harman_tension
Virgin
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2026
- Posts
- 5
I'm a male who has tried to get into erotic stories, I've tried probably thirty stories and haven't liked any of them.
I've tried the classics like Anais Nin and Henry Miller. I've read contemporary stories here on Literotica, and downloaded some from Amazon.
I'm trying to think of why it is that every one of them has not enticed me at all, and I think the common theme is that they all feel distant and fake. Like yeah I know it's fiction, it's going to be fake, but ... that doesn't feel interesting or exciting.
I've also tried the subreddits for sexy confessions but they're mostly badly written fiction.
I am starting to theorize that this might be a difference between male and female readers. It's not a hard dividing line, I'm sure. There are men who like fantasy erotic writing too. But I kind of wonder if women more often like an unrealistic fantasy because the escape and the distance from real life feels better. Whereas, speaking for myself at least, the distance just feels like a more cerebral and less visceral and exciting experience.
So I'm taking another stab at asking for recommendations, this time trying to find the most realistic, naturalistic writing possible.
Things I want
* Heterosexual.
* Realistic characters making believable--if sometimes a little reckless or unwise--decisions.
I want the characters to be realistic but I don't want it to be totally boring, safe. They can have flaws, make mistakes, that actually makes them feel more real. They just shouldn't do implausible things like fall in love with a mafia guy.
* Naturalistic writing.
Set in something like the real world with human characters of approximately normal abilities, doing approximately natural things. Like, being unusually attractive and fit is great, being unusually charismatic is great. But no mind control or super strength, or whatever.
* Flirtation and excitement.
It should get sexy very fast. Not a sex scene right away, but the sexual tension and chemistry should happen in the first chapter. The characters meet, there's interest, the conversation feels heated, and you can understand a real reason why there's interest.
* Lots of detail and description.
I like to feel like I'm there as much as possible.
* Sex.
I do want sex scenes, but this is the lowest priority, because most of the fun comes from the flirtation. Especially good if it makes clear sense why these characters like each other, like you can feel the fun and the sexual chemistry. An eventual, actual sex scene is a plus but not a requirement. If there is one, it can be all the way to 100 with explicitness.
Things I don't want
* Anything unnatural.
No sci-fi, no fantasy, no supernatural, no aliens, no magic, no time-travel, no ghosts.
* Unrealistic characters, unrealistic decisions.
No billionaire in a studio on top of a sky scraper.
No psychologically normal woman falling in love with a mafia boss.
* Author tricks.
No purple prose, no metaphors in every paragraph, judicious use of adverbs and adjectives. Feeling and atmosphere should arise from describing details, actions, setting, dialogue.
I know it's hard but I prefer to avoid cliches and tropes. No "clever writing structures" like obvious cliff hangers, or an opening chapter that starts in the middle of the story in order to hook you.
* Extreme kinks.
I'm comfortable with some kinks, but definitely nothing crazy. Can be specific if anyone wants details.
Things I'm indifferent to
* Romance.
If they fall in love, fine. If it's just sex, fine. I do want the emphasis on the sexiness, thrill, so on. But if it turns into something more late in the story, that's ok but not a selling point to me.
* POV.
Doesn't matter to me if it's from the male or female perspective, either can be fun. It can be 3rd person as long as I don't strongly hear the voice of the author.
Sorry for the long and analytic description, but hopefully that narrows down what I'm looking for.
I've tried the classics like Anais Nin and Henry Miller. I've read contemporary stories here on Literotica, and downloaded some from Amazon.
I'm trying to think of why it is that every one of them has not enticed me at all, and I think the common theme is that they all feel distant and fake. Like yeah I know it's fiction, it's going to be fake, but ... that doesn't feel interesting or exciting.
I've also tried the subreddits for sexy confessions but they're mostly badly written fiction.
I am starting to theorize that this might be a difference between male and female readers. It's not a hard dividing line, I'm sure. There are men who like fantasy erotic writing too. But I kind of wonder if women more often like an unrealistic fantasy because the escape and the distance from real life feels better. Whereas, speaking for myself at least, the distance just feels like a more cerebral and less visceral and exciting experience.
So I'm taking another stab at asking for recommendations, this time trying to find the most realistic, naturalistic writing possible.
Things I want
* Heterosexual.
* Realistic characters making believable--if sometimes a little reckless or unwise--decisions.
I want the characters to be realistic but I don't want it to be totally boring, safe. They can have flaws, make mistakes, that actually makes them feel more real. They just shouldn't do implausible things like fall in love with a mafia guy.
* Naturalistic writing.
Set in something like the real world with human characters of approximately normal abilities, doing approximately natural things. Like, being unusually attractive and fit is great, being unusually charismatic is great. But no mind control or super strength, or whatever.
* Flirtation and excitement.
It should get sexy very fast. Not a sex scene right away, but the sexual tension and chemistry should happen in the first chapter. The characters meet, there's interest, the conversation feels heated, and you can understand a real reason why there's interest.
* Lots of detail and description.
I like to feel like I'm there as much as possible.
* Sex.
I do want sex scenes, but this is the lowest priority, because most of the fun comes from the flirtation. Especially good if it makes clear sense why these characters like each other, like you can feel the fun and the sexual chemistry. An eventual, actual sex scene is a plus but not a requirement. If there is one, it can be all the way to 100 with explicitness.
Things I don't want
* Anything unnatural.
No sci-fi, no fantasy, no supernatural, no aliens, no magic, no time-travel, no ghosts.
* Unrealistic characters, unrealistic decisions.
No billionaire in a studio on top of a sky scraper.
No psychologically normal woman falling in love with a mafia boss.
* Author tricks.
No purple prose, no metaphors in every paragraph, judicious use of adverbs and adjectives. Feeling and atmosphere should arise from describing details, actions, setting, dialogue.
I know it's hard but I prefer to avoid cliches and tropes. No "clever writing structures" like obvious cliff hangers, or an opening chapter that starts in the middle of the story in order to hook you.
* Extreme kinks.
I'm comfortable with some kinks, but definitely nothing crazy. Can be specific if anyone wants details.
Things I'm indifferent to
* Romance.
If they fall in love, fine. If it's just sex, fine. I do want the emphasis on the sexiness, thrill, so on. But if it turns into something more late in the story, that's ok but not a selling point to me.
* POV.
Doesn't matter to me if it's from the male or female perspective, either can be fun. It can be 3rd person as long as I don't strongly hear the voice of the author.
Sorry for the long and analytic description, but hopefully that narrows down what I'm looking for.
