Like most things, a little goes a long way. But I don't want smut/erotica that pulls any punches. Let me differentiate between explicit sex and essential lovemaking between two characters. I like my fiction with girl cooties. I've never made a secret of that. Adult mature relationships. Here, explicit sex isn't really required. Having said that, on the other end I like weird kinky mind-blowing…Paul Di Filippo's "Pinocchia" comes to mind. It's a porn retelling of "Pinocchio." In the same way that good SF pushes the imaginative boundaries, this story does it with speculative sexual SF. It's funny too. Kinda like how I like my horror fiction (when I like it at all) humorous and madcap. Perhaps my Frank Zappa icon says it all... ;-)
Maybe! But I think it's situational (which is maybe what you're saying, too). In some context, explicit is just ridiculous and kind of boring. In others, it works right well. I think is many cases, where the story is the important thing, a frank sex scene is better than explicit—but again, it's a situational thing.
It depends on the genre. Horror (of a certain stripe) and crime fiction need to have some sex. YA fantasy yarns can get by with angsty looks without missing much. It also depends on the tone of the individual work. Sometimes sex can go on a little too long, but other times to be perfectly honest you need a little more than just the suggestion of heat.
Looking at comments, I think you and I have a similar outlook.
For myself as a reader, I've read and liked things all across the spectrum. In general, though, the super explicit stuff is more likely to go wrong for me than to go right for me. When it does go right, though, why--I like it! (But when it doesn't, I'm bored or embarrassed.)
I like the suggestive stuff a lot--I have a vivid imagination.
I'm definitely a less-is-more advocate in sex scenes, especially if I'm writing them. Imagination, as you say, can be a powerful thing. I have read some super explicit scenes that have been quite! nice! but many another has lapsed into a kind of self-parody.
Sex is a part of life. Fiction can't pretend that sex, explicit or otherwise, doesn't exist. And the idea that sex should never be included in books just baffles me. Seriously.
That doesn't mean that every sex scene should be two strangers ripping each others clothes off and hanging from the chandelier. Sex scenes should have a point, advance the plot and/or contribute to character growth. In other words, the scene should fit the story and the characters, not be tacked on for shock value.
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Date: 2011-06-18 03:45 am (UTC)For myself as a reader, I've read and liked things all across the spectrum. In general, though, the super explicit stuff is more likely to go wrong for me than to go right for me. When it does go right, though, why--I like it! (But when it doesn't, I'm bored or embarrassed.)
I like the suggestive stuff a lot--I have a vivid imagination.
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Date: 2011-06-18 06:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-18 05:37 am (UTC)That doesn't mean that every sex scene should be two strangers ripping each others clothes off and hanging from the chandelier. Sex scenes should have a point, advance the plot and/or contribute to character growth. In other words, the scene should fit the story and the characters, not be tacked on for shock value.
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Date: 2011-06-18 06:26 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2011-06-26 08:44 pm (UTC)