What's your opinion on slow burn stories?

[AG31]

I'm fourteen thousand words into my story and am only just starting to write physical intimacy between the characters. So far, I've written about a guy's massive school crush. I expect to write at least six thousand more words before finishing it off with a sex scene. The story naturally picks up the pace from here with lots of intimacy while not feeling forced or rushed.

There isn't much of a plot. It almost exclusively revolves around the two characters and how their relationship evolves. I'm trying to thoroughly describe all of their thoughts, feelings, and actions while keeping it relevant to where the story is headed.

What do you guys feel about slow-burns like this? How do you find the balance between build-up and an engaging story?

My personal opinion is that if I'm looking for erotica, I don't want to wait for the sex. But if I'm reading a book from the library, the slow burn is just fine.

 

[Levorotatory]

Slow burn stories can do well if they are well written. A series I am following starts with an author's note saying "Although it's published in the First Time category, there will be no actual PIV sex until future chapters, as the characters are building towards losing virginity in what I'm hoping comes across as a realistic way." That statement held for multiple chapters totalling over 100k words, all of which are have ratings of 4.7 or higher.

 

[redgarters]

If I see a story is over two pages, I don't even begin to read it.

I generally don't read many stories under two pages

What do you guys feel about slow-burns like this? How do you find the balance between build-up and an engaging story?

I only write slow burns these days because I find them more interesting to both read and to write. To me, the challenge is to make the whole story be engaging and thus creating a build up and emotional connection between the MC's. The sex bits aren't the goal in my slow burn stories, I approach it more as a storytelling tool - I want it to tell the reader something about the characters and their relationship, their connection.

Slow burns fare differently in different categories probably. I mainly write in Lesbian sex, where if you take a look at the all time Hall of Fame you will find most of the top rated stories are slow burn romances.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Reader's Digest versions.

 

[Gamblnluck]

I'm fourteen thousand words into my story and am only just starting to write physical intimacy between the characters. So far, I've written about a guy's massive school crush. I expect to write at least six thousand more words before finishing it off with a sex scene. The story naturally picks up the pace from here with lots of intimacy while not feeling forced or rushed.

There isn't much of a plot. It almost exclusively revolves around the two characters and how their relationship evolves. I'm trying to thoroughly describe all of their thoughts, feelings, and actions while keeping it relevant to where the story is headed.

What do you guys feel about slow-burns like this? How do you find the balance between build-up and an engaging story?

There is a difference between 'slow-burn' and nothing to keep the reader's interest. It has nothing to do with getting to the 'erotic part'.
You need to set the hook early. And then avoid a long backstory of how he got there, giving characters description and all that. You can incorporate backstory and histories (if necessary to the story at hand) into the story as you proceed. Often how the couple met and what they did and how they got along with the inlaws are irrelevant and bore the Hell out of the reader. They brush over most of it but may come back if something is said later they need to review.
But one thing you said: there isn't much of a plot. So where is the story? Just a couple meet, have feelings and then sex. That is not (to me) an engaging story.

 

[THBGato]

Love them. Especially these ones.

They work especially well for queer awakening stories: after all, in those the previously straight person has to first realise what they are feeling and then summon up the guts to overcome their social conditioning in order to do something about it. Makes sense that it would be a slow process.

 

[Britva415]

Fourteen thousand words with little to no plot but lots of hemming and hawing sounds like Sorrows of the Young Werther to me and therefore a complete waste of time.

I agree - burning is something happening. Without any plot, there can't be any burn - slow or otherwise.

 

[orangecurious]

write it
write what you want

 

[Rob_Royale]

As long as the story is engaging and interesting, I'm very cool with it.

 

[MtrFmd]

I love slow burn if the story ultimately addresses my specific kink. Then I think it's often well-invested time which will create a much deeper experience.

However, if it ends up at something I'm actually not into, it feels like a frustrating waste of time. Therefore, I pay a lot of attention to the categories/tags but I often find them insufficient to assess what to expect.

Some people add author notes with more information at the beginning and I plan to do that for my first own story as well. This can be very helpful to manage expectations.

 

[DeMont]

I'm fourteen thousand words into my story and am only just starting to write physical intimacy between the characters. So far, I've written about a guy's massive school crush. I expect to write at least six thousand more words before finishing it off with a sex scene. The story naturally picks up the pace from here with lots of intimacy while not feeling forced or rushed.

There isn't much of a plot. It almost exclusively revolves around the two characters and how their relationship evolves. I'm trying to thoroughly describe all of their thoughts, feelings, and actions while keeping it relevant to where the story is headed.

What do you guys feel about slow-burns like this? How do you find the balance between build-up and an engaging story?

@Voluptuo,
Firstly, welcome. Nice to have you with us. You'll find that we don't bite... just...er...growl a bit...um!

As to your question, in my opinion (always humble) a slow burn that maintains a steady buildup is an enjoyable story. You should keep in mind that you want your readers to keep going, keep reading because they want to see what happens next. If a slow burn story goes over peaks and valleys, times of high intimacy followed by lulls in the plotline then the reader will probably not stick with it.

Use the buildup for as long as your story needs it to be but don't let the tension off the line... kinda like fishing really!
Deepest respects and, again, welcome aboard,
D.

 

[designatedvictim]

I'm fourteen thousand words into my story and am only just starting to write physical intimacy between the characters. So far, I've written about a guy's massive school crush. I expect to write at least six thousand more words before finishing it off with a sex scene. The story naturally picks up the pace from here with lots of intimacy while not feeling forced or rushed.

There isn't much of a plot. It almost exclusively revolves around the two characters and how their relationship evolves. I'm trying to thoroughly describe all of their thoughts, feelings, and actions while keeping it relevant to where the story is headed.

What do you guys feel about slow-burns like this? How do you find the balance between build-up and an engaging story?

My most recent (over six-months past, now) story was deliberately written to be 'slow burn,' slow escalation.

In the 40K-word story, the first sexual contact happened at about the 12K-word point and the first actual sex happened at about the 25K-word point.

Mine, too, was pretty much a single-camera story, first-person POV, following just the two characters with only very minor input from literally 'off-screen' characters on a video call.

Some people will like that, others won't.

Just write it the way you want to.

Edited to add:

FYI: currently at 449 votes with a 4.68 rating, so Red H. Not stellar numbers, but certainly not bad, either.

 

[TheNovelist2000]

If I see a story is over two pages, I don't even begin to read it.

I don't care much about the total length of a story, but if it takes more than two pages to arouse me, I might probably stop reading it. I think slow burns are the result of writers being convinced that you need a lot of background info to make a story plausible. That's not true at all. A good story reveals only what is needed to get the job done and doesn't include the excess.

Of course, some people treat this site as sort of a place for reading mainstream novels, where romance and the mundane are a big part of the narrative. But I think for an erotica site, where the main priority is to arouse people, authors should practice restraint and not write down everything that comes to their mind. A story can be long, but it must contain the yoke, the real plot. Sometimes, I feel some stories here are like fillers in anime, and although people read them, it is not what they really want from you.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

I started reading here originally because sexual content without context, plot, or emotion (i.e. porn) was boring me. I stuck around more for the romance than the sex. So yeah, I enjoy a good slow burn, but I second Emily in that the skill of the author reigns supreme. I also enjoy when there's 'normal' plot - like stuff that isn't directly related to the relationship(s) described or to sex.

Not surprising, I expect my own work to tend in that direction as well. My only published so far is probably not far from the slowest burn I could spin in 2 pages. The next one will be longer.

 

[redgarters]

Readers are as diverse here as writers. Some look for the quick release and plot that doesn't serve the sexual build up and release annoys them. Others want that build up, either because it keeps them tingling and on the way to the sexual release, or they just like reading something with plot, side characters, romance and emotions. As I've gotten older I've moved from the first group to the second, not only because of age but also because of self discovery and changes in my life and outlook. Outside of Lit I read mostly scifi and fantasy, and my choices have deepened there as well, I now look more often for books with LGBT relationships and romance woven into the thick plot.

In my writing experience here, admittedly mostly limited to one category where slow burn romance does very well, there's heaps of readers who come to this site for romance, emotions, love, plot and well written long form stories where the sexual bits are even sometimes like an afterthought. I've had comments that said a story didn't really need the sex bits, which I choose to take as a nice compliment (rather than a comment on my limited ability in writing sex scenes).

 

[ColtonWrites]

I accidentally started a slow burn. It was meant to be a forced proximity/dubcon-turned-romance. But the main character turned out to have sexual assault trauma, so I can't do any sex scenes until a lot later than I wanted (8k words, and I'm still missing some early scenes) without making the Dominant character seem like a monster.
I'm trying to make sure there's consistent plot buildup, romantic/sexual tension, and character development.

 

[ADirtyPerv]

I have only two stories (out of twenty) that are under 10k words. In my opinion, T/I needs setup for the burn to mean anything. A seduction from within the family needs room to breathe. Something something a good flame needs oxygen.

I've got a few misses (oddly some of my personal favorites are less-loved, T/I and scifi don't mix apparently), but readers of my work tend to know what they're in for by now. I got a 4.84/5 rating on one of them, so slow burns are still appreciated.