Rant warning

[maderr]

I realize that so far as the slashverse goes, I lose a lot of standing by never taking my stories into smutland. But I have my reasons and I will stand by them, even when it means this or that story will never be published or as popular as it would otherwise be. I'm not in this to be popular; such a thing would in fact freak me out. I like attention, I ain't gonna lie. Anyone who does this sort of thing does.

Anyway. I hate stories that are smut first, plot a cute little addition. And I don't mean the shameless pr0n variety - those never pretend to be anything except a smutfest, and there's certainly no goddamn crime in just wanting a quick and dirty fix.

What I detest are those stories that claim to be stories, things with plots and characterization...and if you were to rip the smut out there would be no story left. I hate that. Why the fuck should I care about two people involved in what amounts to a fuckfest? Fine, it's meaningful, emotional, they grow and change from it. But life ain't just growing through fucking, and I hate when those other elements never really and truly factor into the story.

I say all this knowing good and well my stories are not the most stellar ever. I've never claimed to write anything but nonsencial fluff, be it ten pages of snarky school boys, twenty pages of fairytale abuse, or a longer story about dragon gods. But I like to think those hold interest, and that people remember them for at least a little while. All I'll remember about the story I just finished is that after the third fucking it got redudandant, and there was nothing about the chars to really make me care about them.

Maybe I'm just picky and taking my frustrations out in the wrong place. I mean it's erotica, plot isn't always the primary consideration. I guess it's weird to associate porn with plot - yet I know I'm not alone in that adverse thought. I'm sorry but if after subtracting the smut you find there's no story left? And I don't mean like pyscho complicated plot o'doom here - just a character thing would suffice. But usually even that's just scratch the surface, not enough to make me care sort of thing. There's a world of difference b/t the pr0n you find in the dollar bin (so to speak) and series where you grow seriously attached to the chars and actually give a damn what happens to them. Shameless and plotless has it's place -- but be up front about it, instead of masquerading as a story of some substance.

Boo hiss.

/rant

I apologize if this made no sense. Me cranky and sleepy should not be allowed near a keyboard.

Comments

[tsaiko.livejournal.com]

I have read romance novels like that. I mean, I like sex as much as the next person, but I don't want to read about two strangers going at it. I want to read about people I care something about making love (or having sex depending on the characterization XD). I have read novels where I was so disgusted by the lack of plot and characterization that I just gave up.

You are not alone in this. I demand plot even in my smut fics!

As for you not going into a great deal of detail about your characters sex lives, I don't find it very off putting. I know when I read one of your stories I'm going to get great characterization and no hot and heavy stuff. That's fine. I don't have a problem with it (although I think it would be interesting to read more in depth scenes by you).

Even if I didn't know, the lack of sex scenes doesn't seem out of place. At least you keep the same level of detail, plot, and characterization through out your stories. To me that's better than skimming or suddenly going into ultra detail mode in order to write sex.

[tygati.livejournal.com]

*waves Go-Go-mader cheerleader flags*

I read for story and character. I have a need to know all the whys and wherefores of what's going on in the story. I want to know everything about these people, all their eccentricities and quirks, their history, them. People. Which is part of what makes me late to work every time you post. ;) You have this delightful habit of giving out juuuust enough information at the beginning to get me hooked, then I just have to read all the way through to figure out WTF is going on. ^.^

When I'm feeling the need for smut, there's a single story I go back to all the time. MOST smutty stories aren't particularly well-written, don't flow, and come off rather awkward. Something that you very seldom suffer from. ^.~

In fact, my biggest gripe with you to date is that you spin these delightfully wonderous worlds that catch me completely in their web... and they're too damned short!!! ^^;; WANT MORE DAMNIT!!!

^______________^ *chu*

... >.> And speaking of wanting more, I still want a Collected Works in dead tree format that I can lug around with me to work to make days like today bearable. *nod* That would be a lovely security blanket... *_*

=^.^=

[maderr.livejournal.com]

... >.> And speaking of wanting more, I still want a Collected Works in dead tree format that I can lug around with me to work to make days like today bearable. *nod* That would be a lovely security blanket... *_*


Heh. I was actually considering giving lulu.com a whirl come January (when I have time to reformat stories for printing), so lemme know which ones you'd like to see and I'll add'em to my work list.

Something that you very seldom suffer from

Do I or do I knot want to know which ones I've bungled? >_>

And thank you ^_^ Everything you say means a lot to me.

[tygati.livejournal.com]

Heh. I was actually considering giving lulu.com a whirl come January (when I have time to reformat stories for printing), so lemme know which ones you'd like to see and I'll add'em to my work list.

   Absolutely Essential:

DwtD
Jewels of Bangkok
Briar Rose
Main Gauche
More Precious than Gold
The Tower
Ogre of Black Mountain
Knights trilogy


   Also Wonderful if Space Permits:

Kidnapped (Cyan/Einn version)
Geniuses
Midsummer's Moon
Something Sweet


... though I think the Kidnapped one is long enough to be a book all on its own... 9.9 and DwtD is getting there rapidly... ^^;;

Do I or do I knot want to know which ones I've bungled? >_>

Nothing badly enough to remember offhand. ;) I'll try to remember to point it out the next time you do it. ^.^

And thank you ^_^ Everything you say means a lot to me.

Must keep favoritest writer's spirits up so she'll write lots more!!! ^____^ or something like that anyway. ^^;

[crystelle-d.livejournal.com]

Hi *waves* I sent you an e-mail awhile back telling you how much I love your stories. You probably don't remember me but I've been following your LJ (hope you don't mind >_>) but I just want to reaffirm what I said in that e-mail. Your work is beautifully and masterfully written. So you don't write smut, so what? Your characterizations by far make up for it, and that's what's really important in a story anyway. And in the end, the writers that write PWP's probably don't sit back from having finished a so-called "story" and feel accomplished. Whereas you can be assured that you have given your readers and experience, a chance to fall in love with your characters and take part vicariously in their world. At the end of the day, it's obvious who is the better writer. You.

[crystelle-d.livejournal.com]

Oh, and PS: I've never claimed to write anything but nonsencial fluff, be it ten pages of snarky school boys, twenty pages of fairytale abuse, or a longer story about dragon gods.

What? Nonsensical fluff? Since when?! Those stories are way, way more than just fluff. They're about drama and characters who grow and learn. They've inspired me more than words can say to write and to imagine and to grow myself. You're writing, in all its beauty, is far, far more than you give it credit for.

[chris-king-2005.livejournal.com]

Hmph.

*hands on hips*

You should know how I feel about your writing. I haven't chained you to your keyboard cuz you've been working on two many projects and working too much at... well, work. Ick.

I love your stuff. I'm still waiting for more of Trick and X, and DwtD!

*administers emergency chocolate*

Hell, you know my stuff. There's not enough fluff in the world. You and I both write happy endings, which may never be fashionable, but hell, it's sure as hell what I want to read. Real life is dramatic enough for me.

[raielchan.livejournal.com]

Although I'm not a big slash reader, I do enjoy reading you rant.

[cynbaby.livejournal.com]

I like your stories, even though they are not smutty. Keep in mind that I'm the biggest pervert that you're ever going to meet and I do like a good dose of smut, but I still enjoy your stories for their inherent sweetness.

That being said, I do agree with you on the smut-fest stories that pretend that they've got a serious plot behind them - but really don't. If I want pure smut I'm going to go find pure smut. It's not that hard. If I want a story with a good dalop of smut then I'm going to go and look for that.
I actuly prefer the stories with a long, drawn out, angsty plot line and a good dolop of smut to anything else.
I'm tired of reading crap that's nothing more than a loosely strung together series of sex scenes with a plot loosly tying them together and the writer thinking that it's the next great american novel.

[aqua-eyes.livejournal.com]

I like my smut too. But I don't like it when it is rushed. :has been reading lots of yaoi manga: It has to happen naturally. If that makes any sence?

[syko-chan.livejournal.com]

In my opinion, you loose absolutely nothing for not writing smut. I know when you post something, it will have an interesting plot, interesting characters, and development of each. And you write them in such a way that I'm hooked after the first couple of paragraphs. Besides, I like fluff. There is enough angst in the world, let me wallow in complete fantasy for a while, it does me good.

You're right about the "I'm-smut-a story" stories. Whenever I come across them I think the writer probably should have just written the smut to get it out of their systems, and then proceeded to write an actual story. What I think are worse, however, are the stories that begin well, and seem to be good,then a few chapters in devolve into an "I'm-smut-a story", and all the plot and characterization are lost.

It's not that I don't like smut either. I just like it done well and with reason. I don't want to be thinking "why are they doing this", or "this is completely contrary to this character at this supposed stage of development", or "when did that happen?" when there is smut. Really, I like nice long stories with good plot, interesting characters, some angst, and an occasional bit of smut. I think the story should always come first.

*hugs*