Is sex absolutely necessary?

[PatrickOBrien]

**I'm reposting this here from the library**

 

am i the only one who sometimes skips through the sex to get back to the main plot? lol maybe im a weirdo, but if i really get into the STORY, sometimes sex clouds it for me. it hasnt really happened in Com's stories (because he writes so wonderfully, like in savage moon......OMG WAS THAT HOT!, lol) but in some stories i think it isnt really needed. like if the author aludes to sex, but the actual act isnt written. oh well, lemme know if i am a whacko or not, lol

[LittleBuddhaTW]

No, it's not absolutely necessary. It depends on whether or not it serves to further the plot. If sex scenes are written simply for the sake of having a sex scene in the story, it just weakens the entire narrative. However, I have read incredibly erotic stories, with tons of sex (like "Sea Change" and "The Least of These" by Josh) that do not detract from the story, only enhance it. So, it depends.

 

*Hugz*

 

Buddha

[JamesSavik]

Some authors handle sex batter than others. With good authors like Dom or Comsie, sex is merely part of the plot. With less experienced authors, it can become a distraction.

 

Gay fiction has evolved quite a lot over the years. Years ago the only gay fiction that you could find were pulp paperbacks that were really just literary porn.

 

When gay fiction made it to the net during the ninties, quite a lot of it was still what a good friend of mine calls a "one handed story". There's loads of stuff like that on Nifty.

 

Around 2000 a cadre of net authors arose that elevated the genra. The Eggman, Cosmie, Dewey, Driver and others began writing gay fiction that was more about the story than sex.

[C James]

My opinion, based on just my own preferences, is that the occasional sex scene is fine if done well. But, I stress "occasional". Unless the sex is very well and tastefully written, I just skip over it. However, with some stories that I've seen (I'm not referring to any on GA) there really isn't much else in them, and personally I'd rather read my laundry list.

[LittleBuddhaTW]

I hope that's not a jab at me, bird boy

 

*Hugz*

 

Buddha

[Empathy]

yeah I agree sex scences should be few and far between in a good story. The sex certainly shouldn't drive the story and it should be well written. I'm actually about to tackle the task of writing my first sexual scene kind of...haha

[LittleBuddhaTW]

if you think it's a jab at ur writing, maybe u should take a look at my profile, Mr Insecurity. If you think it's a jab at ur comment, I actually agree with you.

 

and bird boy, has a name *folds arms and begins tantrum*

 

I was just teasin' ya, bud ... I didn't mean to hurt your feelings!

 

*super Buddha hugz*

[Jack Scribe]

To paraphrase Birdsofafeather:

I never read the sex scenes, unless I have ______ in my hands and nothing else to do...

 

Gratuitous sex in a story is a complete turnoff for me. However, if it is a natural turn of events, then go at it. As LB pointed out, author Josh has steamy scenes in almost every chapter. But his stories concern guys in their mid-teens and with a typical hormonal drive in outer orbit.

 

I think that authors have a challenge to present a sex scene with originality. How many times can you describe whatever without reading like it came out of the same jar?

 

Many times I enjoy my characters involved in a rapartee and playful beginnings of something that will be completed in the reader's mind.

 

Best,

Jack

[James Bond]

It depends.

 

Is the author any good?

Can he write a credible sex scene?

Is the story any good?

What is the author's intention with the story?

Is the sex relevant to the plot?

Are the characters interesting to me?

Am I in the right mood?

 

I have read stories where the sex is the story, more or less, both excellent and horrible stories.

I have read stories where the sex has enhanced, detracted or had little impact on the story.

I have read stories where there was too much or too little sex, or the timing in the story is wrong.

I have read stories where the sex was all right, I guess, just totally irrelevant to my preferences.

 

IMHO there can be no hard or fast rules as to sex in a story.

But if you go to Nifty, or here, to read stories, you have no right to complain that there is sex in a story...

If you don't like a story, or an author, you do however have every right to vote with your feet (or mouse).

[Jack Frost]

No, it's not absolutely necessary. It depends on whether or not it serves to further the plot. If sex scenes are written simply for the sake of having a sex scene in the story, it just weakens the entire narrative. However, I have read incredibly erotic stories, with tons of sex (like "Sea Change" and "The Least of These" by Josh) that do not detract from the story, only enhance it. So, it depends.

 

*Hugz*

 

Buddha

I agree with you.

 

Though speaking of Sea Change and similar stories with a lot of sex scenes...I did find them doing a little too much with such scenes, but god...the authors did a nice job making it really part of the plot.

[Rad]

I think sex has to be in the story. though sex can replace story, story needs sex, even if only for the story to be complete. I admit, when I'm hooked on a good story, I usually skip the sex part. but a good story is not a good story without the sex. It's just...incomplete.

 

Cheers & be well,

 

Rad

[JeffsFort]

I agree with all comments so far, with one exception...

 

I don't skip past anything in a story. I very much want to try to experience a story as it is seen in the mind's eye of the author. There have been times when not skipping the section destroyed the read and I put it down. It's just the way I am. If I can't enjoy the entire work, I'll just go searching for one I can.

 

I mean if I go out and buy a 400 page book, but 200 pages is garbage... I'm not gonna endorse the book... Even if the other 200 pages is good. Granted, I'm picky... LOL!

[Empathy]

Hey Jeff

 

 

I agree, If I have to skip arond it ruins the read.

[Narcoleptic]

Not at all saying comicalities stories at all because his are truly amazing, but lately a lot of stories are just sex sex sex so skipping a lot of parts have become a task that doesn't even need thought on because a lot of the sex "scenes" from what I can see look almost exactly like the 8 before it lol. Maybe i'm just crazy

[Irony]

The only thing I've skipped through in Com's stories are the incredibly long fight scenes in GFD that seem to go on forever. Usually when I'm tired. And it's not so much skipping as skimming.

I've gone back though when I've finished reading.

And Com's sex scenes aren't actually that long. They don't go on for paragraphs and paragraphs, giving you every explicit detail and every single movement.

You do get stories though where the whole story IS the sex. Fortunately none of Com's that I have read are like that.

[mEis]

I always skip the sex in a story to get back to the plot.

 

And for me it does not depend how well the sex has been described or detailed. It is boring, unuseful and sometimes can be a way for a poor author to fill a chapter.

 

Mmm... no killing me, please

[Irony]

I see where you're coming from. If the story line is so good, you don't wanna sit there reading about sex, you wanna read the story.

[Comicality]

For me, whether I'm writing or reading a story, the sex is never necessary. It's just 'fun'! Hehehe! There are a lot of stories that I could tell from point A to point B without ever adding a sexual interlude at all. But it feels restraining for me to do that. I remember being 14, 15, and 16 years old...and to find a boy that I liked, and thought was cute, and had feelings for him...sex was on my mind. If I even saw a stranger in the street that was just plain hot for no reason, hehehe, sex was on my mind. It's natural for me to write the way I would have felt back then.

 

I think, if you're reading a story, and it naturally progresses into something sexual, then it can be a really beautiful part of the story. But if it's just thrown in there and I hardly know who these people are or why they're together...then it loses some of its luster. And yeah, in those cases, the sex can be pretty boring. Even when it's well witten. Not because of the act itself, but because the readers don't know or care about the characters. If it wasn't for the characters in the story, and you read a bunch of them in a row, it's just 100 different descriptions of filling the same two holes. Yeah...boring.

 

And then, there are stories that are based on just the sex. Which can be fun too. You don't really get anything lasting out of them, but if that's what you're looking for, then most people might do the opposite and skip the story just to get to the sex already. In an erotic genre, it's expected to a certain degree. And there are a lot of folks who don't wanna get too deep into a storyline.

 

So overall, I suppose it just depends on what you're looking for at that particular moment, and what you're expecting the story to deliver. For me...as long as there is a horny teenage boy on this Earth, I'm gonna find it hard to believe that they can long after someone and just kiss and cuddle forever without wanting to go further. (Right away! Hehehe!) But I'd never sacrifice a story for the sake of a 'squirt' though. Promise.

 

::Thinks:: Hmmm...I'm gonna have to start putting major plot twists in those sex scenes to make sure you guys are paying attention.

[Irony]

Damnit. Now I actually have to pay attention.

[knotme]

After years of reading sex scenes, I tend skip over them now unless they are well done, not too long, and in first person (or mind-reading third person). BTW, this web page acts weird, with messed-up layout and disappearing text. Is it just my browser?

[Irony]

Uhm.

Well, it doesn't happen for me, so it might just be your browser.

[jalaki]

Well, the "add reply" page is messed up for me....the "Enter your Post" box is way down instead of next to the smiley list, and the "quote" function seems busted....in both IE and FF *shrug* Other than that though it works fine as far as I can tell.

 

Anyway...I believe I answered this on the Library but no harm adding it here Sex is by no means and in any way, shape, or form, absolutely necessary to a story. In fact, I'd say quite the opposite for the most part - unless of course the work's sole purpose is to get someone off, lol, but that's another issue entirely Usually I'll skim over the sex in a story, unless I have a compelling reason to read it....just typically doesn't really interest me, I want to know what else is going on. There's only so many ways you can *@!# after all, once you've seen them you've seen them

 

So there's my view on it, heh.