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Hot Tips for Hot Writers
by Vivienne LaFay
Erotica Femina
DISCLAIMER!
None of this is written in
stone! It's just what I have
found works for me, and some
may be useful for you too.
The only 'magic ingredient'
is LUCK, but you know what
they say: 'The harder you
work, the luckier you get!'
HOW EROTIC WRITING
COMPARES WITH
WRITING OTHER TYPES OF
FICTION
Speaking
personally, it's not all
that different. I always aim
to write a 'proper' (as well
as an 'improper'!) novel,
with some semblance of a
plot, and characters who are
a bit more than just
cardboard figures. Although
the requirement of this
genre is for around 50 per
cent sex scenes I try to
include other material that
might be of interest. I
based 'Aphrodisia' around
the perfume industry, for
instance, since scent has
always played a part in
sexual arousal. In my Black
Lace historicals there's
quite a bit of scope for
interesting snippets about
past times, but ideally
everything should be related
to the erotic theme.
WRITING AS SEDUCTION
If you think about it, all
writing contains a strong
element of seduction. First
you must package your book
to attract the potential
reader. Hopefully your
publisher will do this with
an eye-catching jacket and
some whispered words of
enticement (the blurb). Then
the reader might be tempted
to flirt with you, the
writer, by flicking through
your book in the store. They
might make a close
inspection of the front view
(first page) or the back
(the last page). If they
like what they see your book
might be bought and taken
away to somewhere more
private, where the real
business of seduction
begins.
Now that you have your
reader 'hooked' your task is
to maintain their interest,
so you must use a few
tricks. Act like a
striptease artiste and don't
reveal everything at once!
Tease and intrigue them,
arousing curiosity and
excitement. But also give
your readers time to settle
in and explore the new
experience you are creating
for them. Arouse their
senses as well as their
mind. Now they're really
involved and wanting more,
but be sure to pace your
book so as to maintain their
interest while still keeping
something back. Do something
unexpected from time to
time, or they'll get bored.
You've set the scene and
plotted a course for the
characters that leads
inevitably towards some sort
of climax. Now keep your
reader hovering on the brink
for a while. Make them think
it's going to happen now . .
. then disappoint them a
little, only to raise their
expectations again. Wait
until they're completely
absorbed and hanging on your
every word before you
finally deliver that
shattering climax (or even
multiple climaxes!) before
letting them relax into the
pleasant afterglow of a
happy ending, with all their
curiosity satisfied and
expectations fulfilled.
Hopefully the experience
will have been so satisfying
that your readers will come
back for more!
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD
SEX SCENE
Don't imagine you can get
away with just fantasizing
on paper - editors and
readers expect a lot more
than that. If you pour out a
string of four-letter words,
or stick to stark
descriptions of the action
with no emphasis on sensual
detail or subtler shades of
feeling, your work will seem
at best amateurish and at
worse will seem like the
crude outpourings of an
adolescent w..ker!
For classy erotic writing
two words that come to mind
are 'detail' and
'involvement,' both yours
and the reader's. You should
describe what's happening in
detail, and all aspects
should be lovingly dwelt
upon or, if the scene is
brief, vividly conveyed. Try
to avoid crude expression
and cliché, though it's not
always possible. Use your
taste and judgment,
attributes that every writer
needs and the erotic writer
more than most. Aim to
orchestrate your sex scenes
with highs and lows,
obviously building towards
one or more climaxes,
followed by some resolution
- although sometimes it is
more fun to leave your
readers high and dry until
the next chapter!
Involve the reader by
describing physical feelings
and emotions, as well as
actions. Participles (-ing
verbs) are useful to avoid
the monotony of 'he did this
then she did that.' Aim to
get some rhythmic flow into
your writing that carries
the reader on smoothly from
one piece of the action to
next.
Remember we have five senses
and write to appeal to all
of them. Dialogue can be
useful, but more in the
build-up to the sex scene
than in the scene itself,
where it should be used
sparingly. Make use of your
knowledge of the different
ways people make love and
imagine new ones, new
settings, to get as much
variety as possible into
your writing. Remember,
variety adds SPICE!
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR
WRITING
All writers are also
readers. Your job as a
writer is to put yourself in
the position of a reader
coming to your book for the
first time. It's not easy,
but once you've mastered the
trick it will pay dividends.
You'll find yourself asking
such questions as 'Do we
really need to know all this
right now?' 'Why do three of
the characters' names begin
with S?' and 'What was the
point of introducing that
character, since they have
nothing whatever to do with
the plot?' Then you'll know
how to edit your writing.
Read 'How To' books if you
must, but develop your own
way of working. Every writer
works differently. Some
write every day from 6 a.m.
to noon, others work best in
the small hours. Some aim to
write a thousand words a
day, others are pleased if
they manage a hundred. Some
polish as they go along and
can't start the next bit
till they're satisfied,
others write the whole thing
without stopping then go
back and tinker. Find the
way that works for you.
When I was first learning
the craft of writing I read
loads of 'How To' books for
the various genres I was
interested in. Be warned:
they can become addictive!
By reading these books you
can convince yourself that
you're learning magic tricks
to improve your writing, but
there's no substitute for
practice, practice,
practice. After a while the
books began to seem
repetitive and I realized I
was only getting one or two
useful new points from each
one. I also realized the
money could be better spent
on getting a really good
dictionary, slang
dictionary, thesaurus, etc.
Read other erotic novels
but, again, beware! They are
not all well-written. Choose
only the best as your
models. Write the book that
turns YOU on, describe the
characters and situations
and techniques that YOU find
erotic, and trust that
others will feel the same.
Source:
Erotica Femina |
