(Note: Well, I thought that I’d start this blog off with an article I was originally going to publish in late August but eventually decided against publishing because I thought that it would be “inappropriate” for my main blog. Anyway, now that I’ve set up this blog, I thought that I’d post it on here. Enjoy 🙂 )
Whether it’s for personal enjoyment, whether it’s something you dabble in occasionally or whether it’s a genre which you want to specialise in, erotic fiction can be incredibly good fun to write. Although I haven’t read “Fifty Shades Of Grey” (I read an extract online and was pretty disappointed by it), it’s popularity is proof that the genre is starting to be taken seriously and is becoming more respectable.
Whether you see this as a good or a bad thing is up to you, but erotic fiction is as much of a valid genre as horror or comedy fiction (which are also intended to provoke strong emotional reactions in their readers). And, like with any other genre, quality varies quite widely from writer to writer.
In many ways, I would argue that prose fiction is probably one of the best formats for erotica due to the relative lack of official censorship in many parts of the world and the fact that the writer’s level of skill and the reader’s imagination are the only limits to what can happen in a particular story. It is, within reason, a space of pure fantasy where pretty much anything goes.
So, although I haven’t really written that much in this genre, I thought I’d offer three pieces of basic general advice. I won’t be focusing on writing techniques, but on three general things to think about when writing an erotic story.
1) Write what *ahem* works for you: This is the most important rule when it comes to writing erotic fiction. If you’re trying to provoke an emotional reaction in your readers, then your story should provoke the same reaction in you when you are writing it. Yes, this can paradoxically be both a distraction and a source of motivation when you’re writing a story in this genre, but it’s the most important thing to bear in mind if you’re writing this kind of story.
Eg: If you’re straight, stick to writing about straight couples. If you’re gay, stick to writing about gay couples. If you’re a lesbian, stick to writing about lesbian couples. If you’re bi, then this isn’t really an issue. If you’re polyamorous, then write about polyamorous relationships etc……
In short, make sure that your story describes a fantasy you would enjoy even if you weren’t writing about it.
2) Write “springboard” stories: Whilst most stories are designed to produce daydreams and fantasies in their readers’ imaginations, they are usually aimed at telling a linear story with a very clear direction. Yes, the readers may have slightly different ideas about what the characters and the settings look like, but, on the whole, most people’s imagined experiences of a story will generally be fairly similar.
This isn’t really as much the case with erotic fiction, even though many works of erotic fiction have a linear storyline. Because of the type of reaction these stories are intended to provoke – your readers will pretty much automatically see your story in the way that provokes the strongest reaction in them.
In other words, they might mentally alter details of a particular scene into something more satisfying or they might imagine a particular scene from the perspective of a different character than the protagonist and/or narrator.
Rather than being a guided fantasy, erotic fiction is more of a “springboard” for your readers’ personal fantasies.
This is important to bear in mind for several reasons. Firstly, all of your characters should have a reasonable amount of characterisation (even if it’s fairly concise), since your reader could focus on (or feel attracted to) any one of them.
Secondly, make sure that your stories always contain a sense of possibility – in other words, although you might only show certain events in your story, you should at least hint that they’re only a few possible things which your characters could have done. I won’t give any examples here, but I’m sure you get the idea. If you provide enough hints at what else could also have happened, then this is plenty of extra material for your readers’ imaginations.
Thirdly, make sure that you have at least one or two characters which your readers can identify with easily (eg: “everywoman” or “everyman” characters) so that they feel like more of a part of the story.
3)Find a way to keep your inner censor at bay: Given the fact that this genre has been seen as “seedy” or “obscene” in the past and, given the kind of prudish societal attitudes about sex and sexuality which many of your are probably immersed in on a regular basis, then one of the most difficult parts of writing erotic fiction can actually be deciding to write it.
The other problem with writing erotic fiction can be an instinctive sense that you have to “water down” what’s really going through your mind when you put it on the page. If this makes you feel more comfortable with writing in this genre and your “watered down” story is still fairly good, then this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
However, be aware that when people choose to read erotic fiction, they’re looking for something which will provoke a strong reaction in them, in the same way that someone who chooses to read a comedy story is usually looking for something which will make them literally laugh out loud rather than something which might make them chuckle slightly.
Basically, if you’re interested in this genre, then do whatever it takes (within reason) to get past your inner censor as much as you can until you feel more confident about writing in this genre. Write your stories on paper and then shred them after you’ve finished, write under a pseudonym, write your stories in code, write your stories in 8 point type so they can’t be easily readable at a glance etc… whatever it takes to get past your inner censor and, most importantly, to feel comfortable with writing in this genre.
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Anyway, I hope that this article was useful 🙂
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