The Worst Words Used in Spicy Writing

[intim8]

Not necessarily the best advice, and it is aimed at mainstream writers more than us smut mongers, but it's a fun video (7 minutes).

"You literally described a woman's upper crotchal region as a pile of fat, because that's the sexy way to go."

 

[CockSparrow]

Not necessarily the best advice, and it is aimed at mainstream writers more than us smut mongers, but it's a fun video (7 minutes).

"You literally described a woman's upper crotchal region as a pile of fat, because that's the sexy way to go."

She's fun. And I totally agree with her on 'boobies' and 'pussy' - unless of course you are writing for ten-year-olds - and here at Lit, that is a bit of a no-no. Carry on.

 

[intim8]

I totally agree with her on 'boobies' and 'pussy'

I think here, "pussy" is pretty close to the default term. Hell, here, that's almost the clinical term. I use it, but selectively.

I've never used "boobies", but I have used "boobs" when I want a more innocent or casual reference.

 

[StillStunned]

I use "boobs" when I'm writing from a male 1P POV in a contemporary setting. Mostly because those male characters are as clueless as me when it comes to women and sex.

 

[cdstefi]

Nectar is one that particularly boils my piss. Applied to male or female, doesn't matter.

Sexy juice isn't fucking manna from heaven and sweeter than honey. This is just you trying to euphemise the down and dirty so you don't have to write about what sex actually tastes like. Fucking nectar, fuck off!

 

[EmilyMiller]

She's fun. And I totally agree with her on 'boobies' and 'pussy' - unless of course you are writing for ten-year-olds - and here at Lit, that is a bit of a no-no. Carry on.

Pussy is ubiquitous, at least here in the US. I’ve heard it used a lot in the UK too.

Emily

 

[ElectricBlue]

Pussy is ubiquitous, at least here in the US. I’ve heard it used a lot in the UK too.

Emily

Yep, and in Oz. It's a go-to term, no matter how many people seem not to like it. I'm not sure what a ready use alternative is, without going up the intensity ladder or descending into crassness.

 

[StillStunned]

Some saucy talk:

 

[Duleigh]

Entertaining but she clearly doesn't understand the word nub. It's defined as "the crux or central point of a matter"
damn apt description when considering an "Australian Kiss." Use it freely.

 

[intim8]

"Australian Kiss."

Never heard that before. It's the best kind of slang, because you know immediately what it means.

 

[Djmac1031]

Agreed on "meat." Just don't.

Mound? I'll make an argument for it.

Many men, myself included, find that little rounded padding of fat just above the vulva not only beautiful, but sexy as fuck.

Now, ladies, I ask you: would you prefer us to describe it as that "fatty patch?"

Somehow, I doubt that.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Agreed on "meat." Just don't.

Mound? I'll make an argument for it.

Many men, myself included, find that little rounded padding of fat just above the vulva not only beautiful, but sexy as fuck.

Now, ladies, I ask you: would you prefer us to describe it as that "fatty patch?"

Somehow, I doubt that.

Nothing wrong with mound - I also use each of mons, mons veneris and mons pubis (guys have a mons pubis too, just less pronounced unless you take estrogen supplements).

Emily

 

[intim8]

Nothing wrong with mound - I also use each of mons

She recommended "mons", but...

mons (n.)​

from Latin mons (plural montes) "mountain" (from PIE root *men- (2) "to project");

I guess "mountain" sounds more noble than "pile", and "projection" more cliincal, but they're hardly any more accurate.

I'm going to go with "gibba", Latin for "bump".

 

[Djmac1031]

Nothing wrong with mound - I also use each of mons, mons veneris and mons pubis (guys have a mons pubis too, just less pronounced unless you take estrogen supplements).

Emily

Just double checking that you watched the video link, because she's the one arguing that "mound" is a terrible word.

 

[EmilyMiller]

She recommended "mons", but...

mons (n.)​

from Latin mons (plural montes) "mountain" (from PIE root *men- (2) "to project");

I guess "mountain" sounds more noble than "pile", and "projection" more cliincal, but they're hardly any more accurate.

I'm going to go with "gibba", Latin for "bump".

Anatomically correct

 

[Voboy]

I usually borrow my spicy terms from what I actually hear people in real life say.

And almost ALL of them say "pussy." A surprising number do say "cunt," once they're at a certain friend-level with you. In contrast, I've met very few people who say the word "cock" out loud.

But it's in the quest for verisimilitude that I cordially avoid terms like "her center," "manhood," or anything involving the term "petals." Real people simply don't talk that way, or at least not the ones I hang with. Same with "mound," though I do use it sometimes.

Internal monologue is sometimes a different matter, and it's a good way to "show-not-tell." If your narrator can't bring herself to use the term "pussy" even in her own thoughts, it's a pretty good indicator she might be repressed. Meaning, no need to state as much in some sort of boring expository way.

 

[intim8]

Just double checking that you watched the video link,

Sounded to me like she was just agreeing with you.

 

[Djmac1031]

Just a sort of on topic side point:

My girlfriend has been reading...well, more like listening to audio books of romance stories.

She told me the other day she's really starting to hate the word "cock." She prefers "dick."

And it made me think how often I've used "cock" over "dick" because it sounded stronger somehow.

Plus, "dick" is also interchangeable as an insult.

 

[SimonDoom]

People have a right to their own tastes about what does and doesn't turn them on, but I don't find this video helpful. When it comes to writing word choices, I prefer not to think in terms of "You should never use the word [fill in the blank]" and prefer to think that it depends on the story, the circumstances, and the audience.

I use pussy all the time, and I see it all the time. (OK, that didn't quite come out right, but you know what I mean).

I've used "nub" and "folds." I've used many, many different terms.

I've received hundreds and hundreds of comments and I cannot recall ever once receiving a protest to my use of any of these terms, OTHER than the use of the word "cunt," which some people really hate.

 

[Djmac1031]

Sounded to me like she was just agreeing with you.

oh she was. I just wasn't 100% sure if she watched the video to understand why I even brought it up.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Just double checking that you watched the video link, because she's the one arguing that "mound" is a terrible word.

No - at work still - it’s just an Anglification of mons, keeping most of the sound and some of the meaning. Mound and mount are essentially the same word. Mountain comes from the Latin plural form).

If you consider Olympus Mons on Mars, it’s very much a mound. Uneroded shield volcanoes tend to be

Is she an etymologist?

Emily

 

[intim8]

I cordially avoid terms like "her center," "manhood," or anything involving the term "petals."

I would neve, ever uses those in dialog or 1st person. But occasionally in close 3p, they might be handy terms for the narrator to describe purely visual impressions. Hard to fit them naturally in even then, but I don't rule it out.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Sorry, did I do the science / linguistics mashup thing again. I’m meant to be working on that.

Emily

 

[EmilyMiller]

I usually borrow my spicy terms from what I actually hear people in real life say.

And almost ALL of them say "pussy." A surprising number do say "cunt," once they're at a certain friend-level with you. In contrast, I've met very few people who say the word "cock" out loud.

But it's in the quest for verisimilitude that I cordially avoid terms like "her center," "manhood," or anything involving the term "petals." Real people simply don't talk that way, or at least not the ones I hang with. Same with "mound," though I do use it sometimes.

Internal monologue is sometimes a different matter, and it's a good way to "show-not-tell." If your narrator can't bring herself to use the term "pussy" even in her own thoughts, it's a pretty good indicator she might be repressed. Meaning, no need to state as much in some sort of boring expository way.

I’ve used petaling to mean opening the labia minora - I think I caught the habit from @EStaccato

 

[Djmac1031]

or anything involving the term "petals." Real people simply don't talk that way

I am guilty of "petals," but generally not in actual dialog. You're right, most people wouldn't verbalize labia that way. But they do resemble flower petals and I think it's fine as imagery.