Just a bit of musing on sex scenes
Jul. 19th, 2008 09:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nnyI'm rarely in the market for PWPs, to be honest, and I think that even when people say they are they're often not. There are stories which consist exclusively of sex scenes which I wouldn't class as PWPs because they involve characters that I recognise and there is acknowledgement of context and some sort of emotional investment. There is plot there, whether intentional or not, and that's what makes the story worth reading.
On the other side of it, you can have PWP scenes within longer and plottier fics. When you get to the point where characters are having sex merely because they are these two characters and they're in a situation where they could have sex, that removes the interest for me. It becomes cock A, ass B and dull, especially since then there is of necessity some dialogue within the scene, and without a point to it that dialogue can quickly become cliched and faintly cringeworthy.
That's not to say that I don't want sex scenes within the fic I read, not at all; I just want sex scenes that have a point, because that makes them infinitely hotter. Most of the pairings I love involve men who're dreadful at expressing their feelings, who avoid talking whenever they possibly can, and therefore sex scenes can be used as a means of communication. They can be used as a means of miscommunication, too, using the characters' different reactions to the same action to display where exactly they don't understand each other. I think a good example of this is Every Day In Every Way by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
velocitygrass. It's a good example because it does this explicitly; every sex scene increases the intimacy of the characters a little, reveals more about what they expect from each other, moves them closer to a resolution. So the fic does have a lot of sex scenes but there is no point at which I'm glancing at my metaphorical watch (it has to be metaphorical because my actual watch is buried somewhere under my mess) and wondering when we can get back to the story.
Like I've said before - I'd rather have a long build up to a well-written kiss than a hundred sex scenes which are written simply for the porn.
What d'you reckon? Am I just wired this way because I'm incapable of writing sex scenes?
*grins*
ETA: I know I'm not exactly pushing the boat out here. My opinions are rarely particularly revolutionary, and I've had comments about that before. Thing is, sometimes the majority is right, and that possibility increases when you have a friends list full of bright, funny, articulate people. Nine times out of ten I don't need to say something because someone else has already said it better, and the tenth time I feel faintly embarrassed because I'm not able to say it so well as someone else would have.
It's like Isaac Jaffe said: "If you're dumb, surround yourself with smart people. And if you're smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you." I'm, I freely admit this, not as bright as I'd like to be. But I'm learning a lot from you guys. ;)
On the other side of it, you can have PWP scenes within longer and plottier fics. When you get to the point where characters are having sex merely because they are these two characters and they're in a situation where they could have sex, that removes the interest for me. It becomes cock A, ass B and dull, especially since then there is of necessity some dialogue within the scene, and without a point to it that dialogue can quickly become cliched and faintly cringeworthy.
That's not to say that I don't want sex scenes within the fic I read, not at all; I just want sex scenes that have a point, because that makes them infinitely hotter. Most of the pairings I love involve men who're dreadful at expressing their feelings, who avoid talking whenever they possibly can, and therefore sex scenes can be used as a means of communication. They can be used as a means of miscommunication, too, using the characters' different reactions to the same action to display where exactly they don't understand each other. I think a good example of this is Every Day In Every Way by
velocitygrass. It's a good example because it does this explicitly; every sex scene increases the intimacy of the characters a little, reveals more about what they expect from each other, moves them closer to a resolution. So the fic does have a lot of sex scenes but there is no point at which I'm glancing at my metaphorical watch (it has to be metaphorical because my actual watch is buried somewhere under my mess) and wondering when we can get back to the story. Like I've said before - I'd rather have a long build up to a well-written kiss than a hundred sex scenes which are written simply for the porn.
What d'you reckon? Am I just wired this way because I'm incapable of writing sex scenes?
*grins*
ETA: I know I'm not exactly pushing the boat out here. My opinions are rarely particularly revolutionary, and I've had comments about that before. Thing is, sometimes the majority is right, and that possibility increases when you have a friends list full of bright, funny, articulate people. Nine times out of ten I don't need to say something because someone else has already said it better, and the tenth time I feel faintly embarrassed because I'm not able to say it so well as someone else would have.
It's like Isaac Jaffe said: "If you're dumb, surround yourself with smart people. And if you're smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you." I'm, I freely admit this, not as bright as I'd like to be. But I'm learning a lot from you guys. ;)
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:25 am (UTC)And I'd like to think I can write sex scenes, even if I don't terribly often.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:46 am (UTC)I'm wired the same way. Just check MY most recent post.
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Date: 2008-07-19 10:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 11:33 am (UTC)*nods* There are some truly awesome stories that I've completely skipped entire sections of just because they were just sex for sex sake and I wasn't learning anything new about the characters. Apparently I like my fic to be informative - who knew?!
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 02:16 pm (UTC)