If You Had to Choose...

Ready for a brutal answer? Okay. Here goes.

I'd choose to never read erotic fiction again. Why? Because, although I could give a list of authors whose work I adore, there is so much out there that is stupendously bad. I understand everyone has their own kinks, and that's cool, but when certain lifestyles are misrepresented in dangerous ways, it makes me angry first of all, then sad.

I sincerely don't mean that in an arrogant way. I'm not saying "I'm better than everyone else!" I'm not. But I'm better than some. And bad erotic fiction is hellish bad.

So, I would choose to write erotic fiction instead. My books are far from perfect but they're the best I can do at any given time in my life, and writing as best I can entertains me more than being confronted by the sheer ick flooding the market these days.

I'd keep reading, because I fail at being motivated to write anyway. -_- Not sure if being forbidden to write would actually be a relief, or would be frustrating.

I love writing, but I'd ultimately have more variety if I could keep reading. If all the good writers made this choice, it would be a problem.

Since I hardly ever read erotic fiction anyway, I'd have to say that's what I'd give up.

Aggy, research smesearch

I'd rather be able to read it.

Never read. I love writing it too much to give it up.

Maryn said:

If you had to choose between never writing erotic fiction again and never reading erotic fiction again, which would you choose, and why?

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Never read. Cuz I'm my favorite author.

An opinion shared by the Voices in my head, but by few other entities.

DB

dangerousbill said:

Never read. Cuz I'm my favorite author.

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Wait. Does that mean I couldn't read my own stuff?

Good thing this is hypothetical.

dangerousbill pegged the philosophical problem. If my own work was exempt from the ban, I'd probably choose to write instead of read.
I don't read that much original published erotica anyway, and I have too many stories to tell.

I would choose to write. I don't read a lot anyway, but I've been trying to read more.

But if this question was 'either write erotica or watch yaoi (anime) or watch any porn even?' I would... have to change my mind on that *wicked laugh*

Filigree said:

dangerousbill pegged the philosophical problem. If my own work was exempt from the ban, I'd probably choose to write instead of read.
I don't read that much original published erotica anyway, and I have too many stories to tell.

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Heh. You said 'pegged'.

I would choose the never reading option and then ask the authors of said fiction to engage in a much more direct style of storytelling.

HarryHoskins said:

I would choose the never reading option and then ask the authors of said fiction to engage in a much more direct style of storytelling.

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Y'know, show don't tell. Or, show and tell.

I'd have to say stop reading because I'm almost always disappointed by it. And writing gives me a much better thrill.

I would choose never to read it again because my taste in books spans just about ever possible genre but there aren't all that many things I'm decent at writing, and erotica just happens to be one of the few.

I'd give up writing. Reading is one of my few entertainments and I'd go crazy without it.

Besides, if I stopped reading my imagination would stagnate and my writing would suffer. i can't keep the writing without the reading.

Yeah, I'm with Voirey. The reading is an essential component of the writing, for me.

The OP only mentioned giving up reading this genre. If that were the choice, I'd drop it in a heartbeat. There's a hell of a lot of others out there I could enjoy while still writing smut.

Does manga count?

I read a lot of other genres too, but I read smut because I write smut. And a lot of the smutfic out there is meh. But every now and then I come across something that takes my breath away. And reading those pieces gives me something to strive for.

If you deprive yourself of smutreading, you'd have to do your research all practicalwise.

If you're going to write in any genre, you ought to be reading what else is being done in that genre.

/soapbox

Ah, but the point of this thread is what if you did have to choose.

Besides, I wrote my first book without having read any other erotic romances that I can recall. I didn't even buy my ereader 'til it was on sub.

And shouldn't you have a

/ropebox

?