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Aside from the obvious BDSM element, many of the stories on this site have many similarities in plot, setting, characters, etc. Naturally, everybody has their favorite themes in each.
However, creativity and inventiveness in writing is a trait prized by many people. I was curious what new ideas people sought out when finding stories they really love.
If a plot is weak or nonexistent, it's drivel. One exception is some of Powerone's stuff... proof that you don't always need a plot to tell a story... Kallie Thomas has similar freeform abilities.
Parker is a MASTER of plot. Check out Replacement Value to see what I mean.
I guess I will take that as a compliment. LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by GaryWilcox
P1
maybe too deep for me but i like power one,
i think most of his stories are great. i have stories in my head i would love
to be able to write. alas power ones ability.
You should. I hereby state I drop asleep whenever I try and read Parker. Plots are OK, but they are only showcases for the sharp, red-hot shards you writers are thrusting up our inner brains. (crappy image... that's why I don't write myself!)
An erotic plot is linear or digital, made up of 'yes' and 'noes', as opposed to the perennial thriller plot that you can understand only if you've read the entire Warren Report.
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Originally Posted by Powerone
It definitely should have an origanal plot... in my opinion. And that goes for any form of writing. If it has no plot, or reasons for things happening, then I find them silly and boring. I guess that's why I don't watch pornographic movies. They have no plot...at least the majority of them.
Characterisation. I want to read about something interesting, yes, but I want to hear about someone interesting doing it. The most beautifully sculpted plot in the world is wasted on a collection of cardboard cutouts and tired cliches.
A story has to have something to distinguish itself, any of the above really but I voted for interesting devices, plot is great but if the nitty-gritty is banal then it's a bit of an anti-climax.
wow jeanne i find your post harder to read or understand than any story on this site. :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
Slowly now: IMHO the plot in an erotic text is merely a device for ordering hot scenes and situations. It must stay very simple. :rolleyes: Better now?
Quote:
Originally Posted by peachers
Uh-oh. Boy, did I screw up! :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by jeanne
Boccaccio (author of the Jade Pavilion, Book II, one of the site's longest stories)
jeanne, thank you for the clarification. I come down closer to your side on this than the 'plot' side. I don't believe plots are necessary in porn stories, but I don't think they're a liability, either. The purpose of porn is to get the reader off, so I checked the box for new situations or devices, but the situation isn't as simple as that. I think AndrewBlack is probably the closest to my position.
Something you sometimes run across is what I call "the laundry list". It isn't a story at all, just a listing of all the things done to some cardboard-cutout victim. Sometimes these lists demonstrate great imagination, but they aren't hot. I need to be able to 'see' what's going on; I need descriptions and adverbs.
I'm a big defender of 'slow' code stories, but once the author is past the introduction, the sex should come hot and heavy, and at great length.
To me, fiction without plot equals reality television. I get on here to get AWAY from that. I'm not interested in reading something so intricate I need a decoder ring... just something more than the average porno movie: two locations, twenty different money shots.Quote:
Originally Posted by jeanne
As an example, I got through reading Dr. Mabeuse's Ashley's Abduction today, and while that story is hot... very hot... it doesn't really go anywhere I haven't been before. While some like their porn reduced to images of sex or rape or what-have-you, I find the progression of events to be tittilating, feeling someone drawn to a fate.
I can certainly appreciate the craft of a writer who gets me into the story, but I can do that much better when the story takes me on a journey. Plotless stories stand still and paint a picture, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but I never feel like I've been somewhere and experienced something.
I certainly wouldn't suggest rewriting a master stroke (pardon the pun) like Ashley's Abduction, but I think it'd be cool to see what kind of journey Dr. Mabeuse could take a reader on if he took a more conventional approach to storytelling.
But then, I'm not everybody. Lots of people prefer the purely porn angle.
(that last line sings, doesn't it?)
What I value most about an erotic author is his or hers ability to use human imagination to the advantage of the story. The mind will fill in "holes" in the story with what it finds to be most fitting, or in our case, more sexually stimulating. If the story becomes way too descriptive, the author will leave few "holes" for the mind to "fill in" and the entire story gets a feel of rigidness. I more often than not dislike such stories because the contents will have to excactly match my own unique sexual preferences for me to find it stimulating. If, on the other hand, the author is skilled in not becoming too descriptive, the mind of the reader will fill in the holes in a way that is pleasing to each particular reader, and the story will appeal to a much broader selection of readers, because the "feel" of the story matches each and every ones personal sexual preferences.
This is a technique often seen in horror movies, where the camera often films right up in the face of the actor, refusing the audience to show what happens around. The viewer will let his or hers imagination fill in the remains. The result can be really creepy.
This is a really difficult thing to master, because it's terribly easy to get too descriptive or too non-descriptive. It's an extremely thin line, but some people get it going really good. Although I've read none of his books, I imagine Stephen King does this really well. As I mentioned, this technique is vital in the horror genre. And maybe - if not vital - then useful, also in the erotica genre as well?
I can see your point. Just went to sample that story... hmmm.Quote:
Originally Posted by GaryWilcox
There is room for earnest, in-depth travel journals... and there is room for postcards. Short stories often are (hot) postcards. Maybe a matter of format. A long, rambling, aimless story can even be entertaining if the postcards are hot. Still, the progression element IS good... often the last words of a tale, promising more, are as erotic as the rest of the whole book! (case in point: A Friend in Need)
I definately think a plot is important...but as its already been discussed, it kind of depends on what you are looking for. I'm a woman. I usually need a little time to get worked up.. and if the story appeals to me, and the genre I enjoy reading about, I will get 'there' far quicker than one that immediately goes to beating and raping and other such stuff. But.. if I'm already restless and 'there' its like a porn.. I want it short and to the point. Thats one reason I love about this site.. such a myriad of stories to choose from.
I tend to swing to one of two extremes (*looks back at that, chuckles, and continues*)Quote:
Originally Posted by LoKi Kat
When I write, I tend to want to get into my characters' heads, so I like stories that explore characters as well. (I write what I want to read, it's that simple. :) ) Or.........I just want really hot sex scenes. If that's what I'm in the mood for, I don't give a flip about anything else.
~cg