Erotica with Morals??

[Babeslady]

A week ago I purchased a collection of short erotic stories from the top selling list on Kindle.

The first story described a couple acting out the fantasy of bringing another woman into their bed for the husband's viewing pleasure. The wife decided she liked pussy a lot more than she thought she would and things went a little pear shaped. He got jealous, the wife couldn't leave it and there was cheating. What really got me going, though, was the author's note at the end stating that this story was a warning to couples about the dangers of acting out such fantasies as if we were children who needed a lecture!!!

As a practicing swinger who often acts out her fantasies I found the whole thing a little patronising. I don't doubt that there are many people who have the experience that is described here but there are many who don't. Besides isn't the point of this kind of writing to arouse and provide entertainment not spring the unsuspecting reader with a lecture?

We are all grown ups aren't we? As authors shouldn't we give our audience the freedom to enjoy our work without trying to attach some message?

 

[Handley_Page]

A week ago I purchased a collection of short erotic stories from the top selling list on Kindle.

What really got me going, though, was the author's note at the end stating that this story was a warning to couples about the dangers of acting out such fantasies as if we were children who needed a lecture!!!

As a practicing swinger who often acts out her fantasies I found the whole thing a little patronising. I don't doubt that there are many people who have the experience that is described here but there are many who don't. Besides isn't the point of this kind of writing to arouse and provide entertainment not spring the unsuspecting reader with a lecture?

We are all grown ups aren't we? As authors shouldn't we give our audience the freedom to enjoy our work without trying to attach some message?

Sadly, some are more grown-up about things that others, so the warning should, I believe, stand.
Warnings are for the strict adherence of fools and the guidance of the wise.

 

[Defluer]

Supposedly all the "old" stories from Literature classes ALL have meaning. I guess if an author wrote it from that perspective, that the story's premise was the warning, then it should stand. But I don't think that the author should come out and literally SAY "BE WARNED! BE WARNED ALL THOSE WHO TRESPASS WILL GET THEIR HEARTS BROKEN!" I think the work should speak for itself. It'll mean more that way. To me it says that the author didn't believe that his or her work got that across and took the cheap way out.

I myself don't believe in preaching anything through sex stories. The characters inside have their opinions on certain things, sometimes those are mine, sometimes they are opposite of mine.

 

[sr71plt]

Chances are good that the note was one of those "have your cake and eat it too" things--hiding the prurient intent behind a "wasn't me" disclaimer.

 

[annanova]

Sadly, some are more grown-up about things that others, so the warning should, I believe, stand.
Warnings are for the strict adherence of fools and the guidance of the wise.

What? Do you mean to say that the Superman underwear my mister bought WON'T make him fly??? Damn! *considers new plan of encouraging him to try it anyway, next time he's on the 8th floor of his hotel*

Babeslady, I'd just look at it this way: Many of us write for what we assume is an intelligent audience. If our story shows a character, disappointed by the outcome of fulfilling a fantasy, most of that audience may realize the inherent risks, and make a decision based upon their own circumstances. No lecture needed.

I wonder if your own experience as a swinger colors how you read the Author's Note at the end of the story. I don't share that background, yet as a woman capable of actual thought (gasp! I know!), yeah, it would irritate me, too.

 

[fuckwaffle]

There are just some people who for some reason feel the need to preach even though they write erotica. Take his preaching with a gain of salt and leave him a review that will make his nose hairs curl.

 

[mynameisben]

But I don't think that the author should come out and literally SAY "BE WARNED! BE WARNED ALL THOSE WHO TRESPASS WILL GET THEIR HEARTS BROKEN!" I think the work should speak for itself. It'll mean more that way. To me it says that the author didn't believe that his or her work got that across and took the cheap way out.

I couldn't agree with you more. Unless the disclaimer was required to get the story included in the Kindle collection, its presence is little more than a confession of the author's own incompetence. If the remaining erotic tales bear no such disclaimer, that pretty much seals the deal. No one who pays for erotica should have to endure a sermon at the end of it. Remember the author's name and avoid wasting your time with their stories. Remember also to scan to the end for a disclaimer before reading a story, as that's where a coward is most likely to attach a confession.

My wife bought a curling iron just last week. I solemnly swear there was a warning tag attached to the power cord, adorned with pictographs for presumed global illiteracy, which clearly conveyed the idea that it is dangerous to stick the hot end of the iron into your eye.

 

[3113]

I couldn't agree with you more. Unless the disclaimer was required to get the story included in the Kindle collection, its presence is little more than a confession of the author's own incompetence. If the remaining erotic tales bear no such disclaimer, that pretty much seals the deal. No one who pays for erotica should have to endure a sermon at the end of it. Remember the author's name and avoid wasting your time with their stories. Remember also to scan to the end for a disclaimer before reading a story, as that's where a coward is most likely to attach a confession.

THIS ^ And I agree that you should give this author a mocking review. If the whole book has such warnings, give the whole book a mocking review. If the writer wants to warn of the dangers, let him/her do so in the story. Preaching at the end is chickenshit. Not to mention reeking of hypocrisy--like this was written by a buttoned-up minister who wrote this story only to get this very important message across to misguided erotica readers

My wife bought a curling iron just last week. I solemnly swear there was a warning tag attached to the power cord, adorned with pictographs for presumed global illiteracy, which clearly conveyed the idea that it is dangerous to stick the hot end of the iron into your eye.

Darn. I knew I should have read all the instructions. I really did think it was a device for home eye examinations.... http://forum.chaos-project.com/Smileys/default/one-eyed.gif

 

[AngelBell]

Putting a summarization moral at the end seems like lazy writing and just plain unnecessary for erotica. Now I am imagining hilarious moral snippets I could insert at the end of my smut and it makes me smile. I prefer my dirty writing without morals please.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

... All three men enjoyed their orgasms immensely, but for Sally, though she did like jacking off two of them, her orgasm came from the one who had so adroitly penetrated and pounded her petite pussy.

And the moral of this story, ladies and gentlemen, is "A cock in the bush is worth two in the hand."

 

[D_Lynn]

I have read dozens of erotica ebooks and can only think of one example where the author made a personal comment about the material. Cherise Sinclair always includes an Author's Note at the beginning of her BDSM novels that warns of the dangers of entering into D/s relationships too hastily and the value of using safewords. She does not, however, make any moral judgments around the lifestyle that she has portrayed, and I would guess that many of her readers see this as solid advice.

I'm really very surprised that someone hasn't commented about the moral preaching you've described on Amazon. I would think that many more people would be offended by that sort of commentary at the end of a story.

And yet, if it's the book I think it is, it's ranked at #1 or near #1 in erotic fiction on Amazon at the moment. Interesting...

 

[Stella_Omega]

Post a review on the product page. Prospective readers will thank you for it.

 

[cfuhrer]

Supposedly all the "old" stories from Literature classes ALL have meaning. I guess if an author wrote it from that perspective, that the story's premise was the warning, then it should stand. I think the work should speak for itself. It'll mean more that way. To me it says that the author didn't believe that his or her work got that across and took the cheap way out.

This.

 

[sunandshadow]

Writing is an act of communication. To write a story you have to create characters, and those characters have to have their own moralities in order to be 3-dimensional. To write a story you also need to have your characters taking actions, and show the consequences of those actions within the world. Consequences of actions inherently communicate a moral how the world works and what readers should or shouldn't do. It's impossible to write a story that doesn't communicate any moral. So since there's going to be a moral in there no matter what, you might as well plan for it to be a moral that you think is actually worth saying to others.

On the other hand putting the moral in an author's note is pretty silly. If the story doesn't communicate it clearly, that's a failure of the story that no note is going to repair, and if the story does communicate it clearly it's just redundant and overly-obvious.

 

[Babeslady]

And yet, if it's the book I think it is, it's ranked at #1 or near #1 in erotic fiction on Amazon at the moment. Interesting...

Yes I believe it is although I have discovered since is only available in the UK now???

Thanks everyone for confirming my thoughts. Yes, as a swinger I guess I have some opinions on this kind of thing that are different from many people's. This is not the place to share them.

A review has been submitted although I was a little kinder than perhaps some of you guys have suggested.

 

[sr71plt]

I think the obvious probability is being missed--that an "object lesson" spin was put on it to attempt both to be prurient and to try to slip past any censorship endangering having it offered. This is not a new ploy.

 

[Handley_Page]

What? Do you mean to say that the Superman underwear my mister bought WON'T make him fly??? Damn! *considers new plan of encouraging him to try it anyway, next time he's on the 8th floor of his hotel*

You may not have seen or heard, but there's a 'legal warning' on a Superman costume saying that the wearer cannot expect to fly while wearing it.
I presume it's to protect the makers from spurious legal claims (and that people are absolutely DAFT)

 

[Tyro999]

A week ago I purchased a collection of short erotic stories from the top selling list on Kindle.

... What really got me going, though, was the author's note at the end stating that this story was a warning to couples about the dangers of acting out such fantasies as if we were children who needed a lecture!!! ...

Was this a single author collection or an anthology with a selection from different authors? How much did it cost?

If the latter, the cost to find out that one of the authors is clueless can be offset by the number of the others that you enjoyed.

If a single author collection - at least you've found an author to stay away from in the future.

As others have already suggested, write a review for this one to warn others. [And make a mental note to always read reviews of these e-type-books/stories by unfamiliar writers - it may only save you a buck or two, but think of the aggravation you'll avoid. ]

 

[jomar]

After all the on screen fighting the old Power Rangers show had a quick recorded insert encouraging youth to stay in school and don't do drugs...because, you know...

 

[TE999]

Talk about a buzzkill. I never heard of a cautionary note at the end of an erotic story before. I think that author has some issues.

 

[annanova]

You may not have seen or heard, but there's a 'legal warning' on a Superman costume saying that the wearer cannot expect to fly while wearing it.
I presume it's to protect the makers from spurious legal claims (and that people are absolutely DAFT)

Heh, that's exactly why I used it as an example.

 

[estragon]

Twentyfive pages of "crime" and one sentence of "does not pay." An old formula, letting the writer distance him/herself from his/her own creation. Transparent, of course, but might just get author and publisher off the cliché hook.

 

[manyeyedhydra]

I kill everyone equally. Keeps it all fair.

 

[oggbashan]

Some people don't understand the concept of fiction.

Some cultures do not accept the concept of fiction.

Most erotica is fantasy, fictional stories with little relation to real life. Yet there are those who believe that the story is real. How do they deal with Hollywood shoot-em-up movies when the gun-toting hero saves the world again?

The idea that one can enjoy reading while still recognising that the story is fiction is quite a sophisticated concept. Temporary suspension of disbelief requires the intelligence to do it. That is why 1930s detective fiction was considered an intellectual pastime - both the writing and reading.

 

[D_Lynn]

Some people don't understand the concept of fiction.

Some cultures do not accept the concept of fiction.

Most erotica is fantasy, fictional stories with little relation to real life. Yet there are those who believe that the story is real. How do they deal with Hollywood shoot-em-up movies when the gun-toting hero saves the world again?

The idea that one can enjoy reading while still recognising that the story is fiction is quite a sophisticated concept. Temporary suspension of disbelief requires the intelligence to do it. That is why 1930s detective fiction was considered an intellectual pastime - both the writing and reading.

Well said. You've got me thinking about my own responsibility as a writer. In a good way.

Thank you.