Tips for Writing Erotica

 Are you a budding author looking to start a career in the genre of erotic literature? Of course you are! Who wouldn’t want to write about sex for a living? Writing erotica is one of the most exciting, interesting, and fun jobs out there, and also has the potential to make you a lot of dough. Just look at the salaries of popular erotic writers such as Caleb Knight, RJ Masters, D.H. Lawrence, and Lonnie Barbach, who make a living off of writing novels as well as selling snippets of their work to popular publications such as Cosmopolitan, Playgirl, and Maxim.
 We’ve established that writing erotica is a great job, but how do you learn to write the stories that will make you millions? Or, if writing is just a hobby for you, how can you improve the quality of your stories? There are a number of things you can do to make your erotic stories more engaging and interesting, and here are a few guidelines.

 First of all, make sure that you have a passion for passion. Even the most creative writer in the world can’t fake it through a piece of erotic literature. Writing erotic stories actually takes quite a bit of research, but luckily that research is a ton of fun to do. Plan on ramping up your sex life for a few weeks before you start writing, in order to have a wide range of experiences to draw from. We’re not necessarily advocating promiscuity (especially if you’re married!), but just make sure that you and your partner try a lot of different moves and positions so that you are more easily able to generate ideas when you’re back at your desk on Monday morning.

 It is also a good idea to read some current erotica titles, if you haven’t already. This will give you insight into what your readers like best, and also show you what is already out there so that you can generate fresh and original material. When you write an erotic story, you always want to provide your audience with something new that they haven’t experienced before in order to differentiate yourself from the competition. Of course, other sources of inspiration for erotic writing can include dreams, porn magazines, lingerie, movies, and pretty much anything that gets the juices flowing (try to stay away from bad puns like these in your stories).

 Once you start writing, it may be hard to get yourself into the erotica “groove,” so refer back to your sources of inspiration before starting. If you’ve done your homework, you should be able to think back to your research and write some steamy sex scenes based on your experiences. Make sure that you have a minimal level of distractions while writing, because taking a call from Mom in the middle of writing a sex scene can be a bit unsettling, to say the least. Separate yourself as much as possible from your everyday life and environment, and allow yourself to be taken away by the mood of the story.

 When composing a plot and storyline, stick to what you know best. Consider writing a story based on something you’ve done in the past, and continue to build on the story as you go along. Never try to write about a topic you are completely unfamiliar with, because it is pretty likely to fall flat. Too many writers also make the mistake of describing what they think great sex is like, instead of what it is actually like, so don’t make your story too fantastical or far-fetched in an effort to construct an elaborate plot line. Real life stories are often best.

 A well-known quote by Barbara Ueland says that “I learned that you should feel when writing, not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like child stringing beads in kindergarten - happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another.” This saying is a favorite among writers, and one that I think all new authors should be familiar with. Remember while writing your sex stories, that it should never really feel like work. It is meant to be a way for you to explore your own thoughts and fantasies, and express them in a way that others can’t.
 After you’ve written your story, you will probably feel a bit worn out, so give yourself a nice long break before you start editing. Pieces of writing need some time to “cool off” before they can be edited by their writer, so get some distance from the project. Get away from your computer and forget about your story for a while. Whenever you choose to come back, you’ll be refreshed and able to edit your story with an objective eye.

 The first thing you should look for while editing is simple mistakes in punctuation, spelling, and grammar. These should be pretty obvious and easy to find, once you’ve taken a break from writing for a while. Be sure to check carefully for spelling, as word processing spell check systems will not catch misused words, such as writing “too” instead of “to” and “whose” instead of “who’s.” Also feel free to move sentences or paragraphs around in order to make the story more understandable, if need be.

 The next thing you should do while editing is punch up the sex scenes. They are what differentiate erotica from all other genres of literature, so make yours memorable! Add in words and descriptions to make your scenes pop, and consider consulting an Erotic Words Glossary or in order to brainstorm new ideas. It is also a good idea to mix up your word usage. If you find that you are using the word “cock” over and over in your story, consult a thesaurus, which will give you a number of terms to choose from.

 After you go through and edit your story several times, it will still benefit from the review of a trusted friend or colleague. Also be sure to take any advice you get from an editor, if you have one. They are seasoned professionals that are experts at writing and marketing stories. As you can see, writing erotica is easy, but writing good erotica will take some research and know-how. Good luck!