Romance stories - how explicit

[dirk2024]

Hi,

Question for those who read and/or write in the Romance category.

How explicit can one get in this category without turning off the readers? Do they generally want the language to be softer, with more euphemisms, or is it like the rest of the categories, where it can be raunchy?

 

[MelissaBaby]

Hi,

Question for those who read and/or write in the Romance category.

How explicit can one get in this category without turning off the readers? Do they generally want the language to be softer, with more euphemisms, or is it like the rest of the categories, where it can be raunchy?

it can be raunchy, but it can’t be vulgar. Admittedly, there’s a thin line between them.

 

[PapaRomantic]

I write descriptive sex scenes in my romance stories, but probably not as many scenes as I might in other categories, and I'm certainly not having them jump right into bed. Most of my initial sex scenes happen after a long slow building of their relationship, which I hope leads the reader to a heightened sense of excitement when the first scene finally happens.

 

[ronde]

Hi,

Question for those who read and/or write in the Romance category.

How explicit can one get in this category without turning off the readers? Do they generally want the language to be softer, with more euphemisms, or is it like the rest of the categories, where it can be raunchy?

I keep my descriptions very general and especially so regarding body part sizes. I also don't write all the nearly comedic phrases and dialogue that's typical of a porn film. The story is about romance, and a romance is about thoughts and feelings rather than about what they do and how they do it.

 

[dirk2024]

it can be raunchy, but it can’t be vulgar. Admittedly, there’s a thin line between them.

I've been known to be clumsy, fine lines can trip me up.

 

[dirk2024]

I write descriptive sex scenes in my romance stories, but probably not as many scenes as I might in other categories, and I'm certainly not having them jump right into bed. Most of my initial sex scenes happen after a long slow building of their relationship, which I hope leads the reader to a heightened sense of excitement when the first scene finally happens.

The one I have in mind has a slow build-up, then a "partial" sex scene, and a slow drop off to the end. The idea is for the MMC to connect with the MFC, and a romance begins.

 

[dirk2024]

The one I have in mind has a slow build-up, then a "partial" sex scene, and a slow drop off to the end. The idea is for the MMC to connect with the MFC, and a romance begins.

There are some funny lines (hopefully). It has two plotlines in the story, one is a personal stand-off with the brother of the MFC while the other is the growing connection.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

A successful story in the Romance category typically needs to focus on the relationships. Sex as a component of the relationships can be merely alluded to in many instances, with teasing inferences in the dialog, or even semi-descriptive "pillow-talk" between the characters after the fact.

The sex certainly doesn't need to be hidden, but it also doesn't have to carry the story.

A happily ever after ending is the objective for most readers in the Romance category.

 

[YDB95]

Romances are my specialty, and I've never felt the need to dial down on the sex...but then, my sex scenes are usually pretty vanilla anyway. As long as you establish that the couple have a connection, you're not going to get in any trouble.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

The sex can be filthy when it gets there, but it has to be in keeping with the characters' petsonalities, and the focus of the story is on the building relationship.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

'Romance' novels have some of the filthiest sex in all of literature, but it's OK, because it's marketed to the Soccer Mom Brigade of Moralists.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I'll just throw this out there for anyone interested:

Carina Press, a division of Harlequin Publishing is now accepting unagented submissions of erotic romance stories. The minimum word count is 50K words, and the works can have been previously published on Literotica as long as they are not available for sale or for a fee on other sites, such as Amazon, Kindle, Smashwords, etc.

If you write gay or lesbian erotic romances, they are very interested in publishing these.

 

[dirk2024]

Thank you @BobbyBrandt and everyone else for your helpfull replies.

 

[PeytonMirabelle]

The sex can be filthy when it gets there, but it has to be in keeping with the characters' petsonalities, and the focus of the story is on the building relationship.

This has been my experience as well. Some of the sex scenes in my romance stories are very graphic but that's after spending a lot of emotional currency to get the reader invested in the characters.

 

[Voboy]

When I post in Romance, the main differentiator is the ending and/or the emotional attachment between the characters. I write my fuckscenes roughly the same way in every category except SF, where they're not really expected to be all that graphic (mine are, aplenty, but probably less so than in my other stories).

My scores do not seem to have suffered much.

 

[OralAllOver]

I would say more "Victorian" as general rule

but art always has exceptions

i could see reader of polite romance be shocked awake by unexpected debauchery

 

[DeMont]

Hi,

Question for those who read and/or write in the Romance category.

How explicit can one get in this category without turning off the readers? Do they generally want the language to be softer, with more euphemisms, or is it like the rest of the categories, where it can be raunchy?

@dirk2024
Good evening Dirk... I think the answer to your question lies in the audience you are writing for, your "target audience". In general I would suggest that the male of the species doesn't so much want a great deal of gushy romance but more raunch. From the opposite angle, I would suggest that the ladies (in general, by no means all) prefer the "sexual tension", the "build up" rather than the explicit details of "the act/s".

I would imagine, if you're aiming at middle ground, "Raunch by Euphemism" would be a good rule of thumb.
Deepest respects,
D.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I would say more "Victorian" as general rule

but art always has exceptions

i could see reader of polite romance be shocked awake by unexpected debauchery

I’m not going to lose any sleep worrying about the tender sensitivities of people who come to a site called Literotica and are distressed at the mention of a bare ankle.

 

[DeMont]

@MelissaBaby
I don't know if @dirk2024 was specifically referring to Lit... I took it as rather more a general question. Yes, we Lit(erarians) are about as debauched and twisted a bunch as you're going to find anywhere. We're the people parents warn their offspring about...! HEYYYYY, could we get t-shirts with "Lit - We're the people your parents warned you about" stenciled on them? Maybe I should PM Laurel...!!! Deepest respects, salaciously, D.