Go the smut route or not?

[fan5writer]

Hi,
I am writing a simple isekai harem story, mostly for my escapism. But I am at point where I am wondering if I should go the smut route or not. All characters 18 + and I am tempted to.
Storywise - I prefer to keep sfw. Keep it whimsical and fun.
But for exposure, is it wiser to go the smut route?
I don't mind it, but I thought I would ask a few fellow authors before commiting

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

/shrug

It all depends on what you want. If you're not really 'feeling' the smut, then don't smut... fade any of the scenes to black, or maybe gloss over it.

The only thing worse than fading to black is phoning it in. Poorly written smut ruins a book.

Enjoy writing the story for what it is. Your story.

 

[LuoirM]

!roll 1d2

 

[Th3Breadnought]

So keep in mind there's three options:

Fade to black

What I like to call "minimalist sans ambiguity"- the approach I will eventually use in my second novel- where the point isn't purple prose, erotica, titillation, or smut; but the actual interaction between the characters in context of their journey, emotions, and psychology without being squeamish or precious about the sexual acts occurring. While trying to limit reader suspension of disbelief.

What I'd call smut or erotica- the horny and hot stuff, and I'm not judging.

There's definitely a market for the 3rd, I believe a quieter undeserved market for the 2nd, and plenty who prefer the 1st.

You're never gonna make everyone happy, so do what you want to do, because that's what you'll feel best doing (and all that that implies ). If you just want dat reach and traffic though, probably smut.

 

[SouthernMaiden]

Just make it so that the readers are aware its coming, and that they can skip the sex scenes if theyd like

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Write the story you want to read.

 

[eagle_360]

Are you writing for escapism or for readers reactions or smoothness of story, you just mentioned different writing priorities. Because if you are writing for;

Escapism - Then go ahead and make your dreams come true, even if it includes a sudden jarring scene of smut, because dreams are dreams.

Readers - I just learned that some of SH has a preference for smut (In some genres), however it depends entirely on what your story is focused on, Action? Fantasy? Slice-of-life? Check the popular books of the genre and see how they do it if your focus is entirely on reader satisfaction.

Smoothness - This can be done with or without smut, put spoiler tags, write non-story-chapters (I personally write mine as half. E.g Chapter 28.5)



I write for escapism so its mostly to fulfill my internal fantasy so I sprinkle different R18 whenever I want to or whenever neuron activation occurs.

My advice is to commit, and then if you dislike it edit.

 

[pangmida]

Write such things only if you want to. Do not force it in just for exposure. There are plenty of stories that are popular without explicit smut scenes, especially for the isekai and harem genres. If you prefer to keep it SFW, just whimsical and fun, definitely do that. Make your story suit your vision.

 

[AliceMoonvale]

Do what you want or works properly for your story. I could never imagine myself somehow inserting sex scenes in my diary formatted zombie horror story. lmao

If you don't want it, or it wouldn't be suitable, you'll have your answer.

 

[Anonjohn20]

Storywise - I prefer to keep sfw. Keep it whimsical and fun.

This is all the reasoning you need to keep it SFW. Writing things you'd rather not write will likely lead you to burnout.

But for exposure, is it wiser to go the smut route?

This site loves LitRPG smutfics, but different sites have different types of readers.

 

[Ashlock_]

If your heart is not in it, do not do it. Those who find you organically will sense your lack of commitment to Sparklemotion and bail.

 

[Conqueror_Quack]

If your heart is not in it, do not do it.

Jojo refrence?

 

[Ashlock_]

Jojo refrence?

If your heart is wavering, do not post!!

 

[Sylver]

Hi,
I am writing a simple isekai harem story, mostly for my escapism. But I am at point where I am wondering if I should go the smut route or not. All characters 18 + and I am tempted to.
Storywise - I prefer to keep sfw. Keep it whimsical and fun.
But for exposure, is it wiser to go the smut route?
I don't mind it, but I thought I would ask a few fellow authors before commiting

Then keep ot sfw no harm in that, some readers would appreciate that. Lot of users aren't searching for smut here, so your story might offer that middle ground for them.

You could go a fade to black route, or simply stick to the intimacy being limited to kissing, cuddling, displays of physical affection that don't cross that line. Maybe a reference to sharing a special night at most, up to you on how you deliver.

As a smut writer, I'd say keep your story sfw. Writing smut isn't a guarantee that your work will get popular. If you have more to offer than smut, go for it

 

[TinaMigarlo]

I had to do any number of writing exercises and in no small number,
gradually increasing length slowly, to learn how to write smut.
Like other things in writing, it took some amount of commitment.
I still make asexual G-rated stories, but I can now add as much or as little smut content as I think I want or need.
I couldn't do that before, it was a missing skill.
I avoided any sex/love scene in my writing, because I wasn't good at it.

 

[Dawnathon]

I'll agree with what others are saying. Don't force yourself to do it. I feel like sex scenes actually drive a lot of people away simply for existing in a story they'd otherwise be fine with, no matter how demarcated they are. Plus, if you're writing them out of obligation, the people who are into that sort of thing will feel it and dislike it anyways.

That being said, in very rare scenarios it can be too important to leave out. I don't particularly enjoy writing NSFW scenes myself, but they are important for the story I'm telling so I push through it anyways. Having a naive non-human protagonist interacting with humans just has too much narrative weight. It showcases all the things they learn from humanity, perversions included. I didn't make the rules, that would be the Epic of Gilgamesh. Enkidu getting rolled in the hay by a temple non-maiden was important to the Sumerians and the same applies here.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

I say nay.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

If you feel comfortable writing and sharing smut, by all means go for it.
If you do not, don't. Simple.