Romance genre. Wow.

[MelissaBaby]

So... I've been on this site for almost 10 years, but I've never read by category. I just go by tags and "similar stories" at the end of a story. That's it.

Until I started writing a few months ago, I never gave a second thought to the differences between each category and what avid readers of the genres like and dislike. Sometimes there's bleedover into other genres; sometimes not. Sometimes the category is hard to dissect, like LW. I still don't know what that one is supposed to be.

Anyway, because a common question around here seems to be, "What category should I post this story in?," the quote unquote rules for genre selection don't seem to be clear-cut (or maybe they are, and I just don't know it yet). I'm in the process of discovering the nuances among the various categories. That's the relevance.

Okay, but what's your insight into the category? Because that stuff about "suspension of disbelief" makes no sense. In my experience, Romance readers, generally, except a high degree of verisimilitude.

 

[dasgoodshit]

You don't know who Mel Brooks is, do you?

Of course. If this is a reference to Young Frankenstein, I haven't seen that in over 20 years.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I skimmed the story. I don't think it's all that unusual for Romance. The sex was part of the back story (as in the first story I reacted to), but it was more than just a hook for erotica readers. I thought there was enough setup to understand the young couple's motivation.

More than anything else, it was a well-told story.

Romance isn't a non-erotic category, and most of the readers don't insist on an achingly-long setup before sex. In the last story I posted there, the female protagonist waited all the way to the second scene then told the male protagonist, "I like sex," and that precipitated events.

I think anyone who wants to do well in the Romance category has to start with an understanding that a lot of things that are not explicitly sex are erotic.

 

[MillieDynamite]

What great knockers!

Thank you.

Well, rent it and watch it, download it, stream it, it's great.

Of course. If this is a reference to Young Frankenstein, I haven't seen that in over 20 years.

 

[dasgoodshit]

most of the readers don't insist on an achingly-long setup before sex

That's what I'm talking about, exactly! Nothing needs to be explained, you can just do.

 

[MelissaBaby]

That's what I'm talking about, exactly! Nothing needs to be explained, you can just do.

That is definitely not my experience in the category. YMMV.

 

[ElectricBlue]

So... I've been on this site for almost 10 years, but I've never read by category. I just go by tags and "similar stories" at the end of a story. That's it.

Got it. I think .

 

[dasgoodshit]

Okay, but what's your insight into the category? Because that stuff about "suspension of disbelief" makes no sense. In my experience, Romance readers, generally, except a high degree of verisimilitude.

I suppose you could say that the plots in non-Romance stories (at least, the ones that I go for) tend to be those that one wouldn't expect to happen in real life, unless there is some explanation for how events unfolded, step by step.

Maybe I'm an oddball in this sense; I don't know. I just like what I like, and I can't help but notice the difference between apples and oranges.

 

[ElectricBlue]

That's what I'm talking about, exactly! Nothing needs to be explained, you can just do.

You can do that in any story, in any category. It's an odd revelation to have, but at least you've had it!

 

[dasgoodshit]

You can do that in any story, in any category. It's an odd revelation to have, but at least you've had it!

I suppose, but I guess I receive it better when that happens in Romance, maybe because I'm not expecting anything crazy to happen.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I suppose you could say that the plots in non-Romance stories (at least, the ones that I go for) tend to be those that one wouldn't expect to happen in real life, unless there is some explanation for how events unfolded, step by step.

Maybe I'm an oddball in this sense; I don't know. I just like what I like, and I can't help but notice the difference between apples and oranges.

I'm sorry if it seem like I keep coming at you, but I'm still not following you. It seems that you are saying that Romance needs to be realistic, while at the same you are saying it requires a higher level of suspension of disbelief than other categories.

 

[NotWise]

That's what I'm talking about, exactly! Nothing needs to be explained, you can just do.

The story you listed with an obscured title did explain why they had sex. I don't understand where you get the idea that it wasn't explained. They were young. They spent summers together for years. They liked each other, and they had sex before they went off to different universities.

 

[dasgoodshit]

I'm sorry if it seem like I keep coming at you, but I'm still not following you. It seems that you are saying that Romance needs to be realistic, while at the same you are saying it requires a higher level of suspension of disbelief than other categories.

No problem. Unless I made a horrible typo, I said that other categories require a higher suspension of disbelief, and that's why I don't receive them well unless character motivations are explained before the action happens.

I'm not saying that it needs to be completely realistic; I'm just saying that... nobody is expecting anyone to just walk around nude for the entire story. That kind of thing needs explanation before it happens.

 

[MelissaBaby]

No problem. Unless I made a horrible typo, I said that other categories require a higher suspension of disbelief, and that's why I don't receive them well unless character motivations are explained before the action happens.

I'm not saying that it needs to be completely realistic; I'm just saying that... nobody is expecting anyone to just walk around nude for the entire story. That kind of thing needs explanation before it happens.

Thank you. The misunderstanding is mine. I agree with that insight. Romance has it's tropes, like any other genre, but you are correct that the readers, generally, want relatable characters in realistic situations.

 

[dasgoodshit]

The story you listed with an obscured title did explain why they had sex. I don't understand where you get the idea that it wasn't explained. They were young. They spent summers together for years. They liked each other, and they had sex before they went off to different universities.

Sure, but not explicitly. They were friends, sure, but I mean, who didn't "kissed and snuggled for hours" as a kid with someone that you didn't end up fucking, just out of curiosity? Besides those few words, there was nothing to suggest that sex was coming, or that she "liked him" liked him.

Then you have to take into account the sleeping bag aspect of it. In non-Romance, if a sleeping bag is introduced, I expect a situation where the characters are forced to share. That expectation was flipped upside down and inside out. Maybe you didn't experience it as I did the first time because you were expecting something unusual to happen; hence my reticence to name the story. I actually read that scene again much later and it didn't have quite the same "punch" that it did the first time.

 

[NotWise]

Sure, but not explicitly. They were friends, sure, but I mean, who didn't "kissed and snuggled for hours" as a kid with someone that you didn't end up fucking, just out of curiosity? Besides those few words, there was nothing to suggest that sex was coming, or that she "liked him" liked him.

Then you have to take into account the sleeping bag aspect of it. In non-Romance, if a sleeping bag is introduced, I expect a situation where the characters are forced to share. That expectation was flipped upside down and inside out. Maybe you didn't experience it as I did the first time because you were expecting something unusual to happen; hence my reticence to name the story. I actually read that scene again much later and it didn't have quite the same "punch" that it did the first time.

What are you going to do with your knew-found understanding?

 

[dasgoodshit]

What are you going to do with your knew-found understanding?

File it away, under "K" for newfound understanding, then read more, wait for inspiration, and basically do what writers do.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Sure, but not explicitly. They were friends, sure, but I mean, who didn't "kissed and snuggled for hours" as a kid with someone that you didn't end up fucking, just out of curiosity? Besides those few words, there was nothing to suggest that sex was coming, or that she "liked him" liked him.

Then you have to take into account the sleeping bag aspect of it. In non-Romance, if a sleeping bag is introduced, I expect a situation where the characters are forced to share. That expectation was flipped upside down and inside out. Maybe you didn't experience it as I did the first time because you were expecting something unusual to happen; hence my reticence to name the story. I actually read that scene again much later and it didn't have quite the same "punch" that it did the first time.

Funny story there.

The device you're talking about is famous in romance. It got used so much that it became a running joke with readers and authors - anybody who hangs out in romance circles will immediately know what you're talking about if you say"Only One Bed". These days, any romance fan who uses that device probably knows it's a trope, and they're more likely to be having fun with that trope than playing it straight.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Thank you. The misunderstanding is mine. I agree with that insight. Romance has it's tropes, like any other genre, but you are correct that the readers, generally, want relatable characters in realistic situations.

I'd maybe qualify that to emotionally realistic situations.

Lit's category system aside, there's plenty of overlap between romance and fantastical genres. Swords-and-sorcery, vampires, time travel; recently I read a sci-fi romance about a hacker who gets into an arranged marriage with a space pirate queen who happens to be an intelligent spaceship. (Yes, there is a sex scene.) Literotica might usually classify those to other categories, but elsewhere in the reading world authors are happy to market those as "romance".

Readers will give a pass on "realism" for that kind of thing, but not for "it makes no fucking sense that she'd make that choice".

 

[Bramblethorn]

Romance isn't a non-erotic category, and most of the readers don't insist on an achingly-long setup before sex. In the last story I posted there, the female protagonist waited all the way to the second scene then told the male protagonist, "I like sex," and that precipitated events.

I think the long wait used to be more of a thing in romance because having sex with somebody was essentially putting the seal on the relationship; by the time they're in bed, they're committed and the story's just about over. These days there's a lot more room for stories where people have sex first and then have to work out whether this is going to be a lasting relationship.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Funny story there.

The device you're talking about is famous in romance. It got used so much that it became a running joke with readers and authors - anybody who hangs out in romance circles will immediately know what you're talking about if you say"Only One Bed". These days, any romance fan who uses that device probably knows it's a trope, and they're more likely to be having fun with that trope than playing it straight.

I know it as a fanfic trope - particularly popular for getting two same-sex characters together.

But indeed, when I used it for my one and only foray into incest (basically a subset of romance, at least half the stories are), I used the trope as the title and included an intro stating that I was leaning heavily on the trope, because I'm not paid enough to produce an original plot.

 

[djrip]

Funny story there.

The device you're talking about is famous in romance. It got used so much that it became a running joke with readers and authors - anybody who hangs out in romance circles will immediately know what you're talking about if you say"Only One Bed". These days, any romance fan who uses that device probably knows it's a trope, and they're more likely to be having fun with that trope than playing it straight.

Hey my current WIP has an only one bed situation! LS though.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I'd maybe qualify that to emotionally realistic situations.

Lit's category system aside, there's plenty of overlap between romance and fantastical genres. Swords-and-sorcery, vampires, time travel; recently I read a sci-fi romance about a hacker who gets into an arranged marriage with a space pirate queen who happens to be an intelligent spaceship. (Yes, there is a sex scene.) Literotica might usually classify those to other categories, but elsewhere in the reading world authors are happy to market those as "romance".

Readers will give a pass on "realism" for that kind of thing, but not for "it makes no fucking sense that she'd make that choice".

Fair comment, thank you.