Character's physical descriptions

[HandsInTheDark]

I tend to write about everyday people who are wider and thicker than teenagers, hey they get plenty f action too. So describing how a woman has thick thighs or a soft roll of belly, is bigger than the man she's with sets the story apart from either or both of them being straight out of a catalog.

It does set it apart, but it sets it into the category of story I don't want to read.

Plain men and women are assumed to want sex but not get it because, well, they're plain. So once you see them getting some in a story, the instinctive reaction is that they were easy to land, and there is nothing special happening. Who wants to read about that? Brilliant writing can overcome that and you can still pull off a good romance without hot bodies. But short of brilliant writing, you're left with "well, no wonder she's willing - probably the first she's had in ten years." And seeing how women react to dreamboat guys, makes me think that logic is just as applicable on the other side.

The best move in erotica is to describe as little as possible. Readers can and will fill that part in. If they don't want to fill in characters from catalogs - in other words if they want to insert themselves in - they will.

 

[sr71plt]

The best move in erotica is to describe as little as possible.

I think the best move in erotica is to make the reader orgasm.

 

[My I]

I think the best move in erotica is to make the reader orgasm.

I think not making them throw up is a good start. Let me know when you get to that stage.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think the best move in erotica is to make the reader orgasm.

I totally agree with this. There's no one formula to follow. There are many paths to Rome, so to speak. But if you do this, you've done your erotica duty.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Plain men and women are assumed to want sex but not get it because, well, they're plain. So once you see them getting some in a story, the instinctive reaction is that they were easy to land, and there is nothing special happening. Who wants to read about that? Brilliant writing can overcome that and you can still pull off a good romance without hot bodies. But short of brilliant writing, you're left with "well, no wonder she's willing - probably the first she's had in ten years." And seeing how women react to dreamboat guys, makes me think that logic is just as applicable on the other side.

Counterpoint: plenty of men, women, and nonbinary folk consider themselves "plain" and are very much interested in erotica which acknowledges that folk like themselves might still be sexual beings.

It's no accident that "I never thought this would happen to me, but..." is a porn cliché.

 

[SamScribble]

The women that I have ‘known’ (over rather a lot of years) have come in all shapes and sizes. But their ‘shapes’ and their ‘sizes’ have not defined my relationship with them. Don’t get me wrong, most of them have had a certain physical appeal. But the real magic has been in their minds. And, in the case of four or five of them, it still is. For me, when writing ‘erotica’, that’s the challenge: to write about what the characters’ minds look like. And, for that, I need language, not bra sizes.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

The women that I have ‘known’ (over rather a lot of years) have come in all shapes and sizes. But their ‘shapes’ and their ‘sizes’ have not defined my relationship with them...

Sure; but now you're (presumably) talking about love. Erotica *can* be about loving relationships, and I'd even go so far as to say for a lot of women readers, it's best when it is. But erotica can also be about raw physical appeal, poor choices, and satiation.

I'm certain a story about a plain jane who finds love and frequent, intense sexual release would provide delight and validation of the dreams for a lot of readers. (I don't think it's a coincidence that the actress for 50 Shades was vaguely attractive but certainly no stunner, though it's Hollywood and they certainly didn't go as far as letting her be substantially overweight.)

I'm all in favor of interesting characters - you need something for the reader to do during refractory periods, after all. But on an erotica site, where few people are looking for great literature, beauty is and remains the number one hook. Let's not be so politically correct that we don't admit that

Bunny was a college sophomore, an avid rock climber who complained her 36C boobs sometimes got in the way on the rock faces, and in the summer, a bikini model for Blondes Forever.

is an opening that can work for a lot of readers here, even if I'd never use it myself.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'm all in favor of interesting characters - you need something for the reader to do during refractory periods, after all. But on an erotica site, where few people are looking for great literature, beauty is and remains the number one hook.

It's possible, but I'm not convinced. If somebody is primarily after visuals of busty women, why would they come here instead of any of the thousands of sites that will serve up photos and videos, often for free? I find it more plausible that the people who come here are looking for the things that text does best.

But without any actual data, we're both just guessing here.

 

[uksnowy]

I try to write detail about the character's appearance and figure and being a lover of the mature+ female they get precedence, but in some cases a mature man is more the sexual object for younger women, so I like to vary it. I believe it's important and helps the reader to get the character in mind - beside I like researching stuff like clothing, underwear and also bra size authenticity.

 

[RetroFan]

When I write I see the scenes in my head like a movie, therefore I describe the characters accordingly.

For example, in one of my recent stories 'Leanne the Lusty Lifeguard' the titular character is a beautiful, blonde-haired six foot four blonde triathlete, so I emphasize how tall and fit she is.

I don't tend to compare characters to real life people, but made an exception in one case, where I describe one male character as looking like Nazi Heinrich Himmler.

 

[DrDelirium]

The best move in erotica is to describe as little as possible. Readers can and will fill that part in. If they don't want to fill in characters from catalogs - in other words if they want to insert themselves in - they will.

Well, yes and no. I kind of like to have an idea what I'm inserting myself in, unless it's just before closing and I'm completely hammered. I think perhaps it's a question of who the target audience is- describing the target of the target audience in lascivious detail is good, describing the character holding a place for them in the narrative in the same detail perhaps not so much. Although I notice that pudgy adolescent boys are able to identify with Batman without any problem, so perhaps the yearning for characters that are just like the ordinary shlubs reading about them is a fairly small niche. It's not for nothing that porn is very finely divided into sub-genres. On the one hand there's Rule 34, and on the other, nobody likes everything. Maybe that's just one hand.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

I think perhaps it's a question of who the target audience is- describing the target of the target audience in lascivious detail is good, describing the character holding a place for them in the narrative in the same detail perhaps not so much.

My usual approach is to scatter details, and lightly. Describing a roommate, three paragraphs in:

The problem – well, the original problem - is she’s gorgeous. Head to toe slathered in hotness. I’m pretty, she’s ravishing. All the damn time, and it’s not because she goes out of her way; she just wakes up looking radiant, spends about two minutes on makeup and less on her hair, and sails into her day, basking in the glances of the guys. Guys look at me and smile. Guys look at her and stop dead, staring.

Four (word) pages in I mention thick hair and a gypsy background. Another few pages and a passing comparison to a younger, bustier Catherine Zeta Jones.

And that's it, in six chapters.

 

[DrDelirium]

My usual approach is to scatter details, and lightly. Describing a roommate, three paragraphs in:



Four (word) pages in I mention thick hair and a gypsy background. Another few pages and a passing comparison to a younger, bustier Catherine Zeta Jones.

And that's it, in six chapters.

I take it that the gorgeous, thick-haired Gypsy is the lust object of the story, and 'you' are the place holder that doesn't really get described at all- just categorized as 'pretty'?

 

[uksnowy]

I go a bit further and in my current story I have researched a particular shoe design and the designer as it's one of the main well known in Brit characters fetishes.

 

[DrDelirium]

I go a bit further and in my current story I have researched a particular shoe design and the designer as it's one of the main well known in Brit characters fetishes.

This makes sense. Fetishes/fixations are all about detail. How could you write a foot fetish story without describing feet or shoes?
I note also that in current commercial genre fiction, there's a huge emphasis on 'knowing your shit'. Murder mysteries have largely becoming how-to books about cooking, needle-point, and scrap-booking, or whatever else the author knows a lot about (or is willing to Google). I wonder how well an erotic story filled with meticulous detail about crochet would go over?

 

[jburton042]

I wonder how well an erotic story filled with meticulous detail about crochet would go over?

"She felt a knot in her stomach. At first it seemed like guilt, after a few moments she gave in and allowed it to make her feel deliously naughty. The feeling appeared when she realized she had her legs wrapped around this young man as if she were doing the same Buillion stitch she used to make a scarf for her granddaughter."

 

[DrDelirium]

"She felt a knot in her stomach. At first it seemed like guilt, after a few moments she gave in and allowed it to make her feel deliously naughty. The feeling appeared when she realized she had her legs wrapped around this young man as if she were doing the same Buillion stitch she used to make a scarf for her granddaughter."

Perfect!

 

[Bramblethorn]

"She felt a knot in her stomach. At first it seemed like guilt, after a few moments she gave in and allowed it to make her feel deliously naughty. The feeling appeared when she realized she had her legs wrapped around this young man as if she were doing the same Buillion stitch she used to make a scarf for her granddaughter."

Would read.

 

[sr71plt]

"She felt a knot in her stomach. At first it seemed like guilt, after a few moments she gave in and allowed it to make her feel deliously naughty. The feeling appeared when she realized she had her legs wrapped around this young man as if she were doing the same Buillion stitch she used to make a scarf for her granddaughter."

I trust that the knot in the stomach was a slip knot.

 

[lovecraft68]

Here's something that takes the OP in a slightly different direction.

In a sequel how much description do you give the returning characters? As much as you did in the first one in case people started with #2 for some reason, or you assume they read the first one and remember?

This is something I'm battling because a recurring character has a fairly unique and disturbing appearance and I wonder how I should handle it?

What I did for the moment was describe her from a new character's POV who is seeing her for the first time to justify the detail

 

[sr71plt]

In a sequel how much description do you give the returning characters? As much as you did in the first one in case people started with #2 for some reason, or you assume they read the first one and remember?

I give them what's need for that particular work. That does mean that some basic description is repeated each time, hopefully in a slightly different way.

 

[lovecraft68]

I give them what's need for that particular work. That does mean that some basic description is repeated each time, hopefully in a slightly different way.

That's most likely the key to doing it right, variety.