Taking Too Long?

[AlexJayce]

I've been working on some smut for the past few weeks. I've noticed a problem I have is the build up. Sometimes I feel like I take too long to get to the "action", so to speak. Or that the actual coitus doesn't last too long when you compare it to the build up.
I just can't write (or get into) stories where the characters jump from meeting/talking to boning.
My current wip is at 6k words, and only JUST got to the action. It was mostly teasing/some nudity until then.

Thoughts? Am I alone in this? Or do you prefer longer build up?

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Long is good. I think the most popular stories on Lit tend to be 12 to 30,000 words.

Personally my first drafts are always wordy and lose around 25% in the editing, but I couldn't get there without the block of text to sculpt into something better.

When writing, I don't do it in order - I often start with the 'good bits' then get better ideas about how the characters might end up there.

 

[AlexJayce]

Long is good. I think the most popular stories on Lit tend to be 12 to 30,000 words.

Personally my first drafts are always wordy and lose around 25% in the editing, but I couldn't get there without the block of text to sculpt into something better.

When writing, I don't do it in order - I often start with the 'good bits' then get better ideas about how the characters might end up there.

That makes me feel a little bit better. I'm glad I'm not alone then!

 

[Rustyoznail]

I've been working on some smut for the past few weeks. I've noticed a problem I have is the build up. Sometimes I feel like I take too long to get to the "action", so to speak. Or that the actual coitus doesn't last too long when you compare it to the build up.
I just can't write (or get into) stories where the characters jump from meeting/talking to boning.
My current wip is at 6k words, and only JUST got to the action. It was mostly teasing/some nudity until then.

Thoughts? Am I alone in this? Or do you prefer longer build up?

Depends on the category, or so I've read. Some readers like short, sharp action, others are happy with the slow burn.

You won't be able to please all readers. Just write it the way you want.

I'm currently writing a romance category story. It's about 27K and practically no sex has happened. Then one big scene and a smaller finisher.

 

[Ravenmiller]

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Most recent chapter story starting with https://literotica.com/beta/s/the-cougar-and-the-anaconda-ch-01

 

[ElectricBlue]

Thoughts? Am I alone in this? Or do you prefer longer build up?

You're not alone. There's plenty of readers like a long, slow burn, and plenty of readers who don't.

Don't sweat it: write your own pace, slow it down, ramp it up to suit. There is no universal constant.

 

[KeithD]

More often than not I start off with bang, spend some time reeling the reader into a storyline, slip in another bang, then another, and then resolve all of the threads, with a little bit of "oh, yeah, that's what that was about" if I can. Then I just let readers find it or not. It's already rewarded me in having watched it unfold as I write it.

 

[SamScribble]

Write the story that you want to read. There are squillions of readers here, and they are all different. I have several reasonably high-rating stories in which nothing happens.

 

[KeithD]

If I had a penny for every time we've had to post that here . . .

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Depends on the category, or so I've read. Some readers like short, sharp action, others are happy with the slow burn.

You won't be able to please all readers. Just write it the way you want.

You're not alone. There's plenty of readers like a long, slow burn, and plenty of readers who don't.

Don't sweat it: write your own pace, slow it down, ramp it up to suit. There is no universal constant.

Once again, the upside-down team comes through with solid advice.

OP, keep in mind that 6,000 words may be dozens of pages on your monitor - and that looks like a lot - but that would still be than two pages here on Literotica. I think the accepted wisdom is that readers prefer stories of at maybe three pages but there have been some successful one-pagers. Some very successful writers here (where's ChloeTzang when you need her?) churn out massive stories, like 25+ pages or close to 100,000 words. My point is that you should, as everybody else notes, write it your way. If it takes a page or two for the clothes to start hitting the floor, that's perfectly OK.

Good luck.

 

[SimonDoom]

Don't sweat this. 6,000 words is not too much buildup. Stories of 12K to 20K words do great here, and if it takes you have those words or so to buildup to the sex, that's fine.

I would second what KeithD, said, though: a way to deal with this is to have some sexual activity in the story early on. Think of it as the story equivalent of a cold open or teaser in a movie.

So, for example, let's say the story is about person A getting together with person B, but there's some kind of conflict or barrier that prevents them from getting together right away. You can still include sexual scenes involving one or both of the characters before they consummate their relationship in the end. Whether it's sex with someone else, masturbation, voyeurism, exhibitionism, fantasizing about getting together -- whatever. There are ways to combine building toward the finish with keeping the readers excited in the meantime.