PZA: Questions & Answers

The primary difference between erotica and pornography is that the single purpose of pornography is to sexually arouse the reader, period. There is not much of a plotline, if any, and there is no character development.

Erotica, on the other hand, tends to have a genuine story, which helps to emphasize the erotic elements. There may be character development through the course of the story, and there is a much greater emphasis on the thoughts and emotions of the characters.

Q: What are the style requirements for a good story?

Story: The temptation is to get right into the 'good bits' and forget about the rest as unimportant. You will find, though, that the story which surrounds the 'good bits' can help to heighten the eroticism. This also allows the sexual tension in the story to build, resulting in a more viscerally powerful experience for the reader when the 'good bits' finally arrive.

Character Descriptions: There are better ways of telling readers what a character looks like than giving them a rundown of height, weight, build and hair colour. One method is to have the character look into a mirror, describing what the character sees. One of the major tenets of fiction writing is: 'Show me, don't tell me.' Rather than baldly stating a fact within a story, the fact should be shown to the reader through the actions or dialogue. For example, rather than stating that a character is rude, it is better to have the character ACT rude and allow the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. This can also apply to physical descriptions of characters; instead of telling the readers that a character is physically attractive, try having other characters within the story react to that character in a way that tells the reader the same thing. Your story will read and feel more natural.

Explicitness: The most arousing stories do not contain anatomically detailed descriptions of 'tab-A into slot-B.' Rather, they draw the reader into the story, and then allow the reader to paint a picture for him- or herself. The reader will always be able to manufacture a more detailed and more erotic picture that you can describe, and the trick is to make the reader see this picture without painting it for him or her. When writing sexually explicit material, avoid euphemisms. Calling a penis a 'throbbing gearshift of love' is not going to arouse anything but laughter. It is perfectly acceptable to use words like 'cock' or 'cunt' when writing erotica, but if you do, use these words throughout the story. Don't suddenly switch to medically accurate terms like 'penis' or 'vagina.' Likewise, if you use medically accurate terms, don't switch to colloquialisms part-way through. You want to avoid doing anything that will jar the reader and remind him or her that they are reading a story.

It is acceptable to switch between clinical and non-clinical expressions when switching between the differing points of view of various characters in a story, as this helps your readers to keep those characters separated in their minds. It may also be effectively used to show an individual character's changing mental state, but this is more difficult to write successfully and should generally be avoided by a beginner.

Second person: ("You did this, and then you did that"). This is not an often-used perspective. There is a definite role for the second person perspective in erotic writing. Since the purpose of erotic writing is to sexually engage the reader, and since the easiest way to do this is to draw the reader into the role of participant within the story, second person enjoys a usefulness in the genre that it does not in most others. An example of the story in the second person is When You Were Ten.

Third person: ("John did this, and then he did that"), the most common perspective used in stories, and is the easiest for a novice to master.

Q. What are the spelling and Grammar rules?

Learn to use quotation marks properly. Dialogue is a crucial element in most fiction, and deserves correct treatment. "Remember," he said, "that closing quotation marks go on the outside of the punctuation, not the inside."

The double quotation mark - " - is only used for the spoken part in a dialogue. To emphasize a single word, the single quotation mark (mostly identical with the apostroph) - ' - is used.

Paragraphs
Paragraphs are NOT optional! Each paragraph in a story is a series of related thoughts; every sentence in a paragraph should relate to a single subject. If there is a new idea, begin a new paragraph.

Dialogue should be separated by paragraphs. Each time a different character speaks, this should start a new paragraph, even if it is only a single word.

Punctuation
Punctuation is your friend. It helps the flow of the words in the reader's mind, and it helps make the meanings clearer. Too much punctuation, however, is as bad as too little. Some of the most common errors made with punctuation are outlined below.

Commas should be used to indicate a very brief pause in the flow of a sentence, and are normally used to link two related, incomplete thoughts (that is, to separate clauses in a complex sentence), to separate a list of items, or to separate adjectives and adverbs when there is more than one. Use commas sparingly.
Semi-colons and colons are used to represent pauses in flow much the same way commas are used. A semi-colon (the ';' symbol) is a pause of 'two beats,' or about twice as long as you would pause for a comma. A colon (the ':' symbol) is a pause of 'three beats,' or about three times as long as you would pause for a comma.
Periods, also known as 'full stops,' represent a complete halt in the flow of a sentence, and are used to indicate the completion of a single thought.
Question marks and exclamation marks are the most overused punctuation. It is almost never appropriate to use more than one exclamation mark, and it is NEVER appropriate to use more than one question mark.

Apostrophes
The apostrophe (the ' symbol) is used to show possessiveness or that a word has been concatenated. It is NEVER used to show that a word is plural! If one wishes to show possessiveness in a word which ends in an 's' then one adds an apostrophe, by itself, after the last letter. For example, to indicate that something belongs to Jess, one would use Jess'.

In a concatenated word, the apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter in the word. So, for example, 'do not' becomes 'don't.'

Apostrophes with Verb Contractions

Apostrophes generally show missing letters in contractions.

In most formal writing such contractions should be avoided.

The most common contractions involve verbs in five situations.

1. Verbs with not contracted, or shortened.

Examples: aren't don't isn't wasn't can't weren't weren't wouldn't doesn't hasn't haven't couldn't

Note: The word won't is a contraction of will not--in older dialects will was often spelled with an o. The word shan't for shall not is seldom used in the United States. The word ain't is considered nonstandard.

2. Pronouns with will.

Examples: I'll you'll he'll she'll they'll

Note: In conversation the word will is often slurred and may show up in dialogue as 'll after most nouns, e.g., "John'll come home soon."

3. Pronouns and nouns with the verb to be.

Examples: I'm you're who's (i.e., who is) he's she's it's we're they're

Note: In conversation the word is is often contracted with nouns, e.g. "Martha's here."

Please note four confusing contractions:

who's it's you're they're

Remember, the apostrophe indicates that letters have been left out.

who's = who is or who has you're = you are it's = it is or it has they're = they are

The possessive of who is whose.

Correct: Who's coming with me? (Contraction)
Correct: Whose book is this? (Possessive)

4. Pronouns with the verb to have.

Examples: I've he's you've we've they've

(Note that the 's could stand for is or has.)

See below for the contractions with had.

Note: Sometimes the word have is slurred, especially after verbs like would, could, and should. In dialogue this can be shown as 've, but never as of.

Incorrect: We would of like to have gone.
Correct: We would've liked to have gone.
(To show contraction in speaking)
Correct: We would have liked to have gone.
(In more formal writing)

5. Pronouns with would or had contracted.

Examples: I'd he'd she'd you'd we'd they'd
I'd better go.
(I had better go.)
He'd want to go.
(He would want to go.)

In everyday conversation the word would is often slurred and may be shown as 'd following a noun in dialogue, e.g. "John'd be upset if he found out."


Its or It's?
 
Its is the possessive pronoun; it modifies a noun. 
It's is a contraction of it is or it has. 
Incorrect: The mother cat carried it's kitten in it's mouth. 
(Possessive pronoun, no apostrophe) 
Correct: The mother cat carried its kitten in its mouth. 
Correct: I think it's going to rain today. 
(Contraction of it is) 
Correct: It's been a very long time. 
(Contraction of it has)

The English words than and then look and sound a lot alike, but they are completely different. If this distinction is harder than it should be, read this lesson and then try again.

Technically, you should use the subject pronoun after than (e.g., I), as opposed to the object pronoun (me). However, English speakers commonly use the object pronoun.

Q: Are these stories child pornography?

USA:
As defined in 47 U.S.C. 2256: "child pornography" means any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where:
(A) the production of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct;
(B) such visual depiction is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct;
(C) such visual depiction has been created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or
(D) such visual depiction is advertised, promoted, presented, described, or distributed in such a manner that conveys the impression that the material is or contains a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

The stories on PZA are TEXT only and thus according to U.S. law NO child pornography.

United Kingdom:
1) It is an offence for a person–
(a) to take, or permit to be taken, any indecent photograph of a child (meaning in this Act a person under the age of 16); or
(b) to distribute or show such indecent photographs; or
(c) to have in his possession such indecent photographs, with a view to their being distributed or shown by himself or others; or
(d) to publish or cause to be published any advertisement likely to be understood as conveying that the advertiser distributes or shows such indecent photographs or intends to do so
etc. (later extended to include "pseudo-photographs".

The stories on PZA are TEXT only and thus according to British law NO child pornography.

The Netherlands:
Kinderpornografie is volgens het Wetboek van Strafrecht (artikel 240b) ' 3;iedere afbeelding – of gegevensdrager die een afbeelding bevat – van een seksuele gedraging waarbij iemand, die kennelijk de leeftijd van achttien jaar nog niet heeft bereikt, is betrokken of schijnbaar betrokken is'.

De verhalen op PZA zijn alleen TEKST en daarom volgens de Nederlandse wet GEEN kinderpornografie..

In the following country the stories on PZA can or will be considered als child pornography.

Canada:
163.1 (1) In this section, "child pornography" means

(a) a photographic, film, video or other visual representation, whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means,
(i) that shows a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of eighteen years and is engaged in or is depicted as engaged in explicit sexual activity, or
(ii) the dominant characteristic of which is the depiction, for a sexual purpose, of a sexual organ or the anal region of a person under the age of eighteen years; or
(b) any written material or visual representation that advocates or counsels sexual activity with a person under the age of eighteen years that would be an offence under this Act.

Germany:
Kinderpornografisch sind pornografische Schriften (§ 11 Abs. 3 Strafgesetzbuch), wenn sie den sexuellen Missbrauch von Kindern zum Gegenstand haben (§ 184 Abs. 3 Strafgesetzbuch). Geben sie ein tatsächliches oder wirklichkeitsnahes Geschehen wieder, ist zudem der Besitz bzw. die Besitzverschaffung gemäß § 184 Abs. 5 Strafgesetzbuch unter Strafe gestellt. Darüber hinaus ist in diesen Fällen auch die höhere Strafandrohung des § 184 Abs. 4 Strafgesetzbuch gegeben. Ein Kind ist eine Person unter vierzehn Jahren.

§ 11 Abs. 3 Strafgesetzbuch: Begriff "Schrift"
Den Schriften stehen Ton- und Bildträger, Datenspeicher, Abbildungen und andere Darstellungen in denjenigen Vorschriften gleich, die auf diesen Absatz verweisen.

Questions & Answers

Q: Are this stories Erotica or Pornography?

Q: What are the style requirements for a good story?

Q: From which perspective the story can be told?

Q. What are the spelling and Grammar rules?

Q: Are these stories child pornography?