happy endings?

[rae121452]

i just got another message about always having happy endings on my stories. doesn't it seem a bit counter intuitive to try to write an arousing story and then end it on a down note?

i have one series that i can't work on because i know how it ends and the ending is not happy. i don't want to give the characters trouble in their fictional lives.

is it possible to have a tragic or unhappy denouement and still write good porn?

 

[gunhilltrain]

You have to ask yourself: is your only goal to arouse the readers, or do you want to write a story that - hangs together, is plausible? - according to how you think it should go?

You're not obligated to write by whatever standards porn supposedly has. Don't even look at it as "porn" per se. It can be as explicit or not as you see fit.

Probably downbeat stories are not going to reach the heights of popularity - I've seen that here - but so what? There are aspects of sexuality that sometimes may be described by the "Three D's" (disturbing, depressing or disappointing) but that's also what makes it interesting.

 

[SimonDoom]

That's an odd comment. I've never received a comment like that.

My stories generally have happy endings. Sometimes they're a bit twisted, but they're positive. That's how I like my erotica, and I write stories to suit my taste. Most stories here have positive rather than negative endings, so it seems strange to me that a reader would single you out to make that criticism.

 

[KeithD]

is it possible to have a tragic or unhappy denouement and still write good porn?

Yes, I think it is. The quality of the sex telling isn't married to the happiness quotient of the ending. A lot of excellent stories will be bittersweet or even examples of human fraility. I think you might be talking about writing successful pabulum.

 

[rae121452]

Yes, I think it is. The quality of the sex telling isn't married to the happiness quotient of the ending. A lot of excellent stories will be bittersweet or even examples of human fraility. I think you might be talking about writing successful pabulum.

you just can't resist getting in an insult, can you?

 

[jaF0]

Another reason I don't really do 'endings'.

 

[Maeven_quinn]

i just got another message about always having happy endings on my stories. doesn't it seem a bit counter intuitive to try to write an arousing story and then end it on a down note?

Depends on the down note. If its done well, it can still be quite satisfying. Admittedly, most of the examples of great/sad endings I'm thinking of aren't erotica though, though they had sex (or assault) as part of the plot.

i have one series that i can't work on because i know how it ends and the ending is not happy. i don't want to give the characters trouble in their fictional lives.

If characters lives are too easy, than they are not relate-able. I don't care hot their sex is if its just going to make me jealous, or seem like wish fulfillment.

is it possible to have a tragic or unhappy denouement and still write good porn?

Not porn specifically, but still has plenty of sex: ending of the (first) Greg and Rebecca story arc in Crazy Ex Girlfriend. The two go on dates. They have sex. They get attached. Greg won't admit he loves her. Rebecca lays her heart out and he misses the opportunity. We eventually see Rebecca chase after Greg one last time, but Greg sings a song of "I love you, but we're toxic for each other." He flies off to pursue his own personal and career growth. Rebecca stays behind because she's got a lot of work to do too.

It's a sad ending, and you feel Rebecca's loss. But you know it's the right thing.

You could imagine a dozen porn stories that work out in similar arcs like that.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

In some of my endings they wife and husband die. Never had anyone complain about it though. They did mention how twisted it was, but liked the story and never saw the end coming.

While others have happy endings. Now I have had complaints about those but not because they were happy really. It was from the BTB crowd who didn't like the reconciliation. Tough.

In others I have killed off the hero, but because I didn't want to write a squeal. Of course the first comment was "When's the next chapter coming?" Had a good laugh at that one.

 

[Maeven_quinn]

Of course the first comment was "When's the next chapter coming?" Had a good laugh at that one.

What, no zombie porn?

 

[KeithD]

you just can't resist getting in an insult, can you?

If you take someone calling someone who has to have a happy ending on every story a purveyor of pabulum personally, I guess you'd take that as a personal insult, yes. I do think that insisting on a happy ending or believing that a good sex scene can't lead to anything but a happy ending is shallow. If you are so incensed as to take your ire to another board, that's your problem.

 

[gunhilltrain]

If you take someone calling someone who has to have a happy ending on every story a purveyor of pabulum personally, I guess you'd take that as a personal insult, yes. I do think that insisting on a happy ending or believing that a good sex scene can't lead to anything but a happy ending is shallow. If you are so incensed as to take your ire to another board, that's your problem.

I thought the point here was that endings that are happy, unhappy or in the middle are all dependent on the flow or logic or whatever you'd call it of the story. There is no one right way in any kind of fiction (including stories with explicit sexuality).

The Devil in Miss Jones was a pretty downbeat porn movie, although things were different in the '70s. One of the sequels did get the main character out of her plight.

I suppose there has been porn (mostly films?) that treated "everyday mishaps" like broken condoms as comedy.

 

[KeithD]

The premise of the OP was that good porn required happy endings. It was given as a question, but the OP's belief was clear. I'm hardly the only one who has shot that premise down on this thread. I know there are readers here who believe happy endings are required. My premise is that they are shallow readers preferring pabulum formula stories. That's fine if that's what they want, but that isn't an axiom in writing porn.

 

[Kantarii]

So is it’s good sex if only one person gets off or just two people sharing the bed and one person using the other? I like happy endings. Doesn’t always happen in my stories from chapter to chapter, but a “satisfying” ending for the readers is needed, nonetheless, wether it’s good or bad. Kant

 

[KeithD]

None of that is required for either a good story or good porn (or good erotica, for that matter). To require that is to be a shallow reader of literature.

 

[moonflasher]

you just can't resist getting in an insult, can you?

I agree

 

[moonflasher]

[Personal attacks and trolling prohibited per our Forum Rules]

 

[jaF0]

OK, so who dug up the old ID to be annoying?

 

[KeithD]

Moonflasher is trolling me. I read few of the messages (like these) because I have ignore on when my account is on. If it continues on this board, I'll report it, and I bet they'll go away.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

is it possible to have a tragic or unhappy denouement and still write good porn?

Somebody (I think it was MelissaBaby) once commented here that nothing feels better than making a reader cry.

I'm usually a happily-ever-after kind of writer, but for one story it just wouldn't have worked. I wrote a gut-punch of an ending, and commenters still loved the sex scene even if they teared up a bit at the end. For a while that story had my highest rating. It's since fallen back to average, but I regard it as my best work to date.

So yes, I believe it is possible.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Somebody (I think it was MelissaBaby) once commented here that nothing feels better than making a reader cry.

Happy, sad and crying is a great combination. I'm trying for that with one of my Valentine's Day stories. It's great when you can pull it off - and when I cry while I'm writing it, I always think I'm getting close. It slows up my keyboarding though.

 

[Bramblethorn]

i just got another message about always having happy endings on my stories. doesn't it seem a bit counter intuitive to try to write an arousing story and then end it on a down note?

i have one series that i can't work on because i know how it ends and the ending is not happy. i don't want to give the characters trouble in their fictional lives.

is it possible to have a tragic or unhappy denouement and still write good porn?

We have an entire category for Erotic Horror. Happy endings are not the norm there! And you only have to read the comments on LW to see that some folk simultaneously love and hate stories about infidelity. They might scream about it and 1-bomb the authors but they wouldn't keep coming back if it didn't fascinate them.

As Chrissy Amphlett once sang, it's a fine line between pleasure and pain. Erotic elements can be heightened by contrast to suffering, or they can instigate that suffering. The idea of the black widow/femme fatale is a popular trope for a reason.

With all that said, there's also nothing wrong with wanting happy endings or writing them. We don't all have to enjoy the same stuff. Some readers want the comfort of knowing that a story will end on a positive note, and that's fine.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Somebody (I think it was MelissaBaby) once commented here that nothing feels better than making a reader cry.

I'm usually a happily-ever-after kind of writer, but for one story it just wouldn't have worked. I wrote a gut-punch of an ending, and commenters still loved the sex scene even if they teared up a bit at the end. For a while that story had my highest rating. It's since fallen back to average, but I regard it as my best work to date.

So yes, I believe it is possible.

I intend one day to write an ending for Amelia in Rope and Veil that will break the tissue bank. But right now, I'm not brave enough to go anywhere near it - I couldn't bear the look in her eyes when I write it. There are still sections in R&V, especially Part 2, which still make me tear up, and I wrote the bloody words! So that passes the Chloe test.

 

[jaF0]

That kind of crap is why I stopped reading almost everything. And watching all movies and TV.

I'm not interested in 'being moved'. The world sucks enough without spoiling what should be entertaining.

 

[ElectricBlue]

That kind of crap is why I stopped reading almost everything. And watching all movies and TV.

I'm not interested in 'being moved'. The world sucks enough without spoiling what should be entertaining.

Fine, but don't badge it crap just because it not to your liking.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Spoiler alert

That kind of crap is why I stopped reading almost everything. And watching all movies and TV.

I'm not interested in 'being moved'. The world sucks enough without spoiling what should be entertaining.

Although the 19th Century may be exempt from spoilers; it's a judgment call.

Madame Bovary is certainly downbeat about romance, and that goes back to 1857.

It was also pretty racy for its time and was considered scandalous. Somebody should write a 21st Century version of it (although shorter!) and post it on Loving Wives.