Erotica in other novel type?

Kalyke

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I am writing a sports themed suspense novel. The main character has a girlfriend, who is a well known sit-com actress. These two are constantly in bed together, taking any and all opportunities to have a bit of gratuitous fun.

I don't want these scenes to be either pornographic, or overly romantic, but I do want the reader to feel effected by them, just as I would want the reader to be effected by the other writing.

It is not always perfect either. In a sense the problems in their plot line intensify, they effect the male's performance and as his libido goes down, she gets bored with him as well. On the other hand, as the sports related thread gets closer to the "big game," the opposite occurs. So, what I have is someone who waffles.

The sit-com actress is also in the midst of planning and negotiating for a new show, so she is in the same frying pan (or waffle iron). The couple can't seem to get on the same page, so what I have are a series of indifferent, combative, awkward sex scenes, which are written in mechanical terms, and often have the old nose-bumping, hit the girlfriend accidentally with an elbow type scenarios, as well as bad manners like falling asleep during the act, not being able to "last," and so on.

It's become so fun showing their ineptitude, that their sex life has become a kind of comedy of errors.

My main question is: under these circumstances, how graphic do you think I should get? I am thinking of going over into Norman Mailer territory with this one, not romance novels.
 

JanDarby

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As long as the sexual encounters advance the plot, the rest should fall into place.

JD
 

Maryn

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I think that if you get graphic, you'll alienate the book's targeted readership. You can, of course, write a sex scene in which things go wonderfully, or one in which elbows forcefully contact noses, without explaining in any detail what the various naughty bits are doing. One method is to have the characters' dialogue be pretty much the whole scene. An example, off the top of my head (so it'll suck):

"You like that?" She knew he did, but it was always nice to hear it.

"I would, but your watch is caught."

"What? Oh, sorry." Curling hairs bristled the stretch metal band. "There, better?"

"Mm-hmm. I like that."

"I remember." Already her arm was tiring. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm tired is all."

That hardly excused the fact that he hadn't touched her since she'd shucked the blue suit and silk blouse. "I see." When would he remember his bed was a two-way street? Probably tomorrow morning, a half hour before she had to be in makeup.


Maryn, hoping this helped a little
 

veinglory

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I have read many books with occassional sexually graphic scenes that were not erotica. It is noticiably common in thrillers, romance, chicklit, mystery, sci fi and fantasy and detective stories. I don't read a lot of suspense but am willing to bet at least some of it has adult content.
 
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Soccer Mom

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My mysteries have adult content. I wrote the scenes the way I wanted to and then scaled back to PG to make them more mainstream. If I don't sell this book to print publishers, I will market it to e-pubs which tend to have a higher tolerance for adult content and the scenes will go back to the more adult version.


I say write them and then edit it for your market.

Just my .02
 

Elodie-Caroline

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Hi,
To me, people making love/having sex in a story, isn't erotica, it is just a normal, every day activity that lovers do together. I write thriller/suspense/romance and my characters make love and enjoy it, the same as I do in my real life. I couldn't possibly write a story where adults were not shagging every so often, it wouldn't seem real to me; I write some scenes very graphically too, usually from one of the characters pov and how they feel about it; the pleasure, the emotion and the feelings they get from the partner. I personally don't consider this as erotica, as the stories aren't just based around the sex in the first place.
If people are running away and screaming because they see a little sex scene in a book, then maybe they should be reading children's books, or maybe they are just frigid anyway. :Shrug:


Elodie
 

Drasheny

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My main question is: under these circumstances, how graphic do you think I should get?

Since you're going to have a number of such scenes, I think you should change it up so it doesn't get repetitious. If a certain encounter is particularly good/bad/meaningful to one of the characters, you could go into a lot of detail. Other encounters could simply be summarized in a line or two. In another, like Maryn suggested, you could focus only on dialogue. You could contrast a scene like this with another where they go about their business without talking at all - because they are fighting, or exhausted, or to illustrate that the sex has become routine, or that they are completely disconnected, etc.) Let the needs of the particular scene dictate and complement the rest of the story.

If you mean "how graphic" in terms of language used, you should let the POV character dictate the diction level. Do they think of sex in blunt, mechanical terms? Or do they think in more esoteric language? Or are they more concerned with the relationship? Again, this should be contrasted from one scene to another. It might be interesting if the two characters described the same encounter completely differently; and you wouldn't need to show how the scene "really" went at all.
 

Kalyke

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I think that if you get graphic, you'll alienate the book's targeted readership.

I tend to have a lot of hard Erotic scenes in my books even though they are "Set" in unusual places, and generally about a mystery, or involve a chase. So I would think that the audience would not be alienated by sex, because my target audience is somewhat interested in sex scenes.

In fact today I went looking through a box of old manuscripts some of which I am revising and I find that the majority of them involve some sort of relationship, often illicit or forbidden, sometimes rather shocking. I am going to post on the box pretty son.
 
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Stacia Kane

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Since you're going to have a number of such scenes, I think you should change it up so it doesn't get repetitious. If a certain encounter is particularly good/bad/meaningful to one of the characters, you could go into a lot of detail. Other encounters could simply be summarized in a line or two. In another, like Maryn suggested, you could focus only on dialogue. story.

I agree with this. The sequel to Personal Demons was the first book I've written with an established couple, and the first non-erorom I've written where the characters spent a lot of their time in bed. So with the exception of two scenes--one of which established the baseline for where the relationship is now, as opposed to the end of the first book, and the other which illustrated an important emotional moment for both of them and really needed to be shown--the sex is alluded to. The hero starts kissing the heroine's neck, say, and she says something like "I guess we have a few minutes", and the scene ends. That sort of thing.

If you're using the scenes to illustrate the progress or decline of the relationship, you can be more descriptive with them, but I honestly believed readers would get bored if I detailed every sex scene in the book (seriously, the H/h are like rabbits) because it's not an erorom where they would expect it. So that's something to think about.

I really liked Maryn's suggestion too! That was great.
 

Maryn

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We have. There are more than 50 works there. Pick any and provide feedback.

FWIW, many of the regulars at this board choose not to post work for feedback. Apparently they do quite well without it, which is good not only for them but for us all.

I'm sure you also realize that unlike posting a western or a mystery, posting erotica reveals a great deal about its author. Some people are uncomfortable sharing that much of themselves with strangers online.

Maryn, who doesn't post much there
 

Kalyke

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Thanks Maryn. I looked in there, but it looked like nothing was posted. I'll go back and look again.
 

Hildegarde

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I think that if you get graphic, you'll alienate the book's targeted readership. You can, of course, write a sex scene in which things go wonderfully, or one in which elbows forcefully contact noses, without explaining in any detail what the various naughty bits are doing. One method is to have the characters' dialogue be pretty much the whole scene. An example, off the top of my head (so it'll suck):


Maryn, hoping this helped a little

There are lots of ways to do sex-with-no-sex (lol). Maryn's was great. You can also do the TV cut-away - so you describe feelings, emotions, actions, before and after and the reader draws their own picture. One or both characters can think about what happend or will happen throughout the day (it was great or what the heck happened? or that bruise must have been from the headboard. . . . or God, he couldn't wait to get home and work of the rest of this stress with x. . . . .). I would think in most contemporary adult books, you can get away with at least one scene that is somewhat graphic if it fits the pace and tone of the rest of the novel.

This is sports-themed, right? So maybe there is a little locker room talk, or the MC wonders what the locker-room buddies would say if they knew. . . .
 

CKing

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go Norman

I read a lot of novels and find the graphic bits add a real-life flavor. For example, Pat Barker's WWI series (Eye in the Door and others). All's fair, it seems.

My novel in progress may be a bit over the line in this regard.
 

ShauntaGrimes

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I'm reading Christine Feehan right now, and her books are seriously graphic when it comes to sex. Personally, I like the juicy stuff. Diana Gabaldon is the same--juicy stuff in a story that isn't really erotica. I think that Feehan is pretty close to erotica, because her plots have so much to do with sex. But some people would rather just have the illusion and not the graphic stuff. So I think if you do what feels right to you, you'll find an audience either way.