by Joy Strange

While searching for sex writing resources to pass along, I uncovered an interesting article on sex writing by Steve Almond published at The Phoenix.com.

I like Steve’s approach, but I don’t exactly see eye to eye with him on some of his points. I do agree that my nipples should never be referred to as Frankenstein’s Bolts (good lord!) or cherry pits, but some of his other advice doesn’t quite make it for me.

While his article is entertaining and fun to read, his advice about never having a character say “Give it to me, big boy” or “Deeper, harder, deeper.” To be fair, Steve Almond says people don’t say these things to him. But sometimes in the heat of the moment, darling Steve, people do like to have it a bit rougher and the aforementioned cliches–trite as they are–do come out of ones mouth.

I’d say it’s more realistic to let a character say that in your story if you can do it with a wink and a nod.

“She stroked his ego with one of the more obvious cliches, but when ‘Give it to me, big boy’ came out of her mouth, it was with her teeth gently sunk into his earlobe. He didn’t mind the corny line with a delivery like that.”

Not bad for a first draft line, eh?

All in all, though, Almond’s article does have something very important going for it–he takes pains to advise his readers to put themselves in the other person’s shoes during sex. It’s true that most women don’t have hair-trigger orgasms, and for a man to respect that when writing erotica is a damn fine thing indeed.

Though I do wish Almond would make a distinction between erotica and porn. Maybe that’s my damage.

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Conflicting Desires: Notes on the Craft of Writing Erotic Stories by Han Li Thorn is the real deal. This book covers a lot of interesting ground and is perfect for newcomers to erotica writing. Do you know how to convey plot information without resorting to cliches and overblown sex imagery? How do you communicate the heat and passion of the sexual moment without coming off like bad porn?

Any book on how to write erotic stories that references Joseph Campbell and Bret Easton Ellis is definitely coming from a different place than your average “write sexy” how-to.

I’d advise anybody who wants to learn more about writing erotic stories to pick up Conflicting Desires. This is money well spent.

Some might complain that the tone is a bit scholarly for an erotica book, but trust me, you need the information in these pages if you want to break into erotica. The art of writing ANY story involves these mechanics, but Thorn does take the time to address specific situations, character types and other issues common to erotic fiction.

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