How To Write Erotica

How To Write Erotica
Sex. Celebrity. Politics. With Teeth
Sex. Celebrity. Politics. With Teeth
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Biden Manages to Say Abortion in Speech About Abortion
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Want to learn how to write steamy sex scenes? Check out these tips from a woman , and these slightly more offensive tips from a man .
The woman is Belle de Jour, author of Playing the Game , and her suggestions pretty much read like pointers for good writing in general. She says,
Arms are flying, tongues are flicking, and where on earth did that extra arm come from? The effectiveness of sex writing depends, as with real sex, on getting from point A to point Z via all the letters in between. Too many stories start on the sofa, then segue straight into a threesome on the beach.
Plenty of non-erotic books fail because the author can't keep track of the rooms in a house or the stops on a bus route, or because the action moves implausibly quickly or slowly. Getting from A to Z effectively: good advice for any writer. So is de Jour's caution not "to dwell on what ruffly garment was worn, the precise glossy shade of a woman's hair, and so on," or to "describe anything that is not in fact chocolate as being 'like chocolate.'" Perhaps her only totally sex-specific tip is this one:
If I wanted to read about the kind of sex I have every day, I would . . . well, I wouldn't. Why fantasise about what you already experience? I go to the written word for places and faces that I don't get at home. Hot people in hot climates. Sex acts I can hardly imagine. Porn is about the unachievable . . . and, therefore, the inherently desirable.
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The male sex-tipster, Ewan Morrison, starts off by explaining why women don't write about sex as well as men do (heard this before? ). He says, "it's because male writers have a much longer tradition of breaking taboos about sex (straight and gay)." His examples are Henry Miller and Anais Nin. He writes,
In an Ann Coulter-worthy bit of self-undermining, sex writer and new owner of Britain's Erotic…
Miller is all vigour, urgency and detail. Nin's body becomes relatively anonymous for him. Nin has to make the act seem poetic and address the virility of Miller's 'authorship.' 'His book swells inside of me,' she writes. His penis is, almost literally, the canon of Western male fiction.
Comparing a dick to a book (kinda oblong) doesn't sound all that hot, but is anonymity really the recipe for great erotica? Morrison seems to think so. He writes that,
the bourgeois distinction between erotica and porn [...] is based on an opposition between ethically good sex with 'wholesome, well-rounded characters' (erotica) and nasty cheap sex with anonymous bodies (porn). Porn is omnipresent now and calling a certain kind of porn 'erotica' is a middle-class attempt to set itself against the tasteless culture of the masses.
It's clear here that we're supposed to think sex with "wholesome, well-rounded characters" is less fun than "sex with anonymous bodies." And it sure is, if you make those characters sound like big balls of oatmeal. If, however, a character has an interesting personality or an exciting (or twisted) relationship to the person he's fucking, isn't that more arousing than anonymous tab-a-into-slot-b? Maybe not for Morrison, who seems to take a pretty narrow view of what's acceptable in erotica. He says,
Write from experience, not fantasy[.] Fantastical sex scenes are hilarious, shallow and awful. Follow the masters: Miller, Jean Genet and Nin, who wrote from the depths of lives devoted to sensual pleasure. If you don't have the experiences to enrich your writing, go out and get them or stop trying to write sex scenes.
Pretty much the polar opposite of Belle de Jour's advice, and kind of odd coming from someone who wrote Ménage , a novel inspired by the ménage à trois between Henry Miller, June Miller and Anaïs Nin. Presumably Morrison never actually had sex with any of these people, and thus his writing didn't really come from experience. Perhaps he discovered that imagining sex you could never or would never have is actually titillating? But then again, that's probably just my failure to break taboos talking. Better go back to fucking books.

Romance author Lisa Lane shares her top 10 tips for how to write erotica effectively.
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As an erotica author, I’ve found that many people have preconceived notions about the art of writing erotica and erotic romance. Before I became well versed in writing the genre, I had misconceptions of my own, and that led to much trial and error as I worked to refine my craft and learn how better to please my audience.
While sex does play a key role in erotica, the sex itself is secondary to the development of the characters and plot. A good erotica writer knows that, no matter how great the sex is, there still needs to be a good, solid story if one wants to hold a reader’s interest.
Flat characters never go far, but in erotica, you really do have your work cut out for you when it comes to creating believable and entertaining character dynamics. Dashing heroes make for great romance and passionate love-making, but they won’t keep the story going. Think about the characteristics that you find most entertaining, and then brainstorm: Readers like characters who use fun dialog, have a good sense of humor, and make interesting choices. What types of hobbies, beliefs, or interests might help to develop your characters—and give them something in common? The hero must be worth pursuing, and the heroine must be worthy of her hero.
Most readers prefer erotica shown from the female perspective unless the work is written specifically for readers of M/M (man on man). If you have an idea for a heterosexual erotic story with the hero taking full lead, consider ways you might revise it to focus more on the female’s point of view. Some (very limited) authors have found success in shifting through both points of view, and it works well in some circumstances, but many editors will frown on the “head-hopping” of internal dialog.
While many readers still enjoy straight erotica, mixed-genre erotica is a great avenue to take for writers looking for their niche. Use your literary interests to your advantage and write what you like, letting the erotic aspects work as an added feature to your work. You’ll have more fun writing, and that will shine through to your readers.
Are you writing for fans of erotic romance or other subgenres? Make sure that romance is a strong part of your plot if you’re planning on marketing to erotic romance readers, and make sure you’re clear about your subgenres. Let your audience know what they’re in for before they read your work: if you are including kinky or gay/lesbian aspects to your story, or if you are incorporating audience-specific subgenres such as horror, steampunk, or hard science fiction, be clear about those aspects in your marketing. Readers do not respond well to these types of surprises.
One point that I cannot stress enough is the importance to be innovative and unique in your erotica. There are only so many ways to write a traditional sex scene, and they can become repetitive and boring. Use your subgenres to your advantage. What is it about your characters or their circumstances that you can use to make your erotica different? What limits can you break, without crossing the line?
Let it build, let it fall, let a heart or two break, and then give the readers what they’ve been waiting for.
While erotic romance is a hot market right now, don’t underestimate the power of pure, raw, primal sex. It can be fun and interesting to develop characters that make their moves based on pure attraction, the love/hate dichotomy, and revenge or rebound.
Just as it is important to build sexual tension, it is also important to make sure your characters don’t jump into the act of lovemaking too quickly. Foreplay helps to add to the sexual tension you’ve already built between your characters, and it makes that final “climactic” release all the more satisfying.
Like romance, erotica and erotic romance readers tend to expect a “happily ever after” or “happy for now” ending. Don’t let your audience down by offering them a great story, only to leave them hanging or disappointed by the characters’ outcomes. Even cliffhangers in series need to give the readers hope that all is well, if at least for the time being. If the main couple does not end up together, make sure there is a good reason for it, and that they are better off going their separate ways.
Writing erotica can be a fun and rewarding venture, but as with any genre, there are rules to which the author must adhere. While rules can sometimes be stretched or even broken, knowing your audience and your market will go a long way in helping you to promote your work. Have fun, write what you like, but make sure that you’re also writing with your target audience in mind. Good luck!
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Lisa Lane is an eclectic writer who works in multiple genres and formats; she writes novels, original screenplays, short stories, and essays. Four of her erotica novels and six erotic romance short stories are published through Ravenous Romance. She also has one “sweet” romance published. See her website here .
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Create your characters. Brainstorm your characters' physical traits, personalities, and backgrounds by using your favorite creative writing technique such as free writing, mind mapping, or character questions. Determine the sexuality and gender identity of your characters as well as any information about their sexual history and preferences that might be useful in building your story. If you are writing a novel, of course, you will need to do a more thorough brainstorm than for a short story. Either way, though, the first step to creating a good story is developing round, believable characters. Asking yourself questions about the characters can also help you develop the plot if you are looking for something to make your story or novel unique. [1]
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The average audience is more interested in hearing about characters that are different from the standard ones. [2]
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They want more diversity or variety. You can look at the existing stereotypes and twist them for diversity. [3]
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For example, Captain Holt in Brooklyn 99 is a black man who is also gay. He is not like any black or gay stereotypes that you can imagine. He is the exact opposite. [4]
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