5 Erotica Writing Tips for Beginners

People have been writing erotica for centuries (The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, anyone?). In the last decade or so, though, the stigma attached to erotica writing has faded enough that it is now a billion dollar industry. People are producing erotic fiction stories that include anything from heteronorm male/female interactions to sexual interludes that include ghosts, werewolves, and robots.

If you are thinking about writing erotica but don’t know where to begin, here are a few erotica writing tips for beginners to help you get started writing erotic fiction stories.

Learn About the Genre

It may sound a little snobbish but porn and erotica are two different things. Although they both deal with the topic of sex and you can make money writing both, the two genres depart from each other in a distinctive way.

In porn writing, the sex scene is the entire story. Story setup, plot, and character development is minimal and exist only to get you and the characters into the bedroom. While sex is an integral part of an erotic fiction story, the characters are developed and the story follows a plot line. It’s the difference between viewing clips of porn online and watching a plot driven adult movie.

A good way to get a feel for the difference is to read erotic fiction stories by published writers like Mitzy Szereto and Erica Jong. There are also lots of websites where you can read erotic stories for free written by professional and amateur writers. I assure you, you’ll quickly get a sense of what is and what is not erotica.

Study the Basics of Fiction Writing

So now that you know erotic stories are character and plot driven, you need to know how to create great characters and develop compelling erotic story plots. There are many resources online that will teach you about writing great fiction. Two books I recommend for character development and plotting are ‘Characters and Viewpoints’ by Orson Scott Card and ‘Plot’ by Ansen Dibell. You can find both of these at online and offline book retailers.

Decide on an Erotic Fiction Genre

The erotica category of writing started as a subgenre of the romance industry but has grown into an independent genre with many subgenres of its own. You can write softcore, where the sex is only alluded to, and hardcore where the sex is described in graphic detail. Other categories include science fiction erotica, paranormal erotica, gay and lesbian erotica, horror erotica, chick lit, and many other styles.

Most people find it easier to write stories in a genre they are familiar with. This means if you enjoy fantasy books, you may be more comfortable writing about the hot romance between two elves. Whichever genre you decide to start with, it is important to do your research.

Research, Research, Research

Nothing ruins a story faster than ignorance, especially when it comes to sex. Unless you are writing science fiction, fantasy, or paranormal erotica, your sex positions should be humanly possible and your characters should all be equipped with the proper parts.

Anatomy 101 is your friend. Learn how the sex organs function and what all is involved in sexual arousal. I assure you, there is more to sex than erections and orgasms. Your reader is likely to know a little something about sex and anything odd or unbelievable can cause them to dump your story.

Get Your Erotic Fiction Stories Reviewed

The best way for new erotica writers to hone their craft is to join a writing group. But not all writing groups are created equal. To get the best feedback, join a writing group tailored towards erotica writers.

Prior to submitting your work, spend a little time on the site reading stories uploaded by the other members and the type of comments they received. If most of the critiques read like “Good read” or “Nice story” find another writing group.

These types of comments indicate the writing site is nothing more than a feel good group and the most you will get out of it is a few strokes to your ego. If you are serious about getting published and making money, then you want a group who will be fair and honest in their evaluations. The group should tackle your spelling, grammar, characterizations, plot, and other story elements.

Be warned, though, high quality writing sites like this expect you to put in the same amount of effort in your critique of member stories. The benefits you receive, however, are well worth the trouble.

Whether for publication or your own personal enjoyment, erotica writing can be fun and fulfilling. The best piece of advice I can give you is to not rush your success. Take your time, be persistent, and enjoy the ride.

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.

Writing Erotica Blog Content that Makes Readers Stick Around

By far the most common question I see raised in blog forums is how to get people to visit a blog. There are tons of ways you can market your site and drive traffic to your erotica blog. But it’s not getting people to your blog that you should be worried about. It’s keeping them around.

Readers who come to your blog on a regular basis are the ones who will most likely click your affiliate links and buy your books. Therefore, writing content that encourages readers to stick around and come back for more is crucial to your success with your erotica blog. All the traffic generating tips in the world will do you no good if you lack the quality content needed to make your visitors stick around.

Below are a few tips to help you create solid content for your erotica blog that’ll keep your visitors sticking around like fly paper.

Stay On Topic

Before we get to this point, let’s ask the million dollar question. What is your topic? Treat your erotica blog like it is a show on public access television. What are you going to be showing your readers every week? Deciding on the focus of your blog will help you filter out irrelevant content. Readers often luck on to your blog often via a search engine or social media site. They will stick around your erotic blog as long as you continue to provide them the content they want.

Make Sure Your Writing Skills are Up to Par

Your posts should have a beginning, middle, end, and a point firmly planted amidst the whole thing. Unless it is cleverly written, random rambling on a blog is just plain drivel and no one will tune into that for very long. You will also retain more erotica blog readers if your posts are easy to read. Run your writing through a grammar and spell check program. Countless good ideas have been drowned in unreadable writing.

Show Some Personality

I’ve mentioned this before and I will say it again. There is a lot of competition out there in the erotica writing and blogging sphere. You must stand out if you want to develop and maintain your erotica blog readership. One of the best ways to do that is to display your personality in your writing.

Some of the most successful bloggers out there let their brand of quirkiness ooze through with every word. People are attracted to people. Letting your personality shine through is the duct tape that will keep your readership sticking around.

Mix It Up Occasionally

Now I know I said earlier that you should stay on topic when writing your erotic blog but it is okay to mix things up every once in awhile to avoid falling into a monotonous rut. Variety is the spice of life or something equally clever like that. Try adding a few quirky tidbits like a meme, a random quiz, or even a poll to liven things up.

Keep Posts to a Reasonable Length

This is a topic of much debate in the blogging niche. How long should your posts be? Of course, if you are writing fiction stories, then the stories will be as long as they need to be to get the point across.

However, if you are writing blog posts on non-fiction topics I favor keeping posts between 500-1000 words. The average attention span isn’t what it used to be. We’ve become a bunch of surfers and skimmers. Readers are more likely to stick around if you keep your posts at easily digestible words counts. It is best to experiment, though, to find out what works for your erotica blog and your audience.

Link to Other Posts on Your Erotica Blog

If possible, link to other posts on your blog. This benefits your blog in two ways. First, it helps the search engines find and index old posts which improves your site’s overall SEO performance. Second, it keeps your readers on your blog by offering them other stuff to read.

Personally, I like the Yet Another Related Posts Plugin on my WordPress blog which creates a list of blog posts similar to the current post and puts it at the end of the article. There is a similar widget for Blogger. I have not used it so I cannot say whether or not it is good.

Creating quality content for your readers is, by far, the easiest way to attract and keep readers on your erotica blog. If you need help marketing your blog, view my previous tips on generating website traffic.

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.