Writing Erotica With Emotional Depth - Do Readers Want It?

[SimonDoom]

Absolutely yes, there are some (many) readers who want this, and if this is what you want to write you should.

 

[AchtungNight]

Sex is great, but for a lot of people, emotional depth makes it more interesting. I’m one of those people. Take the adult game Last Sovereign or BlueDragon’s stories- lots of diverse complicated characters in these tales and their interplay is great for the sex and the plot. I strive for similar stuff in my own writing. So yes, if you can make it work, emotional depth is worth doing.

 

[Levorotatory]

This is a wrong place to ask such a question. Most people here will say yes, because it helps justify the effort they put into their stories to steer them into a more emotional and less stroke-y direction.

This is what they want to do -- the authors. By and large, it isn't really reflective of what the readers want; most readers aren't writers. If you want to see what kind of stories are actually the most popular, check the toplists for each categories, i.e. most viewed and most rated.

Really? The hall of fame in my favorite category (first time) is a lot less "stroke-y" than the random story list usually is.

 

[TheLobster]

Really? The hall of fame in my favorite category (first time) is a lot less "stroke-y" than the random story list usually is.

What exactly are you responding to? I made no specific claims about the "strokiness" of entries that reach the toplists.

 

[StillStunned]

I think erotica works best if there's some emotional investment. I don't mean that everyone has to be working through some trauma or wrestling with their conscience, or that every sex scene has to be preceded or followed by deep and meaningful conversations.

But emotional build-up can be just as effective as a long tease. If your characters need to unload some tension - anxiety, relief, anger, whatever - it gives the sex an added punch that you lack with "well, we're horny, let's fuck."

ETA: I can't say whether it's what readers want, but in my experience it will generate positive comments.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I made no specific claims about the "strokiness" of entries that reach the toplists.

Uhh ...

Most people here will say yes, because it helps justify the effort they put into their stories to steer them into a more emotional and less stroke-y direction.

This is what they want to do -- the authors. By and large, it isn't really reflective of what the readers want; most readers aren't writers. If you want to see what kind of stories are actually the most popular, check the toplists for each categories, i.e. most viewed and most rated.

Close enough.

 

[TheLobster]

Close enough.

Yes? Obviously? Whatever a small group of maybe dozens of writers think from their PoV is not in any way representative of the thousands upon thousands of readers.

That’s what I was alluding to. Any answer OP gets here will be the opinion of writers, not readers.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Any answer OP gets here will be the opinion of writers, not readers.

A fact we often forget. If anything, I find the AH unrepresentative of the general Literotica authorship, let alone of Literotica's wide readership.

 

[alohadave]

BlueDragon’s stories

I'm conflicted about his stories. He's a really good writer, in that he draws you in and makes you care about the characters, but there was ultimately very little character growth in his OSL series. A couple million words and all the female leads introduced ended up with the main character in a HEA.

There was some really heart wrenching plots in there, but they were handwaved away for the happy ending. Plus, I don't know how the guy ever had time for anything but sex, he shot off 7-8 times a day for years.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

A fact we often forget. If anything, I find the AH unrepresentative of the general Literotica authorship, let alone of Literotica's wide readership.

Oh, I'm always aware of this and I have pointed it out on several occasions, usually ending up with someone or three how wrong I am.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Yes? Obviously? Whatever a small group of maybe dozens of writers think from their PoV is not in any way representative of the thousands upon thousands of readers.

That’s what I was alluding to. Any answer OP gets here will be the opinion of writers, not readers.

Yes, obviously. You claimed that the writers like it more plotty and less strokey, but the the readers are different (as in more strokey) and check out the top lists (as they trend more strokey). If that's not a claim, what is?

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Yes, obviously. You claimed that the writers like it more plotty and less strokey, but the the readers are different (as in more strokey) and check out the top lists (as they trend more strokey). If that's not a claim, what is?

I don't think that top lists are the best representation of this trend, even though there are some obvious cases. Writing in some relatively niche category with appreciative readership can get you very high in the top lists. I'd say that the number of views, number of favorites, number of comments and votes, are a better representatives of what's popular on Lit.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I don't think that top lists are the best representation of this trend, even though there are some obvious cases. Writing in some relatively niche category with appreciative readership can get you very high in the top lists. I'd say that the number of views, number of favorites, number of comments and votes, are a better representatives of what's popular on Lit.

I thought the Top Lists were sorted by the number of views? That's what my quick check just now tells me (I don't pay any attention to the Top Lists).

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I thought the Top Lists were sorted by the number of views? That's what my quick check just now tells me (I don't pay any attention to the Top Lists).

Nah, they are sorted by rating, with the caveat that your story has to have at least 100 votes.
There are more than a few cases where a story with, say 4.91 rating and 105 votes is ahead of a story with a 4.90 rating, 10k votes, and orders of magnitude more views/favorites/comments.

 

[ThatNewGuy]

Nah, they are sorted by rating, with the caveat that your story has to have at least 100 votes.

Also, for stories that share the same rating, their order on the top list is determined by number of votes (greatest to least).

 

[TheLobster]

You claimed that the writers like it more plotty and less strokey, but the the readers are different

Regarding the bolded part: not only I made no such claim, but I also indirectly admitted that I cannot speak for the bulk of readers, being a writer myself and thus susceptible to the same writer biases I was simultaneously pointing out.

As for whether writers like it more plotty... As @AwkwardlySet rightfully remarked, the sample of authors posting in AH is subject to a selection bias. The responses in this thread would indicate that yes, they indeed do like it more plotty, but this is just a small handful of Lit writers among many thousands.

Bottom line is still the same. We know little, and you should write what you want to write. Your audience will find you.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Nah, they are sorted by rating, with the caveat that your story has to have at least 100 votes.
There are more than a few cases where a story with, say 4.91 rating and 105 votes is ahead of a story with a 4.90 rating, 10k votes, and orders of magnitude more views/favorites/comments.

Haha, I just looked at the "Most Read" TL, so obvious it was... the highest number of Views (which would skew that list towards older stories).

Sorting by score makes some sort of sense for those categories that aren't I&T or LW, which run away with the highest number of votes, because they're far more popular in the first place.

Nothing is really comparable, though, because the dynamics are so different between categories.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I don't think that top lists are the best representation of this trend, even though there are some obvious cases. Writing in some relatively niche category with appreciative readership can get you very high in the top lists. I'd say that the number of views, number of favorites, number of comments and votes, are a better representatives of what's popular on Lit.

I agree 100%. Tell that to Lobster.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Regarding the bolded part: not only I made no such claim, but I also indirectly admitted that I cannot speak for the bulk of readers, being a writer myself and thus susceptible to the same writer biases I was simultaneously pointing out.

As for whether writers like it more plotty... As @AwkwardlySet rightfully remarked, the sample of authors posting in AH is subject to a selection bias. The responses in this thread would indicate that yes, they indeed do like it more plotty, but this is just a small handful of Lit writers among many thousands.

Bottom line is still the same. We know little, and you should write what you want to write. Your audience will find you.

Oh, pfft. Bull.

 

[SimonDoom]

Nah, they are sorted by rating, with the caveat that your story has to have at least 100 votes.
There are more than a few cases where a story with, say 4.91 rating and 105 votes is ahead of a story with a 4.90 rating, 10k votes, and orders of magnitude more views/favorites/comments.

There are different toplists. There's the "Most Reads" all-category toplist, which lists in order the stories that have the most views.


There are also top rated stories by category. These are ordered by numerical score.

If you scan the most-viewed toplist, you see quickly that certain categories like incest dominate, and many have titillating titles that target popular kinks. Some of them are quite short; others are longer.

The category top score lists are a different matter. They vary a lot from category to category, but the top stories are quite different from the ones you see on the most-viewed list. Others like 8Letters have done some analysis on this. If we're looking at standalone stories only, stories that are somewhat long by typical short story standards do better -- those that are over 3 Lit pages, or over 10,000 words. So readers DO like more than just a quick short stroker. A 10,000 word story typically involves a lot more than just a sex scene. There's plenty of opportunity to add some literary style or add characters with emotional depth.

The other lists to check out are the most favorited story lists. There's an all-category list, and there are category lists. The results of these lists correspond a little bit with the most-viewed list.

My basic advice to people mulling this over is: Do what you want, but don't WITHHOLD emotional depth because you think readers won't like it, because that's not true. The evidence doesn't bear that out. It's not necessary for "success" here, but it won't hurt your success, and it's only going to make your story better.

 

[SimonDoom]

Bottom line is still the same. We know little, and you should write what you want to write. Your audience will find you.

Well said. Perfectly true.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

There are different toplists. There's the "Most Reads" all-category toplist, which lists in order the stories that have the most views.


There are also top rated stories by category. These are ordered by numerical score.

If you scan the most-viewed toplist, you see quickly that certain categories like incest dominate, and many have titillating titles that target popular kinks. Some of them are quite short; others are longer.

The category top score lists are a different matter. They vary a lot from category to category, but the top stories are quite different from the ones you see on the most-viewed list. Others like 8Letters have done some analysis on this. If we're looking at standalone stories only, stories that are somewhat long by typical short story standards do better -- those that are over 3 Lit pages, or over 10,000 words. So readers DO like more than just a quick short stroker. A 10,000 word story typically involves a lot more than just a sex scene. There's plenty of opportunity to add some literary style or add characters with emotional depth.

The other lists to check out are the most favorited story lists. There's an all-category list, and there are category lists. The results of these lists correspond a little bit with the most-viewed list.

My basic advice to people mulling this over is: Do what you want, but don't WITHHOLD emotional depth because you think readers won't like it, because that's not true. The evidence doesn't bear that out. It's not necessary for "success" here, but it won't hurt your success, and it's only going to make your story better.

I'm not sure how long the most-viewed list has existed. I know that back before I even thought of starting to write here, I've always seen only category top lists that were ordered by rating.

 

[SamBomb]

A lot of readers comment on stories saying they skip the sex scenes to get back to the plot. That said, my advise is always to write what you would enjoy reading. There will be people who enjoy it, and there will be others who don't.

I wish I could skip writing the sex scenes to get back to my story...

 

[TheLobster]

I wish I could skip writing the sex scenes to get back to my story...

I may or may not be speaking from experience when I say that a marker like [ sex scene here ] can be invaluable sometimes.

 

[iwatchus]

I wish I could skip writing the sex scenes to get back to my story...

Sometimes I write very explicit sex scenes in great detail. Other times is it just "We had great sex, physical and raw. My pussy was a little sore all night." or something similar. I am a firm believer that not every sex scene needs to be detailed.