Erotica is a vast and all encompassing word, despite being just seven letters long.
By itself it conjures up images which are as individual to each person as our dreams, both waking and sleeping. There is virtually not a man alive who hasn't surreptitiously or openly ogled the Page Three women, and fantasized about what they would do were she there in front of them. And women, despite many denying it vehemently, do ogle handsome film stars and TV personalities, not to mention the good-looking guy walking down the street, and fantasize about them. Of such fantasies are stories and novels made.
Erotica is a very powerful genre for your fiction writing.
We all start, invariably, with writing out our own fantasies, and there is no better place to start. What you have pictured in your head, perhaps for many years, is likely to strike chords with other readers, is likely to come off the page and be real. Because, you have lived it over and over again.
Whilst this is a good place to start, a word of caution is appropriate. Do remember that not everyone is turned on by exactly the same things as you, so why not see if you can add a few other elements: for example, if you are writing heterosexual scenes, why not add a touch of lesbian love for spice and intrigue those who like that too? There are many ways of doing it. Just think sideways slightly, rather than concentrating on what you alone like.
In all short story writing, characterization, plot and narrative have to come together to form a cohesive and satisfying whole. With erotic writing you need to add another element, the one which makes it challenging - before people can jump into bed, they need a reason to do it. Mutual attraction is, in real life, probably sufficient. For a story it isn't. People need reasons to do things. If the husband is attracted to the woman next door, and does something about it, rather than just look, we need to know why he is tempted to stray. Because his wife is a shrew or an ice block; or have they been married just too long? Think about why your people do things before you let them do it.
Plot, that should go without saying, you should have some kind of story line, even if it does depend on people getting in and out of bed, or anywhere else, for that matter! It still needs to be linked to some kind of theme, or plot.
Narrative. In erotic writing this is one of the most important elements. One constant complaint I, and other editors, have is that there is little thought given to the parts of the body or the actions they perform: we get the same words over and over again. Do try and avoid, if at all possible, the cruder words, the basic ones, which are otherwise used for swearing, as they have lost their impact to a certain degree. There are other words!
There are other ways of describing the parts of a female that men admire and lust after: there are other names for the parts of the body, which women admire and lust after, too. It's a question of finding them. Check the Thesaurus, check your own imagination! Don't go for the obvious all the time. In this field of writing avoid cliches at all cost.... I have also seen, believe it or not, the classic line 'her breath came in short pants'. It was at that point, as a publishing company, I decided to reject the book....
This refers back neatly to the section above, when we discussed writing our fantasies. The usual reason given by our authors for over using one word is that 'it is the most erotic word I know'; ignoring the fact other people may be offended or simply put off by it. Always think of the other guy. Two men staring at one picture will have two very different fantasies about the woman.
With the Managing Editor's blessing, I use the 'Search and Replace' facility in my computer to edit out those words, regardless of where they are used - to start with. If the dialogue calls for it, I will reinstate them when going through the manuscript. Otherwise, they stay out. The computer automatically counts the replacements: when you have the figure 359 come up at the base of the screen, you know someone is not working very hard....
Dialogue is important too. In the heat of passion we are not likely to begin discussing the prospects of a certain team being relegated or to speak with polite formality, "darling, would you do that again, please, it was delightful" and yes, I have seen this kind of dialogue....
Erotica spans a wide almost infinite field of human activity. It also falls naturally into main groups, within which are the sub divisions.
These are: 'straight' people who just want ordinary sex type stories, gay and lesbian press, infantilism, rubber and pvc lovers, fetish lovers, transvestites, transexuals, and bondage and s/m
As an example of how wide each scene is - within the s/m field alone we have submissive men and dominant women, dominant men and submissive women, those who can take alternate roles within the same session, those who prefer the women on women role, and those who go that step further into the true slave situation. Bondage covers everything, from simply tying someone up to involved and elaborate apparatus, straps and ropes.
And it goes on like that.
The erotic field is wide enough to give you an infinite variety, but - having decided where you are going to write, you have then to stay with it. If your story is concerned with Fem/dom, for example, then it must remain that way, unless your heroine is given a very good reason to change. That goes for all other fields too. Your target audience is important, bear them in mind at all times.
Erotic novels need a high degree of sexual activity, but could also do with a rock solid story line underpinning it, too. No matter how outrageous your characters, they still need reasons to do things, to act as they do.
From all of this you will see it is not the easiest of fields to work in; but it is challenging and rewarding in many ways. Interested in writing? Any editor will respect your anonymity with a pen name, and many editors will welcome new people to the fold, if they bring fresh visions understanding and writing skills to the art of writing erotica.
Why are erotic novels successful? by Salty Vixen on Scribd
