# A Question RE: Porn Literature **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 28, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873 "2007-09-28T22:00:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/1 "2007-09-28T22:00:08Z")
I happened upon some on-line porn lit, and happened to read a few stories(they were mostly 1-2 page affairs). Aside from the banality of most of this stuff, I’m struck by how vocal the characters seem to get (when reaching orgasm). They scream and moan, yell and shout-do most people actually act this way? also, the characters seem to ahve an incredible capacity for multiple orgasms-so is this literature in any way truthful? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/2 "2007-09-28T22:17:43Z")
You should see how much a girl moans when a tentacle monster gets her. Tentacle literature just can’t compare to real life! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/3 "2007-09-28T22:18:42Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] is this literature in any way truthful? :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] If it were in any way truthful, there would be no need for it. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/4 "2007-09-28T22:33:21Z")
When dealing with a written story, an author has to show that the participants are enjoying themselves. One easy way to do that is to have the characters be vocal. Girls in video porn are quite vocal, too. As for the multiple orgasm bit, its exagerrated (duh), but many women can have multiple orgasms. A few men, too. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/5 "2007-09-29T01:23:01Z")
Relying on porn for accurate information on sexual behavior is like relying on sitcoms for accurate information about family life. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/6 "2007-09-29T01:25:55Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I’m struck by how vocal the characters seem to get (when reaching orgasm). They scream and moan, yell and shout-do most people actually act this way? [/QUOTE] You mean your partners don’t? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/7 "2007-09-29T02:11:32Z")
As with everything, it varies. I have a friend who writes “porn lit” and her characters don’t seem excessively vocal. Maybe you just got some lame porn! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/8 "2007-09-29T02:45:14Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I happened upon some on-line porn lit, and happened to read a few stories [/QUOTE] That’s happened to me too. I was walking along, minding my own business, when I tripped, fell, and landed on some porn. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/9 "2007-09-29T07:27:24Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] As with everything, it varies. I have a friend who writes “porn lit” and her characters don’t seem excessively vocal. … 😉 [/QUOTE] Neither do mine! I’ve even adapted some of the stories to screen scripts. But where do I sell this stuff? …maybe you could ask your friend? For a commission? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/10 "2007-09-29T13:59:32Z")
[QUOTE=LiveOnAPlane] Neither do mine! I’ve even adapted some of the stories to screen scripts. But where do I sell this stuff? …maybe you could ask your friend? For a commission? [/QUOTE] Maybe she’ll drop by… ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/11 "2007-09-29T17:29:26Z")
[QUOTE=LiveOnAPlane] Neither do mine! I’ve even adapted some of the stories to screen scripts. But where do I sell this stuff? …maybe you could ask your friend? For a commission? [/QUOTE] Are you asking where you sell your stories? Or where you sell your screen scripts? I can help you with the first, but not the latter… ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/12 "2007-09-29T20:07:27Z")
[QUOTE=pepperlandgirl] Are you asking where you sell your stories? Or where you sell your screen scripts? I can help you with the first, but not the latter… [/QUOTE] The FAQ in the adult movie newsgroup a few years back said don’t even try. Filmmakers discovered that the script didn’t make a difference, and they just wrote it themselves and saved the money. Good porn sold no better than bad porn. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/13 "2007-09-29T22:42:00Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] The FAQ in the adult movie newsgroup a few years back said don’t even try. Filmmakers discovered that the script didn’t make a difference, and they just wrote it themselves and saved the money. Good porn sold no better than bad porn. [/QUOTE] This is true in film, but in the case of written porn, there’s a new niche on the Internet, erotica, which consists of stories with varying rations of plot/sex scenes, which are being driven by writers’ and readers’ interests rather than publishers’ interests, where quality DOES count for something. Most of it’s bad, just like everything else, but there’s good stuff out there, too. As for the OP, noisy sex standing in for good sex is generally indicative of either lame writing, as has already been suggested, or a noisy sex fetish. Same with sex that involves copious flows of various secretions often lumped under the rubric of “love juices.” Sometimes it’s a body fluid fethish, but almost always it’s bad writing. Fact is, the single great advantage that writing has over visual media is that you can naturally and easily show what any given character is thinking and feeling, simply by describing it, as you w0old describe anything else in your story. This has huge advantages in the case of sex scenes. There are still great difficulties with coming up with original and powerful ways to describe sexual feelings and sexual “thoughts” but having your sex partners get noisy and excrete a lot as a primary way of describing their ecstasy is fairly lame. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/14 "2007-09-29T22:56:36Z")
Oh! Ahh! Eee! Unh! Oh, Baby! Oh, yeah! Oh, God. Oh! No! Oooo… Think I could write for porn? There’s more where that came from. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/15 "2007-09-29T23:15:01Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] ..many women can have multiple orgasms. **A few men, too**. [/QUOTE] A male friend of mine told me had multiple orgasms…but when asked to be more specific, he admitted they were not on the same day - or the same month for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/16 "2007-09-30T19:30:15Z")
[QUOTE=pepperlandgirl] Are you asking where you sell your stories? Or where you sell your screen scripts? I can help you with the first, but not the latter… [/QUOTE] You mean there actually might be somewhere one could sell erotic stories? I was joking about actually being an erotic writer, but that is quite interesting. Can you elaborate? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/17 "2007-09-30T21:02:29Z")
[QUOTE=LiveOnAPlane] You mean there actually might be somewhere one could sell erotic stories? I was joking about actually being an erotic writer, but that is quite interesting. Can you elaborate? [/QUOTE] Here’s a start. [Erotic Short Fiction Markets](http://erotica.fictionfactor.com/markets.html) Or better yet, just Google erotic fiction markets | guidelines and see the 1,600,000 hits that come up. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/18 "2007-09-30T22:11:16Z")
[QUOTE=LiveOnAPlane] You mean there actually might be somewhere one could sell erotic stories? I was joking about actually being an erotic writer, but that is quite interesting. Can you elaborate? [/QUOTE] Of course there’s a place you can sell erotic stories. On top of **Expano’s** link, there is also [Erotica Readers and Writers Association](http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/G/Call_For_Submissions.htm). It lists anthologies, magazines, print publishers, and electronic publishers. Most epublishers accept stories ranging from 5K to 100K. The erotic market is getting bigger all the time, including erotic imprints from major publishers like Kensington’s **Aphrodesia** line and Harlequins **Spice** line. I know I’ve read arguments on this board that people wouldn’t pay for epublished material when they can just read porn for free. But I’ve got sales figures that indicate otherwise, and epublishers like [Ellora’s Cave](http://www.ellorascave.com), [Amber Quill](http://www.amberquill.com), and [Liquid Silver Books](http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com) are doing very well. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/19 "2007-09-30T22:19:26Z")
Self-publishing is also an option, via [Cafe Press](http://www.cafepress.com) [Mobipocket](http://www.mobipocket.com) and many others. I publish on Mobipocket. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-re-porn-literature/420873/20 "2007-09-30T23:01:45Z")
Thanks. This is fascinating!