Just can't finish the stories

[sanchopanza]

I started writing just a short time ago, maybe 6 months ago actually and so far I've only managed to write one story, which is bloody ridiculous. I gave up writing at one point and started again but now I have about 4 stories on the go - and they contain little sex. I write and I think that I should start a sex scene so I start it then I end up going on and on with build up and background and dialogue and then I quote Shakespeare and go of on a tangent - its so hard.

So anyway my point is this - does anybody like to read intelligent stories? And does anybody like to read storiesthat are mostly narrative and dialogue and sex only eventually?

I'm told my stories are well written, regardless of whether they are porno stories and I think this is a good thing but I'm beginning to wonder if I should be writing that kind of story because I find it so hard to fit the sex in sometimes.

 

[Linbido]

I think you're on a good track there. I'd rather see a good story with some sex than lots of sex without a good story. I often find myself thinking "Ok, now why did those folks want to fuck again?" when reading through stories here. A few exceptional exceptions aside, I think many authors of smut have a tendency to rush towards the gritty bits.

Stories needs foreplay too, dammit.

 

[sanchopanza]

Excellent. At the moment I think my ratio of story to sex is about 4:1. I think I'll carry on the way I am. My very first attempt at writing got the feedback of very good and hilarious and excellent and one girl I showed it to said "oh it's got loads of dirty words in it" to which I replied "what kind of porn have you been watching?" and she said that she never watched porn which I happened to know was a lie. But then I got an e-mail claiming that the story wasn't vulgar enough - there was not enough sex. But I'm slowly learning that even people who read porno stories are intelligent and appreciate good literature.

 

[Icingsugar]

So far I have written two stories for Lit. Counting, I'd say that the regular/sex scene ratio has been something like 5:1 or 'worse'. The readrers don't seem to complain all that much, and I've gotter far better ratings and feedback than I think that they deserve, especially given the erotic context of the site. Granted, there are readers out there who are also looking for nothing but a quick stroke. But why they don't just watch some fast porn flick for that is beyond me

Go woth what feels best for you. You can't please everyone.

 

[sanchopanza]

yes i think i'll attept to become a master of intelligent porno stories and not just stroke stories

 

[sailorm72003]

Go with the story if that's what feels right for you. You'll probably find that while some readers will grumble about not enough sex, there are quite a few who prefer the "intelligent" stories.

sailor

 

[MathGirl]

does anybody like to read intelligent stories?

Dear Sanch,
As the author of more than four stories on here, I believe I can tell you how it is. The vast majority of readers only want something they can read with one hand. The other hand is busy mistreating some sort of clergyman. You can ask someone else about that.
MG

 

[Icingsugar]

Re: Re: Just can't finish the stories

Dear Sanch,
As the author of more than four stories on here, I believe I can tell you how it is. The vast majority of readers only want something they can read with one hand. The other hand is busy mistreating some sort of clergyman. You can ask someone else about that.
MG

The good erotic stories are those that please both the big and the little head. The very best stories are those that can do that in perfect synch.

And fyi, the clergyman does not usually object to the mistreatment.

 

[Omni]

Also Sancho, when I first started trying to write erotica I was a bit hesitant about writing the sex parts.

It grows on you the more you do it.

Plus, generally speaking a lot of women readers love the build up part, and they also enjoy more of a plot, IMHO, and like the social interaction of the characters.

Tension, build up, foreplay, rocks.......



Omni

 

[Sabledrake]

For me, the story's more important. If I don't care about the story, and the characters, I don't care about the sex.

Sabledrake

 

[Guest]

Señor Panza:

Por favor, write good stories and I will read them. I write first and if the sex fits then I submit it here. Quoting Shakespeare (well and fittingly) wins me over.

Deseándole bien, soy

Dulcinea (Perdita)

 

[The_Fool]

Write for yourself, you'll write a better story. The readers will either like the story or they won't. Chances are you will have some of both. If you try to cater to the masses you will end up with garbage. As for me, I never listen and I still end up with garbage, sometimes.

Foolish

 

[sanchopanza]

well i've quoted and homaged

titus andronicus
henry v
henry iv, parts 1 and 2
romeo and juliet
king lear
merry wives of windsor

 

[Wolf_77]

The only thing I think of when I write a story, is how shuld it end, or if it SHOULD end. If you love the pace and the events in the story, keep writing. When the end is near you will know.

Thats why I havent posted any of my work,,all too short,,lol

 

[cahab]

So anyway my point is this - does anybody like to read intelligent stories? And does anybody like to read storiesthat are mostly narrative and dialogue and sex only eventually?

I'm told my stories are well written, regardless of whether they are porno stories and I think this is a good thing but I'm beginning to wonder if I should be writing that kind of story because I find it so hard to fit the sex in sometimes.

I get a little tired of saying this, but here goes; have you tried writing some other kind of fiction? It sounds to me like you're, say, trying to write detective fiction with just a little bit of detecting in it. It's terribly patronizing to say that it isn't intelligent because it's primarily about sex.

When I start writing a story for Lit it's because I want to write about sex. Usually because I want to satisfy my lust without actually going and screwing the twenty guys. If I want to write about something else, then I write it for somewhere else. Get it?

I have only submitted one story to Lit that I didn't write for the purposes outlined above, and I did so because it heavily featured sex, and there aren't a lot of markets for that outside erotica. The sex wasn't incidental, but it wasn't erotic either.

If you find yourself writing a story that has only incidentaal sex, than cut out the sex and send it somewhere else. If, then, your moan is that you like Lit and want to submit something to it because you like the format; tough. I like the format of the Times, but I ain't gonna submit my next novel to them.

I have said before that we should have a sister, non-erotic, Lit site. I repeat my desire. Lot's of other people waant it too, you obviously just haven't realised it yet.

[/rant]

 

[Guest]

Eyup,

Cahab, after reading the above I re-welcome you back. Good to read clear up front thinking.

Perdita

 

[sanchopanza]

well i started writing porn then a good friend of mine told me that i shouldn't concentrate my efforts just on porno stories and she actually suggested that people who read porno stories aren't intelligent and so aren't interested in intelligent porn!? i told her my porn was more than just porn, it was quantum porn. anyway the point is i tried writing seriously and i failed miserably - it ended up as outrageously narcissistic and vain and i was told that while it was intellectual it was a "genuine writing train wreck" so i showed these people my porno efforts and they said it was well written and intelligent regardless of the fact that it was porn.

It's terribly patronizing to say that it isn't intelligent because it's primarily about sex

i wasn't trying to suggest this by the way, just so you know. what i meant was that a lot of porn these days is so simple and inarticulate as to be unreadable. maybe you could conclude from this that a lot of porn these days is not intelligent. my point is that there is not that much intelligent porn in relation to how much there is out there.

i don't want to write non-porn fiction. i want to write porn. the original topic of the post was "does anybody like to read intelligent stories? And does anybody like to read stories that are mostly narrative and dialogue and sex only eventually?" so i'm just saying that i want to write porn but i didn't know whether there was much of an audience for it.

 

[Guest]

SP, I get it now. To be blunt I don't think there's much of an audience for what you call intelligent porn here. Probably most of that small group is on this forum and then I'd guess as few lurkers.

I read mostly 'literature' but I like erotica and ended up browsing the net vs. wasting money on crap books. I have less than a half-dozen actual books of erotica that I will reread when needy. There are as few Lit. authors I read for the writing, the rest I read when more than needy.

That's my take. Now I'll tell you to write whatever suits you, don't do it for Lit. or a demographical crowd.

best to you, Perdita

p.s. if you post anything here w/Sh're refs I'll be a f**king tough critic on your literary arse.

 

[cahab]

what i meant was that a lot of porn these days is so simple and inarticulate as to be unreadable. maybe you could conclude from this that a lot of porn these days is not intelligent. my point is that there is not that much intelligent porn in relation to how much there is out there.

i don't want to write non-porn fiction. i want to write porn. the original topic of the post was "does anybody like to read intelligent stories? And does anybody like to read stories that are mostly narrative and dialogue and sex only eventually?" so i'm just saying that i want to write porn but i didn't know whether there was much of an audience for it.

If you mean that most of it is badly written; of course it is. It's an amateur site, after all.

But I still maintain that what you are talking about isn't porn. It isn't even erotica. Quality has nothing to do with it. It's genre. Last tango In Paris isn't a porn film, or even a particularly erotic one (IMHO). It does have sex in it. It's even, to some extent at least, about sex. But it's not erotica.

Erotica excites you sexually, with or without actual sex. I have read stories on Lit that don't (again, with and without actual sex, although I guess that's about personal taste).

Fine, if the pre-sex plot heightens the sexual tension. Basically, just ask yourself if the story would work without the sex. If it does, then it's something else. Doesn't mean it's bad. Indeed, in most other writer's arena they would be telling you to throw out the sex and keep the plot.

Ahh, I've completely lost my plot here, now. It's late. I'm tired. Work it out for yourself. I'm going to bed to do it instead of writing about it.

Goodnight all.

 

[oggbashan]

Intelligent Sex

I write for Literotica because I want to write stories with sex as an essential ingredient.

With some I have failed because the sex was optional. The story worked without the sex.

I had some good feedback about the sex in a story where the sex was not actually present but only implicit. That story wouldn't have worked without the reader supplying the sex.

The "intelligent" thing to do on Literotica is to write a quality story that will appeal to the majority of readers. That requires a high level of imagination and consumate skill in the art of conveying images through the written word. Most of us fall short of that ideal and know that we do. While we strive to do better we are using our intelligence to write better erotica.

It is not an ignoble ambition to write the best erotica that you are capable of. To be the best in any field is a lifetime achievement and if you achieve it you will be a Zen master as well.

Og

 

[sanchopanza]

yes i almost see your point there cahab. er i don't think i do actually. anyway you were saying something about the difference between erotica and porn and sexuall explicit work . . . when i refer to porno stories i refer to all stories that are written with sexual gratification in mind or those that are intentionally sexually explicit to the point that that is the point of the story. in my opinion last tango in paris was a porno - but a very poor one at that.

p.s. if you post anything here w/Sh're refs I'll be a f**king tough critic on your literary arse

er what was this in reference to? couldn't quite work it out. if it is a reference to the fact i say i am in liverpool - i am not a scouser i am actually from kent (and proud of it).

anyway i just thought that when writing porn i should strive to make it more intelligible and literary than your normal porn story. and the feedback has been good, even though i've only showed it to people i know (in the real world) - i'm surprised how many girls i've had ask me to put them in my stories, so far i've had i think 11 or 12.

 

[Stefan_J]

I don't think that most of the writers here are amateur, i've seen quite a lot of decent (and sometimes superb) writing which can turn a story from being just good to really good. If the writing isn't above a certain bar, then the story itself lacks realism and depth, you don't get lost in the story because you know all you're doing is reading one, you don't get sucked in.

And again i'll go back to realism when we're talking about sex content. I like to have a build up to the story and i like reading about characters that don't do amazingly contradictory things, things that the character wouldn't do in the beginning of the story and then bam, the character just suddenly decides to do it. That ruins the flow of a story for me and usually i have to stop reading the story. The tension and depth of the characters adds to the sex and in my opinion makes the sex way better. But you can also be in the mood for straight, lets-get-it-on sex and that's okay too.

At the end of the day, the story writes itself, you're the writer, and if you have an idea or notion for a story don't let the general consensus disrupt what you have to write, because when you start to write against the grain it shows and you can see it's unnatural. And what does it matter if you write a dud, everyone writes duds because every idea can't possibly be a good one, so don't be afraid of writing in a style that has story and depth, on a probability scale you will reach some people that like it and that's all that matters.

 

[Guest]

er what was this in reference to? couldn't quite work it out. if it is a reference to the fact i say i am in liverpool - i am not a scouser i am actually from kent (and proud of it).

SP, I was teasing and meant nothing to do w/your environs.

best, Perdita

 

[falcon29]

Okay, to put my 2 cents worth in here (or 2p for you, Sancho), this thread has gone too long, I think.

"Erotica" is meant to excite. and most of what appears here (my own stuff included!) is porn. That doesn't make it bad. It just doesn't make it literature. It also doesn't make it, necessarily, "erotica".

I guess the definition means different things to different people. Porn, to me, is simply a vehicle to place the most sex / orgasms / etc. in front of the audience. Erotica, again, to me, has a finer touch, with emotion, irony, and even romance, but is still exciting. Erotica should give you something to remember after reading it that still turns you on. It doesn't have to be flowery, or use the more polite euphemisms for body parts.

There's not a damn thing wrong with a story that has a plot other than 12" dicks and oozing pussies, even here. It's just that here on Lit, there seems to be more stories that put the sex before the story than otherwise.

Anyway, everything everybody has written in this thread is valid (except what Stefan_J said: we are, all of us, amateur, in the sense that we aren't getting paid for this) . Literotica, as I interpret it, is intended for sex stories that have some more interest to them than simple sex. There are a lot of them here that don't meet that criterion. But there are a lot of them that do.

So, write what you want, post it here or post it elsewhere. We all do that.

 

[sanchopanza]

i know you were only joking perdita - i just wondered what exactly the hell you were talking about - what was it you meant?