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Hey, I've been writing for a while mainly gothic horror type stories. I gave a hand at some fantsy erotica(yes it contridicts but here is what I mean, the story was set in the future but didnt involve humans but was to the taste of ertoic (a man having sex with a metal woman and foward.)) any way I was woundering if anyone could give me any pointers on what to do when I write my first real erotic story. Any tips at all.
Show, don't tell. Any fool can write BDSM. A good writer can make the experience exquisite.
Outline your work before you type. Know the beginning, the middle, and the end.
When you don't know if something can work, consider not showing it, because life is the mysterious journey of a hero, after all. Sometimes you can tell an entire story by what is only guessed at it glimpses and questions. Never tie yourself to cold hard data... but have the data and logistics for yourself.
Many people think that they just can write a sex scene and that's it. That is porn, not erotica. In erotica you have the same things you have in your other writing, characters, settings, motivation of the characters, etc. The sex scene is just the "climax" of the rest of the story.
Don't be afraid of writing things you haven't experienced. Most writers (I hope) have not experienced rape, murder, etc. but can convey the feelings of the characters. That is what makes a good writer, where you can place the reader into the action.
If you look at most of my stories, I convey the feelings of the female characters, yet obviously I am not one (but then again, maybe I am really female, acting as a male writer, LOL)
P1
Interesting distinction, Powerone. I will consider that while writing my next piece and put it to that test. In my shortest stories, there seems little time for in-depth character development. However, to avoid the label of 'simply porn' (i.e., trash), I will see if I'm better suited for one or the other. After all, writing porn is a dirty job but someone has to do it... (Yes, that was stolen and misquoted from a song by the rock band Ratt. I guess I'm gonna get sued, damn it.)
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Originally Posted by Powerone
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Originally Posted by Powerone
(That quote is entirely from memory, so it may be a long way from correct.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ursula Le Guin
Good Quote.
P1
When writing, period, play to your strengths and focus on the flow of the story. Blend description and dialogue with the action, rather than separating long paragraphs of description and dialogue from the rest. The best writers can put you in the scene and help you visualize it without separating the different aspects of the writing. The biggest faux pas, so to speak, that I have seen in the stories in the archive is that when introducing a character (particularly a naked woman, there's a lot of those) is that they will stop the action to describe her--height, hair and eye color, and sometimes numerical measurements. While the description helps with visualization, it should be spread throughout, not centered in one paragraph. Those few stories that I have proofread and edited are usually guilty of this. And no where is this more crucial than in erotica, as description plays such a major role in the story.
Morrighan
Lots of good advice so far. Here's my own contribution...
1) Try to think of a unique angle to your story. Just because someone ends up tied to a bed, doesn't me it can't be interesting to read about how s/he got that way. No matter what people say, every story HASN'T been told before. Believe that you have something new to offer. Toy with the idea in your mind and when you feel something formed (particularly the beginning AND the end, sit down and write it. The middle stuff is easier when you have the start and end already formed in your mind.
2) When it comes to the 'hot' part of your story, don't hold back, don't be afraid to give the dirty details. Go for it. Deliver!
I'd respectfully disagree with Gary. I never outline my stories. Often I don't even know what's going to happen when I start to write. I'll just have a scene or an image in mind that I want to describe, and things will go from there.Quote:
Originally Posted by GaryWilcox
My advice to you would be to read your ass off. And don't just read erotica and porn; in fact, avoid it. Get some books of good short stories and read them and study them. Find out how authors do things: how they write dialogue, how they describe characters, set scenes, establish moods. It's best to learn from the masters, and the truth is, there aren't very many masters in porn. It's best to go elsewhere for your lessons.
My other advice is that writing is only 30% writing. The rest is revising and rewriting and proofreading. No one gets the story right the first time. You've got to write hot, while the inspiration is on you, then set it aside and let it cool off for a couple of days and then go back to it and revise and correct it. You have a duty to your readers to make it as perfect as you possibly can. Readers can tell when they're being disrespected.
---dr.M.
I've never outlined my stories either, but then, I've never finished one. I write until the inspiration leaves me, and rarely does it return. "The Punisher" is actually the longest piece that I've ever been consistently happy with, and sorry to disappoint the fans, but I don't know that I can go back and finish it.
Back to advice--as far as whether you do or don't outline, or how, when, and where you write, there can be no advice, really. Every writer is different. Some can sit themselves down from 9 am to 5 pm and write something wondrous. Others, myself included, can only hope inspiration will strike and that there's a computer somewhere when it does. Inspiration struck me once in my truck on my way to work, and I actually went 85 mph trying to get to my computer in time before it left me. (Didn't make it). Sounds funny, I know, but it's the essence of art. Find out what works for you and stick with it. If you're as temperamental a writer as I am, I'll pray for you.
Morrighan
Not outlining your story is fine for something that goes on this site most of the time; little plot or character development, and lots of sex. If you want to put plot in though, you need planning, if you want it to be any good. Or else you quickly become lost.
LD
One other thing: Concrete Sensual Detail.Quote:
Originally Posted by lapog
These are the little things that bring a scene alive, that make it vivid and make the reader feel that he's there experiencing it with you.
Concrete means that it should be real. Don't keep on telling us what they feel or think. Show us them acting in a way that expresses their inner state, and let us figure out whether they're scared or excited or in the throes of orgasm.
Sensual meaning "of the senses". It should be something the character sees or hears or feels or smells. It should be something we can sense ourselves in our imaginations, described in a way that lets us experience it too.
Detail means the little things that show you were there, if only in your imagination. Too many sex scenes end up being shopping lists of what they did. "He grabbed her breast and then he twisted it. He slid his hand lower and spanked her shapely ass. She moaned and twisted in the chains..." The detail is the way the cloth of her blouse was crushed beneath his fingers, the way the top button popped open, the feel of her flesh when he slaps her bottom, the way she spreads her fingers and then clenches them into fists.
The best sex scenes have enough concrete sensual detail to pull the reader in and force him to visulaize the scene. Very often the sexiest part of a scene will be something that seems inconsequential: the sound of the headboard banging against the wall, the way she licks her dry lips, the sound of her high heels on a wooden floor. That's what maes a scene vivid and lets us see it.
---dr.M.
I have to disagree. I have never written an outline for any story that I have written. I usually have an idea of what the story is going to be about, but by time i am finished, that has usually changed. I think an outline is a little too structured.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Douche
P1
I half-agree with Powerone. Outlines are a personal preference. Some people have to have an outline--my mother is one. She has her stories laid out chapter by chapter. As I've said, I'm a temperamental writer. There are really very few rules when it comes to writing.
Morrighan
I have both outlined and "free-written" stories and both ways work for me at times. I have become too locked into an outline that had a major flaw I only realized after starting the story and had to scrap the entire thing because my inspiration wasn't able to adapt. And I have written stories with so many holes in them the time it takes to correct them is just too boring. However, I have never written a requested story without a complete outline before starting or I can't rein in my imagination enough to complete the task as requested.
If one has an abundance of ideas, 'writing without a script' can be very effective since you can always pick and choose from new options as you go. If you're like me, tho, it's best to at least think the plot through long before starting or dr_mabeuse's percentage of "30% [creative] writing" (with which I agree completely) will get decreased dramatically while I spend 90% of my time doing “waste management”.
I also agree with the notion that the more you read, the better a writer you will become. Elements of style developed from a wide variety of sources afford the author much more ability to go wherever s/he wants to while taking the reader along for the ride.
(By the way, this is actually the last sentence added to the response so that I could tell you it took 27 minutes to complete, rewrite, edit, spell check (using Word) and post. I typed the original response in 4 minutes. Obviously, my percentages suck… :p )
PS Is Ayn Rice a master? If so, maybe her ponygirl series isn't really porn. Either way, one can never read too much.
LJ
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Originally Posted by dr_mabeuse
No offence Powerone, but most of your stories don't involve too much plot, at least not the ones I've read :) I was meaning a long story, with a detailed storyline and things like that. You need to have an outline of the storyline, rather than each individual chapter.
LD
I suspect that Parker... my favorite writer on BDSMLibrary, just a hair ahead of Woodsman'sGame, Kallie Thomas, and Faibhar... doesn't outline and just writes plots off the top of his head.
But that's because he's a brilliant writer-- not everyone can do the complex plot thing, planning or not.
For a new writer starting out, I do recommend habits of discipline. Outlining plots will probably help. But don't get locked in to something if you see a better path.
Of course not. I've changed the direction of my story several times through writing it. It always takes a little thought, trying to keep it consistent with what happened previously, but that's half the fun! :D
LD
[QUOTE=dr_mabeuse]I'd respectfully disagree with Gary. I never outline my stories. Often I don't even know what's going to happen when I start to write. I'll just have a scene or an image in mind that I want to describe, and things will go from there.
My advice to you would be to read your ass off. And don't just read erotica and porn; in fact, avoid it. Get some books of good short stories and read them and study them. Find out how authors do things: how they write dialogue, how they describe characters, set scenes, establish moods. It's best to learn from the masters, and the truth is, there aren't very many masters in porn. It's best to go elsewhere for your lessons.
My other advice is that writing is only 30% writing. The rest is revising and rewriting and proofreading. No one gets the story right the first time. You've got to write hot, while the inspiration is on you, then set it aside and let it cool off for a couple of days and then go back to it and revise and correct it. You have a duty to your readers to make it as perfect as you possibly can.
---dr.M.[/QUOTE
I'm not sure that I've ever read a fairly length message here with which I am more in agreement (except that I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't read much erotica).
I do have the guilty feeling that one should outline stories, that one should know exactly where one's going before one starts, that one should have a written master plan in mind and at hand.
But I am constitutionally incapable of thinking that way and sticking to it. I have a general idea of what's going to happen, and an idea of most of the key characters and their relationships. But for me half the fun of writing is the 'what if' feeling one gets in Chapter 11, when one gets an inspiration and asks one's self, "Hey, what if this were to happen?"
Read. One can be an avid reader without ever acquiring a desire to write. But one can never be a good writer without having acquired a taste for reading. A lot of the common faults that plague 'we happy few, we band of brothers (and sisters)" -- spelling errors, grammatical errors, problems with sentence and paragraph construction -- will be drastically curtailed if one has read widely and thoughtfully.
Proofread. And proofread. And proofread. Think of your writing as you would a visit to your home by royalty, because you only get one chance to make a first impression. One sees so many stories here that are rushed to 'print' in (apparently) the heat of the moment, but which could have been so much better. Look at your writing from every possible angle -- Is the dialogue sharp? Are the characters (and dialogue) distinctive and yet consistent? Have you fully captured the sensory goings-on in the encounter(s) you're describing --the sights, sounds, tastes etc, the characters would have experienced? Is there a nice balance between short sentences and long ones, between short words and long ones? Re-read your longer sentences as if you were reading them out loud, to see if they flow properly.
Boccaccio
No offense taken. I just look at what the readers love. My stories have won two Literotica Readers Awards for 2003. My latest story on Literotica got 34,000 views in 2 days. I write for the readers not the writers. They seem to like my plots. As for long stories, I have never seen a "short story" that I could do in less then 17 pages.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Douche
P1
And all I ever got was one single "Editor's Pick" at Literotica! Worse, they rejected all the stories I got to post here, saying something about them being "tasteless, worthless drivel"...
I am sooooo jealous. :[
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Originally Posted by Powerone
They reject about 1/2 of my stories also, though most for violence, rape, and underage sex. Gee, they sure do cut down all the good stuff. I love bdsmlibrary.com. Its the best for presentation of stories, no story rejected because of subject matter and all stories are given a chance on the front page. Most other sites just list them as they get them. The only way to get high numbers is to get high ratings right away and get on the Top listing.Quote:
Originally Posted by LaJan
That's a bit harsh of them! Unless they actually were tasteless, worthless drivel... :DQuote:
Originally Posted by LaJan
LD
I posted a few stories on Literotica but have decided not to update them for various reasons :) It's rather amusing as one of my stories is number one on the transgender top list. :rolleyes:
All the pieces of advice so far are worthy and make some interesting and valid points about the art of writing.
I know I tend to start off with the broadest of outlines and then the charaters tend to tell the story from there. Sometimes they surprise even me, which is interesting because I think charater development (along with grammer, spelling and words in general) tends to be my weakest area as a writer.
Find what works best for you.
What I've noticed is that about 80% of story writers don't have a plot. When they don't have a plot, they also forget to create characters that matter. This leads to quick, graphic exposures of events that are so anti-personal that you can really give a rats ass about reading it. Amazingly, this being the only thing the person is capable of, these particular stories are also unimaginative in the midst of their pure mindless gratuity (not that I'm begrudging gratuity).
I'm left thinking, gee guys, I could have written a shopping list of THINGS and skipped the disguise of a story, omitting say ... ... ten or so words.
Do you need an outline? NO. I often just write with an idea for the characters and a bit of a notion of how I want the character moved through the story to some vague ending. Then I let the magic work as I see my people interact. Others create outlines from the start, a very valid approach. But, when done, the reader shouldn't be asking, "Did that writer even have an outline?" That's a fatal review.
So, having said that, here are some rules :rolleyes: :
1) Every story has to have characters that the reader can relate to. Win or lose, we have to care about what happens to them in order to care about the story. This takes a tiny bit of work.
2) If I've read exactly it a billion times before, why write it again? Can't we have one little biddy twist, for crying out loud?!?
3) Any story that doesn't have a plot is not a story, by definition.
4) Make dialogue that both counts and is believable. "Oh, I'm being skewered with a stake! This makes me so horny!" Right.
5) The best horror has the lowest body count. Consider. This might mean that it has more to do with how you go about saying it than how many knifes in the back one accumulates. One is a story - the other is a cartoon.
My goodness, the advice here is excellent. The best advice I ever received was Mr. Wilcox advice: " show, don't tell".
When I write erotica, I use my imagination, picture what's happening in my mind, and try to describe as best I can by using images, comparisons, lots of description.
I also like to think in terms of the five senses. What do I want the reader to see? What feelings do I want to provoke? What sounds do I want the reader to hear (this works especially well with erotica *wink*)? Many people are moved by smells, scents, aromas, especially when dealing with sex. One of the sexiest men I've ever known, who taught me very much about sensuality, loved to smell of me, my lingerie, etc. At first it scared me -- I thought he was freakish, but it's really a very normal, healthy desire -- just one of those things not everyone wants to admit or talk about.
But in erotic, it feels very right and good to be so descriptive, the reader can "smell sex". That's a very nice compliment to receive.
Taste is an awesome tool to use. What does one lover taste like to another? Is the main character reminded of tastes, smells, etc.? What are they? Describe them as if it were you describing them yourself.
Another thing I love to do in order to prepare for writing erotica is read some of my favorite erotica and/or refer to many of my favorite authors -- I even take notes, and have my thesaurus & dictionary near by so I can describe a feeling another writer has evoked in me, but use my own words.
Reference material also help keeps me from being repetitive. How many was can I say lust? Passion? Desire? I'm amazed at some of the descriptions that come to my mind when I stroll through my thesaurus while writing.
Well, I've given quite a bit of advice. I'm sure I don't always live up to it, but I've only been writing erotica for about two years. When I first started writing, words flowed from me like a fountain because I had so much pent up inside. Sometimes now I really have to work at it. But I really do hope I'm becoming a writer.
Writing is all I really want to do.
I guess I should post my lastest story & see what you think. I'll go nosing around & see if I can find a place to do that.
Many erotic wishes to you, new one.
~tyme~