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.

Plotting Your Erotic Fiction Stories

I read a lot of erotic fiction stories, or at least I try to. As an erotica writer, I firmly believe that reading stories written by other writers helps me improve my own craft. Deconstructing good and bad stories shows me which writing techniques work and which ones are likely to result in my story languishing in the slush pile.

One of the things I see erotica writers struggle with most often is the actual storytelling. There are two sides to writing an erotic fiction story, the story narrative (what happened) and the plot of the story (how it happened). On the surface they seem like the same thing. Though subtle at times, there is a difference between the two aspects which you need to understand if you want to write hot and compelling erotic fiction stories.

The Erotic Fiction Story Narrative

The narrative is the story you want to tell. If your story were a house, the narrative would be how you described it.

Currently, I’m writing an erotic fiction series for my blog about a society of vampires who live on an Earth-like planet in another part of the universe. The main character is viciously attacked in a random mugging. When he awakens from his brief coma, he starts looking for the person so he can extract revenge.

This is an example of a story narrative. It is what you tell people when they ask you what your story is about.

The Erotic Fiction Story Plot

The story plot is how the events of your erotic fiction story play out. They are the scenes you choose to include in your story that carry the narrative. Going back to the house example, your story’s plot would be the architectural plans that detail exactly how the house will be built.

The first scene of my vampire story is of the main character masturbating (it is an erotic story after all). However, his ultra religious sister walks in on him and her reaction has a strong influence on his decision to seek revenge against his attacker later in the story.

This is an example of plot. Just like the architectural plans influence the building of a house, your plot drives the unfolding of your erotic story.

Story Plot Separates Erotica from Porn

There is lots of bad erotica out there. I know this for a fact because I’ve written bad erotica. And it’s out there. So you can’t say I’m 100% wrong. Anyway, one of the main offenses that erotica writers make, especially new ones, is failing to develop the plot of the story. Instead, they end up doing some form of narrating that quickly gets their characters to the bedroom where various holes get filled and 20 gallons of semen and vaginal juices are squirted all over the sheets. This is not erotica. It’s porn.

You may recognize this type of story setup:

Jill had always been attracted to Jack. After all, they were coupled in one of the most famous nursery rhymes of all time. But no matter what she did, Jack never returned her obvious advances. She was beginning to think he was gay. That was, until they day they got stuck in the copy machine room because of a faulty door…

Boom chaka laka! Queue porn music and begin sex scene.

Now, this is fine if you want to write a porn story where the reader only cares about the sex. However, you can’t call it an erotic fiction story. Why? Because erotic stories have a plot and characters that are developed. All of these elements set up a sexy atmosphere that makes your stories more satisfying to read. If you want to get published in the erotica industry or make money with your erotica writing, then it would be a good idea to learn about story structure and plot.

Tips for Plotting an Erotic Fiction Story

Now I’m no expert on plotting a story so take these tips for what they are: one writer sharing what she has learned over the years of writing erotic fiction stories.

* Start with the Ending: Knowing the outcome you want in a story will be immensely helpful in determining how to plot the erotic story so that your characters arrive there. Remember, in erotic fiction stories, sex does not always have to be the end goal (although sex should be a part of the story otherwise you can’t call it erotica). Your story can end anyway you want it to. Just make sure the scenes you select support the ending.

* Write It Down: Each writer has their own opinion about outlines. Some can’t live without it and others deplore them. For me, it depends on what type of erotic story I’m writing. The longer the story, the more I find having a loose outline of the scenes I want to include helps me organize my thoughts. It saves me time, too, because it is easier to change the outline than it is to rewrite entire scenes.

* Get to Know Your Characters: The actions of your characters determine what happens in the story which, in turn, influences the plot. Knowing your characters and how they are likely to react to the wrenches you throw at them will make it easier to plot the course of the story.

* Make a Timeline: For longer stories, it is a good idea to make a timeline of the events. I don’t know how many times I’ll be editing my work and find that my characters have to use a time machine in order for the events to have happened the way I wrote them. Seriously, timelines are your friend.

* Keep It Simple Sexy: I find that the shorter your story, the simpler the plot should be. You only have a few words to convey your story’s narrative. Choose those scenes and elements that convey the maximum amount of information the reader needs to know in the shortest amount of words possible.

About the Article Author

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.