the neighbors complain about the noises above

[lunabee34]

Last week, I posted a poll about sex in fanfic.

Here are the tentative results:

Admittedly, the sample size is pretty small (37 participants), but apparently many of those who answered my poll routinely skip over sex scenes in fic. We seem to be pretty evenly split on whether the presence of sex scenes are important to our enjoyment of fic and on whether we think our readers expect us to include sex scenes in our fic. Most participants say they have not included a sex scene in their fic because they feel it is expected. 84% think stories with sex scenes get more attention than those without them and most participants indicate that the way they feel about sex scenes (either as a reader or writer of fanfic) has changed over the course of their fannish involvement.

And some followup questions (which some of you answered in your comments to the post):

If you skip over sex scenes, why? What compels you to do so? If you're one of those who always reads them, why? Those of you who feel like your readers expect you to include sex scenes in your stories, where does that pressure come from? What's given you that idea? Any evidence (anecdotal or otherwise) for stories with sex scenes getting more attention? Anyone else want to share how your thoughts on sex scenes have changed over the years?

I'm still interested in the questions that didn't get answered in the comments to the post poll:

What should a good sex scene do? What should the purpose of sex in fanfic be? What do you do to keep sex scenes fresh and original as a writer? What would you like to see more of in sex scenes? What works best for you as a reader and/or writer of sex scenes? Got any links to sex scenes that you think work really well?

Comments

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

I don't know that I've seen a lot of fic that's written in tag form where the characters are more avatars for the writers (which makes me glad because that sounds like it would be quite dreadful to read).

I think I disagree with you a little about dialogue during sex scenes; I'm okay with a fair amount of it, but mileage may vary. :) That's a totally subjective thing.

When I write sex scenes, I try not to get too technical. I try not to label too many bodyparts or give step-by-step narration. It's more erotic, I think, to read about the participants' reactions rather than their actions. How does A's touch make B feel? How does A's skin feel beneath B's fingers or taste on C's tongue? Does B shiver when A holds him too tight? Does B understand why A is holding him too tight and does that turn him on even more or make him want to reassure A or hug him?

I think that's a very useful way of approaching writing a sex scene.

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

I think I disagree with you a little about dialogue during sex scenes; I'm okay with a fair amount of it, but mileage may vary. :) That's a totally subjective thing.

I'm not disagreeing that dialogue during sex can be very hot indeed. I'm all for talky sex, but if they're chatting away like they're at a tea party, no gasps or hitched voices, no stuttering or stumbling over words or lost trains of thought, just a lot of perfectly phrased, carefully formed sentences, it always feels to me like the sex can't be any good if they're still capable of that much concentration. *g*

I've had fun reading others' responses to your post(s) on this subject. :D

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Heeeeeee. You're right. If they're able to recite Plato's treatise on reality at the same time, then they're probably Doing it Wrong. :)

I'm glad this was a fun post! I've had a good time with it, too. It's sex. What's not to love? LOL