Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Why Not?


by Daddy X

When I finally worked up the gumption to tell a particular friend what I wrote, his first comment was something to the effect of: “Why would you do that?”

I don’t remember quite what I told him, but over the years I’ve picked up a few things about this genre called Erotica. Yes, capitalized. Capital E. What I now wish I had told him then perhaps could have gone like this:

Why not?

IMO, (not so humble after all) Erotica can be the most psychological of genres.

Sure, horror can frighten, mystery can involve and intrigue and sci-fi can stimulate the imagination, but what is any one of those in comparison to all the above?

Plus an erection. Actual physical changes just from reading. Stimulating one’s imagination (among other things).

I wish I’d said that Erotica is bound by the same set of grammatical rules and enjoys as many varied stylistic paths as any. And because Erotica goes so deep (at least if done right) that within the genre there should be something of interest to everyone. Now here’s where it gets sticky. Who’s to say what’s hot and what’s not? My squicks could easily be your turn-ons.

This is what offers Erotica writers the breadth of opportunity to make some hay. We can come at a story in a modern setting-- a contemporary novel. Or during the American Revolution as historical fiction. Zombies. Or in a future world of our own determination. In a church. In a whorehouse. Bent over the hood of a car. In a school, a forest, a bedroom or spread-eagled across the fifty-yard line of some high school football field. Writers of any genre could conceivably branch out into Erotica.

As a matter of fact, I don’t read much Erotica when I read for myself. Guess I get enough of that sort of thing in my involvement with ERWA. I tend to read — Well— I guess you’d say the ‘better’ entries on the Times Best Seller lists, past and future. (I see Franzen has a new one out: “Purity”) I don’t read much genre. But when I read mainstream literary fiction, I do want a somewhat representative view of life. I can’t imagine a life devoid of sex.  IMHO, of course.

Sex can be a common motivating factor among human beings, albeit in varying and often contradictory ways within any individual or group way of being. Sex lends complexity to our lives, and by way of association, any fiction that aspires to reality. Otherwise something seems missing

I guess what I’m saying is that sex is common to all human beings, whether or not they want to admit it. In fact, if they won’t admit it, they could be the ones most affected, perhaps with what I would consider a negative taint.

Sex fits in everywhere, doesn’t it? See? Even that sounds dirty.

Some people! Tsk, tsk tsk.

Or is it only those of us who become inordinately distracted?

Carry on. Talk among yourselves. :>)



17 comments:

  1. I can think of a lot of "why nots" that others could come up with. It's the devil's work. Sinful. Sexist. Exploitative. Trashy. A waste of the paper it's written on. It encourages perverse behavior. It destroys relationships. It doesn't pay any attention to character or plot. It ignores Love.

    Yadda yadda yadda. I don't believe these arguments, but they're pretty common out there. My brother thinks I'm a great writer, but won't read my stuff because it makes him uncomfortable. He wants to know why I don't write a serious book.

    Sigh.

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    2. Yeah, Momma X loves my writing too, but can't deal with ...err... the deal. Trouble is when I do try a mainstream thingy, the characters don't cooperate. They start sicking things into each other. Hot, stiff things inserted into wet, tight fleshy... Ohh...see what I mean?

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    3. I don't think I much care if someone who thinks anything is the devil's work disapproves of what I write. And appearing sinful is one of the best selling points for our genre--uninterrupted virtue is boring. As for not paying attention to character or plot, well, they just haven't met the right erotica yet.

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  2. I get that too, Lisabet - "You have it in you to write something worthwhile instead of all that sex!" Well, IMNSHO - sex makes the world go around, so get used to it!

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    1. Exactly. Sex is a fundamental part of every romantic relationship, and IMO all books are about relationships between people (unless it's Old Man and the Sea). Skip sex and you're writing an incomplete book.

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    2. Exactly. Sex is a fundamental part of every romantic relationship, and IMO all books are about relationships between people (unless it's Old Man and the Sea). Skip sex and you're writing an incomplete book.

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    3. Speaking of old men and salt water, have you ever noticed that Moby Dick, though has no real sex, but if you fragment the work passage by passage, there are plenty of double entendres if you read them in that way. Almost everything, in fact. Try it! Just open the thick MF and read the words cold.

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  3. OMG, there are hardly words to express how much I HATE Old Man and the Sea! Hemingway is an over-rated hack who wrote boring books filled with short, choppy sentences so simple a child could do better. His view of women is misogynistic in the extreme, and his men are one-dimensional. When I was teaching, I had to assign book reports. Many kids skimmed the list of available choices to find the shortest book, then wrote their reports. Guess what was the shortest book on the list? Guess what I had to read report after report about? GAH! I don't eat fish! I hate the smell of them, I won't go fishing, and nothing in the book interested me in the slightest.

    Phew! I feel better now. Yeah, my MIL tells me I should write a history fiction, like she likes to read.. You know, a good book...not that porn crap I write. Sigh. You already know my brother and his wife think I write boring, vanilla sex. But we have to write the stories we think up. If I tried to force myself to write something to a formula that is supposed to sell, it would suck because I'd hate it. That is, if I could even force myself to sit and write it. I have enough trouble finding time to write books about characters I'm interested in, doing things I want to talk about, like having sex in a shower...while in disguise...while being a stow-away on a drug-dealer's yacht. (grin)

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    1. Y'know? I'm really glad to hear someone say Hemmingway is not that big a deal. If I want misogynist, I'll go with Miller any day. I always thought something had to be going over my head with H. Perhaps his style was something new at the time? War was big. H liked war. His contemporaries like Lawrence, Miller and Durrell wove lovely stuff and really knew how to use words. Mailer came along a bit later, and man what a vocabulary that cat had.

      Hey! Speaking of historical, I just drafted a Revolutionary War/Zombie/Erotica thingy, just in time for ERWA Halloween ;>

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    2. Conventional English-teacher-speak is that Hemingway's writing is like an iceberg: a little above the surface, but really huge and solid under the surface. I prefer to think of it like the gross algae that can develop on lakes in certain weather, that looks a sickly green, smells bad, and makes it so you can't enjoy the lake at all, for any activities. Reading his stuff has always been torture for me. The kids I sub for laugh when I admit to them that I don't love Hemingway. Now Fitzgerald? I'm there. And Shakespeare is my idol.

      I actually prefer O'Neill, if we're talking modern playwrights, but Miller was good. I read some Mailer when I was in my rampant feminist days, and his women were also one-dimensional cunts on legs. Nothing to them besides their usefulness to relieve boners on his heroes, or their ability to complicate the lives of the good guys. Funny how men like that are usually serial monogamists. Hell, if you want lots of pussy all the time, don't bother getting married. Just be honest about it. But to get married, promise to be true, then cheat repeatedly? Any woman who would trust a serial cheater like that has read WAY too many Harlequin romances where the love of a good woman can turn any bad boy into a good man. May make for entertaining reading, but ain't ever gonna happen in real life. A louse is a louse. That's why I prefer beta males.

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    3. Hey, Fiona. What I love about you is how restrained and delicate you are when expressing your opinions... ;^)

      xxoo

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    4. Guilty as charged. I figure if you guys wanted me to shut up, you'd say something. Or take me off your email list somehow.

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    5. Oh no! Don't change! I love your passionate nature.

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  4. Amen, Daddy X. But some folks will never learn how fascinating and varied erotica is because they won't read it. The only logical reaction is to ignore them too.

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  5. "Erotica can be the most psychological of genres."

    I love this, and I very much agree.

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  6. Thanks all for commenting. I wasn't looking forward to this topic since it's been beaten to death almost as much as the Erotica/Porn bit. Turned out to be fun! And we have more posts to come!

    Carry on... Have I ever told you how much I loooove carrying on?

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