Emotional Attachment & Smutty Fic

[ithildin]

We discussed this on IM last night, and thought it was worth throwing out for conversation.  My musing is such: I've bought and read some of those 'erotica anthologies', and for the most part, they bore me to tears. So I've been wondering if there's a component of having an attachment to a character that adds to the enjoyment of such fic. As in: I find I enjoy 'adult' fanfic with a character I know and care about more than the 'professional' sorts of stories found in published anthologies. With many of those, it's virtually nameless and faceless and I just don't care enough about the participants for the story to be satisfying on any level.  Obviously, there are exceptions. but generally speaking that seems to be the pattern.

Thoughts?

And here's hoping the other participants of last night's conversation share their thoughts.

Comments

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

I think I may be the freak in the room here... I frequently read slash in fandoms where I have no interest in the show, or even ACTIVELY DISLIKE the show, because it's hot. The writer is good enough to make a good enough story, with exciting enough sex, that even though I'm not INTO those guys, it's enjoyable to read.

As for pro erotica - that varies big time, almost as much as pro mystery or pro science fiction or whatever. There are the 90% of writers/material that are utter crap (to me), and then there are the 10% who are brilliant. Patrick Califia does it for me every time - possibly because he comes up with things that surprise me - while the "Best Erotica" series tends to be kind of boring and same-y to me.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Well, there are times when I don't care either, I admit[g] I don't think you're a freak, BTW. Everyone is different, and thank goodness for it!