I started a book last year and put it down when I went to Scotland. I haven't returned to it yet. And I have the entire story in my head - it's just a matter of applying the butt glue to my ass and working.

As far as my mainstream versions - I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to have a collection of short story romances, just in case. But I don't think I could ever give up the erotic stories, or this place. This is just too much fun.

 

CallMeRave:

The author rating is weighted by story length. I do not know the exact formula, but long stories achieve a higher boost in the score. Several of us who write novel length work (myself included) have remarked on this dynamic in the past. I am listed among the top 11 or 12 writers on Page One, by average score, yet almost no one has bothered to read my work. So, size most definitely matters.

I am a "real writer," yet I do not feel qualified to answer your question with respect to changing story titles. I know exactly how my books will end before I start them, and every scene ultimately serves the ending in some way. I imagine that to writers who just "let it flow," knowing the ending from the very beginning must sound rather tedious. I guess it all comes down to what one is used to.

As to the running conversation about writing sex scenes, I do enjoy writing them. Although I am no judge (I am not a porn writer by vocation), my readers tell me that the sex in my stories is pretty good. My books are very long, yet I try to avoid repetition. I do not think any of the sex scenes in my two books are the same. I vary the locations. I put considerable planning into the situations that bring the characters together. Most importantly, I try to get into the heads of the characters, and write the narrative in their voices. I don't mean letting them narrate in first person (my books are written in past third person omniscient). I mean I modify the sentence structure and lexicon, so that the narrative "sounds like" the characters. A couple of the characters are geniuses, and when they are featured, the narrative is elevated. One chacter is a poet. Her scenes are written in poetical stream-of-consciousness, often with sentences that run for pages on end. Then there are a couple high school aged characters who are just plain ditzy. When those characters are featured, the sentences are short and choppy, with more periods than conjunctions, and, like, you know, lots of, like, vernacular.

In the end, it is true that sex is just sex, "the old in-out in-out," as Anthony Burgess called it in Clockwork Orange. For me, keeping it fresh and alive is the essence of the challenge- and the fun- of writing it. Sheesh. Maybe I should be a porn writer, after all.

A.P.

 

The only occurance of that of which I am aware is 'hot4fam' changed the title of his story when there was a transition (i.e., different location). Worked really well for me, but I haven't checked to see if his ratings/hits dropped or increased. In my humble opinion, if you have something of a transition, you could easily change to another title.

Enjoy the fireplace.

 

I am in possession of an over-abundance of butt-glue in case you need some. It seems that's about all I do is sit on my butt.

 

Finally!! A place where we can hang out and be talking about the second best thing we on this forum do.......write about the best thing we do!! (Well, for me it's the best thing I do!! I'm not judging anybody!)

Miss E, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for starting this thread!! And if Don has the glue, I'll lend you the rope to tie your butt down........just a little extra security!! (Heh Heh)

 

You are incredibly kind. I'm so glad that writers like you and JayneyRedd have joined us. We are in need of new blood, new ideas, fresh talent. This will be a great place to let us know when you post your next story.:rose:

 

Thanks a lot, friend. I thought you liked me, but not in a BDSM way. LOL

 

Writing mainstream and getting published?

Writing mainstream and getting published?

I'm writing a "REAL" book. There's 300 pages written already. I gave them to two people whose opinions I valued, an author and a sub ed on a newspaper. Both agreed that 50 pages were real class, 50 pages might be OK with more work and that the rest was crap.
Only problem was the 50 pages one had as class the other thought was crap and vice versa.
I doubt I'll finish it. If I do there's a less than 10% chance it'll be published and if it's published there's a 99% chance it'll be read by less than 10,000 people.

I wonder why I'm spending so much time on it. There's a better chance of winning the lottery than making it rich as an author, even if it gets finished. On this site there's a 100% guarantee of being published and a chance it might be read by over 250,000 people. And even enjoyed by some of them.

WOW. As ejls says - now THAT IS FUN

 

If you write for fun, write for fun. There's nothing wrong with that at all. Why else would we do it?

 

OMG! I so do that.:laughing:
And, although it does add spice, it does not relieve one of the burden of some kind of physical description.
What I do is envision it in my head, and then just describe what I see.
But sometimes it can really hang me up in the middle of writing a story, because if I can't turn my own crank with a sex scene, how could I expect anyone else to find it hot?

 

One thing I find myself doing too often that I'm trying to break out of is writing sex scenes as if they're in a porn movie. If you read my stories, you'll notice that there's usually a clear delineation between the sex scenes and the non-sex scenes. It's like at a certain point, the music comes up and the characters get it on. Then at the end, the characters lie in bed for a while, then get up and go on with their lives.

One way to spice it up that I have explored just a little is to get out of that rut and blur the distinction between the sex and non-sex parts of the story. Why do the characters have to, at a certain point, decide they're going to have sex and then immediately do it? Why can't the seduction take place over hours or even days? (Or even months, like in Allison and the Primdales)

I find it much more fulfilling when the characters first take their clothes off and spend some time getting used to being naked together, then spend some time getting used to touching each other, then finally consummating their relationship.

Most of the stories I have planned in the near future use this method.

 

Don't miss reading the only 3 books that Stieg Larsson will ever write. He died before publication at age 49.

These are HOT books, in a literary sense, the plots and the descriptions etc. I could not put them down.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE

THE GIRL WHO KICKED OVER THE HORNET'S NEST

Same girl, same people each book each is a continuation of the previous.
Lisbeth Salander the girl.

 

Barnes & Noble advertised these books, it's nice to get a real reccommendation from you Lainie.

 

Sorry, dearest. I wasn't meaning anything in a BDSM sort of way. Unless you want it to be!! (heh heh)

 

You have touched on a dynamic that is difficult to achieve.

I try to build the tease into the plot. In Nascent, the main protagonists do not "do it" in the literal sense until somwhere around the six hundredth page (hardcover equivalent). Everything theretofore is a slow tease, but I try to make it very sexual, through situation and dialogue. The main characters also play ordinary games and engage in "ordinary" pursuits, which are conveyed erotically (jogging, swings, Barbies, chess, movie nights). All of the teases serve a dual purpose, by also revealing the characters, and by advancing the underlying plot.

In fact my "fans" (admittedly there are only a handful) corroborate this view. The few people who enjoy my books have related to me that they favor the "full immersion" experience of epic length novels, for the richness of the characters and the plausibility of the plot.

Of course I am not recommending that anyone else try to accomplish so much within a given scene. My books are l--o--n--g. In the short story format, one must advance the action quickly. I think that is why it is harder to make a sex scene sound and feel "fresh" in the short story format. In the long novel format, one has the time and luxury of being able to develeop rich characters and a plot. Short story writers do not have the luxury, and therefore have a more difficult job.

Some of my vignettes are paced quickly. In some instances the characters are less complex, and there is less work for me, as the author, to do. One example would be the vignette called Cazzie and Colleen at Bathtime. That one is pretty cut-and-dried. Two high school aged kids, in the bath, with the water and suds more or less to themselves. Another vignette, which on this forum I have called "Absence makes the heart grow...", is set a bit more in the context of the story, and makes the case that the setting and situation matter. Sex is just sex, ultimately, but the situation in which it occurs can amplify its significance and make it sound fresh.

Anyway, back to my reason for responding. I concur. The non-sex parts are just important as the sex-parts. However, I would add that only in the long novel format does the author have the luxury of being able to build rich characters and situations. In that sense, DC, you and I are spoiled.

AP

 

The one sex scene that really stands out to me was in William Gibson's Neuromancer... It was like you could almost taste it and that was pretty damn good.
As far as pots and storylines that I really like it'll have to be David Webber's Honor Harrington Series though his other series is quite good too, not too much in the way of sex he sort of either implies it or teases, which I think is good and all but GODs I hate his Villians they are so EVIL you want them so badly to die horribly and its painful literally when they dont die soon enough.

 

I agree completely. It's much easier in an epic length novel to draw out the seduction and make the actual sex just the end of a series of erotic events, thus keeping it creative and fresh. It worked well in Allison and the Primdales, not so much in some of my shorter stories.

Take one of my latest stories "Love at Second Sight," for instance. There's a little flirting, a little kissing, and then one of the characters suggests they go to the bedroom. It's like at that point I hit a light switch and "turn on" the sex scene. Later I turn it off even more abruptly with a scene change. That's what I'm trying to get away from.

 

When I was first trying to seriously write erotica, My Girlfreind at the time made me read a shitload of Anias Nin, She complained about the same thing. And when I read 101 Nights of Soddom, I found the sex scenes to be tedious at worst, and mostly disturbing at best.

 

How do you feel about posting a story here with no sex? Are the ratings too important?

 

I've been seriously considering it ... I have one that I really want to write out as soon as I'm done with my monstrosity... I may just do it... I have a good serial with good or at least fair ratings.