How do you keep your erotic scenes fresh and interesting every time?

[happyyy_]

Hello and happy writing!

I am new to writing erotica (but not writing in general so much). I am curious what strategies you use to keep the erotic parts of your stories feeling different/unique every time. Especially for ongoing stories, where its the same couple/character(s) having sex. Do you just focus on different aspects of sex? Explore different kinks?
How does the ongoing plot impact the erotic scenes and their progression? Do you mostly focus on character growth/character arcs? I am curious what kinds of strategies you use, and what your thoughts are when crafting/thinking through erotic scenes.

I have been reading erotic literature for a very long time (about as long as I've read romance) and its been an interesting challenge moving from reader to writer. I could tell you very easily the things I look for in the stories I read. But actually fitting them all into scenes? Totally different ball game! I would love to hear your thoughts

 

[joy_of_cooking]

How do romance novels keep kissing so fresh and interesting?

(Trick question: I think they mostly don't. But there's probably also an answer involving emotions and characters and stuff.)

 

[Rob_Royale]

I mix up the feel of each coupling. The first can be slow and loving perhaps after an elegant date, the second feverish and wild, then perhaps stealthy and public. Different positions for each. Dirty talk in one but not the others. Lingerie or elegant clothing. High heels whenever possible.

The plot drives the scene, which drives the emotion, which drives the sex.

 

[yowser]

If you have made love more than once (hoping that's the case) and you're perceptive, you find that each 'event' while sharing commonalities with other events that have come before, is different, unique.

Your characters are likely to approach sexual situations in a variety of ways, a first time is going to be different from a married couple's fourth year. If you can focus on what your characters are thinking, feeling, experiencing (worrying over, nervous about) you will find a way to create an individual 3-D model to your scene. In most cases, humans have multiple senses in play, and if you can incorporate more than one of them in a situation, the effect is heightened.

And of course, for writing purposes, the world is a marvelous laboratory.

 

[THBGato]

I (try to) only include sex scenes when they reveal something we didn't already know or confirm something the reader merely suspected about the characters.

That way, I hope, if the reader is a bit bored by the "mechanics" of the whole scene, hopefully what it revealed/confirmed is interesting.

Only once have I included a sex scene because I felt I needed to (because the chapter didn't have one and this is an erotica site after all) and I instantly regretted it. Nowadays, I'll happily published something with no sex. I'll either warn readers of that at the start or put it in non-erotic.

 

[BellaBestia]

Same as above, plot and character drives the motivation and reason for the sex scene, emotion and the character’s internal dialogue makes it unique and different.
I’ve only once received the feedback that the sex I described was “too much” and “not far enough” on the same writing so everyone is going to glean what they want or need from my writing based on their own experiences. That’s not my concern. I’m following Toni Morrison’s advice and writing what I’d want to read.

 

[Silver_Arrow]

I mix up the feel of each coupling. The first can be slow and loving perhaps after an elegant date, the second feverish and wild, then perhaps stealthy and public. Different positions for each. Dirty talk in one but not the others. Lingerie or elegant clothing. High heels whenever possible.

The plot drives the scene, which drives the emotion, which drives the sex.

This is what I do for the most part as well. Keep track of what you've done and vary it up between stories. It's fine to revisit positions and themes as every time you write a few chapters apart it's always a little different. As your characters develop you can work in new interests or feelings to help change it up. Exploring new kinks or interests is one way to keep it fresh. Start adding in small bits here and there before you eventually get to full on play a few chapters down.

 

[AlexBailey]

The answer to this in regards to writing seems much the same to real life, no?

I don’t mean to be flippant, but really - isn’t it the same with sex in a real world relationship? Couples can get in ruts and they can find inspiration. What will inspire you and a partner? What will inspire your characters?

 

[happyyy_]

I (try to) only include sex scenes when they reveal something we didn't already know or confirm something the reader merely suspected about the characters.

That way, I hope, if the reader is a bit bored by the "mechanics" of the whole scene, hopefully what it revealed/confirmed is interesting.

Only once have I included a sex scene because I felt I needed to (because the chapter didn't have one and this is an erotica site after all) and I instantly regretted it. Nowadays, I'll happily published something with no sex. I'll either warn readers of that at the start or put it in non-erotic.

This is a really good point, and I think its something I was trying to do subconsciously. Throwing in sex scenes for the hell of it definitely can be boring. I now realize the scene I'm currently stuck writing isn't because its the sexy part, its because I'm struggling with articulating the conflict between the characters throughout the scene. I guess maybe my problem is probably less to do with writing mechanics like I thought (you know, trying to reinvent the wheel coming up with interesting ways to describe sensual parts, rewording the same actions differently, etc etc) and more to do with character development.

 

[Kitty_so_frisky]

I’ll start by saying I haven’t submitted any stories here and am not disciplined enough to be a writer by any standards. I’m just going to share something that a college acting teacher told us that has stuck with me and affected how I view characters in many different formats:

Don’t just play emotion, play intention.

Okay, so this character is crying, so she must be sad, right? Not necessarily! She could be manipulating the emotions of the other person in the scene. They could be the frustrated, angry tears of someone who is already plotting revenge.

To apply this when writing a sex scene, you could think about what each character wants out of this interaction. Is the other person just someone who can help them get off? Are they looking to please their partner who has been going through a rough time? Is it purely transactional? Are they hoping to forge a deeper relationship? Rekindle a flame?


(And of course, as others have mentioned, stuff like plot direction, setting, proximity of other people present, clothing constrictions, different kinks being explored, where the characters are in their relationship and more can affect the scene too.)

 

[C_M_Bangen]

As Rob_Royale and Kitty_so_frisky have already said, context and motivation matter: are the characters hate-fucking each other; is it a no-name hookup; are they participating in their first or twenty-fifth orgy; are they seeking comfort, pleasure, or self-destruction in sex; is someone blackmailing another or not who they say they are?

All these could be the same couple of people if you wanted to focus on these scenarios with the same people. As well, you can mix things up: maybe the first time they got together they did sex acts WXYZ, perhaps the next time was ZYYYWX, then the third time was W. For the first time, things were nervous and tender, or rough and rowdy; for the second, they were both drunk and regretted taking advantage of each other the next day; and the third time could be contrition for the second night, coercion of some sort, a quickie because they're suddenly overcome with lust and need to let it out, or a heartfelt thanks from one to the other.

Alluding to sex scenes that happen off the page because they were similar to ones we've already read can be a nice treat as well; readers get a sense that the characters' sex lives are still intact, but we know we've already seen something much like it before; if we really want to relive it, we can go read it again!

Novelty, as mentioned by others, can be found in different situations without needing to escalate things (I already had a bj, now I need to include anal, but the character doesn't like that?) Maybe one scene is naughty fooling around in a place they shouldn't be, and they almost get caught; another happens in the rain; another in the winter; another in summer; still again in different times of day for different reasons. Think of the characters and their setting for the rationale; if there's a particular scene or act you'd like to incorporate, then by all means include it, but have it make sense for the characters.

 

[sxPlasticity]

A good way to keep your sex scenes fresh and interesting is to hild them in the tub and shower.

My point?

Location is everything.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

A good way to keep your sex scenes fresh and interesting is to hild them in the tub and shower.

You keep your sex scenes fresh by washing them?

-Annie

 

[sxPlasticity]

You keep your sex scenes fresh by washing them?

-Annie

I wash... because I care...

 

[TabooWickedPixie]

Plot, plot, plot. There's only so many ways to craft up a sex scene. It's what's happening leading up to it that really counts. The reader needs to be warmed up and primed, ready to explode by time the sex scene begins. If you did your job as a writer, you can't really go wrong once you reach your money shot scene. At least, that's just my 2 scents. I've only published two works on here so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Melody_Lightdraft2]

Hello and happy writing!

I am new to writing erotica (but not writing in general so much). I am curious what strategies you use to keep the erotic parts of your stories feeling different/unique every time. Especially for ongoing stories, where its the same couple/character(s) having sex. Do you just focus on different aspects of sex? Explore different kinks?
How does the ongoing plot impact the erotic scenes and their progression? Do you mostly focus on character growth/character arcs? I am curious what kinds of strategies you use, and what your thoughts are when crafting/thinking through erotic scenes.

I have been reading erotic literature for a very long time (about as long as I've read romance) and its been an interesting challenge moving from reader to writer. I could tell you very easily the things I look for in the stories I read. But actually fitting them all into scenes? Totally different ball game! I would love to hear your thoughts

It depends on the characters, Olivia is damaged, she hates men, and has psychotic episodes. Painted Poison, is a mare shape shifter assassin. She likes being on top, but has a nasty habit of shifting as she orgasms. Half a ton of equine tends to spoil your day. Melody wants to be a racy mare, and my Centaur self, is truly, "hung like a horse." Epona is a Goddess you don't want to piss off, and Lucy, dearest Lucy is a talking Border Collie.
Oh, and don't forget the, "Nightmares, and Daymares," nor two rather sex mad pony mares.

 

[CherryCupcake]

Make them about the characters, and not the acts they are participating in. and don't go to the same tropes every story.