Erotica or just a Story with Sex?

[CiaoSteve]

I guess there's a thread out there if I could find it, but I have a question mulling over in my mind Over time my stories have been growing in length The last couple were upwards of 40k words and my WIP is now over 30k. I think there are a couple of reasons, firstly to avoid many short time-bound chapters, and secondly because I wanted to bring the story to life as much as the sex. So, that is my question. Is there a point in time when my work becomes a story with sex as against a piece of erotica? I assume it is all down to context and whether the sexual element feels to be an intrinsic part of the plotline, but I would welcome your thoughts...

 

[Britva415]

Funny, by the headline I anticipated that "just a story with sex" would mean "a 'story' with just sex." Because, there are recent threads about that.

A long story with other stuff besides sex happening in them might not necessarily be a "piece of erotica," taken as a whole, but, the sex scenes are each "a piece of erotica" even if the story doesn't fully revolve around sex.

If the story actually does revolve around sex, even if there are many pages in between sex happening, then it's an erotic story - especially if the sex happens "onscreen." I don't think I'd call it erotica if the story did revolve around sex but all the sex happened behind a fade-to-black.

Here's a question, regarding the reason you want to bring the story more to life: Is that specifically in order to bring the sex, when it does happen, more to life? As in like giving stakes to the sex, or more verisimilitude and immersion? Or are the parts of the story you want to bring to life completely unrelated to the sex? If it's the first, then it's erotic even when sex isn't happening. If it's the second, it's a story with eroticism in it but maybe not a fully erotic story.

Anyway, it's not black-and-white, either.

I wouldn't say it's about whether the sex is an intrinsic part of the plotline. I'd say it's about whether the plotline intrinsically sets up the sex, even while being "about" something else entirely. A plot could be about something non-sexual while it still serves to sets up sexual encounters.

 

[SimonDoom]

What's the main point of your story? Summarize it to yourself in one sentence, or maybe two.

Is the main point an erotic point, or something else?

There's nothing wrong with writing stories that have sex, as opposed to stories about sex. Both kinds succeed here at Literotica.

I write sex stories. In every case, the main point of the story is something kinky or erotic or sexual. But not everybody is like that, and that's fine.

 

[Otto26]

I write stories with sex and there are readers out there who prefer that. I think they are a minority, but they are out there. I think the only place that would bite in the rear would be if you were publishing in chapters and it takes a while to get to the sex.

 

[AG31]

So, that is my question. Is there a point in time when my work becomes a story with sex as against a piece of erotica? I assume it is all down to context and whether the sexual element feels to be an intrinsic part of the plotline, but I would welcome your thoughts...

I do hope folks come up with some guidance here. I often wonder why people post their stories on Literotica instead of some plain old writing platform. There must be some??? Goodness knows main stream fiction can support lots of explicit sex. Maybe there aren't any such platforms????

I'm mostly interested in what I call "simple erotica." I want to be aroused. I also appreciate it when the stories I read either exhibit a lot of writing skill or else exhibit what I call "authenticity." But I get plenty of character and plot from my never ending supply of books from the library.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

If the plot can intertwine with the sex and the character's motives drive the sex, then story and sex work well together and everything is erotic. The erotic crowd will like it but the stroke crowd will be bored and doing a lot of scrolling unless the smut ratio is high.

If the story is quite detached from the sex then it will likely bore everyone, although the stroke crowd might stick around if they don;t have to do much scrolling.

If the characters are only getting naughty because they are horny or are hot for one another then it's just porn and the erotic crowd will probably be meh but the stroke crowd will love it.

The stroke audience significantly outweighs the erotic crowd here but you can still do well if the erotic/plot folks find you. It will just take longer. The best way is probably to write in high exposure categories (incest/ LW. etc).

 

[pink_silk_glove]

"A man goes to the store to buy himself a sex slave." Erotica, or no? Asking for a friend.

Be honest about your sentence. Is that really what your story is about or is it something more like "A man buys his first sex slave and explores trying her out," or "A man goes to buy a sex slave and gets entwined into the human trafficking business," or ... "A man buys another sex slave and hits the jackpot with the best one that he's ever had," or ... ?

 

[pink_silk_glove]

"A man goes to the store to buy himself a sex slave. The shopkeeper offers him a test drive of the merchandise."

It sounds like porn, but you know, depends how you write it. It could end up quite subtly erotic.

But it's probably porn.

 

[CiaoSteve]

I guess in my case, the interludes are to add an element if backstory to either bring characters to life of provide context between events. Ultimately the sex scenes are where I want to lead the reader to, but not necessarily on the first page. Take my latest and the sex doesn't come into it until the second half if the story, it up until then there is the tension leading up to the main event. I'm greatful for all the thoughts. Maybe, in my mind, I need to mix it up a bit.

 

[SimonDoom]

"A man goes to the store to buy himself a sex slave. The shopkeeper offers him a test drive of the merchandise."

What PSG said. You can't ask me what your story is about. Only you know. What is it about? Be honest with yourself about it. The description you gave could be a story with sex or a story about sex.

 

[Otto26]

If the story's about the sex it's porn? If the sex is about the story it's erotica?

 

[pink_silk_glove]

What PSG said. You can't ask me what your story is about. Only you know. What is it about? Be honest with yourself about it. The description you gave could be a story with sex or a story about sex.

But it's probably porn, heh. : P

 

[SimonDoom]

But it's probably porn, heh. : P

Probably. But it's better not to assume.

 

[SimonDoom]

If the story's about the sex it's porn? If the sex is about the story it's erotica?

I don't get into porn v erotica. I think that's meaningless. The question is whether the story is basically about something erotic/sexual, or whether it's basically about something else but has sex in it.

 

[Cagivagurl]

I guess there's a thread out there if I could find it, but I have a question mulling over in my mind Over time my stories have been growing in length The last couple were upwards of 40k words and my WIP is now over 30k. I think there are a couple of reasons, firstly to avoid many short time-bound chapters, and secondly because I wanted to bring the story to life as much as the sex. So, that is my question. Is there a point in time when my work becomes a story with sex as against a piece of erotica? I assume it is all down to context and whether the sexual element feels to be an intrinsic part of the plotline, but I would welcome your thoughts...

The most erotic stories I have read, had no sex in them at all. It is the build up, the recognition of desire. Realising there are forces pushing or drawing you in.
The sex, I don't personally care... After you've read ten sex scenes, you've read them all.
For me it's about emotion and desire...
Lust, urges that can't be quelled. For that, the characters have to be emotive and well fleshed out. I seek out the longer emotion wrenching stories. The longer the better.
That is simply my preference... Give me erotica over sex....
Intense deep characters revealing how they feel.

Cagivagurl

 

[StillStunned]

If the story's about the sex it's porn? If the sex is about the story it's erotica?

I'd say a story where the sex is the main point is erotica. If the sex is just an added feature, it's just a story with sex.

The difference between erotica and porn is probably more one of perspective. My story is erotica, yours is smut, that one over there with 500k views and a 4.93 rating is probably just porn.