What makes a story a “stroker”?

[AG31]

it's up to me and other writers to show that they can be accomplished pieces of writing.

And I'm happy when I find that a number are doing that.

 

[Comshaw]

Spiders aren't insects.

You are absolutely correct. My bad. So my example was off the rails incorrect. Let me try again: I should have used whale/mammal or spider/arthropod as an example. It just goes to show I ain't immune to tripping over my own feet.

Comshaw

 

[pink_silk_glove]

We AHers are divided on this front. If it didn't have a derogatory connotation as far as artistry is concerned for me, I wouldn't argue for a different term for that subset which is artful... or strives to be artful. I just can't get over that hump.

Again this proves that your motive is to change how people perceive your work by changing the nomenclature. You don't like the idea that someone would look at your work with bad connotation. That's shame and ego, straight up. I don't have to read your mind nor assume any of your motives. You are telling all of us your motives and have been for what a year or more?

Get over it. It's just smut. It's all good.

 

[Ssbbw4u1974]

Well, do you take that as a positive? I sure would.

Ohh, I Love that kinda feedback, for sure!
I write for people to get excited, and if it makes them cum??
All the better !!

 

[AG31]

It just dawned on my why I care what stories that aim to arouse as their main focus are called. If they don't aim for artistry, then let's call them strokers. If they do aim for artistry (whether they achieve it or not), then let's call them simple erotica. I would like this because most "strokers" just don't work for me. I stopped perusing new stories about a year ago. I rarely found anything that worked for me. If I could search for "simple erotica," I might get more hits.

 

[NotWise]

It just dawned on my why I care what stories that aim to arouse as their main focus are called. If they don't aim for artistry, then let's call them strokers. If they do aim for artistry (whether they achieve it or not), then let's call them simple erotica. I would like this because most "strokers" just don't work for me. I stopped perusing new stories about a year ago. I rarely found anything that worked for me. If I could search for "simple erotica," I might get more hits.

If I guessed what you meant by "simple erotica" I'd figure that "simple erotica" meant "stroker."

I haven't read most of this thread because it's an old topic. Have ya'll arrived at a name for erotic stories that aren't strokers?

 

[SkyBubble]

If I look at my stories which are relatively successful and those which aren’t, I think the most reliable predictor of whether my story “succeeds” is whether it’s a “stroker”.

Of course there are other factors important to good writing, eg quality of prose and characters etc, but these tend to be fairly consistent across my stories, so I feel the main difference is in the premise / plot. And my stories with a “stroker” plot seem to consistently do better on Lit (higher fave, comment, view counts, Hot rating, etc)

But what is a “stroker”? I dunno. Hard to pin down other than “I know it when I see it”. Here’s some preliminary thoughts:

1. Strokers maintain a steamy mood throughout. Ie they’ll get to the naughty bit pretty quickly and progressively escalate until the climax. Eg it might start with light fantasies, moving into flirting, then groping, then full-on sex, followed by a cozy ending. But they’ll rarely break it up with, eg, a dramatic confrontation, or anything that breaks the reader out of their wank.

2. Strokers have plenty of smut. Even if it’s not very vivid or physical. If there are non-smut scenes, these are barebones and minimal so the story can get back to the smutty bit.

3. Strokers are kind of like pornography if it was written down rather than filmed.

What do folks think? Curious to hear other opinions

I pride myself on developing a story and characters, not just writing a long sex scene.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I pride myself on developing a story and characters, not just writing a long sex scene.

I don't.

 

[StillStunned]

I pride myself on developing a story and characters, not just writing a long sex scene.

There's a lot of pride to be taken from crafting a well-written stroker. Whenever the topic comes up, someone poo-poos strokers, saying that they easy to write because there's no plot or character arc. I always recommend they try it. Try writing just a sex scene that's engaging enough to draw readers in and keep them reading until the end, and then vote and leave a comment.

It's a test of your writing skills. Like I mentioned upthread, there's no exciting plot or interesting characters to hide behind.

 

[AG31]

Have ya'll arrived at a name for erotic stories that aren't strokers?

I think there's a significant consensus that "strokers" pay attention to arousal, to the exclusion of plot and character.
Here's my year and a half old case for why "simple erotica" is a subset of that kind of erotica.

P.S. It sounds like you think "erotica" and "strokers" are synonymous. Leaving out my "simple erotica" argument, I tend to agree with you. I think an awful lot of the stories on Lit are not erotica, but, rather ordinary fiction with lots of hot sex. I think erotica has to be about sex.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I think an awful lot of the stories on Lit are not erotica, but, rather ordinary fiction with lots of hot sex. I think erotica has to be about sex.

I would say that erotica is more about arousal than sex. I'll also reiterate that there is no need for a binary division into strokers (or simple erotica, or whatever other name we use) and actual stories.
Many stories lie somewhere in between, with varying degrees of erotic and sexual content, and varying degrees of character development and plot, so some kind of gradation feels more natural.

 

[NotWise]

I think there's a significant consensus that "strokers" pay attention to arrousal, to the exclusion of plot and character.
Here's my year and a half old case for why "simple erotica" is a subset of that kind of erotica.

P.S. It sounds like you think "erotica" and "strokers" are synonymous. Leaving out my "simple erotica" argument, I tend to agree with you. I think an awful lot of the stories on Lit are not erotica, but, rather ordinary fiction with lots of hot sex. I think erotica has to be about sex.

I think the topic isn't worth as much discussion as it gets.

I do look at "erotica" as stories about sex and distinct from stories with sex in them. That isn't a sharp line. A story is a stroker when its author intends it to be read with genitals in hand. It's a subset of erotica.

Strokers are the grist that runs the Literotica mill. I don't think Lit would be as successful as it is without them. Stories with sex in them can get a lot of readers, but they don't power the site. Writers like me who don't write stroke are beholden to writers of stroke stories. We wouldn't have this platform without them.

 

[AG31]

I would say that erotica is more about arousal than sex.

Here's another thread topic. What, if any, is the difference between "arousal" and "sex?" I define sex very broadly for the purposes of discussing erotica. Take @ElectricBlue's latest two stories. They're not about anything other than sex, the subtle, powerful leadup to arousal. To my ear "stroker" just doesn't do it. But they're pure erotica.

I'll also reiterate that there is no need for a binary division into strokers (or simple erotica, or whatever other name we use) and actual stories.

No, of course not. Whenever we have these sorts of discussions, they're about continuums (continua???). But I need a way to tag stories that are focused mainly (completely?) on sex, because those are the kind of stories that work for me, and most stories that people would label "stroker" don't work for me. So there is a need. It least for me.

Many stories lie somewhere in between, with varying degrees of erotic and sexual content, and varying degrees of character development and plot, so some kind of gradation feels more natural.

see above

 

[AG31]

I think the topic isn't worth as much discussion as it gets.

Check out a couple of my other posts in this thread. I've figured out why I, for one, pursue these topics. It's because I want a verbal way to identify the kind of erotica that works for me.

I do look at "erotica" as stories about sex and distinct from stories with sex in them. That isn't a sharp line.

There's never a sharp line in discussions like this.

A story is a stroker when its author intends it to be read with genitals in hand. It's a subset of erotica.

Close, but the line's too sharp. See my link to ElectricBlue's stories up thread.

Strokers are the grist that runs the Literotica mill. I don't think Lit would be as successful as it is without them. Stories with sex in them can get a lot of readers, but they don't power the site. Writers like me who don't write stroke are beholden to writers of stroke stories. We wouldn't have this platform without them.

Totally agree. Leaving out the distinction I'm trying to make, the only reason I came to Lit in the first place was to publish and read "strokers."

 

[AG31]

A story is a stroker when its author intends it to be read with genitals in hand.

This has clarified for me another reason we need the category "simple erotica." You and I agree that stories with sex as their focus are fundamental to the notion of "erotica," but I would maintain that they aren't all intended to be read with "genitals in hand." I refer you again to ElectricBlue's stories.

 

[MelissaBaby]

What makes a story a stroker:

A boner and at least one hand.

 

[StillStunned]

What makes a story a stroker:

A boner and at least one hand.

Are you saying women are too classy to masturbate to strokers?

 

[MelissaBaby]

Are you saying women are too classy to masturbate to strokers?

Those stories are not strokers, they are "diddlers."

 

[StillStunned]

Those stories are not strokers, they are "diddlers."

But how do I know the difference?!

 

[NotWise]

Close, but the line's too sharp. See my link to ElectricBlue's stories up thread.

Not at all sharp. The way I put it, it's the writer's intent that makes a story a stroker. From a reader's perspective, it may not be obvious.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

But how do I know the difference?!

A diddler actually has a sexy man in it. Majority of stories on lit do not.

 

[alohadave]

Smut Cube!!
View attachment 2546052

What kind of smut are you into?

 

[ElectricBlue]

If I guessed what you meant by "simple erotica" I'd figure that "simple erotica" meant "stroker."

I haven't read most of this thread because it's an old topic. Have ya'll arrived at a name for erotic stories that aren't strokers?

It's a "call it what you will" kind of a topic, but it still is what it is. All the badging is ridiculous, really, it makes no difference to what's inside the package. Erotica, porn, stroker, slow burn, my story, your story, no-one cares, everyone wants to call it something else, who gives a fuck? It's the old erotica versus porn debate, for those who missed out on that one.

Not at all sharp. The way I put it, it's the writer's intent that makes a story a stroker. From a reader's perspective, it may not be obvious.

I set out to write what I thought was a stroker (using my definition of the term, which is "a story that is only about sex and nothing else"), and ended up with this comment:

Props be damned, I could use a cigarette after that. (And I haven't smoked since college!)

I love these two. They feel so desperately human. I'm very jealous of them. I can't wait to explore more of their sumptuous relationship. Although I will, because your stories have a lovely way of filling the mind for a good long while.

which suggests I both succeeded and failed at the same time - nailed the sex = stroker, but got the humanity too = erotica.

Garter Belts and Cigarettes

Fun fact: the infamous Stacnash gave the second part of this Series a four star and commended Ruby as a fabulous character. Make what you will of that .

 

[PennyThompson]

A diddler actually has a sexy man in it. Majority of stories on lit do not.

I dunno about that, some of the best diddlers have no men in them at all

 

[PennyThompson]

What kind of smut are you into?

Anarcho-syndicalist radfem yimby solarpunk smut