Story or sex?

[TarnishedPenny]

Hard to say. There has to be a build-up and there should be an "aftermath" too. Every last word adds to the sizzle? Maybe, maybe not. Ecstasy? Sometimes, as in real life, one or both people think in the aftermath, "What the hell have I just done?" Usually, in a stand-alone story, they've resolved that issue by the end (or appear to be resolving it). In one story I had, it's a complete disaster for one of the characters. Often, in a series, everything is going fine until there is a sudden break-up at the end. That's like real life too in any time after about 1965 or so.

If I may be permitted an analogy, one of the sexiest photos I can recall was a 1950s or 60s shot of Sophia Loren sitting quite demurely on a bar stool, wearing a very pretty but hardly revealing dress. Legs crossed, a sultry smile on her face, it was exactly the opposite of smutty and yet more erotic than any hard-core porn, courtesy of a talented photographer and an exceptionally lovely, talented lady. I only regret that I cannot find a copy now. Similarly, IMHO, a properly-written erotic tale is erotic from beginning to end, with the first sentence grabbing the reader’s libido and holding it until the end.

YMMV, of course, and I will admit up-front that I’m not that good.

 

[ElectricBlue]

YMMV, of course, and I will admit up-front that I’m not that good.

You might get some debate on that, TP. Just saying .

 

[Seadog777]

I write what I see him my head.
Whether that's a prolonged sex scene or not.
Whether that 10K words or less.
There is no "right or wrong" or some "formula" to write a story that is in your head and using your words.

 

[Lifestyle66]

I once asked and author here to review one of my (approx 10K) stories. The lengthy feedback I received started with complaints of the characters and why they would behave that way, AND why I even bothered including the first half of the story (no sex at all in that first half), as it wasn't related to the second half. (It was actually the setup for how they were invited to this impromptu house party.)

Then the critique went on saying how my writing is merely like mashing a Barbie and Ken doll together at the waist.

Well, if I eliminated the first half of that story, the complaint of mashing dolls together was all that's left!

I had one comment on my latest LW story which says: "... this made no sense that these two would care so little about each other." And I took great pains in that story having the wife say she was willing to stop their swinger activity if the husband was at all jealous, and the husband saying he was pleased as long as she's having fun!

So, people will find what they want to find in your stories and ignore the rest, regardless of how much thought you put into it. And many of them will 1-bomb your stories merely because they can.

 

[NoTalentHack]

It really, really depends on both the story and the category. In LW, you can get away, easily, with nothing more than a passing reference to sex; in something like Fetish or EC, there better be a substantial part of the text dedicated to it.

 

[NoTalentHack]

I once asked and author here to review one of my (approx 10K) stories. The lengthy feedback I received started with complaints of the characters and why they would behave that way, AND why I even bothered including the first half of the story (no sex at all in that first half), as it wasn't related to the second half. (It was actually the setup for how they were invited to this impromptu house party.)

Then the critique went on saying how my writing is merely like mashing a Barbie and Ken doll together at the waist.

Well, if I eliminated the first half of that story, the complaint of mashing dolls together was all that's left!

I had one comment on my latest LW story which says: "... this made no sense that these two would care so little about each other." And I took great pains in that story having the wife say she was willing to stop their swinger activity if the husband was at all jealous, and the husband saying he was pleased as long as she's having fun!

The only thing I’d say to that is that, even if you say it, especially as a sort of a small nod to either the wife or the audience, it doesn’t always come through. That’s not about your writing in particular, mind; a lot of readers, especially in LW or the Anon that come from there, just don’t “get” swapping or swinging and have their own hangups that are telling them “he’s only going along with it because he doesn’t want to get divorced, it’s not REALLY what he wants.” But there’s not much you can do about that without going into a psychological deep dive, and that, too, can detract from the story.

 

[gunhilltrain]

If I may be permitted an analogy, one of the sexiest photos I can recall was a 1950s or 60s shot of Sophia Loren sitting quite demurely on a bar stool, wearing a very pretty but hardly revealing dress. Legs crossed, a sultry smile on her face, it was exactly the opposite of smutty and yet more erotic than any hard-core porn, courtesy of a talented photographer and an exceptionally lovely, talented lady. I only regret that I cannot find a copy now. Similarly, IMHO, a properly-written erotic tale is erotic from beginning to end, with the first sentence grabbing the reader’s libido and holding it until the end.

YMMV, of course, and I will admit up-front that I’m not that good.

I do like this photo of Loren with Jayne Mansfield. Interpretations?

https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?url=https://static.onecms.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/09/mansfield_0.jpg&q=60

Of course, at 88 Loren doesn't look like that any longer, just as I at nearly 68 don't look like whatever I did either. But as Marilyn Monroe sang:

"With stiff back or stiff knees, you stand straight at Tiffany's."

 

[Voboy]

Interpretations?

Sophia is being judgey. She does not approve of Jayne's clothing choice, especially since Sophia was the guest of honor.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Sophia is being judgey. She does not approve of Jayne's clothing choice, especially since Sophia was the guest of honor.

Loren admitted that was true. I got a free article past the Vanity Fair paywall.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywoo...d-infamous-sophia-loren-jayne-mansfield-photo

I looked again, and Mansfield's nipples are definitely visible.

 

[ronde]

It depends upon the readers you're trying to attract. Some like just a hint of the characters and the setting before getting down to the wet, sticky details. Those stories tend to read like a porn film. Others like a story with good character definition and enough of a plot they can "see" the characters, scene, and situation in their imagination, and then some sex that is believable given the characters and the situation.

There is certainly a group of readers for both, so I guess it mainly depends upon what you like to write as well. I prefer to write the latter though I can sometimes get carried away with the sex.

 

[nice90sguy]

^^^ If you haven't read ronde's stuff here, you should.

 

[FifthEstate]

^^^ If you haven't read ronde's stuff here, you should.

I just looked at Ronde’s story page, it looks like a frickin Christmas tree with all the red, blue, green, and yellow designations! Not sure I’ve seen many authors who basically took 20 years off between early work and an active 2023. Welcome back!