It feels like a poll day

[mickeym]

The other day I posted that I hate writing sex, which isn't exactly, completely accurate. What IS accurate is that I get frustrated trying to make each scene a little bit different than the last (and y'all, I have written a LOT of stories with a lot of sex in them. If you don't believe me, go check out Infinite Passions. Or hell, this story *g*). As nopseud so astutely pointed out, she and I probably used up our lifetime supply just writing Absinthe Makes. Joke. Mostly.

So, because I am infinitely curious, a poll about Writing Sex. Please to be filling it out, expanding in comments if/as needed, thank you :) (And feel free to point your friends this way, because I really am curious!)



[Poll #1108537]

Comments

[pierson.livejournal.com]

Heh. You've listened to me whine about writing sex for ages, now. I've never liked writing sex, nor have I ever felt really comfortable with it. I don't find it sexy while writing it--for me, it's all, "now, where is his knee/elbow/head/Impala now?" ;-) If I go back later (usually a *very* long time later) and reread, I might think, "huh. not bad." But never in the process nor for months afterward. I keep thinking that I'll try for a fade-to-black, but I've written explicit sex for so long that it seems--false to me. I've read many stories which did the fade-to-black well, so I've nothing against it, but for me, it simply doesn't feel right.

On the other hand, I've written enough/explicit sex scenes that it's very difficult to make things new or different. I frequently will lift bits and pieces from things I've written previously, and try to give them a new spin.

The thing about writing sex scenes is capturing the intimacy, the caring between the two. Without emotion, it's simply porn, which I find boring in the extreme. For me, it's the emotional payoff that is the appeal of slash, the closeness of the characters, the development of the relationship. I like to see the growth of emotions and connectivity, which is why I tend to like first-time fics the best.

I read in many, many fandoms, but write in only one at a time. I wish I could be one of those authors who can write successfully and well in multiple fandoms, but. I seem to be limited in how much I can be invested in a particular fandom/pairing, and it simply doesn't extend to more than one fandom at a time. At the moment this seems moot, as I've not written any fanfic for a year now, due to school pressures. I do miss it, though.

Style? Ahahahaha. Ahem. When I first began writing fanfic, I wrote strictly third person past tense. Recent (comparatively speaking, given the lack of such for a while now) fanfiction is third person, present tense, usually with a tight single POV. I tend to write highly-descriptive fic, with a lot of detail, and try to incorporate all the senses (thanks, Sentinel fandom!). I am quite aware it's not to everyone's taste, and hey, that's okay. I admire people who have a spare, haiku-type of writing, but I'll never be one of them. Character-driven or plot-driven? Definitely character driven. I'd love to do a plot-heavy fic, but it seems I'm doomed never to do so.

And wow, this was probably *way* more than anyone wanted to know. :-) This post is brought to you courtesy of NO HOMEWORK TONIGHT. And believe me, I'm enjoying it. :-D