Too much sex?

Lone Wolf

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I would say there's not too much sex unless:
a) it's a genre where people want some story and there's so much sex there's no time for story - or build up of sexual tension
b) there's so many sex scenes it's getting repetitive and thus boring. Even if the physical act or position is different in the next scene, if it feels the same it might feel like a pointless repeat.
 

Pencrafter

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I would say there's not too much sex unless:
a) it's a genre where people want some story and there's so much sex there's no time for story - or build up of sexual tension
b) there's so many sex scenes it's getting repetitive and thus boring. Even if the physical act or position is different in the next scene, if it feels the same it might feel like a pointless repeat.

agreed. nicely stated.
 

thethinker42

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I would say there's not too much sex unless:
a) it's a genre where people want some story and there's so much sex there's no time for story - or build up of sexual tension
b) there's so many sex scenes it's getting repetitive and thus boring. Even if the physical act or position is different in the next scene, if it feels the same it might feel like a pointless repeat.

Either way, I think that comes down to bad writing more than a surplus of sex or different reader expectations due to genre. If there are so many sex scenes that there's no time for a story, then the story isn't well-written. If the sex scenes are repetitive and the story gets boring, same deal.

"It's a genre where people want some story..." -- That's really any genre, including erotica. Erotica still has a story, and other genres certainly have room for sex if the story calls for it. I've written romances that had little to no sex, and thrillers that had a lot of sex. Just depends on the story. If I wrote a thriller that had car chase scene after car chase scene, to the point that readers were annoyed and bored, that would be a reflection on me as a writer and my story as a failure, rather than whether car chase scenes in and of themselves add to a story, get repetitive, etc. A story that has too many car chases, fight scenes, breakfast scenes, etc., is just as boring and badly written as one with too many sex scenes.
 

NinjaFingers

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I read erotica slush and I would say that the biggest problem is not the amount of sex (I've rejected stories for too little, never too much).

It's this:

The sex should serve the story.

If the story serves the sex or is non-existent (which is a common issue with short BDSM smut, it's basically a scenario with a framing device) then you're writing pornography.

And while I won't judge you for writing pornography, it's not the same thing as erotica ;).
 

Meemossis

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I suppose it's all personal preference. I prefer a big build-up, then fireworks at about the 50-70% mark. Don't forget to tease the audience. I like me a good teasin'. I tend to stick with romance but I read a little erotica when I have to write a sex scene. I read a book recently that was less than 70 pages on my kindle, every time they'd finished they would start right back up again. I skipped most of the book because it was the same thing over and over again.
 

Pencrafter

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I suppose it's all personal preference. I prefer a big build-up, then fireworks at about the 50-70% mark. Don't forget to tease the audience. I like me a good teasin'. I tend to stick with romance but I read a little erotica when I have to write a sex scene. I read a book recently that was less than 70 pages on my kindle, every time they'd finished they would start right back up again. I skipped most of the book because it was the same thing over and over again.

Personal preference, yes, and focus of the story. Outlander is a great example of the hot n heavy, but not so much that it causes your grandma to tune out. Other stories have the sex more center-stage.

Are you indicating that sex takes place with a pulling down of the window shade, a device use in old-fashioned films? Or, is it an explicit story where you won't be using Junior High language to describe the sex?
 

Busy_Sample

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Have you read Fifty shades of grey? Count em. There's a lot, he he he. Sometimes the only reason I pick up a book is to page through for the sex scenes. If it's erotica, you can count your readers are probably not very interested in plot and they're skipping pages looking for key words :)
 

InkFinger

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Busy sample, that's an over simplification. You are mistaking erotica for porn, both have their place, but you'd be wrong to assume that readers are just looking for the ins and outs.
 

AW Admin

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Have you read Fifty shades of grey? Count em. There's a lot, he he he. Sometimes the only reason I pick up a book is to page through for the sex scenes. If it's erotica, you can count your readers are probably not very interested in plot and they're skipping pages looking for key words :)

You might want to pause and re-read The Newbie Guide to Absolute Write, because you've just dissed an entire genre, as well as many of our members who read and write Erotica. We're serious about respecting our fellow writers.

I note that some of our finest poets wrote Erotica, ranging from Anonymous Egyptian poets who inspired the Song of Songs, to John Donne and Marilyn Hacker.
 

thethinker42

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If it's erotica, you can count your readers are probably not very interested in plot and they're skipping pages looking for key words :)

Yeah, that hasn't been my experience at all. My readers actually do like plot and character development. Superficial sex scenes can work fine for some short stories and vignettes, but especially for anything novella-length or longer, people like some actual substance.
 

Jersey Chick

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I had an erotic novella in an anthology last year and the reviews went from "I loved this story and how the characters developed their relationship" to "it was nothing but sex scenes." (my editor had to keep telling me to sex it up. :)

It isn't necessarily an either or, so write what/how/how often the story dictates.<-- my advice.