Do you ever want to not write a sex scene if it doesn't take the story along?

[taytay4eva]

I mean yes we're on the smut story website, but it feels ... out of place to describe. Like, there's gonna BE a sex scene later, and there was a blowjob moment right out of the gate, but writing the sex scene after an emotional build feels gratuitous. Anyone else ever feel that way?

 

[Djmac1031]

Really just depends on what kind of story you're telling.

I wrote one fantasy story where I had so much STORY to tell that I skipped the sex scenes. Id set them up, suggest the characters were about to get it on, then cut to after.

But obviously if you're writing a story where the whole point is to get these people fucking, then you kinda need them to fuck.

 

[ronde]

Sex in a story should be where it fits the plot and the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Just throwing in some sex because this is an erotic story website will make the story read as contrived.

 

[ElectricBlue]

If I'm not ready (= my characters not being ready) they go off and do something else until they're ready. Cafes get mileage in my stories, because of that.

 

[Zeronix]

I really like it when my sex scenes have emotional beats behind them too. That way they don’t feel gratuitous.

Put another way, everything can be thought of as character exposition I like stories which are character driven. Sex is just one way to get to know your characters better.

 

[NotWise]

I don't write stories about sex. I write stories with sex in them. I recall downplaying or removing planned sex scenes that felt repetitive, were unnecessary for the story, or inappropriate to the context.

 

[TheRedChamber]

If I'm not ready (= my characters not being ready) they go off and do something else until they're ready. Cafes get mileage in my stories, because of that.

I'm now just imagining a couple sitting in Starbucks all afternoon.

"So...erm...ready to...you know...yet?"

"I'll have another Venti Cinamon Latte, please."

"Damn it!"

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm now just imagining a couple sitting in Starbucks all afternoon.

"So...erm...ready to...you know...yet?"

"I'll have another Venti Cinamon Latte, please."

"Damn it!"

More often the mornings, before they've all woken up:

Honey Always Tastes Better From the Pot

 

[Cagivagurl]

I mean yes we're on the smut story website, but it feels ... out of place to describe. Like, there's gonna BE a sex scene later, and there was a blowjob moment right out of the gate, but writing the sex scene after an emotional build feels gratuitous. Anyone else ever feel that way?

I think you have to forget that it's a smutty story site....
Tell your story, and if it includes a sex scene, then all good. If on the other hand you don't think it fits. Then don't put it in...
There are hundreds of fabulous stories in here that have little to no sex in them...
Regardless of the category, there are readers that read for the story, not for the sex...
Don't fold to the internal pressure of having to include one, just because you think you have to...

Build your story, tell your tale...

Cagivagurl

 

[taytay4eva]

I really like it when my sex scenes have emotional beats behind them too. That way they don’t feel gratuitous.

Put another way, everything can be thought of as character exposition I like stories which are character driven. Sex is just one way to get to know your characters better.

I like this take! Yeah, I don't want to say that the characters have to EARN the sex, but anything you see "on screen" needs to feel emotionally earned.

 

[THBGato]

but writing the sex scene after an emotional build feels gratuitous. Anyone else ever feel that way?

Yep. I leave them out all the time. Or just "fade to black" when I feel we've seen enough.

 

[Writer61]

Yes,

I am more interested in the events that got the couple/moresome to that point than exactly what happens between them. So, some of my sex scenes are short/suggestive rather than long/explicit.

 

[iwatchus]

I first noticed this as a reader many decades ago, with a usenet precursor of lit. I started reading a series for the sex, but by chapter 6 or 7 I was skim reading the sex to get back to the story. The sex became repetitive as much as the story was so engaging; to be fair, both were true.

On the other hand, sometimes sex helps the story arc. I just finished writing a story about a trophy wife who slowly comes out of the closet when her daughter does. I liked the character and the story arc was going to get to sex eventually, but it wasn't working. My SO suggested that the daughter take her to a lesbian bar. It became the first real sex scenes and really built the story arc much better. It also turned into one of my favorite scenes in the story.

 

[Writer61]

I started reading a series for the sex, but by chapter 6 or 7 I was skim reading the sex to get back to the story.

I have had the same experience.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Of course. What I do in those instances is abbreviate it. The scene leads to sex but it's not necessary so I'll include the lead up to the sex and then chop it.

Doug held his breath as Mrs. Smith knelt at his feet. She looked into eyes with a wicked smile as she unuckled his belt. "Mrs Smith, your husband is in the living room!"
Doris smiled at the handsome young man.
"Sweetie, it's the Super Bowl. He's not gonna leave that TV for anything."
Ricky's eyes fluttered closed as her warm wet mouth fell over his cock. "Oh, we're both going to hell." Ricky whispered.

Then I move into the next scene. The husband sees his wife after. "Hun, you've got a little dip on your cheek."

 

[MrPixel]

Of course. What I do in those instances is abbreviate it. The scene leads to sex but it's not necessary so I'll include the lead up to the sex and then chop it.

I do the same. Build the sexual energy and then let the characters have their moment without the camera in their faces... or crotches. Not that I'm against explicit descriptions of the act(s). I write plenty of that when it's an important part of the story line, especially when it's creative, bizarre, or funny, or builds on the expression of the characters' personas.

 

[SimonDoom]

If I'm not ready (= my characters not being ready) they go off and do something else until they're ready. Cafes get mileage in my stories, because of that.

Makes you wonder, what the hell are they putting in that coffee?

 

[GrantBricksly]

I actually had this problem just recently...Writing my most recent story...I found myself thinking.."Ok..this is an erotic story...I know I want to have sex in here...and there is GOING to be sex...but....I'm not really ready for it yet..." and more importantly...the character that I had introduced thus far...were FAR from ready for it...

in the end, I ended up having a "dream" sequence that gave me a sexual scene...and then introduced a new character in order to include a sex scene, that way I can still have the scene, and also still wait fr the character that needs more time..

 

[ElectricBlue]

Makes you wonder, what the hell are they putting in that coffee?

Patience, stirred in with a small spoon.

 

[kellyt1994]

I mean yes we're on the smut story website, but it feels ... out of place to describe. Like, there's gonna BE a sex scene later, and there was a blowjob moment right out of the gate, but writing the sex scene after an emotional build feels gratuitous. Anyone else ever feel that way?

Just submitted my first story and all the explicit scenes I tried to write felt contrived, like you say. Fear and humiliation and shame are my big turn ons so I kind of just set up the sex scenes and moved on to the aftermath. I hope to get more comfortable writing them but I'm not there yet. But again, first story so hopefully it will come to me.

 

[taytay4eva]

Just submitted my first story and all the explicit scenes I tried to write felt contrived, like you say. Fear and humiliation and shame are my big turn ons so I kind of just set up the sex scenes and moved on to the aftermath. I hope to get more comfortable writing them but I'm not there yet. But again, first story so hopefully it will come to me.

Congrats on your first story! Write turns you on and write what feels good to write. If you don't feel like you want to write something, leave it out.

 

[NoTalentHack]

I mean yes we're on the smut story website, but it feels ... out of place to describe. Like, there's gonna BE a sex scene later, and there was a blowjob moment right out of the gate, but writing the sex scene after an emotional build feels gratuitous. Anyone else ever feel that way?

Yes. And then I don’t write it. If it doesn’t serve the story, it’s not worth putting in, and that would be true of an overly detailed description of forging a river in a Western or every moment of a stakeout in a police procedural. Detail the interesting stuff; allude to the rest.

 

[Britva415]

Do you ever want to not write a sex scene if it doesn't take the story along?

Depends what is meant by "taking the story along," and "to where" exactly.

Because, most of these stories are plots which are there for taking us along to the sex.

I imagine you've seen stories around here where someone did not want to write a plot if it didn't take the story along suchway.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Sex in a story should be where it fits the plot and the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Just throwing in some sex because this is an erotic story website will make the story read as contrived.

Beat me to it.

It's my belief that we are first and foremost story tellers. As such, the story comes first. if that story is a 10K word orgy, that's fine, but the sex needs to fit the story, otherwise it detracts, even on a erotica site.

 

[iwatchus]

Because, most of these stories are plots which are there for taking us along to the sex.

Maybe it is most, but certainly not all. Some stories, both what I have read and a few I have written are what I have seen called strokers, where the sex is the point and dammit don't distract me with much plot. But others are about the plot, where the sex is part of the plot, but not the be all and end all of it.

In one sense, how can we write about the human experience without including sex, which is such a central part of many of our existences. Sometimes, like Shakespeare, the sex is thinly veiled. Not that anyone here is ever going to be confused for Shakespeare, but we have the advantage of not having to veil it.