Does mid-story sex boost scores?

Photo by Marc on Pexels.com

In short stories, an author doesn’t have the time or space to screw around. For erotica, usually everything follows the typical three-act story structure or Freytag’s Pyramid where everything builds to a single sex scene at the climax (ha!) of the story.

Here’s a beat sheet for a 5,000-word erotica short story (taken from the EroticAuthors subreddit):

• Intro/snapshot (Around 250 words)
• Inciting incident (Around 250 words)
• Build-up (Around 1,000 words)
• Erotic Scene (2,500-3,000 words minimum)
• Wrap-up (Approximately 500 words)

This follows Freytag’s Pyramid story structure. Though I aim for stories around 10K words, I’ve followed this structure in many of my short stories.

However, recently I’ve started adding a mid-point sex scene—usually something tantalizing and incomplete—before the middle of the story, and looking at my most popular stories (based on ratings, favorites and comments), it looks like readers like that better. Let’s take a look at my most popular stories, based only on score:

Story stats: Freya and the Space Hippies

My first story for 2024 Freya and the Space Hippies has been published for two days and half days. Let’s check on reader reception.

Response has been tepid. Only 57 votes, 4 favorites and a score hovering around 4.67. The few comments have been positive.

This is my first attempt at a story in the Science Fiction category, which is less popular than others. Plus, it’s a short story at only 5,190 words with a formulaic plot. So, the response isn’t surprising.

Still, I had fun writing it and readers seem to have enjoyed it. Growing up, I read nothing but science fiction–Dune, Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury and Jerry Pournelle/Larry Niven, before I learned of their fascist leanings–so writing science fiction felt pretty natural.

Behind the story: Freya and the Space Hippies

Hippies in spaaaaace! (credit: Dall-E, mostly)

My small contribution to the 2024 Pink Orchid Women-centric erotica story event organized by fellow writer Omeneinen is now live on Literotica. Check out Freya and the Space Hippies.

This is my first story of 2024 and first ever attempt at science fiction.

The story is a short, not-entirely-serious space adventure. Since Omenainen asked for space hippies, it has space hippies.

The story is set long after Earth has been abandoned. Humanity lives among the stars and has fractured into many belief systems and cultures. The main character Freya is from Shaper culture, made famous in Schizmatrix by Bruce Stirling. The culture uses gene editing and psychological conditioning to boost intelligence, longevity and physical attributes like beauty and reflexes. It’s also a high regimented military-scientific society with competing factions, political intrigues and jockeying for status within and between competing ideologies.

Count the tropes: Pickle-face and the Professor

But soon they’ll be in bed together. Hat tip: DALL-E

We haven’t played “count the tropes” for a while, so let’s look at post-Christmas romance Pickle-face and the Professor. For chance, this time instead of combing through tvtropes.org, let’s use the more concise list of tropes in The Trope Thesaurus by Jennifer Hilt.

What is a trope? The Trope Thesaurus gives a concise definition: “A trope establishes a predictable character, setting, or scenario.”

But, but then don’t tropes make a story stereotypical and cliché? Not when used right. Jennifer Hilt puts it this way:

I stopped thinking of tropes as end products and started thinking of them as raw materials that could create characters and increase conflict.

The answer was in the twist.

What if we were able to use the reader’s familiarity with tropes like a springboard to take us to more intriguing storytelling heights?

In the Romance genre (and thus in Erotic Romance), many tropes are common and beloved, especially “Enemies to Lovers,” used most famously in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. Though first published in 1813 it has never gone out of print and still moves readers today. Tropes can springboard a plot, but can also be used to add depth to people places and things.

I purposely set out to write an enemies to lovers romance in Pickle-face and the Professor, so let’s start with that trope then look at others that might apply:

My filthy stories in 2023

A good year in writing (hat tip: DALL-E)

Happy New Year! Time for an end-of-year look back at my smutty stories written in 2023.

This year, my stories reached these milestones:

• Six stories published
• 46,805 words written
• 1243 total followers (230 new)
• 16 characters created
• 20 orgasms described

Getting six stories out is a new personal best. Last year I only eked out 4, and the best I’ve ever done is five stories in one year. Writing hasn’t become any easier, but I think I’ve learned to streamline the process and agonize less.