Sex Scenes Too Long?

[shinigamiinochi]

Well, besides the fact that you're still ignoring that Solstice has absolutely nothing to do with my post about long sex scenes, that fic was posted differently than the others. Each chapter was hundreds of pages long, so I decided to update in tangents, within the chapters, about thirty pages at a time. And, hey, guess what? Posting that way isn't against any rules and what the guy accused me of (merely editing to keep the fic at the top of the page) isn't possible. I even had a moderator confirm this. If you want to make an argument, and call me both an idiot and a liar, at least go beyond my original fics, as it appears you jumped to conclusions without even looking at all my stories. If you had, you would have noted that I have a few fics with more than just two reviews total. I obviously wasn't refering to a fic that has very little sex in it at all.

[Xenobia]

I've got a short fanfic I wrote a while back that was meant to just be a one-shot, but I ended up having to break it down into two chapters because its length. The second chapter was composed almost entirely of a sex scene that just kept going and going, but I didn't get any complaints.

I guess it depends on how many different things the couple tries in the sex scenes and what sort of story it's supposed to be.

[MorbidFantasy]

I've got a short fanfic I wrote a while back that was meant to just be a one-shot, but I ended up having to break it down into two chapters because its length. The second chapter was composed almost entirely of a sex scene that just kept going and going, but I didn't get any complaints.

I guess it depends on how many different things the couple tries in the sex scenes and what sort of story it's supposed to be.

unless you're adding details about the sex that are just absurd and extraneous (a.g "as they made love she noted the beautiful 32-candle chandelier dangling upong a silver chain of seven feet in length hanging from a domed ceiling that was abour thirty feet high, give or take two or three feet. Or maybe it was the lighting. Perhaps the Chandelier was really lower than she surmised Then there was the GORGEOUS tables, etc etc etc.") that sort of detail would fall into the category of "automatic limp-dick buzzkill".

A sex scene could be long because it lasted a long time in terms of the story, or it could have intricate details of the sex itself that lets the reader better visualize the scene. a short quicky can be good, and a long one can be just as good if done right.

[canterro]

Well, that's true that you always have exceptions.

However, in general I believe that not quantity, but quality is a key. Too many words, too many descriptions make the scene 'thinner' and dilute intensity.

When I read too long scenes, as well as too long stories (yes, I believe there exist something like too long story; it is the one that is lengthened simply to make it... longer, without any meaningful matter to be conveyed), I get tired. I know at least a couple of very long stories, very promising at the beginning, that got me tired after 10, 15, 20 chapters - nothing new was coming, nothing important was being said. No real development. Only dwelling in emotions that were not fresh anymore and waffling

Give me a good shot, not a drip

[WarlordEnfilade]

A sex scene should be as long as it needs to be.

I wrote one story where the, er, climax was about two characters finally giving in and having sex. It only took them about a page to actually have sex, but it took several chapters for them to get around to deciding they were ready to do so, and several more to find the appropriate opportunity.

I'm in the middle of another story now that's seriously got 3 chapters solid of sex and petting. These two are pretty much going wild experimenting with a bunch of things they've never done before. Since the whole story is about the both of them having new experiences, it makes sense that with a few days alone, they're going to learn some new tricks, and since what they do advances the emotional/relationship side of the plot, it's not like I'm just adding different kinds of sex just for the sake of sex...I actually found I /needed/ to in order to cover the emotional ground.

Trim out fat--trim out anything that's not advancing the story--but sometimes you just realize that you need a lot of space to tell the story you want to tell. And sometimes you don't.

[Calanthee]

Every time I write a major sex scene, it's like 20 pages long...I'm beginning to wonder if I'm over describing...is that possible?

No Sugar, your Naugthy Muse, just gets very turned on by what your writing and doesn't want to let go... happens to me all the time... sometimes for story structure and balance you need to reign in the little kinky fellow or he can get quite out of hand. You need to read over what you wrote and decide what works and what doesn't... especially if gets repeative and boring! Good luck.

A hints given by a pro [Yo not me]... don't fall so in love with what you write, so much that you can delete it to make the story better. Happy writing, respectfully Cal