A sex story, or a story with sex?

[EmilyMiller]

I used to write sex stories, essentially written porn. Sex was the be all and end all. Then I did a few which were still essentially romps, but with more of a structure and occasionally an overarching theme or even (pretentious much) a message.

My current work in progress, which I think I am going to take my time over, is a story. It already has sex in it and will have more. But - if you cut to parrots instead of the sex scenes - it would still hang together (though be less fun).

Not sure if this is growth as a writer, or going soft. Or both.

Em

 

[cnuveau]

I’d call it a natural progression. Honesty, I get bored with just writing the sex scene. After a while it all just becomes the same. What’s interesting is the tension, and eroticism you can create with the story that leads you there. Figuring out just the right way to insert the parrot into a good story and make it plausible is an art.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Do both sex and story, story and sex, stretch your legs. And whenever you feel like it, go back to sweet and simple Em-porn. Variety is the spice .

 

[SimonDoom]

I write sex stories, not stories with sex, at Literotica. In my stories, the focus of the story is a sexual encounter or experience.

I define "sex" in this context broadly. In an Exhibitionist story, "sex" might not be intercourse but the act of being naked in public, which gives erotic pleasure to that character but also to readers who find this particular kink enjoyable.

There's nothing "correct" about my approach, but it's what I like to do.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Do both sex and story, story and sex, stretch your legs. And whenever you feel like it, go back to sweet and simple Em-porn. Variety is the spice .

I do have a list of short and not-so-sweet Em-porn queued up. It’s kinda fun to write without worrying about plot or characterization or consistency . Basically all those things I suck at .

Em

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've done both. Sometimes my characters are only interested in the sex, sometimes they won't shut up about other stuff.

I knew one story was more than just sex when I edited it for a beta-reader who didn't want to read gay sex. I think he read 9k rather than 16k words, but even so, there was definitely a story there! Quite a nice travelogue, even. (Turkish Delight, fwiw

Mostly I'm interested in what people are thinking about while they do whatever, so often there's sexual thoughts without sex, and other musing during the sex.

 

[ronde]

I used to write sex stories, essentially written porn. Sex was the be all and end all. Then I did a few which were still essentially romps, but with more of a structure and occasionally an overarching theme or even (pretentious much) a message.

My current work in progress, which I think I am going to take my time over, is a story. It already has sex in it and will have more. But - if you cut to parrots instead of the sex scenes - it would still hang together (though be less fun).

Not sure if this is growth as a writer, or going soft. Or both.

Em

You just described the difference between porn and erotica. Another way of saying it is that if you take all the graphic sex out of erotica, there's still a readable story with real characters there.

 

[Blind_Justice]

I've tried several times to write a stroker. Minimal setup, lots of sex. That was the plan.

Didn't work. "Tear's Desire" and "Nikym's Predicament" are full of plot, character development, world building and some slightly longer sex scenes than usual for me.

The rest of my work here falls squarely in the "story with sex" bracket. For me to work, a good sex scene needs context and at least SOME build-up. Character chemistry, setting and a good build-up trump the number of participants or who puts what in who most of the time.

I have mad respect for those who can set up, execute and wrap up an orgy in a couple thousand words. Extra points if the reader actually cums.

My last attempt "Twin Suns Of Atlantis: Dorgon" needed almost 20,000 words to set up a threesome...

 

[onehitwanda]

I'm functionally incapable of writing a sex story.

 

[MrPixel]

Not sure if this is growth as a writer, or going soft. Or both.

Growth as a writer. Sex is great, but a steady diet? It tends to get a little old. Eventually we all read Playboy for the articles.

My wife just finished beta-reading my submission for Nude Day. She complained that the sex scenes didn't go into enough detail, "Fuck fuck fuck. But how did they fuck?"

"But did you like the story, dear?"

At least I got an admission that the FMC's resolution was really good.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Growth as a writer. Sex is great, but a steady diet? It tends to get a little old. Eventually we all read Playboy for the articles.

Something to look forward to

My wife just finished beta-reading my submission for Nude Day. She complained that the sex scenes didn't go into enough detail, "Fuck fuck fuck. But how did they fuck?"

I have never received this criticism

"But did you like the story, dear?"

At least I got an admission that the FMC's resolution was really good.

 

[Red_Herring4]

Not sure if this is growth as a writer, or going soft.

You're not going soft. But your readers might!





(Because of the lack of sex.)






((Which will make their penis flaccid.))

 

[onehitwanda]

((Which will make their penis flaccid.))

penises always sound so very awkward to possess.

 

[Red_Herring4]

penises always sound so very awkward to possess.

I know, right? I'd hate to be a male human.

*shudders*

 

[alohadave]

penises always sound so very awkward to possess.

I imagine it's similar to having boobs. Most of the time you don't really think about it unless your clothes pinch, or you have to pee.

And, for me at least, random hard-ons generally aren't something that happens. It's a common idea that men will spring a boner just thinking about women or sex in general, but that's not really true.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

You just described the difference between porn and erotica. Another way of saying it is that if you take all the graphic sex out of erotica, there's still a readable story with real characters there.

I agree with the general idea of this, if the sex that is taken out of a story is then replaced by some other interaction among the characters, which would have had the same effect on them as the sex. Yes, I’m on the way to being really persnickety here, but to me sex is a unique form of human interaction. For someone writing a story, it may not be possible to replace sex with something else, and still gain the same impact on the reader.

The distinction I draw is a bit different from the question at the top of the thread. Instead of either a ‘story with sex’ or a ‘sex story,’ I think in terms of a ‘story with sex’ or a ‘story about sex.’ As a reader and as a writer, I’m more interested in the latter. I want to see how characters develop, as individuals and in relation to other people, as results of sexual encounters. I also want to see if the outcomes of these encounters might differ from what is often assumed about them. Even in ‘free’ or ‘open’ societies, people might be more hung up about sex than they are about anything else. That’s why I think that stories about sex can be illuminating.

I’ve used plenty of weasel words and phrases here, because I don’t want to suggest that I’ve succeeded with my stories. This site’s free access, for producers and consumers, allows for throwing things against the wall, with no lingering adverse consequences.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

At the start, I was writing stories that had a strong focus on sexual content. And when I say sexual content, I mean the buildup, the character development in a sexual sense, and so on. As my chapters progressed, there was less and less sexual content and the plot stopped being just a means for certain sexual content to happen in a plausible way. Now, the focus is much more on the characters and the story I want to tell, although I try to keep my sex scenes juicy and imaginative. To me, it felt natural to progress like that since I don't write regular stories. I might still decide to write a story or two where the focus will be purely on sexual content, but in general, the stories I want to write will revolve around characters and plots.

 

[EmilyMiller]

You're not going soft. But your readers might!





(Because of the lack of sex.)






((Which will make their penis flaccid.))

It was helpful of you to explain that for me. Part of the Kindness to Blondes program, I am sure .

Em

 

[Djmac1031]

My Nudist story is gonna have exactly ONE sex scene.

And it won't be what people expect.

The rest is a story. Yes, based on a somewhat sexual situation.

But it's more about why it SHOULDN'T be a sexual situation.

It's gonna be an odd one for sure. But hopefully interesting.

Then to counter it, I need to finish the next Jenna chapter, which will definitely be more of a stroker lol.

 

[TxRad]

When I started writing, I thought of myself as a storyteller. There was a story but the sex spiced it up and made it easier to write. I wrote a non erotic story here and there. One of those led to my mainstream writing. Not all the readers here at Lit are perverts but most are. Now I can aim a story mostly where I want it sexually.

Good writers, not that I'm saying I are one, can write anything and everything in several styles.

 

[AussieGeek]

penises always sound so very awkward to possess.

They're over-rated, trust me.

 

[SimonDoom]

penises always sound so very awkward to possess.

I don't know. We can write our names in the snow. That's something.

 

[onehitwanda]

I don't know. We can write our names in the snow. That's something.

So can I. If my name's "SCSCS" in cursive... but you guys have it easy, you can just whip it out like a vestigial trunk.

For us it's a bit more... involved... if we're not going commando, and who on God's earth would go commando in the snow?

 

[Djmac1031]

who on God's earth would go commando in the snow?

Do women experience "shrinkage" when it's cold, too?

 

[AwkwardlySet]

So can I. If my name's "SCSCS" in cursive... but you guys have it easy, you can just whip it out like a vestigial trunk.

For us it's a bit more... involved... if we're not going commando, and who on God's earth would go commando in the snow?

Pfh, women... You lack a proper porn education. What about all those "Private" films with gorgeous girls and far less gorgeous guys doing it in the snow... And don't you dare say that the snow was fake!