Do you write smut that doesn't personally excite you?

[Keltiel]

Or is it just me? A lot of you probably don’t know me or my writing very well, but I’ll be the first to admit that most of my writing contains what I’ll politely refer to as “risque content”. I’m sure that many people who’ve skimmed past my stories disinterestedly have thought to themselves “by God, this person’s a weirdo.” But what may surprise them is that some of the things I write really don't get my jollies off.

For instance, I have a story with Minor1 (an 11-year-old), but I’m not excited by pedophilia (I actually despise children, but that’s a whole different thing). Instead, I wrote the story because it was challenging, interesting, and refreshing to write from the perspective of somebody innocent. To write as somebody ignorant of the situation and to work through the complexity of both wanting to please the adult they admired while also feeling guilty about a situation that felt inherently wrong.

In two of my stories, rimming comes into play. I’ve never personally tried it from either perspective, but I’ve seen it performed and I can’t say I’m a fan. However, in one story it’s literally the only option for lubricant and the other story is about making (mostly gay) porn. I write the characters as enjoying it, and I write it in a way to hopefully excite those who are reading my stories, but it really doesn’t get me off.

These are only some examples, and since I’m trying to create a discussion and not a rant, I’d like to hear from you.

[JayDee]

I’ve done the occasional risque story too. I’ve written some things that didn’t appeal to me specifically just because that was the request/story exchange. I suppose the biggest example was probably three or so Spyro the Dragon things (one full story, and a couple brief scenes) for a fan. I just don’t see the appeal of him as a sexual character at all. Not even when he was voiced by Elijah Wood.

In terms of getting off anyway It seems like a lot of us would rather read someone else’s stuff even with themes we like. 

[BronxWench]

I have definitely written a great deal which isn’t exactly my personal cup of tea. I don’t have rape fantasies, but I’ve included it in stories. I draw the line at a threesome in terms of my own preferences, but I’ve written moresomes, and no one who knows me would ever think of me as submissive, although I’m not really a domme, either. Femslash doesn’t do it for me, but I do think I’ve written it once or twice.

For me, I write what the story needs me to write, and even if it isn’t my idea of a good time, if the characters are good, then so am I. 

[SparkyMuse]

IRL I’m actually kinda squeamish and haven’t done anything quote-unquote “romantic” in over four years now, I think, and I don’t really have confidence anyways. Though I’m certain a lot of people may or may not have picked up on that bit about me having “negative confidence”. So, just about anything I write in my stories, I probably haven’t done, or wouldn’t do. So, because of my squeamishness and vanilla-marshmallow-y-ness, I suppose just about everything I write is no-experience kind of stuff, almost, whether or not it excites me. Although I wonder if that’s the question asked, now that I think about it……….

[Melrick]

I’m the kind of person that enjoys pushing myself into writing about things that don’t personally interest me or excite me, but there are limits.  I never have or would write about scat.  Nope.  Nope nope nope.  Male on male sex doesn’t do it for me, but I did push myself to write one slash story, which I uploaded here.  I don’t know how good it is, but I did rewrite the ending to be less… shithouse.  Also, in real life I’m utterly repelled by rape.  I mean, it just makes me angry!  But I’ve tried to write rape fantasies… and I just can’t do it.  I feel too sorry for the woman, and end up having her enjoy the experience.  So I realise I just can’t write rape that isn’t rubbish.

[Keltiel]

It’s nice to know that I’m not just a complete weirdo  also, I have lots of replies, so I’m just going to @ people, if you find it annoying, just let me know, and I’ll refrain from it in the future.

@JayDee I definitely understand preferring to read someone else’s work. I think it’s because we, as writers, are too familiar with our own stories to feel the same thrill from them as reading something completely unknown from somebody else. After all, part of the excitement is from the unknown. Also, I never knew that Elijah Wood voiced Spyro, was that in the newer games? I stopped playing after the third one. Either way, I also agree that I never found him sexually appealing.

@BronxWench I think that’s a really great way to look at it. You write what the story needs regardless of your personal feelings towards it. I feel like that a lot when I put my characters through the more extreme hardships; where on the one hand I feel bad that I’m putting my own creation through such issues, but also realising that it’s needed for the story to progress.

(SparkyMuse, I don’t mean anything by leaving a reply out for you, I just don’t have a very good one.)

@Melrick There are a few things that I absolutely won’t write about, scat also being one of them. I’m incredibly squeamish when it comes to feces and vomitus, and I could never write about or use them in a sexual nature. Also no minors under the age of 5 and no snuff. Killing/murder are fine (in a fictional sense), and their perpetrator getting off on it is fine, but I can’t force myself to write about it in a sexual manner. Like that one animation I accidentally watched where a dildo machine turned into a murder machine… just thinking about it makes me shudder. I’ve written rape a few times, I don’t get aroused by it, but I find that writing it is fairly cathartic. I have incredibly severe anxiety, but writing about horrible things actually seems to help relieve it somewhat. I think it’s because I’m actually pouring my anxiety into my writing, like how a lot of artists used their depression to better their art. Or maybe I’m just romanticizing it.

[Desiderius Price]

6 hours ago, Keltiel said:

It’s nice to know that I’m not just a complete weirdo  also, I have lots of replies, so I’m just going to @ people, if you find it annoying, just let me know, and I’ll refrain from it in the future.

We are on AFF

I’ve tried absolute lines only to find my writing crossing them.  Minor1 was the first to fall, when I had an otherwise good premise, and the MC’s sister (13 year old) found her way into the story in a more major role than I had originally anticipated.  I considered changing her age, but then the MCs would have to change their age, and that’d affect other stories as I’m tying a bunch of them together (it’s more of world building than simply story telling).  So, in the end, I just require good reason to go with younger sexual activity.  (Though I do have younger nudists.)

Like BW mentioned, I let the characters be themselves, they can explore what they want to explore … its not like they listen to me    In extreme cases, I can always have their parents/others walk in on them ….

[Keltiel]

@Desiderius Price I get that. I roleplay a ridiculous amount with my fiance (homebrew with dice, but usually no hard character sheets) and sometimes a character or an entire story develops completely differently than you ever envisioned it to from the beginning. That’s the difference between writing a character as their own person versus just a cog in the story. I admire that a lot, I’ll probably take a look at yours and BW’s stories when I have a chance.

[JayDee]

Elijah did some the voice about 10-12 years ago. I don’t know if he’s done newer, or indeed if there’s been any newer since then! It certainly wasn’t him on the original playstation game

I’ve written scat! Like rimming, I guess it is a matter of taste. Sticking your tongue up an ass isn’t that terrible. Especially if you’ve bought food from a late night burger van. One thing I did write about outside of my usual tastes that lost me a lot of long time readers and generated a lot of both anger and concern was a story with  loving consensual sex within marriage. To this day the only review is of a “What the fuck did I just read” nature. I doubt I’ll make that mistake again.

I can’t see me ever writing a Minor1 story. I doubt I’d even feel comfortable writing minor2 characters under 16 (that being the all-genders age of consent in my locality and, for some reason, Rhode Island, USA.) I had a request once that made me feel pretty ill. And found out that “Toddlercon” isn’t a gathering of parents of young children in the same way that “ComicCon” is often a gathering of portly gentlemen with unshaven necks and well-tipped fedoras comics fans. 

[GeorgeGlass]

Almost all of the “risque content” I write is stuff that turns me on. If it didn’t, I probably wouldn’t be writing it. That said, there are exceptions:

--Occasionally, I write about acts that don’t do anything for me but that seem necessary to the story or to portraying the characters the way I want to. For example, I don’t really enjoy writing about a man performing oral sex on a woman, but there are times when I feel the need to depict that because, say, the male character isn’t the type to receive oral sex without reciprocating.

--I’ve held a couple of “story raffles” in which the winner gets to choose the subject of a story that I will write. One of these winners wanted a story about his anthropomorphic dragon character, who is a prostitute, and he wanted the story to include footjobs and double anal knotting. I’m not at all into reptiles, prostitution, footjobs, or double penetration of a single orifice, but I found a way to write the story that satisfied both me and the contest winner.

23 hours ago, JayDee said:

I’ve done the occasional risque story too.

You’d better smiley-face when you say that, pardner.

26 minutes ago, JayDee said:

One thing I did write about outside of my usual tastes that lost me a lot of long time readers and generated a lot of both anger and concern was a story with  loving consensual sex within marriage. To this day the only review is of a “What the fuck did I just read” nature. I doubt I’ll make that mistake again.

How the heck did that story generate anger and concern? You mention in the disclaimer that it was for the “Very Vanilla” contest, so it’s not like readers weren’t forewarned. (BTW, I think you deserved extra points for making it about a married couple; I didn’t go that far with my own entry.)

[JayDee]

You’ve got higher standards.!

[Keltiel]

36 minutes ago, JayDee said:

One thing I did write about outside of my usual tastes that lost me a lot of long time readers and generated a lot of both anger and concern was a story with  loving consensual sex within marriage. To this day the only review is of a “What the fuck did I just read” nature. I doubt I’ll make that mistake again.

1

That’s a really strange thing to lose readers over, but maybe I don’t understand because my own writing is so eclectic that I’ll likely never accrue a following of loyal readers.

37 minutes ago, JayDee said:

I can’t see me ever writing a Minor1 story. I doubt I’d even feel comfortable writing minor2 characters under 16 (that being the all-genders age of consent in my locality and, for some reason, Rhode Island, USA.) I had a request once that made me feel pretty ill. And found out that “Toddlercon” isn’t a gathering of parents of young children in the same way that “ComicCon” is often a gathering of portly gentlemen with unshaven necks and well-tipped fedoras comics fans. 

 

I do have a hard limit of nothing under the age of 5, which may seem strange (why limit it there, right?) but it’s the age when children start going to school, are becoming more independent, and are better able to express themselves and their wants. That said, most of my stories containing Minor1 (only one of which is posted here, or anywhere for that matter) only involve minors actually agreeing to participate. I don’t think I could write anything younger or incredibly violent or rapey.

3 hours ago, GeorgeGlass said:

--I’ve held a couple of “story raffles” in which the winner gets to choose the subject of a story that I will write. One of these winners wanted a story about his anthropomorphic dragon character, who is a prostitute, and he wanted the story to include footjobs and double anal knotting. I’m not at all into reptiles, prostitution, footjobs, or double penetration of a single orifice, but I found a way to write the story that satisfied both me and the contest winner.

1

While I’m incredibly fond of reptile anthros, I don’t like feet. I can’t touch feet, I can’t have people touch my feet. Double knotting sounds either amazingly pleasurable or horribly painful, I think it depends on the size of the knots. Anyway, I think it’s pretty cool that you went through with the story even though it really wasn’t your thing.

[BronxWench]

It may take me some time to recover from the incredible mental gyrations caused by picturing not only JayDee but GeorgeGlass as well participating in a Very Vanilla contest. It’s also made me want to read those entries, so beware…

Oddly enough, I think the most erotic things I’ve written were largely innuendo, while the more graphic things I’ve written were more… boring than erotic. I think my imagination is a far more encouraging place for all things erotic to flourish. I can twist fairly mild innuendo into a feast in my imagination, whereas something described in minute detail often trips me up while I try (and usually fail) to visualize the scene properly. And then I’m out of the story, and off on a tangent instead. This might just be me, however.

[GeorgeGlass]

1 hour ago, Keltiel said:

While I’m incredibly fond of reptile anthros, I don’t like feet. I can’t touch feet, I can’t have people touch my feet. Double knotting sounds either amazingly pleasurable or horribly painful, I think it depends on the size of the knots. Anyway, I think it’s pretty cool that you went through with the story even though it really wasn’t your thing.

I found ways to make it work for me. I softened the effect of the main character being a reptile by making her two clients anthro wolves (‘cause I like furries with actual fur). The prostitution thing I dealt with by making it fun for all concerned, instead of the prostitute being jaded and all about the money, or else being degraded by the act. The footjob I combined with the other male character getting a handjob. As for the double anal knotting, I didn’t like the idea of it being painful (and I didn’t think that was what the contest winner was looking for), but fortunately, the character has the ability to transform into a full-size dragon, so I had her do that before the double knotting. Figured she could easily take it then. And it made for a pleasant surprise for the contest winner, who hadn’t expected me to use the transformation ability in the story. (Which is called Leilaya’s Evening, in case anyone’s interested.)

1 hour ago, BronxWench said:

It may take me some time to recover from the incredible mental gyrations caused by picturing not only JayDee but GeorgeGlass as well participating in a Very Vanilla contest. It’s also made me want to read those entries, so beware…

I think it was a serious challenge for all concerned. When it was over, I recall one of the other contestants saying, “Let us never speak of the vanilla again” (which is ironic, because her story, “Very Vanilla,” is hilarious).

Quote

Oddly enough, I think the most erotic things I’ve written were largely innuendo, while the more graphic things I’ve written were more… boring than erotic. I think my imagination is a far more encouraging place for all things erotic to flourish. I can twist fairly mild innuendo into a feast in my imagination, whereas something described in minute detail often trips me up while I try (and usually fail) to visualize the scene properly. And then I’m out of the story, and off on a tangent instead. This might just be me, however.

Some things are definitely better implied than shown. I don’t do that as often or as well as perhaps I should.

Edited May 20, 2017 by GeorgeGlass

[SirGeneralSir]

personally i find that its not exactly about my taste, but does the character/s fit it?

an example, lets use Batman. would BW/BM (Bruce Wayne / BatMan) be that sadistic dominating person in the bedroom, or would he be something else?

of course you could argue what universe of Batman, but lets just go with standard Batman, considering his personality I would probably write him as a tender lover, even though that might not do it for me, its about the story and the character

because if you break who the character is in your story out of character, without a reason, i find it detracts from the story. BUT again thats all in how you write it. BM might be the dominating kind if paired with X character, or the submissive kind to another one.

[CloverReef]

My god, this is hard to answer, yet I feel compelled. 

Been writing smut 14ish years. For the first four I didn't even know I could get turned on, to be perfectly honest. I wrote out of morbid curiosity. Then I was writing m/m specifically because it was so far removed from my own sexuality that it was non threatening. It was about abandoning the expectations of gender roles to me, so the sex I was writing had meaning, but by no means did it get my engine revving. 

It's just recently, within the last 2 years that I really began to get into the smut I was writing on that level. Maybe I evolved, maybe I devolved, but either way it definitely changed the way I write those scenes. 

[SirGeneralSir]

I can read other peoples stories and get excited, some times even if the story is “bad” but the image they placed in my mind is all thats needed, sometimes i do get myself too in my own story, but thats never the “goal” until editing is done.

[Gandalfs-Beard]

The short answer in my case is that in one story in particular (Hermione’s Furry Little Problem) i wrote far more (detailed) smut scenes than I would have simply to keep up with audience demand. Frankly, it can get a bit boring and repetitive to read and write non-stop sex scenes in an epic length novel—some of the scenes were a bit perfunctory. I was far less excited for some of them and it shows. My preference is to only focus in detail on a few key sex scenes which advance the plot or advance the romance, and to present something new each time—leaving the other sex scenes implied or off-screen (which is mostly the way I handle my other major fics).

But that’s not really what the question is about, is it!? The question is really about content. And to that, I have to say that I have yet to publish anything online outside of my comfort zone or which doesn’t excite me, which isn’t to say that I wouldn’t at some point write something that doesn’t generally float my boat.

I’m actually entertained by quite a variety of fetishes and I’m pretty much open to writing anything, even outside of my comfort zone as long as it doesn’t feature prepubescent minors (taking into consideration that puberty can hit anywhere between 11 and 13—at eleven for me in any case  ), older adults (anything over mid twenties) with minors, or snuff/necro, and I doubt I’ll ever publish anything which features non-con, nor Stockholm Syndrome style rape/slave fics (I have written some horribly filthy smut off-line which features hardcore non-con/slavery and bestiality, but it’ll never see the light of day).

And for myself, I don’t really have any issues writing scenes featuring Minor 1 characters (pubescent ones anyway), because it’s always from the pov of the teen characters themselves and consensual, and it’s more about fond reminiscences of my own experiences and fantasies at that age (what can I say? I and my girlfriend were very precocious) than from the pov of a “middle-aged-perv.”  

There is some generally “non-exciting” content (to me) which I have planned on writing, but never got around to for one reason or another. At some point, I’m fairly certain that I will write some male slash scenes as out-takes from one of my stories which has male couples as secondary characters. Being of “ambiguous” gender identity myself (it varies depending on the day of the week) with a preference for women, I tend to mostly write scenes which reflect that: Het, Femslash, Bi, and sort-of-Trans gender-bending sex scenes.  

Going to JayDee’s point regarding writing stuff that loses regular readers, in my fics that tends to happen right around the part of my stories in which metamorphmagus!sort-of-Trans!Harry gender-bends and is ploughed by a girl (usually Hermione) with a strap-on dildo. Despite a lot of obvious foreshadowing, some are still surprised and it’s too “squick” for them.  

I’m also considering writing a metamorphmagus!futa!Tonks screws metamorphmagus!fem!Harry out-take scene. Futa isn’t generally my thing in a big way, but I enjoy it from time to time and I think it would be fun to have a go at writing a futa fic. 

[sweetmamajama]

In my case its mostly about fantasy vs reality. For example in real life I am very squeamish about things I put near my mouth and face and butthole but I read and write m/m and find it pretty hot. I also find rimming very hot in fantasy but in reality I wouldn't wanna have my tongue anywhere near an asshole.

I have a lot of underage shit going on in my stories too (both written and still in my head) even though I don't find teenagers sexually attractive. I think that maybe that's because I find ‘sexual awakening’ interesting to write about. Also there are stories of mine that kinda demand it because of the marriage customs and the ideas of consent and sexual maturity are different in the story’s universe than in our own. And of course, since a lot of my characters have terrible childhoods, there are the backstories and flashbacks that are usually very... unpleasant to write. Hmm...when I look back I wrote a lot of things that were unpleasant to write…

But I think I got a bit off topic, sorry my brain is just not working properly today...idk did I answer the question? I forgot what I was gonna say! Whaa am I so broken?!

[mastershakeme]

On 5/19/2017 at 5:20 AM, Keltiel said:

Or is it just me? A lot of you probably don’t know me or my writing very well, but I’ll be the first to admit that most of my writing contains what I’ll politely refer to as “risque content”. I’m sure that many people who’ve skimmed past my stories disinterestedly have thought to themselves “by God, this person’s a weirdo.” But what may surprise them is that some of the things I write really don't get my jollies off.

For instance, I have a story with Minor1 (an 11-year-old), but I’m not excited by pedophilia (I actually despise children, but that’s a whole different thing). Instead, I wrote the story because it was challenging, interesting, and refreshing to write from the perspective of somebody innocent. To write as somebody ignorant of the situation and to work through the complexity of both wanting to please the adult they admired while also feeling guilty about a situation that felt inherently wrong.

In two of my stories, rimming comes into play. I’ve never personally tried it from either perspective, but I’ve seen it performed and I can’t say I’m a fan. However, in one story it’s literally the only option for lubricant and the other story is about making (mostly gay) porn. I write the characters as enjoying it, and I write it in a way to hopefully excite those who are reading my stories, but it really doesn’t get me off.

These are only some examples, and since I’m trying to create a discussion and not a rant, I’d like to hear from you.

That’s extremely interesting… your POV… I was just thinking recently that I need some serious help with my sex scenes… and HOW EMBARRASSING! I’m a female who sleeps with males! Why and how do I think I can write M/M no problem? Well, the only reason I thought I could is because I’ve seen other females in the past BLOW me away with their M/M sex scenes (at least I think they were female ) I’m interested in males, i like their parts, but weirdly enough, if I’m just looking to get off, I head to asstr.org and read either M/F or F/F. But romance? idk, i think it’s cuter to watch a M/M couple try to figure it out. I too want to get my readers off, and honestly, I don’t think I am. They like the characters, they mention them. The plot? Its keeping them interested. But no mentions to the sex! Lol! THAT’S BECAUSE IT SUUUUCKS!

[mastershakeme]

 

On 5/27/2017 at 3:16 AM, sweetmamajama said:

In my case its mostly about fantasy vs reality. For example in real life I am very squeamish about things I put near my mouth and face and butthole but I read and write m/m and find it pretty hot. I also find rimming very hot in fantasy but in reality I wouldn't wanna have my tongue anywhere near an asshole.

I have a lot of underage shit going on in my stories too (both written and still in my head) even though I don't find teenagers sexually attractive. I think that maybe that's because I find ‘sexual awakening’ interesting to write about. Also there are stories of mine that kinda demand it because of the marriage customs and the ideas of consent and sexual maturity are different in the story’s universe than in our own. And of course, since a lot of my characters have terrible childhoods, there are the backstories and flashbacks that are usually very... unpleasant to write. Hmm...when I look back I wrote a lot of things that were unpleasant to write…

But I think I got a bit off topic, sorry my brain is just not working properly today...idk did I answer the question? I forgot what I was gonna say! Whaa am I so broken?!

I already know how you feel about my sex scenes  I’m on here looking for help, kay! But I give you props for writing about things you find unpleasant. There are scenes I want to skip, but I think there can be something gained for writing topics out of your comfort zone. I had a 14 year get gangbanged once. OK! I don’t remember if it was any good. OMG I’M NOT GOING TO LOOK! hahaaaa 

[SirGeneralSir]

ive seen a ………… few, stories where all it was, was characters having sex, very little plot or general story, yet its 5 – 10? chapters long.

stories like that personally put me off, I have always been that way with most things.

Games, TV, Movies and books have to have a good story to keep me into it, just having some kind of content for no reason tends to be replaced by something else of better quality.

more can be better, but it can also hurt the story too, i think im running into that with my story.

[mastershakeme]

4 hours ago, Anon said:

My content is pretty tame.

Don't say that! We're all feeling like failures here! You ain't alone! 

[mastershakeme]

23 minutes ago, SirGeneralSir said:

ive seen a ………… few, stories where all it was, was characters having sex, very little plot or general story, yet its 5 – 10? chapters long.

stories like that personally put me off, I have always been that way with most things.

Games, TV, Movies and books have to have a good story to keep me into it, just having some kind of content for no reason tends to be replaced by something else of better quality.

more can be better, but it can also hurt the story too, i think im running into that with my story.

Absolutely... I'm really picky about what I read. I tend to pick long stories that have damaged characters, I like to see rememption... So I'm not going to get what I'm looking for in PWP... 

I think I definitely have a good cast of damaged characters, I strive to get some strong sexual tension started, I can DO THAT. What I'm not sure I can do is live up to the expectations my UST put forth. 

[Desiderius Price]

2 hours ago, SirGeneralSir said:

ive seen a ………… few, stories where all it was, was characters having sex, very little plot or general story, yet its 5 – 10? chapters long.

stories like that personally put me off, I have always been that way with most things.

Games, TV, Movies and books have to have a good story to keep me into it, just having some kind of content for no reason tends to be replaced by something else of better quality.

more can be better, but it can also hurt the story too, i think im running into that with my story.

PWPs can be useful, so I won’t dismiss them.  I started writing a PWP a few years ago (still unpublished), and the questions that arose out of, well, it became a jumping off point to the original stories that I am publishing.  Once I evolve my universe/stories to the point in time that the PWP occurs, it won’t be so much PWP anymore.