The beginner puffs and huffs. The master sets your house on fire.
So I have not been blogging much, as you can tell. If you can imagine, I have been busy following the Luka Magnotta case, wondering how cannibalism got to be sexy...but I digress (too soon? have you read my novel?). The reality of it is that editing can be time-consuming and draining, especially when it's not your own work. I've been helping a friend work on a self-help book designed for young women. I'm sure you'll be hearing more next month, when I spend time blogging about editing as opposed to writing smut.
To complete my 101 on writing trash, I'm going to share my top 5 basic rules to crafting a good smut scene. So whether you're in it for a page, a chapter, or whole book, these are guidelines I have embraced in my own smut. Coming on the heels of the last two entries, these are pretty straightforward. So enjoy!
1. If you like apples, then go with cherries.
Seriously. This is of critical importance to writing erotica, or a well-planned sex scene of any kind. Don't write about what you know. In particular, write about sex that you don't have every night, simply for the fact that you have to think about it. Force yourself to engage all the senses. When you are asked to describe something you enjoy, you are less likely to think about all the possible avenues of pleasure that others might find in the act. You have to distance yourself a bit.
Do a test run. Go to a website like Literotica. Read a few stories. Bet you can guess who was getting off to their own smut. Sometimes they even leave out words...you know, like they were pausing for breath or something. This, in general, is the biggest issue with poorly written trash. See also 50 Shades of Gray.
2. Hot sex is spicy, with a dash of reality.
Not every woman has 5 orgasms her first time (she's lucky to get one ANY time) and not every man is 8" and as big around as your wrist. There is an element of fantasy to erotica, but too much fantasy and the resulting scene is plain unrealistic. A bit of levity and humanity brings the reader closer to the action and to the characters. It draws them in. Unless your goal is to write pure porn, the characters must remain front and center, and the size of their genitalia and their resulting scorecard should be insignificant, perhaps passing details at best
3. Remember the 5 senses.
With good sex, all 5 senses are engaged in the activity. Your character should be able to touch and see, but they should also smell, taste, and hear their lover. Not only is it more enticing, but the reader will find themselves more present in the fantasy if they can really get into what is going on with the character. Think of the sex scene as an opportunity for characterization. Someone who is passive may reveal a more dominant side in bed, or vice versa. Exploring all senses forces you to really think about what is going in the bedroom, as well as elsewhere, and whether the characters are fully developed enough to engage the reader on the whole. Remember that people read erotica because they want to be in the story. Put them there.
4. Penis vs. Cock vs. Dick vs. Prick vs. Doodle
Word choice is a critical component of crafting a readable story. When it comes to erotica, there is a whole "purple" vocabulary that you get used to. To determine which words excite and which words flop with an audience, I use a simple 1-3 scale. Words that rank at 1 are Academic. Think penis, vagina, sex. Sometimes these words come in handy, but more often then not what you are looking for is rates more of a 2. 2 are the workhorse words, the ones you find most commonly in modern smut, the words you are more likely to encounter in everyday non-polite conversation (and this is essentially what erotica is, folks). Words like cock, clit, fuck, cum/coming and prick all wind up in this category. The final third grouping is for euphemisms. Love tunnel, bajingo, hoohah, dingle, peter. All these carry a certain humor that has its place in only a small fraction of erotica.
If you can't seem to gauge where a sex word ranks on the scale, ask your friends. If you say the word and they laugh, it's a 3. If you can say the word to your doctor without a strange look, it's a 1. If you get a raised eyebrow, noooow you're talking!
Until you develop your style to encompass this vocab, each time you consider using a word, think about the tone of the work, the characters involved, and the audience. Though most of the time the words you use will come from category 2, having these factors solidly in mind will help you to best determine what language to use, and when it's okay to throw in a word from one of the other two groups. Trust me, some characters love the word dingle. They just don't use it when crawling into bed with the hot guy next door.
5. Sex itself can be a tease.
So you think there isn't much more you can tease your reader with. Your characters have already done the act, and you've given them about as much cock as you deem necessary. The teasing part is over- or is it? The sixth sense is thought. If you spend some time getting into your character's brain between sexual escapades (and maybe a bit during them as well), you will have the set up for a marvelous second, third, or fourth act. The mind is the greatest organ for foreplay. Let your character explore the ramifications of their willingness to get it on with the boss, the neighbor, or the mysterious stranger. Can it ever be as great? Will it? Why did they do this in the first place? How much of the experience was in their head in the first place? Is it worth it? How much better can it get? Then refuse to provide the answers - at least until the next encounter.
Well, there you have it. My own top five. I am planning to post some helpful links in the future, as well as my own little collection of the hottest lines in literature (hint: not all of the hot stuff appears in erotica), but next month this blog will focus on editing and the barest bones of the writing craft. I promise to make it as interesting as it is useful, as I hope this series has been. So, until next time...cheers!
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