The Importance of Plausibility

[HeatherVivant]

How important is plausibility and realism in a story to you? How much belief are you willing to suspend?

I've written a lot of very realistic stuff with plausible character motivations, but find myself straying lately into scenes that maybe fit a contrived set of motivations, but are perhaps too fantastic or logistically improbable. They're hot, but certainly leaning more towards pure fantasy.

This question comes to mind when I read story comments that complain that characters aren't wearing condoms, etc., but it could apply to situations where a character gets caught up in the moment and behaves in a way that might seem against her nature. Personally, that doesn't bother me, and short of a story that is poorly written or ridiculously gonzo, I tend to suspend disbelief more in erotica than I do in other forms of fiction.

I'm just curious as to how high to set the bar of expecting readers to suspend disbelief in my own writing.

 

[ApollyonDais]

At least to me, it depends on the type of story you are writing. The more into truth you are writing about, the more realistic you need to be. As you get further and further away, the line between feasible and impossible starts blurring. Now I'm not saying even a truly realistic story can't have some, creativity, but it needs to be in reason.
As for your mention of condoms, heat of the moment will make a reasonable excuse for not wearing one. The story should build up the sexual tension more than if the people copulate just for pleasure.

 

[quimsical]

How important is plausibility and realism in a story to you? How much belief are you willing to suspend?

I've written a lot of very realistic stuff with plausible character motivations, but find myself straying lately into scenes that maybe fit a contrived set of motivations, but are perhaps too fantastic or logistically improbable. They're hot, but certainly leaning more towards pure fantasy.

This question comes to mind when I read story comments that complain that characters aren't wearing condoms, etc., but it could apply to situations where a character gets caught up in the moment and behaves in a way that might seem against her nature. Personally, that doesn't bother me, and short of a story that is poorly written or ridiculously gonzo, I tend to suspend disbelief more in erotica than I do in other forms of fiction.

I'm just curious as to how high to set the bar of expecting readers to suspend disbelief in my own writing.

I honestly believe reality provides the biggest titillation, so my own two cents worth of wisdom would be to add in the use of condoms if it makes sense. I've actually come across a few dexterous writers who make their sex safe. Safe sex is real sex, right? And real sex is hot.

In the real world, if I was going to have sex in a moresome, I'd be using a condom. I'd expect my protagonists (we should have a different word here; fuckagonist?) to do the same.
Q

 

[DontJudgeMe]

Safe sex is real sex, yes. But, let's be honest, there's a lot of unsafe sex going on out there in the real world, so it's not necessarily less realistic to forget the damn rubber in the heat of the moment.

It happens. But it also depends on your fuckagonist P). Is he/she a smart, careful and experienced person - then he/she would probably remember the condom.
Is it a drunk, horny teenager? Or someone in a situation completely out of his comfort-zone?

Shit happens...

The key for me is that it seems belivable.

DontJudgeMe.

 

[roomfor1more]

I do feel plausibility is necessary for most erotic stories, otherwise it will make difficult to believe and it will disengage the reader. By this I am not saying it has to be 100% real. If it was Literotica would be filled of people retelling their sexual encounters and many of those stories would be overstated in order to impress the readers. Instead, I am saying there can be an element of fantasy to the story but the fantasy element has to be seen as plausible for that category. For me, I do not believe stories should be politically correct by having the characters practice safe sex and espousing the values of a democratic society regarding adult relationships. My feeling, if that was the case there would be very few readers on this site. So where does the line exist between plausibility and unbelievable? In my honest opinion, each story is different but I feel, the story has to be believable at some level.

 

[HeatherVivant]

Thanks for the responses. For me, I guess it comes down to whether or not I can achieve the willing suspension of disbelief in my readers. If they're worrying about rough edges in reality then I'm failing at some more basic level.

If you can't put the reader into the story, you at least need to be exploring some crucial idea or theme that the story raises. Perhaps that is when it is okay to go astray from reality since there are many forms of fiction that do this.

 

[ILienBagby]

How important is plausibility and realism in a story to you? How much belief are you willing to suspend?

I've written a lot of very realistic stuff with plausible character motivations, but find myself straying lately into scenes that maybe fit a contrived set of motivations, but are perhaps too fantastic or logistically improbable. They're hot, but certainly leaning more towards pure fantasy.

This question comes to mind when I read story comments that complain that characters aren't wearing condoms, etc., but it could apply to situations where a character gets caught up in the moment and behaves in a way that might seem against her nature. Personally, that doesn't bother me, and short of a story that is poorly written or ridiculously gonzo, I tend to suspend disbelief more in erotica than I do in other forms of fiction.

I'm just curious as to how high to set the bar of expecting readers to suspend disbelief in my own writing.

Any story, Heather, any story at all, requires that the reader suspend disbelief. This is true because it is impossible for a reader not to know he/she is reading. The suspension of belief you refer to, I believe, concerns the motive and plausibility of actions a story protagonist takes. So many stories at this site offer people taking actions that are without plausible motive or even thought. I believe the characters in "Loving Wives" and "Interracial" tales are very often acting in ways that no thinking or "real" human would attempt....taking NO thought to the possible consequences of their actions or even thought about WHY they do what they do.
If the purpose of the writer is to present a real moral dilemma or to question values, then, of course, plausible thinking should be part of the character's action. If the purpose of the writer is merely to titillate (and I do NOT mean to put down titillation at all) then what harm can there be to a lack of plausible motivation...as long as the sex is nicely done and arouses.
I'd discuss this more, but I've already said enough.

 

[itismeinnz]

Any story, Heather, any story at all, requires that the reader suspend disbelief. This is true because it is impossible for a reader not to know he/she is reading. The suspension of belief you refer to, I believe, concerns the motive and plausibility of actions a story protagonist takes. So many stories at this site offer people taking actions that are without plausible motive or even thought. I believe the characters in "Loving Wives" and "Interracial" tales are very often acting in ways that no thinking or "real" human would attempt....taking NO thought to the possible consequences of their actions or even thought about WHY they do what they do.
If the purpose of the writer is to present a real moral dilemma or to question values, then, of course, plausible thinking should be part of the character's action. If the purpose of the writer is merely to titillate (and I do NOT mean to put down titillation at all) then what harm can there be to a lack of plausible motivation...as long as the sex is nicely done and arouses.
I'd discuss this more, but I've already said enough.

I read the OP earlier, thought I'd add my thoughts for what they're worth, and now discover that ILienBagby has since done it for me.

The other night I penned a draft (the first for some time), looked at it the next day and was a bit horrified, though I can maintain my humour when looking at some of my worst drivel. But it really fell totally flat on two levels. Firstly my characterisation was so flat that nothing emotionally suggested why on earth the young protagonist would suddenly want to sexually submit to another. Secondly, there was nothing foreshadowing such a decision that offered any logical consistency to her actions.

To some extent I think as a reader we're willing to suspend belief to the degree we want something to happen (regardless of whether or not we think it is very likely in RL). Skillful characterisation and a clever build-up of erotic suspense can probably cover a multitude of sins. I need to be seduced into believing something is possible.

 

[mikey2much]

we are writing fiction

I am surrounded by the downers of real life every waking moment, when I get a chance to read some porn I like to leave reality behind me a bit and just enjoy. You will never see a condom in one of my stories nor will you see an abortion.

Bad shit is no problem in fiction, that is one reason I like to write. I can concentrate on the good feelings and not worry about the bad side effects that may be waiting down the road. But I have never been accused of being politically correct.

 

[jaF0]

Any story, Heather, any story at all, requires that the reader suspend disbelief.

I believe the characters in "Loving Wives" and "Interracial" tales are very often acting in ways that no thinking or "real" human would attempt....taking NO thought to the possible consequences of their actions or even thought about WHY they do what they do.

I am surrounded by the downers of real life every waking moment, when I get a chance to read some porn I like to leave reality behind me a bit and just enjoy.

There's enough reality and plausibility in real life. This place is an escape from that. A place where people can indulge without consequence. There are enough other places where fun can get you in trouble.

When I start reading a story and it starts getting too 'real' or 'moral', I move on.

 

[Biker_Type]

i think there has to be some plausibility in erotic fiction. when reading if it seems impossible to get into the positions described the writer has lost me. of course the classic set ups for some stories require the suspension of belief. i don't read the fantasy or sci-fi sections but may need to take a look soon, my OL has recently gotten into reading vamp & shape shifter mainstream fiction ans i may want to surprise her with a small offering in that genre.

 

[HeyAll]

It's very important. But it's also relative.

It's like watching a movie, where sometimes you go, "That's realistic." But even then it's understood that it's not really realistic, just realistic enough. It was made to be like real life, then it would suck.

Same thing goes for erotic stories; it has to be realistic enough. The main thing is that you have to be able to imagine it actually happening. If the characters just have sex so easily, then it's lame. If they have to overcome barriers and struggle with taboo (even during and after), then it's erotic.

 

[HeatherVivant]

The more I think about this, the more I think that the danger comes when one finds herself straddling the line. Either you go for realism, worry about logistics and stay true to the details that make the story feel real, or else you go all in, over the top, and let it fly.

Where it is easy to get in trouble is when you are caught in that no man's land where your internal editor is screaming about plausibility, taking the life out of the story, or when you're laying down the bricks of a logical story only to spoil the illusion with some fanciful contrivance that ruins the tone.

A further question then becomes how do you signal to the reader which way you're going so as to avoid missing expectations.

 

[ILienBagby]

Ok, Heather

Your question and comments have been interrupting my more serious perusal of the Republican party's chaotic road trip. What I want to say is that the topic of realism must first be defined. Do you mean 1) Physical, environmental realism, or 2) psychological realism? The former, I think is easy. Every story, after all is realistic on its own terms in a physical sense. If a person in the story suddenly begins to levitate, I am sure the author has or will explain the reason for the levitation. The mention or a car horn heard or an elevator entered makes gives a story a basis in reality. Now for the second type of realism, the psychological. Here is a real difference. The trick here is to get the reader to accept a character's thought process. The "Loving Wives" stories are the easiest....Is the person (man?) cheated upon angry? In some categories, the thinking is a bit more complicated, incest in any realistic story would need some deep psychological probing, but I think that it never part of that category story. But enough for now, he Governor from Texas, the guy with the pretty heair, is about to say something......

 

[HeatherVivant]

So you're saying that realism is preferred, as log as the male protagonist isn't Newt Gingrich getting pegged?

 

[CWatson]

I'm a realism junkie. I prefer as much plausibility as possible. That means, of course, that you can take my opinions with a grain of salt. But my suspension of disbelief seems to have diminished over the years, and something that seems unlikely will yank me right out of it. A year or two ago someone posted a story here on this board, asking for critique; it was a sex scene in a hotel elevator. The characters just walked into the elevator--plain daylight no less--and started getting it on. I was unable to take it seriously.

The thing about suspension of disbelief is that it's a measure of The Reader's trust. If you show that you know what you're doing and can handle most of the details, they'll forgive you a few slips, especially the ones that support the fantasy circumstances. If your characters are going to fuck in an elevator, for instance, focus on the other details--the sounds of other hotel denizens going about their business; the lingering aroma of cigarette smoke being slowly swamped by the smell of sex; how the danger of getting caught is part of the appeal--and you can carry The Reader along. Besides, with just that little nod towards the reality of the situation, The Reader knows that, even if the characters aren't going to get caught, it's at least crossed their (and The Writer's) mind that it could happen. And we're ready to go, because you may be writing a total fantasy, but at least you don't live in one.

Besides, to me, it's more interesting to make fantasies come true despite the presence of reality. Watching characters work out the logistics, the emotions, the contingencies, is not only a bonding experience with them, it's something I can learn from and take with me in case I want to try it someday. And it may be fun to read about what could happen, but it's so much more fun to read about what would happen.

My two cents, worth what you paid for it.

[EDIT] I'm also pretty vanilla in my appetites. If you say, "Let's have sex in an elevator," my first response is not, "Mmmm, kinky," my first response is, "Why?"

 

[HeatherVivant]

I guess I'm trying to find the balance in words spent on motivational setup versus the words spent on the action. The longer the story is, the more I seem to spend up front trying to lay the motivational foundation of what follows when the clothes start flying off. The challenge is in making that 1000-1500 words of initial setup a good build-up to the action and delivering what is expected.

 

[MrMax59]

I like my stories to feel what I call "Literotica realistic", so they have characters that have appropriate motivations, backstories, and scenarios to allow suspension of disbelief, but they also are sexually "on edge" and get turned on and fuck far sooner than anything would happen in "real life".

So I personally feel that you can give the reader an structure that pulls them in without making them go through three dates between the characters before they actually have significant sex.

After all, readers here at Lit aren't looking for true "realism". I know many of you write professionally outside of lit, and your measures of success are different than mine and/or some very significant proportion of Lit' readers.

I'll stand by where my stories land on the spectrum. If anyone wants to provide feedback (serious, constructive feedback, good or bad) then I'll learn something from it, but I feel comfortable with where I personally land on the realism spectrum.

 

[Frotality]

there arent 7 million humans because of all the responsible adults out there you know... but i get your meaning. most stories just tend to assume perfect fantasy worlds where there is nothing to consider but pure pleasure.

having people cum bucketloads and be crazy nymphos who feel nothing but pure esctasy from sexual acts that are typically only done to please the other person is fine... if you actually adress it. fantasies like that tend to take you out of the story when they are just glossed over.

if a guy is going to go off like a fire hose, have some reason for him having gone a month without getting off or something like that. if a woman deepthroats and swallows like its going out of style, well that kind of behaviour is usually the result of sexual abuse in reality: you can even put a romantic spin on it, and have that maybe her way of coping with past trauma by going crazy on someone she actually likes or something. you dont need condoms, but have him pull out, or her say she is on the pill, or take a pregnacny test later, or whatever.

in essence, fantasies are only as hot as the reader's ability to connect with the experience, and that cant happen if no realistic explanation is given.

as far as realistic motivations go... maybe its because im american, but in my experience people tend to fuck at the drop of a hat with anyone that is enough of a selfish douchebag or codependant slut, which tends to be most of my people. in the end it all depends on the tone of the story and the characters.

 

[cmky]

implausible can be fine...but plausible is better, methinks.

Also, I think it's more important that the responses of your characters to specific situations be plausible than the situations themselves, if that makes sense.

 

[CinT]

implausible can be fine...but plausible is better, methinks.

Also, I think it's more important that the responses of your characters to specific situations be plausible than the situations themselves, if that makes sense.

agreed.

 

[NikkiBastion]

I'm also one who requires plausibility even when it's eyeball deep in non realism.

Just mentioned this in another thread on a different topic (self publishing), but I bought Jaid Black's One Dark Night and in it one character tells another about how people use 10% of their brains and this telepathic character must be using way more than most. That alone made me put the damn thing down, feeling myself twitch and tic. Add to that, the realistic fact cops end up abusing the law and doing all sorts of corrupt bs, her detective was doing shit no detective would actually do - and had nothing to do with corruption. Then her Master character was supposedly a dom and she was after being controlled...but then has her Master character sending the woman sappy, romantic bullshit emails. Then the girl and detective get together and as "dom" as he got was swatting her on the ass 3 times, asking her to "tell daddy you like it" and worse, while attempting to dom out over her, he tells the girl to "kiss him" - meaning his dick.

Never do that...and especially don't do it in real life. It's not a person, it's a body part, an appendage. I wouldn't hold up my hand to a guy to kiss and tell him, "kiss her" - it's fucking stupid and it's just grossly immature. So a dominant male who wants his dick sucked better come off with some hardcore command. He tells me "kiss him" (or worse, calls it by a pet name), that'll be the dealbreaker and I'm so outta there!

Needless to say, I was cringing all the way through it. It was not plausible or believable. Or it was written by people who are borderline virgins and this was "steam" to them, while to anyone even moderately sexually experienced, it was completely ridiculous.

I really enjoyed the fantasy of Lora Leigh's The Breeds series and they're all really well done, great stories, good characters. The problem with plausibility for me wasn't in the fact these males were hybrid human/feline as much as it was the utter backwardness of mating and how mating actually works. Everything being attributed to the Breeds are actually literally provided to females in our human mating game (and sadly, few females and less males) even have a clue about that fact. I could overlook it though because of the simple fact these were genetically engineered or altered humans with feline abilities...so hey, far be it from me to say that in that kind of scenario it'd turn out to be the male with this ability.

Had I read the same kind of thing between two full humans, it'd be enough to toss the book in the trash. Guys writing lesbians is hard to do as it is for females to write two gay guys and it's understandable. But for humans writing sex and getting sex wrong - that's hard to overlook.

I need plausibility and realism.

 

[ChristopherDB]

I like to try to keep a story real, to the point where a reader could easily picture it based on actual events. However, when writing erotica, I'd think that hotness could overrule that guideline.

Example: A story about a guy who picks up a girl at a bar. They go back to his place and as he takes off her clothes he finds she is wearing lingerie under her jeans and t-shirt. Not very plausible, but it is hot. To have her then call her three sexy sisters to join the party, I think that would be pushing it too far.

Christopher

 

[NikkiBastion]

What part is implausible in your example, that a female would be wearing lingerie under her clothes...or that a guy actually picks her up in a bar to begin with

 

[CWatson]

I guess I'm trying to find the balance in words spent on motivational setup versus the words spent on the action. The longer the story is, the more I seem to spend up front trying to lay the motivational foundation of what follows when the clothes start flying off. The challenge is in making that 1000-1500 words of initial setup a good build-up to the action and delivering what is expected.

You probably know this already, but just to make it clear: you need some level of motivation, so that The Reader empathizes with the characters and begins to care about them. I mean, what does it matter to me if some strangers are having sex?--that's happening right now, somewhere out in this wide world, somewhere within a mile of me. And good for them, but, I don't care, unless I'm one of the people having it (I'm not). ...Or I wish I were having it with one of the people involved. ...Or I wish they'd stop having it because their shrieking is coming through the walls. But that just proves my point: under those circumstances, I am emotionally invested in the sex that is happening. The same is true for The Reader: they need to care about the characters.

As to how much effort is necessary to make this happen... Well, honestly, that depends on a couple of things.

One is your audience. I'm going to use the Transformers movies as my analogy, because they actually work really well: they're robot-fight porn, is what they are, and the viewing public, for the second film particularly, is split between those who loved watching the big robot fights, and those who lamented how crappy the rest of the film was. These two camps don't get each other at all: the disappointed ones are like, "How can you possibly believe that awesome special effects can overshadow one of the crappiest plots in cinematic history?", and the others are like, "How can you possibly believe that a crappy plot can overshadow some of the most groundbreaking CGI in cinematic history?" Because the film does have both. You get to walk the same line. Some people are turned on by specific fantasies (IE robot fights) and so don't need much development; the allure of the non-mainstream is itself enough. Others... well, we've been over that. So pick which audience you want to flirt with and go from there.

The other is your writing, and how well and effectively you do it. Characterization can be a 2000-word essay on the character's background, or it can be two lines, if the two lines are real eye-openers. Again, Transformers. In the second film, I never got on board with the main character (the Shia LeBeouf one) because I couldn't empathize with him: his parents did not act like real human beings, his roommate did not act like a real human being, and the whole "You say it first" subplot with Megan Fox was just lame. So that whole half-hour of film was wasted; and when giant robots happened, I didn't give a frak. In the third, I did--simply because the film took three minutes to show his job search and how frustrated he feels that he has saved the world--twice!--and yet still can't get a job. I too would be irritated if I were him. (The fact that I myself am unemployed just added extra resonance.) Did it save the film? Hell no. But it helped elevate the film from "pure CGI dreck" to "Hey, I actually care how this ends. There's actually someone I want to see win." And they did it ten times faster, and ten times more effectively, than the second film. How about that.

I think what I'm trying to say there is that you might want to put a lot of thought into the characters, but you don't have to show all that thought. The actual characterization can be quick and effective. You can find the best and most efficient way to show the character's, well, character, and then go from there. (See: Faramir, the Lord of the Rings novels--the books, not the movies. "Not if I found it on the side of the road," indeed.)

Okay, that's probably enough. Shutting up now.