Writing sex scenes in a story

[Greglover]

Hi everyone; I have joined and seeking advice on properly writing a sex scene in a story and knowing when to put it in a story.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Difficult thing to answer, this. There are no rules, every writer is different, every story is different. Just write the story and put the sex in where it fits best, will probably be the general advice.

 

[CyranoJ]

Put the sex scene in when you run out of llamas, and make sure to use the word "throbbing" as much as possible.

Welcome!

 

[NotWise]

Hi everyone; I have joined and seeking advice on properly writing a sex scene in a story and knowing when to put it in a story.

Try putting it in when your characters have sex. It could be awkward otherwise.

 

[SamScribble]

... and make sure to use the word "throbbing" as much as possible.

Damn! That's where I've been going wrong.

 

[CyranoJ]

Damn! That's where I've been going wrong.

"Pulsating" and "orotund" are also acceptable.

I myself am trying to up my usage of the phrase "his mighty thews," in which I have been sadly deficient to date.

------

Okay, okay. Some serious advice for the OP:

It will make a difference what your Mission is. If you're out to deliver Pr0n, there are actual specific percentage-of-word-length guidelines the old Magazines used to request for such stories, where some 75% of the story should be sexual content and the character and set-up stuff was to be either kept to a minimum or incorporated in the sex (not as easy as it sounds).

If your Mission is to deliver Romance, or more high-brow Erotica, the requirement is a bit more forgiving, but especially as regards the former there's a lot of established genre convention to contend with too. Like, there are words you can use ("rubicund," "sex," "manhood") and words you can't ("fuck-stick, cock-socket, bunghole"). Can't imagine working under such constraints but everyone has their cross.

I generally aim for character- / plot-driven Smut, which sort of splits the difference, and I actually do have a certain percentage of my stories which I try to devote specifically to erotic content but it's part of my Secret Recipe which, to date, but one crafty Litster has managed to divine. He's a sorcerer, that one.

 

[Hypoxia]

Hi everyone; I have joined and seeking advice on properly writing a sex scene in a story and knowing when to put it in a story.

Learn at the feet of the maestros - read and emulate successful or influential authors. Don't try to invent smut until you're familiar with it.

 

[Nezhul]

How to write dialogue? Where to put it in a story?
How to write action? Where to put it in a story?
How to write a room description? Where to put it in a story?

If you don't an answer to those - no one can help you. Obviously, you put sex somewhere where two or more people fuck. And you write it in a way that is sexy to read.

 

[oggbashan]

My take from years of experience of writing for Literotica:

The sex scenes should be an essential part of the story and necessary for the plot. 'Insert sex scene here' doesn't work well for me. If the story works without the sex then it isn't really an erotic story.

So I ask myself:

Why are they having sex?
Why are they having sex now?
What does having sex mean to them?
How does the sex change the relationship between them? Does it make the partnership stronger? Or tell them that it isn't going anywhere?

But I still get it wrong...

 

[Handley_Page]

Hi everyone; I have joined and seeking advice on properly writing a sex scene in a story and knowing when to put it in a story.

Because we are all somewhat different, it's impossible to answer your question.
A lot depends upon [a] what you want your characters to do, when you want your characters to do it, and [c] what your story is about.

[1] short 'stroker'. It's all sex, as you see it and like it.
[2] longer 'Romance'. Sex is not all that important, strangely enough.
[3] 'adventure' (?). A sequence of linked events featuring some action between characters, good and bad.

So you just write the sort of story you'd like to read and hope that others feel the same way.
Good Luck

 

[Kantarii]

Unless I were to write pure smut, my rule of thumb is not to put a sex scene in a chapter for the sake of having one in the chapter. There are other ways other than a sex scene to create an erotic feel within a chapter: affection, touching, kissing, describing say -the BDSM scene, or general foreplay and dirty talk.

For the most part, I let my characters dictate the pace at which sex happens and the intensity. To me,a sex scene shouldn't be forced into achapter. My goal is tell a story first, the sex scenes tend to compliment and add to the story being told. That's just me, thoughKant

 

[TxRad]

Writing sex is kind of like having sex. When all the stars line up then it happens. Forcing it just make everything awkward in more ways than one.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think you have to ask yourself what type of story you are writing, first, and why you want sex in the story. In an erotic story, the "sex" -- broadly defined -- often is the point of the story. In an exhibitionist story, for instance, the sex may not be sex at all, it may just be somebody shedding clothing in front of someone else.

If you're writing a stroke story then the sex should be the climax of the story, and it should happen at or near the end. If you're writing some other sort of story then there's more flexibility, but -- this is just my opinion -- I think stories on this site usually work best when the arc of the story or chapter dovetails with the arc of a sexual encounter or activity. So, the first part of the story or chapter introduces the characters and the promise of an encounter, the middle builds toward the encounter and creates tension, and the final part reveals the encounter, brings the characters together in a sexual or erotic way, and resolves the tension. How much of the story you devote to each "part" depends on the kind of story it is, and that's up to you.

I suppose you could do it completely differently -- have your characters get it on it right at the beginning, and then spend the rest of the story lying in bed, smoking cigarettes, and talking about it. But not too many stories on this site are written that way.

 

[tomlitilia]

My stories usually lead up to a climatic sex scene towards the end. That's not to say there isn't sex before that -- sometimes the story even begin with a sex scene to introduce characters in a hopefully interesting way. But I pretty much always end with a big bang, which can be followed by a brief aftermath (which can also involve sex). It seems to work for most readers. I publish in group sex, exhibitionism/voyeur, lesbian, loving wives and BDSM.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Pete Dexter knows how to use sex, and I follow his example. In his books the sex often initiates something else. Like when Loser Lenny is fucking Fat Pat and her cat Mister Fluffy wont leave them alone. Lenny hurts Mister Fluffy and the cat applies its claws to the head of Lennys dick. It puts Lenny in a bad mood and gets him murdered the next day. His murder drives the story.

 

[weftandwarp]

Writing sex is kind of like having sex. When all the stars line up then it happens. Forcing it just make everything awkward in more ways than one.

Yep. I'm learning that if the sex doesn't fit with the story it adds up to being unrealistic, shallow and unwanted. I always hated old romance stories where the focus shifted to the ceilings and all sex mentions were avoided. Too much is similar I'm thinking. It isn't a roll call of cliché either. Sex in stories has to be appropriate to the stories. So, put it in where it's appropriate.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Dear Reader

Youll only read it from me but sex is as significant as a meal. It takes every shape and form, and affects us every possible way.

As my kids got married I recommended an informal reception with a standing roast beef, ham. and fried chicken with sides people prefer, like potato salad, fries, baked potato, salads, and a bar with the most popular stuff. My son went that route and all 3 daughters went with 100 dollar meat loaf and hedge clippings and rice-something no one liked.

Sex is the same.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Damn! That's where I've been going wrong.

You can try alternating "throbbing" with "pulsing" for effect.

 

[CyranoJ]

You can try alternating "throbbing" with "pulsing" for effect.

Now we're talking.

Hey, grats on your contest win by the way. I'm finally getting to read to the contest stories, yours is really well written.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

My take from years of experience of writing for Literotica:

The sex scenes should be an essential part of the story and necessary for the plot. 'Insert sex scene here' doesn't work well for me. If the story works without the sex then it isn't really an erotic story.

So I ask myself:

Why are they having sex?
Why are they having sex now?
What does having sex mean to them?
How does the sex change the relationship between them? Does it make the partnership stronger? Or tell them that it isn't going anywhere?

But I still get it wrong...

This!

 

[HandsInTheDark]

Try putting it in when your characters have sex. It could be awkward otherwise.

This. If the characters aren't interested, the readers won't be either.

Sex is part of a story in the same way everything else is.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Hey, grats on your contest win by the way. I'm finally getting to read to the contest stories, yours is really well written.

Thanks - you just made my morning

 

[PervOtaku]

I usually start by brainstorming on what all sex scenes are suggested by the general setting and characters, then work out what events should happen to lead to those scenes, and what order it should all be in for the best flow and logic. Then I build the chapters up around that.

 

[holliday1960]

Try putting it in when your characters have sex. It could be awkward otherwise.

We really have to do something about changing your name, NW. We're gonna call this lesson on creative writing a 'quickie', brought to you by Notwise, who really isn't not wise at all

 

[NOIRTRASH]

I call him NUMNUTZ