Creating Sexual Tension in Your Erotic Stories

In erotic fiction stories, it’s a given that the main character(s) is going to have sex. After all, it isn’t the “if” that’s driving readers to consume your story, it’s the “when”, “where”, “how”, and “with whom”. Creating sexual tension before sex commences, therefore, is important for keeping your readers engaged and titillated.

Sexual tension is the intense but unfulfilled feeling of attraction between your characters. They want to have sex with each other, but they can’t for whatever reason. In non-erotic stories, the characters often put themselves through a series of sadistic and masochistic maneuvers to either avoid giving into their feelings or overcoming the challenges keeping them apart.

Part of the tension the reader experiences when reading a non-erotic story comes from the uncertainty surrounding whether the characters will satiate their passion for each other. It’s a question that drives them to keep reading to find out the answer.

In erotic stories, though, the answer is obvious. The characters will have sex or, at the very least, have a satisfying orgasm. Despite this, you can still make your story an exciting read by creating sexual tension that slowly builds up to the big finale.

The Essence of Sexual Tension

Have you ever wanted something so badly, but were blocked from getting it? I bet the fact that you couldn’t get what you wanted only added to your desire for it. And the more you were kept away from your heart’s desire, the more you wanted it. Well, that’s sexual tension in a nutshell. It is the desire for something, or someone, which cannot be obtained immediately.

The obstacles that prevent your characters from enjoying sex come from two sources: internal and external obstacles. External blocks would be something like having your mother show up at an inopportune time or being stuck in traffic while the girlfriend is sexting nude pictures.

However, the most delicious sexual tension is created by internal obstacles. The characters may be willing and able to get it on, but one or both of them is experiencing an internal crisis that prevents them from throwing their clothes and inhibitions to the wind. An example of this would be a male character that lusts after his boss, but won’t make a move because he doesn’t want her to think he’s trying to sleep his way to a promotion.

How to Create Sexual Tension in Your Stories

Well-placed sexual tension in your stories will have your readers figuratively, and maybe even literally, salivating for the moment when your characters “cum” together (admit it, you love my puns). Here are a few ideas for creating sexual tension in your erotic stories.

Put off the sex scene – This may seem counterintuitive considering that you are writing an erotic story. But many erotica writers, and I include myself in this group, often rush to the sex scene - most likely because we are so excited to write it. But slowing down the pace of your storytelling can actually turn the tension up a notch.

Add a little hyperawareness – When you are attracted to someone, you become aware of everything about them. You notice how the person smells, the exact color of his or her eyes, the endearing lisp when the person says certain words. Consider that god-awful book Twilight. Bella is aware of everything about Edward right down to how his breath smells. Your stories don’t have to be that bad, but a little hyperawareness will increase the heat.

Conflict makes your readers horny – Remember when I said that the essence of sexual tension is denial of what is wanted. Judicious use of conflict in your story will make the sex that much hotter. Think about it. The best sex you ever had was probably after you had a fight with your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover. Your emotions were running high and you couldn’t get your clothes off fast enough. Incorporate internal and external roadblocks that force your characters to “earn” their orgasms.

Taste the sexy rainbow – Here is another counterintuitive tip. Relieving sexual tension makes it worse. Having your characters get a taste of what they want will increase their desire for it. A perfect example of this occurs in the book The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel.

Jondalar wants to have sex with Ayla, but doesn’t make a move because he isn’t sure she is interested in having sex with him. His desire for her is so strong that he attempts to relieve it by masturbating, which is frowned upon in his culture. Unfortunately, masturbating only makes him lust for Ayla more.

Make your characters dance around the edges of their desire. Let them kiss, have them sext each other, let one walk in while the other is nekkid, and let it all be poor substitutes for what the character really wants – a hot romp in the bedroom.

Creating sexual tension before sex is an excellent way to draw your readers into the bedroom. Try these tips to increase the heat in your erotic fiction stories.

About the Article Writer

Daria Black is a fiction writer, gamer, and avid coffee drinker. Visit her website Daria Black - Words By Daria to read fiction stories, talk sex, society, games, and writing, or giggle with her at life's quirkiness

Revealing Backstory in Your Erotic Fiction Story

One of the more challenging aspects of writing a great erotic fiction story is revealing backstory. At some point or another, the reader will need to learn information about the character or the situation in order for the story to make sense. Oftentimes, this is stuff that happened in the past which contributed to the present situation’s or character’s development.

Conveying this information in my erotic fiction stories is challenging for me. I’m one those writers who over thinks my stories and always have way more material than I need. This wouldn’t be a bad thing except I have this tendency to include the entire back story in the tale. And I’m not the only one who struggles with this. I’ve read many stories where there was too much backstory or not enough.

So I did some thinking (something I’m good at) and some searching around the interwebs (also an expertise of mine) and came up with some tips for working back story into your erotic fiction stories.

The Back Story Must Be Relevant

First and foremost, the back story must be relevant to the main story, and no cheating by changing the main story to make the back story relevant just because you think it’s interesting. Okay, maybe that does work. That doesn’t change the fact, though, that everything you put in your erotic story must contribute to it in some way - whether it is characterization, moving the plot forward, or fostering reader understanding.

An example of relevant back story would be having your main female character recall an embarrassing run-in with another character while she is hiding from that person in a bathroom stall. The information is fueling the character’s actions, which may lead to other things happening in the story.

The Back Story Must Add to the Story

In addition to relevance, you shouldn’t include backstory simply because you can. It should contribute in some way to the main story. If your character needs to be in the bathroom as part of the plot, there are a hundred and one ways to get her in there. She could be in the bathroom because she actually had to use it, or she wanted to smoke a joint, or her best friend needed to tell her a secret. Look at your back story and ask yourself honestly if and how it makes your erotic story better.

* Does it contribute to characterization? She is in the bathroom because she hates confrontations and does everything she can to avoid them.

* Does it advance the plot? The back story reveals your character’s romantic feelings towards the other woman, who doesn’t return them.

* Does it set the scene? The other character sees her dash into the bathroom and follows her in there, which leads to the confrontation your character was desperately trying to avoid.

If your erotic story isn’t any better for having the back story in it, cut it out.

Ways to Reveal the Back Story

There are several ways to reveal back story, and some are better than others. Back story essentially brings the action and momentum in the main story to a grinding halt. You want to choose the method of passing on back story that lets the reader get back to the main story as soon as possible while still conveying the information.

Prologue – Anything written before chapter one is considered the prologue. I have mixed feelings about this method of telling back story. It is a pretty convenient way to share important information without slowing down the story, especially if it’s a lot of info. On the other hand, why not just start the story there? There is nothing in the “fiction writing laws” that says chapter one has to be about the present. You can start chapter one with the back story and then fast forward several years in chapter two. They do it in the movies all the time.

Dialogue – This is a good way to communicate small amounts of the back story, especially if it forwards the plot of your erotic story. But the key element here is “small amounts”. Also, make sure your characters are interacting with each other. Otherwise you’ll end up with a monologue, and who wants to read that in an erotic story?

Flashback – Dialogue is your character talking about the past. A flashback is your character thinking about the past. While your character is performing some action in the present day, their mind is thinking about the past. This is sort of like thinking about the presentation you gave at work while you are at home washing the dishes. Flashbacks can be a pretty effective way to relay relevant information. But, like other methods of telling the back story, they slow down the story. Try to make them as brief as possible.

Story Within a Story – One method I’ve seen more experienced writers use to good effect, is to tell a story within a story. Each chapter of the book (or each alternating page of a short story) was dedicated to a particular point in time. The book started with the main story on chapter one and continued with it every odd chapter. The back story is told starting on chapter two and continued on every even chapter. Eventually the two stories converged into the climax. Needless to say, both stories must be compelling for this method to work well.

Telling your character’s back story can enrich your erotic fiction story. Do it the right way and your readers will fall in love with your characters and come back for more.

Additional Resources

How to Write Backstory @ Story Sensei Blog

Novel Writing: Backstory @ A Hubpage by Marisa Wright

About the Article Writer

Daria Black is a fiction writer, gamer, and avid coffee drinker. Visit her website Daria Black - Words By Daria to read fiction stories, talk sex, society, games, and writing, or giggle with her at life's quirkiness.