Writers Corner is an attempt by me to create some kind of aid or assistance for people who want to write. I am by no means a great writer, I barely qualify as a good one. I am simply trying to give people the chance to not make the same mistakes that I have, and hopefully help someone at least in some small manner. While I write erotica, much of the information posted will help people who are writing non-erotic works as well. I cannot be held responsible if my advice has an adverse effect on your writing, or if it improves it either.
The language of sex
First off, I suppose we should start with context. By context, I mean, what is the general tone and feeling of the piece.
For instance, if a story is romantic, some of the language of the piece should be written with more romantic terminology. If two lovers finally get together in bed, you want to make the language of the piece seem as romantic as the plot of story has build up their romance to be. Let’s take two statements, and we’ll use them as examples.
Bill’s penis got hard.
Amy’s vagina got wet.
I know it’s a bit of an exaggeration, but similar statements can be found just about everywhere. Now both are rather bland statements. In fact, the verb got is a very boring word. Things become wet, or start to harden. Got is something a child says. It’s fine to say ‘I got a soda at the store” or “I got a new haircut’ because it’s not attempting to be arousing, it’s just a plain and simple way of conveying information. But in an romantic and erotic context, do we want to simply say something?
The goal of writing is to make the reader keep reading, usually by garnering their interest. (Beating them over the head works too.) Write a boring and plain scene and people will get bored and go for something more interesting. This isn’t just for got. A word like is(or any conjugation of the verb to be[was are am are]) is boring as well. Fine for conveying information in a simple and straightforward manner, but not arousing by any means.
So, let’s take the two statements, and attempt to write them more romantically. For now we’ll use the filler verb became for the verb got.
Bill’s penis became hard.
Amy’s vagina became wet.
Now as I already said, let’s remove the verb got. But even before then, examine the words penis and vagina. Sure, you can use the words, but they sounds like something out of a medical book, and while accurate, it is not entirely interesting to read, or romantic.
You can think about any other kind of synonym to use for the word penis or vagina. But few really carry the romantic language. Cock sounds dirty, in an erotic context. Dick sounds childish. Pussy is just as dirty. Cunt is usually a bad thing. Many other words for penis (cock, pecker, dong, knob, peter, prick, rod, tool, wiener, willy) and vagina (pussy, snatch, slit, twat) don’t carry much romance with them. Now certainly, you could use something like, phallus, manhood, which work quite well, or shaft, which are a more romantic substitutes. Or for a woman you could use womanhood, honey pot, or sex, and are more romantic substitutes.
And keep in mind that this is just in a general basis. Certainly the word pussy, or cock, could be used in a romantic setting, but the words themselves do not convey romance. Words like prick and cunt, on the other hand, specifically convey the opposite of romance.
But here’s an idea, DON’T use the word penis, vagina, or any synonym. If the two are romantically involved, the audience can imagine what on Bill is getting hard, or what on Amy is getting wet. It’s probably not his ear or her nose. So let’s try this.
Bill became hard.
Amy became wet.
Still kind of dry and boring. How about instead of just stating the fact, we go into some detail about it, or more specifically, add some emotion, some feeling behind the action?
Bill groaned, feeling his body harden from the touch of Amy’s soft, delicate hands.
Amy’s body reacted instantly to his touch, and she could feel herself become wet.
And just for shits and giggles, how about we add some poetic language?
Bill groaned with unbridled passion, feeling his body harden from the warm, sensual touch of Amy’s soft, delicate hands.
Amy’s aching skin reacted instantly to his touch, centered around the growing moisture on her body.
Now, if the story is written with the general attitude of wanton debauchery, the terminology could be less romantic. The terminology can be a little more loose, a bit more bathroom stall material. Now remember, I’m not talking about complete humiliation or degradation stuff, but just smutty sex. People who know each other, or just those who engage in dirtier sex is just as fine. But this might not be a good piece for a young and naïve teenage couple, or a romantic older couple.
Now taking our previous examples, let’s get past the first step and change the verb got.
Bill’s penis became hard.
Amy’s vagina became wet.
Unlike in romantic gestures, oftentimes focusing on explicitly saying the penis or vagina can be integral to the story. If the two lovers are depraved, or having depraved sex, some of the same words not appropriate for romance could be used for the sex act. But not all. I would recommend avoiding words like dick or cunt regardless of the story, unless it’s intended to describe an unsavory character, IE ‘That John is a real dick’ or ‘Jesse can be such a cunt sometimes’
Let’s try peppering up the language a bit.
Bills cock grew rock hard.
Amy’s pussy was soaking wet.
The language is better, and certainly more interesting then the initial statements, but nothing special yet. Let’s add some more sensual language to it, shall we?
Bill’s threw his head back in ecstasy, feeling his cock grow rock hard in Amy’s wet and warm mouth.
Amy moaned aloud passionately as Bill’s tongue glided expertly across her soaking pussy.
Now of course these are just two specific examples of broad types of story telling. There are a hundred different ways to say just about anything in the world, sex included. Sex needs to be geared towards the goal of the individual story, and language is a big part of it.
Now, for some more general advice.
Penises are not steel rods, nor should they be called it. Don’t replace a name for any part of the body with anything. If it’s a penis, then it’s hard. It’s not a titanium rod. It’s not as hard as titanium. What makes more sense, that it’s as ‘hard as titanium’, or that it’s ‘achingly hard’? The audience can determine for themselves what hard is.
Remember there are five organs. I cannot stress this enough, most sex stories I see are entirely touch and sight. You can smell sex, believe me the air of sex fills the room, even if you haven’t added anything. You can taste sex, from the taste of genitals down to the taste of the skin. You can hear sex, not just groaning, but the wet sounds of sex, the sound of flesh smacking against each other.
If you are a virgin, remember that sex isn’t like what is written in all erotic stories. Just because a mediocre Final Fantasy fanfic said something doesn’t mean that it’s a part of sex. In general, you can research just about everything on the internet these days, and I’m sure that you can use google just as easily as anyone else.
I hope this all helps you in your endeavors. This can be a difficult thing to recall when you’re writing it, and it gets easier if you have someone proofreading your work, to give you an impression of whether or not you’re doing the job.
Peace
SomeRandomBastard
http://www.asstr.org/~srb/
http://somerandombastard.blogspot.com/
(Still no established Writer's Corner schedule. It happens when it does. Maybe reply and it'll happen more often. Or maybe not. But still, reply. That'd be nice.)
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