I voted for "Love at Second Sight" in the contest, largely due to my admiration for the beautiful prose. (The sex was yummy, too.) Yet it got my vote by one short-and-curly. I almost did not vote for it, for the very reasons that you have cited. The abrupt scene changes made the flow a bit choppy.

On the other hand, I gave the pacing some latitude, because I know that you are a long-form writer, and I know how difficult the short format can be for novelists. (Note that in the end I chickened out, neglected to compete, and used onset carpal tunnel as a lame excuse!)

I almost voted for another story (which I will not name). It had simply gorgeous lines, and I had to read it two and a half times before deciding in the end that its plot was too crowded with superfluous events that slowed it down and detracted from the flow, rather than moved the story forward. I guess I might be giving the story away. Ahh, well. I am just trying to (constructively) make the point that ultimately every line in fiction matters, and that in short fiction one has less space within which to achieve one's aims. This is true as much for "filth" as for "literature."

A.P.

 

I read "From the Heart" by Laura Bush. I am very impressed with that woman.
She and I did many of the same things when we were little and as teens.
Sort of gave me a connection to her. But honestly she accomplished much in the entire world for women during her period as First Lady.

I recommend the book highly. She never mentioned by agreement the battles with G over his drinking, but it is a very interesting picture of life as a first lady.

 

I am assuming you read Danni's Revenge by drewz. It was an outstanding story of revenge, and no sex. I don't mind reading story without the "act".

 

It was a good story, Not exactly along those lines though, less emotionally motivated I think.

 

I have to admit, I didn't really like that story. It was decently written, but I thought wholly inappropriate for the site. I don't mind a story on a sex stories site missing the "act" as long as it's still erotic. I've read a few like that and enjoyed them.

Danni's Revenge, however, had nothing erotic, and didn't even make up for it with a creative plot or likable characters. In the end, I felt nothing. No pathos, no relief, no pity, no sense of justice, nothing. That was because the story spent no time trying to convince me to care about the characters. Even the protagonist was just a faceless victim whose defining characteristic was the fact that she was willing to commit murder under certain circumstances. Not exactly the most admirable trait.

Sorry, drewz. I just call it like I see it.

 

That last statment you made DC and in reading this thread has given me pause, and brought me to wonder what if we had a set plot line, and characters discriptions all of that were the exercize. Would anyone be interestied in following a plot and seeing how we would each tell the same story?

 

Been there, done that and it sucks.

 

Two of my favorite writers are Anne Rice and Laurell K. Hamilton, but for different reasons. Anne's characters are so well rounded and believable, and I love that she hints at the erotic rather than it actually happening. Remember in the move Interview with the Vampire when Louie (played by Brad Pitt) and Armand (Antonio Banderez) were talking and Armand had Louie by the back of the neck and their lips were like 2 mm apart and the whole time you are thinking to yourself "Kiss him! Kiss him damn it!" because you just know that is about to happen and you are on the edge of the seat but then they don't! That is exactly how Anne Rice writes. Everything erotic is hinted at rather than being expressly written and I just love it! And yet at the same time I feel so unfullfilled at times. It's weird.

On the flipside of that coin is Laurell K. Hamilton's work. There is a ton of action and adventure and enough sex to satisfy just about any taste. And it's not all wine and roses either, some of it is down right vulgar and nasty. But you just love it!

So it makes me wonder if I could walk a line in between these two styles with the latest manuscript I've been working on. I had toyed with the idea since 2007 and began writing on the manuscript in 2008. Unfortunately it's been sitting on the backburner since then, but I had hoped to begin writing on it again this summer. In the beginning I had not planned on having any sex in it at all, but then I decided to go back and add some in. Now I am trying to decide on rather I want to hint at the erotic, get down and dirty with it, or change things up and have both styles in it, depending on what's going on at the time.

As for ratings, they don't mean much to me because I'm not a sought after writer on here. But I would like to see what others can come up with if the sex element was taken out. I think it would really force people as writers to see what they are made of. Writing porn is not like writing erotica. So I for one would definately like to see what some of the writers could come up with if the erotic/sex element was taken out and they were forced to just write a story. I would also like to see that taken one step further and force writers to take a step out of the normal realm of the real world and have them write about something other than real life situations to see just how creative they can get.

 

I've written stories with no sex in them, but that's not really what I'm interested in right now, or to put it another way, I don't write porn because I post here, I post here because I write porn.
There are lot's of places to post stories on the Internet, but xnxx lets me post stuff that I would have a hard time getting away with anywhere else, and I love not having to censor myself in the same manner as I would on another site.

As for ratings, well I'd be lying if I said I didn't like having my ego stroked, but on the other hand, I'm pretty sure I'd get better ratings if I avoided certain subject matter that provokes a knee-jerk reaction in some people, but that's what I'm interested in writing right now.
I write the stuff I do because, to me, it's interesting to write about.
On this site I've found a lot of people who share that interest, and that's great, but if the audience wasn't there, I'd still be writing it, there'd just be a lot fewer people reading it.

 

My suggestion is to consider your audience. If you're writing for an audience expecting porn, give them at least some sex. Drawing it out with teasing and flirting is fine, in fact I love it when authors do that, but in the end you have to deliver on the promise or you risk alienating your readers. You might be able to pull it off, but then, you might not.

I probably wouldn't involve myself in anything where the sex was taken out. Not because I don't write non-sexual stories, but because I do. If I'm going to write something non-sexual, I'm going to do it under my own name. And since I don't want anyone to link Daddycums to the real me, it won't show up anywhere near this site.

Likewise, if I want to read something non-sexual, I'm going to go elsewhere.

As far as taking it out of the real world, I have no problem with that. I've written both erotic and non-erotic science fiction and fantasy before, so it wouldn't be a big stretch for me.

 

I've just started looking into writing non-erotic. Well, I can't say that, because when you speak of love there is the natural extension of the emotion. I also started sitting in on some creative writing workshops. I have no formal training in writing, beyond my high school senior term paper. But I had a mother that instilled the love of reading in me.

I am amazed at the really wonderful writers out there, that write for the pleasure of writing. They are not posting, not publishing, but do it for the pure joy of putting pen to paper. They simply love the feel of words.

 

Yes. Ultimately one writes for oneself, but one neither posts nor publishes for oneself. That is for the ego, which both craves and needs an audience for validation.

Indeed! Most of what I write is non-sexual. You won't find it here. Well... correction. Some of my poetry appears here, in 2: Beauty. Most of the poetry that occurs in that book is non-erotic, but it almost invariably precedes or follows "the act," and is conveyed in the context of "the act." The point being, if the written word can be called a window on the soul, the sparse snippets of poetry in 2: Beauty are the one and only instance on this site in which I crack the blinds.

To the point of some other writers on this thread, the line between porn and literature is necessarily blurry, if the porn is written well. Yet, if it is here, it is porn. (Or, should be.) One of my readers has called the books I have posted here "literature for the ages," to which I reply, (blush). Another reader on this site has placed my storytelling "on par with Tolkien," to which I reply, (giggle). No offense to my readers, but: as my sig advertises, the work I post here is filth. All things considered, it is best to venture onto porn forums with an absence of pretensions.

A.P.

 

If you haven't seen, Jayney Redd's new story has been validated. I hope you'll all read it. She's a force with which to be reckoned.

http://stories.xnxx.com/story/24190/Remember_That_Night

 

It's a beautiful story, the plot is very thought out. Even though it ends sadly, I loved it. Five out of five stars from me.

 

How many have challenged themselves to write outside of their comfort level? Have you used a theme that you were not as familiar with or, for that matter, one that may have made you cringe?

My most uncomfortable was writing "Steve". Some one had asked me to write a story about him, which is normally not a problem. Then he came up with a whole lot of specifics. I've never written group, let alone girl on girl. And I'm pretty sure I could never write really young or bestiality.

What about all of you?

 

Oh yes, very much so.
It started with "Popping Ashley's little cherry", a story about a man's incestuous relationship with his eight year old daughter, and the challenge of portraying such a character as someone the reader could sympathize with was something that I really gritted my teeth over.
In fact, I've been working on this one story that's so rough that, I don't even know if I will ever be able to finish it.
It's about a serial child rapist.
Now getting the reader inside of this guys head, and conveying his veiw to the point that the reader actually becomes aroused by it, that's the kind of almost impossible challenge that I find interesting.

 

"Ego" maybe, but also a sense of achievement which is a very real human desire. I also get a good feeling from knowing that maybe thousands of people all around the world have had a few minutes of pleasure from reading my scratchings.

 

As a virtual virgin at the writing game, I must admit to an incredible thrill at the ratings my poor scratchings received, and, before the troll took over, the very nice comments. It was, indeed, an ego booster. Sense of achievement? I don't know. I really don't think I achieved that much, but my very fragile ego was boosted all to hell.

 

My second book (Beauty) has many scenes which, though they serve the story, are way out of my zone. Animal cruelty. There is some torture and murder (not erotically written, so not "fetish snuff") and it was hard work for one such as I, who can't even watch violent movies or pro hockey. Gang rape. I hated writing the rape scenes, and almost cut them, but the story needed them.... Finally, there are several birth-related scenes, from a successful birth that is done beautifully, to a less fortunate event, the mere writing of which gave me nightmares for weeks (I pity the readers of that scene).

Of all the difficult portions, I would have to say the animal cruelty was the very worst, for me as a writer. I made myself a basketcase in the course of proofing the scenes involving Greta's pretty tabby kitten.

Homosexuality (both MM and FF) is not a problem for me, and Beauty does dabble in them just a little bit, insofar as they serve the story. (I did not code them as such, because the instances are very brief.) I know people will laugh at what I am about to write, given that I am referring to a 986,000 word book, but I like to think that not a single scene in that monstrosity is gratuitous.

A.P.

 

AP - you're a brilliant writer with an imagination that is endless. Me? I can't imagine being in some of those situations, so I'm sure I couldn't write it. Does that make sense? It would be like writing about building an engine. Just something I don't think I could do.

I would really love to be able to write a murder mystery, but I can't get my mind to work that way.