Sometimes sex isn’t sexy

[stickygirl]

If you write stories that will only appeal to one person in the theatre, then all you'll hear is booing. If you want to appeal to every one else, then clearly you have to write something different, in a different style, with different content. It's a formula about which other authors will generously advise.

If fame on an erotic website is your goal then go for it, or you could stick to writing for the one person, because they matter too. Who knows, you might feel better about yourself? Whatever you choose, make sure you do it for fun, because we don't get paid for this.

I'd like to read one of your narrow-band stories - which one do you recommend?

 

[PennameWombat]

I accept everyone here, in AH as writers and readers and on this site in general as readers, have their own likes and dislikes and preferences. There is no one size fits all. Everyone here also has their own reasons.

I have portrayed ‘less successful’ sexual encounters here, it all depends on what direction a story needs to go. Anytime Tracy gets with an actor… it doesn’t go well. Jeremy and Lucia had some ‘first time’ misfires. Others. And characters have died in rather brutal ways. But, mostly I’m here for fantasy (in the broader sense, not simply as the genre), both as a reader and as a writer.

That said, I have little interest in ‘real,’ at least when it comes to reflecting my own experiences in stories. That’d be boring and depressing, and if I have to live it, no way I want to revisit it in anything I write. I’ve no argument with anyone who does use such experiences, that’s up to them.

But I’m strongly into stories being ‘grounded’ (or whatever term, I like this one.) Most of my characters might be a bit idealised, but I try to make sure they have lives that ‘make sense.’ That’s hard when I have aliens and mermaids and the like… but I try. So I do have soccer players, computer programmers, math majors, and such, I use certain locales and settings, because, yes, those I can pull from. But none of what they wrap around are my experiences.

 

[stickygirl]

I accept everyone here, in AH as writers and readers and on this site in general as readers, have their own likes and dislikes and preferences. There is no one size fits all. Everyone here also has their own reasons.

I have portrayed ‘less successful’ sexual encounters here, it all depends on what direction a story needs to go. Anytime Tracy gets with an actor… it doesn’t go well. Jeremy and Lucia had some ‘first time’ misfires. Others. And characters have died in rather brutal ways. But, mostly I’m here for fantasy (in the broader sense, not simply as the genre), both as a reader and as a writer.

That said, I have little interest in ‘real,’ at least when it comes to reflecting my own experiences in stories. That’d be boring and depressing, and if I have to live it, no way I want to revisit it in anything I write. I’ve no argument with anyone who does use such experiences, that’s up to them.

But I’m strongly into stories being ‘grounded’ (or whatever term, I like this one.) Most of my characters might be a bit idealised, but I try to make sure they have lives that ‘make sense.’ That’s hard when I have aliens and mermaids and the like… but I try. So I do have soccer players, computer programmers, math majors, and such, I use certain locales and settings, because, yes, those I can pull from. But none of what they wrap around are my experiences.

Ooo soccer players huh? Better check that out
Which one is it?

 

[SeraphNocturne]

I've seen a lot of stories on here. As the resident lesbian with fucked up anatomy I don't find any of them particularly believable. At least when I view it through the lense of my own experience. I'm sure something close to the pleasure described in porn is possible for some people.

That much I'm willing to forgive. But I gotta say it is odd that the characters in literotica are so good at what they do. Like I've yet to see even a first time story that delves into the feeling of not knowing if anything is working and being too shy to ask. I've yet to be faced with the unsexy reality of sex in written form.

Is unsexy sex bad writing or just bad erotica?

I'm waxing philosophical here.

I fully expect the story I just submitted to flop, explicitly because it's a real experience. Told in the broadest of strokes it lacks the glamorous flair and the easy to jerk off to happy ending. But I have to ask myself why? Why is that a bad thing?

Does anyone else have a story that's not sexy?

Just thought I would commend you on an interesting topic! I myself write stories that aren’t sexy all the time, but those stories are elsewhere on the web. I can appreciate realism in a story as a reader so yeah, give me fumbling first times, embarrassing sounds or playful giggly moments, coming up short on the action.

A lot of people are into erotica for escapism, or to live and envelope themselves in their fantasies… so I’m sure I’m among few who would appreciate it. I know that’s probably a bit of an uncommon stance amongst readers. They want sexy. A lot of the time they don’t even care for much plot. I’m a plot heavy writer and I’m here to appreciate the readers who enjoy that style of writing, who want a bit more to lose themselves in, not just the run of the mill stroker.

I personally would love to read a story with an FMC touching base with PCOS and intimacy and perhaps even fertility struggles that come with it. I can relate to that whole heartedly, I was diagnosed at 13.

 

[AWhoopsieDaisy]

I'd like to read one of your narrow-band stories - which one do you recommend?

I haven't submitted anything too narrow yet. Im gonna scrap the rejected story and move on.

Identity Crisis is a fanfiction with "failsex"

On the original fiction side of things I've got Home Run which is a slow burn and the sex is not frequently described in a way that's flattering. It is gay male.

I'm working on my first FMC piece for Lit. Featuring litteral Satan as a love interest. He's not all evangelicals crack him up to be, so like, he's not a bad partner. A bad influence, yes. Bad person, not quite.

 

[Cagivagurl]

I've seen a lot of stories on here. As the resident lesbian with fucked up anatomy I don't find any of them particularly believable. At least when I view it through the lense of my own experience. I'm sure something close to the pleasure described in porn is possible for some people.

That much I'm willing to forgive. But I gotta say it is odd that the characters in literotica are so good at what they do. Like I've yet to see even a first time story that delves into the feeling of not knowing if anything is working and being too shy to ask. I've yet to be faced with the unsexy reality of sex in written form.

Is unsexy sex bad writing or just bad erotica?

I'm waxing philosophical here.

I fully expect the story I just submitted to flop, explicitly because it's a real experience. Told in the broadest of strokes it lacks the glamorous flair and the easy to jerk off to happy ending. But I have to ask myself why? Why is that a bad thing?

Does anyone else have a story that's not sexy?

IMO...
There's a fine line between porn and erotica....
Erotica, is the seduction... The attraction, the chemistry... That should be filled with angst, questions, awkwardness...
That is what I like to read. Stories rich with dialogue, and human interaction. IMO that's sexy erotica...
The physical act, the what goes where... That's porn.
For a story to be really good, it's the balance of the two... The first meeting... The conversations, the fleeting glances... The joy of that first caress, the kiss...
True erotica doesn't need the porn element...

Cagivagurl...

 

[AlinaX]

Meh. That's just a tease. Literary foreplay. Porn is where the readers are so bored with the sex they fast forward to the climax.

 

[PennameWombat]

Ooo soccer players huh? Better check that out
Which one is it?

It's not one .

It's most prominent in the stories featuring Chris, beginning with Mel's Phone Call (since soccer was a key element in how they met) and that continues through Chronicle: Mel and Chris, ch. 01. It's also important in this year's Valentine's (The Way to a Man's Heart, Nadi's F roommate Jane and her boyfriend) and April Fool's (Maddy Moo Cow, how the MMC and FMC met, although rather differently from how it led to Mel and Chris meeting) entries, including both male and female players. It pops up in many others, but usually only in passing or as less important background than the above (as with Jeremy in Chlorine Dreams.)

Not that many depictions of on field play, although some weaves through the "Chronicle" chapters.

 

[Voboy]

Just today I reread my Nude Day entry. My goal was for my FMC to fall in love, so I tried to present the sex she had with the man she was falling for and contrast it with the sex she had on the job.

I think the job-sex is clearly meant to be “bad” in this story. I wrote the story some months ago, and today was the first time in quite awhile that I’d read it. The contrast impressed me.

 

[dasgoodshit]

Nope. My FMCs are seriously multi-orgasmic and my MMCs have ridiculously short refractory periods.

as it should be


[edit: shit! i didn't mean to necromance.]

 

[Comshaw]

There's a big difference between writing about the textbook average person and writing about someone who's life in a photograph resembles that of a neighbor, a sister, a friend or an ex lover.

Writing about the ugly duckling who never turns into a swan and exploring how they learn to live and love despite their issues. The girl with big dreams who had to settle for being a waitress because college was to expensive. The guy driving a car that's hanging on by a thread because he's too stubborn to admit it's time to retire it.


Id argue giving the mundane losers a happy ending, even if its not the glamorous and sexy one theyd hope for, is a form of fantasy.

Escapism not by asking the reader to envision characters where everything is extraordinary and perfect, but rather a fantasy where the characters can have problems and struggle to make things work, but still ultimately have a good time doing it.

I think the argument "it's fantasy" inherently poses a question. Fantasy for who? Why in this fantastical story are people like me absent? Why is there no place in fantasy for the inconvenience of biology and the less conventionally attractive?

Something to chew on.

I do. Apparently. I find it charming and kind of cute. Or failing that, it's at least funny.

Oh my but there is a place. However, we need to keep in mind why readers are here, and why we write and post stories. Anyone can write about any type of person they want. And there will be a reader for it. But don't expect many for an outlier story about an average person doing nothing but average things. Most readers live that and do not want to read about it. They come here to be entertained by stories of things they can or do only dream about, and for the majority to get sexually aroused or get sexually satisfied. That's what the vast majority of readers here want and are seeking.

Many good stories have common people in them, but to get a reader involved those common people need to be in uncommon circumstances. A girl has her first time and it's terrible. The guy hurts her when they do it and doesn't really give a damn. How often does that happen? More than most will admit I think. But if that's the end of the story, or the peak, with her going through life being used by man after man and not deriving any or much pleasure from it, not many readers are going to enjoy it. This is an erotic site after all. There is an expectation from the reader of what they will get when they open a story. They are expecting (for the most part) the characters to be enjoying sex at some point.

Does that mean every character needs to be an Aphrodite or Adonis? Does every man in a story need a shlong as long as his arm and every woman a pair of tits that could smother a guy? Nope. there is a lot of room in an erotic work for "less conventionally attractive" people and the variances of biology. I have written several stories with such characters.

A good story of any kind has bait and a hook. Bait to lure the reader in; a hook to keep them reading to the end. In between those two anything can be used as long as it keeps the reader's interest. As I said, the expectation here on this site is sex and the enjoyment of it, not so much for the characters, but the reader. Some want to read about those aforementioned Greek God doppelgangers, and others about people like themselves who are enjoying what they as readers only imagine, ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances enjoying sex of a type the reader only dreams of.

Many of those fantasies are "tropes" true. But it isn't so much about what things the story is about, as how it is told. How many fishing stories have been written? Thousands at a minimum. But how many rise to the level of "The Oldman and the Sea"? The same goes for an erotic story. It doesn't have to have all the regularly used actions and character types. Spinning a tale around ordinary characters, an old man fishing, dreaming of making that once-in-a-lifetime catch, or a not conventionally attractive character dreaming of sexual things they desire can lead to an extraordinary tale.

Damn, I think I wandered off-topic. I do ramble on at times.

'nuff said on my part.

Comshaw

 

[Mr_Neb]

In general I agree with a lot of other posters. Unsexy sex isn't why readers read this stuff. I would think that most readers want to take a moment to live viaciously through our characters and enjoy fulfilling, risk free, orgasmically satisfying, inhibitionless, sex.

That said, just because the sex in a story is unsexy doesn't necessarily mean that is it unentertaining. I'll leave it to the readers to make the final judgement but I attempted just such a story. Pussy House - 1972 is (supposed to be) just such a story. A humorus tale, in a college setting, of the rather mechanical vs. emotional sex that young people of that age may have.

I guess if the sex in a story is unfulfilling, humor or other literary tone can make the story just as rewarding for the reader.

 

[StillStunned]

That said, just because the sex in a story is unsexy doesn't necessarily mean that is it unentertaining. I'll leave it to the readers to make the final judgement but I attempted just such a story. Pussy House - 1972 is (supposed to be) just such a story. A humorus tale, in a college setting, of the rather mechanical vs. emotional sex that young people of that age may have.

I guess if the sex in a story is unfulfilling, humor or other literary tone can make the story just as rewarding for the reader.

I agree. My series The Rivals features a couple who are constantly at the point of getting it on, but things get in the way. When they do actually start to have sex it's weird. In the third instalment (https://www.literotica.com/s/the-rivals-ch-03-the-demon-hunt), Avilia used sex to dislodge a parasite from her head. There's lots of unsexy snot and "we're not stopping until this thing is out."

Personally I think it's a very funny scene, and the story overall is rated 4.75 (from only 8 votes, but still - the few readers it attracted seem to have enjoyed it).

 

[Mr_Neb]

Oh, I suppose I should have added the following...

In my opinion, Pussy House - 1972 is one of my better stories. I think it is better written that some of my other stuff with undeserved higher ratings. It is supposed to evoke a completely different set of emotions from the reader. It's sort of a period piece, meant to have a narrative style of the 70s and from the perspective of a somewhat clueless college guy. Certainly not a stroker piece but one that went for humor over raw sex, although the sex in it is plenty graphic.

The story enjoys a 3.95 rating, with 53k visitor, 5 favorites, and just one comment. That comment is, "Just the type of writing the word "sophmoric" was invented to describe. Ham-handed "humor."" Cleary LitCrit didn't get the joke. It was intentionally sophmoric and ham-handed.

Anyway, it just underscores the point of this thread. For the most part, unsexy sex doesn't go over all that well.

The ultimate irony regarding my story is that although it has a relatively low rating, it does have a green "E". Go figure.

 

[AchtungNight]

My Will Trent story here isn’t very sexy. Main character doesn’t really know how to express himself to a lot of people and is reading a script with serious dyslexia. Brief sex, imagination has to fill in the gaps. But some people liked it. Go figure.

 

[djrip]

Oh, I suppose I should have added the following...

In my opinion, Pussy House - 1972 is one of my better stories. I think it is better written that some of my other stuff with undeserved higher ratings. It is supposed to evokes a completely set of emotions from the reader. It's sort of a period piece, meant to have a narrative style of the 70s and from the perspective of a somewhat clueless college guy. Certainly not a stroker piece but one that went for humor over raw sex, although the sex in it is plenty graphic.

The story enjoys a 3.95 rating, with 53k visitor, 5 favorites, and just one comment. That comment is, "Just the type of writing the word "sophmoric" was invented to describe. Ham-handed "humor."" Cleary LitCrit didn't get the joke. It was intentionally sophmoric and ham-handed.

Anyway, it just underscores the point of this thread. For the most part, unsexy sex doesn't go over all that well.

The ultimate irony regarding my story is that although it has a relatively low rating, it does have a green "E". Go figure.

I loved it!

 

[Mr_Neb]

I loved it!

Well thanks very much. One more satisfied customer.