A lesson

Confession: I write smut. For most of the past 50-something years I have also written for at least two dozen other genres – many that required a suit and tie and required me to visit the Palace of Westminster.

My prim-and-proper sister calls me her ‘brother the pornographer’ and claims that she reads much of what I write with her eyes closed. But even we incorrigible reprobates have our limits. I can’t see how erotica can be fun unless both parties are having fun. And I have a squick point when it comes to incest. It’s not religious (I'm not religious!); it’s not cultural; it’s just … well … there are plenty of other people out there. Pick one. In fact, pick five if you must.

But people seem to like incest. And so … I set out to write a story that was about the spirit of incest: a son’s thoughts, leading to a son’s dreams, but no more. How could it not be a winner? Lots of fun, but no real damage done.

But what do I know? Even allowing for a bit of one-bombing, my lowest score ever!

I'm afraid unless he's balls-deep in his mommy's anus by scene two, you're not gonna win over the I/T mob.

SamScribble said:

Confession: I write smut. For most of the past 50-something years I have also written for at least two dozen other genres – many that required a suit and tie and required me to visit the Palace of Westminster.

My prim-and-proper sister calls me her ‘brother the pornographer’ and claims that she reads much of what I write with her eyes closed. But even we incorrigible reprobates have our limits. I can’t see how erotica can be fun unless both parties are having fun. And I have a squick point when it comes to incest. It’s not religious (I'm not religious!); it’s not cultural; it’s just … well … there are plenty of other people out there. Pick one. In fact, pick five if you must.

But people seem to like incest. And so … I set out to write a story that was about the spirit of incest: a son’s thoughts, leading to a son’s dreams, but no more. How could it not be a winner? Lots of fun, but no real damage done.

But what do I know? Even allowing for a bit of one-bombing, my lowest score ever!

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I'm not an incest connoisseur, and the only type I've personally enjoyed has been m/m, because, you know, sometimes your brothers are just that hot. ;-) (that's a joke, btw).

But from what I have seen, what you've written is a unique piece of fiction that doesn't fit a formula, and that might be what's holding it back. Curious to see what I/T category regulars think.

I would say, it felt quite 'real', and for me, having an incest squick, anything approaching reality could drive me away.

But I thought it was sweet and emotional, and well written.

Blind_Justice said:

I'm afraid unless he's balls-deep in his mommy's anus by scene two, you're not gonna win over the I/T mob.

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This isn't quite true. I just finished an 8 chapter series where the actual deed doesn't happen until the last chapter. Each chapter featured a ramping up of activity. I did lose readers along the way, some of whom commented that they got restless and moved on. But enough hung around until the end to make it worth it, and the scores have been fine.


But unless there is some sort of climax to each chapter, I agree that a lot of I/T readers may react negatively. It's a very horny crowd.

I don't care to read I/T tales. I've written quite a few. My approach: The story is a puzzle piece, a challenge to assemble a coherent tale from the most improbable of elements. IRL incest is ugly. IRL erotic incest is unlikely. So I try for a "yeah, that *could* happen" situation. A few patterns work; many others seem ridiculous but readers love-em; and sometimes it's enough to punt, to assume their intimacy, and explore the effects without detailing the causes.

An old-time hillbilly banjo player, asked if he read musical notes, replied, "Hell, thar ain't no notes on a banjar. Ya jest PLAY!" Similarly, there ain't no *spirit* of incest -- ya jest DO IT! For most of LIT's I/T crowd, 'incest' is close kin; cousins barely count; step-kin, ain't. Yes, exceptions exist. And we really only write for ourselves unless we're paid. So write whatever you want and fuck the reactions.

I wrote my only I/T just recently, on a dare from a reader.

It’s fine. But it was pretty unnatural for me. Not my favorite of my own pieces, by far. I think it’s like any other category, for most of us: you find what you’re best at writing, and you tend to perfect it.

I've written a lot of I/T stuff, mostly Mon/Son. My current offering is Brother/Sister who happen to be twins.

The way I look at it, is that it's just two people who are having sex and call each other Mom/Son or Brother/Sister.

What's in a name?

I read the story, and the score surprises me, particularly in combination with the healthy number of votes.

There's a common pattern in I/T (and probably in some of the other stroke-heavy categories) with 1* bombs coming early. The effect of the one-bombs is usually diluted after 100 votes or so and the score recovers. You're past that point.

I/T can take a pretty wide variety of stories, so the story content may not be the sole cause of the low score. It's a short story and I think it ends about the time that the strokers want it to take off. That may be the biggest reason for the low score--and for the "more" comments.

Producing icky comments is one thing that I/T is good for.

SamScribble said:

Confession: I write smut.

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No! I don't believe it, not you too!.

I like the idea of incest, personally, but probably because of a different reason than most of the people in I/T do. For me it's the way of an impossible romance, kind of like Romeo & Juliette, which they have to deal with. For them it's logical to love each other; for everyone else it's simply an atrocity to even consider having feelings, let alone a relationship in a romantic way. I honestly don't give a damn if there's no actual sex in that incest relationship, as long as the feelings get across in the story.

And yes, that sounds probably really sappy to anyone else but me But then again, as long as a story provides characters that actually manage to convey realistic feelings in combination with a decent plot I'm enjoying it anyway.

So far I have gotten lucky with the few stories I've read from I/T as those were interesting enough to continue reading, but longer stories generally tend to invest in characters and relationships I guess. The stories I've read, in contrast to Ruben_R, always dealt with siblings under the same roof, having lived with each other their entire lives, which can encourage romantic feelings. Or perhaps I'm just that easy to please.
Most siblings I personally know are more eager to bash each other's heads in though.