Levels of Plausibility

[TheNovelist2000]

Why can Brian Griffin talk and why does everyone accept it? (Dog from Family Guy.)
Why can Stewie Griffin build time machines, converse with some people but not all, and how does he do everything he does? (Family Guy.)
Why does Kenny (South Park) die every episode and come back the next? (Took them 15 seasons, give or take, to explain that one, but everyone bought into it like it was normal before they did.)

They are supposed to be goofy. The genre itself is a goofy one. That's their whole selling point. The whole premise is that these characters are goofing around and anything can happen in their universe. I don't know if you really wanna model your erotica on them. It'd be funny if Lit added a new category called 'Goofy Erotica.'

Why was Ostermann able to put himself back together and become Dr. Manhattan and why can't the process be duplicated?

And you are citing Watchmen as your masterpiece to look up to? I threw up the first time I watched that movie. (Literally) Only pretentious snobs say they loved watching that.

 

[MrHereWriting]

They are supposed to be goofy. The genre itself is a goofy one. That's their whole selling point. The whole premise is that these characters are goofing around and anything can happen in their universe. I don't know if you really wanna model your erotica on them. It'd be funny if Lit added a new category called 'Goofy Erotica.'

So only goofy is not to be questioned?

And you are citing Watchmen as your masterpiece to look up to? I threw up the first time I watched that movie. (Literally) Only pretentious snobs say they loved watching that.

Read the Graphic Novel, I did, and I watched the movie as well, which I liked, but you're the first person to ever call/imply that I'm a pretentious snob. Looks like I'm coming up in the world.

 

[MrHereWriting]

Not afraid to quote, just pissed off with your determination to be an ass and trying very hard not to swear.

Swear away, I'd rather you swear than ASK ABOUT MY KIDS!

 

[Andreas_Kreuz]

Can we get back to plausibility? Not every story needs a lot of logical backstory being told. A guy pointing to a woman on the street and she drools and rips off her clothes off can be ok. The author shows us a world where this is possible. But once you established that possibility you should stick to it, otherwise you will confuse the reader. What I find jarring sometimes is if the author then tries to escalate beyond this and goes over the top.

 

[TheNovelist2000]

So only goofy is not to be questioned?

It is the 'whole' premise. If your premise so demanded, you be mysterious. I concede to that extent. But we are discussing erotica here, and as far as I am concerned, such a genre does not exist or even if it existed, it would be very unpopular. Can you imagine a mother exploding literally once the son cums in her? Only to be restored in the next chapter.

 

[MrHereWriting]

It is the 'whole' premise. If your premise so demanded, you be mysterious. I concede to that extent. But we are discussing erotica here, and as far as I am concerned, such a genre does not exist or even if it existed, it would be very unpopular. Can you imagine a mother exploding literally once the son cums in her? Only to be restored in the next chapter.

That's actually pretty funny.

Someone who is good at comedy could pull that off. (I said good at comedy, not someone who tries to write comedy.)

 

[MrHereWriting]

Can we get back to plausibility? Not every story needs a lot of logical backstory being told. A guy pointing to a woman on the street and she drools and rips off her clothes off can be ok. The author shows us a world where this is possible. But once you established that possibility you should stick to it, otherwise you will confuse the reader. What I find jarring sometimes is if the author then tries to escalate beyond this and goes over the top.

What makes things in a story plausible?
Did the writer write it into their story?
Does it go against the established laws of their universe, if any laws have already been established?
How many pages into a story can the implausible (according to our world, their world, or both words, as we know them) become plausible before it's just too implausible to become plausible?

Feel free to add any guidelines that make you question the plausibility of the implausible.

 

[anthrodisiac]

It is the 'whole' premise. If your premise so demanded, you be mysterious. I concede to that extent. But we are discussing erotica here, and as far as I am concerned, such a genre does not exist or even if it existed, it would be very unpopular. Can you imagine a mother exploding literally once the son cums in her? Only to be restored in the next chapter.

It says a lot about me that I both snorted and then kind of want to read that story. Your example suffers from being so ridiculous that it loops around into being interesting, but only because it clearly falls into an absurdist sex category.

But your wider point is taken. I more just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the concept of the story

 

[anthrodisiac]

What makes things in a story plausible?
Did the writer write it into their story?
Does it go against the established laws of their universe, if any laws have already been established?
How many pages into a story can the implausible (according to our world, their world, or both words, as we know them) become plausible before it's just too implausible to become plausible?

Feel free to add any guidelines that make you question the plausibility of the implausible.

Plausibility can come from a few things. The three bigs ones are:

• In-universe logic. If you're writing a grounded modern story with no special technology or magic, you probably shouldn't have FTL, teleportation, or high magic. Inclusion of those elements requires the story be set in a universe where such things are possible. Clearly impossible physics, technology, or magics in worlds that do not support them undercut the plausibility of a story.
• Character motivation: When a character is established, are their actions consistent? Someone who is sexually repressed, chaste, faithful, God-fearing man will not randomly blow a hot dude in the street based on the little information provided. If he were to do such a thing, then the writer should provide justifications as to why someone would go against what appears to be their nature. This is assuming the character has only been portrayed as those things prior to the act. It's not to say someone who presents that way can't randomly blow the hot dude in front of everyone, but the internal motivations need to be explained when the actions go against how the character is portrayed.
• Societal Expectations: When breaking massive social taboos, it's best to have some basis, however flimsy, as to why characters are willing to engage in what is considered a massive social no-no. Incest is the biggest one. A mom and son, with no information, causually engaging in sex without any further context strains plausibility because society has labeled such relationships taboo and immoral, as well as illegal. So if they are going to go against what they've been told their whole lives, and risk legal consequences, then having some basis for why they decided to engage in this action helps to prevent this action from being jarring and apparently implausible.

That said, you don't NEED to have these things. Readers have different tolerances for narrative and character plausibility, and will usually be more forgiving of a flimsier rationale if the story is directly addressing one or more of their kinks. It's not a requirement to assuage a reader's sense of plausibility when writing.

There are general guidelines about plausibility, but no hard rules around this (it's writing after all, there are very few hard rules). If one wanted to establish plausibility, then the two big ones are making sure you're staying within in-universe logic (larger world physics) and character motivations. Character motivations can be used to explain any actions that can appear to not make sense on their face, because someone is acting on some impulse that is greater than the risks of the actions they take.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

You don't have to explain or imply a reason until your character does something unexpected. You don't have to explain why people walk upright in your story or why they need to breathe air. But if they are walking upside down, there better be an explanation or implication. Or else it's gonna turn off the reader. And the narrator does not have to explain explicitly for something unusual to be acknowledged. It could just be through the characters' dialogue or their behavior. Let's say the premise is sex between a mom and her son. Even if the son doesn't talk or the narrator doesn't give the background info, his face flushing when he sees the mom in her panties alone can be a justification for their impending sex. But a son going up to his mom and causally fucking her and her fucking back isn't gonna sell the story.

In regular storytelling you are absolutely correct, but we are talking about fantasy porn. Fantasy is full of not just the implausible, but the impossible. That's why it's fantasy. So if you are writing a kinky stroke sheet, all that you have to do is match the reader's fantasy. You don't need a reason. Storytelling isn't really that important in kink stroke.

I see it in chat from time to time. Some "girl" will enter the room and spout off the most ridiculous kinky slutty thing that is so obviously phony, like no exaggeration it will be something like, "hey guys, im a 22 year old blonde with 36DDD tits and I just love sucking cock for old men with beer guts" and half the guys in the room will say "WOW! niceeee! tell me more!!!" That's all you have to do to write a stroke sheet. Just give them their kink. Go straight for it.

 

[TheNovelist2000]

It says a lot about me that I both snorted and then kind of want to read that story. Your example suffers from being so ridiculous that it loops around into being interesting, but only because it clearly falls into an absurdist sex category.

But your wider point is taken. I more just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the concept of the story

I can think of someone writing a dark, dystopian version on Lit. A son acquires a magical healing power (as in the anime 'Redo of Healer') that can restore health and bodies. He uses it to torment his own mother. She is broken down literally and then built back up for more suffering. But I don't have the stomach for gore.

 

[TheNovelist2000]

That's why it's fantasy. So if you are writing a kinky stroke sheet, all that you have to do is match the reader's fantasy. You don't need a reason. Storytelling isn't really that important in kink stroke.

That would make writing a lot easier for me. I ponder for days (sometimes weeks) to bring my characters to do the kinky things I want them to do. And many premises are let go because I can't possibly think of a practical way to bring them to light.

 

[TheNovelist2000]

Plausibility can come from a few things. The three bigs ones are:

• In-universe logic. If you're writing a grounded modern story with no special technology or magic, you probably shouldn't have FTL, teleportation, or high magic. Inclusion of those elements requires the story be set in a universe where such things are possible. Clearly impossible physics, technology, or magics in worlds that do not support them undercut the plausibility of a story.
• Character motivation: When a character is established, are their actions consistent? Someone who is sexually repressed, chaste, faithful, God-fearing man will not randomly blow a hot dude in the street based on the little information provided. If he were to do such a thing, then the writer should provide justifications as to why someone would go against what appears to be their nature. This is assuming the character has only been portrayed as those things prior to the act. It's not to say someone who presents that way can't randomly blow the hot dude in front of everyone, but the internal motivations need to be explained when the actions go against how the character is portrayed.
• Societal Expectations: When breaking massive social taboos, it's best to have some basis, however flimsy, as to why characters are willing to engage in what is considered a massive social no-no. Incest is the biggest one. A mom and son, with no information, causually engaging in sex without any further context strains plausibility because society has labeled such relationships taboo and immoral, as well as illegal. So if they are going to go against what they've been told their whole lives, and risk legal consequences, then having some basis for why they decided to engage in this action helps to prevent this action from being jarring and apparently implausible.

That said, you don't NEED to have these things. Readers have different tolerances for narrative and character plausibility, and will usually be more forgiving of a flimsier rationale if the story is directly addressing one or more of their kinks. It's not a requirement to assuage a reader's sense of plausibility when writing.

There are general guidelines about plausibility, but no hard rules around this (it's writing after all, there are very few hard rules). If one wanted to establish plausibility, then the two big ones are making sure you're staying within in-universe logic (larger world physics) and character motivations. Character motivations can be used to explain any actions that can appear to not make sense on their face, because someone is acting on some impulse that is greater than the risks of the actions they take.

I agree. Everything you said makes sense.

 

[anthrodisiac]

That would make writing a lot easier for me. I ponder for days (sometimes weeks) to bring my characters to do the kinky things I want them to do. And many premises are let go because I can't possibly think of a practical way to bring them to light.

You don't have to try to force what you would consider to be an unbelievable situation. In fact, it sounds like it's actually more difficult for you to go bare-bones kink stroker where the character motivations and situational logic are fairly minimal.* If you struggle with it, I don't see why you should try to force yourself to write something that feels unnatural.

But if you want to give it a shot, come up with a kinky situation that you find appealing and write the sex scene. This might be a good approach:

1. Come up with your preferred kink.
2. Come up with the characters involved. Write very simple descriptions of them in an outline.
3. Come up with the situation that houses the sexual acts. What are they doing when they have sex? Where are they?
4. Remember that the sex IS the plot. So the sex acts are themselves the plot beats. What acts do you want they to engage in? Do you start with oral? Touch? What's the foreplay? Is there any foreplay, or do they jump straight into boinking?
5. When you go to write the story, write nothing but the sex scene at first. Don't bother with prelude, don't bother with epilogue. Simply write from the first initial action that kicks off the scene. Focus on the details, the dialogue, the interaction, and the action. Write it like you would any sex scene, just you don't have any of the additional scaffolding around it like you do in your stories. Primarily focus on the actions and sensations of the characters. Avoid dipping too much into their thoughts. It should be more like a screenplay: think stage direction and dialogue, with the additional furnishing of the physical sensations to give it that written-erotica magic.
6. Once you finish writing the sex, add a bit of prelude and a bit of epilogue to around it out.

If you keep the focus on the actions and surface-level details you just need to focus on what they're feeling, not why they're feeling it. Don't bother explaining why these people are doing what they're doing, just have enough lead-in to set the scene and nothing else. Bare-bones is what you should aim form.

Once you do that, see how you feel about it. Was it harder than your normal work? And most importantly, did you enjoy writing it? You can have written an amazing stroker, but if you hated every second of it, it's not worth putting yourself through that to write a story without the elements that you like to include, but it is a good exercise in pushing the boundaries of what you normally write. Writing is a craft of exploration, trying new things, so give it a shot! Who knows, maybe you find you have a knack for it and shift to writing more? Only one way to find out

*Once again, nothing wrong with bare-bones kinkfest.

 

[TheNovelist2000]

You don't have to try to force what you would consider to be an unbelievable situation. In fact, it sounds like it's actually more difficult for you to go bare-bones kink stroker where the character motivations and situational logic are fairly minimal.* If you struggle with it, I don't see why you should try to force yourself to write something that feels unnatural.

But if you want to give it a shot, come up with a kinky situation that you find appealing and write the sex scene. This might be a good approach:

1. Come up with your preferred kink.
2. Come up with the characters involved. Write very simple descriptions of them in an outline.
3. Come up with the situation that houses the sexual acts. What are they doing when they have sex? Where are they?
4. Remember that the sex IS the plot. So the sex acts are themselves the plot beats. What acts do you want they to engage in? Do you start with oral? Touch? What's the foreplay? Is there any foreplay, or do they jump straight into boinking?
5. When you go to write the story, write nothing but the sex scene at first. Don't bother with prelude, don't bother with epilogue. Simply write from the first initial action that kicks off the scene. Focus on the details, the dialogue, the interaction, and the action. Write it like you would any sex scene, just you don't have any of the additional scaffolding around it like you do in your stories. Primarily focus on the actions and sensations of the characters. Avoid dipping too much into their thoughts. It should be more like a screenplay: think stage direction and dialogue, with the additional furnishing of the physical sensations to give it that written-erotica magic.
6. Once you finish writing the sex, add a bit of prelude and a bit of epilogue to around it out.

If you keep the focus on the actions and surface-level details you just need to focus on what they're feeling, not why they're feeling it. Don't bother explaining why these people are doing what they're doing, just have enough lead-in to set the scene and nothing else. Bare-bones is what you should aim form.

Once you do that, see how you feel about it. Was it harder than your normal work? And most importantly, did you enjoy writing it? You can have written an amazing stroker, but if you hated every second of it, it's not worth putting yourself through that to write a story without the elements that you like to include, but it is a good exercise in pushing the boundaries of what you normally write. Writing is a craft of exploration, trying new things, so give it a shot! Who knows, maybe you find you have a knack for it and shift to writing more? Only one way to find out

*Once again, nothing wrong with bare-bones kinkfest.

This sounds like a good exercise to test out. If this works, this could help me write strokers faster. Thank you!

 

[anthrodisiac]

This sounds like a good exercise to test out. If this works, this could help me write strokers faster. Thank you!

Let us know how it turns out

 

[AG31]

Do you or do you not put effort into making your stories grounded in some kind of logic? I dare you to write a story where one of the characters suddenly starts flying like an angel mid-sex for no fucking reason, and no one in the story reacts to it. Wouldn’t that break the illusion of the story and, as a result, reduce the reader’s arousal?

You don't have to explain or imply a reason until your character does something unexpected. You don't have to explain why people walk upright in your story or why they need to breathe air. But if they are walking upside down, there better be an explanation or implication.

In regular storytelling you are absolutely correct, but we are talking about fantasy porn. Fantasy is full of not just the implausible, but the impossible. That's why it's fantasy. So if you are writing a kinky stroke sheet, all that you have to do is match the reader's fantasy. You don't need a reason. Storytelling isn't really that important in kink stroke.

I've tried to imagine a fantasy where something completely implausible (in the world of the fantasy) happens and it's OK. The important point is "in the world of the fantasy." I'm a proponent of relying strictly on the fantasy, but I just haven't been able to come up with an example of what you're talking about. Can you give us an example? Woman flinging off her clothes with no explanation doesn't qualify. Obviously, you don't need explanations in fantasies.

 

[SimonDoom]

I've tried to imagine a fantasy where something completely implausible (in the world of the fantasy) happens and it's OK. The important point is "in the world of the fantasy." I'm a proponent of relying strictly on the fantasy, but I just haven't been able to come up with an example of what you're talking about. Can you give us an example? Woman flinging off her clothes with no explanation doesn't qualify. Obviously, you don't need explanations in fantasies.

Kafka's Metamorphosis. Gregor Samsa wakes up one day and he's a giant insect. It makes no sense whatsoever. That's the point of the story. It works because it's absurd.

A difficulty of this thread, I think, is that some people are looking for generally applicable working principles for plausibility, and there are none. It all depends on the story and its purposes. The general concept of "verisimilitude" is, for me, an important principle for a successful story and my ability to enjoy it, but how I apply that principle varies wildly from story to story.

 

[AG31]

Kafka's Metamorphosis. Gregor Samsa wakes up one day and he's a giant insect. It makes no sense whatsoever. That's the point of the story. It works because it's absurd.

Interesting. Gotta think about this.

A difficulty of this thread, I think, is that some people are looking for generally applicable working principles for plausibility, and there are none. It all depends on the story and its purposes. The general concept of "verisimilitude" is, for me, an important principle for a successful story and my ability to enjoy it, but how I apply that principle varies wildly from story to story.

True

 

[Demiurging]

If I'm watching a video, I expect there to be a story. I'm more than likely going to ignore it and skip right to the good bit, but I expect it to be there (even if the story is "we're amateurs and we've decided to fuck").

If I'm sitting down to read, I have trouble getting into it if the story just "skips to the good part" without getting me into the world. If I wanted that, I'd watch something. It can be a ridiculously flimsy setup, and I'll meet the author halfway, but it is something I expect. It's so, so much hotter to me if characters aren't immediately on the fuck wavelength and there's some tension.

 

[TheNovelist2000]

It can be a ridiculously flimsy setup, and I'll meet the author halfway, but it is something I expect.

Exactly!

 

[Britva415]

I wrote a series in which something absolutely magical happens and changes a guy's life, and I lifted no fingers whatsoever to "explain" how/ why such thing is possible or plausible.

Though, in hindsight, I suppose the scene where he trips balls before it's clear that there's anything magical happening could be taken as a "well, there you go, someone spiked his drink at that rave."

If one must.

I would hope it's not necessary for anyone who saw the title and clicked. You're either on board or you aren't. Nobody has commented "fuckin' magic bullshit, genies aren't real asshole."

Sometimes you really can write something weird and allow it to just be taken for granted.

And, sure, I suppose it does wind up creating an idealization. The premise is "what if a fifty year old guy were physically made twenty again." The life experience and mental maturity is kind of a super power in a babyface body.

 

[Andreas_Kreuz]

I think it very much depends on the reader. There are those who read what is there and enjoy when it is erotic, funny, whatever.
Then there are the others who immediately start building a logic system in their head that tries to connect the dots in a coherent way.