How did you learn to write erotica?

Gregr3188

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I love the some of the stories on Literotica. Some of the authors on here are really amazing with their writing style. I have always been envious of that ability. I've been thinking about writing my own story (involving my wife with other men) but I dont know where to start. I have a general plot but dont know how to work in the detail and dialogue that I think makes a great story. I would love any help or guidance from any of you skilled writers out there.
 
I love the some of the stories on Literotica. Some of the authors on here are really amazing with their writing style. I have always been envious of that ability. I've been thinking about writing my own story (involving my wife with other men) but I dont know where to start. I have a general plot but dont know how to work in the detail and dialogue that I think makes a great story. I would love any help or guidance from any of you skilled writers out there.

Honestly, the only way to write is to write. It's scary to put it out there, but that's the only way it will happen.

Much of the advice out there is useless, IMO. The one piece of wisdom that I have found useful, is "Show, don't tell". Tell the story as much as possible through dialog. Write out a conversation between you and your wife, her and her lovers, you and the other men...
 
You learn writing by writing. Put together a short story -- maybe 2000 words, maybe less. Get some feedback, and repeat until you've learned how to create a story you want.
 
I was writing for years before doing any erotica, and I guess that's true of many authors here. A lot of the general writing advice for short fiction that you'll find on the web is applicable to Literotica stories too, but it's certainly true that writing erotica has additional challenges (i.e., how to write sex and eroticism without being overly stiff or excessively corny), and writing for Literotica has additional challenges (categories, reader expectations, etc.).

Ultimately, though, just sit down and write something. If you feel you're struggling to get into a rhythm, ask if there is a different way to write the same story, e.g., change to first person, switch genders, introduce a new character to bounce dialogue off, etc., etc., etc.

And then publish - and endure the agony of negative commentary or, worse, being completely ignored. You can always come to the forum and ask people to give feedback. (As long you get the basics of grammar right, there's usually someone willing to give constructive feedback.)

Getting dialogue so that it feels natural takes practice. Going one step further and differentiating character voices and motivations in dialogue is a rare skill indeed.
 
Start with something short, not ambitious. You need to discover your voice, nail down the technical stuff. Start at the beginning with small steps, tell a simple story, use your imagination. Put off reality for a while and write about something else. Write short pieces that stand by themselves before you attempt something bigger.

You need to do an apprenticeship first, to learn to write. You won't yet be a writer, even after ten short stories, but at least by that point you should at least be able to write, and that's the start.

You need to find out if you're a pantser or a plotser, and the only way to do that is to get your first thoughts down on a page. If you're a pantser, you'll keep going until you know when to stop; if you're a plotser I can't help you, but must folk here on the AH can.

Write the first sentence.
 
How did you learn how to write erotica

I love the some of the stories on Literotica. Some of the authors on here are really amazing with their writing style. I have always been envious of that ability. I've been thinking about writing my own story (involving my wife with other men) but I dont know where to start. I have a general plot but dont know how to work in the detail and dialogue that I think makes a great story. I would love any help or guidance from any of you skilled writers out there.

I learned how to write erotica by first reading it in Gentlemen's Entertainment (a riotous euphemism if ever there was one) magazines, and then saying to myself, "I can write better erotica than this crap!" So, I rolled up my sleeves and just started writing it. And guess what? I really sucked at it. As a trained software professional, my first attempts at writing erotica were all too "insert Tab A into Slot B" procedural. You could follow the sex with a schematic and a flowchart.

But like it is with all things, practice makes you better. Eventually, I learned to put away the sex templating tools and write directly from my balls. For me, learning to write erotica came down to repeating two basic steps: read a lot of smut, and then go write your own smut. Each time I did, I got a little better at it.

It's just writing. If you fail miserably at it with your first attempts, missiles aren't going to come raining down on you out of the sky. Learn by Doing. It really is the best way.


Ben
 
The same you learn to write anything.

First in school you get taught that specific texts come with genre markers. Often they use the example of a letter.

You then read literature, text messages and newspaper articles. You identify that many of them come with their own genre markers.

Next you encounter erotic writing. Maybe your penis starts to tingle, assuming you have one. You read more, recognize the genre markers.

Once you are familiar with those, you simply mimic. And voila.
 
Imagine that you are sitting beside a campfire with a small handful of ‘listeners’ gathered around you. Tell them a story. Tell them what happened. And then tell them what happened next. Take them along with you. Paint engaging characters. Keep your story simple. But not too simple. And don’t overload your ‘listeners’ with things they don’t need to know – or don’t need to know at that particular point in your story.

When you have written your story, read it out aloud. If it sounds more like music than like a social media rant, you are well on the way. If it doesn’t sound like music, tweak it. And tweak it again. And then read it again.

And when you have something that you are reasonably happy with, put your story away for a few days. And then take it out and read it – aloud – from the start. If it’s still OK, post it. And see what sort of reaction it provokes. Take onboard the useful criticism. Ignore the rest.

Get back to the campfire and start telling your next story.

Good luck. :)
 
Before i started to write i read a lot. after i started writing i continued to read but more critically.

I write and leave it and come back with fresh eyes and redraft.

In the past i've worked with editors and other writers who've given me useful feedback.

I feel like i've improved over the years, so yeah, i'd echo advice others have already given. Start writing, and keep at it.
 
The Very Basics of Characters

Characters in an erotic story — in any story — do more than just Do. They talk, think, plan, feel, laugh, and cry too. Be sure to spend considerable time having your characters display some or all of these basic traits, as doing so paints a richer picture of the story you are trying to tell.

Characters also have a physical appearance. Make sure you describe how they look, how they dress, and how they undress. Please be aware that not every man on this planet has a twelve-inch cock as thick as a Coke can, and not all women have gravity defying, 42-DD sized perky breasts with nipples that can poke your eye out.

Characters and caricatures are two entirely different things.


Ben
 
From the time I was a young child I've been a voracious reader, consuming books and magazines by the score. I was always hesitant to jump into writing for a number of reasons: a bit of dyslexia, a whole damned bunch of bad penmanship, an injury that kept me away from learning how to type and my absolutely atrocious spelling.

As computers matured and things like spell check became available, I decided to try my hand at storytelling. I took some college level English classes to sharpen my grasp of the language and a couple of creative writing classes to see if I had a knack for it.

I was surprised to come out of those creative writing classes with a 4.0. One of the stories I wrote for the class (the very first one in fact) I entered into a local writing contest. I won first place. It scared the crap out of me. Why? My thoughts were, 'How the hell am I going to top this?'

That put a damper on my writing for a few years, until my wife prompted me to write her a story, a sexual fantasy she liked. I did and it super-charged our sex life so much, I continued to write erotic stories. Then I put one on a website and it did will, so did another, then another. Each did pretty well and it gave me enough of an ego boost to continue.

I've been banging (forgive the unintended pun) out erotic stories for 20 years now. And with each I get a little better.

After all that foo fraa I just regurgitated, I'll get to my point: to learn to write you just write. Consider advice from those who give it and ignore the ones who try to be an asshole. Just write. Like any skill, the more you do the better you get.


Comshaw
 
My wife and I have always role played, but not just the quick "Hey how about you be be the UPS guy and..."

We would pick a scenario and during the week add to the role play in the way of what the characters were like what the set up was etc...

When she was at a conference out of state I was struck by a great idea very vivid, I could see the whole thing play out. Not wanting to lose the idea in the few days she was away on a whim I opened a word document and typed out the characters details, then spur of the moment I did the scene with the characters exchanging dialogue, on a roll I wrote the sex scene.

It was crap, but I spent the next three days adding to them people, the details, the dialogue and sex. Wife came home, I read it to her and she said "That's hot, what happens next?'

So I did another and another and...eventually the two characters from the role play would feature in my first full length novel Tales of the Circle.

My wife and I's role playing set all this in motion...much to the chagrin of many
 
Practice. But before that, reading a lot of stuff (not just erotica) and thinking about what worked for me, what didn't, and what I wanted to read that nobody seemed to be writing.
 
The first examples of prose porn that I read were Victorian, at a time when I was consuming historical romances. I suppose that at the back of my mind those have always been my baseline template for how to do this.
 
I spent years reading erotica, here at Literotica and elsewhere, before I wrote anything. That helped give me an idea what I liked and what I wanted to write.

To learn to write erotica, the first thing you must do is simply do it. You learn by doing.

The second thing is to read a lot. Find authors whose works you enjoy. Think about what you enjoy about them. Learn from them. You don't need to copy them, but you can learn from them by looking at what they do.

If you are trying to figure out how to write a story, think of an erotic idea that interests you. It can be anything. A man and woman meet on a train and have a sexy encounter. What kind of encounter? What kinds of characters do you want them to be? Do you want them to be far apart in age? Is one dominant and one submissive?

If you come up with an erotic concept and then work on making interesting characters, you're halfway toward the story getting written. Just keep asking yourself, what would this character do in this situation? What would they do next? And then? And then?
 
SamScribble suggested 'sitting by a campfire and telling a story'. That's great advice.

For me, it's more like watching a movie playing in my head. I "see" the action and like a scribe, I write it down. I "hear" the conversations and write them down. I magically know what my characters are thinking and feeling … and I write them down with no respect for their privacy, not even the most intimate and revealing secrets.

Seems I tend toward longer stories, so I;

1. Start out with an idea that inserted itself into my normally sedate life — I start a new document on my computer and jot down the basics.

2. When it comes time to try to round that "idea" out, I lay out a plot outline which helps keep me focused on — and reminded of — the wonderful ideas I originally had.

3. I begin to write. The story drifts away from my careful control — but it seems okay and I follow the new trail of bread crumbs.

4. Once I think it's finished I try to get someone to proof-read (beta-read) the thing because I have no unbiased insight at that point.

In the end, you will find the techniques that work for you. As the others have said; Write a sexy story, have someone proof-read it, publish it.
 
You just do it. I know that sounds overly simple, but so many people never even start - not even with the first word.

Give yourself permission to suck.

This is a great month for some extra motivation since it's National Novel Writing Month (https://nanowrimo.org/) - where the goal is just to meet a certain word count without concern for quality.

Damn it, just write something down, even if it's nothing more than, "My friends fucked my wife." Start there and fill in the blanks. Who fucked her? Where did they fuck? What was she wearing? How did it make her feel? How did it make you feel?

(Gosh, that sure looks like the ol' who, what, when, where, how, and why list of questions, doesn't it?)

Good luck!
 
I've been thinking about writing my own story (involving my wife with other men) but I dont know where to start. I have a general plot but dont know how to work in the detail and dialogue that I think makes a great story.

I'm a new writer with the same goal, writing about my wife involved with others.

I started with a story describing a sex scene with the two of us, which I shorted to enter the 750-word contest in February. Then I began thinking of a story of how a couple might get involved as swingers, settling on an older couple introducing them, the "...Mentors" chapter.

When the stories were dissed in the Loving Wives category, I asked two editors for reviews, and they pointed out my technical writing as lacking "color", and that I needed to better describe my main characters and their first experiences. So, I backtracked and wrote three chapters introducing how they became an unlikely geeky couple with high sex drives.

Try reading my "Lifestyle ... " series and see if that's what you're trying to describe. With this swinger lifestyle, I have flexibility in how their relationships evolve. But there will be numerous variations in their sexual evolution, as I've outlined many more chapters.

My next chapter should post tomorrow or Monday as "Lifestyle Ch. 07: Threesomes", and I'm working on the next as a setup meeting the couple who will lead them to a re-write of a "house party" where the multi-partner dynamics become more robust.

As others said above: Just start writing, accept feedback, and evolve, with the goal of getting better at it.

No one is perfect. But only those who try will ever get there.
 
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I've been thinking about writing my own story (involving my wife with other men) but I dont know where to start. I have a general plot but dont know how to work in the detail and dialogue that I think makes a great story.

If you're interesting in learning to write, as others have mentioned, you have to write. A lot. It takes time, and there are no shortcuts.

If you just want a few personalized stories for yourself without the commitment needed to write them, try this. Pick a story here that's close to what you want. Change the names of the characters to include your wife. If you don't think the dialog is something she'd say, rewrite it to say what you want. Go through the story line by line changing things to read the way you want. You'd be surprised how quickly you could have a *.doc of a story as close as something written from scratch, but in far less time.

And just to put this in perspective, this is nearly the same process writers use. They start with a draft (one they wrote, not someone elses). Then line by line change things until they are like they want them, repeating the process as many times as needed to "get it right".

What you may discover is the final story is not only exactly what you want, but looks nothing like the original at all.

I'm not suggesting you do something like this for eventual publication here or anywhere else. That would be unethical and potentially illegal. But if you DID, it wouldn't be the first time someone did that. Examples go back millenia.

rj
 
...this is nearly the same process writers use. They start with a draft (one they wrote, not someone elses). Then line by line change things until they are like they want them, repeating the process as many times as needed to "get it right".

What you may discover is the final story is not only exactly what you want, but looks nothing like the original at all.j

One other point I would add is although I use that technique of a first draft, then pick away over and over to "get it right", eventually I need to stop and post it. Then I realize there are even more things I could have done to make it better.

But, I have a larger picture in mind with other stories I'm trying to write.
 
Let me join the choir. If you want to be a writer, write! If you want to play the piano, sit down and start to pick at the piano keys. If you want to be writer, write!

Take a simply idea like your wife met someone at a party and brought him home. Or take it down a step and write a short story about her blowing you.

Describe the scene, describe your wife. Now go inside her head. Go inside your head. What are the two of you thinking? Why is this blowjob happening? What is the motivation. Describe the action. Is it slow, fast, hot, sloppy, deepthroat? How do you cum?

Think about what the two of you would say in real life if she was giving you a blowjob. What are you thinking and feeling as it happens? How does your body feel?

Now write. Don't worry if it is any good. Don't worry about the punctuation or spelling. Punch the keys. Fixing everything is for the 2nd and 3rd pass.

When you write your dialogue, either say it out loud and then write it, or write it and then say it out loud. Say it out loud and listen to it. Does it sound like some talking?

Have a beginning, middle and an end. Come up with a first line, and this is, in my opinion, is very, very important! Write a title at the top. Even if you are going to change it, write a title and put it on the top. You must always write the title and put it on the top.

That will keep you focused and help you remember, "what is this story about?" "what is this story about?"

Good luck.
 
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I’ve never learned.

I’ve never learned and I’m sure anyone reading my stuff would agree. lol

For me, it's more like watching a movie playing in my head. I "see" the action and like a scribe, I write it down. I "hear" the conversations and write them down. I magically know what my characters are thinking and feeling … and I write them down with no respect for their privacy, not even the most intimate and revealing secrets.
it.

Seeing a movie playing in my head is exactly how it is for me and I’ve always assumed that’s the same for most writers.
 
Isn't anyone going to warn this guy about LW?!?

I read through the replies here and mostly found myself nodding in response. However, before I go into my own background as a writer I feel the need to shout out a warning: If you post your story in the "Loving Wives" category (which is where it sounds like it belongs), you can expect some really negative feedback. I'd suggest you do a search of this forum to get some examples, and you can also explore the comments in the LW category to get a better idea of why I feel the need to warn you before you post anything there.

That said, my own background was as a long time Dungeons & Dragons player and dungeon master. I was into "role-playing" years before that had any sexual connotation. Most of my writing starts out as a sort of role-playing exercise. I have these characters in mind, and I often have a scene in mind that forms the basis of the story. I've been told that the dialogue and scene description in my stories are their greatest strengths; it is easy for readers to get a feel for the characters through their words, and it is easy for them to picture the scenes I describe.

Like others have mentioned, I also picture the scene in my head as if I am watching it unfold in a movie, and then do my best to translate that "scene" into words. After I've written it down, I read and edit until my words match the scene that played out in my head.

You should also be aware that once you start posting stories here, you are likely to receive feedback via e-mail. I wound up making a separate "LexxRuthless" e-mail account, but only AFTER I started getting e-mails from readers in my work e-mail account. That...was a little awkward. :rolleyes:
 
At school in Australia, I had to take English Expression as a compulsory part of my Matriculation. That course included writing fiction, logic and Rhetoric with an emphasis on grammar - parsing, verb agreement, precis etc.

For most of my working life, I was writing reports and also answers to Parliamentary questions, which had to be done at high speed and with accuracy while actually saying nothing - more fiction! I also wrote several technical textbooks.

When I found Yahoo Adult groups I was very disappointed with the stories in their Files. Like many writers on Lit, I thought I could do better, so I started writing for Yahoo until I found Lit to be a place where I got more responses.
 
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I love the some of the stories on Literotica. Some of the authors on here are really amazing with their writing style. I have always been envious of that ability. I've been thinking about writing my own story (involving my wife with other men) but I dont know where to start. I have a general plot but dont know how to work in the detail and dialogue that I think makes a great story. I would love any help or guidance from any of you skilled writers out there.

I chose to write in that genre. It taps into something I find interesting and arousing.
Plus, I write from experience. I think I have a good imagination, but to accurately describe something, for me anyway, I need to have experienced it.

I think you could start your story, from a point of reflection, past tense experience, or drop us right into the scene in present.
When I begin a story, I first determine from who's point of view do I want to tell the story.
That helps drive the bulk of the tale.
I look forward to reading your stuff!

Oh, one more thing. Write for you. But write.
 
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