Is It Okay to Just Write... Smut?

[AwkwardMD]

I tend to write long, emotionally harrowing and therapeutic stories that, at the end of the day, result in a pairing and a lot of sweaty tension relieving.

Some of those pairings refused to go away from my head, and so I have a short series called Different Strokes that continues a few of those longer stories. They don't add much in the way of plotz and are really just an excuse to write more of a few specific kinds of sex.

 

[caleb35]

Thank you all for the feedback and input. I think there's been some good discussion here.

 

[SimonDoom]

Of course it's OK.

Here's the thing: you don't have to choose. You don't have to ask this question, because . . . you can write more than one story. Write both types. Write whatever you want.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

Short answer, yes!

 

[nice90sguy]

I sometimes get an urge to write a pure sex story, after encountering someone in real life who I'm attracted to, and later imagining what the sex would be like with them.

I've written exactly one story which is just a "fun sex romp", based on a real-life experience of sharing a late night cab with a sexy work colleague (in reality, I got as far as stroking her thigh).

Stories like that are sometimes based on an "almost" experience, or even an actual experience. If they're really well written (meaning they make the reader feel like a participant, or right there with the people in the story), then they can be hot.

But most of those kind of stories are usually wish-fulfilment: A lot of us don't have the opportunity in real life, for a myriad reasons, to experience sex the way we'd like to, or even at all.

 

[YmaOHyd]

I don't write sex romps for one reason, and it's that I find the sex part of erotic fiction mostly kind of unpleasant to write. I can do it, I think, but it's hard work and not that intellectually stimulating. The invocation of eros is what I'm there for, not necessarily the mechanics. I need the foreplay of six-thousand words of conversation over red wine at an old bar or anti-fascist theory or meltdowns in stairwells to make the sex not an absolute chore to put on paper.

 

[TheLobster]

Sir, I hope I don’t have to remind that this is AH — one of the most esteemed and well-regarded literary societies in the world. By no means are we trafficking in this so-called smut, as you put it, but rather in the finest, most subtle expressions of heart-wrenching passion you could possibly imagine.

If you have the good sense to aspire to these high echelons of literary achievement, I advise that you banish any thoughts of writing mere smut immediately!

 

[BobbyBrandt]

The way that I view it is...

Does your story have a purpose that is clear to YOU?

It can be simple or complex, but there should always be a purpose behind what we right.

Next, fulfill that purpose to the best of your ability. Satisfaction is then a given result.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I don't write sex romps for one reason, and it's that I find the sex part of erotic fiction mostly kind of unpleasant to write. I can do it, I think, but it's hard work and not that intellectually stimulating. The invocation of eros is what I'm there for, not necessarily the mechanics. I need the foreplay of six-thousand words of conversation over red wine at an old bar or anti-fascist theory or meltdowns in stairwells to make the sex not an absolute chore to put on paper.

This is me 98% of the time.

There is also the pleasure that I know my readers experience by me allowing their imaginations to "fill in the blanks" that my teasing leaves for them.

 

[StillStunned]

Kinda of a weird question I want to throw out there. So, this is an erotica site, we read and write erotica here. Got it. And I think most of us would agree that some of the best stories are ones that artfully combine erotica with other well-written components (ethos, plot, characterization, etc.). But, as authors/writers, should we aspire to always trying to write something more than just erotic scenes linked by plot?

The reason I ask this -- I've got a couple of story ideas (mostly just ideas but one or two already in draft) that I think are decent, enjoyable smut stories. But that's all that they are. Smut. I don't have any great plot twists in them, there are no memorable characters, I'm not writing any innovative sex scenes. Most importantly, I don't feel that I'm saying anything in the stories. They're just fun sex romps, IMO. And part of me thinks that's okay and another part of me is unsatisfied with writing a story that doesn't at least attempt to have something else to relay or impart beyond sex.

Now, writing all of this out, of course I see the response -- yes, it's okay to just write a sex story and only a sex story (provided that you write as well as you can). And yet there's that part of me that's unsatisfied with that alone. I'm curious what some of the rest of you think about this and if you ever have similar feelings when coming up with new stories. Thanks.

Just because it's "smut" doesn't mean you get to half-arse it. Instead of plot and character, focus on the build-up, the sensations, the release. Make it as real as you can for your reader, so that they still remember your story that night when they're in bed.

I'd argue that it's more difficult to write an engaging story that's purely about the sex. There's no plot or character development to hide behind: it's purely a test of your writing skills.

Can you write a story that's all about the sex, and that still brings the scene and the characters to life? Can you make the reader go "Wow!" just from your description of sexual activity? Can you keep them reading and hold their attention all the way to the climax?

 

[MiaBabe23]

Thank you, @AwkwardlySet. I feel you encapsulated what I was trying to get at. On a related note, and one of the reasons I posted this thread -- I've got a couple of ideas in mind where one woman seduces another woman, with each story climaxing and concluding with the success of the seduction. Each story seems like it'd be good and enjoyable (at least to me, hopefully to readers as well). However, I feel there's a bit of sameness to them, where they might differ on details and precise scenario, but otherwise they're the same. So, part of it is concern with having something to say in them beyond just smut (literary, as you said), but another concern is falling into a rut of paint-by-number stories which I feel that I've seen other writers do on a number of sites (here, Amazon, Medium, etc.).

If you have two story ideas, two different scenes, that’s all you need - just let yourself write!
If it’s well-written, differing scenarios and details will likely be enough to hold your readers’ interest
If you do wanna differentiate more, obviously there are all kinda ways you can do that e.g. a power imbalance, (e.g. boss and subordinate), a pressure, (e.g. husband of one will be back soon, so a sense of urgency), a different environment, (e.g. outside versus inside) etc etc
Ultimately though, it sounds like you need to take the pressure off yourself and just let yourself write - a lot can be done in the editing afterward, (which I always treat as a separate process from writing)

 

[Z_TheWriter]

First, yes. Yes it is.

Now for the long ramble that you should feel free to ignore

I think smut isn't dumb or shallow by nature. A story doesn't need a larger plot or message to have depth or meaning. You can absolutely write something that has depth even if it's essentially just a sex scene with nothing around it. We can get glimpses into the inner lives of characters from how they act, what they think, what they say, what they don't say. Those things can all happen during sex, and often do in real life.

This may, of course, not be what you want to write, which is also ok. Fun, simple romps without extraneous considerations are sometimes exactly what someone wants/needs to read. Maybe so they can fill in the unexplored details with their own lives?

In the end, a story will appeal to a certain audience regardless, and repel others. And who's to say that someone won't find their own kind of meaning in something you wrote, even if you didn't intend it in that way?

So far, I write where my mind takes me. I like romance, I like plot, so that's what's been going through my fingers. But that means I end up with the opposite worry. Is there enough titillation, enough sex, enough smut? This is an erotica site after all.

 

[Statius]

Kinda of a weird question I want to throw out there. So, this is an erotica site, we read and write erotica here. Got it. And I think most of us would agree that some of the best stories are ones that artfully combine erotica with other well-written components (ethos, plot, characterization, etc.). But, as authors/writers, should we aspire to always trying to write something more than just erotic scenes linked by plot?

The reason I ask this -- I've got a couple of story ideas (mostly just ideas but one or two already in draft) that I think are decent, enjoyable smut stories. But that's all that they are. Smut. I don't have any great plot twists in them, there are no memorable characters, I'm not writing any innovative sex scenes. Most importantly, I don't feel that I'm saying anything in the stories. They're just fun sex romps, IMO. And part of me thinks that's okay and another part of me is unsatisfied with writing a story that doesn't at least attempt to have something else to relay or impart beyond sex.

Now, writing all of this out, of course I see the response -- yes, it's okay to just write a sex story and only a sex story (provided that you write as well as you can). And yet there's that part of me that's unsatisfied with that alone. I'm curious what some of the rest of you think about this and if you ever have similar feelings when coming up with new stories. Thanks.

My most popular stories are smut/ strokers.

 

[BearNextDoor]

Gosh, I hope it's okay, or they're gonna throw me out of here.

 

[AG31]

Kinda of a weird question I want to throw out there. So, this is an erotica site, we read and write erotica here. Got it. And I think most of us would agree that some of the best stories are ones that artfully combine erotica with other well-written

Up thread I said this "Then write both." I want to clarify. Don't write both in the same story. You can write a story where the sex is naturally intertwined with plot and character, but don't write a sex story and then add plot and character. The plot and character will be awkward and unconvincing and they will distract from the sex.

 

[Not2Pervy]

Kinda of a weird question I want to throw out there. So, this is an erotica site, we read and write erotica here. Got it. And I think most of us would agree that some of the best stories are ones that artfully combine erotica with other well-written components (ethos, plot, characterization, etc.). But, as authors/writers, should we aspire to always trying to write something more than just erotic scenes linked by plot?

The reason I ask this -- I've got a couple of story ideas (mostly just ideas but one or two already in draft) that I think are decent, enjoyable smut stories. But that's all that they are. Smut. I don't have any great plot twists in them, there are no memorable characters, I'm not writing any innovative sex scenes. Most importantly, I don't feel that I'm saying anything in the stories. They're just fun sex romps, IMO. And part of me thinks that's okay and another part of me is unsatisfied with writing a story that doesn't at least attempt to have something else to relay or impart beyond sex.

Now, writing all of this out, of course I see the response -- yes, it's okay to just write a sex story and only a sex story (provided that you write as well as you can). And yet there's that part of me that's unsatisfied with that alone. I'm curious what some of the rest of you think about this and if you ever have similar feelings when coming up with new stories. Thanks.

No advice to add. Just want to say that you are not alone. I go through this same internal dialogue constantly, and have written things here that go low, high, and mostly in-between.