tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23776112.post1562739152050668472..comments2023-10-17T07:37:00.391-05:00Comments on Written Words: Writing about sex is not easyScott Buryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05061034006121401082noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23776112.post-25585346435479998152013-03-21T18:09:34.568-05:002013-03-21T18:09:34.568-05:00On erotic romance: Sex is hard to write well. Peri...On erotic romance: Sex is hard to write well. Period. My favorite part of any romantic love story is the sexual tension that proceeds the sex. <br /><br />And then there's lots of foreplay.<br /><br />Men writing commercial erotica would likely read more like Penthouse letters.<br /><br />I don't know about you, but after the couple has had sex ten or twelve times, I'm getting bored. From then on, it's the emotional aspects of the story that have to be intriguing enough to keep me turning pages––that, and a tantalizing hint of more disturbing kink to come.<br /><br />Jillian Stonehttp://jillianstone.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23776112.post-27799704021897876522013-03-10T10:10:30.872-05:002013-03-10T10:10:30.872-05:00LOL! I mean, now that I write adult, I spend time ...LOL! I mean, now that I write adult, I spend time on the sites of bloggers that read romance. They have looong lists of things they've read that are ridiculous (like the two examples I gave you) and the things that bug them personally. It's quite an education! Martha Bourkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16518622622982341298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23776112.post-57807472345781406762013-03-09T12:17:02.504-05:002013-03-09T12:17:02.504-05:00This is an interesting discussion. I wrestle with ...This is an interesting discussion. I wrestle with the idea that perhaps my sex scenes are too explicit in novels that are not primarily about sex/romance. But I too feel one has to convey clearly what characters are feeling and seeing, because the sensual experience plays into the emotional transformations these scenes create. And if the character is swept up in the moment, I want the reader to be there, too. It's always about balance - I strive for words that are not too timid and not too clinical. There's a romantic gloss to the language, but the actions are explicit. Whether I achieve that balance is something only the reader can say - and readers bring all kinds of biases to such scenes (but that's another discussion).Chris Kridlerhttp://chriskridler.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23776112.post-86213257317283815772013-03-09T11:17:25.040-05:002013-03-09T11:17:25.040-05:00I think that if you want to be taken seriously as ...I think that if you want to be taken seriously as a writer, and you really want to connect with your audience, you have to be honest. And that includes calling things by their proper names. The challenge is that, at least in English, there are many terms for the same thing: the clinical, formal term; the "dirty," often pejorative term; and a range of word in between. <br />Words also carry a lot of baggage, and that baggage for each person is different. So that just makes the writer's challenge even steeper.<br />"Portal of pleasure?" Geez, where did you read that? "Honey" isn't quite as bad, and I can imagine how you could use honey as a metaphor ... oh, now I have to stop thinking those thoughts. It's still Saturday morning!Scott Buryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05061034006121401082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23776112.post-16429563528592263022013-03-09T10:58:16.894-05:002013-03-09T10:58:16.894-05:00Personally, I think calling a vagina by that name ...Personally, I think calling a vagina by that name sounds very clinical when I read fiction, but I rarely ever see it. Maybe that's the reason. On the other hand, I'm not at all a fan of calling it something ridiculous like "her portal of pleasure." Seriously? There are writers who have found a nice balance between the two and their books are considered 'steamy' romance, not erotica. But, again, that's a personal opinion I'm giving as a reader. As a writer, I hear this topic debated often. I think what it really comes down to is writers will use their own comfortable words and there will be a group of readers out there that like reading that style of sexy scene. Ultimately, that's what I fell back on as I wrote the scenes for my first paranormal romance this winter. And no, at no point do I call a vagina 'her honey'. Martha Bourkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16518622622982341298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23776112.post-33821152199459305322013-03-09T07:40:11.318-05:002013-03-09T07:40:11.318-05:00Since a never to be forgotten and abortive attempt...Since a never to be forgotten and abortive attempt to write a sex scene in one of my earlier novels(long confined to the trash) I have not tried it again. Replacing selective parts of both anatomies with "him" or "her" has never worked for me. I sometimes wonder if that is the reason most of my characters are either too young or too old for such things.Three Hoodies Save the Worldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14284152429583290408noreply@blogger.com