Do You Have Common Stall Points In Stories?

[ElectricBlue]

I might try the cold open concept.. It works for James Bond -- why not erotica?

One of my recent stories meets both your snappy opening line criteria and a cold opening. Ruby delivers the line, then the narrative cycles quickly through some scene and background setting before coming back to the opening, after four or five hundred words.

It's a follow-up story that can stand on its own. The first sequence acts as a reminder for those who have read the first part, and an introduction to the characters for those that haven't. I jumped category from Fetish to Anal, which as we know is a jump from a smaller audience to a larger one, and the technique worked nicely. The second part has four times more views than the first, but both have a healthy score, and a number of comments.

https://www.literotica.com/s/garter-belts-and-whiskey

 

[PBAnnie]

Define 'cold opening'. Example?

The opening scene of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life," with Jimmy Stewart is a classic example. We're shown a bunch of stars and galaxies arranged in the vast darkness of space that are supposed to represent God, or St. Peter, or some other heavenly hosts talking with Clarence, a hopeless hopeful trying to be promoted to an angel and to get his wings. Their conversation introduces us to the main characters of the story before the scene transitions from stars in space to a group of kids snowsledding down a hill.

The backdrop used in the initial scene does get used a few more times in the movie primarily as a vehicle for making larger jumps in time where other kinds of transitions may have felt more awkward.

Funny... Those scenes with the stars filled the same role as asterisms in written works. (Asterisms are a specific kind of dinkus.) Get it? "Stars?" "Aster?" ...never mind...

 

[coppaJChristo]

I feel like this might be a shitty thing to say here, but stick with me and maybe I can offer something. Ahem:

I’ve never, not once, stalled on an erotic story. I sit down and I start typing, and sometimes, I literally just keep writing for an hour straight. Often, I’m pissed because I can’t KEEP writing instead of doing life stuff like dinner and sleeping.

I don’t think I’m special, btw. But I do think my stories are extremely well-baked before I start writing them. Outside of Lit, I write fiction novels (not sexy ones) with a lot of feelings and such, and I use the same outlining techniques to define my sexy characters as I do my non-sexy ones. My sexy characters have an inside arc (how their relationships motivate their decisions) and an outside arc (how events motivate their decisions), and I have fairly detailed personality profiles and histories written before I even move beyond my hook.

Don’t think I don’t ‘experience’ what I’m writing just because I don’t write by the seat of my pants. There is plenty of room between an outline and prose to let my characters surprise me. But if i have a strong enough reason that two (or more) people are about to have sex, I’ve built the kind of tension that makes it easy for them to flip the switch when the opportunity presents itself.

I apologize to any authors that are challenged by this and may read my response as a little smug. But know that before I explored and committed to an outlining process that works for me, I constantly struggled with blocks and the need to go back and fix motivational inconsistencies.

If you want to outline but haven’t done it before, consider this approach: write the hook, write the beginning outline, then write the end outline and work backward from there.

And if all of this seems like a lot of work, you just have to decide which is harder, writing the outline or breaking a block.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

I don’t have a problem with starting sex scenes. I work on a variety of writing projects, fiction and non-, and any idea I get that I aim for Literotica is based on the characters’ sex lives. What I submit here, almost entirely, are stories about sex, as opposed to stories that include sex but are about something else. The process of thinking up and learning about the characters often begins with their sex acts, separately and together. Then I follow with working out who they are in the rest of their lives. Then, if all of that seems to make sense, I see if there’s a plot to connect them and drag them through time.

https://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=5116173&page=submissions

 

[LAHomedog]

Define 'cold opening'. Example?

A cold opening is what the others have described. It establishes the tone of the piece and your lead character. Think about "Beverly Hills Cop" where Eddie is in the back of the truck full of drugs busting the guys after a long chase. Boom. You understand the movie, you understand his character, and you understand the premise. Most importantly, it hooks you into the film

Most TV shows start with a cold opening. I use to teach screenwriting on occasion and I would use the cold opening to "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" as an example. Sundance is playing cards, the other player accuses him of cheating. Sundance gets that hard, gunfighter look in his face. Butch, who is all mouth, comes in and tried to smooth it over. He is slick, and funny, and rags on Sundance the entire time establishing their relationship. Butch then says, "I can't help you Sundance." The other dude says, "I didn't know you were the Sundance Kid when I said you were cheating. If I draw on you, you'll kill me." He is scared shitless. You instantly know that Sundance is the best gunfighter and death on two legs.

Then Butch gets cute again and it ends with a display of Sundance's talent with his six-shooter. In a few short minutes, you have the movie, their characters, their relationship, their traits and strengths, and it hooks you in so much there is no way you are not going to watch and tell you friends.

A cold opening...

 

[LAHomedog]

I also like the practice of jumping immediately into a story rather than leading up to it with background or data dumping. I try to sprinkle the data and background throughout the first part of the story as needed., if possible I don't think I have yet tried a real "cold open." I like to lead off with things like 1) a quick, punchy one sentence first paragraph to grab attention (example, my latest story: "One day, I got the idea to put naked pictures of my wife on the Internet."), or 2) jumping into the middle of relevant dialogue, or 3) jumping into action.

Yes. I agree. (We are agreeing a lot today.) I've got to have the first line. If I don't have that in my head, there is no story.

I think what you are describing is quality, sophisticated handling of exposition. You are a superb writer and deft in how to tell a tale. I was talking with another writer on the phone today about their sloppy exposition and how to weave it in as part of the story rather than hanging out a street light and saying, "Exposition here!"

I always think the finest exposition trick in series TV was Steven Bochco's morning briefing in "Hill Street Blues." Genius.

 

[TadOverdon]

Sometimes I have the first line. Sometimes it comes to me later. And sometimes I have it and it changes.

Like somebody said, if you don't know where to start then start with the second paragraph.

And here's a subset of the transition problem: moving from couple/group to couple/group in an orgy. If I'm doing strict omniscient it's not so bad, but I almost never do that. Rather, the POV shifts from person to person in different paragraphs. And it's weird to jump out of one person's head when they're so intensely engaged and across the room or yard into someone else's.

 

[PBAnnie]

Sometimes I have the first line. Sometimes it comes to me later. And sometimes I have it and it changes.

Like somebody said, if you don't know where to start then start with the second paragraph.

And here's a subset of the transition problem: moving from couple/group to couple/group in an orgy. If I'm doing strict omniscient it's not so bad, but I almost never do that. Rather, the POV shifts from person to person in different paragraphs. And it's weird to jump out of one person's head when they're so intensely engaged and across the room or yard into someone else's.

...and that's the true story of how Quentin Tarentino wrote the screenplay for "Pulp Fiction." An entire collection of cold starts that each began with their second paragraph.

 

[LAHomedog]

Sometimes I have the first line. Sometimes it comes to me later. And sometimes I have it and it changes.

Like somebody said, if you don't know where to start then start with the second paragraph.

You have just described my writing partner of 40+ years. He is everything that I am not. A wordsmith, a master of grammar, punctuation, rules, and formatting. That's not me. I'm dyslexic, can't spell for shit, and hate rules.)

I do the outline because my strength is story. He does the first draft. He use to sit in front of the computer with his head in his hands pissing, moaning and groaning because he did know how to start. We finally figured out to have him jump to the 2nd paragraph and boom, the script is written. I then go back and drop in the first line and paragraph. The first line is always in the outline. I can't write a story if I don't have it.

 

[lovecraft68]

Like the OP I slow down when I approach the sex scene. This has been the last couple of years and I wonder if its a case of I've written so many sex scenes and there are only so many possible combinations, positions, descriptions, that I'm a bit burned out on them.

Where on the other hand each story around the sex is unique so I find I'm more excited writing the plot, build up etc...

Its possible that writing a few graphically violent horror novels that deal with some seriously fucked up broken people and back stories have dulled some of the sexy in the muse.

I find that if I can get through the first paragraph or so of sex autopilot kicks in and I get caught up and deliver a decent scene, but I have to push through, and I find I end up dragging the lead in out more, like I'm circling it before finally taking the plunge.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

Do you find yourself stalling at common points in your stories? Lately, I find myself stalling at the point a sex scene is supposed to start. For some reason, my mind goes into hibernation, and I stall. The story will languish for a period of time (sometimes months) before I pick it up and move forward.

Editing is another hump. I have a novella ready for the market, but the editing has been waiting for weeks.

I just did a count of stories that are waiting for their sex scene and it's up to 15.

I have the same issue. I try to write complete sections every session, and while I am building the story I pick up the next day where I left off. But when I get to the main sex scene I stall. Sometimes for days, sometimes for weeks, and in one case for seven years. I can get through shorter, intermediate sexual encounters with no problem, but for some reason the main sex scene of a story or chapter must first overcome a blockage.

 

[Ginlover]

Romantic non sex scenes
I can write sex, make it emotional or graphic or full of humour, I can write characters caring and loving each other, but to write an early romance scene dries my brain out. I hate doing it, I hate what I write and I lose all natural flow so stumble every time.

I’ve got a story I love on hiatus for seven months all because the next scene is romance.

 

[NotWise]

Romantic non sex scenes
I can write sex, make it emotional or graphic or full of humour, I can write characters caring and loving each other, but to write an early romance scene dries my brain out. I hate doing it, I hate what I write and I lose all natural flow so stumble every time.

I’ve got a story I love on hiatus for seven months all because the next scene is romance.

What do you think of as "romance?" What you call romance, I might call "the story."

I think I got over my most recent stall by postponing the sex scene to a later point when it seems more appropriate for the characters.

 

[PBAnnie]

I think I got over my most recent stall by postponing the sex scene to a later point when it seems more appropriate for the characters.

It's nice to finally find someone who actually listened to their parents' advice and decided that "sex can wait."

 

[NotWise]

It's nice to finally find someone who actually listened to their parents' advice and decided that "sex can wait."

Did I listen? I don't recall that I did.

The lesson we tried to impart to our daughters was "everything in its time."

 

[Ginlover]

What do you think of as "romance?" What you call romance, I might call "the story.".

I’m better at using the sex as part of the character development and story. An outright romantic scene where the mood changes from sexual tension, or friends, or banter to omg I have the feels for this person. Not the I wanna play hide the sausage with them ‘feels’ but the I want to wake up with them, have babies and grow old together ‘feels’. That first realisation romantic scene that can’t be described away by postcoital bliss I am appalling at writing. I know I’m bad at them so stall without exception.

I can introduce my characters to each other, I can set them up to show an emerging connection… then I stop writing or just make them jump the other so it’s lust not romance and that’s not going to work in every set up.

 

[RejectReality]

The point where a reluctant, conscience-nagged MC is giving into temptation. Sometimes it works without a hitch, but most times, I end up backspacing a dozen versions before I get past that critical transition.

None of my other sticking points are quite that consistent, and are as much to do with my mood that day as anything else. Don't feel like writing sex. Don't feel like writing setups. Don't feel like writing fantasy. Don't feel like writing stroke.

I just keep flipping through WIPs until something clicks. I usually have a dozen or more in various states of completion and position in the narrative, so I can usually find something.

 

[KristinKailey]

In the erotic fiction context, I think a normal cold open is to start in a sex scene, then break and tell the story of how it came about.

Oh I'm planning a cold open sex scene for the next big story I'm going to write, but its not going to be a start and look back. Its more a couple having great sex while on vacation before they're kidnapped and turned into human pets. Fun right?

I don't really hit stall points because my method is keep writing no matter what. Sometimes I do feel like I have to slog through so I definitely hit muddy spots in which my flow is off, but I push forward and that momentum gets me going. Then when I go back over my stuff I often find that what I wrote in the slog wasn't as bad as I thought and if it was I just rewrite it with what is at that point a fresh perspective.

 

[gordo12]

Like the OP I slow down when I approach the sex scene. This has been the last couple of years and I wonder if its a case of I've written so many sex scenes and there are only so many possible combinations, positions, descriptions, that I'm a bit burned out on them.

Where on the other hand each story around the sex is unique so I find I'm more excited writing the plot, build up etc...

Its possible that writing a few graphically violent horror novels that deal with some seriously fucked up broken people and back stories have dulled some of the sexy in the muse.

I find that if I can get through the first paragraph or so of sex autopilot kicks in and I get caught up and deliver a decent scene, but I have to push through, and I find I end up dragging the lead in out more, like I'm circling it before finally taking the plunge.

I like to have something unique about each sex scene which is tough when describing slot A into hole B. The lack of ideas is maybe why I'm stalling too.

The lesson we tried to impart to our daughters was "everything in its time."

Yes, as I told mine. When you're 90...

 

[NotWise]

I like to have something unique about each sex scene which is tough when describing slot A into hole B. The lack of ideas is maybe why I'm stalling too.

I know some writers don't work like this, but one way to avoid the "tab A in slot B" effect is to build emotional aspects of the relationship so that when tab A meets slot B the physical act isn't the most important thing going on.

I delayed the first sex scene in my current story (hopefully for Summer Lovin') so I could build more background. It seemed to work for me.

 

[LAHomedog]

Did I listen? I don't recall that I did.

The lesson we tried to impart to our daughters was "everything in its time."

As a father of a boy I always said, When you have a boy, you have to worry about one boy. When you have a girl, you have to worry about all boys.

 

[NotWise]

Yes, as I told mine. When you're 90...

I followed my wife's lead on that. She figured that it would be best if we didn't let them date at all until they were sixteen, and then we made sure they were responsible.

A guy drove three fourths of the way across the country to be my second daughter's first date. He showed up at the door on her birthday with a dozen long-stemmed roses, but he was so exhausted from the drive that their date was just two hours at a popular cafe. Then he brought her home and went to a friend's house to crash.

I don't think they ever saw each other again, but it was romantic.

 

[gordo12]

I know some writers don't work like this, but one way to avoid the "tab A in slot B" effect is to build emotional aspects of the relationship so that when tab A meets slot B the physical act isn't the most important thing going on.

I delayed the first sex scene in my current story (hopefully for Summer Lovin') so I could build more background. It seemed to work for me.

Good advice! I do like building on the emotional aspects. And the scene has to depend very much on the previous emotional aspects to take off. A hi, here I am, let's fuck would never work for me. One reason I can't stand professional porno videos.

But I like to find something that is uniquely "Them!" Something that will separate them from Tab A, Slot B.

 

[TadOverdon]

Like the OP I slow down when I approach the sex scene. This has been the last couple of years and I wonder if its a case of I've written so many sex scenes and there are only so many possible combinations, positions, descriptions, that I'm a bit burned out on them.

I have the same feeling on this book.

"Concentrate on the feelings of the characters instead" only goes so far, I think. Writing a sex story involves describing a lot of sex. And there are a limited number of words, phrases and variations. Also, I'm doing twelve or thirteen chapters in a book with sex in every chapter, and...you know, your protagonist's on her fifth blow-job it just starts to blend together...

 

[NotWise]

I have the same feeling on this book.

"Concentrate on the feelings of the characters instead" only goes so far, I think. Writing a sex story involves describing a lot of sex. And there are a limited number of words, phrases and variations. Also, I'm doing twelve or thirteen chapters in a book with sex in every chapter, and...you know, your protagonist's on her fifth blow-job it just starts to blend together...

I was pretty much sick of Manny and Claudia having sex AGAIN by the time I got to the end of "A Valentine's Day Mess." Their transcendent sex scene happened near the end of part three (Chapter eight, I think), but the whole story went on in five parts and ended with chapter twelve. I had to add things to scenes after chapter eight just so I could keep writing them without falling asleep.