An interracial romance...

[Rustyoznail]

I’m 15,000 words into a story suggested by Sweetdreamssss where one of her Indian (the country) characters comes to Melbourne (Australia) for a 3 month project and meets a bloke. We’re trying to play on the cultural differences, but also the similarities - cricket and pizza...

I reckon it will be around 30k, and not a lot of sex happens until about 20k.

So... interracial or romance?

 

[NotWise]

If it's actually a Romance, then I'd put it in Romance.

"Interracial" has never been a kink for me.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

If it's actually a Romance, then I'd put it in Romance.

"Interracial" has never been a kink for me.

I agree. Love is so much more than color.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Depends on how many views you want. Romance is lower views than IR, although a lot of IR is black/white. There’s a lot of Asian/other IR tho, so it’d fit there. On the other hand if it’s also First Time, that might be a better fit and more views still.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think you should ask what's the primary erotic appeal of the story. If it's a romance with some cultural differences discussed, then it's probably a romance. But if you play up the racial angle, or make that part of it at all kinky or fetishy BECAUSE of the racial issue, then it should go in IR. IR will get you a bigger audience.

 

[pollyannaowt]

I shouldn't post this - but lacking common sense...

Being a 45ish y/o mutt from a land of mutts, I just don't get the appeal of IR. Probably me as there are plenty of IR stories here.

Now a gay Chris/Bernard Stevens 'Northern Exposure' fan-fiction...

 

[KeithD]

Both cultures have people classified as Caucasian and both have people classified as of other races. So, the first question is what race are your characters, not what country/culture are they from? The story as you depict is intercultural, which has no category here. Are they of distinctive different races and is this the central tension of the story, or is the cultural angle the central tension? If cultural, I'd suggest Romance.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

I agree with the advice above that, all things being considered, you and sweetdreamss are better off posting your story in romance, Rus.

As Chloe alluded to, the pool of Indian stories in IR is low; only about a dozen or so in the past two or three years are tagged such, and the number of views also seems low over such long periods. From my experience and observations on the site, this makes sense: Indian readers and/or readers interested in Indian characters seem to search for stories by category of sexual interest (romance, incest, anal) rather than race/culture, and Indian writers generally post across all categories. Romance may generally have a lower readership than IR but you seem to have an edge since you’ve done really well with readership and votes in the category.

That being said, however, I strongly disagree with the sideline comments that have insinuated the IR category is solely about race play. There is, of course, a high volume of it... just as every other category on the site has many stories that pander to the most obvious of that category’s perversions and kinks! But it seems many IR readers search by race simply to find complex characters in stories they can identify with. In the long run, and based on Hall of Fame votes, it seems that raceplay is a distant secondary to strong storytelling.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I agree with the advice above that, all things being considered, you and sweetdreamss are better off posting your story in romance, Rus.

As Chloe alluded to, the pool of Indian stories in IR is low; only about a dozen or so in the past two or three years are tagged such, and the number of views also seems low over such long periods. From my experience and observations on the site, this makes sense: Indian readers and/or readers interested in Indian characters seem to search for stories by category of sexual interest (romance, incest, anal) rather than race/culture, and Indian writers generally post across all categories. Romance may generally have a lower readership than IR but you seem to have an edge since you’ve done really well with readership and votes in the category.

That being said, however, I strongly disagree with the sideline comments that have insinuated the IR category is solely about race play. There is, of course, a high volume of it... just as every other category on the site has many stories that pander to the most obvious of that category’s perversions and kinks! But it seems many IR readers search by race simply to find complex characters in stories they can identify with. In the long run, and based on Hall of Fame votes, it seems that raceplay is a distant secondary to strong storytelling.

Yes, raceplay is only a subset of IR. I do stories there but the focus is usually cultural interplay, with that racial dynamic as a small but important part of the story, largely without raceplay featuring at all. The black / white stories on the other hand see a larger % of raceplay or where race is the predominant factor. Either way there’s a lot of flex in the category. If you take raceplay out, IR stories really can fit into other genres easily depending on the focus. Almost all my stories are IR in some way and I have them in half a dozen genres with no side effects.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

In the strictest sense of ethnicity, a woman from India and a (presumably Anglo or other Euro) Australian man would not be interracial, but try explaining that to people who adamantly self-define as white. If the male character has to overcome that kind of thinking, involvement with an Indian woman might take him in the direction of a less toxic view of Those Who Are Other. If that’s what happens, I’d see this as a worthwhile entry in Interracial.

Then again, the categories in Lit are not there to uphold a moonbeam view of social justice. They’re there to help readers find text that feeds into their kinks. Unless there’s something really cross-cultural about the characters’ sex acts, Romance might be a better choice.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Almost all my stories are IR in some way and I have them in half a dozen genres with no side effects.

I’ve discussed with many writers who feature black women and men as characters who’ve expressed the exact opposite and that their stories are not well received outside of IR, especially as their stories do not feature either any raceplay or colorism. In erotica, as well as real life, it’s a diverse and complex issue.

But my comments aren’t meant to hijack the thread or sidetrack the discussion at hand. In regards to Rus’ story, it seems to matter little, and that Romance is likely the better category.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Then again, the categories in Lit are not there to uphold a moonbeam view of social justice. They’re there to help readers find text that feeds into their kinks. Unless there’s something really cross-cultural about the characters’ sex acts, Romance might be a better choice.

This.

 

[Rustyoznail]

It’s about a Hindu woman from a traditional Indian background - which she is bucking against.

Strictly speaking, it could be about anyone coming to Australia, and the difference between them. There's no "Oh, so you're Indian /Anglo so this is wrong." between the characters. Just "what the hell is he talking about”. Eg..

“Well, no worries. Where’s your office? Might be able to sort out the drama for you.”

She gave him the address. He laughed “Seriously? You work for MNC? They’re in the building next to mine, about 15 minutes away.” He looked with amusement at the hot, tired girl in front of him. “Tell you what. If you’re game, let me take you out to dinner. My shout. Just to make up for the lousy day you’ve had. I don’t want your first day in Oz to be too crappy. How about I meet you back here in two hours? That’ll give you time for a chance to freshen up and maybe have a bit of a snooze. I’ll whip past your work so you can see where you have to go. I know there’s a security guard in my joint, so I can leave your stuff with him, then you just have to get it next door. How’s that sound?”

 

[ElectricBlue]

“Well, no worries. Where’s your office? Might be able to sort out the drama for you.”

She gave him the address. He laughed “Seriously? You work for MNC? They’re in the building next to mine, about 15 minutes away.” He looked with amusement at the hot, tired girl in front of him. “Tell you what. If you’re game, let me take you out to dinner. My shout. Just to make up for the lousy day you’ve had. I don’t want your first day in Oz to be too crappy. How about I meet you back here in two hours? That’ll give you time for a chance to freshen up and maybe have a bit of a snooze. I’ll whip past your work so you can see where you have to go. I know there’s a security guard in my joint, so I can leave your stuff with him, then you just have to get it next door. How’s that sound?”

You know you're a smooth talking old romantic, Rusty. What are you thinking, mate?

Of course it's a bloody romance. He's going to buy her pizza, isn't he?

 

[Rustyoznail]

You know you're a smooth talking old romantic, Rusty. What are you thinking, mate?

Of course it's a bloody romance. He's going to buy her pizza, isn't he?

And beer. And takes her to his second - eleven cricket match.

Hmmm. A couple of snags from Bunnings. I can do that.

 

[ElectricBlue]

And beer. And takes her to his second - eleven cricket match.

Hmmm. A couple of snags from Bunnings. I can do that.

Well in, Rusty, well in. See, I said it was Romance. Wear jeans, not stubbies, and for godssake, do your fly up .

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

I have this silly idea that skin color does not matter to love. I would say that go with romance, especially as this is South Asian and presumably Caucasian Aussie. Although, you could make him Abo and really mix it up.

I may be wrong but the interracial stories seem to almost to be a code word for enormously endowed black men and unsatisfied MILFs.

Again, i would go with romance.

 

[vanmyers86]

My experience is limited, but I have found that unless race is a major part of a character's journey, the story will wind up in another category. I originally submitted Brownies for Two as IR; it was posted in Romance. The lead characters are of different races (black and white), but although they discuss it briefly, race per se is not a huge part of the story.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Well in, Rusty, well in. See, I said it was Romance. Wear jeans, not stubbies, and for godssake, do your fly up .

You don't have a fly on cricket whites... That red stain on the right side of your crotch is distracting though.

 

[Bramblethorn]

My personal rule of thumb is that IR is for stories which are actively fetishising the racial difference. If the story is exploring stuff like cultural differences without leaning on them as a button to create arousal, it probably belongs elsewhere.

 

[NotWise]

Was it the title where I went wrong (Ethiopian Dreams Ch. XX)? Perhaps one shouldn't flaunt with 'Africa' in Romance?

I looked at your results (without actually reading the story, you know) and I think they're bizarre. Maybe your 1-word story descriptions were part of the problem. Maybe Ethiopia is to far afield for stay-at-home romance readers.

The silver lining is that you have the highest possible score on chapters that have been up for two years. I've not seen that before.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

I've two related stories in IR, where different backgrounds of the characters play an important role, but without focusing on physical 'assets'. In my opinion, they've done pretty well in that category; apart from one weird prejudiced reaction, I received very nice comments, votes, and scores.

One of the Anons (which I did appreciate) suggested that my stories would better fit in Romance. I followed the advice, put the next 'IR' series, stand-alone but related to those other two stories, in Romance.

Even the first chapter didn't get a fraction of the views (or votes) I received for the other stories, and there was only one comment:




Was it the title where I went wrong (Ethiopian Dreams Ch. XX)? Perhaps one shouldn't flaunt with 'Africa' in Romance?

Ethiopian Dreams is a lovely story. One of my favorites.