Well I took the liberty of asking many erotics writers and readers for some tips!!

Please note that some of these tips are re-written for efficiency or main points.


Question: What are some tips for writers who are just starting out writing erotica?

Paolo B. If you can, experience it for yourself and pay attention to the details.

Amelia M. Write about your own experiences in detail.

Joel F. Read all the erotica you can get your hands on so you can see how others do it.

Katr E. Skip the stupid anatomy names. Just call it "penis". If I read one more story with words like "purple headed monster" or even "member" I'm going to scream (and not in a good way)!

Alexander W. Check out Weeping Cock if you want to learn what not to do and why.

Izzy T. As with all writing- write what you know. You will have more immediate sensory descriptors in your memory and you will more easily see how a scene flows.

Don't be afraid to use strong words. Charged words with raw meanings are particularly stimulating to the reader and create an atmosphere of unbridled passion. It's okay to use euphemisms, but sometimes a blank statement is the easiest way to go.

On the same note, try not to flower up your speech too much: save purple prose for fanfiction. Description is very good, but if you're focusing on how many pencils are on the desk when your characters are about to break the furniture, you may want to redirect your focus.

Finally- read what you have written out loud. This serves several purposes: judging the timing of your writing more accurately, determining where more or less detail is needed, ensuring continuity and catching more spelling and grammar errors than your word processor can find.

Lizl B. Be honest. The best erotica one can write comes from inside. from your passion. Not only from passion from your own sex drive, but also from passion for words and describing every scene and every move in a passionate way. Be descriptive and try to find new and innovative ways to describe what your characters are experiencing. The best way to get started is to read what is already out there. You will quickly find what is the style of writing that works for you and then you can learn from them on how to get started.

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Question: What's something erotica writers should look out for if they're beginners? Sometimes you pick up a book and you feel good and then the author screws the moment up...what sort of things would you warn against including in erotica?

Jake D. Keep strange euphemisms to a minimum. I don't want to puzzle over what I'm reading; I just want to read it and let my imagination run wild.

Vallori Z. Be careful for anything that doesn't fit the "theme' or the "moment"; Don't suddenly write about the barking dog or the baby crying in the background, even if you think it would be good description of the scene!

Gilberto G. Just... dont use medical terms.

Jenny A. Use punctuation!! It's so annoying trying to read a big block of text with no full stops, commas, ect.

Andrew J. If I have to sit there figuring out what you just said, I'm going to go read something else. That is such a turn off.

Penelope W. If it's not making you excited it probably wont excite anyone else. It's okay to start over.

Jackie L. Don't put something weird in there like arm pit licking. It's distracting to have to pretend I didnt read that.

Jake M. QUIT IT WITH THE BACK STORY!!

George K. Write about your own dreams or fantasies. These are often filled with the passion you need.

Hanna B. Ask a friend to read it....but don't watch them, that's awkward.

Samantha S. Talk to your friends about sex, especially if you're inexperienced. Different outlooks can help!


Join our http://www.creativeburrow.org/index.php?topic=1676.0

Excellent!

Weeping cock made me laugh like an idiot. It's a good site....but the name conjurers up all sorts of nasty images .

Really enjoyable!

And a lot of this advice works for other kinds of fiction too.

1) Read a lot! In your genre. Outside of it. Read poems. Read cereal boxes. You will become a better writer.

2) Punctuate and use paragraphs. Self-explanitory?

3) Use the right word. Use the accurate word. Don't try to conceal things like death, sex, all those pesky body parts, birth, etc, whatever will flowery or imprecise languAge.

There's some good advice there, and a lot of it would equally apply to other writing. What turns me off any sort of writing - but particularly erotica - is when I have to wade through a pile of euphemisms and similies to get to the nitty gritty. It's not clever - it just makes the writer look as if they're showing off their word power.

One thing that annoyed me with 50 Shades of Grey is the number of times Anastasia said 'down there,' or 'my sex.' If E. L. James couldn't bring herself to come right out with 'vagina,' or if she thought her character wouldn't use that word, it would have been better for her to say 'at the top of my legs,' or something similar.

I tried to write an erotic story myself once, but by the time I'd finished the research, I hadn't got the strength to boot up the computer. Maybe later.

LOL Sandra!


I haven't read 50 shades of grey...I read a page online somewhere but it was more annoying than anything.


As for cereal boxes that's definitely helpful. I read all of my packagings .

Thank you for those tips. More often than not it's really hard to write a good and readable erotic scene and most young and inexperienced authors tend to overdo them.

It can definitely be very difficult, so I hope these tips help out some people. I gathered these for our erotica competition ha ha. We might have another one soon.

"I begged Cuthbert to have mercy, but to no avail. With an evil gleam in his eye, he whipped out his big, hairy purple-headed monster!"

If I had a cock, he would be weeping.

I don't think paying attention to the details while doing it is good advice....just enjoy it and describe it later!

Bunny (06:50am Fri, Nov  9, 2012)

If I had a cock, he would be weeping.

If I had a pussy, she'd be leaping ...

Do you think someone who never had sex can write a good erotic story?

vida_llevares (02:52am Sun, Dec 16, 2012)

Do you think someone who never had sex can write a good erotic story?

Yes!

Erotica isn't just about the sex or penetration. It's often about seduction, emotion, the chase, sensual actions, etc, etc. Just because someone has never had sex him/herself, doesn't mean s/he can't imagine what it's like, what might be enjoyed, etc.

Can someone who have never had sex write erotica?

Yes, most certainly. Erotica is not about the actual sex act. It's about the atmosphere and the situation that leads to the sex act. If you want the actual sex act, you write pornography. The difference between erotica and pornography is somewhat like the difference between the picture of a nude woman covered in gossamer and the picture of a woman all ready for a gynecological examination.

Victor Leigh (09:20am Mon, Dec 17, 2012)

Can someone who have never had sex write erotica?

Yes, most certainly. Erotica is not about the actual sex act. It's about the atmosphere and the situation that leads to the sex act. If you want the actual sex act, you write pornography. The difference between erotica and pornography is somewhat like the difference between the picture of a nude woman covered in gossamer and the picture of a woman all ready for a gynecological examination.

Writing erotica when you've never had sex is like a priest doing marriage counseling - you don't know what the ultimate goal is, but you've heard people say some things and you've read a few books.

C'mon - the ultimate goal of erotica is sex. Would YOU take advice from someone who ran 99 yards, only to put on the brakes at the one-yard-line?

Pornography doesn't have to be gynecological - good porn can have all the elements of erotica. 

I was writing great erotica before I had sex, so I will say yes. In the end it's the fantasy and the details will be filled in by the reader.

Tell me these aren't hot Phil:
http://www.creativeburrow.org/bunnyburrow/erotic-office-story/

Just because I've never done any of those things before doesn't mean I can't make it sound like I have ha ha. And you don't need to be an authority on sex to write erotica, just someone who has interest in it and can fantasize and imagine.

Bunny (01:14am Tue, Dec 18, 2012)

Tell me these aren't hot Phil:
http://www.creativeburrow.org/bunnyburrow/erotic-office-story/

Hot? Maybe. Erotica? Not in my opinion - it's porn with an intro. Erotica doesn't spell it out quite so step-by-step. It teases and tickles. Sure, it could go into anatomical detail, but the best erotica doesn't HAVE to - it can keep you hot and bothered without ever mentioning a sexual organ. 

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Just because I've never done any of those things before doesn't mean I can't make it sound like I have ha ha. And you don't need to be an authority on sex to write erotica, just someone who has interest in it and can fantasize and imagine.

Fake it 'til you make it, eh?

*shrug* To each their own. Could you also fantasize and imagine what it's like to be a front-line grunt in 1969 Vietnam? Well enough to convince someone who actually had been there?

That's what I'm talking about - realism. The little details that only someone who's been through it would know. I couldn't write about what a pussy tasted like had I never tasted one. Likewise, I would totally fail at gay fiction.

"Write what you know" - the age-old advice.

SifuPhil (09:07pm Mon, Dec 17, 2012)

Victor Leigh (09:20am Mon, Dec 17, 2012)

Can someone who have never had sex write erotica?

Yes, most certainly. Erotica is not about the actual sex act. It's about the atmosphere and the situation that leads to the sex act. If you want the actual sex act, you write pornography. The difference between erotica and pornography is somewhat like the difference between the picture of a nude woman covered in gossamer and the picture of a woman all ready for a gynecological examination.

Writing erotica when you've never had sex is like a priest doing marriage counseling - you don't know what the ultimate goal is, but you've heard people say some things and you've read a few books.

C'mon - the ultimate goal of erotica is sex. Would YOU take advice from someone who ran 99 yards, only to put on the brakes at the one-yard-line?

Pornography doesn't have to be gynecological - good porn can have all the elements of erotica. 

Alright, you have a point there. Except if you compare it to the guy who have never run 100 yards, he would keep on running because he didn't know how far 100 yards actually was.

Now, for someone who has never had sex, he has to write erotica about people who just get steamed up without having sex. Kind of like what happens to all those virgins who get all flustered and not really understanding what all that juice is doing leaking from between their legs.

I can imagine there should be a market for such erotica. If I am not mistaken, plans are already afoot, by big publishing companies, to cash in on the Fifty Shades phenomenon by putting out steamy but safe erotica for teenagers. Probably would involve quite a bit of dry humping and blind groping in the dark, under the clothes.

Er, just had a look at that link by Bunny. No, that only sounds right to someone who had never really done it. For anyone who has been there and done that, it would come off, at best, like a big joke.

Now what's the line between erotica and pornography? As far as I know there are only anti-porn laws. So I suppose, legally speaking, there should be some difference between erotica and pornography. Would be interesting to see that defined clearly in the law books.

Victor Leigh (11:44pm Tue, Dec 18, 2012)

Now what's the line between erotica and pornography? As far as I know there are only anti-porn laws. So I suppose, legally speaking, there should be some difference between erotica and pornography. Would be interesting to see that defined clearly in the law books.

Ask, and it shall be granted: Legal Definition of Pornography

Basically it has to "appeal to prurient interest", depicts action in "an offensive way", and "lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value". It's that last clause that is the sticking point, because a good lawyer could argue that almost anything has some type of value. "Offensive" is also a pretty general term. The examples used in the case were "masturbation, excretory functions, and lewd exhibition of the genitals."

They also differentiate between hard- and soft-core porn, and child porn of any type falls solidly in the "thou shalt not" category.

Interestingly enough, "erotica" in this particular legal book falls under "pornography", so legally I would say they don't see a difference. Here's one writer's idea of that difference, as well as what I think is a good explanation by a sex therapist.

Thank you, Sifu. After reading all that, I can't really say that I am enlightened. My impression is that, when you like it, you call it erotica and when you want to be derisive, you call it pornography. No, I don't mean you personally.

As for child pornography, I am totally against it. The innocence of childhood is too fleeting and too precious to be corrupted to meet the depraved needs of sick adults.

Still, where the law is concerned, it's still not exactly a open and shut case. If intent carries any weight in law, then there has to be something to define the actions of men who salivate over pictures of adult women with faces and bodies like elfish waifs.

The legal line is blurred, that's a a certainty. Of course, that uncertainty also creates work for lawyers ...

I've always been of the impression that erotica is to porn as foreplay is to sex. A Master (Mistress) can extend the foreplay until their partner is screaming, but they don't continue past that point. It's a balancing act; not too brief, not too prolonged. You have to recognize that pinnacle when it occurs, then you switch from foreplay to sex.

Good erotica could take a fully-dressed person in an office and by the end of the page have you drooling with desire. Yes, it can go into some detail about the sex act itself, but I don't see that as being the prime function of erotica - it's the build-up. As the above-quoted sex therapist said, women seem to be drawn to erotica while men are drawn to porn, and for simple reasons - men stereotypically just want to "do it", while women traditionally want the romance, the mystery, the passion, the sweet ramping-up toward the crescendo. The act itself? Yes, that can be erotic as well, but it's so often NOT portrayed that way.

Well, I'm over my 25-word limit so I guess I won't get paid for THIS post! 

I think erotica is sex. Yes it can be the lead up to and the attraction, but in the end if there's no sex what is the point? I don't want to be turned on and then left alone.

@Kimberly
Turned on then left alone? I don't quite follow that. Erotica gets you warmed up, then you go and get the show on the road with your chosen companion, be it a man or a woman or the five-fingered widow. Unless you are, like me, someone who reads erotica to write articles about it.

@Sifu
Not too sure about the trend of more women reading erotica now than before. I would say the truth might be closer to more women are now admitting that they read erotica. Before, they probably raided their men's porn stash to warm up while waiting for the real stuff to come home.

Incidentally, while writing my second article on erotica, the sequel to the Kama Sutra thing, I came up with something that played on the title of Napoleon Hill's famous book "Think and Grow Rich". I was thinking out aloud that it might be interesting to write a book about how to use the imagination to spice up sex and name the book ...

Victor Leigh (10:11am Wed, Dec 19, 2012)

@Sifu
Not too sure about the trend of more women reading erotica now than before. I would say the truth might be closer to more women are now admitting that they read erotica. Before, they probably raided their men's porn stash to warm up while waiting for the real stuff to come home.

Oh, I agree - that's why romance novels have always been so popular - "I'm reading it for the story". Uh-huh, yeah, sure - and I read Penthouse for the scintillating articles.

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Incidentally, while writing my second article on erotica, the sequel to the Kama Sutra thing, I came up with something that played on the title of Napoleon Hill's famous book "Think and Grow Rich". I was thinking out aloud that it might be interesting to write a book about how to use the imagination to spice up sex and name the book ...

Think and Grow Rigid

Now how did Napoleon Hill's name end up in an article about erotica? I will let you know when the article is published.

That is truly fantastic! Maybe you could specialize in doing parodies of bestsellers -

"The DaVinci Come"
"No Easy Lay"
"One Shot" - OK, well, that one can stay as is ...

WOAH WAIT
I have a massive headache so I've only read bits of this.

I write porn? I'm okay with that. But don't tell me that just because I've never done something specific I cannot write about it in a believable way. It depends on the subject and the writing.....the more details you "skip" over the more filling in the reader will do, which will make it believable to them.

No one is telling people what pussy tastes like because in the end there's nothing to compare it to, and it doesn't matter. As long as it tastes good or bad or what ever (depending on the story), that's all that matters.

Who cares about the EXACT feeling of sex, as long as it feels good and you can describe where it feels good or why, that's all that matters. The reader will either remember or imagine how and fill it in.

Those aren't my best work, they weren't even revised, but I thought they were funny and I like em .



Also re porn vs erotica: as far as I was taught porn is visual, erotica is written.


Also, this:

In fact for the record, I rather like being told I write porn instead of erotica. I already draw porn so what's the difference lol.

Bunny (05:24am Thu, Dec 20, 2012)

WOAH WAIT
I have a massive headache so I've only read bits of this.

I write porn? I'm okay with that. But don't tell me that just because I've never done something specific I cannot write about it in a believable way. It depends on the subject and the writing.....the more details you "skip" over the more filling in the reader will do, which will make it believable to them.

No one is telling people what pussy tastes like because in the end there's nothing to compare it to, and it doesn't matter. As long as it tastes good or bad or what ever (depending on the story), that's all that matters.

Who cares about the EXACT feeling of sex, as long as it feels good and you can describe where it feels good or why, that's all that matters. The reader will either remember or imagine how and fill it in.

Those aren't my best work, they weren't even revised, but I thought they were funny and I like em .

Geeze, chill, lady! It's just my opinion. I knew as soon as I wrote that you were going to be pissed - I'm glad you didn't disappoint me. 

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Also re porn vs erotica: as far as I was taught porn is visual, erotica is written.

I've read plenty of porn, and I'm pretty sure I've seen erotica, but yeah, that's probably the common definition.

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Also, this:

That's actually quite common in the S&M world.

Bunny (05:24am Thu, Dec 20, 2012)

No one is telling people what pussy tastes like because in the end there's nothing to compare it to, and it doesn't matter. As long as it tastes good or bad or what ever (depending on the story), that's all that matters.

Just for the record, overnight pussy tastes a tad sour. The best is one that has just come in after a run around the field. Hot, steaming and giving off a robust aroma of Johnson's Baby Powder and fresh sweat.

Now that doesn't prove that I have or haven't tasted any before.

Back on topic.

If you are going to write erotica, you need to have a healthy sexual appetite and an absolutely filthy mind. You need to be able to put into words experiences which your readers barely dare to imagine. And that's why they are reading what you write. You sneak them into places which they have never thought even existed. Through your characters, they can indulge in fantasies which have been lurking on the far fringes of their imagination.

Write about what you know - yes, that figures. I need to go and do a lot more research before I start writing erotica. I think my next story will be about a threesome between me and two big handsome men with enormous ... except I've never actually experienced that, so I need to go and get the research in before I do the story. Oh, I just love being a writer!

Sandra Piddock (06:54pm Fri, Dec 21, 2012)

Write about what you know - yes, that figures. I need to go and do a lot more research before I start writing erotica. I think my next story will be about a threesome between me and two big handsome men with enormous ... except I've never actually experienced that, so I need to go and get the research in before I do the story. Oh, I just love being a writer!

LOL. Now you remind me of the times I spent exploring certain lanes in Thailand. All in the name of social study. Seriously speaking, research really does make a lot of difference to the quality of writing. Especially hands-on research. I would say that we owe it to our readers to be able to convey to them through our words, as vividly as possible, the adventures that our characters experience.

Sandra Piddock (06:54pm Fri, Dec 21, 2012)

Write about what you know - yes, that figures. I need to go and do a lot more research before I start writing erotica. I think my next story will be about a threesome between me and two big handsome men with enormous ... except I've never actually experienced that, so I need to go and get the research in before I do the story. Oh, I just love being a writer!

HAHAHA. Oh well then. If it's for you art!

On writing erotica without having had sex first: I really think that it all depends on how creative you are and how much you can imagine. After all, you can probably really manage to detail the longing and the atmosphere of eroticism in every day life (not just in the sex act itself). And you could always do some of the academic's research: reading! Figure out what works for you in erotic fiction and then go from there.

Saying it tastes sour means nothing. There's a HUGE difference between sour apple and sour milk and sour anything.

Bunny (05:21am Sat, Dec 22, 2012)

Saying it tastes sour means nothing. There's a HUGE difference between sour apple and sour milk and sour anything.

You are right about that.

There is a huge difference between a sour apple and sour milk. I can eat a sour apple only in small bites. As for sour milk, I can only drink it if it's labeled yoghurt. So like I said earlier, my saying that overnight pussy tastes a tad sour doesn't prove that I have or I haven't tasted any.

Now, if I were to say that it tastes somewhat like cream with a bouquet of musk, it still doesn't prove anything unless the reader has also experienced the very same thing that I did. However, describing it in greater detail helps the reader to get a more vivid multi-sensory perception of what I am talking about.

But are those details even needed? I don't think they are. See if I say it tastes good, the reader imagines what they think tastes good....but if I say it tastes sour the reader might hate that with a passion and put my book down ha ha.

Bunny (09:50am Thu, Dec 27, 2012)

But are those details even needed? I don't think they are. See if I say it tastes good, the reader imagines what they think tastes good....but if I say it tastes sour the reader might hate that with a passion and put my book down ha ha.

Are those details even needed? Well, that depends on how you want your erotica to read like. I suppose you can get the job done with just saying that it's good.

"She gripped him and he felt good."
"He thrust into her and she felt good."

Like you said, the reader can probably apply his own imagination and figure out how good the feeling is.

No I don't mean information like that ha ha. I mean the part where "he licks her" and "it tastes good".

I don't know, I can't find any of my other work for an example, but I'd write it as "he licked her, loving the taste" or "he licked her and felt his desire for her grow" sort of thing, all hints that it was good without saying "he licked her and it tasted good/made him feel good" lol.

Remember: the most important sexual organ is the brain.

Improve your writing in general, it will help readers get into the story instead of just skipping it because its poorly written.

Brilliant!

Awesome THREAD! I love good erotica and since I have been wanting to stretch and grow my writing talents and try my hand at new and different genres...and this is EXCELLENT information and advice! Thanks for the links too!