Story Pace and Convolutedness

[8letters]

My writing style is to write convoluted stories. By convoluted, I mean that there are many plot points that change the path the main characters are going down. I get a lot of comments commending me for the pace of my story. I think what they mean is that I keep up a steady pace of plot points.

A lot of stories that I’ve read on Literotica have straight-line paths. For example, let’s say two people who were close in their childhoods unexpectedly meet as adults. Several pages later, they have sex. From the unexpected meeting to the sex scene, the story is a straight line, and the reader has no doubt how the story is going to end up. I find such stories disappointing. Once I know where the story is going, it’s a slog to get the end. Many times, I’ll just skip ahead to the sex scene.

I think another important point is that sometimes a plot point will put the reader on a path that’s a lot of fun to read about. Let’s say the two main characters are engaging in witty flirting. I’d advise authors to take your time when you’re on such a path. On the other hand, there are times when a plot point puts the reader on a path that’s not much fun. The hero has broken up with his true love and is moping around his place. I’d advise authors to end such paths as quickly as possible and move onto the next plot point.

 

[Britva415]

A lot of stories that I’ve read on Literotica have straight-line paths

You mean, ones longer than, say, 4 pages?

Less than that and there just isn't space for many tangents.

 

[KeithD]

Some of this and some of that--and some of something else altogether. Both this and the "how much realism thread" fold back, I think, on the "who's the most versatile writer?" thread. Not being a one-trick horse in your writing plays into your versatility quotient, I think. Whenever I see a poster suggesting they do something only one way (so maybe the rest of us should to), I think "unnecessarily limited."

 

[mrs_mackenzie]

A lot of stories that I’ve read on Literotica have straight-line paths. For example, let’s say two people who were close in their childhoods unexpectedly meet as adults. Several pages later, they have sex. From the unexpected meeting to the sex scene, the story is a straight line, and the reader has no doubt how the story is going to end up. I find such stories disappointing. Once I know where the story is going, it’s a slog to get the end. Many times, I’ll just skip ahead to the sex scene.

People like (erotic) stories that don't have too many twists and turns. Almost every romance novel I have read sticks to a formula and rarely deviates, because people read romance to get the formula. Familiarity is comfortable, which I suppose is why we reread our favourite books over and over.

Short stories, which most of my writing is, really, are especially difficult to add significant plot into as you're heavily constrained by the length. So I put my focus on trying to make the characters, setting, atmosphere etc. compelling and interesting, whilst still sticking to the formula.

But, the world would be a poorer place without a variety of stories, and I am sure there are a lot of readers who want nothing more than a rollercoaster of a plot, so if it works, then go for it.

 

[samhasstories]

I'm firmly in the camp that if you do it well, it works. Convoluted, straight line, backwards, some wholly new structure that I've never seen before - if it's well executed, and the characters are compelling, and it's sufficiently erotic (if you're writing erotica), then you're not going to lose me by being either too orthodox or too convoluted or anything else. I'm in. The reverse is, of course, also true.

 

[MyBareTorso]

There's an audience for both straight and crooked lines in fiction...neither is right or wrong. I hit an erotic fiction website for sexy stories, not John Le Carre style plotting...but that's just me. I totally respect those that do, and I'm sure they are well catered for on Literotica.

 

[HeyAll]

That's an interesting point. But category matters a lot as well. If it's lesbian, clearly the women will end up together. With incest, you know where that's headed lol

My view is that it's erotica, you know where it's going eventually. Only one path. The important thing is straddling the taboo line and showing/explaining what makes it so hot for the characters, which then makes it hot for the readers.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

There's an audience for both straight and crooked lines in fiction...neither is right or wrong. I hit an erotic fiction website for sexy stories, not John Le Carre style plotting...but that's just me. I totally respect those that do, and I'm sure they are well catered for on Literotica.

Indeed there is.

Straight line relationships within a convoluted plot are common trops in fiction of all types.

 

[8letters]

That's an interesting point. But category matters a lot as well. If it's lesbian, clearly the women will end up together. With incest, you know where that's headed lol

My view is that it's erotica, you know where it's going eventually. Only one path. The important thing is straddling the taboo line and showing/explaining what makes it so hot for the characters, which then makes it hot for the readers.

Let me use your two-page story Boat Ride with Mom as an example. It's in I/T. It has "Mom" in the title. The reader knows before they click on the story that the story is going to end with mother-son sex.

But at the start of the story, there's no clear path to the mother-son sex. The mom and son are going to go to an expensive resort, and the mom wants to go on lots of boat rides there. She thinks her sea sickness issues have been resolved by a hypnotist. At this point, the mother and son will have a nice vacation together, but nothing sexual is going to happen between them.

Because there's no clear path, I now want to read how the clever HeyAll will get us to the destination we all know we're going to arrive at. I...want....to...read...the...story. If I jump ahead to the final sex scene, I'll lack the context for the sex scene and won't enjoy it as much.

Conversely, the story could have started with the son thinking about how hot his mom is and how she appeals to him so much more than girls his age. The mom then says she's turning 45 and wants to start having fun while she has the energy to do so. On the way to the resort, the mom says she wants to live it up this week. At this point, I might as well scroll to the sex scene as I already have all the context for it.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm firmly in the camp that if you do it well, it works. Convoluted, straight line, backwards, some wholly new structure that I've never seen before - if it's well executed, and the characters are compelling, and it's sufficiently erotic (if you're writing erotica), then you're not going to lose me by being either too orthodox or too convoluted or anything else. I'm in. The reverse is, of course, also true.

I pretty much agree with this. The path will lead to kinky sex eventually. In the meantime, it's less important how convoluted it is than how artfully it's laid out.

 

[mpeters]

I suppose my style of writing could be called “instinctive,” if you will. I usually have a very basic plot line, but I don’t always get there the way I’d originally planned. Sometimes the characters will take over and I’m as surprised at what I’m writing as my readers are. The only story I really planned out to the point I had foreshadowing is my latest one, which some readers didn’t care for how it ended, even though I put some major clues as to the resolution in the beginning (my lowest rated story so far, probably because of the ending, but I think that’s more of a reflection on the readers than the story, which a number of readers added to favorites). I usually try to just let the story tell itself, however it works out.

 

[HeyAll]

Let me use your two-page story Boat Ride with Mom as an example. It's in I/T. It has "Mom" in the title. The reader knows before they click on the story that the story is going to end with mother-son sex.

But at the start of the story, there's no clear path to the mother-son sex. The mom and son are going to go to an expensive resort, and the mom wants to go on lots of boat rides there. She thinks her sea sickness issues have been resolved by a hypnotist. At this point, the mother and son will have a nice vacation together, but nothing sexual is going to happen between them.

Because there's no clear path, I now want to read how the clever HeyAll will get us to the destination we all know we're going to arrive at. I...want....to...read...the...story. If I jump ahead to the final sex scene, I'll lack the context for the sex scene and won't enjoy it as much.

Conversely, the story could have started with the son thinking about how hot his mom is and how she appeals to him so much more than girls his age. The mom then says she's turning 45 and wants to start having fun while she has the energy to do so. On the way to the resort, the mom says she wants to live it up this week. At this point, I might as well scroll to the sex scene as I already have all the context for it.

That's a great point that I'll take into account.

On a side note, I'm editing a new story right now which starts present day, then told in hindsight. I thought about your post and I somewhat give away what happens. Perhaps I'll fix that. But I do end the intro with this line that I really like: Had I known this would happen, I would have pursued a different career.