Writing thread

[rgraham666]

A friend was complaining about the lack of writing threads here on the AH. So I'm going to do my bit to rectify that.

Currently working on a sequel to my latest. My first honest to goodness Group Sex story.

A couple of minor problems I'm trying to overcome.

First, keeping the characters straight, especially the two women. Physically they're different, trying to keep their personalities from slopping over to each other is a bit of a pain. How different should I make them? Will any similarity confuse the reader?

Second, I'm starting to find writing erotica a bit repetitive. I'm finding it hard to write what's starting to feel like the same thing over and over again.

OK, thread started. Comment, criticize, offer advice. No threadjacks please.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Second, I'm starting to find writing erotica a bit repetitive. I'm finding it hard to write what's starting to feel like the same thing over and over again.

You too? I was just thinking about that!

Having just finished my first real full-length novel (103k words) I find myself already starting something new, and while it's still going to have sex in it, it's not really "porny". It's focusing more on character and plot! I was getting so bored with writing sex... in this story I'm hoping the build-up will make it that much more exciting when it does happen.

First, keeping the characters straight, especially the two women. Physically they're different, trying to keep their personalities from slopping over to each other is a bit of a pain. How different should I make them? Will any similarity confuse the reader?

Yes, I think they should be very distinct, but not to the point of caricature. This is where observing people comes in handy. I'd think about how different two real women can be, and sort of work from there. Like...one is shy and one is more outgoing. One is more submissive and one is aggressive?

Thanks for the writing thread Rob

 

[Typo Fu Master]

I don't have much to offer.

Concerning your female characters, I don't know what the problem is without seeing an example of it. It seems like it wouldn't be an issue.

In my opinion, erotica is repetitive. There are only so many different combinations of people and positions to work with, most of which have been thoroughly explored. If you feel like you're in a rut, maybe try something outside the areas you usually write in.

 

[Guest]

First, keeping the characters straight, especially the two women. Physically they're different, trying to keep their personalities from slopping over to each other is a bit of a pain. How different should I make them? Will any similarity confuse the reader?

Second, I'm starting to find writing erotica a bit repetitive. I'm finding it hard to write what's starting to feel like the same thing over and over again.

OK, thread started. Comment, criticize, offer advice. No threadjacks please.

Ahh, all the writing threads are pages back and long ignored. Strangely enough, seems the political, goofy, and current events threads are more popular. Wonder if we could get a sub forum with moderator for Strictly Writing stuff?

Differentiating characters can be hard, especially in ensemble casts. One thing I ran across recently while reading was using diction and syntax to give characters their own voice. One difference is between using more Latinate words and using more Anglo-Saxon words -- I think the example was "after" (Anglo-Saxon) and "subsequent to" (Latinate).

Some characters might speak in longer, more complex sentences. Some would be short and direct. A character might have a regionalism (not an accent, no one wants to really read accents) or particular idiom they use -- "soda" or "Coke" instead of "pop", for example, or "sneakers" vs "tennis shoes". You can give them a cliche they use a lot, or perhaps one uses cliches while another doesn't. There are all kinds of things you can do to help keep characters identified through what they say, but it takes some work. IT all depends on what you hear in that character's voice.

You can also use gestures -- people are always moving, waving their hands, pushing up their glasses, etc. That way a reader can "see" a character talking and tell who is who.

As for getting bored with erotica -- I'M SO THERE -- which is why it makes up only a small part of what I write. Maybe writing a story where the sexual tension is there but not resolved (at least not on page) or even one where the sex isn't an issue or has fizzled out and died. Or one where sex is only one more thing in the background. I dunno, I just know you can get tired of anything if you do it often enough.

 

[Guest]

A couple of minor problems I'm trying to overcome.

First, keeping the characters straight, especially the two women. Physically they're different, trying to keep their personalities from slopping over to each other is a bit of a pain. How different should I make them? Will any similarity confuse the reader?

Second, I'm starting to find writing erotica a bit repetitive. I'm finding it hard to write what's starting to feel like the same thing over and over again.

(this is just my opinion)
First...
The women... how close are they? friends, sisters, mother daughter? The closer the tie to them the harder it will be to seperate them....Use their names, or if not their names then use distinguishing things about them each time you speak about one or the other... meaning use adjectives to describe them... in their words and actions.

Second...
Maybe its time to write something non-erotic... or go and read other authors for a bit... heck pick up a book or something on another subject... read something mundane, heck pick up a romance novel from a less hard core publisher.... give your mind another way of looking at the sexual pieces.

 

[oggbashan]

Ahem. There is almost always a writing thread in the AH - the support threads for the various contests.

Differentiating between two women? If you can't differentiate them in your head then you will have difficulty in the writing. Similiarity will confuse the reader. Some of the posts above have given good suggestions.

Erotica can be repetitive. Why not just write a story and forget about the erotic bits unless the story needs them? Not all Lit's readers need in-your-face sex all the time. Some may penalise you for leaving it out but others can appreciate a story without overt sex (otherwise many of my stories would have no readers).

Og

 

[impressive]

You too? I was just thinking about that!

... already starting something new, and while it's still going to have sex in it, it's not really "porny". It's focusing more on character and plot! I was getting so bored with writing sex... in this story I'm hoping the build-up will make it that much more exciting when it does happen.

Sounds familiar.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Sounds familiar.

Imp isn't sharing. *pouts*

 

[FallingToFly]

Differentiating characters can be hard, especially in ensemble casts. One thing I ran across recently while reading was using diction and syntax to give characters their own voice. One difference is between using more Latinate words and using more Anglo-Saxon words -- I think the example was "after" (Anglo-Saxon) and "subsequent to" (Latinate).

Some characters might speak in longer, more complex sentences. Some would be short and direct. A character might have a regionalism (not an accent, no one wants to really read accents) or particular idiom they use -- "soda" or "Coke" instead of "pop", for example, or "sneakers" vs "tennis shoes". You can give them a cliche they use a lot, or perhaps one uses cliches while another doesn't. There are all kinds of things you can do to help keep characters identified through what they say, but it takes some work. IT all depends on what you hear in that character's voice.

You can also use gestures -- people are always moving, waving their hands, pushing up their glasses, etc. That way a reader can "see" a character talking and tell who is who.

I'm really bad about making sure my characters have their own personas. My worst thing is that sometimes I'll start someone else's actions right after someone else has just spoken, and confuse the reader as to who is doing what, and why.

But when it comes to personalities, or physicalities, there's not really a whole lot of doubt about which one I'm talkig about. I want the reader to see, feel, smell, taste, and hear my characters the way I do in my head. I don't want to just say "He was drowning in her scent" and leave the reader wondering what scent I meant... what if they think she smelled like rotten eggs or sweaty socks? I'll try to guide them with it, "His head swam with the scent of her, some rich, sweet perfume with an undertone of cedar and jasmine, and the warm, sensual scent beneath that was purely hers, something that made him feel safe and happy, like fresh bread baking, or apple pie coming out of the oven." Okay, bad example, but that's a gist of it...

Okay, as to what I'm writing.

Working on an anthology for possible publication, two stories each about three central personal lives, another three that are more minor characters, and a final that ties all the other together through one unitfying thread. Wish me luck... there was a spark of interest from my initial query and sample work that I sent them, and they said they want to see what I've got.

I originally intended to drop Falling and a few other stories while I worked on this project, and I'm discovering I can't. Too nervous, too jittery with what I have to get prepared, so I end up leaving the anthology to stew while spending an hour or so on various other stories before going back to the main enchilada.

I'm also flibberty-gibbeting with some poetry, and some artwork. the poetry... well, it's poetry, and it's mine, which is to say, it's depressing, pseudogoth shit. I like it though, lol.

Oh, and I'm writing more and more all the time on my silly, stupid little RP. I truly think it was a stroke of genius to put it in journal format so that we can all contribute as we have the time, without losing the theread of what we want to do. Once the fence-straddlers make up their minds, it seems like we'll have one hell of a story to play with.

Other than that.. I'm just editing the hell out of my stuff and being nail-bitingly nervous about actually venturing into trying to get published.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Try writing one with three plus women Rob

Really, if you know the characters they won't blurr so long as you write them true to form.

To me writing the sex scenes got repetitive a long time ago, but it's not repetitive when I get into a character;s head. So for me, I need to be in the zone before I can really write them now. thus I have several WIP's stuck at the sex scene.

 

[matriarch]

..........

To me writing the sex scenes got repetitive a long time ago, but it's not repetitive when I get into a character;s head. So for me, I need to be in the zone before I can really write them now. thus I have several WIP's stuck at the sex scene.

Ditto.

Glad I'm not the only one.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Ditto.

Glad I'm not the only one.

To be honest Mats, I think you probably sufffer from this more than I do. Your stories are so wonderfully bound up in the love afair of your characters. It wouldn't surprise me at all if you simply couldn't write unless you were there, in her head, feeling what she felt.

It is, perhaps the price you pay, for writing stories wehre the depth of empotion is so great. The attendant reward, however, is pieces that move the reader on a very deep level.

 

[impressive]

Imp isn't sharing. *pouts*

*snort* Imp is WRITING ... like a good girl.

 

[carsonshepherd]

*snort* Imp is WRITING ... like a good girl.

see? told you we're twins

 

[rgraham666]

Thinking of dropping my sequel for the time being and work on something else.

I'm afraid my muse is being a fickle bitch. Maybe if I change stride she'll come back.

 

[sincerely_helene]

Thinking of dropping my sequel for the time being and work on something else.

I'm afraid my muse is being a fickle bitch. Maybe if I change stride she'll come back.

Chicks.

 

[rgraham666]

Chicks.

Yeah.

But I still like 'em a lot better than guys.

 

[sincerely_helene]

Yeah.

But I still like 'em a lot better than guys.

Ditto.

 

[rgraham666]

Ditto.

Drat.

 

[sincerely_helene]

(Platonically speaking, of course.)

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I don't write group stories and I usually don't read them. They're too confusing. I don't even read group sex stories, because how many people can you care about at one time?

I've found that most stories actually boil down to three characters. The rest are just supporting cast. The triangle seems to be the most satisfying dramatic relationship. The line (2 people) is too dull. The square (4 people) is actually 2 lines or a triangle plus 1. More than that and what you're doing is telling a bunch of stories at once, which is okay for a novel like War and Peace, but too much trouble for what I think most of us are interested in doing.

(Note that the 3rd element doesn't have to be a person either. It can be a treasure, or a job, or a secret, or something else entirely. But it's always a triangle.)

If you're getting bored with sex it's very likely because you don't know why your characters are having sex in the first place, and so the sex has become gratuitous. Sex is only really exciting in the context of human relationships. Usually, in the typical Lit story, the only motovation for sex is lust. That's fine for porn, but horniness is not a very rich or interesting emotion to work with. It gets old fast. There are millions of other reasons people have sex, and those are the interesting ones.

For instance, they have sex to gain dominance or moral authority over one another, or for revenge, or out of anger, or to express real love, or because they're depressed, or they feel unloved, or they're high, or feel guilty, or whatever. In each case, the motivation and goal is what gives sex its richness and interest and (dare I say it?) literary quality. Figure out why they're fucking, and you'll know how they're fucking - whether it's sweet and loving or rough and perverse, whether it's done on a bed strewn with roses or in an alley between the trashcans.

I still write pure fuck stories. There's still plenty of fun in pure raw lust. But there's no way you can write a story of any dramatic substance based on two characters who just want to fuck for fun. And throwing in more characters only adds to the confusion. That's why I make such a clear distinction between pornography and erotica. Porn is writing whose sole purpose to is titillate and arouse sexually. Erotica is the exploration of human sexuality. They overlap, but they're not the same. Most pornsters eventually find themselves drifting over towards erotica because we get bored with straight porn.

It's like cooking. Start with a few good ingredients and do only what you have to to bring our their essence. Don't start trying to empty the spice cabinets into the stew thinking that'll make a a great dish, because it won't. Keep it clear and focused and as simple as possible. Three main characters and three motivations.

 

[CharleyH]

A friend was complaining about the lack of writing threads here on the AH. So I'm going to do my bit to rectify that.

Currently working on a sequel to my latest. My first honest to goodness Group Sex story.

A couple of minor problems I'm trying to overcome.

First, keeping the characters straight, especially the two women. Physically they're different, trying to keep their personalities from slopping over to each other is a bit of a pain. How different should I make them? Will any similarity confuse the reader?

Second, I'm starting to find writing erotica a bit repetitive. I'm finding it hard to write what's starting to feel like the same thing over and over again.

OK, thread started. Comment, criticize, offer advice. No threadjacks please.

great thread, Rob.

 

[rgraham666]

great thread, Rob.

You're welcome.

 

[rgraham666]

Oh Doc?

By group sex, I mean threesome. The idea of writing a story with a pile of people is monumentally uninteresting to me.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Second, I'm starting to find writing erotica a bit repetitive. I'm finding it hard to write what's starting to feel like the same thing over and over again.

Yeah, I noticed this when I wrote things here. yeah, I'm still a litster, but my writing pace has fallen off, given this boredom, and how seriously I tend to take my more... well, serious stories. I think any good writer, or any writer who takes their work to heart and wants to be good (not about to claim I'm in the first category ) has to emphasize plot over content, character over content. The thing about porn is that it's so mainstream that there's little actual meaning to it. Porn, by definition, offers no societal value. I don't think that writing, to someone who accepts it as art, is meant to be that shallow. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not knocking porn. I enjoy it, but I also enjoy an Arnold Swartzenegger movie every now and again, and it's all entertainment too, mostly. No life lesson, no reflection of any real people or characters, or anything for the viewer/reader to relate to.

I am grateful to this site for that, teaching me how to blend the two, to use sexuality for more than just to produce pornography. Until here, I knew it could be done, but didn't know how to do it. I think I'm doing well in my lessons on that.

Q_C