Too good for porn?

[yui]

Did you ever wonder why more great authors didn't write porn?

Do you ever wonder if you would know if they did?

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Do you ever wonder if you would know if they did?

I think we'd know. We know about Anne Rice and Annais Nin. Gregory Corso wrote porn in Paris for a while, but I've never seen any of it. Henry Miller probably would have advertised it. He certainly wouldn't have been afraid of it. D.H. Lawrence was pretty pornographic in his day, but he had that weird things for men wrestling with each other all the time.

No, I think porn isn't interesting enough for most authors. Porn doesn't work on that part of the body above the waist.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Do you ever wonder if you would know if they did?

Richard Burton- he of a Thousand and One Arabian Nights- probably wrote some very explicit work. We all know"Alladdin" and "Ali Baba" but some of the "Nights" are mighty salty indeed!

he had a trunk full of papers, and gave instructions in his will that they go to his publisher after his death. But his widow burned them instead, to protect his good name...

thanks, bitch.

 

[yui]

No, I think porn isn't interesting enough for most authors. Porn doesn't work on that part of the body above the waist.

I dunno, Doc, that gets into semantics and a workable definition of porn. I think, too, that the best and brightest throughout history have thought with the part of the body below the waist at one time or another, eh?

Richard Burton- he of a Thousand and One Arabian Nights- probably wrote some very explicit work. We all know"Alladdin" and "Ali Baba" but some of the "Nights" are mighty salty indeed!

he had a trunk full of papers, and gave instructions in his will that they go to his publisher after his death. But his widow burned them instead, to protect his good name...

thanks, bitch.

Agreed. The bitch. All that wasted effort.

 

[Varian P]

VARIAN!



Damn, it's good to see you.

It's damn good to see you, too, my dear Shanglan.

 

[Halo_n_horns]

Have you ever started on a bit of smut writing, and decided that it would be better as a "proper" story?

My Legacy of Judas story started as something much more simplistic. Something that was sort of like porn and a legitimate short story. Then it grew and now there are three small novels with a shitload of spin-off material that I have to write.

 

[elsol]

*shrug*

I always thought of porn as a exercise in learning how to write... it gives me an audience, feedback... certainly better practice than collecting rejection slips.

I plan to write the porn stories I have in mind and move on... but at this stage, I still construct stories as if I'm writing for a porn audience.

Sex... sex... a little erotica... more sex...

Somewhere in there is a story for the ones that respect me enough to pay attention.

Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[Varian P]

I think porn isn't interesting enough for most authors. Porn doesn't work on that part of the body above the waist.

Hmmm, my skeptometer is twitching (whether my skeptometer is above or below my waist, I leave to your imagination).

I confess I sometimes catch myself an hour or more into writing some scene with little more to it than two or three people writhing and poking and stroking, and accuse myself of writing something with as much artistic merit as a snapshot of a Hawaii sunset, but I don't think that's always all there is to pornographic literature.

Beyond the description of bodies and the friction between them, there's psychology and sociology and culture--the things which have occupied authors (and scholars) for centuries. I suspect that many of the "great" authors who plunged into romantic, murderous, and other passions, closed bedroom doors and faded to black out of fear of blatant censorship, loss of reputation, or because they themselves fretted that such matters were unworthy of literary exploration (while they might dwell for whole chapters on hunger, murder, disease, and other lower-brain phenomena).

Personally, much as I like reading porny lit, if there's not something beyond the physical interaction, I'm unlikely to be able to make it through a single L.com page. And, much as I like writing porny lit, if I spend more than a day writing the thing, there's a lot more going on than a bit of shagging.

 

[NoJo]

*shrug*

I always thought of porn as a exercise in learning how to write... it gives me an audience, feedback... certainly better practice than collecting rejection slips.

I plan to write the porn stories I have in mind and move on... but at this stage, I still construct stories as if I'm writing for a porn audience.

Sex... sex... a little erotica... more sex...

Somewhere in there is a story for the ones that respect me enough to pay attention.

Sincerely,
ElSol

That's pretty much how it was with me. The feedback was invaluable. Coping with harsh or even offensive criticism is a vital skill for any aspiring writer.

I found out from what I've written so far that I have no flair for porn stories, but I can do humour.

I had to put writing on the back-burner up till a couple of weeks ago, because I didn't have any spare time (or money -- two years ago I used up all my savings writing and trying to sell a screenplay).

But I've definitely caught the bug. Right now I'm redrafting a thriller, which originally was full of redundant sex ("redundant" because the sex isn't dictated by the plot -- in thrillers, the plot IS the story ).

I'm also not a natural "tale-teller" (I've met people who are: They have a knack for seeing some kind of narrative force in what I see as a meaningless and meandering sequence of episodes).

---------------------------

"Write what you know", they say. Well I know a little bit about sex, but I can't claim to have any particular expertise in it.

Anyway sex stories are like food stories. They'll never satisfy you like the real thing.

---------------------------

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I dunno, Doc, that gets into semantics and a workable definition of porn. I think, too, that the best and brightest throughout history have thought with the part of the body below the waist at one time or another, eh?

My definition of porn is literature that's specifically designed to cause sexual arousal.

Erotica is literature that explores the human experience of sex and sexuality.

(Those are my definitions and the dictionary doesn't agree, so don't bombard me with googled definitions.)

Of course they overlap, but you can usually tell when an author's trying to do one or the other, and most of the quality authors I've seen write erotica when it comes to sex.

I still love good porn, but I don't seem to be able to write the pure stuff anymore, not like I used to. I find my characters more interesting than their organs, and I get all involved in the realtionship between them. Some of my sex scenes are starting to feel gratuitous to me.

 

[impressive]

My definition of porn is literature that's specifically designed to cause sexual arousal.

Erotica is literature that explores the human experience of sex and sexuality.

(Those are my definitions and the dictionary doesn't agree, so don't bombard me with googled definitions.)

I like your definitions & vote we start a revolution to have them formally adopted.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I like your definitions & vote we start a revolution to have them formally adopted.

I want ten per cent of the gross and film rights.

--Zoot

 

[impressive]

I want ten per cent of the gross and film rights.

--Zoot

You can have it all. I'm not fiscally motivated.


So, by your definitions, there is no possibility of something being "too good for porn" because that very goodness would automatically remove it from the porn category to the erotica (or *gasp* just plain fiction) column.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

You can have it all. I'm not fiscally motivated.


So, by your definitions, there is no possibility of something being "too good for porn" because that very goodness would automatically remove it from the porn category to the erotica (or *gasp* just plain fiction) column.

*L* I don't know. I suppose if porn is literature intended to sexually arouse, than the test of how good it is would be how aroused it got you. I suppose the classics--the really good stuff--would make you come in your pants and make you want to cuddle with the book afterwards.

I like to think that good erotica leaves you with a better appreciation of sex, like good literature leaves you with a better appreciation of life.

But I'm not sure. Erotica has to engage your emotions too. I'm not sure how I'd describe the emotions it engages, though. Romance? Curiosity?

 

[rgraham666]

Richard Burton- he of a Thousand and One Arabian Nights- probably wrote some very explicit work. We all know"Alladdin" and "Ali Baba" but some of the "Nights" are mighty salty indeed!

he had a trunk full of papers, and gave instructions in his will that they go to his publisher after his death. But his widow burned them instead, to protect his good name...

thanks, bitch.

Although it's listed as written by 'Anonymous' the book A Night in a Moorish Harem is, I understand, a work by Burton.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

Porn has its uses. However, lately, I find less sex (though still plenty of it, thankfully) in my stories and more of other themes (especially Sci-fi). I could be just branching out. Sex has a place, as does the imagination.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

I don't think I have it in me to write porn anymore.

 

[Guest]

Did you ever wonder why more great authors didn't write porn?
...
No, I think porn isn't interesting enough for most authors. Porn doesn't work on that part of the body above the waist.
...
I find my characters more interesting than their organs,

Mab., you’ve answered your original question (I’ll presume you know that .)

I only read porn/erotica for sexual stimulation (or unless I know the author). Probably 90% of my reading is for “the pleasure of the text” (or to learn what it means to be human). That’s why I read and/or reread Shakespeare, long Russian novels, one American writer, several Irish authors, poetry, history, criticism of all sorts, etc. 5% of my reading is for fun (besides the porn - mysteries, good trash, news). (And by ‘pleasure of the text’ I mean those classics that truly make me “want to cuddle with the book afterwards”; after the reading, not the frigging ).

I’m sure my fave authors could have written great porn—perhaps did and we don’t know about it—but given what I know of their minds (by their writing and other sources) I am not at all surprised that they spent most of their time on more interesting subjects than fucking.

Perdita

 

[Quiet_Cool]

*shrug*

I always thought of porn as a exercise in learning how to write... it gives me an audience, feedback... certainly better practice than collecting rejection slips.

I plan to write the porn stories I have in mind and move on... but at this stage, I still construct stories as if I'm writing for a porn audience.

Sex... sex... a little erotica... more sex...

Somewhere in there is a story for the ones that respect me enough to pay attention.

Sincerely,
ElSol

You've been reading my mind lately it seems. Good answer. And it pretty much sums up my own feelings.

Save for the fact that I seem to be building many stories in my head with erotic content that I feel are still real stories. In my definition (my current one, anyway) it isn't porn because it isn't about the sex, merely has sex within.

Just thinking outloud again.

Q_C

 

[drksideofthemoon]

In Response to the Original Question

My series, Montana Summer basically started as sex with some story in it, and it has evolved into a story with some sex in it...I think I could write it now with no sex and people would still read it.

Brian
drksideofthemoon

 

[amuse bouche]

Although I rarely write either these days, I have written porn and I've written erotica; although one can blend the two, the genres (to my mind at least) tend to be distinct.

Insofar as my "normal" writing, I have incorporated sly elements of erotica, particularly subtle mind control, but it is feather-painted as opposed to brush-stroked.

To be honest, in-ya-face porn holds no great appeal for me these days, either as a writer or a reader.

 

[yui]

(Those are my definitions and the dictionary doesn't agree, so don't bombard me with googled definitions.)

Yes, Sir! Thank you! May I have another!

Of course they overlap, but you can usually tell when an author's trying to do one or the other, and most of the quality authors I've seen write erotica when it comes to sex.

I still love good porn, but I don't seem to be able to write the pure stuff anymore, not like I used to. I find my characters more interesting than their organs, and I get all involved in the realtionship between them. Some of my sex scenes are starting to feel gratuitous to me.

I suppose, mentally, I don't really know how to separate the emotion from the sex. It's a flaw.