There is no easy way to separate Erotica & Porn. Some stories can truly fit both descriptions ... and others are obviously one or the other. I use a simple formula when I am reading a story and evaluating it.
(Character A + character development) + (Character B + character development) + plot (aka story line) + emotions/thoughts of the characters + hot, steamy sex = softcore erotica
Character A + Character B + sex + sex + sex = soft porn
(Character A + character development) + (Character B + character development) + plot (aka story line) + emotions/thoughts of the characters + hot, GRAPHIC sex = hardcore erotica
Character A + Character B + graphic sex + graphic ex + graphic sex = hardcore porn
Like a rainbow, there will be a bit of overlap where the two sections kind of blend together. For example, where softcore porn meets hardcore erotica.
When you think about it, porn has no real plot, just a lot of sex, and erotica has a plot and character development, with sexual content as well.
Not inside the formula of erotica, there are topics that I believe to not be erotic but rather porn. There can sometimes be exceptions to every rule. Just like I before E except after C, I think that incest stories, mind control, and golden shower stories and bestiality, and non-consensual stories, no matter how well written are not erotica, but rather porn.
Read this example story that demonstrates the difference. An amusing story called "Porn and Circumstance" that truly displays the difference, click the link below to read it:.
