Too much story, not enough erotica!

[Hoja]

I've started a few stories after reading a bunch on the site.

The problem I keep coming into is, I keep ending up with a story that is not "erotic" enough to be erotica, but has too much sexual stuff in it to be a regular story.

There are always erotic parts, but also quite a few non-erotic parts that keep the plot moving along.

Advice?

Normally I write sci-fi kind of stuff, like other planets or in the future, that require explanation to make the story make sense / interesting. I think they're pretty good stories, but I don't know where I would post them if only half the story is erotica.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

The story doesn't have to be jam packed with sex to be erotic. Sometimes less is more as they say. Find yourself an editor in the editors forum and see what they say.

I have written stores where there are pages of no sex, but they are need for plot and character development.

Welcome to the AH.

 

[sr71plt]

Advice? Just go ahead and submit it to the Sci-Fi category. It probably will do fine.

 

[PennLady]

There are plenty of stories on here with euphemistic sex, explicit sex, little sex, no sex (and not just in non-erotic) and if you can't find a stroke story, well, you're just not looking.

Erotic can also be in the eye of the beholder.

I've written plenty of multi-chapter stories that don't have sex until halfway in. No one complains.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Yea, but it's a Loving Wives story???

 

[Hoja]

Thanks for the help! I suppose I will keep writing and see how it ends up.

 

[HeyAll]

The sci-fi crowd isn't after the erotica aspect as far as I can tell.

But for future reference in a more sexually demanding setting, I think the best thing to do is to think of the erotic scenerios and what types of stuff you want in there, and then build a story around that.

 

[JustaSCOUNDREL]

One of my very favorite stories on Lit takes about a page and a half of build up and the rest is the hottest "vanilla" sex scene I have read on this site.

So in MNSHO a well written story with limited sex can be a great story. Still the sex needs to be really hot.

Mike

 

[Darkniciad]

If you have a good story going, the Sci-Fi & Fantasy crowd here isn't going to mind if you take a while to get to the sex, and/or there isn't much of it. The readers in the category are amongst the most open to sex-lite stories on the site.

 

[SamScribble]

There are plenty of stories on here with euphemistic sex, explicit sex, little sex, no sex (and not just in non-erotic) and if you can't find a stroke story, well, you're just not looking.

Erotic can also be in the eye of the beholder.

I've written plenty of multi-chapter stories that don't have sex until halfway in. No one complains.

I think PennLady makes an important distinction: there are stories (erotic, romantic, funny, etc) and there are stroke stories.

I sometimes wonder if there should be some sort of flag at the beginning of each story so that those who are simply looking for something to accompany a quick wank don't have to waste their time reading stories that are probably not going to do it for them. (And that would include most of what I write.)

 

[PennLady]

I think PennLady makes an important distinction: there are stories (erotic, romantic, funny, etc) and there are stroke stories.

I sometimes wonder if there should be some sort of flag at the beginning of each story so that those who are simply looking for something to accompany a quick wank don't have to waste their time reading stories that are probably not going to do it for them. (And that would include most of what I write.)

I have to say that over at SOL (StoriesOnline.net), it's handy that they just give you a slew of tags for a story, and then you can indicate how much sex there is, ranging from "No Sex" to "Much Sex." I don't see that kind of major overhaul happening here, though.

 

[ChrissieLecker]

I have to say that over at SOL (StoriesOnline.net), it's handy that they just give you a slew of tags for a story, and then you can indicate how much sex there is, ranging from "No Sex" to "Much Sex." I don't see that kind of major overhaul happening here, though.

The tag system is already there, it would probably be quite easy to implement such a "heat" rating system. All it would take was a dedicated tag in the story submission form that lets you choose the randiness factor and to display the tag (and preferably all other associated tags) with the stories.

 

[xssve]

It's always been a problem between literature and what is more commonly referred to as "wank fodder" - literature requires conflict, tension, change, a beginning, a middle and an end - in wank fodder sex is the story, and it only ever ends one way - thing is, sometimes you want wank fodder, but it is a specialized medium, much like a whodunnit, which typically follows a fairly distinctive formula - the main difference being a whodunnit is designed to keep you guessing who the killer is whereas wank fodder is designed to keep you guessing which hole will get plowed next - but not for too long.

Anyway, it's a tough one if you're trying to write actual stories: too much sex and it becomes wank fodder by definition, too little and the reader is reduced to yawning instead of feverishly turning the page to find out what happens next.

Part of the problem is that literature, while it is ostensibly a classier product than "wank fodder" - still has to be interesting - if it isn't, then you should probably be writing wank fodder.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Someone anonymous keeps emailing me telling me that my one series has too much exposition and not enough sex. I don't agree though. And if I ever rewrite parts two and three like I plan to, and write parts four and five like I planned to, it will still have the same percentage of sex and exposition as before. It will just be a slightly different story progression than before.

 

[PennLady]

The tag system is already there, it would probably be quite easy to implement such a "heat" rating system. All it would take was a dedicated tag in the story submission form that lets you choose the randiness factor and to display the tag (and preferably all other associated tags) with the stories.

A "heat" rating might be good. By "tag system," do you mean where you put in the search tags? I don't know if you're familiar with SOL, but when you go to their New Stories page, for example, you get the title, then a short summary (longer than the kicker we use on Lit), THEN a list of tags that specify the story content. When you submit a story, during the submission process you have a page where you can select from these tags -- they are standard. So you can see it all before you click.

And if we are talking at cross-purposes here, my apologies.

 

[TE999]

Fairly often an author will preface their story saying if you want a quick wank this isn't the story you want.

 

[beatrice_dreams]

When I first started writing I assumed from other stories in the category that I was risking it by not having sex scenes on the first page. But one of the feedback comments I received was that they wanted to learn more about the characters and that they actually didn't want them to jump right into a physical relationship too soon!

You never do know...

 

[sr71plt]

You never do know...

What you know is that not all readers are the same. So write it as you want to have it--there will be those who like it and those who don't no matter what you do.

 

[PennLady]

When I first started writing I assumed from other stories in the category that I was risking it by not having sex scenes on the first page. But one of the feedback comments I received was that they wanted to learn more about the characters and that they actually didn't want them to jump right into a physical relationship too soon!

You never do know...

I forget exactly which story it was but I had someone say they liked the story so much they skipped the sex to get to the plot. I decided to take it as a compliment.

SR71 is right, though. You just have to write the story you want with the elements you want.

 

[driphoney]

What you know is that not all readers are the same. So write it as you want to have it--there will be those who like it and those who don't no matter what you do.

And I'm so glad that many writers do this because I think these are usually some of the best stories on the site. Wank or no wank.

 

[GinaTina]

My current story is about 71,000 words and counting; with only one sex-scene so far. Not only am I getting great feedback; the readers are actually encouraging me to keep up the plot.

For me, erotica is all about story-telling and build-up. The sex is merely a perk.

 

[Series 6]

The lead up and story are just as important.

 

[sr71plt]

The lead up and story are just as important.

I think it too limiting to require a "lead up" at all. We've had a discussion here about "never opening with a sex scene." But I think a quite popular technique in at least the U.S. market currently is to open with an action scene (which, in erotica, can be a sex scene) and work your/the reader's way out of that confusion toward understanding/revelation. In this case, there's no lead up to the story.

 

[lovecraft68]

I've done the opposite of a lead up to sex. I have started several chapters off with sex. Sometimes even using it as a dream sequence and then having the character wake up to whatever.

A few chapters ago I led off with one like that. The story was about 14,000 words and there was no erotica after the opening sequence. No one seemed to mind.

I also use the technique of during the story making some references to keep the reader in a "sexy" mind set as I move along. Things like having the characters speaking and one envisioning something they had done with the other, or going to do. A quick line or two but it keeps up the erotic mood.

The reader is moving along going "okay, okay," Then "Whoa!" Then back to "okay, okay"

If you can keep up the tension the actual amount of erotica should not matter.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Ahem. As per your post in the goal thread, I thought this was supposed to be a LC-free zone?