Does slow-burn romance make stories more intense for you too?

[Maryyy_A]

I’ve been reading (and writing) more slow-burn stories lately, and I find the build-up so much more intense than jumping straight into the action. The eye contact, the little touches, the emotional tension… it drives me crazy in the best way. Do you prefer fast-paced chemistry, or do you crave that delicious wait where every moment gets heavier?

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Absolutely! I've written my share of strokers, and there's a place for those, but good erotic fiction needs the buildup.

 

[FrancesScott]

I’ve been reading (and writing) more slow-burn stories lately, and I find the build-up so much more intense than jumping straight into the action. The eye contact, the little touches, the emotional tension… it drives me crazy in the best way. Do you prefer fast-paced chemistry, or do you crave that delicious wait where every moment gets heavier?

I’ve not written anything here that is beyond short story length. I think there is a place for both. I’ve read some slow-burn than becomes excruciating and you just want them to get a room now. It’s like anything, it can be done well or poorly.

But I think there is a difference between slow-burn dictated by the characters and plot, and slow burn as an edging aid.

 

[PapaRomantic]

Some of my favorite comments from readers are when they tell me that they can't put my story down until they finish. I get accused of writing too much dialogue and too much exploration into the minds of my main characters, but I think it helps create the connection between the reader and my characters, and a good slow-burn story invites the readers to really KNOW the characters in the story and feel whatever it is the characters are feeling.

I know I've done a good job with comments that say things like, "You made me cry - not nice!"

 

[NuclearFairy]

I prefer my romance to be short, or mixed with something. I think I'm in the minority there though.

 

[XerXesXu]

Unless slow burn entails slow-paced, it would make little difference.

 

[OddLove]

I've gotten sucked into some really long stories that didn't have sex scenes until like ten thousand words in lol, if I like a character I'll read a whole novel just to get to one sex scene. Sometimes they can drag on way too long, but when done well, I enjoy them just as much as a short and quick-paced action pack story. I don't search for slow burn stories though. I read the title, the short description, then if it grabs my attention, I see if the first page gets me invested.

 

[UncleJunior]

It depends on the story. I'm not above using a short throw to the plate to communicate that a story isn't romance.

 

[THBGato]

Absolutely.... but it's got to be real. Artificially throwing unrealistic or hyperbolic barriers at the couple to prevent them from getting together just gets irritating.

There are brilliant examples of slow burns in the lesbian section.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Yeah, there are stories that just get annoying, throwing hurdles up between A and B. Forced on a family holiday to Bumfuck, Missouri. Car breaks down. A doesn't phone for no reason so B pines and tries to move on. Etc

Equally, you could write a successful slow burn story over just one day, anticipating getting together...

 

[Voboy]

Absolutely.... but it's got to be real. Artificially throwing unrealistic or hyperbolic barriers at the couple to prevent them from getting together just gets irritating.

This.

The slow-burn story with verisimilitude has always been my go-to here on Lit. And yes, they make everything much more intense. They capture the imagination so that the reader's orgasm begins long before the writer starts the characters a'fuckin'.

 

[SugarStorm]

I've gotten sucked into some really long stories that didn't have sex scenes until like ten thousand words in lol, if I like a character I'll read a whole novel just to get to one sex scene. Sometimes they can drag on way too long, but when done well, I enjoy them just as much as a short and quick-paced action pack story. I don't search for slow burn stories though. I read the title, the short description, then if it grabs my attention, I see if the first page gets me invested.

Just wanted to say that you have such a wild bio

Love me a good slow-burn. Generally speaking, I think it takes time to build well-crafted characters, but once you have them the sex becomes so much more satisfying. (At least for me, as an author.)

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I'm in the minority here.

I don't find it challenging to write sex scenes, which is why I tend to avoid them. I like erotically teasing scenes that leave any implied sexual activity to the imagination of the readers, with some possible "pillow talk" where the characters might discuss what occurred, or maybe not.

My story, Justice, is an example of this approach. It's an enemies-to-lovers romance with no graphic sexual content. I am also working on a new piece where there is nothing but repeated hints of what is to happen, fade to black, and then occasional post-coital discussions.

 

[SimonDoom]

Yes, but I have the feeling that opinion about what constitutes a "slow burn" varies widely here, and we're probably not all talking about the same thing.

I don't think you have to get up to novella-length to have a slow burn story. You can do it in 10,000 words or so, or less. I find the process of seduction as satisfying as, or even more satisfying than, the culmination. Teasing, flirting, the push and pull, body parts being exposed, clothes slowly coming off.

My perspective is a little different from Voboy's and THBGato's, in that I don't mind if the "barrier" that has to be overcome is a bit contrived or artificial, as long as it's artfully or cleverly done. But I have a much higher tolerance for "over-the-topness" than some people do.

 

[THBGato]

My perspective is a little different from Voboy's and THBGato's, in that I don't mind if the "barrier" that has to be overcome is a bit contrived or artificial, as long as it's artfully or cleverly done.

Oh, agreed. Wedding Dances by @HelenL is a superb example of a slow burn with a contrived plot device (fake dating, which is always contrived, but for once vaguely believable).

My objection was more to those stories (mercifully rare on here, but very prevalent on wattpad) where, after the initial barrier is overcome, the author creates another, and another, and another, all for the sake of delaying the pay off. (I was vaguely guilty of this in Desire & Duende, to be fair, but have learnt my lesson!)

 

[Voboy]

My perspective is a little different from Voboy's and THBGato's, in that I don't mind if the "barrier" that has to be overcome is a bit contrived or artificial, as long as it's artfully or cleverly done. But I have a much higher tolerance for "over-the-topness" than some people do.

Oh, it can be contrived and artificial, even fantastical; it can't just come out of nowhere, though, or be logically inconsistent on some level. I need verisimilitude, not realism.