The Erotic Genre: Learning It

What I’m learning is it’s nothing like below…

“Everyone” talks about how erotic sells. How erotic is what people are reading. How it’s so popular on eReaders because people can read it in public without fear.

How it’s just writing sex scenes.

Wrong.

Yes…erotic sells.

Yes…people are reading it and on eReaders where no one can see.

Yes…erotic is popular.

No…it’s not just sex scenes.

Erotic or erotica…I’m still learning those subtle meanings…is sexy reading. There’s hot sex. There’s characters who have sex with…well…with most anyone in any situation and there’s little rules as to anything.

…What it is, is writing strong characters, a storyline that fits whatever sub-genre you’re writing/attempting to write, with sex scenes your reader can visualize that happen “on screen” as opposed to the female/male being carried “off screen” for the action to happen.

Think the movie “Psycho,” we never saw the murder in the shower. Nope, go watch again. We were given glimpses of what’s happening and our mind filled in the details. Take the “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies, those we saw everything, nothing was left to our imagination.

Think romantic sensual writing versus romantic or anything sex writing. You still need a story. You still need characters your readers want to read having sex.

Writing sex is easy.

Incorporating it into a story, now that’s the challenge. Writing erotic/erotica is the same as writing any other genre. It takes the same consideration. The same planning. The same story ARC. The same editing. The same everything. That means if erotic writing requires steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. You write all those steps. If paranormal writing requires steps 1-4, plus 8-11, then you write those steps plus the steps which belong to erotic if you want paranormal erotic.

No, writing erotic isn’t easy. We’re not writing sex letters to some magazine. Telling locker room tales to our friends. Nor are we writing a scene of two people saying ‘hi’ and then banging away on each other. That’s not to say those scenes don’t happen. That some authors aren’t writing like that. Hey, I can go for a good “Psycho” movie or a good “Elm Street” movie any time, depends on my mood.

Same goes for this genre of mine.

So what’s my point? We’re not cookie-cutter writers. We’re just as diverse as any genre writer you may pick up and read. What I love most is the fact television entertainment shows referred to Jackie Collins as an erotic author. For years I’ve heard her referred to in many ways, from praised to smut. The fact she was acknowledged as erotic, well, yeah, that made me proud.

I’m no Jackie Collins, but I am a writer. I write erotic and I’m proud of my work.

Oh, and before you take a side trip on the author name thing…I’m proud enough of my erotic writing to give it its own identity so you won’t judge based on who you think I am and what I should be