At what point does a story cross over the border of mature mature and into smut?

[Representing_Tromba]

For example, if you have a story with a character hitting on someone else or sexual innuendo.

 

[MajorKerina]

Details.

If the reader can draw a sketch of the character’s anatomy from your description, then it’s probably crossed the line from simply mature.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

If you "drop the curtain" before they copulate, it's mature. If you go into detail, it's smut. You can have both in the same story, of course.

 

[JayDirex]

This is actually a good question. My current one I gave a smut tag to, not because I'm so graphic (I'm fairly vanilla), but there are a lot of mature scenes, ( a story about a Succubus) so I just thought it safer to add the tag. @Paul_Tromba

 

[Jemini]

For example, if you have a story with a character hitting on someone else or sexual innuendo.

I can tell you EXACTLY where the line is. Mushoku Tensei. (The source material, not the anime adaptation.) That series treads right on the line between "Mature" and "Smut." Therefore, if it's more sexually graphic than Mushoku Tensei by even a hair it's smut. If it's less by even the smallest amount then it's mature. Mushoku Tensei is the precise location of where the line between the two is.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

For example, if you have a story with a character hitting on someone else or sexual innuendo.

If the whole story revolves around the romance or sex, its smut. If it's just a part of the story but not the main focus then its mature.

Imagine 50 Shades as opposed to Game of Thrones

 

[Mechaphobic]

I always felt it is kind of like those times in middle school, when you begin to wonder what it might feel like to try new things. When it moves past just a man and a woman, or a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, and you have to start getting creative with things. When you have moved passed what kind of furniture, and the two of you are eagerly discussing the best method to use this new salad spoon. When lubricants aren't cutting it and you are currently looking through various obscure cooking oils.

That is when you have entered smut.

 

[Deleted member 12793]

Hmm, I always thought the difference between the mature and smut tag in novels didn't have anything to do about the "graphics" but about the focus of the plot. Like @CupcakeNinja said, if the story resolves mainly around sex, then it should be considered smut.

You can clearly see what I mean by searching for smut when browsing manga.

I took the smut tag off from my novel and stuck with mature when I realized I didn't want to focus only on the romance and sex. I think there's only two sex scenes in 90+ chapters.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Hmm, I always thought the difference between the mature and smut tag in novels didn't have anything to do about the "graphics" but about the focus of the plot. Like @CupcakeNinja said, if the story resolves mainly around sex, then it should be considered smut.

You can clearly see what I mean by searching for smut when browsing manga.

I took the smut tag off from my novel and stuck with mature when I realized I didn't want to focus only on the romance and sex. I think there's only two sex scenes in 90+ chapters.

You know, I did the same. I put smut as a tag on my story that had only a few explicit scenes scattered around. I wonder If I should change it.

But...eh. I kinda placed the tag just because my story switches genre a lot. Like it's mainly a comedy, but there are a lot of different elements. And at the time I was writing smut elements into it. You know, the whole "love at first sight/soul mate" thing from all those supernatural smut romance stories.

Since there were so many different elements from different genres of stories, I kinda just put up all kinds of tags. Hm. It could even be considered a parody story, maybe?

 

[Not_A_Symphony]

I think (and this is just my personal opinion on the matter), a story ends up being Smut if the whole concept rotates around sexual relationships (foreplay or sex itself) while in Mature, even if you have some sexual scenes (detailed or not), the main focus is still on the plot itself.