Humor in erotic stories

[MelissaBaby]

Humor is hard to write and usually gets worse the more you work at it. Sex everyone thinks they can write, but it's not so easy either.

I have no idea what to make of this data, but of the nearly 100 stories in my catalog, my only category with a 100 percent Scarlet H rating (not including one category entries with H's, which could just be luck) is Humor and Satire, a fairly untraveled corner.

EDIT: Ha! Serves me right for using an older spreadsheet. My last three H&S entries fall short, so I'm only half funny (and none recently.) Apologies...

Fucking is easy, comedy is hard.

 

[NotWise]

Fucking is easy, comedy is hard.

I think that a lot of readers skim stories looking for the fucking. Humor and a lot of other details are lost on them.

There are other readers who hang on every word.

 

[FlippinBirds]

I tend to favor humor in stories I write. After all, shouldn't sex be fun? So I've put some of my main characters in absurd, humorous situations as my stories unfold. In Chapter 1 of my Lucky Beyond Belief series, my main character, Mike, visits his girlfriend's parents over the Thanksgiving weekend. He learns his girlfriend's family are all nudists. That puts him in various humorous situations he's never before encountered.
https://www.literotica.com/s/lucky-beyond-belief-ch-01

Technically, sex should be mind-blowing, and sexuality and everything leading up to the sex can/could, and should be fun and funny.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I think that a lot of readers skim stories looking for the fucking. Humor and a lot of other details are lost on them.

There are other readers who hang on every word.

Ironically, fucking is in itself inherently funny when looked at objectively.

 

[StillStunned]

Ironically, fucking is in itself inherently funny when looked at objectively.

But who stays objective when they're looking at people fucking?

 

[NotWise]

But who stays objective when they're looking at people fucking?

Porn critics? Are there such things?

 

[Naughtylit81]

Porn critics? Are there such things?

Just go to any comment section in LW, you will find plenty of porn critics.

 

[RetroFan]

I think that a lot of readers skim stories looking for the fucking. Humor and a lot of other details are lost on them.

There are other readers who hang on every word.

I've seen that, I've had readers correct me on the smallest errors in grammar and punctuation in long stories.

 

[RetroFan]

Fucking is easy, comedy is hard.

In Fetish, you can with some subjects satisfy the readers kinks while also making them laugh. As just one example with my stories in 'Spoiled Princess Hates Camping' there is an early scene where Madison (the spoiled princess in question) has to go to the toilet, and is way out of her comfort zone in the very basic bathroom facilities at the campground. While many readers would enjoy the scene sexually because there is an attractive 18-year-old girl sitting on the toilet with her panties around her ankles, many would also laugh at the bathroom humour in the scene along with my cynical narration that makes fun of Madison and her drama queen ways.

 

[RetroFan]

Just go to any comment section in LW, you will find plenty of porn critics.

While I agree that the LW commenters can be highly critical, in my experience of them the criticism is rarely of the actual sex, but more of the conduct and actions of the characters and the circumstances of the cheating. They would take issue with a male character they perceive to be a wimp, a simp or a cuckold or a female character's promiscuity or bossy personality, rather than making critical comments about the sex scenes. They will also go after stories they perceive to have poor pacing, dialogue, inconsistent plots and the like, but again from what I have experienced aren't that bothered by the erotic scenes.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Describing two bodies fucking isn't particularly hot; two characters fucking is. (IMNHO!)

Getting to know characters usually requires some dialogue or activity, and I find some background humour makes those convincing. But then that's partly just British culture, where humour underlies every conversation and action and it's unavoidable. Saying someone doesn't have a sense of humour is the worst possible insult - especially when it seems to be true. (It's the main reason Brits can't understand the appeal of Trump, for example. Of course the constant banter and snark may be why many readers dislike my stories, while some love them...)

 

[MediocreAuthor]

I've only written one section (right off the top of my head) that I entirely intended to be outright funny.

Two characters, (a virgin female and an experienced male) are about to have sex, and they refer to the act with every silly, school-yard name that they (and in reality I) could come up with. I don't know exactly why I did this, but I thought it would be humorous and I enjoyed the bawdy humor.

I've included a few other jokes within my stories, and they are often spoken by characters within the story. More often than not, these jokes serve some purpose within the story outside of just being funny... but it is always my hope that the reader might chuckle at them.

Writing good comedy is very hard, and I have only read two or three books that I considered genuinely hilarious.

So I include a bit of levity in my erotica, but its not too commonplace.

---

Wait! Scratch all that, I wrote a poem which was only intended to be silly and funny, so I recant all my previous statements

 

[Naughtylit81]

While I agree that the LW commenters can be highly critical, in my experience of them the criticism is rarely of the actual sex, but more of the conduct and actions of the characters and the circumstances of the cheating. They would take issue with a male character they perceive to be a wimp, a simp or a cuckold or a female character's promiscuity or bossy personality, rather than making critical comments about the sex scenes. They will also go after stories they perceive to have poor pacing, dialogue, inconsistent plots and the like, but again from what I have experienced aren't that bothered by the erotic scenes.

So my attempt at humor missed the mark?

 

[yowser]

Horace Walpole: Life is a tragedy for those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.