Hello everyone, my question isn’t too complicated and it basically boils down to: how much set up is too much when it comes to erotica?
I’ve been writing non-erotic fiction for a while, and when I dipped my toes into erotic writing I found I would spend a lot of time setting up the story, characters, etc before getting to the actual, you know, sex.
I’m writing something currently that’s about 1600 words long, and I’ve only just gotten to the start of the sex scene – is that too much? As a bit of added context, I’m intending for this to be a longer running , potentially multi-chapter kind of story. Thanks in advance for any responses!
Source: reddit.com/r/Erotica/comments/on0hjr/question_for_the_readers_and_writers_of_erotica
All depends if you’re writing a short story or a long one. If you’re looking for karma points on Reddit, you won’t get them by a long story.
On Reddit, you basically need just a hot sex scene. That’s what the majority want. But, there’s a few rare ones (like me) who enjoy a long and seductive story.
I’m still trying to figure out the Reddit algorithm for getting people to read my stories. Long ones, short ones, I rarely get more than 20 upvotes. Not sure why, and I’m still trying to figure it out.
Bottom line, write how or what you’re comfortable with, that’s when you’re at your best, right? A good setup is to a story what foreplay is to real sex, I enjoy it. Doesn’t mean that a quickie isn’t nice now and then either. But there’s quickie writers and long story writers and they all have their merits. Don’t force yourself into a direction that you enjoy less because it will affect the quality of your writing.