On Writing: When is it too far?

[Ruffus_Goodman]

I've been reflecting deeply on some story concepts of mine.

I wanna write terror with porn elements to it. In my opinion, that is what it takes to make a good horror movie. I know Lit is not a screenwriter's forum, but still.. this is my motivation to create my stories.

Thing is... this forum is not about snuff or imposed violence. So, where do I draw the line?

My characters and stories tend to involve victims, a monster/killer, sex between the lead cast, sex before kills, sex with the killer before he is revealed.

So... Am I hopeless writing things based on these concepts above? Should I rework my material to dump violence entirely if I have this forum as media?

We're in October, month of Halloween, and I wanted to debut an horror story still depicting sex. But this problem with reaching to close to snuff got stuck in my mind.

Hints of any kind, anyone?

 

[Sir_Maveric]

There is an erotic horror section to the site. I would suggest you send your story there.

 

[Bramblethorn]

There is an erotic horror section to the site. I would suggest you send your story there.

Also, read a few stories in that section to get a feeling for what's allowed.

 

[SimonDoom]

I dont see a problem. There are plenty of stories with death. What you cant have is snuff or torture porn, where a person is killed or tortured in a way that is meant to be arousing.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Do not worry. I have just written a Halloween story besides which yours will pale, in deaths at least, and I’m writing a second where the heroine collects cowboy boots of men she’s had sex with and then killed. It’s a lot of fun.

Say, does anyone here wear cowboy boots

I've been reflecting deeply on some story concepts of mine.

I wanna write terror with porn elements to it. In my opinion, that is what it takes to make a good horror movie. I know Lit is not a screenwriter's forum, but still.. this is my motivation to create my stories.

Thing is... this forum is not about snuff or imposed violence. So, where do I draw the line?

My characters and stories tend to involve victims, a monster/killer, sex between the lead cast, sex before kills, sex with the killer before he is revealed.

So... Am I hopeless writing things based on these concepts above? Should I rework my material to dump violence entirely if I have this forum as media?

We're in October, month of Halloween, and I wanted to debut an horror story still depicting sex. But this problem with reaching to close to snuff got stuck in my mind.

Hints of any kind, anyone?

 

[ChasPHX]

I've been reflecting deeply on some story concepts of mine.

I wanna write terror with porn elements to it. In my opinion, that is what it takes to make a good horror movie. I know Lit is not a screenwriter's forum, but still.. this is my motivation to create my stories.

Thing is... this forum is not about snuff or imposed violence. So, where do I draw the line?

My characters and stories tend to involve victims, a monster/killer, sex between the lead cast, sex before kills, sex with the killer before he is revealed.

So... Am I hopeless writing things based on these concepts above? Should I rework my material to dump violence entirely if I have this forum as media?

We're in October, month of Halloween, and I wanted to debut an horror story still depicting sex. But this problem with reaching to close to snuff got stuck in my mind.

Hints of any kind, anyone?

Funny you should ask... My writing tends toward the dark side as well. In fact my Halloween contest entry that went up this morning is horrific as heck, the sex is grotesque, and the ending is bleak.

Now I typically don't write the kind of horror you're describing, but I'm sure if you handle it well you can go that direction. I wrote a story that combined rough play (strangulation) with threat of murder, and it was contentious on the editorial side. I needed to be clear in the story that the "victim" was willing. A big part of that was the category, Celebrities & Fan Fiction, which is more stringent with that sort of thing. It might be helpful for you to read it, and if you want, I can share more a about the editorial process.

It's this one: Michael Myers is Mine.

Good luck.

 

[jehoram]

I dont see a problem. There are plenty of stories with death. What you cant have is snuff or torture porn, where a person is killed or tortured in a way that is meant to be arousing.

So is it a question of Laurel saying, "I was aroused, so it's in" or "I wasn't aroused, so it's out"?

I'm not a fan of horror, so I can't honestly say whether I could be a good judge of that. But the space between some people being aroused by a scene that isn't meant to be arousing, and other people not being aroused by a scene that is meant to be arousing, seems way to fuzzy to define.

 

[BarracudaSwordfish]

Say, does anyone here wear cowboy boots

Not any more...

 

[ChloeTzang]

Not any more...

Looks sad - anyhow, when One Night in Roanapur makes it, well, you won’t want to flirt with Trexy Lee, believe me.

 

[gunhilltrain]

So is it a question of Laurel saying, "I was aroused, so it's in" or "I wasn't aroused, so it's out"?

I'm not a fan of horror, so I can't honestly say whether I could be a good judge of that. But the space between some people being aroused by a scene that isn't meant to be arousing, and other people not being aroused by a scene that is meant to be arousing, seems way to fuzzy to define.

Different sites have different requirements. If you are on more than one, you have more options and you can fit the story to the "personality" of the site, or at least get a different audience that may view the story differently. As much as I respect what Laurel has done, I don't want to be completely dependent on what she thinks is proper (and she definitely has the right to make those calls on her own site).

 

[davion2308]

THere's a line

I have had a number of people die or suffer in my stories, sometimes in gory fashion, but as long as it's not sexualized and it's relevant to the plot or development, it'll fly.

Can it be a horrific sex act between a man and a female zombie with her teeth bashed out to simulate oral sex? Sure, that happened in a story.

Can someone be killed by a demon summoned by a coven of witches? Yep, that's in one my stories too.

Read some of the horror and you'll see where people generally land with what's good and what's not. Laurel will make the final call, though.

 

[SimonDoom]

So is it a question of Laurel saying, "I was aroused, so it's in" or "I wasn't aroused, so it's out"?

.

No, I think it's more or less the opposite.

You can publish a story at Literotica that includes sex and murder. For instance, a detective story where the detective tracks down a serial killer and also has a lot of sex.

What you cannot do is present the murders in a way that appears to be arousing, or intended to arouse.

Death is OK as long as it is NOT arousing.

 

[ChloeTzang]

No, I think it's more or less the opposite.

You can publish a story at Literotica that includes sex and murder. For instance, a detective story where the detective tracks down a serial killer and also has a lot of sex.

What you cannot do is present the murders in a way that appears to be arousing, or intended to arouse.

Death is OK as long as it is NOT arousing.

Yes. I’ve killed off characters in a few stories - Welcome to Nockatunga Station being one, Halloween in the Cemetery being another - quite horrifically- and if it’s not written to be sexually arousing, it’s fine. You can mix sex in of course, just not mix it with death altho I’ve done that, briefly, and it passed. It’s all in the context and how you write it.

 

[SimonDoom]

Yes. I’ve killed off characters in a few stories - Welcome to Nockatunga Station being one, Halloween in the Cemetery being another - quite horrifically- and if it’s not written to be sexually arousing, it’s fine. You can mix sex in of course, just not mix it with death altho I’ve done that, briefly, and it passed. It’s all in the context and how you write it.

I thought Nockatunga station walked the line. It definitely should be allowed, but if I recall the genesis of the story idea was the weird fetish about giving birth to alien eggs. As you developed the story the deaths that resulted were horrific rather than erotic, but the initial concept was an erotic concept. So, the OP is correct that it's not a clear, black-and-white situation. But I think with some common sense you can get to the right result.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I thought Nockatunga station walked the line. It definitely should be allowed, but if I recall the genesis of the story idea was the weird fetish about giving birth to alien eggs. As you developed the story the deaths that resulted were horrific rather than erotic, but the initial concept was an erotic concept. So, the OP is correct that it's not a clear, black-and-white situation. But I think with some common sense you can get to the right result.

Yes exactly.

That alien egg fetish thing is really weird. And there’s quite a few teenage romance thing on Wattpad with girls and Predators. Bizarro. Lol.