Question for fanfic readers

May 30, 2010 10:53



Let me start out by saying I have absolutely no problem with smut/porn itself (haha ;D). Unless there’s a squicky kink involved, I’m fine reading about two people going at it like rabbits. The sex part does not bother me. Now that I’ve gotten that cleared up, time to dive into the real issue.

When I started getting into Supernatural fandom I was amazed at all the pwp (porn without plot) fic that was being generated. At first the idea of it kind of intrigued me because I didn’t see much of it over in the English QMi fandom. However, I never actually read any of these little gems. THEN I started reading the NC-17 rated long!fic that we see a lot of in SPN fandom and I realized something. Even if the plot was really well thought out and the writing itself was good, I tended to start skimming by the lengthy sex scenes if there were more than one. Sometimes I couldn’t read them at all. Again, not because the writing was bad, but…

[Here’s my question] So I’m wondering if anyone else does that? Skip over porn not because it’s EWWPORN, but because it legitimately BORES you?

If porn WITH plot bores me to tears, how on earth could I read porn WITHOUT plot? The thought makes me cringe.

[Second question] What exactly would make smut in fanfiction or any fiction more enjoyable to read?

I thought about the few NC-17 stories I loved reading all the way through and came to the conclusion that (as a personal preference at the very least) smut needs tension. Some kind of tension leading up to it, tension during it, and I’d go as far as to say there should be some lingering after it. No, I’m not talking about hate!sex tension. The reason I usually don’t mind the first sex scene in long!fic is because there’s anticipation for it. We WANT IT so bad. We WANT to see the characters finally get together.

But when writers write smut for the sake of smut, it’s blatantly obvious and D.N.W.

Then again, the fact is still this. There are people out there who really do like reading pwp and I respect that.

[Final question] Why do fic readers like smut other than "because it’s hot.” Or is that reason enough?

silly musings, writing process

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