Slow build up?

Personally, I think the sex packs more heat when you build up to it. I'm a baby boomer though so younger readers may expect it sooner. they have become used to being fed information instantaneously. I once heard a young woman on the bus say, "I'm on the second chapter and nobody's doing it yet."

(Rolls eyes.) I like slow builds. The impact seems stronger. I don't mind sex right away in a book, but there has to be a good reason. Just banging gets boring.

It sounds like a cliché, but I really do think it depends on what the characters want. Sometimes, I'm writing about guys who are simply horndogs, for want of a better description. They instantly gravitate to the physical.

Other times, the characters are having so much fun with the flirting, and the will-we-won't-we angst, it almost seems a shame when they topple into bed. Or into the shower. Or onto the kitchen table.

Length of story overall obviously makes a difference, too, and audience. Anecdotally, mostly, but I've found male readers seem to prefer it when my guys get frisky early, while female readers prefer it slower. Obviously there are disproving cases on both sides.

Me, I love writing both, so it's not a problem either way

-Alex

HollyannDodd said:

I've noticed a recent trend in erotica and romance that the first page is just..sex sex sex.

Is that what is expected?

I'm trying to figure out if what i'm writing is more romance than erotica because the first couple pages are story based. It sets the world and situation. In a way similar to Maya Banks' most recent release, but a different genre. There's no sex, yet, but eventually there will be and it'll play an integral role.

What is your opinion?

Click to expand...

Bolding mine.

This might be time for a quick lesson. Erotica centers on sex; there maybe be romance, but it's not guaranteed. Romance novels center on romance; there may be explicit sex, but it's not guaranteed. They're two different markets.

What you're writing sounds like erotic romance, which is a hybrid of the two. There are many levels of heat. You can find books that are mostly sex and books that contain no sex. Both can be successful.

If your book starts with two pages of not-sex: that's pretty normal. Romance novels and erotic romance novels typically don't start with sex, they build up to it.

Me, I love slow-burning erotic romances. I feel so disappointed when the characters go on one date, then immediately begin having penetrative sex. It's boring. I would rather be made to wait for it and savor it.

But I've heard that higher heat levels sell better.

I'm another slow-burner. There's nothing better than "Are they? No! Why'd he drop her off and leave? He should have stayed!"

And when they finally have sex? I'm cheering. It's, in a way, exhausting, but as much better.

HollyannDodd said:

I've noticed a recent trend in erotica and romance that the first page is just..sex sex sex.

Click to expand...

Truth in advertising. Book buyers want to know if your stuff is better than the other books on the site before they cough up their $2.99. And everyone's preferences are different.

Ebook sites like Barnes and Noble have painfully short samples. Sometimes only the front matter is included and no text at all. So you have to pack something, right from page one, to give the flavor of your novel in the very beginning, just in case the sample size cuts off in the middle of chapter one.

I noticed that in two of my novels on Amazon, they include a substantial sample, the full first three chapters or more. But that still depends on a customer having the patience to read all three chapters before buying.

I wrote a book that opened with a sex scene, but it is very strategic act and involved a very tiny purple bikini. Supporting character, sister of the MC, lost her virginity while wearing it. Fast forward through a lot of experiences, and finally she gave it to her youngest sister, when the sister turned 18. The sister then proceeded to also lose her virginity while wearing it, and to the same boy! (yeah, he was that good). None of the characters realized it was the same apparel (or boy). Only the reader knows, if they remember, from one end of the book to the other. So, I had to separate the two sex acts by as much as possible. I don't know, I just thought that was funny. The publisher hated it, said it was unpolished. But, it was a very cute bikini.

As someone who's written both, I do gravitate to the slow build up. It's just more fun, and by the time they're banging, I'm thinking "finally!"

But I agree with the poster who says write it the way it wants to be written. Sometimes sex in the first chapter isn't necessarily a bad thing. Plenty of readers love it. Plus, some publishers will not accept a book (or R&R) if there isn't at least one sex scene in the first 3 chapters.

I'm another person in the slow build camp. I love unresolved sexual tension. Only makes it that much more when it finally happens!

Then again, I am more of a a fan of the erotic romance genre than straight up true erotica. I love a HEA.

Personally I think the actual act of sex is better when one has to wait for it. That being said, I think there should be a trail of close calls along the way. If you don't want the characters to just rush into having sex then you should tease the readers with a bunch of kissing and groping and so on.