Does Fantasizing About Sex Count?

[HeyYoureThatGuy]

I'm sure the answer is different for different readers, but if—within the world of a story—someone with an active imagination was fantasizing about sex as a multichapter story got rolling, would it count as a 'sex scene?'

I really am just looking for opinions.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

To me, it would.

 

[SimonDoom]

Yes, but to be effective it depends on how you do it. Flashbacks, recollections, and fantasies, if they go on too long, sometimes can take the reader out of the story. They can do that to me. So ask yourself carefully why you want to write a portion of a story about a character fantasizing rather than just write about the fantasy directly.

 

[KeithD]

Yes..

 

[PennameWombat]

I'm sure the answer is different for different readers, but if—within the world of a story—someone with an active imagination was fantasizing about sex as a multichapter story got rolling, would it count as a 'sex scene?'

I really am just looking for opinions.

I've incorporated fantasy and masturbation scenes into many stories.

My view on differentiating, is that for the former, from the reader's PoV it's a sex scene, only revealed as fantasy when some external factor breaks in (e.g., see my Geek Pride story listed below when my MC's brother arrives home when she's not quite finished.) Or something else that eventually tells the reader this is a fantasy scene. In the scene referenced, I dropped a couple of hints as it's happening that (well, I think) convey it was a fantasy but they only come clear after the reveal. It's consistently been one of my highest rated stories so it can't have been seen as much of a negative.

A masturbation scene for me may also have the participant describing the object of their desire but it's clear to the reader that they're rubbing one out. The other person (or multiple) aren't present. My entire On The Job 2020 story was built around mutual masturbation scenes. Again, its rating indicates that enough folks find it enjoyable.

That's just how I think of them as I'm working on a story and deciding what I want to tell, not tell, etc. I have no idea if that's how others think of the two words.

 

[davion2308]

It counts

One of the sexiest stories I've read, and I don't remember if it was on here or somewhere else, was a woman who was fantasizing while in the safety of her own bedroom. Half the fun of this is that you can remove the "what a whore!" tag from women by having them fantasize about meeting up and fucking some random hot guy in an alley instead of actually doing it.

A woman in her 40s is at a water park with her husband and kids. She's feeling pretty sexy because she has her new bathing suit on and she's been watching her nutrition and exercising the dog more. Her husband ... hasn't. And the kids are getting older and turning into nuisances.

And there's a guy, a life guard, and he's late 20s, obviously in charge, and he's HOT. He's tall, tan, in great shape, and he keeps looking over.

Her mind wanders, she goes to ask him for something like an ice pack for a sprain, he takes her to the office and she makes her move. She seduces him and it's hot sex and she's fucking this guy and she loves it. He makes her cum twice and makes her work to give him an orgasm but it's a challenge. He finally does and the look of his face makes it worth it.

Then she comes back to reality, her kids are fighting over a water toy, her husband is napping, mouth half open, snores seeping out, and she enjoys her daydream. And she feels warm all over like she actually orgasmed while it happened.

That'd be pretty sexy. And it's just fantasy.

 

[Jada59]

I'd say yes.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Of course it would. Arousal is arousal, however it happens.

 

[AlinaX]

Just to be contrary, but no. Then again, I hate dream sequences in stories if they're longer than a paragraph (or equivalent) - and especially if they're right at the start (that's just lazy storytelling).

The story is already a fantasy. It very rarely needs a fantasy within it.

Of course, if there's 'real' action at the same time, e.g., it's someone playing with themselves while fantasising, that's a different matter.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I'm sure the answer is different for different readers, but if—within the world of a story—someone with an active imagination was fantasizing about sex as a multichapter story got rolling, would it count as a 'sex scene?'

I really am just looking for opinions.

I've done a couple of those and I'm writing a few more. The first two are from the point of view of a young woman who is also a virgin - but she is on the verge of losing that. These are written in the third person but I do have some of her imaginary dialogue.

However, I don't think I'd build an entire series around that theme.

 

[SimonDoom]

I had a couple of thoughts to add.

If by "count" you are asking whether a fantasy about a sex scene in a story will be seen as a sex scene by a reader, and will be satisfying to a reader as a sex scene, I think it depends on a couple of things.

Readers of erotica want immersion and immediacy, generally speaking. They want to be drawn in. They want to be enveloped in your fantasy story so they can feel the eroticism in it.

The problem of a fantasy in a story, from this point of view is two fold.

One is that, depending on how it's handled, the reader may be more aware of the teller of the fantasy and therefore less immersed in the narrative. This may make it less enjoyable to the reader.

Second, if it's a fantasy, then the reader is being told "this didn't really happen." That, too, spoils the magic of immersion.

These aren't deal killers, necessarily, and handled the right way a fantasy within a story may make sense and work erotically. But they're things to consider.

 

[tomlitilia]

Not sure why defining it as a sex scene or not is important. Though, I can say that, to me, it's likely one step of immagination too many to quite work; I'd have to imagine someone imagining something. Usefull, perhaps, to move a narrative, but a prolonged sex fantasy scene risks ruining a later sex scene where the fantasy "actually" happens.

 

[NotWise]

I'm sure the answer is different for different readers, but if—within the world of a story—someone with an active imagination was fantasizing about sex as a multichapter story got rolling, would it count as a 'sex scene?'

I really am just looking for opinions.

"Her Dream House" consists largely of a woman relating a series of sexual fantasies. It was reasonably well-received.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I guess so, although I have written about a character fantasizing about having sex with a stranger, she was actually, at the time, having sex with her husband.

 

[Voboy]

You're the one writing it.

It'll work if you can make it work.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

You're the one writing it.

It'll work if you can make it work.

Exactly. It's been done and it's been done well. You can do it well, too.

The potential hurdles are very, very surmountable - no more than potholes.

 

[SamScribble]

One of Tinto Brass's more successful productions, P O Box, is entirely made up of sexual fantasies submitted by his fans.

 

[RetroFan]

Some Incest/Taboo readers I have found to be very impatient and seem to want to jump into actual sex right away, not having much time for descriptions of sexual fantasies and activities such as voyeurism.

 

[NotWise]

Some Incest/Taboo readers I have found to be very impatient and seem to want to jump into actual sex right away, not having much time for descriptions of sexual fantasies and activities such as voyeurism.

You might be able to find those readers anywhere. I haven't found them prevalent in I/T.

 

[lovecraft68]

Absolutely. Fantasy, a dream, even a memory/flashback as long as it has enough details.

I do what I call mini day dreams to give the reader a little tease/thrill...while the woman is speaking, the guy can't stop thinking about her dropping her dress or getting on her knees, or some other dirty act then end it with her saying "Are you there?" and him acting flustered

 

[BelleCanzuto]

I'm sure the answer is different for different readers, but if—within the world of a story—someone with an active imagination was fantasizing about sex as a multichapter story got rolling, would it count as a 'sex scene?'

I really am just looking for opinions.

Flashbacks, recollections, and fantasies, if they go on too long, sometimes can take the reader out of the story. They can do that to me.

Just to be contrary, but no. Then again, I hate dream sequences in stories if they're longer than a paragraph (or equivalent) - and especially if they're right at the start (that's just lazy storytelling).

The story is already a fantasy. It very rarely needs a fantasy within it.

Of course, if there's 'real' action at the same time, e.g., it's someone playing with themselves while fantasising, that's a different matter.

So, my immediate reaction to the OP was "Of Course!" How could it not? But reading some of the other posts has shed some light on a question I had about a couple of my stories.

Two of my worst rated stories mainly involve the characters fantasizing about sex. In one, they're out on a date, and while I'm telling what's going on during the date, one of the characters provides a running commentary of what he's going to do the the other character when they get home. But the story ends when they get home. So, that I kinda understood - lots of talk about sex that's gonna happen, but no actual sex. It was one of my earlier stories and I just chalked it up as a lesson learned.

But the other one I'm thinking of, the male character wakes up missing his wife, who's off on a business trip, and starts masturbating to a series of memories about her. The memories are highly detailed, written as well as I could to make them seem immediate, and only occasionally broken by descriptions of the masturbation. IOW, there's lots of sex in this one. It's slightly better rated than the first one, but only slightly.

Now, both of these are S/m stories, so that's a factor also.

But, I honestly hadn't considered that reading about a fantasy might feel different than reading about 'real' action. Because to me, fantasizing is just as sexy, and sometimes sexier than watching sex, or even having sex. When you fantasize, everything's perfect and you hit all the right spots, and everybody cums, and... And real life is, messy, and things go wrong, and...

So, this has been a really interesting thread for me.

 

[Voboy]

So, my immediate reaction to the OP was "Of Course!" How could it not? But reading some of the other posts has shed some light on a question I had about a couple of my stories.

Two of my worst rated stories mainly involve the characters fantasizing about sex. In one, they're out on a date, and while I'm telling what's going on during the date, one of the characters provides a running commentary of what he's going to do the the other character when they get home. But the story ends when they get home. So, that I kinda understood - lots of talk about sex that's gonna happen, but no actual sex. It was one of my earlier stories and I just chalked it up as a lesson learned.

But the other one I'm thinking of, the male character wakes up missing his wife, who's off on a business trip, and starts masturbating to a series of memories about her. The memories are highly detailed, written as well as I could to make them seem immediate, and only occasionally broken by descriptions of the masturbation. IOW, there's lots of sex in this one. It's slightly better rated than the first one, but only slightly.

Now, both of these are S/m stories, so that's a factor also.

But, I honestly hadn't considered that reading about a fantasy might feel different than reading about 'real' action. Because to me, fantasizing is just as sexy, and sometimes sexier than watching sex, or even having sex. When you fantasize, everything's perfect and you hit all the right spots, and everybody cums, and... And real life is, messy, and things go wrong, and...

So, this has been a really interesting thread for me.

I hadn't thought about it much either, but as a reader, dreams and fantasies work quite well during the "build-up" phase of a story. Like Alina, I'd feel let down if that's all there was; to be blunt, if I'm invested in the characters, I want some sort of fluid exchange to happen for realsies.

I've used fantasies and dreams sparingly; reminiscences and memories, though, play a more active part in my stories. Because fluid exchange. As I said to the OP earlier, you're the writer: you can make it work.

 

[KeithD]

Any sex scene in a story is vicarious experience for the reader. I don't see where it makes any difference as an arousal factor for the reader whether it's claimed to be done in real time in a story or is a flashback/fantasy dream in the story. The content of a fantasy dream can employ more intensity and extreme technique than a RL act depiction can and remain plausible, so it may, in fact, be capable of enhancing reader arousal over depiction of a RL sex scene.

 

[SimonDoom]

Any sex scene in a story is vicarious experience for the reader. I don't see where it makes any difference as an arousal factor for the reader whether it's claimed to be done in real time in a story or is a flashback/fantasy dream in the story. The content of a fantasy dream can employ more intensity and extreme technique than a RL act depiction can and remain plausible, so it may, in fact, be capable of enhancing reader arousal over depiction of a RL sex scene.

This makes sense, but, speaking for myself, it doesn't quite work this way when I read.

There's a difference between a flashback and a fantasy, as well. A flashback is a recollection of something that really happened; while a fantasy is the imagining of something unreal by a character in a story. A flashback, handled the right way, can just be another part of the story. There's no reason it can't be sexy.

But a fantasy within a story, I think, is distancing. You are aware the entire time you read it that it is a character's fantasy, and that knowledge -- for me at least -- deprives me of the ability to fully immerse myself in the narrative as though it were real.

Think of it this way: would you end a story with a character fantasizing about something? Most of the time, I think you wouldn't. A fantasy can be fine as part of the build up. A tease. A wish. Something to establish character or to demonstrate an unfulfilled need. But for the story to work it should end with something that within the story's universe is portrayed as real and satisfying.

Of course, as with anything in fiction this isn't a strict, universal rule. But I think it's true most of the time with erotica.

This is why all those Penthouse Letters so often started with a statement to the effect "I know you're not going to believe this, but this really happened to me." This makes it much more erotic than if the story began, "Hey, let me tell you about this fantasy I had about my teacher."

 

[KeithD]

There's a difference between a flashback and a fantasy, as well.

When I render "flashback/fantasy," I'm saying "flashback or fantasy"; I'm not equating them.

And sure, I can see a story ending in a flashback or a fantasy. I don't limit what can be done with fiction. There's a slew of "Secret Life of Walter Mitty" story tropes in use.