How Much of a Story Before Sexy Parts is Too Much?

[Priscilla_June]

I am writing a story, and I am about 3500 words in and have not gotten to the sexy part of the story yet. The 3500 before that are relevant to the story, establishing the scenario, the world, and the build up. But in curious given the base purpose of this site if I have gone too far.

I know there is no cookie cutter answer to this, but I am curious to hear what my fellow authors think. Thanks!

 

[MelissaBaby]

I am writing a story, and I am about 3500 words in and have not gotten to the sexy part of the story yet. The 3500 before that are relevant to the story, establishing the scenario, the world, and the build up. But in curious given the base purpose of this site if I have gone too far.

I know there is no cookie cutter answer to this, but I am curious to hear what my fellow authors think. Thanks!

Checking my WIP, because it's open right in front of me, the first sex scene is at about 15K words in. I expect the story to go between 40-50K, so about one third of the way in.

It goes where it belongs, that's the only rule in my book.

 

[NotWise]

I think you can go a lot more than 3500 words into the story without sex, and a lot of readers will stick with you. The readers cover the whole spectrum.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Good to know I am not the only one. Thanks for that

 

[AwkwardlySet]

It really depends on the size of your story. You can easily go beyond that if you plan your story to be adequately long. Many readers will appreciate you building things up rather than just diving into sex with a couple of completely unknown characters.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

It really depends on the readers.

I've done entire chapters that are entirely story based with no sex, and chapters that only have slight suggestion of sexual influence... granted, chapters published with little to no eroticism are also my lowest ratings, but they've been necessary for the story and build of the series.

I guess if you feel the story-telling is important, don't rush yourself into the eroticism. There are more than a few smutty one-shots to be found here, so its refreshing to come across stories where an actual story is being told. While the smutty goodness tends to be best received for obvious reasons, a tantalizing story with a great plot and interesting characters can be just as fulfilling, as well as building up to the good stuff. :3

 

[KeithD]

I am writing a story, and I am about 3500 words in and have not gotten to the sexy part of the story yet. The 3500 before that are relevant to the story, establishing the scenario, the world, and the build up. But in curious given the base purpose of this site if I have gone too far.

I know there is no cookie cutter answer to this, but I am curious to hear what my fellow authors think. Thanks!

Posters claim to tolerate that here. Beyond that, there is no cookie-cutter answer to the eternal "what do readers want?" question.

 

[Jmanchu]

I am writing a story, and I am about 3500 words in and have not gotten to the sexy part of the story yet. The 3500 before that are relevant to the story, establishing the scenario, the world, and the build up. But in curious given the base purpose of this site if I have gone too far.

I know there is no cookie cutter answer to this, but I am curious to hear what my fellow authors think. Thanks!

Hmm... I have 2 published stories here, that have definitely gone over 3500 words of buildup and plot development beyond just the erotic parts of the story, one without any sex at all. And those two seemed to do well. I have one that has a date set to go live tonight that definitely has over a few thousand words that is world buildup, character development, and plot beyond just the erotic parts. I think it depends on what you're going after with your story. If it's interesting, it should go well, why not. I don't think everyone is looking all the time for just a simple wank from the stories they read here.

 

[SimonDoom]

No problem at all. 3500 words is less than one Lit page. As long as the buildup is good, it's not too long at all.

 

[Grendelpuppy]

The movie AIRPLANE had a great running gag about the MC's biographical conversation driving other passengers to suicide. Maybe it is my own personal aversion, but I dislike stories that spend far, far to much time on detailed dossiers on the characters. I also prefer to see such details of the past woven into the present. Some of the best stories begin in the middle of a sexual encounter then gradually reveal the relevant details of the characters' past as the story progresses. The invention of fictional company profiles and what not really annoys me.

 

[Grendelpuppy]

Here is one of my stories that opens with an explicit sex scene:

https://literotica.com/s/opening-pandoras-box-pt-01-1

 

[12oclocktales]

The category is important, I think. My personal experience in the Fetish category seems to indicate those readers don't want a lot of "plot (story buildup, character development) that gets in the way of the story (the sex scenes)," to quote the famous Joe Bob Briggs. I remember seeing a comment once berating the writer for wasting too much time on that boring stuff and to get right to the chase. Other categories are much different, I'm sure.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

Whenever I'm writing a romance, I often like to create a little tension as well as some backstory before they give in and wind up in bed together. I usually mention up front that the story is a slow burn, for anyone who might not be into waiting. This type of story has done pretty well for me too, so I think readers enjoy a little background about the couple they're reading about before their clothes start flying and they get busy with each other.

 

[vanmyers86]

I write mostly in the romance category, and 3,500 words is barely enough for a decent buildup there. Other categories have different expectations. I think you're fine, but if you're really nervous, read the top 2-4 stories in your story category's hall of fame. That'll give you a feel for what your readers want and expect.

 

[ronde]

It depends upon where the sex seems to fit best. I've started stories with the sex scene, I've had the sex scene happen in the middle and I've had it happen at the end. I might write a sex scene at the beginning of a story to intrigue the reader so they'll keep reading to find out why it happened and the result. I've put the sex scene in the middle as a way of describing the characters without saying she was a slut who would fuck anything with a cock or that he didn't care how she looked as long as she put out on the first date. In my romances, the sex scene usually comes at the end because most people don't meet and have sex until they get to know each other. That takes time and some build-up to explain how they come to that decision.

 

[AWhoopsieDaisy]

The slow burn tag is your friend

 

[KeithD]

It depends upon where the sex seems to fit best. I've started stories with the sex scene, I've had the sex scene happen in the middle and I've had it happen at the end.

And all of the above.

 

[Demiurging]

In terms of paper, 3-5000 is apparently the length of a single chapter. I could easily read 2-3X that length so long as things feel like they're moving forward.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I know this is Literotica and the majority of authors and readers are here for the sex, but don't pigeonhole your story. Satisfy yourself first and foremost.

Since 2014 I have published 24 stories here. Half of those have no sex in them at all but are my higher-rated stories by far. As others have said, it depends upon the category that you post in as to what the readers expect and what they will tolerate.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

How many ways can we say 'it depends'?

I have a story (Romance) where my characters don't even get to kiss until the bottom of page 4 of 5. (So that's about 14,000 words!)

But there's been a lot of thinking about sex, the guy masturbating while trying not to think about her, then while thinking about her, she compares him to previous crap lovers, he wonders what she looks like under a large bath towel...

I have longer stories with a similar length before getting to sex, but again, characters are thinking of or remembering sex earlier on.

Other stories start with sex and just continue the filth from there, or have sex and then 'how did we get here/where do we go from here?'

Trying to edit your writing, to tighten it up so every word has a purpose, is important for both the sex scenes and the intervening stuff.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Great input, so the whole “depends” on the category question. Thoughts on Scifi/fantasy? Is that a category that tolerates buildup? I would imagine it does since there has to be a theme there.

 

[Djmac1031]

Obviously, as everyone else has pointed out, it depends.

If a reader is looking for a quick spank, they will want something that gets to the sex pronto.

If they want a story that builds worlds and characters so that they actually care about the sex when it happens, then 3500 words isn't much at all.

I think the premise of any given story and how it's presented early on factors in as well.

If you leave them enough breadcrumbs to follow your tale, anticipating the payoff because you've set it up and teased it well, plenty of readers will stay with it.

The ones that don't didn't really care about your STORY anyway.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Great input, so the whole “depends” on the category question. Thoughts on Scifi/fantasy? Is that a category that tolerates buildup? I would imagine it does since there has to be a theme there.

Absolutely. For my Fantasy stories I remember sometimes getting criticism for having too much sex, never the other way around

 

[Cali_Love]

Look to real life. You wake up with your love, no words are needed, um, hell yeah rock each other’s mornings. Other times, you play the whole day with your love, talking, flirting, capping it all with the wild thing. Don’t forget the nooner. Real life is so awesome, the word count varies. Make it real.

 

[tenyari]

But in curious given the base purpose of this site if I have gone too far.

999 pages, 3 paragraphs, and 7 words.

If we hit page 1000 I'm going to freak if I don't get the goods.