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What's wrong with sex?
Before I clarify my question, let me explain where I'm coming from. I've been in fandom for about 12 years now and definitely through my late formative years. I've written fanfiction since before I knew the word existed. I also write my own original fiction. In both cases, I write gen. Because, really romance often bores me. I don't generally like reading romance and I certainly don't like writing romance.
This often puts me on the outs with both fanfiction and original fiction. I don't watch most TV shows. I don't like a lot of mainstream fiction. I do, however, like romance when it is countered with a heavy helping of plot. I like plot that isn't romance. What about evil zombies from outerspace coming to Earth to replace your pet dogs with pod dogs? What if the Mongolian Empire had steam powered robots and horse powered zeppelins? What if the world was really run by highly intelligent daffodils? Huh? What about that?
However, I've seen a lot of people bitch about sex. Why, they say, sex should only be used to further plot and characterisation.
Why? What's wrong with sex?
I mean, sometimes I like to do slightly inane things with my characters for the sheer fact that it's delightful. I could, in theory, remove them and the plot and characterisation would still function. But I feel that it adds a little something. (I also like to add paprika to my chicken soup. Delight is a sure reason when it comes to questioning the strange things that I do.)
So, does someone want to tell me why showing sex is somehow a bad, extraneous thing? I mean, I've had sex that hasn't moved the plot of my life or changed my character. I'm sure other people have, too. Why can't fictional characters? Isn't it's fun/hot/I like writing smut a decent reason?
(While in reaction to a lot of writing discussion I've seen, this is in particular reaction to this meta. However, I felt it would be inappropriate to respond with this as a comment.)
Before I clarify my question, let me explain where I'm coming from. I've been in fandom for about 12 years now and definitely through my late formative years. I've written fanfiction since before I knew the word existed. I also write my own original fiction. In both cases, I write gen. Because, really romance often bores me. I don't generally like reading romance and I certainly don't like writing romance.
This often puts me on the outs with both fanfiction and original fiction. I don't watch most TV shows. I don't like a lot of mainstream fiction. I do, however, like romance when it is countered with a heavy helping of plot. I like plot that isn't romance. What about evil zombies from outerspace coming to Earth to replace your pet dogs with pod dogs? What if the Mongolian Empire had steam powered robots and horse powered zeppelins? What if the world was really run by highly intelligent daffodils? Huh? What about that?
However, I've seen a lot of people bitch about sex. Why, they say, sex should only be used to further plot and characterisation.
Why? What's wrong with sex?
I mean, sometimes I like to do slightly inane things with my characters for the sheer fact that it's delightful. I could, in theory, remove them and the plot and characterisation would still function. But I feel that it adds a little something. (I also like to add paprika to my chicken soup. Delight is a sure reason when it comes to questioning the strange things that I do.)
So, does someone want to tell me why showing sex is somehow a bad, extraneous thing? I mean, I've had sex that hasn't moved the plot of my life or changed my character. I'm sure other people have, too. Why can't fictional characters? Isn't it's fun/hot/I like writing smut a decent reason?
(While in reaction to a lot of writing discussion I've seen, this is in particular reaction to this meta. However, I felt it would be inappropriate to respond with this as a comment.)
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A character's one-night-stand-what-the-heck-I-might-as-well encounter in the alleyway behind a club doesn't have to be pointless...but so many fic writers approach it in this pointless way, that I think sex scenes in fic have become pointless through replication of this kind of situation.
And there are some stories where the sex is so gratuitous that it makes the whole fic sound silly, even if the main body of the text makes a good point. It reads as if the writer has seen that "sexay stories" get more reviews, so here goes I with the sex0rs...*write, write*
I wrote a character for a British CSI-type story collection and she was a highly sexual being. She responded to the horror and death she saw every day by sleeping with a close male friend to make herself feel alive and clean again. I was careful not to overplay the sexual aspect of her character, but at the same time it was an important part of who she was and to leave it out would have left her two-dimensional.
There is definitely a place for sex in fiction and it shouldn't automatically be seen as bad, but I think too many people use it as a turning point in the character's life when sex doesn't necessarily have to be that way.