Five Tips from Tenille Brown

 Five tips on how to write erotica from Tenille Brown.

1) Read and familiarize yourself with the erotica genre as to avoid redundancy and so you know what type of writing/stories are most popular and most desired.

2) Put your best foot forward - Submit properly formatted work to editors that adhere to their guidelines and fits their specific call.

3) Research your market - That way you don't end up sending anal erotica to an editor looking for bondage stories.

4) Create believable characters and settings - Remember, it's still a story, not just some pages with some sex.

5) Make the erotic portions believable - Avoid too much gymnastics-like sex. Also, sometimes a little goes a long way. Subtle can be sexy, too.

Tenile Brown is the author of many pieces of fiction including 'Cling' in Rachel Kramer Bussel's anthology, Sex and Candy. Tenile's blog can be found at http://therealtenille.com and her twitter handle is @TheRealTenille.

Five Tips from Lisabet Sarai

 Five tips on how to write erotica from Lisabet Sarai,

1. Set goals for yourself but be willing to be swayed by inspiration
Writing is a balancing act between reasoned, disciplined work and the crazy
dictates of emotion and imagination. I have a writing plan, for at least six
months into the future, and I have a plan for my time whenever I sit down to
write (e.g. how many words I expect to produce or where I expect to end up in
terms of the plot). However, things don't always go according to my plans,
usually because I'll have some other idea that twists the story in a new
direction, or maybe an entirely new story pops into my mind. I've learned not to
be too rigid. Sometimes the wild notions that throw me off the rails are in fact
just what I need.

2. Don't compare yourself to any other author
It's easy to get discouraged about your own writing career when you look at
other authors who seem to be more prolific, more popular, more savvy about
marketing, more eloquent, more original, or whatever. When those comparisons
start to haunt you, do your best to ignore them. Remind yourself that each of us
has her own voice, her own method, her own path to success. Negative emotions
like envy, guilt or a feeling of inadequacy will not motivate you to produce
quality fiction. Negativity tends to smother inspiration.

3. Learn and focus on your personal areas of weaknessListen to your editors, your beta readers and your critique partners. They will
help you to see general areas where you can improve your craft. We all have
them! Once you've identified these areas, pay attention to them when you're at
work writing (or in the editing process, if your methods involve a rough first
draft with lots of later polishing). Never stop focusing on quality and
self-improvement.

4. Don't dismiss grammar and spelling as superficial nicetiesSome authors appear to believe that if a story is sufficiently original and
involving, then using proper grammar and correct spelling are unimportant
frills. I strongly disagree. Grammar, like vocabulary, dialogue, and
description, is a tool for conveying nuances of meaning. An ability to quote or
explain formal grammar rules is not necessary, but an accomplished author knows
how to use the structure of sentences to express her thoughts with greater
precision. Meanwhile, in today's digital world, there is no excuse for
submitting a manuscript full of spelling errors.

Submitting clean manuscripts will endear you to your editors. Furthermore, in
this fast-paced era of e-publishing, many publishers seem to be devoting less
time and effort to editing. Don't expect your publisher to fix your mistakes. If
you're content with a slapdash manuscript full of grammar and spelling gaffes,
you really have no right to call yourself a professional author.

5. Find a writing method that works for you personally
There are as many approaches to writing as there are authors. Some authors do
meticulous outlines and character profiles. Some simply sit down and write
whatever comes to mind. Some do three, four or more drafts, making major
revisions with each iteration. Others edit as they write, so that their first or
second draft is ready to submit for publication. Some authors can split their
time among multiple books or stories simultaneously. Others need to focus on
one WIP at a time.

You'll get advice everywhere about how you "should" write - in how-to books, on
blogs, in critique groups. Be willing to consider the proposed techniques, but
recognize that there is no one correct way to write. You need to experiment
until you find the approaches that are most satisfying and productive for you
personally. You may discover that these change over time, too, or that the best
techniques depend on what you are writing.

Lisabet Sarai is the author of countless pieces of quality erotic fiction. More of Lisabet's work can be found at: http://www.lisabetsarai.com and http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com.

Five tips from Catherine Lundoff

 Five tips (in no particular order) on how to revise from Catherine Lundoff:

1) Almost everything wrong with an early draft can be fixed with thorough revisions.

2) Revising means learning to look at your work from a critical and detached perspective. It takes practice and timing – revising a brand new story right after you finish it isn’t as effective as letting it sit for a period of time while you work on other things. Then you can go back to it with a fresher eye to find the problem areas. 

3) Learn to love revising.

4) Some things to do when revising:      · Check for spelling and grammar errors.     · Ask yourself questions about your plot and your characters’ motivation. Look for logical flaws.     · Read your work aloud to see how it sounds.     · Do you have any words or phrases you like to use? Check to see how many times you used them in your story and start rewriting those sections.

5) Quit while you’re ahead. Don’t get caught up in an endless rewriting loop. When you feel that your story is the best that it can be, submit it. Then go write something else.

Catherine Lundoff is the author of many pieces of fiction including the short story 'Twilight' in Best Fantastic Erotica. More of Catherine's work can be found by visiting: http://catherinelundoff.com/.

What do Editors Want? Pepper Mason

 Pepper Mason is an up-and-coming artist, author, and editor of high quality erotic short stories. She began writing as a hobby in 2003, but began self-publishing as an independent author earlier this year in hopes of one day cultivating the hobby into a full-time career. She has edited several works of friends and colleagues off the books, and all of her personal work, services and contact information can be found at peppermasonbooks.weebly.com.

1) I cannot stress this enough. Independent authors should never publish a book without letting at least one (preferably more than one) other person proof read it. No matter how many times you read your own work, there are bound to be errors that you’ll miss. Even if you can’t afford editing services, have a friend or colleague read over your manuscript for you. (Other independent authors on a budget may be willing to trade proof reads. Just ask!)

2) Microsoft Word's spelling and grammar check will never be able to replace human comprehension. It can’t tell you when something is written awkwardly, and it doesn’t cover the entire gamut of punctuation misuse. It will also oftentimes miss words that are misspelled, when those words end up being spelled correctly but with a different meaning. Never assume you’ve corrected all of your errors with a simple run of this or any spell/grammar checking program.

3) Be careful with continuity. If your character is slowly pushing up the silky green fabric of her lover’s shirt to expose his washboard abs, please make sure he wasn’t shirtless in the prior scene. Things like this are easy to miss when you’re plowing through plot like a person possessed.

4) Repetition. I have found this to be a common plague amongst the writing community, even within the work of professionally edited and published authors. Be careful not to use the same phrases and words over and over again. You have a thesaurus at hand any time you’re connected to the internet; you can find another word for ‘walked’. Try ‘moved’, ‘trudged’, ‘cantered’, ‘stalked’, ‘slouched’, ‘stomped’, or  ‘marched’ instead. It sets the tone for how the character is moving, instead of simply informing the reader that he is, in fact, moving. Also be careful with the infamous “He did this, he did that” repetition. Characters can be addressed in a number of ways, and not always at the beginning of a sentence. You can replace ‘he’ with things such as the character’s name, ‘the blonde boy’, ‘the young man’ etc, etc.

5) Plot. Even if you’re writing a four-thousand word short erotica, plot is important. It holds the entire story together. I always recommend creating a detailed outline of your plot before beginning to write. Even a loose plan can help you organize your plot, and keep your story from dragging on or becoming nonsensical. Make sure your plot makes sense and flows smoothly before you put a single word in that .doc file. It will save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run.

More of Pepper Mason's work can be found at peppermasonbooks.weebly.com.

Five Tips from Valentine Bonnaire

 Five tips on how to write erotica by Valentine Bonnaire:

1) Read the erotic classics. Here’s a tiny list from Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9684.Best_Erotic_Classics 

I say this because they are the classics for a reason! A few people aren’t on here: James Joyce, for example, or the Marquis de Sade. It’s hard to get hotter than some parts of Joyce’s Ulysses. Anybody who had a banned book is probably really good. Really, really, really good!

2) Write what you know. Write your own gender. I say this because when you do this, the reader is really going to “get” what you are saying. I never write a sex scene I haven’t done or would do in real life.

3) Read erotic poetry! Neruda, Paz and “The Ink Dark Moon” http://www.amazon.com/Ink-Dark-Moon-Komachi-Shikibu/dp/0679729585 are all favorites of mine. Read outside the genre as well. Sometimes the most erotic book ever will not be called an erotic book. I found Jeanette Winterson’s “The Powerbook” to be one of the most erotic books I’ve read.

4) Start small and be published in the right places. I chose Cleansheets.com and the Erotica Readers and Writers Association for that. The latter has a fantastic writer’s list. Getting your first feedback will be invaluable as a confidence builder. Trust the editors!

5) Find your niche, and if you use a nom de plume stick with it! I made the mistake of switching once and that wasn’t so good. Keep track of your publishing credits and when you have enough join things like Poets&Writers. Take in a writers' conference or two? Get your courage up by doing a reading. That’s harder than it looks. The first time I let a conference workshop leader read one of mine, she said she had to stop. The piece was called “Gardenias” and the word that stopped her in her tracks was, “wet.” Never underestimate the power of language. We work with such loaded and oftentimes sacred words.

Valentine Bonnaire’s work can be found in the archives at Cleansheets.com as Adrianna de la Rosa and Valentina Bonnaire, and at ERWA in the galleries and Treasure Chest. “Flowering” will appear this year in The Mammoth Book of Quick and Dirty Erotica edited by Maxim Jakubowski. http://www.amazon.com/Mammoth-Book-Quick-Dirty-Erotica/dp/076244813X Three chapters of “Man in the Moon” appear in “From Porn to Poetry 2” edited by Susannah Indigo. http://www.amazon.com/Porn-Poetry-2-Susannah-Indigo/dp/0971662347/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362620438&sr=1-1&keywords=from+porn+to+poetry+2

Five tips from Saskia Walker

 Five tips on writing erotica from Saskia Walker. 

1. Make time: Try to make a regular routine for your writing. Even if it's only fifteen minutes a day on your lunch break, or twenty minutes before the rest of the family get up in the morning, a regular routine will help you achieve your dreams.

2. Tenacity: It's rare that a writer becomes a publishing sensation overnight. Even big name authors receive rejections. If you receive a rejection, keep writing, and resubmit! Your writing might not have been right for that editor but another editor might love your voice. Best of all, every time you write it'll teach you something new. Hang in there!

3. Be patient: There's a lot of waiting involved in being an author -- waiting to hear back about a query or submission, waiting for a story or book to reach publication -- to name just a couple. Don't wish your life away waiting on the news, move onto the next project in between times. If you work that way, you will hone your craft and your output will soon snowball.

4. Research: Before you submit work to a publisher contact some of the authors you see published there and ask about their experience. Would they recommend the publisher? Study guidelines too. Be absolutely sure you're subbing your work to the right place and in the right format.

5. Enjoy!: Have fun and enjoy your work. If you do, that will shine through on the page your readers will have fun too. You can't wish for a better reader reaction than that.

You can find out more about Saskia Walker and her writing at http://www.saskiawalker.co.uk/

www.saskiawalker.blogspot.com

THE HARLOT ~ February 2013. THE LIBERTINE ~ March 2013. THE JEZEBEL ~ April 2013.

Five Tips from Donna George Storey

 (5 Tips for Writing Erotica They’ll Read Again and Again)

Many excellent writers have shared their writing tips already, and I endorse them all, but I wanted to mention a few personal guidelines I’ve developed over the years to take away the terror when I sit down to write a new story.

1.  Writing a story is like seducing a lover.  You want to intrigue, delight and ultimately move your reader so that she or he will want to come back to your imaginary world over and over again.  It’s a tall order, but the easiest way I’ve found to connect with my ideal reader is to write about what intrigues, fascinates and turns me on.  It doesn’t always have to be based on real experience.  I’ve discovered many new varieties of sexual pleasure in fantasy, and later in the flesh, through my explorations for a story.  However, unlike a lover, a reader can always tell when you’re faking it, so make sure you want to be there and enjoy.

2. When planning a seduction, you dress to look your best, turn on the charm, and give your partner your full attention.  How does this translate into a story?  Don’t stint on the planning phase.  Let the ideas simmer, play around with the plot and characters, let them take on a life of their own.  The “charm” is your willingness to make the scenes and all the senses come alive.  Paint a picture for your reader, but also write a symphony of language and cook up deliciously naughty scents and tastes.  Finally, a strong first line that grabs ‘em by the nose, quick and clever transitions, and a satisfying final line are the literary equivalents of courtesy to your “date.”

3.  Put your story to this test:  take way all the explicit sex and see what’s left over. If you still have a good story—even if it’s much shorter—then you’ve passed.  Besides lots of hot sex, a good erotic story always has an intriguing plot, characters with humanity, and descriptions throughout that are sensual in themselves.

4. Stories that yield more pleasure on the second, third or fourth reading require that many editorial passes times ten for the writer.  I believe a writer only deserves a reader’s attention when she puts her best efforts into shaping the plot, weaving a wonderful atmosphere, lighting a fire between (or among) the characters, and making each word work for its place in the story.  This never happens in a first draft.  Of course, first drafts require freedom and flow for the imagination, but after the shape of the story is set, put on your editor’s hat and earn the return!

5. Forget the orgasm.  Well, not completely, but in a partial departure from real-life dating, the build up to the climax matters more.  I barely remember the orgasms in my favorite erotic stories.  It’s the delicious path to ecstasy that I seek over and over again.  Story-wise, the climax is the significant change in the relationship of the characters—a moment which sometimes, but doesn’t always coincide with the orgasm.  I’ll admit that one of my biggest challenges is writing about the orgasmic experience in a fresh, realistic way.  Usually a few well-chosen sentences will get the job done, but they’re never the heart of the story.  After all, if you set up the mood right, the reader holds the ultimate pleasure in his own hand.

Happy writing!

Donna George Storey is the author of Amorous Woman (recently released as an ebook) and a new collection of short stories, Mammoth Presents the Best of Donna George Storey. Learn more about her work atwww.DonnaGeorgeStorey.com or http://www.facebook.com/DGSauthor

Five Tips from Jean Roberta

 5 tips from author Jean Roberta:

 1) Keep a dream diary, or at least tune in to your own stream of consciousness once in awhile, and jot down what slides through your mind. The most random, seemingly inappropriate or irrational thoughts or images can be the seeds of a very interesting piece.

 2) Make time for writing. (This is easier said than done.) If necessary, put a DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door of your study or bedroom.

 3) Don't discard any piece of writing completely, but be willing to make big changes. If your novel, poem or story has been rejected a few times, consider ways to revise it. Something about that piece intrigued you in the first place. Try to find that core, and try to make it as clear as possible to your imaginary reader.

 4) Before defining yourself as strictly a poet, strictly a short-story writer, or strictly anything else, dabble in different genres. An idea that doesn't seem to gell in a work of fiction might work in a poem. A story full of dialogue could be turned into a play. An overly complicated, "plotty" short story might want to become a novel.

(Note: if you're an erotic writer who wants to be known as a strict Dominant, you might have found a useful sideline.)

 5) Don't try out your work-in-progress on relatives or close friends first. They are too involved in your life, and they will probably think the work is about them. Get feedback from people who know you as a writer.

Jean Roberta is the author of 'Something Natural' from Seriously Sexy, Vol 1. More of Jean Roberta's work can be found at http://www.jeanroberta.com/home.htm. 

Five Tips from Cheyenne Blue

 Cheyenne Blue’s Top Five Writing Tips

(or at least the ones that work for her)

1) Find a physical space that becomes your writing space. It can be your messy desk in the corner staring at a blank wall, your favorite café that does great coffee, or a nook in the garden overlooking the roses. But it should be a place that when you’re there, you’re there to write.

2) Turn off the internet when you write. Yes, even your email. Otherwise, the need to know the plotline of that Dr Who episode from 1972 can become more important than words on the page.

3) Blocked? Oh yeah, baby, it happens. Don’t use writer’s block as an excuse.

Write through it. Refer to your notes and plod on, getting those words down. You can edit later. Often, simply getting the words down frees up your writing and you’re back on track. Dr Wicked’s Write or Die (www.writeordie.com) is my productivity tool of choice for this.

4) Don’t be precious about your writing. Accept that it’s not perfect, take feedback, particularly from editors. If you have a first reader or critique group that you trust, listen to them and take their suggestions on board. Don’t be the sort of writer who scares away honest critique by your reaction.

5) Edit. Edit. Editediteditedit. It’s important to leave enough time for this, especially if you have a looming deadline. Ideally, set your story aside for at least a week before your final edit. Otherwise, your brain sees what it expects to see, rather than what is actually there, and all sorts of errors can slip through. I find reading aloud helps too.

Over the past ten years Cheyenne Blue’s erotica has appeared in over 70 anthologies including Best Women's Erotica, Mammoth Best New Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Lesbian Romance, Girl Crazy, Cowboy Lust and Girls Who Score. Visit her website at http://www.cheyenneblue.com.

Five tips from Anneke Jacob

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Five Tips from Justine Elyot

 Five tips on writing erotic fiction from Justine Elyot: 

1) Start by writing about what turns you on. Don't worry about catering for every taste – you can't.

2) Don't be coy. Don’t fret about what people will think of you, or your writing will feel watered down and lacking in force.

3) A lot of the eroticism of a story will come from the characters, the predicaments, the settings or other details. Don't invest everything in the acts themselves.

4) Hmm, a lot of 'don'ts' here. Don't take any notice of a list full of don'ts.

5) Do enjoy it, or it won't work.
Almost everything wrong with an early draft can be fixed with thorough revisions.

Justine Elyot is the author of many pieces of fiction including The Game and the short story 'The London O' in Orgasmic. More of Justine's work can be found by visiting: http://justineelyot.com/

Five Tips from Janine Ashbless

 Five tips (in no particular order) on how to write erotica from Janine Ashbless:

1) Stop watching TV. Or cooking. Or spending hours on Facebook. Or something ... Your choice. You're going to need to give up something you enjoy to have extra time writing.

2) “Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it – whole-heartedly – and delete it before sending your manuscripts to press. Murder your darlings.” - Arthur Quiller-Couch

3) You MUST learn to write in a manner that is comprehensible, fluid and grammatically correct. The rules of grammar and punctuation exist for a reason: learn to use them before you break them.

4) While your first book is out looking for a publisher, write the next one, and the next. Bottom drawer books will find a home eventually, but you need stock in hand.

5) Don't try and catch up with bandwagons - it's already too late. Write the book that only you can write.

Janine Ashbless is the author of many pieces of fiction including Named and Shamed. More of Janine's work can be found by visiting: www.janineashbless.blogspot.com.

Five Tips from Julia Morizawa

 Five tips (in no particular order) on how to write erotica from Julia Morizawa:

1) Write from your heart. Even fiction should spark from a real place inside of you.

2) Follow your instincts. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.

3) Be truthful to yourself. A lot of people might tell you things like, "This is the way a book should be written," or "Here's an example of a great book." Who cares? Don't feel obligated to write in a way that you think society or the literary community will appreciate. Just write with your own, personal, unique voice.

4) Don't worry about being pretty. Don't allow technical details like grammar, "correct" story structure, your publisher/editor, etc., get in your way. Your priority is to tell a story. You can go back and clean it up later.

5) Share it with other people. If you announce to at least one other person that is in your life regularly that you are writing a book, it will force you to remain diligent. After all, you'll want something to report when your best friend/husband/mother nags you with, "Whatever happened to that book you said you were writing?" Along the same lines, when you're ready, get lots of feedback from people you trust who aren't afraid to be honest. The purpose of feedback is not to give you a pat on the shoulder or an ego boost. It is to dissect your work and get various outside opinions so you can adapt and improve it.

Julia Morizawa is the author of many pieces of fiction including Memoirs of a Wannabe Sex Addict. More of Julia's work can be found by visiting: www.juliamorizawa.com.

What do editors look for? Mitzi Szereto

Mitzi Szereto (http://mitziszereto.com) is an author and anthology editor of multi-genre fiction and non-fiction, has her own blog Errant Ramblings: Mitzi Szereto’s Weblog (http://mitziszereto.com/blog), and is creator/presenter of the Web TV channel Mitzi TV (http://mitziszereto.com/tv), which covers “quirky” London. 

Below are the things that Mitzi looks for in short stories that are submitted to her anthologies:

I look for an original voice, freshness in the material, and prose that has style. For me there's nothing worse than stale-sounding material that sounds as if it was churned out to fit some formula or derivative of everything else that's out there. My biggest pet peeves are porn-speak and writers who submit material that bears not the slightest resemblance to what I've asked for.

1) Develop your own voice and style rather than parroting those of others.

2) When it comes to writing sex, avoid the use of trite euphemisms and hackneyed sexual descriptions (especially if you want to get into one of my anthologies!).

3) The sex should not be the story, but be part of the story. Remember that you are writing A STORY, not a script for a porn video. (Do they even have scripts????)

4) Avoid the formulaic. You might sell some work, but it won't necessarily earn you any respect as a writer.

5) Be creative in your writing, not regurgitative. Just because you've seen something written a certain way by other writers doesn't mean you should emulate it. Very often it's just the opposite.


Mitzi Szereto (http://mitziszereto.com) is an author and anthology editor of multi-genre fiction and non-fiction, has her own blog Errant Ramblings: Mitzi Szereto’s Weblog (http://mitziszereto.com/blog), and is creator/presenter of the Web TV channel Mitzi TV (http://mitziszereto.com/tv), which covers “quirky” London. Her books include Thrones of Desire: Erotic Tales of Swords, Mist and Fire; Normal for Norfolk (The Thelonious T. Bear Chronicles); Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts; Red Velvet and Absinthe: Paranormal Erotic Romance; In Sleeping Beauty’s Bed: Erotic Fairy Tales; Getting Even: Revenge Stories; Dying for It: Tales of Sex and Death; and Wicked: Sexy Tales of Legendary Lovers. She has pioneered erotic writing workshops in the UK and mainland Europe, teaching them from the Cheltenham Festival of Literature to the Greek islands. Her anthology Erotic Travel Tales 2 is the first anthology of erotica to feature a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Five Tips from Alison Tyler

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Five Tips from Kathleen Bradean

Five tips on how to write erotica from Kathleen Bradean:

1) Write a story you believe in.

2) Patience is your best ally, even if it is annoying.

3) "I meant for it to be ambiguous" is code for "I don't understand why people tell stories."

4) Like any long term relationship, you're going to fall out of love with your novel from time to time. Find new reasons to love it rather than abandoning it.

5) There is no such thing as a muse. There's only you. Feel free to don a toga and strum a lyre if it helps.

Kathleen Bradean is the author of many pieces of fiction including 'Chill' in Violet Blue's anthology Best of Best Women's Erotica 2. More of Kathleen's work can be found by visiting: kathleenbradean@blogspot.com or ohgetagrip@blogspot.com.

Five Tips from K D Grace

Five tips on how to write erotica from K D Grace:

1) Write like the wind! Don’t stop, don’t slow down! Don’t even breathe until you get to the end! One of the worst mistakes fledgling writers make is to rewrite the first three chapters into infinity and never get beyond that. Turn off the internal editor when you write that first draft. Don’t worry that people might think that it’s about you. Everything we write is about us, even when we think it isn’t. Write shamelessly and unabashedly, and that’s true whether you’re writing sex or anything else. Remember, it doesn’t have to be good, it doesn’t even have to be average. It just has to be WRITTEN! THEN and only then do you have something you can polish and shape and perfect.

2) Don’t give up! I can’t stress enough that rejection is a part of the package for every writer. It’s included in the deal. It will happen, and there’s a 99.9% chance it will happen a lot. Consider it an opportunity to perfect your craft. Consider it an endurance race. Consider it whatever works for you, whatever will keep you writing until you get there. If you do that, you WILL get there.

3) Write every day, at least a little. Every word you write not only helps you perfect your craft but also primes the pump. The more you write the more you’ll be able to write. And remember, it doesn’t have to be good. It just has to be written.

4) Always remember the same rules apply for good erotica that apply for any other story. Sex should never be gratuitous. It should always serve a purpose. Sex should move the story forward. Sex should give us insight into the characters we didn’t have before. Sex is a fabulous tool to create the chaos or the bliss needed to shape the plot.

5) Have fun with it. You won’t want to press on if you don’t enjoy writing. It’s too hard, it’s too much work. But if you allow yourself to play with it, toy with it, experiment with it, get lost in it, I promise you’ll find that you really can’t get enough!

K D Grace is the author of many pieces of fiction including Body Temperature and Rising. More of K D Grace's work can be found by visiting: http://kdgrace.co.uk or her romantic erotica website: http://gracemarshallromance.co.uk/

How to Write a Good Erotic Mash-Up

by I.J. Miller

Taking a classic novel and combining the story with a completely different genre to form a single narrative has become popular these days.  Mashups have been common in music for quite some time, with artists sampling older classics in their new rap song or pop hit.  In literature, Seth Graeme Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies made the first big splash in 2009.  With the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey, publishers soon got the idea that erotic mashups might have an appeal.  This past August I was commissioned by Grand Central Publishing to tackle Emily Bronte’s classic Wuthering Heights.  Once a book is in public domain, you can use original sentences, but if you are just going to use a lot of verbatim text and periodically throw in a few sex scenes here and there, what is the point? 

Having a strong background in screenwriting probably most tailored my approach.  I looked at the project less as an addition of sex to an old story, but more as an adaptation of the original work with an erotic interpretation.  Interpreting the story, rather than rehashing it makes it much easier for the erotic parts to become organic and not stick out like a sore thumb, or for erotic readers used to heightened sensuality, a small penis.

These classic works are usually longer than the final book a current publisher would want in the erotic romance genre.  In addition, you’re adding material.  To make it work, you have to break the story down to its core and have a plan.

Identify the true theme and through line of the book.  What it is about?  What is it saying?

The better you can emulate the voice and language of the original the more your new scenes will flow.

In order to reduce the book to a manageable length, look to consolidate scenes as much as possible, as one would do for a screen adaptation.  Write the single best scene, or scenes that carries the broader drama in the liveliest way.

Very often these classic books have a lot of subplots and many minor characters.  Only use what is important to the through line of your erotic story.  The entire book will usually need to be streamlined and restructured to get the most out of the romance, love, and lust that is there.

Be creative in your approach to erotic scenes.  The more they carry the story line, the more they reveal character, the more interesting they will be.

For Wuthering Nights, my erotic mashup, I got rid of the narrator, Lockwood, who hears most of the story in flashback from Nelly the housekeeper.  I went with an omniscient narrator to get into the heads of both Heathcliff and his love, Catherine.  After all, Nelly couldn’t be present in every sex scene!  I went with a straight, linear narrative, starting at the beginning, finishing at the end.

This was a wonderful book to retell, because the characters are so complex.  No one is above reproach.  There is intense love and romance, but also bitter revenge and dark hate.  It allowed for complex and varied erotic scenes, from deeply loving, to vengeful, to manipulative, to rough dungeon sex with Heathcliff as the ultimate dominator.  The passion always fit what was happening in the story.

I adapted the book to three parts (the original had two long, sprawling sections), emulating a film’s three act structure.  I developed the set up of the story and took it to its breaking point.  Then, as in the original, I brought Heathcliff back with a longer middle section that continued to escalate his conflict of trying to win Catherine back while getting knocked off course with his intense thirst for revenge.  The last section, as in the original, uses the second generation of the two families to resolve the story.  I limited the focus Bronte had on Catherine’s daughter’s relationship with Heathcliff’s son (Linton), which was ultimately unfulfilling and not passionate in the original, and added a greater focus on the love story between Catherine’s daughter and Catherine’s brother’s son (Hareton) to bring about a more interesting and fulfilling end for a romantic love story, which is different from the more tragic, dark last parts of the original.

One of the things that usually make great books classic is the wonderful language and writing.  There is no reason to lose the great description or dialogue if you don’t have to.  Find passages that will add meaning to the new eroticism you are adding.  The combination might be very close to what might have been if the original had been written this way, with a beautiful and interesting result.  For example, Heathcliff ends up marrying Catherine’s sister-in-law, Isabella, in order to make Catherine jealous and as an act of revenge.  It is clear in the original that it is an abusive relationship and that Heathcliff has changed Isabella from a noble lady to a “thorough little slattern,” as Nelly observes in the original.  I eroticized this dynamic by making Heathcliff a dominant, with bdsm inclinations, who breaks Isabella down completely in his dungeon.  As in the original, she is both addicted to and repelled by him.  I used Heathcliff’s exact dialogue from the original that did not necessarily refer to his sexual relationship with Isabella, but fit perfectly right before a dungeon scene:

“She would rather I seemed all tenderness before you; it wounds her vanity to have the truth of her taming exposed.  No brutality disgusts her.  I suppose she has an innate admiration of it.  I’ve sometimes relented, from pure lack of invention, in my experiments on what she could endure, and she still creeps shamefully back.”

There is no magic formula, but a thoughtful approach will allow one to use eroticism, to use what was not a viable alternative back in the day, to heighten all of the powerful emotions in a classic, while producing a story that pays homage to the great writing of yesteryear and is still powerful and interesting enough to stand on its own.

***

EXCERPT FROM WUTHERING NIGHTS 

The more she rubbed, the more she rotated her finger at the bump of her pleasure, the more clearly she saw, and felt the presence of Heathcliff. She liked that he was so available to her, that she was not locked in her room, that they were not stealing time in the fields, that this was not a clandestine visit to the garret. No one else was around and they were free to be who they wanted to be, and do what they wanted to do. She rubbed more vigorously and Heathcliff looked up from his whittling and smiled with happiness: happy to be alone with her, happy to see her begin her pleasure so freely. There was so much contentment right now within them both. They were with each other in a way that had never been possible before. Heathcliff undid the buttons of his trousers and removed his erect cock. This stirred her mightily, for she enjoyed everything about his cock: the salty taste, the musky scent, the beautiful curved vision of it. She rose to her hands and knees and crawled on all fours to Heathcliff…up close, her face soon between his legs. She took a moment to sniff his member, then she took turns alternating the brushing of each cheek along the sides of his shaft, like a cat purring for affection. She kissed his ball sack, then up along the bulging veins, around the swollen head, tenderly, before she took this glorious specimen into her mouth. Completely without thought, she sucked, fingers still gyrating against her clitoris, applying deep pressure, as Heathcliff’s cock penetrated her mouth, and a passion grew within her body that she had only come close to feeling on that beautiful Christmas night. There was a temptation to quicken her pace with both her hand and mouth and give them both the pleasure they sorely needed. But this was not enough. Christmas night had not been enough. She rose to her feet, pulled her dress over her head, swiveled slightly so Heathcliff could enjoy the sight of her body as the golden flames from the fireplace reflected off it. He leaned forward and kissed her stomach. He said, “Catherine, you are the most beautiful woman to walk this earth.”

Wuthering Heights can be purchased from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wuthering-Nights-Erotic-Retelling-Heights/dp/1455573027/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1359147830&sr=8-10 in the UK or http://www.amazon.com/Wuthering-Nights-Retelling-Heights-ebook/dp/B00AG0VMWO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359147971&sr=8-2&keywords=9781455573028 in the US. 

website: ijmiller.com

Twitter: @heathcliffian

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ij.miller.5

Five Tips from Tabitha Rayne

 Tabitha Rayne has been told she is quirky, lovely and kinky – not necessarily in that order or by the same person. She writes erotic romance and as long as there’s a love scene – she’ll explore any genre.

1- Be sure your chosen genre is the very best to tell your story - I think of genres as different artistic mediums - erotica for me, is oil painting in dramatic shades of red. Erotic and sensual connection between people is so much more than the physical and that's what drives me in this style.

2- If, like me, you are a visual writer - try and get right inside the character's skin, viewing and experiencing the world from their perspective as if it were your own.

3- For me, writing erotica has the same rules as any other writing - if you want to elicit a response from your reader, it has to do the same for you. The beauty of using the erotic in your writing palette is that sensuality brings with it every emotion a human is capable of - it is a gift for character study and interaction. So if my couple are making love but about to break up, I have to be aroused and crying by the end of the scene. If they are making up - I want to start out angry along with them and be feeling that golden moment when it flips into passion - oh yes!

4 - Some advice for the physical act of writing: switch off spell check and word count. The more red lines there are when you switch it back on again - the more you were in the zone with your story and letting it pour out on to the screen/page.

5- If you come to at the end of your writing session in a state of dishevelment and exhaustion with barely a coherent word on the page, you can be fairly confident that you have created something authentic and compelling - oh, and hawt!

Tabitha Rayne's stories, long and short, have been published by Xcite, Beachwalk Press, Oysters & Chocolate, Cleis, Ravenous Romance, Mischief, House of Erotica and upcoming with Burning Book Press.

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To find more of Tabitha's work visit: my website is www.TabithaRayne.co.uk

What do editors look for? D L King

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Five Tips from Emerald

Five tips on how to write erotica from Emerald:

1) Schedule writing time

While this sounds obvious, for me it’s tended to have a particular importance. Rather than just trying to “fit it in when I can,” it’s helpful to me to schedule time that’s to be purely devoted to writing. For me, this is internal as much as external--I have to firmly tell my psyche this is what I’m doing for this period of time and that it does not have permission to distract me with other things. Given my psyche’s tendency to do this, it’s both grounding and freeing to have specifically delineated periods when I am not obligated to do anything but write.

2) Invite stream of consciousnessI'm a big proponent of writing things down to allow them out of our consciousness. In my experience, once we do so, our mind doesn't feel such an urgent need to hold on to or keep track of said things anymore. If you're feeling stuck in writing or your creative process, start writing/typing whatever comes into your consciousness. Let it clear out. I see this somewhat like the writing equivalent of warming up before exercising. Even if a literal story idea or such is not generated, the very process may clear out something that was blocking your attention without your even being aware of it.

3) Take care of yourselfThis may not seem to have to do much with writing, but in my experience, it affects it profoundly. If I am not properly fed, energized, and rested, I don't concentrate as well, and if nothing else, this tends to make the editing phase(s) more challenging--and ultimately lead to a piece being less than what it could have been. When I’m on deadline, of course, such self-preservational considerations tend to fly out the window, which is all the more reason I find it helpful to attend to them when I’m not--if I’ve taken care of myself up until go-time, I might have more adrenaline and energy reserves to carry me through those short periods of ignoring eating, sleeping, and most other concerns until a deadline is met.

4) Allow space in the editing processI admit I have often not allowed time for this (see prior tip), but I have repeatedly found that if I allow time--days, weeks, months, or at the very least hours--between when I think I'm done with a final version of something and when I submit or publish it, I'm in a much better position to view the work as a reader would rather than as the writer does. The passage of time allows the attachment I feel to the piece to relax so that I can see things about it I tend not to when I've been working on it for the hours or days immediately prior.

5) Respect non-writing timeI have been known to make the mistake of chastising myself for "not writing" whenever I'm not. But sometimes ideas take a while to come to fruition. Just because you're not sitting at your computer doesn't mean nothing useful to your writing is occurring. A character may just be introducing her/him/themselves to you in your subconscious, or a twist or turn of events may be sprouting in your imagination but need more time to marinate before allowing itself to be seen. Spend the time you're not writing consciously and openly (rather than in frustration or berating yourself for not writing enough), and know that your receptivity is allowing the creativity in you to develop and flourish at its own pace. An apple ripens only when it's ready to.

Emerald is the author of many pieces of fiction including 'Who's on Top?' in Alison Tyler's anthology G is for Games. More of Emerald's work can be found by visiting: http://thegreenlightdistrict.org

Five Tips from Sommer Marsden

Five tips on how to write erotica from Sommer Marsden:

1) Write every day. Okay, nearly every day. If your body, mind and soul are screaming for a break, by all means take one. But make it short!

2) Read your work aloud to check for errors. Especially important in explicit love scenes. Sometimes you will find you've written in an extra hand or...other bit.

3) Put yourself in the mood, even if it's just mentally, before writing a sex scene. You might be sitting there in ugly pyjamas with a cup of coffee but in your mind you need to be all about the sex.

4) Talk to other writers. Even if it's about non-writing things. Just find other writers and talk to them. It will save your sanity and possibly your marriage (providing your spouse is not a writer).

5) Get up and move. Believe it or not that's super important. You are a writer but you can't be ALL about writing. Getting up, moving around, finding hobbies, dicking around, watching movies, talking to your family, meeting a friend for a drink are all crucial things to being a well rounded writer. Be a writer not a body in a chair.

Sommer Marsden is the author of many pieces of fiction including 'The Student' in D L King's anthology, Sweetest Kiss. More of Sommer's work can be found by visiting: http://sommermarsden.blogspot.com

Book Review - Smut by the Sea Vol #3

Smut by the Sea, Vol #3

Edited by Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse

There’s a song that goes, “Oh I do like to be beside the seaside, Oh I do like to be beside the sea…” It’s a tune I’m familiar with because I live in Blackpool and the song is practically the town’s anthem.

I mention this because, in Smut by the Sea, Volume #3, Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse have managed to gather a collection of stories that combine the saucy fun of being by the seaside with the powerful impact of well-written erotic fiction.

With contributions from established and celebrated writers such as Tilly Hunter, Zak Jane Keir and Primula Bond, as well as the editors and too many other contributors to name individually, the content varies from the serious to the frivolous: never losing focus on the importance of the smutty content.

One of the first stories I read here was ‘Artistic License’ from Jillian Boyd. I’m not familiar with Jillian Boyd’s work so it was a true pleasure discovering her fun approach to storytelling as she relates the tale of Leah, alone on holiday following a break up.

Boyd’s writing is accessible and fluid in the way she relates a story. Her characters are credible and the erotic content is powerful and vivid.

The same can be said for all the fiction in this collection. It’s a book that is entertaining from beginning to end and delivers exactly what it promises in the title. If you do like to be beside the seaside, you’ll love reading Smut by the Sea, Vol #3.

5/5 STARS

Review by Ashley Lister

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smut-Sea-3-Nelly-Gee-ebook/dp/B00LP0NX4O/ 

http://www.amazon.com/Smut-Sea-3-Nelly-Gee-ebook/dp/B00LP0NX4O/

What do editors look for? Treva Harte

Treva Harte became co-owner and Editor-in -Chief of Loose Id in 2004. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from University of Arizona (high honors), a M.A. in English Literature from University of Virginia and a J.D. from University of Virginia. She is a member of the Virginia and D.C. bars. From 1988 until 2008 she was a Trademark Examining Attorney for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Treva is also multi-published with several e-publishers in print and e-book, is a member of EPIC, RWA, including the Passionate Ink and Rainbow Romance Writers Chapters, has been a member of PAN, and was winner of the CAPA 2003 award in the "Erotic Fantasy Romance" category.

1) Put your email addy on your manuscript.  Things can be separated, even in cyberspace, and definitely on paper.  It’s incredibly frustrating to read a ms. and then try to figure out how to contact someone.

2)      Read the guidelines if you want to up the odds of it being read by the editor.  Read some other books by the company to up the odds of it being accepted by the publisher. 

3)      Like what you write. Like the genre you write in. Those who do tend not to burn out.  Editors can tell you’re unhappy as you slow down and get cranky about edits.  Slow, cranky authors are no fun.

4)      Be proud of what you write.  If you’ve done the best you can do with it, don’t waste your time apologizing or picking apart mistakes that have been made.  Learn and move on by writing the next book.  Editors love to see authors getting better at their craft. 

5)      Don’t demand validation from your editors—or anyone else.  Editors may or may not give it and if they do, it might not be in the way you want.  Readers may or may not respond to your work.  If you do get nice reviews and fan squee, there will be plenty of people waiting to tear apart any praise.  On the other hand, getting feedback from your editor about strengths and weaknesses in your writing and what you should be working on next is useful for you and your writing career with a publisher.

To find out more about Treva Harte, Eic Loose Id, visit www.loose-id.com or 

http://treva2007.livejournal.com/ (Loose Change, a blog Treva sometimes maintains that includes writing and publishing tips).

Drenched

 Edited by Kojo Black

An anthology of wet and wild erotica from: Janine Ashbless, Justine Elyot, Primula Bond, Lisette Ashton and Vina Green.

Melusine by Janine Ashbless
Every Friday for ten years, Martin’s beautiful wife has left their home to spend the night somewhere else. Now, Martin can bear it no longer, and he is out to uncover the mind-blowing truth…no matter what the cost.

The Pool Party by Primula Bond In the hills of southern France, an empty villa and luxurious pool provide two friends with unforeseen temptations...

Naiad by Justine Elyot Told in the style of a modern myth, Naiad is a wet and wild tale of an urban nymph returning to her element.

Hard to Swallow by Lisette Ashton A radio station's ambitious receptionist is enthralled by the voluptuous bottles of mineral water carried by all the DJs. There’s nothing like cool water for a dry throat, but it takes more than water to quench a burning lust!

A Divine Solution by Vina Green In the midst of the worst drought in decades, a young wife bursts the dam of her desire and, in doing so, discovers that she might just save her whole community...

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drenched-Illustrated-Anthology-Wild-Erotica/dp/1909181722/

http://www.amazon.com/Drenched-Illustrated-Anthology-Wild-Erotica/dp/1909181722/