To Lewd Or Not To Lewd

[LightNovelNovice]

Almost all of my stories are roughly PG-13, but I have dabbled in adult stories... but the question is when does writing go from being adult writing to straight up porn?

I want to write something for the story, but including sexual scenes without making it porn.

Any tips?

 

[Pixytokisaki14]

Almost all of my stories are roughly PG-13, but I have dabbled in adult stories... but the question is when does writing go from being adult writing to straight up porn?

I want to wrote something for the story, but including sexual scenes without making it porn.

In short term: If you include sex scenes. If you do something like explain how sexy a character is, or how their figure is curvy n all that. It falls under Ecchi or adult writing.
If you straight up go sex scene then it turns into smut also known as porn.

 

[LightNovelNovice]

In short term: If you include sex scenes. If you do something like explain how sexy a character is, or how their figure is curvy n all that. It falls under Ecchi or adult writing.
If you straight up go sex scene then it turns into smut also known as porn.

I suppose I could always omit anything too intimate and maybe post it someplace else for those who *really* want to read, but I'd prefer sticking to the realm of adult writing rather than smut.

 

[AverageMaidLover]

I do this with my stories. If you keep them to a few hundred words (unless it's a special scene), and not every chapter, I think they can add to the story without it just being 'porn'. Especially if they just feel like a natural part of the story, as opposed to feeling forced in.

 

[fluffypie374]

What if you include sex scene, but you censor the sex scene and describe it in rather vague words, analogies, or in a way that is hidden under the hood?

 

[AnonUnlimited]

Porn is defined by what the plot is focused on… well if it isn’t then we can all see game of thrones as straight up porn.

 

[Sergeandgreen]

Almost all of my stories are roughly PG-13, but I have dabbled in adult stories... but the question is when does writing go from being adult writing to straight up porn?

I want to write something for the story, but including sexual scenes without making it porn.

Any tips?

I think there is a difference between porn and a romance story with adult content. This difference is:

1. The Frequency.
2. The reason you include the scene.

If you have adult content in every 10k words, you are writing porn. If you have it every 50k chapters, its not really porn in my opinion. (The numbers are entirely made up but if you have more smut than actual plot, it should be obvious what you are writing but if the story itself is still the main selling point of your story and you use these scenes sparingly, I wouldn't classify them as porn.) But there is a sweet spot between porn and plot where the reader has the feeling of reading the story for the story if in reality, he is reading it for the porn. (People want to read good porn but rarely want to admit it)

If the scene does something for character development, it is also entirely fine. If you just write it to have a sex scene and the characters would be the same without it, then you are writing porn.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

if you can take out plot and not have the story suffer much it's porn.

 

[georgelee5786]

No lewd

 

[Sagacious_Punk]

Porn/smut is applicable only when the intimate scenes (whether sexual in nature or not) are described explicitly, with vocabulary focused on the carnal and the "physical" stuff.

There are plenty of romantic (and non-romantic) stories which include sex scenes, but the way they are explored and presented to the reader is entirely non-pornographic, and in some cases non-erotic even.

One of Peter Beagle's (of The Last Unicorn fame) recent stories involved rape, but it was done in such a way that you had to read the pertinent paragraph itself twice to understand what happened.

Of course, the skill needed to write a tasteful intimate scene without making it smutty is much higher than the other way around. But don't get confused that the two are mutually exclusive. (sex =/= porn)

EDIT: Of course, there's always the "fade to black" trick if you want to mention stuff happening without having to describe it. And it's considered PG-13, as I've seen it in middle-grade books.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Almost all of my stories are roughly PG-13, but I have dabbled in adult stories... but the question is when does writing go from being adult writing to straight up porn?

I want to write something for the story, but including sexual scenes without making it porn.

Any tips?

Don't go into detail about the intercourse. Instead, be metaphorical about the impact on the relationship.

 

[Snake99]

What if you include sex scene, but you censor the sex scene and describe it in rather vague words, analogies, or in a way that is hidden under the hood?

That's the right way to write sex scenes

 

[2wordsperminute]

What if you include sex scene, but you censor the sex scene and describe it in rather vague words, analogies, or in a way that is hidden under the hood?

Honkai Star Rail actually does this with the fermata light cone apparently. Not sure if it's intentional or not. But given that it's got Kafka on it, it's probably intentional.

 

[prognastat]

There's not really any clear cut answer because it depends on the one reading.

The most prude people will say if it has any reference to sex or even nudity it's porn. However most people don't consider something like Game of Thrones porn despite sex being very present.

For me personally it's a little vague, but generally I ask is the story there in service of the sex scenes or are the sex scenes there in service of the story. If it's the former you're writing porn. If it's the latter then to me it's not porn.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Write the story you want to read.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

If you feel the need to include sex, do it. Porn is not an inclusion of sex. It's the focus of sex.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

I feel like adding sex scenes attracts people who will only read for that. Not necessarily a bad thing, but if that's not the type of story you want to tell then you might want to steer clear of it.

 

[Notadate]

The lady walked in and she was-

‘She‘s pretty.’

Hey! Let me describe it

’Not in my Christian book. She’s brown and pretty, also muscular! The finest description!’

Damn main characters.
-
Sex waters things down. It can push away as many people as it could gain. But the people reading for the shrex! Well, usually aren’t there for an epic tale. Best guidance is if you want sex, don’t write it (fade to black type style), and don’t over describe characters with Echie speak. A person who wants a cool story doesn’t want to be punched by a block text of unrelenting lust, that was written with one hand.
-
I hate porn in my books. Manga… well, I’m not reading words, let me tell you that

 

[AstreiaNyx]

My first story is smut, and it was my first time writing it too. However, the smut scenes came in very late (around 50 chapters), so a lot of readers were turned off, resulting in them dropping the series.

Should I have started it earlier? No, because I wanted to take time to develop attractions (I hate love at first sight).

Should I drop smut entirely? No, because the smut scenes, aside from, well, being smut, provide insights into the characters. So, I’ve embraced it. I enjoy reading stories with sprinkles of smut, and that’s what I write.

 

[prognastat]

My first story is smut, and it was my first time writing it too. However, the smut scenes came in very late (around 50 chapters), so a lot of readers were turned off, resulting in them dropping the series.

Should I have started it earlier? No, because I wanted to take time to develop attractions (I hate love at first sight).

Should I drop smut entirely? No, because the smut scenes, aside from, well, being smut, provide insights into the characters. So, I’ve embraced it. I enjoy reading stories with sprinkles of smut, and that’s what I write.

Yeah it can be pretty tough because if you delay it's introduction then the ones looking for it are turned away from the story and those that are reading and not looking for that can be pushed away by it. Not much that can be done about it beyond setting clear expectations in the synopsis or by introducing it sooner.