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How mandatory is a decent plot to you when writing erotica?...

Whisperly

Whisperly

Really Really Experienced
Joined
Oct 3, 2007
Posts
484
...or is direct, to-the-point, arousingly constructed detail more important to you much of the time?

Personally when I search for erotica, I'm looking for something to get myself off to (surprise surprise), and often when I find myself in this mood, any boring pre-erotic plot annoys me - I want to get straight to the juicy bits; not necessarily hard sex, but simply sexually arousing situations that you know may lead on to something more.

I suppose I'm curious as to how many others are like this? Sorry it's a slightly vague question. :)



x
 
It seems to me to be back to the erotica V porn question.
A decent plot for erotica and pure steamy action for porn.
I like both depending on mood.
S
 
sirloy said:
It seems to me to be back to the erotica V porn question.
A decent plot for erotica and pure steamy action for porn.
I like both depending on mood.
S
Click to expand...

Yeah, you might want to see that thread, but most people see them both as porn w/"women" more interested in plot and character, men more interested in stroke.

I dunno.

To answer the question: I write erotica, not porn. I've tried a couple of porn stories, even had one posted on here, and it's done well, but actually I find sex fantasy for the sake of sex monotonous.

I DO write erotica, and in that I begin my thoughts with character, try to find an interesting situation for them to have some conflict in, then I let them decide what happens, when, and how.

So: I don't decide the plot so much as set up the situation and let the characters decide what will happen ... but that's what interests me, and the sex may or may not be part of it, but there's always sexual tension and that's the erotic part.

It's the diff (for me) between reading EAPoe horror and watching "Chainsaw Massacre." POe is scary because he suggests and I imagine; I yawn through the other stuff cuz it's all out there and I never engage with it.

When it comes to porn, I'd rather do it than watch/read it.

ST
 
Whisperly said:
Personally when I search for erotica, I'm looking for something to get myself off to (surprise surprise), and often when I find myself in this mood, any boring pre-erotic plot annoys me - I want to get straight to the juicy bits; not necessarily hard sex, but simply sexually arousing situations that you know may lead on to something more.
x
Click to expand...

It really depends on the person. For your case, you're looking to take care of a need. Personally, when I do read erotica, I tend to go for the plot-driven stuff compared to wham, bam, turn the page. It seems that the immediate action work has a tendency to be poorly thought out.

You can compare plot-driven erotica to porn like a serious relationship to a one night stand. With a one-night stand, there is one purpose, and one purpose only. With a plot-driven erotica, much like a serious relationship, you have both ups and downs, a more in-depth look at what makes the characters 'tick'. It probably also has some steamy action as well, but that's not the guts of the book neccessarily.

With a plot-driven, like in a serious relationship, in the end, it might not be what you first expected, and might end in dislike or even letdown.

Ah, well. Apparently this topic has already been brought up, so I'll leave it at that. :)
 
I would infer that a story with a really good plot, even if its only 10 percent about sex, would take much more skills to write than a meaningless story.
 
Chuck_New_York said:
I would infer that a story with a really good plot, even if its only 10 percent about sex, would take much more skills to write than a meaningless story.
Click to expand...

Actually, writing a short vignette that goes straight to the sex and ends with the climax is probably harder to write than a long involved romance novel -- at least if you want it to be distinguishable from the thousands of other vignettes featuring cardboord cutouts inserting tab a into slot b, c and d.

A complicated and detailed plot isn't necessary, but there does have to be more to the story than wham-bam-thankyou, ma'am between anonymous manikins. For me, I need to care about who these characters are and be moderately interested in why they're having sex -- I know how and can remember the process better than 99% of authors can describe it.
 
My early writing was pretty much pure smut, I had no faith in my abilities as a writer. As my skills improved I was surprised to find that people would actually read my work, and that my plots were strong enough to hold their attention without having wall to wall sex.

So now, I spend most of my energy creating an interesting plot, and not worrying much about the erotic content.
 
I think you need to ask yourself what exactly you are trying to accomplish. If your main objective is to get someone off quickly, then go for the short and direct pornesque stories. If you want to engage your reader, stimulating them through your writing, then you will have to go the erotica route.

I personally think there is a place for both types. Personally, my story choices all depend on my mood and what I want to accomplish. If I have time and want to really enjoy the build up then I will read erotica; if I just want to 'get off' then I go for something to the point. I do notice though that it is much harder to find a well written, pornesque story. Many have frequent spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors which annoy me and detract from the story.
 
If I'm gonna get off on the story, I like reading something that could actually happen to me. The story has gotta eventually wind down into the sex... that's what would get me wet an then able to get off plot seems pretty important there. :catroar:
 
I agree that it's a difference between porn and erotica. You'll find a lot of DVDs that don't even bother with a plot; it's just excerpts of going direct to the sex.

It seems to me that a lot of guys, since they want to get straight to it, want to dispense with the story line. I'm not one of them, but if the story goes on too long, and isn't engaging or builds up anticipation, I'll skip to the steamy part.

So, short answer is, it depends on your target audience. And what you prefer; never sell out.
 
I guess I'm strange because I believe in character driven stories. If the characters are well developed and real, they will drive the plot without having to worry about plot development. I always ask myself when I'm writing, "Would Harriet really do that?"

Because of that, Characters and Plot are so intermingled and inseparatable, that the plot flows naturally. I doubt I could write a pure stroke viginette. Harold's 'insert tab A into slot B' just doesn't work for me.
 
I like stuff that's well crafted. I like character driven, interesting stories.

I have to say that if in the first paragraph I'm being informed of someone's cup size, I'm out.
 
I agree with Laila. I have written things that got to the point fast, and things that had a lot more scene and character and plot development. I think the key for me is to write (or read) a story that is different from other stories. Very different. When one reads a random sampling of stories on this site, the experience becomes very repetitive. I want details that stick in my mind and an interesting situation. I read the New Yorker all the time and often I think that a story written like those are, which is also erotic, would be quite interesting.

This is not to say I don't like the occasional somewhat paint-by-numbers, not-stellarly-penned-quick-daddy-and-daughter taboo story. Those, again, are fun for what they are.
 
"I have to say that if in the first paragraph I'm being informed of someone's cup size, I'm out."

agreed.
 
It always has me wondering how in the hell somebody can see the bra size???
Yeah, big, medium, small, I'll buy that. But the exact size? :rolleyes:
I still have to meet the man who can guess mine correctly. :p

I think this discussion is a recurring item: stroke versus story.

Whatever floats your boat, I'd say. But then some stroke pieces have quite a story to them as well.

:devil:
 
Black Tulip said:
It always has me wondering how in the hell somebody can see the bra size???
Yeah, big, medium, small, I'll buy that. But the exact size? :rolleyes:
I still have to meet the man who can guess mine correctly. :p


:devil:
Click to expand...

Heck, it's easy, BT. Ya just check that little tag thingee inside the hooks on the back strap. Shucks, I figured that one out on my own! :nana:

Best,
ST
 
Black Tulip said:
It always has me wondering how in the hell somebody can see the bra size???
Yeah, big, medium, small, I'll buy that. But the exact size? :rolleyes:
I still have to meet the man who can guess mine correctly. :p
Click to expand...

I have to admit to being an admirer of breasts but spend little time pondering the mathematical dimensions. It's always "mmm theres a fine pair"

S
 
According to some of my readers, all women should be required by law to wear a sign around their necks stating bra size and pussy availability. :rolleyes:
 
EurasianRhapsody said:
"I have to say that if in the first paragraph I'm being informed of someone's cup size, I'm out."
Click to expand...

Especially when they can't even get the cup size right:

"She was 5', 100 lb., and wore a 37C bra." Huh? Stuff like that is just plain distracting and usually resulting in me flying to the back click.
 
HOw NOT to do it:

CorsetLvr said:
"She was 5', 100 lb., and wore a 37C bra." Huh? Stuff like that is just plain distracting and usually resulting in me flying to the back click.
Click to expand...

Something I encountered recently:

[The General] started from the beginning and his aide 25 year old 5' 7" 34B3036 110 lb black haired brown eyed 1LT ....
Click to expand...

That's WAY too much information, especially since this particular character hasn't made another appearance in about 2,000 words since this introduction -- in fact, that is her ONLY appearance so far.
 
Weird Harold said:
Something I encountered recently:
Click to expand...

Good example. My opinion is that if you can't go a good job of giving realistic descriptions, don't! It just destroys the credibility of your story and your ability as a writer. The rest of the story may be great, but details like that have a tendency to ruin it, at least for a reader like me.
 
CorsetLvr said:
Good example. My opinion is that if you can't go a good job of giving realistic descriptions, don't! It just destroys the credibility of your story and your ability as a writer. The rest of the story may be great, but details like that have a tendency to ruin it, at least for a reader like me.
Click to expand...

A common novice error is to try to describe a character completely when they're first encountered, which is completely unnatural and contrary to the way one gets to know someone in real life. IRL, people learn about each other in very small doses that eventually accrete into a (more) complete picture.

First impressions of people in real life generally consist of one or two dominant physical features (eyes, nose, mouth, breasts, hair, etc) with possibly an odor or sound to reinforce the memory (BO or Perfume, melodious voice or raspy croaking, etc.) Writers who introduce/describe their characters in small doses (in the way people are conditioned to learn about others) may not get any notice for flowery descriptive phrasing, but they will consistently be commented on how "real" their characters are.
 
CorsetLvr said:
Especially when they can't even get the cup size right:

"She was 5', 100 lb., and wore a 37C bra." Huh? Stuff like that is just plain distracting and usually resulting in me flying to the back click.
Click to expand...

LOL I might add that this kind of information is totally useless for me.
I'm from the metric system so it means squat.

:devil:
 
Black Tulip said:
LOL I might add that this kind of information is totally useless for me.
I'm from the metric system so it means squat.

:devil:
Click to expand...

Hehehehe, I have been known to sit here reading a story with a calculator nearby, converting measurements to English units. 1 inch = 2.54 cm. & 1 kg. = 2.2 lb. I'm adaptable like that.
 
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