How to depict a female character giving in to "temptation"?

erotica_n_s

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There’s more than one question here:
  • How do I depict a female character in a state of helpless sexual arousal?
    • What kinds of cues might cause a woman to become sexually aroused?
      [*]What physiological changes occur in a woman who is sexually aroused?
      • Vaginal moistening, labial swelling, clitoral engorgement, nipple erection? Anything else?
      [*]What does it feel like for a woman in a state of arousal? Do you become aware of clitoral engorgement the way males are aware of an erection?


    [*]What thought processes would a woman go through before, or while, giving in to “temptation”? How might a woman over-ride feelings of inhibition, guilt, etc.? Would she need to make excuses to herself?

Some of my stories are about female protagonists who face temptation, e.g., the sweet-natured and guileless virgin who meets a handsome stranger, or the married woman who is tempted to cheat on her husband.

In such stories, I try to include a scene where the male protagonist deliberately sends out little signals to get the woman aroused, and the woman slowly starting to feel aroused, and the tension building for a while before they actually start having sex – writing this “prelude” is often harder than writing the sex scenes themselves.

I guess I'd have to explain why the female character is hesitating in the first place, before then depicting how she overcomes/over-rides/ignores her hesitation/inhibition/reservations.

Right now, I’m working on a story about a woman who has an affair with her husband’s friend (well, they have sex 7 or 8 times over the course of three days – I don’t know if you’d call that an “affair”).

So, on day 1, she’s hosting this guy (as in, he’s visiting their place, and she’s being a polite platonic host) while her husband is away. He was a groomsman at their wedding. She’s been married to her husband for four years. She’s on polite and respectful terms with her husband’s friend.

She notices he’s a good-looking man. She thinks “he’s cute”, then “his physique isn’t too bad”, and then gradually becomes aware that she’s actually becoming sexually aroused. She then continues in a state of silent sexual arousal for the next few hours. He’s going to be staying for three days.

But I’m not entirely sure how to depict this woman giving in to temptation - i.e., I'm not sure how to make it reasonably believable. I considered starting with a scene where the guy takes the lead – places his hand on her bare waist, she reacts with shock, then he kisses her forcibly, she resists, but only half-heartedly and very weakly, and as she hesitates/vacillates, he partially undresses her and performs cunnilingus on her, bringing her to orgasm. Then she walks away, too embarrassed to talk to him, and a few hours later, she serves him the evening meal, and starts talking to him again, as if pretending nothing happened between them. Then a few hours later, the next sex scene. And so on.

I don’t know.

I’d be grateful for your thoughts.


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Read read read and read if you're not female. Women's romances are a great insight into the female psych. And into what is stimulating.
 
[COWhat does it feel like for a woman in a state of arousal?[/b] Do you become aware of clitoral engorgement the way males are aware of an erection?

What thought processes would a woman go through before, or while, giving in to “temptation”? How might a woman over-ride feelings of inhibition, guilt, etc.? Would she need to make excuses to herself?
I often describe a flush on a woman's neck and across the top of her chest - that's an arousal reaction many women get that can't easily be controlled. Erect nipples is another hint, although it might just be cold, or a bra a little too loose for comfort.

Emotions and motivation? I agree with Chloe, if you can't imagine yourself into how a woman thinks (I know, that's THE most stupid statement imaginable) go trawl through the Romance category for some tips and hints.
 
In addition to the suggestion of reading...

The answer is: Slowly.

No, slower than that.

No, not tonight. She has to think about it. Consult with girlfriends. Check her calendar. Think about possible remorse. And she can't have sex until she does her hair. For pity's sake why do men always try to RUSH things?

I won't say there's no such thing as a woman in a state of helpless arousal, of course there are, but I will say there are a whole lot more of them in bad fiction than in reality.

As for signs of arousal, once it's fully engaged you can read on wikipedia about things like flushed skin and hard nipples and wet this and restless that. But in the beginning, the face goes expressionless, because few women will willingly signal willingness more clearly than the male does. Women in fact have been known to consider their own visibly aroused bodies as "betraying" them; which I suspect few males have ever even once thought about their erection.

It all makes sense; women have a thousand reasons not to have sex, when you consider pregnancy, reputation, pride, etc. Men have to focus pretty hard - over the shouting of their endocrine systems - to come up with reasons not to have sex. Which is why so many male authors have female characters begging for it, when actual females rarely do. Of course they want sex, males think. Who doesn't want sex? Right now and all the time? The answer is women, who have good reason to be a lot more considered and careful about it.
 
Honestly, if a guy can’t treat a woman with respect, think of her beyond just a sexual object, make her feel special - like she is the only one or be empathetic to her needs and emotions, then it’s doubtful she will ever give into temptation and doubtful sex will ever happen unless she’s a hooker and the guy is willing to pay for it. Just my thoughts, probably untrue.
🌹Kant👠👠👠
 
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In addition to the suggestion of reading...

The answer is: Slowly.

No, slower than that.

No, not tonight. She has to think about it. Consult with girlfriends. Check her calendar. Think about possible remorse. And she can't have sex until she does her hair. For pity's sake why do men always try to RUSH things?

I won't say there's no such thing as a woman in a state of helpless arousal, of course there are, but I will say there are a whole lot more of them in bad fiction than in reality.

As for signs of arousal, once it's fully engaged you can read on wikipedia about things like flushed skin and hard nipples and wet this and restless that. But in the beginning, the face goes expressionless, because few women will willingly signal willingness more clearly than the male does. Women in fact have been known to consider their own visibly aroused bodies as "betraying" them; which I suspect few males have ever even once thought about their erection.

It all makes sense; women have a thousand reasons not to have sex, when you consider pregnancy, reputation, pride, etc. Men have to focus pretty hard - over the shouting of their endocrine systems - to come up with reasons not to have sex. Which is why so many male authors have female characters begging for it, when actual females rarely do. Of course they want sex, males think. Who doesn't want sex? Right now and all the time? The answer is women, who have good reason to be a lot more considered and careful about it.


A wonderful description.
 
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I’d be grateful for your thoughts.

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I think it’s a great question and playing with that decision-making process is a fertile writing playground.

Recently I had a character make a snap-judgement: https://www.literotica.com/s/fantasy-football-6

But I also have seen a character make her decision - at least in part - because she has concerns about how much her husband values her: https://www.literotica.com/s/duck-hunt
...and in a companion story we got a little more insight into her rationales:
https://www.literotica.com/s/dave-4

I really enjoy thinking about the different motivations that lead to sex. Women are the most interesting to me because their motivations are often more complex - and it’s that complexity that adds to their mystery :)
 
Characterization is best done one character at a time. Not, “how do women succumb to temptation,” but “how does this woman succumb to temptation?” Even women are individuals, you know. :)

Of course, there are tropes. Especially in porn! As madam Tzang says, the second best place to get those is to read the source material. The best place is to go to the source and talk to people. I’m a helpless introvert yet even I’ve managed to talk to people about what drives them romantically and sexually. Maybe they’ll even tell you something approximating reality, although it’s doubtful, but don’t worry about reality. They’ll tell you what plays. Believabile characterization is a confidence game, because in the end all your characters are just facets of you.
 
Characterization is best done one character at a time. Not, “how do women succumb to temptation,” but “how does this woman succumb to temptation?” Even women are individuals, you know. :)

Of course, there are tropes. Especially in porn! As madam Tzang says, the second best place to get those is to read the source material. The best place is to go to the source and talk to people. I’m a helpless introvert yet even I’ve managed to talk to people about what drives them romantically and sexually. Maybe they’ll even tell you something approximating reality, although it’s doubtful, but don’t worry about reality. They’ll tell you what plays. Believabile characterization is a confidence game, because in the end all your characters are just facets of you.

This is sorta what I was thinking, I'd have to know a lot more about the character to know how she would respond.
 
Personally... Just for myself, you understand... I'm not at all convinced there is such a thing as 'a woman's (totally generic) point of view' on having sex. They are NOT all the same and one size (point of view) does NOT fit all regardless of whether it is true that women have more 'consequences' to worry about than do men.

Moreover, seriously - and this goes for writers probably more so than anyone else - does anyone really want to read generic and therefore 'believable/acceptable/credible' (according to which 'authority??') stories that end up being all the same with only slight variations in words and phrases and sentences?

'Give me' (you know what I mean) your own personal individual concepts. Be interesting and entertaining, rather than 'believable.'

I can get believable any day from CNN. (That was a joke).
 
“Helpless” is a very tropey theme for this. Can I suggest that you try a different angle that gives her more consciousness and willing participation?

The pleasures have to outweigh the consequences, and so she chooses to follow the pleasures. You will have a much more believable and also unique scene if you do. Women crumpling into illogical puddles of goo only really happens in 50s movies where the male star is smashing his lips into hers or in the mind control genre.
 
I agree with the idea of SLOW. As a matter of fact, you provide an idea as to just how slow you can make this. He was a groomsman at her wedding. They were drunk at the reception. Their inhibitions were down. They flirted a bit. He caught the garter. They danced. He stole a case. He planted a fantasy in her head that has been simmering for 4 years. Over the four years he has popped into her head when she has been having sex with her husband. She has thought about him when she has been playing with her vibrator. It wasn't a problem to fantasize about him because she would NEVER see him again would she?

Then suddenly she does see him and he is staying as a guest at their home. Surely he won't come onto her because he is her husband's friend. And she knows that HE would know that she would never cheat on her husband, especially with someone who was so close to him. And they both know that what happened at the wedding reception was just something silly and would never happen when they were sober. Of course being drunk only lowers your inhibitions and if you do something when you are drunk, you must have really wanted to do it when you were sober too.

I think the best part of writing about sex is focusing on what the person is thinking, as if they are having a conversation with themselves. I wouldn't try to make this something that just explodes because the guy shows up. Make it something that has been building for years and him showing up lights the match the causes the explosion.
 
Summers Eve

One of the best stories I've read on Literotica was Summers Eve by Gandolfson. The married mother's husband suffers from sevete complacency which renders her vulnerable to seduction during a chance encounter with the archetypical stud.

Another favorite was Away Day by Charlie Banana when a wife finally consumates an old romance.

Niether women are sluts or stupid, just overwhelmed with a not unreasonable desire.
 
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