Creating a tone

[NakedHumor]

I want to write a story about a teacher teaching sex ed to a class but I want the tone to be campy and a bit ridiculous.

This may be unpopular opinion but I like outlandish porn tropes and don’t want the story to be erotic in the traditional sense of the word.

I want the story to play out like a porno with detail in my characters, just not depth. I want to create a scene in the readers mind where they are both turned on and smiling.

Any suggestions? Or do any authors come to mind.

Thanks Lit!

 

[StillStunned]

You could try it as a monologue. I've mentioned it before here, but Joyce Grenfell's nursery monologues are hilarious, and they've inspired a WIP of mine about a jaded porn director trying to get a shoot done. I'll quote a bit to give you an idea:

Alright everyone, gather round! I don’t recognise any of your faces, so let me introduce myself. I’m the director, you do as I tell you and we’ll get along fine.

No, don’t bother with your names. Lights, Second Cam, Boom, Makeup. The equipment gives it away. Just make sure you know when I’m talking to you.

Has anyone seen Andy? Looks like a washed-out homeless drunk? He’s not that bad, I promise. He has somewhere to live.

Help yourselves to coffee. Try not to spill any– Fuck, you fucker! I hope your hands are steadier with your camera. It’s porn, we don’t do shaky-cam like those action movie fuckers.

Yes, you fucking clean it up! You think we have a cleaning service on standby?

Right, while Second Cam is mopping, I’ll summarise what’s going to happen. One scene. Male-female. Repairman and housewife, bit of this, bit of that. You know the deal. Should be done in a couple of hours.

No, you’re not getting paid for the full day.

Because we’re only going to be here until midday. Noon, I suppose, to you people.

Because the fucking estate agent – realtor – needs the place back then. You think he wants to be showing buyers round an apartment while we’re filming a pair of people fucking, do you?

No, neither do I. So let’s make sure we’re out of here on time, and no-one else spills any more coffee.

Where the fuck is Andy?

 

[SimonDoom]

I think it's a great idea to think about your tone before you start writing the story. I also think there's nothing wrong with wanting from the outset to strive for the outrageous and over the top. I enjoy those stories when they are pulled off well.

A story that inspired me before I ever started writing was Charles Petersunn's story Miss Nishida Motivates the Boys. A teacher has to figure out a novel way of inspiring her class of misfit boys to perform better. I won't give anything away, except to say that the story is both completely ridiculous but also really hot. It's well done. The concept is rather clever, even if it's outrageous.

I think of my story Mom, You're a Hucow! being in this vein. I wanted to write a hucow story because I thought they were so completely absurd, and I decided to combine the concept with the mom-son concept. Some people like it, and some have been scathingly critical. I enjoyed writing it, and I never looked back.

Another of my stories of this type was Teddy Bear, which did quite well.

One suggestion: don't dismiss the possibility of being erotic while also being campy or outrageous. It IS possible to do both, if, as you seem to suggest, you are mindful of how you use tone from the beginning.

 

[PennyThompson]

I'll toot my own horn a bit to say that I think my stories are pretty funny I think Shared Dorm Rooms are the Worst is a pretty good place to start!

I try to balance ridiculous situations with realistic emotions, and I like to write characters who are inherently silly and then take them very seriously.

As for overall tone, I can think of two easy ways to approach it, I'm sure there are many others.

One is to have a completely fantastical world where it's entirely normal for the sex ed teacher to give a hands-on demonstration. The world itself is silly and parodic, the teacher's name is something like Ms. Destiny Lovecock, she works at Cummings Community College where she teaches Practical Sex Ed, etc. etc.

The other is to try and play it straight, and "lampshade" the ridiculous scenario you're creating. No, normally sex ed class doesn't involve live practice, that would be ridiculous! But these damn politicians are obsessed with "practical skills" education, they wrote a new law, and now we have to figure out how to comply for every class, no matter the subject!

 

[AlexBailey]

Campy and ridiculous? This was well addressed in Monty Python’s Meaning of Life.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I want to write a story about a teacher teaching sex ed to a class but I want the tone to be campy and a bit ridiculous.

Keep Lit's age rule in mind.

Also keep in mind, one person's idea of humour can come across as lame and trite to the next person. Good comedy is very hard to do, even harder to do well.

Just throwing Lit policy and comic reality up against enthusiasm .

 

[StillStunned]

Keep Lit's age rule in mind.

It could be a special class for nuns and monks who've given up holy orders.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

If I might suggest it, I have a posting in the "How-To" section on Literotica that describes several literary techniques and devices that you might want to consider beyond just the "tone".

 

[AlexBailey]

Keep Lit's age rule in mind.

Also keep in mind, one person's idea of humour can come across as lame and trite to the next person. Good comedy is very hard to do, even harder to do well.

Just throwing Lit policy and comic reality up against enthusiasm .

This is what creates the need for the many tropes about young adults who have been sheltered or are escaping some form of indoctrination in order to have ‘first time’ experiences only after they have come of age.

I came of age near a religious college where many of the students hadn’t had any sexual education until they got there.

In the mid eighties a friend of mine was nearly expelled when she laughed and corrected the teacher during a sex ed class and for having a copy of “Our Bodies, Ourselves” on campus.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

First, as mentioned above, take care of lit's underage rule.

If you are worried about being too campy or too porny, don't be. Literotica is an erotica site in name only. Effectively it's a porn site. For the most part, the readership likes it kinky and naughty and loves the straight line to the sex, so I'm sure that your over-the-top campy kinkiness will go over quite well.

How do you set the tone? It's all in the language that you use, the sentence structure and word choices. This forms the voicing of the story. If your story is in a science lab, you might want to use a lot of clinical terms and proper sentence structure and grammar, not just from the characters but right in the narrative, even if it's 3rd person omni.

When Dr Fillmore poured the contents of vial A into the beaker, the new solution fizzed and turned translucent blue. A light sweet aroma soon wafted forth, passing over his young assistant's olfactories and filling her lungs. By reflex, her hand moved to unbutton her smock with an overwhelming impetus to fornicate.

However, if your story is hillbilly incest, you might want to use sentence fragments and low brow backwoods terms, again not only in the dialogue but right in the narrative.

Levi bent his Della over the front porch rail and pulled his shaggy beard aside so that he could stick it in. Damn thing was always gettin' in the way. An outboard motor buzzed by on the lake beyond the trees. No matter. Nothin' was gonna keep him from a fuckin' his sister now.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I think if you start off with something completely outrageous right off the bat, the readers will catch on quick.

"All right now class, please turn to page 69 in your Joy of Sex text book and then rise and drop your trousers and underwear."

 

[Comshaw]

The Lit underage rule: One could always stage it as a remedial college sex-ed class for those who didn't attend one in high school.
Also hands-on instruction on reproduction

"Is everyone in class over 18?" Every student raised their hand.

"Excellent! To begin, Bobby will now demonstrate the proper method of inserting his penis into Maryand how to go about the missionary form of coitus, better know as "getting some". He will also demonstrate the technique to avoid Mary becoming prego with the "withdrawal before ejaculation, or as it's popularly known the 'reluctant pull-out method'. Other means of anti-pregnancy sex that will be demonstrated are the handjob and fellatio, better known as a blowjob, hummer or bone munch and cunnilingus, know as beaver munching, snacking on the bearded clam or muff diving. Are there any volunteers to demonstrate those techniques?"

Every male hand in the class instantly shot into the air.

The only female hand that did was Carla, better know as tasty Carla. "I volunteer as the muffin to be munched!" She shouted.


Comshaw

 

[NakedHumor]

I'll toot my own horn a bit to say that I think my stories are pretty funny I think Shared Dorm Rooms are the Worst is a pretty good place to start!

I try to balance ridiculous situations with realistic emotions, and I like to write characters who are inherently silly and then take them very seriously.

As for overall tone, I can think of two easy ways to approach it, I'm sure there are many others.

One is to have a completely fantastical world where it's entirely normal for the sex ed teacher to give a hands-on demonstration. The world itself is silly and parodic, the teacher's name is something like Ms. Destiny Lovecock, she works at Cummings Community College where she teaches Practical Sex Ed, etc. etc.

The other is to try and play it straight, and "lampshade" the ridiculous scenario you're creating. No, normally sex ed class doesn't involve live practice, that would be ridiculous! But these damn politicians are obsessed with "practical skills" education, they wrote a new law, and now we have to figure out how to comply for every class, no matter the subject!

Really fun story!

 

[NakedHumor]

I think if you start off with something completely outrageous right off the bat, the readers will catch on quick.

"All right now class, please turn to page 69 in your Joy of Sex text book and then rise and drop your trousers and underwear."

Yeah, i like the idea of hitting the ground running.

 

[Naughtylit81]

If you haven't watched them before consider finding some of the sexploitation comedies of the 1970s and 1980s to help inspire you.

Campy, porny, and humerous is oftentimes well mixed in better examples and Amazon Prime has a varied (and variable quality) selection to choose from.

Russ Meyer is a personal favorite as we have similar taste in women.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

If you haven't watched them before consider finding some of the sexploitation comedies of the 1970s and 1980s to help inspire you.

Campy, porny, and humerous is oftentimes well mixed in better examples and Amazon Prime has a varied (and variable quality) selection to choose from.

Russ Meyer is a personal favorite as we have similar taste in women.

There's an English movie from the early 70s called The Sex Thief which is campy as hell, yet hilarious and extremely well done. It's a jewel thief who breaks into houses, ravishes women and makes off with their jewels. Then because the sex was so good, the next day the woman reports the robbery and gives a completely wrong description of the thief which baffles the police. There's also a side plot of a vice cop who is secretly selling confiscated porn evidence to a reporter who then always botches the drop and loses the porn. It's stupid funny.