The Absurdities of Erotica Writing

[Pureotica]

Given enough research and a knowledgeable beta reader, I'd probably at least attempt a story

1.Where I didn't share common identities of sex, gender, orientation, race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity with the main character

2.who is engaging in an esoteric perversion, that I didn't know existed until I stumbled across it on the internet

3. But I wouldn't set it in Chicago, because I'd worry about getting the street names wrong.

Seems like I've got my priorities in order.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Given enough research and a knowledgeable beta reader, I'd probably at least attempt a story

1.Where I didn't share common identities of sex, gender, orientation, race, religion, national origin, or ethnicity with the main character

2.who is engaging in an esoteric perversion, that I didn't know existed until I stumbled across it on the internet

3. But I wouldn't set it in Chicago, because I'd worry about getting the street names wrong.

Seems like I've got my priorities in order.

1. Okay, what exactly is this person? To make all of those traits different from yours sounds like a challenge.
2. I don't know every - call it predilection - out there, but I've learned quite a bit over the years from the Internet and from Lit too! Do you have something you can surprise us with?
3. Google maps is your friend.

 

[TheRedChamber]

1. Okay, what exactly is this person? To make all of those traits different from yours sounds like a challenge.

Not really - my current story features a lesbian from Shanghai and pretty much immediately ticks all those boxes without meaning to. (OP could have tripped me up with cis/trans but didn't...).

Another draft features a fourway between Irish, Malaysian, India and Kenyan (story is based in international education) and while I wasn't intending to I've got a four way spread of religions as well (assuming that each follows the dominant faith in each country and Catholic and Protestant are separate)

 

[lustychimera]

Catholic and Protestant are separate

Them's fighting words.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Them's fighting words.

Meh, the last few hundred years of European history look pretty silly if they're not. Athiest here, so no god in the fight.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

My first series on Lit was mostly about two guys getting into a relationship (plus one takes a bet to fuck his female best friend if he quits smoking for 3 months) - Smoking Hot

Writing about men fucking? No problem.

Writing about a guy's experience of alcoholism, drug use and rehab? Why not?

Writing about one of them having served in the Army in Northern Ireland, the other having grown up there with relatives claiming to be involved with the IRA? That had me triple-checking every point I could possibly think of, reading no end of news and other articles.

No hostile comments at all, because the GM crowd don't do many comments. Slowly got up to a red H for all 14 chapters, though.

It's built on my own tangential experiences - I've obviously never been a guy getting fucked but I've seen it done, I've heard stories from male friends about them not coping with life, whether getting widowed or whatever, had friends from NI and worked there a bit. The rest is storytelling.

 

[Pureotica]

My key point was that the most trivial detail is the one that would bother me the most, not necessarily challenge me the most. lol. And my OP was mostly tongue in cheek.

People are attached to their places, and know them in an intimacy that can't be reproduced through a search engine. I can look up the landmarks. I can't look up the idiosyncrasies that would ring true to an native inhabitant of the place.

But I'm willing to risk the probability that most of my readers haven't been fucked by a tentacle monster from the planet Xerva. A little slip in accuracy might go unnoticed.

As for esoteric kinks, it's comparatively mild and not particularly exotic, but I must confess that I had no idea that heel-to-pussy masturbation was a thing until about a month ago. lol. It surprisingly hot, and I can't believe it never occurred to me before. It's so fucking obvious that I'm almost ashamed that I missed it. Its a once you know--you know, revelation. To be fair, it's a delicacy probably unavailable to all but the most limber, but I'm truly glad that it exists somewhere in the universe. Life is better just knowing about it.

But I'd tackle harder kinks if it served the story. I'd just need someone that knew what the hell they were talking about to give it a once over. My instinct is that pop-culture BDSM is probably a different beast than the genuine article, so it would be a challenge for me to write in the genre, for the genre. But it would be interesting to write a character who is being introduced to the concepts along with me, where my comparative ignorance could be a strength, if that makes sense.

I'm a male who probably writes 50/50 FMC just because it's easier for me to imagine an interesting character who isn't like me. For me, the fun is in the character, more so than the situation. My life doesn't interest me half the time, and no one wants to read about my janitorial adventures. lol. What can I say, I have a humanities degree. I mostly polish the fugazi by starting with the emotional state I want to tackle, imagine a circumstance that would put me there, then try to translate the experience in a way that code switches into the feminine. I'd rather aim for emotional authenticity than granular accuracy. But I write somewhat stylized characters to begin with. I hope they ring true, but I don't give a rat's ass about their favorite flavor of ice cream unless its relevant to the story.

I understand what it's, like to realize my fly was open for the past twenty minutes, for example, so how could I translate the awkward and embarrassing moment into female language/experience? Things like euphonics help. Some sounds are inherently more masculine or feminine, and my background is poetry, so I've be manipulating language for effect for a long time. But some of my early FMC stories have mistakes a woman would likely catch. I think the audience for them was male, so they weren't egregious errors, but I try to watch for them now. I'd like my FMC to be written with enough fidelity that a woman could enjoy it if she stumbled across it. I've had feedback from (confirmed)women that some of my erotic poetry made them wet, so I can hit the target at least sometimes. Unfortunately I lost that particular poem in in a hard drive replacement. I'd like to rewrite it and post it here, but sometimes lost means lost. It's hard to recapture a moment when you're no longer in it. I don't mourn it, I just regret that I never posted it here.

Plus writing is a detached process for me. I write things that I find erotic, but the process of writing takes too much oxygen. The process itself is de-eroticized, if that makes sense.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Thanks for the insightful comments.

 

[Pureotica]

1. Okay, what exactly is this person? To make all of those traits different from yours sounds like a challenge.
2. I don't know every - call it predilection - out there, but I've learned quite a bit over the years from the Internet and from Lit too! Do you have something you can surprise us with?
3. Google maps is your friend.

I was being tongue-in-cheek and ironic about the fact that the easiest challenge is the one that would cause the most worry.

The tough part about a place isn't the landmarks. It's the little idiosyncrasies that form a community's gestalt. Pittsburg isn't Los Angeles in a different location. Its people think differently, speak differently, and have a different character. Those aspects of a place won't show up in a search engine, and I tend to fictionalize my settings because of it. People are attached to their places, know them intimately, and are sometimes eager to expose a fugazi.

I try to write characters I can identify in some human way. I write a lot of rural characters because that's my background, but they are bizarro world farmboys (or girls)from an alternate dimension. I aim for authenticity, but might fudge a bit when it comes to granular accuracy. But I'll write a character who isn't like me, because who wants to read reality? If I wanted that, I'd just go back to work.

Plus I'm an experimental writer, who kind of embraces the niche nature of some of my stuff. I'll try things because they're hard for me. They don't always work, even by my standards, but I usually learn something from the process. And there are worse outcomes than an occasional project people don't like. Negative, but useful feedback is sometimes better than generically positive comments that offer no insight as to what they liked or why.

I have almost no content here so I want to get more projects completed so I'll have a baseline toward their reception. My background is in other types of writing, but a lot of poetry mechanics actually translate well to erotica.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I was being tongue-in-cheek and ironic about the fact that the easiest challenge is the one that would cause the most worry.

The tough part about a place isn't the landmarks. It's the little that form a community's gestalt. Pittsburg isn't Los Angeles in a different location. Its people think differently, speak differently, and have a different character. Those aspects of a place won't show up in a search engine, and I tend to fictionalize my settings because of it. People are attached to their places, know them intimately, and are sometimes eager to expose a fugazi.

I try to write characters I can identify in some human way. I write a lot of rural characters because that's my background, but they are bizarro world farmboys (or girls)from an alternate dimension. I aim for authenticity, but might fudge a bit when it comes to granular accuracy. But I'll write a character who isn't like me, because who wants to read reality? If I wanted that, I'd just go back to work.

Plus I'm an experimental writer, who kind of embraces the niche nature of some of my stuff. I'll try things because they're hard for me. They don't always work, even by my standards, but I usually learn something from the process. And there are worse outcomes than an occasional project people don't like. Negative, but useful feedback is sometimes better than generically positive comments that offer no insight as to what they liked or why.

I have almost no content here so I want to get more projects completed so I'll have a baseline toward their reception. My background is in other types of writing, but a lot of poetry mechanics actually translate well to erotica.

You seem to be looking for some hints here, so I'll try. "The little idiosyncrasies of of a community's gestalt." Nice way of putting it. Or as Ogden Nash shortened it, "The Bronx, no thonks."

Without really being aware of it, I mostly solved that issue by setting everything within thirty miles of Columbus Circle, New York. A lot within fifteen miles. Other people prefer building their own worlds, which is another way of dealing with it. They can just make it up.

Since you're already been doing some writing, that should indeed translate well here. Don't worry about a "baseline towards reception." You may be surprised at how little readers here keep track of what you're up to. When you get followers, you'll be going, "What are all those people doing, anyway?" Most of them won't be commenting or voting, I'm sure of that.

So experiment all that you wish. When you have something you like, make sure that it's well proofread, and then post it. (You already have one or two, right?)

 

[gunhilltrain]

I see that you have two stories and six poems here, although it's getting close to a year since you had anything new. Most of them did pretty well. Sixteen followers, which is normal for that stage. You've got a good start; just write more and don't overthink it.

I've never had a beta reader myself. I prefer to screw-up things on my own. Or, "Why don't those silly readers love me more?"

 

[gunhilltrain]

Meh, the last few hundred years of European history look pretty silly if they're not. Athiest here, so no god in the fight.

The last ten-thousand years of human history - maybe not silly, but problematic. Although the hunter-gathers before that could get quite nasty too.

 

[Pureotica]

I see that you have two stories and six poems here, although it's getting close to a year since you had anything new. Most of them did pretty well. Sixteen followers, which is normal for that stage. You've got a good start; just write more and don't overthink it.

I've never had a beta reader myself. I prefer to screw-up things on my own. Or, "Why don't those silly readers love me more?"

When I moved to my current location I had no internet at home for three years, because it wasn't available. I live in a remote rural community. I had to use public wifi, and accessing Lit at the library is a delicate operation on the best of conditions. My ability to upload stuff was limited so the motivation to finish projects was a bit undermined. Now I have fiber at home.

I've been writing but hopping between Projects. Barring any massive interference from my work schedule, I should be finish a Nude Day entry on time. I have an idea for a second, but probably won't get two done. I'm rewriting my initial upload because I rushed it and didn't do it justice. I plan to retitle it, because it's essentially a new story. I have two pending poetry pieces. Just waiting for them to be released by the mods. I have more poetry ideas that I haven't had time to tinker with. I have a whole archive of story projects in varying stages of prewriting.

I have a Summer contest story that I started but never got to finish last year. Work got in the way. I'm in a creative spurt, but creativity tends to outpace productivity. I'm not the fastest writer. I wish I could crank them out like some people do, but I have to be happy with the result before I post. I regret putting things out that weren't ready more than I regret spending extra time on them. I tend to do a lot of exploratory writes before I figure out what the story is actually about.

I have a couple of ambitious projects that will be multi-part. One called "The Last Virgin at Summer Lake," and one called "The Trouble With Twins." I'm not sure how to break them into entries for Lit, because they are more novel structure. They have non-erotic and erotic plot threads and are kind of slow burn. I don't want to shoe horn sex scenes unless they serve the story, but most Lit series seem to have one per entry. I have some ideas, but I'm kicking them around. One thought is to structure it like a soap opera,(without the terrible writing,)where I can weave scenes from the different plot threads, and maybe have some side character action so the episodes will be satisfying for the audience here. It won't mess up the main plot threads but will still give me an excuse to practice writing sex scenes. I got the idea form reading another author's series. It's loaded with sex, but the MC virgin story line hasn't been disrupted.

So I have some content coming. I just need enough keyboard time to finish it.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I have a couple of ambitious projects that will be multi-part. One called "The Last Virgin at Summer Lake," and one called "The Trouble With Twins." I'm not sure how to break them into entries for Lit, because they are more novel structure. They have non-erotic and erotic plot threads and are kind of slow burn. I don't want to shoe horn sex scenes unless they serve the story, but most Lit series seem to have one per entry.

It's common but not essential. If the story is engaging, readers don't necessarily require a token sex scene per chapter. A few might grumble but most seem to manage. If it feels shoehorned to you as the author, chances are it'll feel that way to some of the readers too.

 

[tenyari]

Meh, the last few hundred years of European history look pretty silly if they're not. Athiest here, so no god in the fight.

Million of people have killed each other over the question of whether or not the bloke standing in the front of the room on Sunday telling people what-for should have a little white square on his collar.

 

[tenyari]

Seems like I've got my priorities in order.

The closer something hits to home, the more we're wary of getting it wrong.

Thus the set in Chicago means you're writing your story and spending half the time wondering if that pigeon over there is 5 feet off from where she should be in your story, but not thinking about the fact that your main character is an elf that is having sex with a tri-gendered tentacled space monster...

I've killed a multi-chapter story that I set in a location not far from where I was living on a specific date where I knew what was going on then and there in the real world... because the events I described were not a match... but the fact that the characters were naked super heroines running around didn't bother me one bit. So this is issue is one I can relate to. An incredibly tiny mismatch with reality just kept gnawing at me destroying my will to keep it going.

 

[Pureotica]

It's common but not essential. If the story is engaging, readers don't necessarily require a token sex scene per chapter. A few might grumble but most seem to manage. If it feels shoehorned to you as the author, chances are it'll feel that way to some of the readers too.

Thanks for the feedback. I thought about publishing them in novels, but as a mostly unknown writer that seems like a poor option. If I had an audience it might be different. The plot is irreducibly complex. The multiple threads are woven together and interdependent.

 

[TxRad]

Posting a story in non-erotic which has basically no readership at all, was the best thing I ever did. Period. Through a freak accident, it led to an invite to write mainstream stuff. That is when things get real.

 

[Pureotica]

Posting a story in non-erotic which has basically no readership at all, was the best thing I ever did. Period. Through a freak accident, it led to an invite to write mainstream stuff. That is when things get real.

Yeah. I went to college for creative writing, so I'm not opposed to writing for another market if the right project filters to the top of the priority list.

Erotica is fun and challenging to write, and it can be a legitimate artform in its own right. And unlike the rest of the projects that will probably never leave my hard drive, someone might actually read my smut. I work mainstream technique into my stuff on here, so it gives me a chance to hone my tools. I have a few stories where the erom plotlines are secondary. I haven't figure out how to present them to this audience because they are kind of slow burn. Plus they're poly/harem-ish plotlines that pose a few pov challenges. If I'm going to write a naughty fantasy, might as well aim high. lol.

 

[TxRad]

Slow burn is not a problem here if you keep the readers interested in the character and/or action.

Writing for Lit is fun. Writing for Mainstream is a J.O.B. but it does come with a paycheck, sort of. Just don't figure it as hourly.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Million of people have killed each other over the question of whether or not the bloke standing in the front of the room on Sunday telling people what-for should have a little white square on his collar.

That's only a pretext, the lies they tell people to join up with their cause. The real reasons are always about power and money - economics is a good shorthand for that.

Notice this map. Explains a lot about U.S. policy in the middle-East for more than four decades. I'm not sure how we spent twenty-years in Afghanistan - even powerful people screw up at times.

Ukraine doesn't have much oil, but it has plenty of other resources, plus a strategically important geographic position.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp...s-biggest-crude-oil-reserves-by-country-1.jpg