Repetition through Chapters/Sequels

[GrantBricksly]

Ok...so, I am working on a second chapter for one of my stories. (it was always intended to be a multi-part story) But I am struggling...

Obviously there are limits to what can be done as far as limiting repetition, especially when it comes to sex scenes. That topic has been covered. There are only so many ways to describe sexual scenes.

But what about from one story/chapter to another? If I've described a scene in detail in a story, I tend to try to avoid great detail on the same act again within the same story. But what if we are talking about Chapter 1, and then again in Chapter 2? Will the repetition of the same sex act in detail be a problem?

I am trying to avoid it...but as a result, I am struggling to write the story. I am just not loving what I am coming up with....

 

[NotWise]

Ok...so, I am working on a second chapter for one of my stories. (it was always intended to be a multi-part story) But I am struggling...

Obviously there are limits to what can be done as far as limiting repetition, especially when it comes to sex scenes. That topic has been covered. There are only so many ways to describe sexual scenes.

But what about from one story/chapter to another? If I've described a scene in detail in a story, I tend to try to avoid great detail on the same act again within the same story. But what if we are talking about Chapter 1, and then again in Chapter 2? Will the repetition of the same sex act in detail be a problem?

I am trying to avoid it...but as a result, I am struggling to write the story. I am just not loving what I am coming up with....

Different setting, different attitudes, or different outcome, and maybe it isn't the same act.

 

[GrantBricksly]

In this case, the sex act to be described is a blowjob. The setting in the second chapter would be different (as would the man being blown) but the outcome is basically the same. In fact, the way I had hoped to have the second chapter go, there would have been 2 blowjobs, (two different men) But the way the story is set up, the outcome has to be the same every time. And Blowjobs or Handjobs are the only options for this story. Until I get to chapter 3 anyways..I feel like I have written myself into a corner...

 

[AlexBailey]

Do you have sex the same way every time? Sorry for sounding glib but really?

Even if you’re completely vanilla there are all kinds of situations that can change.

A hurried morning getting ready for work?
Important phone call interrupts?
Snowed in?
Power out, keeping warm in the dark?
No time for preparation?
Lots of time to get cleaned up and get into some lingerie?
Calm your nerves before an important event?
Out for dinner and a show with a little time in a car in the parking lot between?
TV on with something inspiring on?

How long do you spend on foreplay? Is one partner more enthusiastic? Is one in love but the other has reservations?

Get in their minds, not just their bodies.

 

[AlinaX]

It's nice to have some form of escalation. Perhaps the first time is amateurish and the second is more confident. Or maybe in the second there's an attempt at deep throat. Perhaps the timing goes wrong and she ends up with cum exploding out of her nose...

Or if there really is no escalation, then let her mind wander to some other sexual act, real or imagined...

 

[Zootonius]

I'm planning a new chapter to a story I wrote earlier. My take is the lovers were new lovers then. Now they are more experienced, more familiar with each other. You can use the scene to show how the relation has progressed. And, in a new chapter, it can help the reader recap the relationship. A question is how much time has passed.

 

[KeithD]

In this case, the sex act to be described is a blowjob. The setting in the second chapter would be different (as would the man being blown) but the outcome is basically the same. In fact, the way I had hoped to have the second chapter go, there would have been 2 blowjobs, (two different men) But the way the story is set up, the outcome has to be the same every time. And Blowjobs or Handjobs are the only options for this story. Until I get to chapter 3 anyways..I feel like I have written myself into a corner...

It all depends on the specific story, but sometimes the central point is the repetition--that the character is doing it the same way every time (until maybe they don't, significantly) even if with different partners. It's all story specific.

 

[alohadave]

In this case, the sex act to be described is a blowjob. The setting in the second chapter would be different (as would the man being blown) but the outcome is basically the same. In fact, the way I had hoped to have the second chapter go, there would have been 2 blowjobs, (two different men) But the way the story is set up, the outcome has to be the same every time. And Blowjobs or Handjobs are the only options for this story. Until I get to chapter 3 anyways..I feel like I have written myself into a corner...

How do the participants feel about the blow job in each scene? Just because it's the same act doesn't mean that they will feel the same way about it or react the same way.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Actions may be repetitive, but the motivations, emotions, thoughts, circumstances and other nuances don't.

Get into the head of the characters to write it so that your readers are in their head when they read it.

 

[Bareskinny]

I think a big aspect of writing fiction is to entertain. So, go ahead and make each blow job incredible, like in public, massively long cock, an entire quart of cum, or whatever comes to mind. If the story and scene doesn't support that, then don't repeat yourself. Just make sure it's all entertaining and moves the plot along.

 

[Bazzle]

Character development, ideas and thoughts could have changed from one chapter to another.
Can you layer something. Who leads, or directs can change and move if you think about the individual character arcs?

Repetition but with subtle changes can show the reader the development of the protagonists?

Is the light off in scene 1, but by scene 3 the light is kept on, as they explore their bodies. Same scene, but with differences?
B

 

[GrantBricksly]

Thank you all for your feedback. I think my problem is a motivation thing. I think perhaps I am just not yet properly motivated for Chapter 2. I'm going to sit on it a little longer and see what happens...

 

[Lifestyle66]

Ok...so, I am working on a second chapter for one of my stories. (it was always intended to be a multi-part story) But I am struggling...

Obviously there are limits to what can be done as far as limiting repetition, especially when it comes to sex scenes. That topic has been covered. There are only so many ways to describe sexual scenes.

But what about from one story/chapter to another? If I've described a scene in detail in a story, I tend to try to avoid great detail on the same act again within the same story. But what if we are talking about Chapter 1, and then again in Chapter 2? Will the repetition of the same sex act in detail be a problem?

I am trying to avoid it...but as a result, I am struggling to write the story. I am just not loving what I am coming up with....

Blowjobs are not always the same. And if the guys receiving the blowjobs are different, then they are different when you describe them. Are they all shaved or hairy? Assuming it's a she giving the blowjob, does she pick hair out of her teeth? Are any of the guys long enough to be pressed against the back of her throat making her gag? Does she eventually learn to deepthroat? Does she suck their balls with the cock pressed against her cheek? Or does she suck under their balls at the perineum with the cock pressed against her forehead?

Do some guys cum more than others, and maybe she can't swallow fast enough? Is she leaning over him when he cums and it drools out of her mouth? Or is she on her knees looking up at him with her mouth closed around it when he cums? Maybe she has her mouth open, and he jerks himself off watching it shoot into her mouth and pool under her tongue before she swallows or spits. Or does she get so turned on with a guy's cock in her mouth, she rubs herself to an orgasm while doing it?

There are many variations to describe with blowjobs.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Actions may be repetitive, but the motivations, emotions, thoughts, circumstances and other nuances don't.

Get into the head of the characters to write it so that your readers are in their head when they read it.

This. Focus on the story and the characters, not the sex, and the sex will fall into place. Are you writing the wrong way around?

 

[GrantBricksly]

This. Focus on the story and the characters, not the sex, and the sex will fall into place. Are you writing the wrong way around?

I think I'm just having trouble focusing right now. (house full of people, with work/school canceled due to weather) so perhaps thats part of my problem..I feel like I am forcing it. I set it aside to work on it later, hoping that will help. I do need to do a little more character development for Chapter 2 perhaps...that might help...

 

[TadOverdon]

• If you write something long enough with enough episodes there will be repetition.
• Anyone who's reading sex scene after sex scene that closely will not care. They are predisposed to get what they want out of what they're reading.

 

[TheRedChamber]

As a inverterate planner, this is something I look for closely when I'm working out an outline. If you have two sex scenes, there need to be clear differences(*) between them and not just from one aspect but normally multiple. On occassion I've skipped past whole months of characters boning just to get to the point where the boning becomes plot important again. As other have said, bad BJ, good BJ, perfect BJ is one way to go about it, but there can be others - in private, vs risking discovery in public vs filming it. Having one character behave very differently from another and being more forceful can be another way (depending on your characters/plot).

(* the argument that readers don't care has merit, especially in split chapters. I care though)

Assuming it's a she giving the blowjob, does she pick hair out of her teeth?

Not wanting to derail the thread, but I've had works come back from beta readers with that sentence very firmly crossed out. What do people think about this part of reality creaping back in...

 

[SimonDoom]

My threshold question is, what's your story? Why are you writing a multi-chapter story in the first place? There must be some reason. Otherwise, just write standalone stories.

This is my general approach to multi-chapter stories: ratchet up the sex for each chapter, or at the least do something very different with each chapter, with each one meaningfully heading toward an ultimate goal. If you don't have a dramatic goal in mind, why write a series?

 

[KeithD]

Literotica publishes novellas and novels as well as short stories. Novellas and Novels come with chapters. Why question why someone submitting a novella or novel here shouldn't be checking on how to submit their chapters? (A series isn't a novella or novel. It's a group of them.)

 

[alohadave]

ratchet up the sex for each chapter

A problem with this is that it is easy to hit a wall. Either you end up with a 30 person orgy of every sex act imaginable, or the characters have sex for 16 hours straight with dozens of orgasms, or something kind of ridiculous.

You see it so many times in harem stories where there are so many members that you can't keep track of everyone, but they are constantly adding to the scrum. I like harem stories, but I find myself thinking that it would be exhausting to have to take care of that many women all the time.

 

[GrantBricksly]

My threshold question is, what's your story? Why are you writing a multi-chapter story in the first place? There must be some reason. Otherwise, just write standalone stories.

This is my general approach to multi-chapter stories: ratchet up the sex for each chapter, or at the least do something very different with each chapter, with each one meaningfully heading toward an ultimate goal. If you don't have a dramatic goal in mind, why write a series?

I have an end goal. It is made clear in the first story. As for why multi-chapters, because I felt that I was at an appropriate stopping point in the story when chapter one was done. So I stopped, and submitted it. Now, I am working on Chapter 2, and the final chapter should be chapter 3.

As for ratcheting up the sex, I guess that really depends on the story doesn't it? That approach would not be appropriate for every story. And I'm not sure it would be in mine. I think I am going to change things up a little, and adjust my approach though. Based on some of the suggestions here, and some thinking I did yesterday. I think I've got an idea of what to do..

 

[djrip]

You see it so many times in harem stories where there are so many members that you can't keep track of everyone, but they are constantly adding to the scrum. I like harem stories, but I find myself thinking that it would be exhausting to have to take care of that many women all the time.

It's exhausting just writing about taking care of that many women all the time...

 

[MillieDynamite]

Ok...so, I am working on a second chapter for one of my stories. (it was always intended to be a multi-part story) But I am struggling...

Obviously there are limits to what can be done as far as limiting repetition, especially when it comes to sex scenes. That topic has been covered. There are only so many ways to describe sexual scenes.

But what about from one story/chapter to another? If I've described a scene in detail in a story, I tend to try to avoid great detail on the same act again within the same story. But what if we are talking about Chapter 1, and then again in Chapter 2? Will the repetition of the same sex act in detail be a problem?

I am trying to avoid it...but as a result, I am struggling to write the story. I am just not loving what I am coming up with....

Sex scenes describe emotions and actions. While you can't really vary actions, you can vary the description of the action. AS to emotions, those descriptions can also be varied. However, at some point, you're gonna repeat yourself. Self-plagiarism is perfectly acceptable. But let's strive to be creative even in that as well.

 

[Djmac1031]

In this case, the sex act to be described is a blowjob. The setting in the second chapter would be different (as would the man being blown) but the outcome is basically the same. In fact, the way I had hoped to have the second chapter go, there would have been 2 blowjobs, (two different men) But the way the story is set up, the outcome has to be the same every time. And Blowjobs or Handjobs are the only options for this story. Until I get to chapter 3 anyways..I feel like I have written myself into a corner...

Without any other details than this:

If it's the same woman but different guy, how does this guy differ from the previous? Is he bigger? Smaller? Comes faster? Lasts longer?

Without knowing why she's blowing two different guys, how does she FEEL about this guy compared to the last one? Is he nice? Grateful? Or is he rude, or pushy?

Is he shy? Embarrassed? What brought HIM to this scenario? How does he feel about HER?

You don't even have to spend a ton of time with physical A,B,C type passages. "This time, as she sucked him, she felt___. Meanwhile, he was thinking ___."

My only other VERY general opinion on this issue (I've had it myself) is if the sex scene feels stale and repetitive to you, it's because it probably is.

Consider skipping it or shortening it, or doing something vastly different.

Just a few random ideas / comments.

 

[PennameWombat]

Ok...so, I am working on a second chapter for one of my stories. (it was always intended to be a multi-part story) But I am struggling...

Obviously there are limits to what can be done as far as limiting repetition, especially when it comes to sex scenes. That topic has been covered. There are only so many ways to describe sexual scenes.

But what about from one story/chapter to another? If I've described a scene in detail in a story, I tend to try to avoid great detail on the same act again within the same story. But what if we are talking about Chapter 1, and then again in Chapter 2? Will the repetition of the same sex act in detail be a problem?

I am trying to avoid it...but as a result, I am struggling to write the story. I am just not loving what I am coming up with....

A multi-chapter story needs to have one or more overarching plotlines that extend across the entire thing, along with whatever happens in each individual chapter. Otherwise, why is it a multi-chapter story? (Note: I have 'serials,' which follow specific MCs, but in loosely connected stories not required to be read in order. But similar considerations apply, since each of these needs to be readable stand-alone, although the MCs remain, new and additional supporting characters appear, and it's a unique plotline.)

But I have paid attention to this issue. I use the overarching plot issues to help introduce additional characters and different settings that help to differentiate. Yeah, my MMC is fucking his lover (the FMC) up the ass again (pretty well their favorite activity, so it gets repeated regularly)... but this time it's part of a three-way with a virgin girl who they've been double-teaming and the FMC is performing oral on the virgin during the anal sex. The three-way[1] was set up by a friend of the virgin's who had an item that the the MMC/FMC wanted and the friend would give it to them in exchange for "making my friend not a virgin anymore." That item then propelled further action and development on the broader plotlines while introducing both revelations and complications.

If you're not loving what you have, you might need to rethink outside of the sex itself. What's the plot, motivations, etc., that fuel this being a multi-chapter story. Then let the sex serve those ends.

[1] Technically, it was a four-way. Because a friend (also F, but not the one who'd set up the whole thing as mentioned above) of the virgin's found out what was going to happen, and invited herself along. And the MMC/FMC didn't object, because in their view, the more the merrier. But the 'reason' for it all was as described above.