Should there always be a sex scene in every chapter?

[Rozalin_0123]

I'm currently writing a long series that has plenty of sex in it. However, there may come a chapter that I want to move the story forward rather than get everyone hot and bothered. The focus on the series is the story. Think of it as a story with sex in it opposed to a story about sex.

So opinions; should there always be a sex scene in every chapter, even if there were sex scenes in previous chapters?

 

[sr71plt]

Not for Literotica. In the early days at least, publishers who published for target audiences interested in the sex scenes demanded it from authors.

You can't write hardly anything for Lit. that won't have a commenter complaining about this and that. So, yes, if you post a chaptered work with a lot of sex in it and you don't include sex in one of the chapters, you will get a complaint or two about that. It's up to you to try for the "try to please everyone" approach, but it probably won't happen no matter what you try.

 

[Hypoxia]

So opinions; should there always be a sex scene in every chapter, even if there were sex scenes in previous chapters?

I've seen some highly-rated highly-sexed series here that have minimal sex in some chapters -- and a prominent Author's Note advising of this. Such series are usually novel-length, and it helps that they're *very* well-written and coherent. Writing a slapdash serial might be a bit more problematic if sex ISN'T in every chapter, to grab eyeballs and maintain interest.

I roughly divide my own stories into three areas: pandering, challenging, and reporting. My 'challenging' tales (like BIG BANANA and RIGHT UNDER HIS EYES) usually have strong sex and a perverse twist, and don't get many votes. My 'pandering' tales (like THAT'S MY GIRL and the BRIDE OF KONG series) are designed to be both very erotic, and arousing sympathy -- tragedy works! My 'reporting' stories (like the ALAN, RON, DEXTER, and RUTH series) just relate events, including lotsa sex in (hopefully) stroker-quality episodes.

Is sex necessary in every chapter of a very sexual series? Not necessarily, not if you can make it work as storytelling. But pandering gains votes.

 

[3113]

I think you can split the difference. Not have sex in every chapter, but have something sexy in every chapter. Like a character remembering how they were touched, or thinking on another characters irresistible assets and what they'd like to do to them. Or just some hot and heavy foreplay. It sates those who want the sex, but lets you keep the story moving along.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'm currently writing a long series that has plenty of sex in it. However, there may come a chapter that I want to move the story forward rather than get everyone hot and bothered. The focus on the series is the story. Think of it as a story with sex in it opposed to a story about sex.

So opinions; should there always be a sex scene in every chapter, even if there were sex scenes in previous chapters?

You don't need to have a sex scene in every chapter, no. I posted a no-sex chapter as part of my "Stringed Instrument" series. I'd mentioned a while back that not all chapters would have sex, but I didn't flag this specific one (it would have been a spoiler) and it still rated pretty well. If people are interested in the plot, they'll stick around.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I do as I please, cuz I refuse to write the crap readers demand. Fuck fashion.

 

[SamScribble]

If you are posting your stories here - and hoping for high ratings - the answer is probably yes. In a perfect world, probably not.

 

[Trixareforkids]

I'm a newbie here also working a series. So far all the chapters have sex but I also wondered if in future chapters there were one that it just didn't happen how it would go over.

Thanks for the insight oh wise ones.

 

[Handley_Page]

Personally, I think the answer is NO.
For all the fact that there are those for who the sex is the important bit, there are many more for whom the important part is the literature - ie., the story. If your story is good enough to read - without the sex sessions - then you'll have a good score.

 

[lovecraft68]

No, and don't feel you have to or cave to readers demanding it.

I speak from experience and will give you an example of why not to put it in every chapter. I did a very long series here (over 40 chapters) and when I first started felt I needed sex in every chapter.

Now that read fine when people were reading a chapter every couple of weeks

But when I went to publish it as a series of e-books it struck me that people are reading a lot in one sitting and getting sex scene after sex scene and its like "here they go again" so I spent months gutting and rewriting the books and removed well over half the sex.

If I was to do another series here like that I would put the sex where it fit the story and that is it, no more, no less.

 

[PennLady]

My general answer is no. I've written stories that didn't have sex in every chapter. It will probably go over better in certain genres (romance and nonhuman come to mind), but it's still up to the writer.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

When I'm reading I prefer sex in every chapter, and I put sex in every chapter when I write. But the answer is "no." Every story doesn't need sex in every chapter, and sometimes it comes off as forced, especially in longer stories. It's best to tell the story the way it needs to be presented and put the sex in where it works the best.

 

[ILienBagby]

simple answer:

You don't need to split the chapters up into sex and non sex. It is all part of the same story, so, when you reach a long chapter that has no sex, don't submit it as a separate chapter, just append it to the next chapter that does have sex (or the previous chapter with sex). Do this and the reader can't complain about a chapter without sex.

 

[Twinkely]

I'm a reader like lovecraft68 mentions. I read all your chapters in one go mostly and if the characters are interesting and there's a bit of drama involved I don't need to read about sex every chapter. The longer you prolong it while the drama isn't solved the better the sex part feels after the characters finally get back together again ^^ Actually my favorite story has some chapters without sex in it and doesn't even end with the main characters having sex after they got back together. I'm sure that if you write a good story you'll find an audience for it anyway. I'm quite an emotional girl so even though I look for stroke stories I end up getting swept off my feet by the drama ones

 

[49greg]

When I come across a multi-chapter story that engages me I'll read through to the end, regardless of when or where the sex scenes are. But the key to that is that it has to engage me. If I'm not interested I won't have kept reading.

There have been stories that have such well crafted characters and plot that I'll skim over the sex scenes just to find out what happens. Especially if they seem to be unnecessary or just tacked on.

Assuming that I'm not looking for a simple stroke story.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

If I ever figger out how to write the plan is to include recurring sex, murder, and general mayhem in every story or episode. Really push the LW buttons killing the husband and fucking the widow.

 

[Rozalin_0123]

Thanks for the input everyone.

I primarily asked this because the story I'm writing is quite long. While the initial chapters all have sex in them, and sex is a focal point of the story in general, there will come a point where most of the mystery and intrigue is revealed. I guess you could consider it the climax. This revelation is long and detailed and I don't want to throw in sex just for the sake of having it because it would be out of place.

The story I'm writing is in the erotic horror genre and I write this knowing it is a very niche audience. With that in mind, I wish to write a compelling story that caters to this audience rather than the public at large.

When I wrote a true story about my lifestyle I quickly learned that you can't please everyone. I got "you should have wrote that x happened, it would have been hotter" a lot even though I declared in the first chapter it was a true story. Can't exactly write in things that ever happened can I? But that didn't stop the barrage of comments about it.

Obviously every writer wants high ratings. Even though I had comments that were less than favorable, each chapter is rated above a 4. My goal for this series is to have at least one chapter above 4.5. Hopefully with the freedom to be creative and not be restricted to a retelling of actual events I can achieve this.

 

[PervOtaku]

I'm finding that my storylines build up around the sex scenes that I have in mind, and I intentionally try to divide things up so that there's a sex scene per chapter. For my first story, mostly this meant the chapter length was all over the place, since some sex scenes needed very little supporting story while others were paired with a lot of supporting story. This approach also only really works if you have the entire story planned out ahead of time. If you are coming up with ideas and publishing everything as you go along, it's bound to be much harder to operate that way.

I think it's good to endeavor to have a sex scene per chapter, but if the storyline ultimately doesn't support that, it's better to not force one in where it would be out of place.

 

[Hypoxia]

When characters come alive in my head, I can't always control their sex drives, their actions and reactions. Take THE BOOK OF RUTH -- please. I was sure that protagonists would fuck at the end of the second episode, but the narrator turned it into a tease instead, and the promised pounding waited until the middle of the third episode (written but not yet posted).

And instead of an orgy-filled story-ending third episode, there's tragedy, and a concluding fourth episode that will contain much drama and tragedy and bad karma and little if any sex -- unless the players surprise me again! (Somehow they snuck international politics into the tale, the sly bastards.) Most everyone should get their just desserts, but maybe not. :huh:

How I write: I think about players based on people I know, or think I know. I construct an environment for them to act in. I list events and zeitgeists that they will encounter -- these are the plot points (or plot bunnies and plot gerbils) that give the story its structure and feel.

Then I set the players loose and see what they do, and how they explain it. Some players are more-or-less programmed for sexual activity, so they tend to fuck, yes, in every chapter. Other players are reluctant or repugnant, and they don't get laid much. Life is unfair. Boohoo. But the characters tell the tale, and I (the author) just take dictation. It's an easy way to write.

How much sex is enough here? Enough to keep erotica readers aware they're reading erotica.