What is a good length of set up

[DarkrSide]

What is a good length of set up compared to how long the sex in the story? Should it be 50/50? I am getting back into writing and wanted to get some people's opinion on the matter.

Thanks!

 

[Handley_Page]

What is a good length of set up compared to how long the sex in the story? Should it be 50/50? I am getting back into writing and wanted to get some people's opinion on the matter.

Thanks!

I suggest you read a few stories in your favourite genre and work out some sort of average. In the interim I suggest you think about the STORY first and then work out where the sex is important to it.
Good Luck

 

[DarkrSide]

I suggest you read a few stories in your favourite genre and work out some sort of average. In the interim I suggest you think about the STORY first and then work out where the sex is important to it.
Good Luck

Thanks! I appreciate it

 

[sr71plt]

One of the really nice things about fiction is that there isn't just one size or pattern for all. If there were, we'd only need to read one short story and we'd be done. So, there's no real answer to this question. It's a "whatever works" and "lot's of ways work" sort of thing.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't think there is really a set answer for this.

But one thing that would matter is what type of story is it? If you are writing a stroke piece as much sex or more sex than story is fine. If you want to tell a story that involves sex then lean more towards story. Just my take

 

[Bramblethorn]

What is a good length of set up compared to how long the sex in the story? Should it be 50/50? I am getting back into writing and wanted to get some people's opinion on the matter.

Thanks!

You'll never please everybody, so unless you have a paying market you're best off doing what feels right to you. I've got one here that's about 16k words with a couple of paragraphs of sex around two-thirds of the way through, and that did quite well with readers.

 

[TamLin01]

I believe the old saw is that the story should be as long as it has to be (maddeningly non-specific though that may be). And the most practical advice you'll ever get is that your story can almost always be shorter. Really, without seeing the story it's almost impossible to say anything definitive beyond that.

 

[slyc_willie]

[sarcasm]

If you want to write a good erotic story, you HAVE to, HAVE to, HAVE TO get into the sex within the first 1000 words. The more descriptive, the better. Talk about how huge the guy's cock is, and make it clear that it's really way outside the norm. Ten inches long at least, and as thick as a beer can. Oh, and make sure he's built like an athlete. 44-inch shoulders and a 28-inch waist. That makes his dick look even bigger. Trust me.

Then go into detail about how wet the girl gets. Like, really sopping wet so that she soaks through her panties and it drips down her legs under that tiny skirt she's wearing. Not only that, but really describe the exact shape and layout of her pussy. Give it a full paragraph if you can. And play her up to be some cum-craving bimbo who wants to do all the nasty things the guy wants. If she's brunette, make her a quiet-type librarian who's secretly lusted for sex all her life. if she's a blonde, then obviously she's a bimbo who'll do whatever it takes. If she's a redhead, then she's fiery and lusty. Play to the stereotypes. They're your friend.

Oh, lastly, give the story lots of "Ohmigod . . . I'm cuuuummmmmiiinnngggg!!!!" dialogue. That really hammers it home to the readers.

[/sarcasm]

Seriously, write the story the way you want. I've pandered, I think, to just about every audience I can think of in the last eight and more years, and I've come to realize that it doesn't matter what you write, as long as you -- as the author -- like the outcome. What I write now is all about what I want to write, and not so much about what "they" want to read.

The best advice I can give is to do what you want, and don't follow any pat blueprints unless you like the structure.

 

[Hypoxia]

If you want to write a good erotic story, you HAVE to, HAVE to, HAVE TO get into the sex within the first 1000 words.

Sometimes, yes. It never hurts to start a story with something that grabs eyeballs, something to make the reader want to continue. My current 2-part episode of THE BOOK OF RUTH starts:

(part 1): Katia raised herself nearly off my hard cock, then slammed down again.

(part 2): "Randy, get your ass over here. The judge won't marry us till you do."

Part 1 goes on to heavy sex. Part 2 goes on to comi-tragedy with no sex for a few thousand words. Which of those is more immediately engaging?

Yeah, as has been mentioned, every story has its own pace, or lack thereof. We may write to a certain pace deliberately, for desired effects. Build or release expectation or tension or frustration. Increase or decrease bloodflow to the readers' genitalia. Go for laughs or tears or gasps or groans. It's all just technique. Get'em b the balls, and their hearts and minds will follow.

 

[DeYaKen]

What is a good length of set up compared to how long the sex in the story? Should it be 50/50? I am getting back into writing and wanted to get some people's opinion on the matter.

Thanks!

There is no answer to this. It all depends on your story. I wrote one "Me Time" which opened with the sex. The two couples concerned were having "goodbye" sex but in each couple only one partner knew that's what it was.

As others have said, it is the story that should be important. The sex goes in where it fits.

 

[HoneyFortune]

Whenever you get the reader to the sex scenes (like everyone else said, there is no magic number or formula), just be sure to find phrasing and descriptions that are interesting. Most of all, please don't be repetitive. We have an overload of that here. We have an overload of that here. See?

 

[49greg]

I always figured seven and a half inches was a good enough length.

 

[sr71plt]

I always figured seven and a half inches was a good enough length.

Pepsi One spew. I always thought that was just a saying, but it isn't; I just did it. And it wasn't because this is new; it just was unexpected.

 

[Hypoxia]

I always figured seven and a half inches was a good enough length.

"Promise her love but give her nine inches." --Anon.