I've noticed a lot of good writers on here start off a story perfectly. The antagonist is empathetic. They set up the challenging obstacles for them to overcome. The antagonist is interesting. There are twists and turns, and then once we get to the third act where the hero overcomes the initial obstacles, it devolves into a fuck fest. There is no downward spiral indicative of act four and the climax of act five is forgotten. It just becomes one long porn scene where the action is no different than the changing of positions in a blue movie. It's how bad writers write their main character as Mary Sue from the get go. Except these aren't bad writers and the protagonist started off a fully realized character. Then midway through all that somehow gets lost. It's easy to do. Sex scenes get the most likes and who doesn't want those. Also, it's easy to get caught up in writing erotic scenes. I've nearly succumbed to it myself. My third chapter ever written was me a reaction to me realizing I was about to do just that. I wanted to point this out because I hate to be reading a great story only to be bored by every chapter after a certain point. I would say think about how James Cameron handle this in The Terminator. After Sara Connor and Kyle Reese fuck for the first time, he throws everything he can in the way of their happiness. It makes the story better because the audience wants the characters to be together, so they're invested in them overcoming these new even more dangerous obstacles. Just my two cents.
Well -- I see your point, and I actually agree. However, as you stated... sex scenes get likes. So that's what people write. It really sucks too, because I enjoy a good story, too. But you gotta realize the sad truth: People will write what gets likes. If you take a look at any of the scenes in the majority of stories that AREN'T sex scenes, they get relatively few likes because usually when people go to Chyoa they go for one thing -- to get their rocks off. So they skip to the hottest, most erotic scene, and then leave a like after they're done beating their meat. And this often discourages people to actually take the time and detail into writing a non-erotic scene with good plot moving elements -- because they see that it doesn't get any likes, so they stop taking their time writing those scenes out. For instance... I do it, too. If you look at the beginning of the first week of school in my story Senior Year, I write a few good paragraphs about orientation day. For the first few days I wrote in detail about studying and working out, but they didn't really get likes so I just shortened them. Same thing with interraction with the girls in my story -- it at first was long, but I've shortened them to just, "You hung out with X girl. +5 AMPs." pretty much because relatively every casual reader on Chyoa doesn't care about plot. I guess the common saying is right -- "I don't watch porn for the plot." And you can apply that here to, "I don't read porn for the plot." Which is a sad, sad truth.
Though this is something, I can't understand. If I want to get off, I would rather watch porn than reading an erotic/sexual story. Well... maybe it's kind of "brain off" after a while ^^
Yeah, I know. One time I wrote a chapter knowing it probably wouldn't get any likes, but I needed to foreshadow a fetish the protagonist would have. It was hard to do because I knew (and was proven right) that no likes would come to the chapter. It was especially hard because the story had been getting them in spades before that chapter. That said I tend not read porn I find boring, and I've noticed that those chapters that fall into the porn trap tend to cause the story to peter out. If I'm reading to fap, I'd much rather read something that engages me than me than just smut for smuts sake. I think a lot of this could be alleviated if people would take the time to click on the like button. I've seen stories with 300,000+ views and yet they have less than 300 likes but that's a rant for a different thread.
Absolutely 100% true. I like setting the scene, building anticipation, playing with expectations, etc... as much as the next writer, but in this particular milieu, if you go 3 chapters without someone getting penetrated, you may as well be writing on paper and sending it to sea in a bottle. I get off on writing filthy, fantasy domination stories. I also get off on others getting off on my stories. That's why 99% are here to do. You want carefully paced intrigue? Write a spy novel.
I disagree. I think without proper build, stakes and story structure you might as well be writing for yourself to masturbate to. If it's just a penetration fest I agree gene.sis in that what's the point, I can go to pornhub and watch people do that. What I can't find on a site like pornhub, and why I read erotica, is narrative story.
It's tricky to come down from the high of a good sex scene. You get the urge to top it with an even better scene right away. Slowing down the story feels like you are suffocating it but without good pacing the story fizzles out and you end up with the typical sexfest. I would say the story's purpose decides what it inevitably becomes. If it's a wank project, it won't need much more than setting and basic characterization. If it's an erotic story, there will be more structure and plot to it. Personally, I haven't made a fully fleshed story on here with proper acts. It may be due to the mechanics of the site. With infinite posts and story branches, it's easy to get distracted and just jump to the meat of the ideas you want to share.
So my thing that I'm cautioning against is the breakdown of the story. I agree with Artican that is very tempting to try and top your last sex scene. The story very well may call for that. I'm not disparaging that in the least. What I'm cautioning against the removing of stakes, conflict, and obstacles from the story once that first sex scene hits. This is when the story needs them the most. You've just given your audience what they want now you need to make them want it again. I hate more than anything when a character has been reluctant to do something rather tame and then once they give or receive the D they become a wanton fiend for which no act is to depraved. They can eventually do the act and maybe even love it, but they should at least come to terms with it not just jump right into it.
I have one story on this site. One. It has 137 chapters of which less than a third contain any sexual content at all. I'm never going to see it in the Top Stories section, but that's ok. I'm writing it for me. If a story devolves into a mindless fuckfest, it's because the story itself wasn't strong enough to sustain itself through to the end. Lots of stories start off strong and peter out, there's no shame in that. Writing is hard. I am disappointed when I see a story I like devolve that way, but I'm not disappointed because I think it could have been great and wasn't; I'm disappointed because a story that I thought had potential turned out not to. If there's a good, real, solid story in there, it'll come through regardless of sex scenes.
I'm not attacking sex scenes or even a plethora of them. I'm against stories that take out all the things that make those scenes worthwhile. The stakes, the obstacles, and the logic. You can literally have nearly all your chapters have or be sex scenes if you keep a good narrative structure while doing so.
Well, I say it's about us to change that as well. I had a reader of my "Happy Maid" story, who wrote me that he/she often makes an effort to "like" the non porn chapters, as he/she knows how hard they are to write, and that it's much more difficult sometimes to get the structure and the plot right. Since reading that, I realised myself that I click too easily "like" on the sex scenes I read and try to remind myself to like other chapters as well. In fact, since starting as an author, I like more chapters in general, I am quicker to click, because I know that this is pure encouragement for writers, and I want to encourage those whose stories I enjoy (of course that does not mean I stupidly click 'like' on chapters I dislike). This is why I like stories which start slow. If the first sex scene is rather innocent, you can always build on that. If the first scene is already a full blown out orgy, you have to get very creative to top that. I used to do a lot of erotic sex chats in a chat that had lots of roleplayers back in the days, so there was a certain sense of "storytelling" and "plot building" because that's what the community was expecting, but even in those surroundings, you often might fall into the trap of losing interest after the first hot sex scene. There were those stories, though, that you could play for days and you would return to continue with the exact player, because both were developing a plot and a story. Besides, I don't think that the "bridge" chapter(s) between two sex scenes necessarily have to be completely dull and frigid. There's lot of different ways to hide small details, foreshadowing and the like, to make it actually enticing. I do agree with you that a good story needs character development, preferably slowly, and of course, a good story needs a goal, a target, an objective for the reader (and/or the protagonist). I actually like it if the goal can even be to NOT give in to your sexual lust. Then you can enjoy playing the story in two ways: You can just give in and watch the protagonist fail (always interesting anyway), or you can try to steer the protagonist clear of it. If done well, you will still experience sex scenes, but there's always the little spicy touch that the sex will corrupt you and ultimately let you fail. I have several other stories like this in mind. On the other hand, tastes are different. Apparently there are those readers who love to read the typical story of that you mention, the "wanton fiend", who just snaps and turns from shy girl to sex slut within two chapters. I also find that rather boring, and it's not something that gets me aroused at all, but if readers like it - why not. If you look at the successful books out there, you really sometimes wonder. But again: Taste is something very individual.
This is a rather thought-provoking article. My personal two cents, as an off-again, on-again author on here: I prefer something with plot and story. It's one of the reasons I love nemoudeis' Reign of Madness and Fallensaint's Shadow Hunters so much. I don't read erotica simply to jerk off. I read it because, as an avid reader of actual books, I constantly find myself wishing mainstream authors would go beyond the hints of what happens in the bedroom. I believe that the erotic aspects should accentuate the story, as a whole. If there's no conflict, no challenge, just endless sex, I find it damn near impossible to keep reading the story. I don't write for likes, personally. I write what feels good to me at the time, and let it ride. If someone likes it, cool. If not, oh well. I'll continue writing anyway, because I enjoy writing in and of itself, and the challenges that come with it.
