What makes a good Adult fic?

[Michelle17]

Hi all,

I'm still new to writing Roswell fics and I've been on the board for a while. I know I have Three fics that are on my mind. I have 2 that need to be finished. But I need to know what makes a good Adult fic?

[katydid]

Hey Michelle-

This is a loaded question, but I will give you my multiple opinions. First off, rating of Adult can be for fluff, smut, or truly adult situations. Greywolf, Maya, and many others have taken us to really dark places within their fics. However, I have an inkling that your discussion is more of the bits of fluff and smut that is around. If not, I apologize. I'm gonna give my little opinion any way!

You've been around the board long enough to kind of see the differences between good Adult and good Fluff, etc. However, I'm pretty sure you've seen the not so great items out there, too. Smutt and Fluff for their own sake can be really entertaining or it can make you skim, skip, or stop reading a fic altogether if randomly placed within a fic. I believe if it flows with the rest of the tale you're weaving it can add quite a bit of drama, humor, or heat to your fic. So you can draw out an intensely sexual scene hopefully causing a little bit of tension within your reader. If not tension, you can also get a great big belly laugh out of a bunch of us too.

Truthfully, this can go back to everyone has a different opinion, but look to see what you thought has worked and what you thought has not worked. Also, see how it will mesh with your own writing style. A simple description of a languid kiss (if done right), can be just as, if not more, Adult and erotic as two people gettin' it on in the bathtub. So, my recommendation is see how well the scene or chapter plays out when you get there. Also, you may want to try a couple of small fluff fics for your own enjoyment to see if you even want to try writing it.

Good luck with any path you take!

Kate

[April]

I'm so happy someone asked this question, because it's something I've wondered about for awhile now.

I think love/sex scenes are the hardest to write. Hands down. It doesn't matter whether it's a scene included in a novel or a PWP ficlet. The difficulty is tremendous. Personally, I struggle with it a lot. (Although I struggled with it a lot more when I was younger than I do now, probably for obvious reasons.) Adult scenes/fics can so easily be over-the-top cheesy or over-the-top porno. You have to try to find the balance, and balance is a tricky thing.

I've actually looked this up on the internet before, and some of the advice I found for writing love scenes is that the characters need to drive the love scenes. It's not the sex itself that is the driving force, but the people. It's really important to keep the characters in character as you're writing it. For example, if you're writing a story where the main male character is a complete ass-hat, you likely would want him to retain some of his ass-hat qualities in the scene, meaning having him become a sudden die-hard romantic and profess his love to the girl poetically probably wouldn't be a very good idea.

Another important thing for sex scenes (not necessarily for a smut ficlet, but rather for a longer work) would be that they serve a purpose. Sex for sex's sake can be really fun when reading a smut fic, but usually it should have a bigger, more important reason for being included in a longer story. Whether it's just reaffirming a relationship, progressing a relationship, or damaging a relationship, a sex scene in a longer story probably should probably have a general reason for being included. Otherwise it might be considered filler.

A really good piece of advice that I read was to emphasize the physical aspect of the scene, but not at the expense of the emotional. (Even a smut fic needs some emotion for it to be considered something more than porn.) Emotion can be achieved through tools such as dialogue, humor, or simple description. I find that it's a lot easier to write the emotional stuff than the physical stuff, really. It's almost as though I feel embarrassed or self-conscious writing the physical.

Anyway, I'm no expert by any means, but I have written a few adult scenes in recent history that I'm proud of. If you really want to get some more advice/answers, just Google the question, and I'm sure you can learn more.

-April

[vilandragirl]

I completely agree with April on this one. Thanks for all the great points.

For me, the key is to not make it too cheesy. The problem is that Max and Liz were totally cheesy on the show (and I'm a Dreamer, but come on, the "glowing" scene?). So you have to balance whether to stay true to the canon, which included a lot of cheesiness, or to make it a little bit easier to get through without getting diabetes than the show sometimes was.

[April]

For me, the key is to not make it too cheesy. The problem is that Max and Liz were totally cheesy on the show (and I'm a Dreamer, but come on, the "glowing" scene?). So you have to balance whether to stay true to the canon, which included a lot of cheesiness, or to make it a little bit easier to get through without getting diabetes than the show sometimes was.

LOL!

-April

[Hunter]

I think love/sex scenes are the hardest to write. Hands down. It doesn't matter whether it's a scene included in a novel or a PWP ficlet. The difficulty is tremendous. Personally, I struggle with it a lot. (Although I struggled with it a lot more when I was younger than I do now, probably for obvious reasons.) Adult scenes/fics can so easily be over-the-top cheesy or over-the-top porno. You have to try to find the balance, and balance is a tricky thing.

I have to agree with you there..writing sex scenes is very hard for me. I also find it hard to read smut..I get so embaressed lol . You have to find the balance between smut and romance..I always get scared if I'm either making it too cheesy, too short or too rough.

[pijeechinadoll]

^^ for some reason when it comes down to reading sex scenes that liz/max are in; i can read them no problem. But with other couples isabel/alex micheal/maria (and especially especially tess/kyle) i find myself cringing not because the writer isn't good but because i just can't imagine it as well as liz/max's (LOL that sounded a bit obssessive LOL).

i also can't read Unconventional Couples/Slash FanFic. my brain cells can't take it. especially if it max and somebody else and liz and somebody else.

i hate reading abusive stories/ e.g. physically abuse like a man beating a woman or sexual abuse/rape. I usually skip the parts (Or course Unless it's a really good written story) then i force myself to read it. BUT AS i say only if it written well.

NOW WHEN IT COMES DOWN to writing a love scene, which so far i've only ever done LOL for liz/max. i don't find it as hard as some people but i do sometimes wonder if ive gone over the top. Or sometimes i find it hard to choose the right wording. cause i hate it if you spoil a scene by using the wrong word.

For some reason i really dislike the word penis/cock it really makes me cringe. I don't usually use it a lot. I try not to use it. i tend to use arousal more often IT sounds less crass

does anyone else have a problem with choosing words when writing a love scene or is it just me?

[Hunter]

Ping!! I agree with you!

I sometimes have trouble finding which words to use during sex scenes..I hate the word C*nt so much. I hate it with a passion..because where I live..these chavs used to use to insult ppl. I am not really into dark fics either with excessive rape and things like F*ck..it does sound horny lol but I hate it when it's used too much..and before you know it..the whole sex scene is just the F word.

Like you I try to abstain from using words like cock and penis but I have a limited vocabulary when it comes to that stuff..I know..I must sound like a Prude lol

Anyway I agree with most of the stuff you said Ping.

[pijeechinadoll]

Ping!! I agree with you!

things like F*ck..it does sound horny lol but I hate it when it's used too much..and before you know it..the whole sex scene is just the F word.

oh my god thats another thing i forgot to mention i hate. i prefering the terms MAKING LOVE!

[Janetfl]

What I think makes a good adult fic is a story that includes a good plot and a balance of sex, action, violence (such as battle scenes), tension, suspense ... any of those really.

I can't read just pure smut ... it's just not me and I can not STAND fics with the C word in. If I see that I stop reading it at that word because it's just crude ... the F word I can stand as long as it's in line with the story or dialogue but not used to often.

Sex scenes for me are the hardest to write. I can do all the rest pretty easly but the sex scenes.... hard... because I don't want to make it too cheesy or to pornographic. I want it to be just right so that when you read the story and get to the sex scene it just flows with the rest of it. I'm not sure if I even get it right but I try.

When I started I'm Lost Without You I knew I wanted sex scenes in it but wasn't sure how or where to put them because it was my first fic. But as the story went on I instinctively knew when they should appear. I honestly thought I would loose readers because they would get bored, the first sex scene didn't come in until about chapter 20 and then the next one came in around chapter 56-60 but I included a lot of story line and action and it all worked out. I've only been on the board since June so didn't realise how nice people were on this board.

I hope this helps.

JAN