Not every story needs

I'm sure there are plenty of people on this website who knows this already (and thank god for that) but I just wanted to say it again, really.

 

NOT EVERY STORY NEEDS TO BE A GOOD STORY

 

Disclaimer: This blogpost will, for obvious reasons, exclude PWP and a when mentioning "stories" as a generalized term. I hope you understand.

 

Yesterday evening I read a great mafia Chenyeol story on AO3. It was awesome up until the end. 

The story was heavily focused on the main character (Chanyeol) being aual. Being ace myself I felt it was great with more representation. Chanyeol was even a -repulsed ace (which I am not) but you know - representation is awesome! And I honestly understood Chanyeol's fears about getting into a relationship with someone who wasn't ace and the fear of not being enough because he was unwilling to have - both because of his lack of attraction and also because he was genuinely -repulsed. 

Until the ending where the author still added a and made Chanyeol hard from it, writing it out as "Chanyeol had libido and he was by some things but just not " which ... I felt, ruined the entire purpose of Chanyeol being a -repulsed ace. 

I am all for ace's having libido's and having and being by different things but ... Chanyeol was not only ace, he was -repulsed. I just ....

 

Without that the story would have been awesome. Describing their struggles in a relationship where was important to one and not the other or ... you know, just ended it with a conversation. "How are we gonna do this? What does this mean to you? Are you ok with this?" 

That would've made sense.

So why the random that got Chanyeol hard either way? 

(It honestly felt like it ruined his entire character that had been established throughout the entire fic. Not once had he shown any interest in any kind of and his only response to anything ual (even morning s) was disgust - until suddenly he's with Jongdae and want to give him a ?)

 

Anyway, my point here is not ranting about this fic ...

It's pointing out that is not always a necessary thing in fics. 

 

Look, definitely has it's time and place and it can do wonders if added right where it needs to be. It can show dysfunctional relationships and the exact opposite - a depth of a relationship. It can show consent and it can show non-consent. It can set the entire mood and it helps characters grow.

But ... sometimes a story just doesn't need it. Sometimes it's added in the middle of nowhere where it doesn't belong and where it doesn't help the story develop at all. It's just there for no reason whatsoever. It doesn't do anything to help anything along and the story goes back to the plot afterwards. 

You know, those stories where you can skip the entire sequence and not have missed anything important to the fic at all. 

That's when really wasn't needed. ; _ ;

 

So - if you're a new writer, a longterm writer or - you know, whatever - and looks at all the "popular" fics and their statistics and think "damn, I must be able to write to write something good"  just ... sometimes is unnecessary and sometimes a story is way better without.

 

(And please, if you write ace characters (and please do so), please don't add without thinking about your ace character and who exactly they are and why they're engaging in ...)

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taempteng #1
I mostly write due to boredom. Otherwise, I’m always focusing on how to continue the story and make it develop. If the timing is right, I might add some ; if I don’t feel like in the mood, I just skip over it.

After reading ‘To Hear The Angels Sing’ (and yes, your story), I thought, “I have to try writing relationships with no and purely character development!”
Because, tbh, I’m not much of a romance person. I’m mostly all for fantasy and action and probably squeeze in just a tad bit of romance here and there. So, when there’s ‘romance’, it’s either short-lived or may or may not contain .
However, after an argument (kinda, not really) I had with my Biology teacher about why Muslims don’t condone homouality (and truths like “the bacteria in the yada yada”), I was like, “Just you wait. I’ll show you that not all relationships have to revolve around screwing each other and that people can live without having even once!”
(Which was how I came about reading your story and e, I’m in love without realising it ;v;)

Back to the topic- after reading your story, I was determined to write a -free romance story and focus mainly on character and relationship development. :D It’s gonna be a pain doing this bc I need to carefully plan out how the relationship should go around and continue. But, you know what? I don’t care. If it’s to try something new (and prove my teacher wrong), I’m all for the torture!
gukikreme #2
i feel like all my stories need because i see as the ultimate consummation of a relationship
i dont think you can really be close to a person until you share your most intimate parts with them and until you get to know them on a ual level
i saw chobits and i thought it was cute how they tried to show that a less relationship is just as valid, but though i was moved i was never entirely sold on that idea myself
now, this is all based on my personal relationship experiences, preferences and beliefs. so all my stories do have in them simply because I want it there and I think its important. now, i wont always write it out, but even if i gloss over it i do try to highlight the bonding that it brought about
is not dirty and its not wrong and i actually feel that its beautiful and transcendental. when you're having the feeling is almost indescribable. you release all sorts of endorphins that stimulate feelings of intimacy and you feel not only a physical connection to your partner but an emotional one. thats what i like to reflect in my stories. why choose to NOT have that experience in a story when you could have it? i dont see reasoning in that.
so my point is this: maybe all stories dont need FOR YOU, but you should recognize that for a large number of people its a healthy and desirable part of a relationship and its a desirable activity to read and write about. if you dont want to read and write about it, don't. but i think its fair for authors to put it in their stories if they think its desirable, important, or both
the stories we write are reflections of the worlds issues and themes that we personally value. they're not a manual to tell the world what should be important to them. therefore i believe in total creative freedom of expression, meaning that authors should decide for themselves what their stories "need" not anyone else
SheirynFiya #3
This is true! I feel like people might feel the need to add a scene to be on par with others? Like they might feel lacking or dull if there’s no intimate scene which i understand bcos i feel that way too. But if it doesnt fit the story so far and if one is not comfortable writing about then its totally okay to forgo the idea, bt the story can be just as awesome!
dieukyungsoo #4
Thank you for putting this out there! I myself am not ace (I'm bi), but am writing an ace character and trying to bring as much representation to the table as I can. Although my current ace character is only a side character, I appreciate this as it gives me (and hopefully other writers) a bit of an idea of what not to and what to do with ace characters. And you're 100% right- not every good story needs ! ual jokes and even alluding to actual is one thing, but not every story needs detailed depictions of . I myself am uncomfortable writing in depth scenes (I'll write make-out scenes or try my best to make it clear they did the disco), and it's nice to hear that not everyone looks for/wants in a story.
PanmiChan #5
THANK YOU!!! Someone has finally said it. I was pressured to write for one of my stories just because it was rated m (I rated it because it was bloody). I'm terrible at writing romances let alone so I ended up trying to write around that. I would accept it if it was like a romance or something more adult. But I would find it awkward if it was in there like random, like "where did that come from?" Sadly though, a majority of the popular stories have those. It's like following a trend in order to get popular, that's how I see it anyways.
SeonNyeo26 #6
HAAALELUJAH!!
I have tried to write but...I am not good at it. Perhaps because i am going towards the romantic Ace- demiual. I am somewhere in there. But i have always been envious of stories which contain ... Why do they get a lot more readers and comments :((((((????
I for one tend to write more angsty stories and for the last chapter of my story The Kings Taster i went a little in the crack fic type. I wanted to write comedy. Didnt get that well. I am looking and crying because the female lead is just like me , clueless of her feelings. She has a lot of things on her head to even think about love. Though the title screams ”” THERE IS NO SUCH THING IN THIS ONE ^^. i SHOULD put a warning because all the leads are half sibilings (HELLO SCARLET HEART RYEO ) but I smh manage to convey feelings without making this too physical. ^^
contaminated #7
"It's pointing out that is not always a necessary thing in fics."
FINALLY, SOMEONE, SAYS, IT
honestly I love in fics but I often have these bad mornings and I just browse ao3 or aff looking for these gross, less fluff stories so i can curl up and squeal and be happy and...

okay that's off topic but still
less stories are amazing
BR_exo #8
I agree with what you said. And lol I included a chapter like that but just before it got to that part the characters were having a great time. It's just to satisfy our feels for the ship and if you're a hardcore shipper of what you read then it's just an extra bonus. And no offence and I'm shameless to say but I try to look for the [M] ones because sometimes their writers write really good plots. But yeah none [M] do too..idk most just perfer something serious or physical lol
Mewlrose #9
I agree with this. But that being said, I did insert an uncalled for scene into my first story here on aff, but that's a conversation for another day. It's sad that authors have to rely on to make their stories more "marketable" because there are good stories out there that have absolutely no involved and they are great. I guess kpop fans are just too thirsty for their idols and are craving this stuff.

The thing is, nowadays I read stories that do have lots of in them, sometimes I skip those scenes and sometimes I don't, just depends on where I'm reading and how I'm feeling. Most times, I feel like the scene is the frosting on a cake, unless it contributes to the plot or to some sort of character development, or it just makes sense. Like, in one fic, one of the characters was an incubus and needed to have and that was understandable, plus I enjoyed how the author approached those scenes.

Long story short, love what you said in this blog, totally agree even though I'm a hypocritical , and aual Chanyeol did not need to get that , end of story. :)
brithistorian #10
Good points. I've gotten frustrated sometimes that my gets more readers than my non-, some of which I consider to be better stories.

BTW I'm ace too, and in my story "Madame Park's Academy" I'm writing Moonbyul as ace. You might want to check it out.
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