are hoping to read about slim perfect women who fit the traditionally attractive mold.

I suppose my question is, will writing about imperfect women as the most desirable individuals work on the page?

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Rule of thumb, if you enjoy writing about it there will be people who enjoy reading about it, especially if your writing conveys why it's attractive to you.

davybyrne said:

Let's not forget imperfections in the personality of the character!

As a reader, those tend to be more memorable and defining than a passing reference at the start to model looks or porn star worthy bodies. Characters I enjoy pop in my mind because they seem real and have the flaws and imperfections in their behavior that make you believe they truly are.

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Excellent point there.

Well I feel very much assured by all of your replies. As Davy says, generic mentions at the start of a story to "model looks or porn star worthy bodies" fails to pop in the imagination in the way an imperfect woman does. Those imperfections create a unique individual instead of a generic archetype. I couldn't have put it better myself.

Also Rebel hits the nail on the head with the mention of confidence. It's the combination of an imperfection with supreme confidence which taps into my psyche. Hopefully that will translate to the psyche of my readers.

So it seems my characters might just "pop" in the imagination.

RubenR said:

Some people have turned their descriptions of imperfections and the reason why they appeal to them, why they are attracted to them, and why they are even beautiful to them, into art. with the right words, the right descriptions, the right attention and the right train of thoughts, you can bring up the beauty in everything. But I guess it's like salt and spices; add too much or the wrong proportions, and it becomes indigestible.

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Very well put and thank you for your feedback

If descriptions of imperfections of body and/or soul are important to the story, write them. Players in general strokers may all be fit, no matter the age, and relatively sanely horny. That's called "reader service". But erotica can be more humanist, and 'imperfections' can be focal points. It all depends on the story you have to tell.

My Mara character is never perfect. She always talks about being a couple lbs overweight, having frizzy hair, and hates her glasses that are always sliding down her nose.
She also tends to be immature and easily upset.

I think such imperfections will be the focal point for most of the women I write about. They are the hooks which make a fictional woman tangible and have a distinctive identity.

I found that readers responded very well to physically disabled female characters in my stories 'April Leads Julie Astray' and 'My Brother's Friend Deflowered Me' and a sickly female character in 'Jehovah's Witness Romance'.

In 'April Leads Julie Astray', Julie had contracted polio aged 9 in the early 1950s and has a damaged left leg, on which she wears a brace. Tara, the main character in 'My Brother's Friend Deflowered Me', is a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair, but fiercely independent. Holly, one of the 'Jehovah's Witness Romance' characters is an albino who struggles with poor eyesight and is also afflicted by severe asthma.

Personally, I try to let the reader imagine the woman they most desire by just giving a generalized description...

"She was an attractive brunette with a delicate nose, soft blue eyes, and a nice smile. Her breast were definitely more than a hand full with nice protruding nipples. He stomach wasn't flat and tight, but also wasn't bulging. Hips, she had some that wandered down to nicely shaped legs and petite feet."

Let the reader fill in what they want to see.

The thing that really irks me is reading "she had 42DDD tits on her small delicate frame." WTF? I don't want to read measurements, I do want to know if she/they/he was attractive to their partner.

When I look at a woman, I don't get out the measuring tape to see how larger her tits are. I have never measure my wife's tits, unless she asked me to measure them. I like them just as they were and are.

Hope this helps.

There are times I just say what their hair and eye color are and that's it. If the reader has no imagination, what are they reading for, go watch a movie.

Zeb_Carter said:

Personally, I try to let the reader imagine the woman they most desire by just giving a generalized description...

"She was an attractive brunette with a delicate nose, soft blue eyes, and a nice smile. Her breast were definitely more than a hand full with nice protruding nipples. He stomach wasn't flat and tight, but also wasn't bulging. Hips, she had some that wandered down to nicely shaped legs and petite feet."

Let the reader fill in what they want to see.

The thing that really irks me is reading "she had 42DDD tits on her small delicate frame." WTF? I don't want to read measurements, I do want to know if she/they/he was attractive to their partner.

When I look at a woman, I don't get out the measuring tape to see how larger her tits are. I have never measure my wife's tits, unless she asked me to measure them. I like them just as they were and are.

Hope this helps.

There are times I just say what their hair and eye color are and that's it. If the reader has no imagination, what are they reading for, go watch a movie.

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I think that, unless the "imperfection" is integral to the story, most readers either ignore it or forget about it and, as you say, fill in what they want to see. But the author knows it is present and that can have subtle but important influence on how you write the character.

SimonDoom said:

I think there are plenty of readers who want stories about imperfect people rather than perfect porn-model types. Do a good job of describing them in a sexy way, and you'll get appreciative readers.

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That's always worked for me. I'll often describe women who have asymmetrical breasts or a few extra pounds on them, and I once wrote a series about a sex club comprised of a dozen women with remarkably different body types, from petite to Rubenesque. Their guys also were all over the map. It was a a way of giving each character a distinct identity.

But then, I've never been a fan of cookie-cutter erotica, with its stock characters and measurements and libidos. They bore the hell out of me.

Good luck, Lucy, and we'll look forward to what you have to say and write.

Lucy, one of the (many) things that you will learn here at Lit is that you can't trust the readers. Just write what you want to write, polish it well, and run it up the flagpole.

Be prepared for a few rotten eggs - not because your writing deserves them, but because there are many readers who like to throw them. And look out for the small handful of readers who 'get' you, the small handful of readers who like what you write and like how you write. Of course, it might take a moment or two for these readers to find you. So if at first you don't succeed ... just keep on keeping on.

Good luck.

Readers get to read for free here, so write what you want to write. There’s a huge range of readers and it’s hard to go wrong. As you write here, you’ll find your stories may change over time as you change or your writing style changes or your interests change.

MelissaBaby said:

I think that, unless the "imperfection" is integral to the story, most readers either ignore it or forget about it and, as you say, fill in what they want to see. But the author knows it is present and that can have subtle but important influence on how you write the character.

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In several of my stories I have given the Protag a quirk, like weird dreams and so forth and reader have always commented... WTF is with the weird dreams?

They just never got it.

I'll just echo Zeb_Carter's view...I offer scant details about physical traits, and only mention them if they are important to the story (e.g. a man with a small penis who is insecure about it, etc.) And this may be the case with some of the types of descriptions you mentioned...but try hard to not over-do it. I think many readers find too much cold detail about the body a big turn-off and amateurish. That said, anything and everything can work if done properly...just be sure it doesn't turn into a cold scientific type of description.

I think it's important to concentrate on how to make the reader empathize and come to care for your characters...the emotions, insecurities, fears, kinks and fetishes make for a more interesting read. And this can be an entry to gently brush in some of the imperfections you mentioned...Rachel was unsure what to make of his seemingly sincere interest in her. She had been burned more than once by men who came on so sincere but when they saw her [imperfection], it seemed they were suddenly nowhere to be found. Better to be alone than to have to go through that crap again, she told herself.

All good advice above...best wishes!

Zeb_Carter said:

In several of my stories I have given the Protag a quirk, like weird dreams and so forth and reader have always commented... WTF is with the weird dreams?

They just never got it.

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Nobody comments on my weird characters. Maybe I don't write them weird enough. What, wanting brain-damaged sex partners is too vanilla? I haven't tried a superfluous dream thang yet.