Consider this: words and pictures are not really all that different. The words just give the reader more freedom of imagination. It still invokes a picture. So think: would you post pictures and videos of porn? No? Then WHY DO YOU WRITE ABOUT IT?

Alright, I wanted to address something that's been on my mind a lot.

Erotica.

Some people will probably read this post and say "you just don't understand it! It's another art form!" Well, that's not what this is about. I'm not here to bash erotica. I'm here to bash erotica-wanna-be-but-really-is-porn, which is actually what most self-proclaimed erotica is.

Okay, there are a few things I want to point out, here:

1) Erotica is when there is sex because it is a huge part of character development. It is extremely necessary to the story (there has to actually BE a story for this to count). Also, for the purposes of this article, I am not using "erotic" in the normal sense of the term (sensual). I am using it to describe any work of fiction that has sex as a prevalent theme.

2) Porn is where there is sex for the sake of sex. It has no point and does not develop characters. It is there simply to invoke giddy emotions (or in my opinion, a virtual, anticipatory, mental "orgasm") in the reader or writer. Sex is virtually the ONLY theme.

I absolutely despise porn -- both images and words. It's pointless and is simply encouraging the current culture of the sex-addicted public. It's just...just there. No self-respecting writer should write a story that's just there.

Now, I'm mostly writing this to address several books on this website. A lot of them are rated R, and I go in looking for a good plot and get nothing but porn. I don't mind erotica, where the smut is not outrageously graphic and is for the good of the story. But when the story is NOTHING BUT SEX WITH VIRTUALLY NO PLOT, it's a disgrace to the world of authorship in and of itself.

Now, I know this is sort of a sensitive topic among the writing world, so I'll make something clear: I am not just bashing erotica. In fact I'm not bashing erotica at all. I am bashing porn. I am also bashing anything that is JUST violence/gore or JUST cursing or JUST anything that is considered even vaguely objectionable. Those things are GREAT plot devices. But they are NOT plots by themselves. Most erotica writers treat sex as if it alone makes a good plot. It doesn't. It is THAT which I am attacking here. HOWEVER, the topic I am writing of currently is sex, and that is what I am going to be addressing.

Another thing is that if you MUST write porn, DON'T MAKE CANON CHARACTERS GO OOC TO DO IT. I WILL NOT TOLERATE THAT. Your ship does not revolve around your will for sick and inappropriate and pointless erotica (aka PORN), thanks. I absolutely despise it when people act as if they can make the characters act like sex-obsessed, cliche-innuendos-addicted, brainless, guiltless, gullible idiots! There are books I've read where I feel as if the writer has literally taken their "dream character" and injected it into the body of one of the canon characters. That is a terrible way to write a book, and again, is a disgrace to fanfiction itself.

I can only think of one example where there was sex (described) and it was actually relevant to the story in terms of THERE ACTUALLY WAS A STORY. AND IT WAS ACTUALLY GOOD. It is called "The Aftermath" and is written by the user Grafon. This story is not actually erotica in the traditional sense, as it only shortly describes the sex and other themes are more prevalent, but for lack of a better term, I categorize it here. On the other hand, an example of a story that I found completely repulsive for the fact it was literally nothing but porn is the story "Affairs" by Prophecygeneration (before someone freaks out on me, I'm not picking on this one specifically. I needed an example, and this is the most recent thing I've read that I can easily address in the terms of polar-opposites in this subject.) I'll compare the two below:

Affairs:
An (apparent) series of one-shots. Nothing wrong with that.
No character development whatsoever.
Several instances of OOC activity. (Leo would not just completely abandon his girlfriend to go have sex with Reyna of all people. And Reyna does not seem like the kind of girl to so blatantly invite someone into sex. From what I've seen, she's a girl of high standards and high values. This is so OOC, I want to puke.)
Graphic smut.
Sex did not build up to or on any plot whatsoever. It was just...sex. Therefore, it was not erotica, and was simply porn.

The Aftermath:
Story format. Nothing wrong with that.
Lots of character development. Actually enhanced my understanding of the characters.
Virtually no instances of OOC activity. I felt like everything that happened was realistic and that the characters responded according to their personalities established within canon. There was no wish-fulfilling or wish-injections.
Smut was not described graphically.
Sex was actually relevant, and the plot was prevalent.

The differences plot wise are that "The Aftermath" actually HAS a plot. It is engaging and gives a point to the sex. Things like "Affairs" and "Seeking Happiness" do not have that. The former has no plot whatsoever, and the latter has a vague plot that was hardly worth mentioning. It made the actual plot into a sub-plot and made all the characters' sex lives into the main plot. And before someone accuses me of some form of favoritism, I actually do not care a ton for "The Aftermath" as a book. I think it is the best in it's genre I have seen on the site, and is the only fairly well-written (plot-wise) erotic story I have ever seen, and that is why I am using it as an example here.
Again: I AM NOT BASHING EROTICA. I am attacking erotica that has no plot to go along with it. So don't shoot me.

The main point is: if you are going to write erotica, write a plot into it, too. Please. Senseless sex is the exact same thing as porn. If you don't approve of photographic porn, why do you write it? (And if you do approve of photographic porn, I'm sorry, but that's just sick.) If you are going to write objectionable content into a story, make sure it's got a purpose. Pointless ANYTHING is not a good story. As mentioned above, no violence, language, or sex can be the plot in itself. It's impossible. It can be incorporated INTO the plot, and doing so can make for an amazing story, but it cannot BE the plot.Thisis the point I have been trying to make.

Notes

I decided that since I have a lot of things in writing that I feel like ranting about, here would be a good place to do it. So I changed the title a bit, and this is my first rant. No, the purpose is not to bully or pick on or offend anyone. Hopefully, the paragraph above covered my actual point.