Genuinely Curious: Why the Hate for Sex in Stories

[PandemicReader8]

First, let me start by saying that there are a lot of reasons why our perception of a thing should not be trusted. How we see a thing is not necessarily how it is. It's like buying a new car, you suddenly start noticing all the cars like yours in the world. They've always been there, you just weren't paying attention to them.

The question I am asking might be rooted in posts and comments I started noticing only after a discussion with other Litizens.

It may be wrong on it's face. I don't know, thus I'm asking.

Why is there seemingly so much derision for stories where a large percentage of the word count is devoted to sex scenes? Terms like "spank fuel" get tossed around in a derogatory manner. I appreciate- in some moments - a good slow burn as much as any one. But, as a reader, when I logged into Lit, it was for a very specific - often time sensitive - purpose. Are people actually coming to Lit expecting literature? Do they expect to find the next "War and Peace" or "The Great Gatsby" here?

What am I missing?

 

[Djmac1031]

I think balance is the key. Because it's often in short supply.

There are stories that take their time; building worlds, characters and conflicts for several pages before the first article of clothing comes off.

And then there's the stories where there's no actual plot or character development. Just sex, multiple positions, multiple orgasms.

Nothing wrong with either of these. Each serve their purpose.

I personally think the best stories manage to find a balance in between.

Great characters. Interesting plot. But not taking forever to get to the point. Or get them in bed.

 

[John_Vandermeer]

I'll generally agree with Djmac. I would clarify that you can have plenty of erotic tension without characters getting down to traditional business right away. But yes, I do see plenty of stroke stories, typically no more than a couple thousand words, that are generally different than the balance that I try to strike.

 

[onehitwanda]

It's possible to describe an incredibly hot sex scene in under a thousand words (I haven't personally managed this myself, but better writers here will most certainly have done so).

Taking 16k words of a 20k when-Kenny-met-Barbara to repetitive moans, groans, thrusting cocks, semen-soaked panties, etc etc is... self-indulgent. It doesn't advance the story to read thirty lines about the way in which Kenny's todger stretched out Barbara's man-cave. I accept that for many readers, this is precisely what they want.

There is, however, a large minority of readers who want a plausible or at least enjoyable story. They want to spend their time on something that speaks to them even while it satisfies their physical need (or emotional need) for release, catharsis, what-if, or pleasant daydreams.

As @Djmac1031 says there's a balance to be struck. My free time is limited. My free time to indulge in erotica in a manner that *grants me time to be fully in the experience* is nearly non-existent. When I have a little bit of free time, I want to spend that little bit of free time I have on something wonderful like Anjali's Red Scarf or A girl named Mitch, not stare morosely at an agglomeration of words describing Rod's sticky white trifle oozing out of Bunny's various holes.

Am I looking for Hemmingway? No. Am I looking for something worth the investment? yes. If all I want is a quick thirty second orgasm to blow off some steam, I can find a WlW thread on 4chan or watch other women masturbate on reddit.

Reading is food for my soul. Why would I feed my soul deep-fried lard when I could give it pannacotta?

 

[alohadave]

You are listening to authors who want to improve their work. We tend to want to improve and make our stories better.

Readers will read garbage if it gets them off.

 

[Djmac1031]

A porn story should still be a STORY.

If I just want people fucking, there's countless videos.

A STORY, even if it's a simple sex story, should have some kind of structure: who these characters are, why they're drawn to each other, some kind of build up that leads to it, some kind of tension before the release.

Otherwise who cares? Just two caricatures fucking. And porn videos do that much more effectively and efficiently.

I say this about any story (or movie or TV show);

If I don't care about who these people are, I don't care what they're doing.

Give me decent characters and a semi interesting plot and I'll buy anything else your story sells me.

 

[Djmac1031]

A porn story should still be a STORY.

If I just want people fucking, there's countless videos.

A STORY, even if it's a simple sex story, should have some kind of structure: who these characters are, why they're drawn to each other, some kind of build up that leads to it, some kind of tension before the release.

Otherwise who cares? Just two caricatures fucking. And porn videos do that much more effectively and efficiently.

I say this about any story (or movie or TV show);

If I don't care about who these people are, I don't care what they're doing.

Give me decent characters and a semi interesting plot and I'll buy anything else your story sells me.

I wanna be careful not to come off as dismissive of the quick, Wham Bam Stroke Story.

I've written a few myself.

Nothing wrong with those. Especially if done right.

Easy read, gets the blood flowing and heart racing, and sends you on your way with a smile on your face and a trash can full of sticky tissues.

Those can be fun.

Six pages of it, though? With absolutely nothing else going on?

Yawn.

 

[Duleigh]

For me at least, as I have written stories, my work has evolved from 90% sex to 90% narrative. I've been posting stories here since '06 and you can see the difference over time. Much of the stuff I've written between '09 and '19 never got put up here, but they inspired what is up now. I'm rewriting the stories from that decade in my current style where the story and the characters became more important to me than the sex.

Most important - it's my story, I write it the way I want. The readers like it, which is great! but the only opinion other than mine that I truly treasure is Laurels because it's her website and she can boot me out if she wants.

 

[KeithD]

Why is there seemingly so much derision for stories where a large percentage of the word count is devoted to sex scenes?

I don't think the percentage is high. I think you're just latching into discussions where writers striving to go further than the sex gather to try to be literary.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Why is there seemingly so much derision for stories where a large percentage of the word count is devoted to sex scenes? Terms like "spank fuel" get tossed around in a derogatory manner. I appreciate- in some moments - a good slow burn as much as any one. But, as a reader, when I logged into Lit, it was for a very specific - often time sensitive - purpose. Are people actually coming to Lit expecting literature? Do they expect to find the next "War and Peace" or "The Great Gatsby" here?

What am I missing?

Stories where sex scenes take up most of the content are completely fine and they have plenty of audience here. They are sometimes a subject of criticism because they often contain undeveloped characters and sudden and underbuilt sex scenes. From the point of view of a proper story, they do not really fit the criteria - they are more like a set of loosely connected sex scenes. That is my opinion only, of course. I would say that most AH authors, myself included, probably like to build up their characters and set a proper plot for their story.
All that being said, there is really no reason for you to feel pressured by any kind of comments to build your story in such a way. There is plenty of content judgement floating around this forum, but you should really write the way you want to write and try to find your own audience.

 

[PandemicReader8]

Stories where sex scene take up most of the content are completely fine and they have plenty of audience here. They are sometimes a subject of criticism because they often contain undeveloped characters and sudden and underbuilt sex scenes. From the point of view of a proper story, they do not really fit the criteria - they are more like a set of loosely connected sex scenes. That is my opinion only, of course. I would say that most AH authors, myself included, probably like to build up their characters and set a proper plot for their story.
All that being said, there is really no reason for you to feel pressured by any kind of comments to build your story in such a way. There is plenty of content judgement floating around this forum, but you should really write the way you want to write and to find your own audience.

Now this, makes sense!

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Why is there seemingly so much derision for stories where a large percentage of the word count is devoted to sex scenes?

I find the opposite. Readers in general don't want too much plot getting in the way of their kink.

Of course I'll get backlash in here for saying that, but hear me out. Of course folks in this AH forum look for balance because we're writers and we appreciate such things and if you put enough stuff out there you will nurture a following that appreciates it at least to a degree and you will get feedback telling you that your plot and characters are wonderful, but the vast majority of the hits on your stories just want to wank, all those thousands who never vote or the dozens who give a 2 because they had to scroll too much to find the sexy bits and didn't bother to comment.

Category matters too. The kinkier the category, get to the kink and give a unicorn rather quickly. Novels and novellas, the readers expect plot there of course.

 

[yowser]

Arousal by word, like the Library of Babel, has a range of possibilities approaching infinity. (Sometimes Literotica feels like one of those old 'house of mirrors' experiences.)

The appeal to try to create something unique, or at least different, drives many of us.

 

[SimonDoom]

You say there is "so much derision" for sex stories. What is your evidence for that? I don't see it.

Readers and authors vary widely in the degree to which they like simple, short sex-based stories on the one hand or longer, character- or plot-based stories on the other. Generally speaking, I see a lot of tolerance in this forum for different kinds of stories, although obviously there are differences of opinion.

It makes sense that in a forum called the "Author's Hangout" the balance of opinion is going to tip a little bit more toward stories with more to them than just sex. Stroke fans may be just a bit underrepresented, relatively speaking, here compared to the site as a whole. But I don't see the phenomenon you are talking about.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Terms like "spank fuel" get tossed around in a derogatory manner.

Do they, though? I'm only finding three hits for "spank fuel" on these forums. One of them is six years old and the other two are you. (I expect this post will become a fourth.)

"Stroke" gets used more often, but I don't think most of those uses are derogatory, it's just the common name for stories on that end of the spectrum.

I appreciate- in some moments - a good slow burn as much as any one. But, as a reader, when I logged into Lit, it was for a very specific - often time sensitive - purpose. Are people actually coming to Lit expecting literature?

...I mean, it's right there in the site name.

People come here for all sorts of reasons. They come here to get off, to get ideas for their own sex lives, to find out if anybody out there is wired like them, to get off, to learn something about how other people think about sex, to read a good story, and to get off. The "getting off" part is important but it's not the only thing people are looking for.

 

[NoTalentHack]

A lot of it, at least coming from readers, is also category-specific, or at least subcategory specific. A Loving wives story about the breakdown of a marriage, for example, is often not the place people are looking for when it comes to sex; it can be a bad tonal shift when it shows up. On the other hand, the folks in EC, Anal, and a few other categories are usually there for the fucking; a slow burn first time anal story can be slow, but that's about it. First Time, Romance, BDSM, etc. are all in the middle, because the buildup is part of the attraction.

Different people want different things. This is true for kinks; it's also true for stories.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Are people actually coming to Lit expecting literature?

What am I missing?

Yes, some do. And, from my perspective, those of us who try to provide it get far more derision than those who provide more straightforward sexual content do.

I don't see "hate" on either side of the equation. What I do see, almost daily, is a dismissal of more literary erotica. I've never told anyone else that their writing didn't belong here. I've been told that mine did not dozens of times.

This site has almost 2.5 million registered members. Total number of people reading here is certainly much more than that. oBviously, they have many different reasons to be read here. Some want stories that are short and to the point. Others want long, involved narratives. There is no one Lit audience. There doesn't need to be one kind of Lit story.

 

[PandemicReader8]

Yes, some do. And, from my perspective, those of us who try to provide it get far more derision than those who provide more straightforward sexual content do.

It really is a matter of personal experience. Thank you for the insight.

 

[PandemicReader8]

A lot of it, at least coming from readers, is also category-specific, or at least subcategory specific. A Loving wives story about the breakdown of a marriage, for example, is often not the place people are looking for when it comes to sex; it can be a bad tonal shift when it shows up. On the other hand, the folks in EC, Anal, and a few other categories are usually there for the fucking; a slow burn first time anal story can be slow, but that's about it. First Time, Romance, BDSM, etc. are all in the middle, because the buildup is part of the attraction.

Different people want different things. This is true for kinks; it's also true for stories.

You've all filled me with sufficient dread to ensure I never venture into LW.

 

[PandemicReader8]

You say there is "so much derision" for sex stories. What is your evidence for that? I don't see it.

PM conversations, mostly. And, as I said, it may be a bias born of who is more willing to write a complaint.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Yes, some do. And, from my perspective, those of us who try to provide it get far more derision than those who provide more straightforward sexual content do.

I don't see "hate" on either side of the equation. What I do see, almost daily, is a dismissal of more literary erotica. I've never told anyone else that their writing didn't belong here. I've been told that mine did not dozens of times.

This site has almost 2.5 million registered members. Total number of people reading here is certainly much more than that. oBviously, they have many different reasons to be read here. Some want stories that are short and to the point. Others want long, involved narratives. There is no one Lit audience. There doesn't need to be one kind of Lit story.

Your writing is one of the best things here @MelissaBaby

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

You've all filled me with sufficient dread to ensure I never venture into LW.

Don’t be scared, just informed.

I have two LW stories. They are both very much me, my concerns, my world view, my approach to sex. I didn’t compromise on the content. I wrote what I wanted to write.

One is rated 4.6 and has had pretty much nothing but praise and lovely comments.

The other is rated 3.2 - my worst rating and my only one below 4. But it also has a load of praise and lovely comments. However, it upset the malignant 1% and boy did they - and their sock puppets - let me know.

Just eyes wide open.

Em

 

[EmilyMiller]

Don’t be scared, just informed.

I have two LW stories. They are both very much me, my concerns, my world view, my approach to sex. I didn’t compromise on the content. I wrote what I wanted to write.

One is rated 4.6 and has had pretty much nothing but praise and lovely comments.

The other is rated 3.2 - my worst rating and my only one below 4. But it also has a load of praise and lovely comments. However, it upset the malignant 1% and boy did they - and their sock puppets - let me know.

Just eyes wide open.

Em

HINT: Leasbian marriages may be recognized in law (at least for now, post 2024, who knows?), but they are a deviant abomination for a very loud minority of LW.

Em

 

[Lifestyle66]

You've all filled me with sufficient dread to ensure I never venture into LW.

Whether you write for LW or not, my advice would be the same as per your original question:

PM conversations, mostly. And, as I said, it may be a bias born of who is more willing to write a complaint.

Notice that you're close to your own answer with that. You are noticing/listening to those who shout the loudest. And each one is merely one opinion out of over 8 billion others on this planet.

Keep it in perspective. There's something for everyone, if we just tune out the noise of those shouting.

 

[NoTalentHack]

PM conversations, mostly. And, as I said, it may be a bias born of who is more willing to write a complaint.

You shouldn't be. It's an amazing place to write, IF what you want to do is write full stories. And they CAN have sex in them, even if they're "cheating wives" stories; Unwanted Memories and After the Future is Gone, two of my top-rated stories in there, are chock full of sex.

Everything Emily said above is true. Go in with your eyes open and your asbestos undies on, and you'll be fine.