Is it necessary to include sexual intercourse?

[Carible]

Personally, I don't particularly care if there's any sex in an erotic story because I'm much more interested in the lead-up to it, like, the characters and the tension. I got a negative comment on my first story because it didn't include sex. Since then, even though I'm writing these stories just for fun, I usually throw a half-hearted sex scene at the end because I'm afraid people will be annoyed otherwise. I find it boring to write sex, so right now I have ten or eleven unfinished, unposted stories that basically end in [insert sex here].

I'm curious if people think it's important that an erotic story include sex, or are there others like me who are mostly interested in the sexual tension and can do without long descriptions of sex? I almost feel like I should start my stories with a warning or something so I'm not wasting people's times lol. Thanks in advance! (my first time posting here )

EDIT: Changed the title from "Is it important to end with a sex scene?" to "Is it necessary to include sexual intercourse?" Getting a lot of comments like, "Well if you just want to write non-erotic romance stories go somewhere else." By "sex" I didn't mean all sexual things but specifically sexual intercourse. For example, if an exhibitionist/voyeur story doesn't end in sexual intercourse, that doesn't necessarily make it non-erotic and romantic.

 

[RejectReality]

If you don't enjoy writing sex, you're probably on the wrong venue. Most people who come here do so because they want to step over that bedroom threshold without fading to black. You might seriously consider searching for some more mainstream venues. Racy can usually fly in such places, so long as you don't actually describe the bump and grind.

That is what Lit is for.

Still, there's a readership for everything here. It will be a niche market for you, because the bulk of the readership is here for sex, but there are people who will enjoy virtually anything you present. You just have to manage your expectations when what you want to write is outside the box.

 

[NotWise]

There is a category (Nonerotic) for stories that don't include sex, but in other categories the readers will usually expect the story to include sex. There are some exceptions. Not every chapter in a chaptered story has to have sex. SciFi and Fantasy is a category where the story doesn't have to have sex.

 

[Mnkinkcpl]

Most readers here expect some actual sex, I have one part of a multi part story that has no sex and I listed that in the description.

Of course that chapter has fewer reads and a lower score which I expected.

As a reader I like to have my cake and eat it too.

A very well written story with no descriptive sex is great, and a well written story with sex is great also.

If you as the author don't want sex then don't but expect lower reads and scores.

And put it in the description.

 

[KeithD]

The question asked in the body of the post (is it important to include sex scene(s) in the story?) is not the same as the question asked in the post title (is it important to end with a sex scene?)

So, I think the OP needs to do a lot more thinking about what is needed in an erotica story. First, the glory of fiction is the wide variety of what will work. To be erotic, it does need sexual tension, yes. But a sex act is far more than tab A in slot B. All of the buildup of sexual tension is sex act. And a good story can be written with no tab A in slot B or some or lots and placed anywhere or everywhere in the story. Or just in steamy looks as characters pass on the street.

 

[Amy_66]

No, typically I just have my characters discussing their plans to move to Australia as the Bolivian military surrounds the couple. The FMC asks the MMC if the Antagonist is with them.

Upon receiving a negative reply the FMC says: "Good, for a minute I thought we were in trouble."

Then a shot rings out.

***

Although sometimes I just have everyone meet at a diner where the scene fades to black during a Journey song.

 

[SamScribble]

There are more that a few highly-rated stories here that have little or no explicit sex. But if you are going to write one of those, you had better make sure that you write three-dimensional characters and that you keep the readers wanting to know what happens next?

 

[thomas1965]

Don't worry too much about what people might want or don't want. There are probably millions of people coming to this site. It's impossible to find about anything about them. Some people come here to find some kind of porn to jerk off. Others might come here through an search engine searching for "free romance story"
Personally I don't care sooo much about sex that's fine, just mention the the story description that there is no explicit sex. If people don't like it, they won't read it.

 

[Handley_Page]

There IS a 'non-erotic' section which gets some good reviews from time to time.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Every reader has their own preferences, but IME if the rest of the story is strong enough to make the scenario compelling you'll find a fair few readers willing to excuse a lack of detailed sex. I have a couple of well-rated stories in Erotic Horror which don't get more explicit than "fade to black".

 

[SimonDoom]

There's no universal rule about this. It's a big site, and readers want different things.
But I think this is true of many, maybe most, Literotica readers, and it's true of me:
We want an erotic experience, that in some ways tracks erotic experiences that we have in real life, only in ways that are sometimes imaginary or fantastic.
I know this is what I like: I like an erotic story that puts characters I'm interested in in an interesting erotic situation, and that ends with sexual fulfillment of some kind. "Sex," for these purposes, can be almost any kind of erotic experience--the point is that it rises to a crescendo and at the end there is some kind of release or fulfillment. For a foot fetishist, a good erotic story could end in a well-told foot-rubbing session rather than sexual intercourse. But I want fulfillment. I don't want to be left hanging.

 

[shakna]

One of my highest voted chapters for a tale has no sex in it (4.7X or something). The tale is more important, so that's what dictates what happens.

The big difference though, is none of my sex scenes can really be added up as "insert sex scene here". I do have plenty of scenes that I write similar notes on, but nothing that generic. Character progression needs to happen during a scene, for the kind of tale I like to write. If a scene can be skipped safely, then it isn't worth writing, at all.

For example, the next chapter of Tauli currently has "Erientyara beds Sharhalla - angry debate about egg, and Erin feeling less special, because he got Bubbles' egg." Two dragons, and their inter-relationship. Sex is just the framing. Sure, I expect it to make people reach down their pants, and I want that, too. But I want both that, and moving the story forward. Unskippable cut scene.

 

[MelissaBaby]

"Erotic" does not equal "Reader gets their nut".

Write what you want. Those who don't understand the eroticism of courtship, of devotion, of the interplay at the heart of relationships, will not appreciate your work, but there are many readers who will.

 

[Trionyx]

I’ve written two ‘Romances’ and one romantic ‘Mature’ story with no/minimal sexual activity, though there is sexual tension portrayed. I put a small note at the beginning of each of these stories warning the reader of this. They average over twenty thousand views and the average score is 4.75. So, no, a story doesn’t have to have or end with a sex scene. I believe the warning allows those desiring a sex scene to back click and those who remain are willing to read, vote and comment in spite of the lack of a sex scene.

 

[TadOverdon]

I like having a sex scene near the end, but for my multipart stories, I like to end with a cliffhanger or hint toward the next chapter.

Sex near the end. But I notice that I tend to end chapters with conversation or a character's reflections, either on the sex or on whatever was vexing them prior to the sex. It's a way of stringing a storyline together around the screwing.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I agree with what was said in the first reply. If you don't want to write sex, you would probably be better off writing somewhere else. That being said, there is some space for that kind of writing here as well.
I have to ask you though, why do you dislike writing sex? If you are embarrassed about your stories including sex then I understand, but writing sex is such an awesome thing, because one way or another, it mixes well with everything and anything. You can mix sex and romance, sex and fantasy, sex and horror, sex and drama... It even has the ability to make some incredibly boring stories better. Just try to take the sex out of many stories written here, and you would find monthly irrigation report in Sahara a much more interesting read...
On a more serious note, try to find fun in writing a sex scene. You could even write it as a parody, as a philosophical treatise... Sex works with everything

 

[MelissaBaby]

I agree with what was said in the first reply. If you don't want to write sex, you would probably be better off writing somewhere else. That being said, there is some space for that kind of writing here as well.
I have to ask you though, why do you dislike writing sex? If you are embarrassed about your stories including sex then I understand, but writing sex is such an awesome thing, because one way or another, it mixes well with everything and anything. You can mix sex and romance, sex and fantasy, sex and horror, sex and drama... It even has the ability to make some incredibly boring stories better. Just try to take the sex out of many stories written here, and you would find monthly irrigation report in Sahara a much more interesting read...
On a more serious note, try to find fun in writing a sex scene. You could even write it as a parody, as a philosophical treatise... Sex works with everything

I find most sex scenes boring.

Yeah, ok, they fucked. Then what happened?

It’s the interplay that leads to the sex, the ramifications afterwards, the way it shapes people and changes the dynamic between them, that I find interesting.

 

[Carible]

Thanks for all the replies! I think some people have gotten the impression that I'm writing non-erotic stories, but that's not the case at all. They all have an overtly sexual focus with nudity, arousal, orgasm, etc. My first story (which got a negative comment for not including sex) got 5 or so other comments which were all positive. I'm confused by the attitude that anything short of intercourse is like wholesome Disney family fun or something. There are definitely stories that should include sex and even times when the sex is the purpose of the whole story, but is there nothing erotic other than detailed descriptions of sex acts? Like, an exhibitionist/voyeur story for example might not focus on a sex act but still is clearly sexual.

If I choose to post any stories without sex, I will note it in the description. Sorry for this stupid question, but there's only room for like ten words in the description, right? Should I just put, like, "(no sex)" in the description or is there a place to put a longer description that I've never noticed?

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I find most sex scenes boring.

Yeah, ok, they fucked. Then what happened?

It’s the interplay that leads to the sex, the ramifications afterwards, the way it shapes people and changes the dynamic between them, that I find interesting.

Couldn't agree more. But all those fantastic things, the build up and the consequences, have no meaning unless sex happens. Sex itself is mostly friction and physics, unless you build up the scene properly. Then it can be fantastic, as even the choice of having sex, where it happens, how it happens, who does who etc. gives excellent insight into characters, and can serve as an excellent plot point, even if your story isn't focused on the sex itself. I always try to make sex a reflection of each character involved. What they did, what turned them on, how they came, what position, who was selfish, who wasn't etc.

 

[stickygirl]

Genghis Khan ended with a sex scene...
In addition to Non-Erotic, there's Romance. I still don't understand the guides for categories and there is a huge amount of overlap... romantic anal? The idea is the Categories help readers find the hotel door and Tags the appropriate floor. There should be more padding in the Non-Con floor - I keep banging on the ceiling.

Write for yourself but give people a heads-up with an Intro ETA I see you've mentioned that

 

[Carible]

I agree with what was said in the first reply. If you don't want to write sex, you would probably be better off writing somewhere else. That being said, there is some space for that kind of writing here as well.
I have to ask you though, why do you dislike writing sex? If you are embarrassed about your stories including sex then I understand, but writing sex is such an awesome thing, because one way or another, it mixes well with everything and anything. You can mix sex and romance, sex and fantasy, sex and horror, sex and drama... It even has the ability to make some incredibly boring stories better. Just try to take the sex out of many stories written here, and you would find monthly irrigation report in Sahara a much more interesting read...
On a more serious note, try to find fun in writing a sex scene. You could even write it as a parody, as a philosophical treatise... Sex works with everything

I don't always find it boring! I guess the way I read and write erotic stories, I find the fact that the characters had sex hotter than the actual details of the sex, you know? I'll take your advice and try to be more creative with it. Usually I try to think of creative ways to describe the physical sensations but I'm not an amazing writer or anything so that's what makes it feel tedious to write.

I agree that a lot of erotic stories would be very dry without sex. I hate reading that kind of story lol. It's really disappointing to find an interesting scenario, like, two strangers meeting in a locker room, and then one paragraph later someone is on their knees sucking a dick and the rest of the story is just them fucking in different positions. I don't judge people who are into that, but it's not for me. I just don't care. I'm young and single and if I wanted an experience that was purely sex, without any regard for who's involved or how they got there, I would not be at home on my computer reading stories.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[jehoram]

I like to leave my characters in a happy place... either with the sex just finished or with the anticipation that sex is going to be happening shortly.

 

[yowser]

A good question and some thoughtful advice offered. I will second the 'it's a big tent here for writers and readers' perspective, as there's lots of room for all manner of tales.

For me, good dining and good erotic writing have several parallels (both involving appetites and all.)

It is certainly possible to do a short, arousing story and skip a lot of appetisers and menu-gazing, going straight to the main course, but most of the time you'll have both a better reading (and authorial) experience if you set up and extend the interest beforehand. I like it when my dining partner and I exchange knowing looks, indulge in some banter, rub knees, etc. before getting to the entree. If you can extend this it brings the whole business to a much fuller representation and acceptable completion. Can you get the reader to smell and taste and feel the dinner? Much more arousing, and satisfying that way.

Most readers will want a real meal, and most of the best stories here have a real climax with an authentic and energetic dissipation of tension, lovingly described. The description doesn't always have to be detailed (and certainly suffers if done in a pedestrian manner, here real authorial skill is marvelous to behold) and it sounds like this is a stumbling block for you, but it needs to be done convincingly.

I would suggest reading, perhaps a lot, other stories here that give you satisfying results, noting what those authors did - how they reeled you in, what in their descriptions of the great excitement worked for you, how they managed details - obliquely or directly? - and what gripped you. Not to imitate them, but to prod you to think about how you can represent your own tension-resolution in the story you want to tell.

It's an art and a science, worthy of some effort, and this is a good sandbox to play around in. Good luck.

 

[8letters]

Do I think most readers want the story to have sex in it? Depends on the category; blah, blah, blah; but generally yes. Do you get paid any more for having sex in a story? No. If you don't want to put sex in a story, don't put sex in a story. Just be aware of the probable ramifications of that decision.

As to does a story have to end with a sex scene, the answer is no. In fact, I had beta-readers tell me that I needed to add a non-sex scene to one of my stories as there was a hugely important conflict (an abusive boss) that needed to be resolved after the main characters had sex for the first time. I have another story that has a very long non-sex epilogue in order to tie everything up properly.

 

[EnonEMoose]

I think an obvious addition to the question that may help define it better is 'what is sex?'. That will differ for different readers IMHO Male, Female, Young, Mature, Heterosexual, LGBTQI+. Whilst (and I am generalizing) a young male might be looking for the QB of the football team to stick his erect member inside the cheerleader and make her scream, a mature female may include erotic touching, the strong grip of the man as their eyes met and they knew what was going to happen...blah blah blah. Sex doesn't start and end with intercourse, so does intercourse actually have to occur might be a better question again IMHO?