Sex scenes...

[madelinemasoch]

I gotta say, I hate writing long sex scenes. They're not even drawn out, as even the longs ones I write are probably still compressed versions of how long it would actually take if it transpired in real life. I've also been told that the way I write pleasure is something that can't be related to by certain people.

Does anyone have any good sex scenes I could read? How do you handle it? How do you deal with the time span, considering it probably takes way longer in real life than on the page?

 

[mirafrida]

I write pretty detailed sex scenes. I lnow some in AH prefer not to, and that's fine. For me personally, I wish there was more sexual nitty-gritty in mainstream fiction, and it's what i like about LitE. My readers also seem to like it.

Having said that, i am with you 100% - I do not enjoy writing sex scenes. It's by far the hardest and most drawn-out part of writing a story.

I don't worry about getting every bit of action in, or the absolute timing matching "real life." I'm going for an effect, not photo-realism. But i do think getting the pacing right is important. When rereading and editing, i will often realize i go too quickly from A to C and need to insera B; or that A1 and A2 are really too similar and need to be consolidated.

I do think maybe I'm turning a corner where it will be easier. I've basically done every mechanic a few times, so reaching the point where i can't help some repeating myself. I think that's good, because its starting to feel less like "is that too close to something i did before" and more like "what bits from my toolkit should i draw from, and what are the unique touches that will speak to the particular characters and situation." At least i hope so...

 

[ronde]

There's a difference between the mechanics of sex and the feelings of the characters during sex. When you come right down to it, there are only a few ways of "inserting tab A into slot B", and everybody ends up doing the same thing no matter what the position. What's important for the story is what the characters are feeling in their minds, not the sensory impulses racing through their brains. Timing can be important, but more important is what each character is feeling before, during, and after the act. That's what leads readers to identify with the characters. After all, sex is about 95% mental and 5% physical, at least for most people.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Have you tried changing the POV when you set out to write the story? I find it easier to write longer sex scenes in first person but I've seen others do quite well when using third person.

 

[LoneMilf]

Why do you write on Literotica if you don't like writing sex scenes? (genuine question, not trying to be insulting or anything)

 

[JaxRhapsody]

What constitutes as long?

 

[onehitwanda]

What constitutes as long?

8 inches or more, or so I hear.

 

[LetsMisBehave]

Why do you write on Literotica if you don't like writing sex scenes? (genuine question, not trying to be insulting or anything)

For me, it's the mix of emotions involved with sex which I find interesting. Guilt, self-doubt, joy, lust and self-discovery are all worth exploring.
Also, it is an area where the disconnect between what people think they should feel, what they should admit to feeling and wanting, and what they actually want is of interest.
I do find the sex scenes hard to write because of the two dangers of it sounding like an Ikea guide to putting up furniture (Knob A into hole B) or the purple prose, which resulted in a bad sex award being introduced in the UK in 1993.
I am still working on getting the balance of erotic and literature right. I have tried humour as a way of bridging things- in one story, the female protagonist pretended she was the lone ranger racing her lover in the Grand National. In others, a protagonist takes a rather analytical approach.

 

[lovecraft68]

If it takes five minutes to read its still lasting longer than a lot of men.

I don't get caught up in thinking how long the scene would last in real time. "They did this for five minutes, this for ten, it took her fifteen minutes to get off" is the only way I could see me writing-or reading-that would spell give me that answer.

I see time the way I see describing breast/cock or any physical stat which is I don't do it. I describe the scene. Let the reader decide-if they even want to-how long the sex lasts.

If you're talking long in actual word count and think yours are too short you can pad it with descriptions outside of just the physical action, throw in some of their thoughts and feelings during, describe what's around them etc..

 

[lovecraft68]

Why do you write on Literotica if you don't like writing sex scenes? (genuine question, not trying to be insulting or anything)https://www.google.com/

Over time a lot of writers here mention really getting into writing the story, then scuffling through a sex scene. When you first start writing them they're fun and exciting/ When you have written dozens to hundreds of them it becomes a lot more ho-hum, just another part of the story. The story is always different, but its hard to make sex different after so long. Only so many positions, word choices, physical descriptions and it starts to be the speed bump in the story.

There are readers here who are okay with shorter sex scenes if the story itself can keep them hooked.

If all you're here for is sex, that's a different story, you don't care about the story at all.

 

[HordHolm]

... it becomes a lot more ho-hum, just another part of the story. The story is always different, but its hard to make sex different after so long. Only so many positions, word choices, physical descriptions and it starts to be the speed bump in the story.

This. I haven't published much here but I have written a lot elsewhere and after a while it becomes, *sigh* 'and now I have to write the sex bit...' In the final analysis, the build up is more fulfilling than the act.

 

[lovecraft68]

This. I haven't published much here but I have written a lot elsewhere and after a while it becomes, *sigh* 'and now I have to write the sex bit...' In the final analysis, the build up is more fulfilling than the act.

Exactly. I now see the story itself as a form of foreplay.

 

[LoneMilf]

This. I haven't published much here but I have written a lot elsewhere and after a while it becomes, *sigh* 'and now I have to write the sex bit...' In the final analysis, the build up is more fulfilling than the act.

I can understand why you feel that way.
Do you still feel that the sex scenes are necessary? Or would you be happier writing a kind of soft-core erotica?

 

[HordHolm]

I can understand why you feel that way.
Do you still feel that the sex scenes are necessary? Or would you be happier writing a kind of soft-core erotica?

I feel they are necessary when they advance plot or character. I also pure write 'stroker' scenes, but these are now pretty much exclusively for private consumption by my wife. As regards writing other fiction, I never wanted to be writing solely erotic fiction, but found it very useful to 'hone' what I do. I'm grateful to platforms such as Lit for providing the space to practise and make mistakes, and learn and develop.

I now also write contemporary fantasy and weird fiction (I'm currently working on a modern gothic horror about ghouls). I find it quite freeing not to feel the requirement to include sex, and as such when I very occasionally do I can include such elements without batting an eyelid, even with enjoyment. And particularly so as the requirements of the style I'm writing in (and the requirements of publishers) mean that the graphic elements of it need to be massively toned down.

Having said all that, who knows? In a few months I may feel reinvigorated, and I'll write one or two more erotic stories.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I gotta say, I hate writing long sex scenes. They're not even drawn out, as even the longs ones I write are probably still compressed versions of how long it would actually take if it transpired in real life. I've also been told that the way I write pleasure is something that can't be related to by certain people.

Does anyone have any good sex scenes I could read? How do you handle it? How do you deal with the time span, considering it probably takes way longer in real life than on the page?

I love writing sex scenes. I turn myself on doing so. Over the months I have been writing, my descriptions have become less clinical and more impressionistic. But I still include details of who is doing what to who and how. It is a sex site after all.

Em

 

[EroticCupcake]

I can understand why you feel that way.
Do you still feel that the sex scenes are necessary? Or would you be happier writing a kind of soft-core erotica?

I'm trying to write something "lighter" where boy and girl meet, have a good time, then have sex. In this story, the sex is the end of a relationship progression and doesn't move the plot forward... I feel more and more like I could skip the sex altogether (other than that whole "audience" thing).

Once I finish a draft, I'll probably go back through and find some kind of non-sex conflict for MMC and FMC to be working through, which will be resolved via sex. I'm pretty new, but if my sex scene feels skippable, then I probably want to see if there is something to improve.

 

[HordHolm]

I love writing sex scenes. I turn myself on doing so. Over the months I have been writing, my descriptions have become less clinical and more impressionistic. But I still include details of who is doing what to who and how. It is a sex site after all.

Em

I'm happy for you. I genuinely don't want to seem cynical, but I felt the same when I first starting publishing here many years ago (under a previous nom de plume), however I know find myself grinding more and more against diminishing returns. If it is still doing it for you then hurrah! And long may that continue.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I'm happy for you. I genuinely don't want to seem cynical, but I felt the same when I first starting publishing here many years ago (under a previous nom de plume), however I know find myself grinding more and more against diminishing returns. If it is still doing it for you then hurrah! And long may that continue.

I would imagine that it would be difficult to keep writing them for years.

Em

 

[HordHolm]

I would imagine that it would be difficult to keep writing them for years.

Em

Some people are fine with it. Good for them - I'm genuinely pleased for them, particularly if they feel they can maintain their preferred level of quality. For me, it just gets slower and slower, and the file of half-finished stuff gets bigger and bigger. I keep promising myself that I'll finish them (there's about 15/20 stories in the file now) and every time I open them I hit that wall - the sex scene - and I just can't feel the motivation.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Some people are fine with it. Good for them - I'm genuinely pleased for them, particularly if they feel they can maintain their preferred level of quality. For me, it just gets slower and slower, and the file of half-finished stuff gets bigger and bigger. I keep promising myself that I'll finish them (there's about 15/20 stories in the file now) and every time I open them I hit that wall - the sex scene - and I just can't feel the motivation.

FWIW - if I’m in plot mode, I just write “[sex scene between FMC and centaur here]” (I’m sure I’ll publish something with “[…]” still in it one of these days) and move on.

Them I don’t normally have a problem filling in the gaps later. Especially as I have the motivation of finish the sex scene and then the story is done.

Em

 

[madelinemasoch]

Why do you write on Literotica if you don't like writing sex scenes? (genuine question, not trying to be insulting or anything)

What lovecraft said about story. Also, a lot of the sexual things I include in stories aren't penis-to-vagina or penetrative at all. I like writing the femdom and humiliation scenes better.

 

[AchtungNight]

My sex scenes come (pun intended) easier when I have two things-

Emotional connection from proper buildup

And something that makes the scene different from what I’ve done before.

 

[TadOverdon]

Long scenes either involve tedious rewriting and revision and take days or tumble out as a couple of thousand words in one sitting. Not much in between.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Does anyone have any good sex scenes I could read? How do you handle it? How do you deal with the time span, considering it probably takes way longer in real life than on the page?

I believe I have a couple of good ones in my work, but they are not online at the moment (they will be once again when I am done with everything). There are ways to show the passing of time, depending on the setting and location. In my opinion, it is best done by describing something in the surroundings. I've written a few outdoor scenes and there I usually describe the sun moving in reference to something, the shadows shifting, the light waning, and so on. Indoors, you can do the same with the light changing, with a candle becoming smaller, with some sounds from outside, etc. Quick example off the top of my head: As their lovemaking continued, the town was growing quieter with only a lonely dog barking at the rising moon... blah blah

 

[madelinemasoch]

I believe I have a couple of good ones in my work, but they are not online at the moment (they will be once again when I am done with everything). There are ways to show the passing of time, depending on the setting and location. In my opinion, it is best done by describing something in the surroundings. I've written a few outdoor scenes and there I usually describe the sun moving in reference to something, the shadows shifting, the light waning, and so on. Indoors, you can do the same with the light changing, with a candle becoming smaller, with some sounds from outside, etc. Quick example off the top of my head: As their lovemaking continued, the town was growing quieter with only a lonely dog barking at the rising moon... blah blah

That's a genius suggestion, thanks.