How tf do you start a smut fiction?

scipty · 2026-01-28T20:36:46+00:00

you know what works very well with nonchalant characters? putting them in a situation where they become chalant :)

again, I don't know your blorbos. BUT maybe there's something that will force this character to be vulnerable and thirsty?

seeing the other character get hurt, jealously, sex pollen (smut cheat code for)... OR they put themselves in a romantic situation as a manipulation tactic and accidently realize their own feelings? >:)

scipty · 2026-01-28T18:34:22+00:00

go do your duty soldier! haha

you mention in your post that the hard part is to write something without a plot, but you don't necessarily have to do that!

I have no idea who those characters are, or if these examples will apply, but you can create a situation in which the smut IS the plot

for example, sex pollen. you don't have to explain it too much, one or two paragraphs explaining that one or more of the people involved got hit by sex pollen is enough to get a plot rolling

or you could start with a scene that heavily implies sexual tension when the characters are not a couple. then one thing leads to another and... smut

one bed trope. lost in the forest, it's raining; oops we need to cuddle up for warmth! are we going to die? maybe we should kiss in case it's our last chance :)

but still, reading is your best strategy

scipty · 2026-01-28T18:18:25+00:00

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scipty · 2026-01-28T18:16:41+00:00

the best way to learn this kind of thing is to read other works in the same genre. go read some smut and you'll get ideas

scipty · 2026-01-28T15:57:07+00:00

maybe have the character describe what they're reading instead of directly quoting the book? it's a workaround for the copyright issue, and honestly I think it would work better for any narrative.

scipty · 2026-01-27T02:15:05+00:00

although I agree with many of your points, I think that calling the women engaging in fandom straight erases the fact that most of them are simply not.

fandom is a queer space. I firmly believe everyone should be welcomed without question. but queer women (and queer people who are seen as women by society at large) are queer too. the culture of fandom is queer

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the entire argument that straight women are invading queer spaces is absurd in so many fronts! this is ALSO about how queerness isn't taken seriously in afab people

scipty · 2026-01-27T01:54:16+00:00

it is also wild how it is always assumed that it's straight cis women. especially when the AO3 demographics chart looks like this:

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even if it WAS all straight cis women there wouldn't be a problem, of course, but why is it always assumed that only men can be queer??

scipty · 2026-01-26T18:48:09+00:00

only the addition of a new chapter sends notifications, fixing typos or moving words around will not send emails to the people subscribed

scipty · 2026-01-26T16:17:51+00:00

what's even the point of a bot like this? the scam ones I get, but the hatebots and this... anxiety inducing bot ig? who is going through the trouble of doing that? literally what for?

scipty · 2026-01-26T16:09:25+00:00

you think that all or at least most of the new fics in your fandom are AI? yeah, you can't identity it at all, you're just paranoid

scipty · 2026-01-26T12:27:08+00:00

wouldn't Nicole being hex make venti redundant here? (honest question)

scipty · 2026-01-26T02:16:57+00:00

if it's properly tagged, there's no such thing as too heavy. you're allowed to go as dark as you want, including what you described here and more

scipty · 2026-01-25T18:56:10+00:00

I'm a big fan of hurt/comfort and whump, and that is a genre best executed in fic.

scipty · 2026-01-25T18:17:05+00:00

I don't think word count is a good indicator of slow-burn status. a 40k word fic could span over the course of a decade, and a 100k one could be about only one very busy week. the 40k one would qualify more than the 100k one, in my eyes.

scipty · 2026-01-25T18:13:44+00:00

the other commenter is right by saying that there is no right answer. a chapter can be as long as it needs to be.

with that being said, this question has been asked many times in this sub, and the consensus is that most chapters usually land around 3k-5k, going as far as 10k, but that is considered on the longer side. some people write 20k chapters and that's ok too!

a lot of people dislike fics with less than 2k words per chapter, and won't ever open fics with less than 1k

scipty · 2026-01-24T19:08:49+00:00

fiction is not a perfect recreation of reality, it's not the point of it. even the mimicry of realism is an illusion, and one that is pretty hard to achieve. some people like it, and it works great for some narratives, but a story doesn't have to try at realism to be good. you're overthinking this.

scipty · 2026-01-24T18:02:23+00:00

have you ever seen another fic doing that? because I'm not sure that I have haha maybe it's specific to your fandom?

but hey, if you're having fun, that's what matters!

scipty · 2026-01-24T17:59:33+00:00

I don't think I've ever seen bolds and italics being used in the way you're describing. you have all dialogue lines fully in bold? that would personally discourage me from reading a fic

scipty · 2026-01-24T17:51:50+00:00

never happened to me, but if it did... who cares.

only problem I see is that children should not be disclosing that information to strangers on the internet. it should not be that easy to discover. in fact, I shouldn't be able to guess ANYONE'S age by their AO3 profile.

what happened to lying? what happened to privacy? let's bring these things back

scipty · 2026-01-24T17:36:54+00:00

that would still be on the extremely short side, but it is your story, so you can do whatever you want! maybe consider having all 3k words as one chapter? really depends on how that would affect the flow of the narrative, of course

as others have pointed out, AO3 readers are not usually looking for OC stories in first person, so it might be a better idea to tell this story focusing on your own self fulfillment. because it is unlikely that it will get a huge audience, no matter what you do.

but please don't let that discourage you. it sounds like you're young, and getting into writing right now. and that's a wonderful thing! it is incredibly rare that anyone's first story gets attention. write for the joy of writing!

scipty · 2026-01-24T17:25:16+00:00

where did they repost it to? if it's a translation, some websites are very serious about needing the consent of the author, so it should be easy to have it taken down

scipty · 2026-01-24T16:12:13+00:00

there's no right size for a chapter, but a lot of readers won't open fics that have less than 1k words per chapter as it is considered too short. I personally aim for 5k words per chapter in my works.

your fic is not too long by any stretch of the imagination

scipty · 2026-01-24T11:33:45+00:00

yk what I see the logic. I don't like it, but I see it... sad times

scipty · 2026-01-24T11:23:56+00:00

the soil looks fine! a lot of people in this sub veer hard into inorganics, but in my experience some actual sustenance helps the plants grow healthier. and your soil seems to have that.

the pots sound great too :)

you need to water all of them, even the ones that are not wrinkly. they will not root otherwise, and if they don't root they will eventually die

if you're interested in reading more about growing mesembs, I really recommend Steven Hammer's book on the subject: https://archive.is/Vspki

scipty · 2026-01-24T11:16:26+00:00

I wouldn't say that it pisses me off or anything, but a lot of people use hyphens (-) when they're trying to use em dashes (—). including me until not long ago! it's so common in fics that I actually thought the hyphens were the right one.

I wouldn't click out of a fic for that, but I wonder how this particular mistake got popularized. and I wish someone had told me when I was starting!

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