Question for All Readers!

[SweetErika]

I'm working on a story that starts with a ~750 word erotic/sex scene. I'm assuming it's enough to get a fairly large percentage of (male readers especially) off now, and I'm pleased with what I've written so far.

It's at the point now where I could:
a) submit it on it's own (after a short conclusion and editing, of course), so it'd basically be all sex;

b) continue adding to it, so it'd look like sex-story-sex-conclusion;

c) submit it as the first chapter of a series and keep writing more chapters.

My concern about 'b' is that readers will get off with the first sex scene and back out before the story finishes.

I'm hesitant to start a series for various reasons, including the fact that I've heard a lot of readers won't seek out additional chapters and I'm worried the readers who don't get off (or aren't trying to) with this first chapter will be left disappointed.

My questions for you:

1) If you got off on the first scene of a story like this, would you continue reading? Are you a male or female (I want to get and idea and please both genders with this one! )

2) Which of the above three options would you prefer as a reader? Short and sex-focused, longer with sex at the beginning and throughout, or a chapter story starting with sex as Ch. 1?

3) If you have any other input or suggestions as a reader and/or author, please share!

Poll to follow shortly, but I'm far more interested in your thoughts and the discussion, so if you have a moment to explain your choice, answer my questions, or add somethng else, I'd be grateful.

Thanks in advance, and I'm really looking forward to hearing from you!

 

[AchtungNight]

Be sure you make the story interesting enough, and I will continue reading it to find out how it ends, lack of sex or not. You can also try putting in more than one sex scene to attract readers who will appreciate different moods and the events that lead to each.

 

[Darkniciad]

It depends on the length of the overall story, and whether there will be any sex later in the tale...

If the full length of the story is 3-4 Lit pages ( somewhere in the neighborhood of 8000 words or so ) or less, put it all in there and submit it as a whole. Some may polish the sword and move on, but many will skip all that silly plot and go down to vote for the heat in the beginning before seeking their next adventure *laugh* If there will be more sex later on, all the better. People looking for pure stroke are only looking for stroke, so there's no sense trying to suck them into anything else.

Those looking for a hot story will read past the sex, and then it is up to the story to carry it.

If it will be longer, you'll probably want to go with chapters. Now, you'll need to be cautious. Those who do follow chapter stories might be thrown off by pure sex in the first, and then nothing for a while afterward. Those looking for story may never come back when all they find is sex with a setup in the first chapter.

Just some thoughts, it depends upon the story, really.

 

[SweetErika]

Be sure you make the story interesting enough, and I will continue reading it to find out how it ends, lack of sex or not. You can also try putting in more than one sex scene to attract readers who will appreciate different moods and the events that lead to each.

As it is (a sex scene from the start), I think it's interesting enough in a good (if I can shed my modesty for a moment ) "stroke story" kind of way. I've continued to add a little to it while waiting for some responses, and it's definitely developing into an interesting story, with more character development and some mystery that will help build to additional scenes, whether they're with the first part or in different chapters.

I think I know what you're saying, though: if that first scene has enough hooks, people will probably keep reading, even if they do get off in the beginning. Is that a fair assessment?

Whether it continues as one longer story or in chapters, there will definitely be additional sex scenes. I HATE stories that rely on one burst of eroticism that's insufficient to get me there, only to leave me wanting and make me go hunting for something to relieve that itch. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who feels that way, so ensuring most will be satisfied by this story is a major goal.

Could I ask, how do you feel about chapter stories? Do you remember to go back and look for additional chapters at some point, or will you look after you've read (and liked) the first chapter?

Thanks, AN, I really appreciate your opinions!

 

[SweetErika]

It depends on the length of the overall story, and whether there will be any sex later in the tale...

If the full length of the story is 3-4 Lit pages ( somewhere in the neighborhood of 8000 words or so ) or less, put it all in there and submit it as a whole. Some may polish the sword and move on, but many will skip all that silly plot and go down to vote for the heat in the beginning before seeking their next adventure *laugh* If there will be more sex later on, all the better. People looking for pure stroke are only looking for stroke, so there's no sense trying to suck them into anything else.

Those looking for a hot story will read past the sex, and then it is up to the story to carry it.

If it will be longer, you'll probably want to go with chapters. Now, you'll need to be cautious. Those who do follow chapter stories might be thrown off by pure sex in the first, and then nothing for a while afterward. Those looking for story may never come back when all they find is sex with a setup in the first chapter.

Just some thoughts, it depends upon the story, really.

They're great thoughts; thank you, D!

Right now, it's at ~1200 words with the first 750 being sex (well, the main female character is interacting with thoughts of her lover and masturbating, but I think it's enough to get a lot of guys off; it'll likely get women going, but not be enough for them), so there's a long way to go until any kind of chapter decision, I guess.

You make a good point about sex in the first chapter, so I'm leaning toward a shorter piece with no chapters at this time, but we'll see what happens. Since this is my first attempt at writing erotica, I have no clue where it will lead. It's so helpful to hear others' experiences; I'm hoping they'll sit in the background while I'm writing and help shape the story overall.

 

[AchtungNight]

Could I ask, how do you feel about chapter stories? Do you remember to go back and look for additional chapters at some point, or will you look after you've read (and liked) the first chapter?

Thanks, AN, I really appreciate your opinions!

First- back to a nice lady.

Second, that's all a story is in the end, a massive amount of opinions. It's up to the reader to make it anything else.

As for chapter stories, again, it depends on the quality of the work. If the story is good, to me, I will look for additional chapters. When I do so largely depends on how much time and interest I have in doing so at the present moment. I can honestly say I have never been disappointed in any of the multiple chapter stories I've found on Lit (the Harem, Journal of an Agent, Slut Lessons, Dark Impulse, Ravishing of Constance, and Sara's Journey are among my favorites). Have I had trouble sometimes finding the time to peruse and appreciate them? Yes. But if they're good enough, I'm willing to keep going. I've found the same seems to be true for people who read the chapter stories I've done. My advice to you with this story is the following:

- Make sure your chapters are able to both stand alone and advertise the other parts of the story while building on that story's main action. Retain high quality and excellent writing throughout no matter what.
- Keep the sex hot and concentrate on it. All the other stuff you might do with your story is gravy. The sex is your main star. Make sure everything else you do in the story- plot, character development, imagery, oxymorons, satire, whatever- builds towards and strengthens it without overshadowing it too much.
- Continue to sort through the angst you are feeling over your story with threads like this as necessary. Like Churchill said, "If you're going through Hell, keep going." There is no other way out.
- Recognize that no matter how many opinions are offered in discussions like these, no matter how many experiences happen that you can reflect on, you will be no closer to actually writing the story or not in the end. Unless you are able to actually sit down and start writing it. In the end, it's up to you.

Best of luck, fellow writer.

 

[AceStroker]

A well written story or one that has my interest, I will either continue reading, or save it for a later date to pick up again. Depends on how many pages in total it winds up being.

Naturally if you have a beginning that has an erotic climax (at least for the reader), it would make sense that somewhere later in the story you would as well, which of course would entice further reading, even if one were just surfing for the "stroke" stuff.

 

[SweetErika]

Thank you for your opinions, AceStroker! It's great to have someone else weighing in.

AchtungNight, that's great advice again both on the chapters and writing in general, thanks! Unless this one develops into a saga, I think I'll hold off on the chapters until I've gotten my feet wet, and established myself here a bit.

Anyway, if anyone has anything to add, I'd still love to hear it!

 

[AchtungNight]

AchtungNight, that's great advice again both on the chapters and writing in general, thanks! Unless this one develops into a saga, I think I'll hold off on the chapters until I've gotten my feet wet, and established myself here a bit.

That's a good idea. Best of luck.

 

[spyro1123]

The true answer to the question is it depends. I usually dont actually cum reading stories, i get too involved in the story. If it is a story without a great plot but hot sex, i will leave when i am done. If it is a hot story i will cum either at the end or not at all.

As for your question about what you should do... i dunno.
Personally i like to start a long story with a sex scene, then go back and fill in, then put a whopper sex scene at the end.

 

[SweetErika]

The true answer to the question is it depends. I usually dont actually cum reading stories, i get too involved in the story. If it is a story without a great plot but hot sex, i will leave when i am done. If it is a hot story i will cum either at the end or not at all.

As for your question about what you should do... i dunno.
Personally i like to start a long story with a sex scene, then go back and fill in, then put a whopper sex scene at the end.

That's very reassuring; thank you! At present, I'm 5 Word pages in and building back up to the big sex scene, and it seems to be going pretty well.

 

[sunandshadow]

The true answer to the question is it depends. I usually dont actually cum reading stories, i get too involved in the story. If it is a story without a great plot but hot sex, i will leave when i am done. If it is a hot story i will cum either at the end or not at all.

Ditto, even more strongly - I don't get off while I'm reading the stories, I get of afterwards when I go to bed and imagine myself into a similar story or world.

 

[janiexx]

Ditto, even more strongly - I don't get off while I'm reading the stories, I get of afterwards when I go to bed and imagine myself into a similar story or world.

That goes for me as well. It sort of builds, layer upon layer, and later on the words do their magic...

I read a lot of the stories on here on my laptop and my family are normally about somewhere (not aware of what I'm reading though ) so it would be very difficult for me to achieve what I wanted as I read.

janiexx

 

[rydia57]

When I'm looking for something on here to read, I don't usually read the ones that continue into chapters, unless someone has suggested it to me or asked for my opinion. Usually when I get aroused reading one, I continue to the end, then get of afterwards. More fun that way!

 

[SweetErika]

It's wonderful to have some female opinions. Thank you so much, Ladies!

This thread has been really helpful because I'm a really finicky reader, which makes it tougher to judge whether my work will please others. In some aspects it's a benefit because I'm catering to pretty tough standards, but it makes it hard for me to gauge what will go over well with the majority.

Hopefully the fine community here won't mind giving me a few more opinions as this story develops. I'm sure I'll gain confidence after this story, but hopefully I won't wear out my welcome in the meantime.

 

[Frank Noir]

My questions for you:

1) If you got off on the first scene of a story like this, would you continue reading? Are you a male or female (I want to get and idea and please both genders with this one! )

2) Which of the above three options would you prefer as a reader? Short and sex-focused, longer with sex at the beginning and throughout, or a chapter story starting with sex as Ch. 1?

3) If you have any other input or suggestions as a reader and/or author, please share!

Poll to follow shortly, but I'm far more interested in your thoughts and the discussion, so if you have a moment to explain your choice, answer my questions, or add somethng else, I'd be grateful.

Thanks in advance, and I'm really looking forward to hearing from you!

First, I'm male and prefer my sex stories to be chock full of sex scenes (that also happens to be the way I write them myself).

As for other people's stories, I tend to read a story from start to finish. If I find it "stroke-worthy" I'll re-read the good bits.

I'm usually a bit wary about about multi-chapter stories - they tend to be a bit too "literary" for my taste. But if I read one, I'll start with the first chapter - and if I like that, I'll probably read the next chapters as well. But to keep my interest, I prefer at least one sex scene per chapter.

 

[gyrodeath]

They're great thoughts; thank you, D!

Right now, it's at ~1200 words with the first 750 being sex (well, the main female character is interacting with thoughts of her lover and masturbating, but I think it's enough to get a lot of guys off; it'll likely get women going, but not be enough for them), so there's a long way to go until any kind of chapter decision, I guess.

You make a good point about sex in the first chapter, so I'm leaning toward a shorter piece with no chapters at this time, but we'll see what happens. Since this is my first attempt at writing erotica, I have no clue where it will lead. It's so helpful to hear others' experiences; I'm hoping they'll sit in the background while I'm writing and help shape the story overall.

If your are looking into writing in the sex-scene-sex format I highly recomend a book titled silent doomsday. It's techno-thriller that starts with a sex scene and they are scattered throughout the book but the author always leaves you wanting more. As a stand alone the scenes could get me off, but I still wanted to see what else he could do. Good luck...

 

[kbate]

I do not read the stories on Lit for masturbation material, thus I do not care where you place the sex scenes. I care more that the story is well written and is actually a story rather than just a description of whatever kind of sex the author finds hot.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Three Quarters of all the stories on Lit are some moron's fantasy of him/her having wild sex with some imaginary person/entity. They have no story, no plot and are unbelievably disinteresting.

For the Wankers there is a lot of material out there.

For me, I don't read that shit. I don't write that shit. And I wish it would go away.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

I do not read the stories on Lit for masturbation material, thus I do not care where you place the sex scenes. I care more that the story is well written and is actually a story rather than just a description of whatever kind of sex the author finds hot.

Originally posted by Jenny_Jackson
Three Quarters of all the stories on Lit are some moron's fantasy of him/her having wild sex with some imaginary person/entity. They have no story, no plot and are unbelievably disinteresting.

For the Wankers there is a lot of material out there.

For me, I don't read that shit. I don't write that shit. And I wish it would go away.

Come on, guys, you're losing the plot a bit.

This is supposed to be a site for erotic stories - that means sex doesn't it? Everyone and his dog (well not dog on Lit) can get his rocks off. Didn't we have that comp on Free Speech?

The readers here generally demand better storytelling, plot development and characterization than most other smut sites. That's why I like the place.

A good story should have an 'in your face opening' to hook the reader, a middle story development that keeps the reader wanting to know more about how events impact on the protagonists characters and a finale that leaves the customer on a high.

On this site, thankfully, writers of mystic merriment, faeries and sparkling waterfalls co-exist with meat-pumping, Britney-banging, neanderthals. It is part of the quaint charm. You can dip your finger in whatever limpid pool pleases you.

The para above answers tyhe original question. Sex scenes (like car chases in movies) can come anywhere in a story provided they fit within the internal dynamic of the story and don't just look bolted on.

The poll is a bit crazy because what women look for in erotica is not te same as men.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Come on, guys, you're losing the plot a bit.

This is supposed to be a site for erotic stories - that means sex doesn't it? Everyone and his dog (well not dog on Lit) can get his rocks off. Didn't we have that comp on Free Speech?

The readers here generally demand better storytelling, plot development and characterization than most other smut sites. That's why I like the place.

A good story should have an 'in your face opening' to hook the reader, a middle story development that keeps the reader wanting to know more about how events impact on the protagonists characters and a finale that leaves the customer on a high.

On this site, thankfully, writers of mystic merriment, faeries and sparkling waterfalls co-exist with meat-pumping, Britney-banging, neanderthals. It is part of the quaint charm. You can dip your finger in whatever limpid pool pleases you.

The para above answers tyhe original question. Sex scenes (like car chases in movies) can come anywhere in a story provided they fit within the internal dynamic of the story and don't just look bolted on.

The poll is a bit crazy because what women look for in erotica is not te same as men.

Thank you for putting words in my mouth, Elf. I do so appreciate it. However, you totally missed the point.

Where did I say sex doesn't belong in stories. Your words were "erotic stories". The operative word there is STORIES. "I fucked my sister and this is a blow by blow account" is not a STORY. Most of those "stories" have no plot development, no character development and "she had massive tits" is in now way a setting.

Erotic Stories may or may not have sex. But the point is, the sex is NOT the single main point in the story. You have confused Erotica with Smut.

Erotica: "Erotica (from the Greek language Eros - "love") — are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or arousing descriptions. Erotica is rather a modern word used to describe the portrayal of human sensuality and sexuality with high-art aspirations, differentiating such work from commercial pornography."

Smut: "Obscenity in speech or writing. Pornography."

 

[mrbaddaddy]

750 words

.....

 

[laurablack]

Hmm..

 

[Joesephus]

I think the poll need more options...

Frankly, I can't imagine any 750 word opening getting me off. I'm still in the throughs of testosterone posioning (and my wife of 73 days (and gone to Marine OCS after 17)) like any male my age, but I need more than a description of body parts, frankly, I need a bit of character development.

 

[AchtungNight]

I would like to add this- in my humble opinion, erotic stories are best when they arouse the body and the mind. Make the reader think as well as come, and truly entertain their senses. A good story has a visceral thrill all its own, and splicing in well-done sex makes things even better. I wrote all my stories on Lit with that in mind, and I choose the stories I consider my favorites based on the same principle. I may read smut, but I will not treasure it as much as good stories.

Looking forward to your tale, Erika.