WHAT PLOT?

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Ah! Well, welcome back. And I'm so glad you enjoyed me on "Designing Women". LOL

 

[Laurel]

I hesitate to say this, but I'm aiming for the 'Roald Dahl-Switch Bitch' mould.

Try "Fair Game" by Ludo. It sounds like something you might like. And "Switch Bitch" is brilliant.... have you read any of Dahl's short stories? There's a collection out that's incredible - can't remember the title offhand.

 

[Guest]

erotic literature can even be literary?

I totally agree with Roger Simian's post: plot is not the
only, or even a necessary, criterion for good writing. It's
convenient, I suppose, to make the "plot versus no plot"
distinction, but a story can be interesting, engrossing,
and memorable without having a strong plot.

Having said that, I think plot is pretty much the norm for
novels/novellas (with James Joyce's Ulysses being an
exception to the rule) and likewise for feature films. But
short stories and short films are a different kettle of
fish. I've read non-erotic short prose which does all
manner of diverse things: it might try to portray a certain
atmosphere, or the mood of a character, or it might be
clever, or funny, or confronting, or invoke your sympathy,
or convey a deeper message. And it might achieve this in
various inventive ways that depart from the conventional
plot-driven formula.

I don't see any reason why erotic short fiction can't be
like this too. I think a story could be thought-provoking
and erotic at the same time. Indeed, since sex and related
topics are quite fundamental in our psyche and our culture,
there are a multitude of subjects accessable through sex:
erotic fiction can explore love, power, ethics, customs,
identity, and so on. I'm sorry if this scares anyone! But
seriously, I think it's impossible to use your brain to
_read_ erotic prose without _thinking_ at the same time.

I wish I could give examples, but I'm new to literotica.com.
The only story that comes to my mind is one called "The
Spanish Maid" by Nicole Winters that I read somewhere else
(and wish that I could find again). I was touched by the
way it portrayed the loneliness of the main character, a
middle-aged widow. And the slightly fragmented, slightly
surreal timbre of writing (first person perspective)
contributed to this mood.

That's my 2 cents. Todd <tmo@lucidcalm.dropbear.id.au>

 

[Jenne64]

Erotic stories for me anyway are always better when they have a plot or at the very least a main character I either love or hate by the middle of the story.
The trick with writing good erotica in my opinion is to pace the story well. Mingle the characters, sex, plot and use each element to advance the story another notch whilst keeping the readers interested.
I'm lets be honest here if we submitted a lot of the stories that appear on this site to say black lace they would laugh us out of sight. That's not meant to be a slight on any ones writing by the way, horses for courses as they say. Their will always be the reader that just wants to jack off to an image we create and there wil alwys be the people and authors that enjoy creating characters, plots and good sex scenes. I write both epics and quickies depending on what comes into my head when I write. Both have a place and neither should be underestimated.
Just my humble opinion as usual.
Jenne64
Ducking as the missles are thrown across the atlantic once more-)

 

[GuyJD]

AND THE WINNER IS.................

JENN.......You are so right. I always take pride in all that I write, be it poetry or erotic stories. Therefore, I will not submit a story that has no plot. I mean let's face it, one day there may actually be a Nobel Prize for Erotic Story writing........LOL

 

[poohlive]

Good job Guy, way to go on finding out what writing is all about. Hey, just remember, this is supposed to be fun, so HAVE FUN!!! lol