What's Hot?

What's hot varies so widely that whatever you're able to write about with knowledge and gusto can usually find a market, although not necessarily a paying one.

Fetish material can appeal to a readership so small that there simply isn't a print medium or even a paying cyber one for that audience. If you happen to have a fetish interest, you can certainly cut your erotica teeth giving your early efforts away to webmasters who agree to feature it.

My understanding is that more women read--and write--M/M or M/m (an equal or unequal relationship) than gay men, although certainly not all women enjoy it. My own interest was present before I finished high school, and from what our daughter tells me, it continues to be present in high school students, based on the sites-visited lists in the computer labs.

I write M/m/F, M/M, M/m, M/F, F/m, and M/f. (I'm not sure why, but that list cracks me up.) I've written and donated fetish material, under a name nobody here is likely to connect with me, but don't any more, since it has no paying market.

Now I'm trying to produce more marketable work while sticking with characters and stories that interest me. It's discouraging that my most marketable novel so far can't seem to land an agent, but there aren't so many that I can afford to burn through them quickly.

Maryn, not having a great day, writing-wise

Nope! I like to read erotica but have very little experience writing it. I did write one piece a while ago but not sure if I want to post it. Maybe one day I'll pluck up the courage.
Talking of fetish some of my tastes in erotic writing tend towards fetish...one of the reasons I'm reluctant to post them!

With erotica I'll read and write man on man only. Nothing else in that genre. Threesomes are good as long as its three guys Put a girl in there, I'm not interested. ff - don't read it, mf - for reviewing purposes only. Some might find that limiting, but I can't help what I like

Exactly, Darklite. We like what we like, and there's no getting around it.

NYBrit, it is indeed scary the first time you post work for critique. Sharing erotica reveals so much more about you than posting your mystery chapter or poem! However, once you summon the courage, you will very probably find that people critique it just like they would anything else, discussing the writing rather than the content, and certainly not the author.

FWIW, when the members of Ray's House of Love (in Office Party, and welcoming anybody who'd like to stop by) met last year, we did critique--including two works of erotica, both submitted anonymously. The 'rule' was that feedback could not include approval or disapproval of the sexual acts in the story, its language, the relationships the people had, and so on. It was cool that people who very probably had never read erotica before were able to rise above and critique it like anything else.

Hmm, this gives me an idea...

Maryn, with a light bulb over her head

Uh-oh...Maryn has an idea!

I generally read BDSM and prefer more "hardcore" erotica but when I write it, it's more straightforward, mf scenes. I've tried mm but didn't have much luck, though I have written ff and threesomes (and foursomes), on occasion.

What gets me going

A strong plot. I love reading about sex, but only if it advances the story. Otherwise, it doesn't matter what the sexy stuff is, it gets boring quickly.

www.jenbluekissed.blogspot.com
www.jenbluekissederotica.blogspot.com

Maryn said:

Exactly, Darklite. We like what we like, and there's no getting around it.

NYBrit, it is indeed scary the first time you post work for critique. Sharing erotica reveals so much more about you than posting your mystery chapter or poem! However, once you summon the courage, you will very probably find that people critique it just like they would anything else, discussing the writing rather than the content, and certainly not the author.

FWIW, when the members of Ray's House of Love (in Office Party, and welcoming anybody who'd like to stop by) met last year, we did critique--including two works of erotica, both submitted anonymously. The 'rule' was that feedback could not include approval or disapproval of the sexual acts in the story, its language, the relationships the people had, and so on. It was cool that people who very probably had never read erotica before were able to rise above and critique it like anything else.

Hmm, this gives me an idea...

Maryn, with a light bulb over her head

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So what's your idea????

My idea was the post I made the same day about creating an anonymous account anybody could use to post erotica, if they didn't want their username connected to it.

Apparently it's entirely unnecessary, as the board's moderator and some of the regulars will post it for you, leaving your name out of the process.

So warm up the gravy and drug the goats!

Maryn, hoping that's fat-free gravy

I'm not going to disclose my taste in detail since that is way too personal for me, although in general terms I like certain features of erotica. As I am aiming at a publisher which only accepts women writers and stories from the female point of view, what I am writing follows that. I like a good story with a good ending and the aspects that I like - anticipation, pace and timing, and emotion. The participants don't have to be "in love" but they must, to me, enjoy the experience with the other person and connect on an emotional level. In life, I am usually attracted by the person's mind and sense of humour first, quite a turn on. What doesn't do it for me is one party going into unfeasibly strong reactions within seconds of the second who has condescended to fit tab A into slot B. I expect a fair amount of build up to the point where I am "into it". Telling, rather than showing, kills it for me.
M/M or M/m does nothing for me although the book I am currently reading and enjoying ("Menage" by Emma Holly) does contain that. If it's well written, I'll read it.

ELMontague said:

Here's the question. What get's you going in a bit of erotic reading, or writing for that matter?

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What gets me going is a good story with a plot that's believable. M/F preferred, maybe a menage' (F/M/F) -- but it's got to have a plot!

Descriptions of "insert tab A into slot B" are interesting, but if repeated endlessly get boring awfully fast. The lead-up (shall I say 'foreplay'?) to "insert ... B" should be longer than the act itself. ("It's the trip, not the destination.")

Literary erotica, some of Susie Bright's and possibly John Updike come to mind. A Hundred Strokes of the Brush also. Sleeping Beauty was interesting -- for about 20 minutes - never finished it.

I can buy porn anywhere, good erotica is a bit harder to find.

Just passing through

This is my second time to this forum in two years, but its interesting to read your dialog. It makes me curious about your writing. I have written a couple of erotic poems, but I have no ambitions for them. Since they have no other place to go, I'll dedicate a snippet of one of them to you guys:

"As the steaming pages turn, your pulse is getting quicker,
The story's getting longer,
And the plot is getting thicker."

OK, enough of that! I'm going back to my technical writing.

I write M/F only. My last novella included a scene where the heroine does the hero while he's done, and two other males watch while getting themselves off. Another short included a heroine giving her hero a blowjob while the rest of the men in the wolf pack watched with their hands pleasuring their mates. Other than those types of scenes, I have the H/h with each other.

What is hot and what I likely are clearly differnt. I didn't reply as I wasn;t sure what the question is. Online MM and MMF remain hot. In print anthologies with pretentious themes and literary stylings seem to be big.

Personally, I like anything with passion in it. Plot is an integral part of what fuels the passion, in my opinion, but it isn't all of it. I guess the same thing that makes a couple 'click' on television, forcing everyone to want them to get together (reminds me of the soaps my friends used to watch when I was in school.)

It's about how well the characters connect. If they don't, all the flowery passionate phrases in the world cannot generate heat.

Then, there's conflict. The forbidden love always has an edge for me. I suppose that's why I like the MM stuff, as well as some of the darker, taboo issues. I don't like to read about men who are completely accepting of the situation, but those who are fighting internal devils over it and are... um... overcome.

Yeah, well. I like writing it, as well, although I keep working on such light topics I wonder if I'll ever get to write what I really have in my head.

Since I believe I am the person that informed EL that women like reading M/M I supposed I ought to respond to this...

I'll admit that I like to read about things I probably wouldn't do for real, but I won't be more specific than that, because it is a rather personal question. But in general almost any well-written erotic story can get you "hot" even one with just kissing. It's all about how the writer makes you feel with good imagery and sensations.

The idea of the feelings the writer can convey is more key to me than the actual sex acts. A good writer can make something I'd never consider very exciting, or something seemingly tame, like a kiss, can become much more.

I've worked with some new erotic writers who feel the need for the characters to always F*** and one person who had never had sex wrote something quite unrealistic and probably not very enjoyable. Her excuse was she never had sex so how could she know? I told her to work with something she could describe, even kissing can be very sexy if you write it to make the reader feel we are being kissed...

Well, sorry I went on a bit of a tangent.

That's more about the actual erotic elements.

In terms of an erotic romance or romantic erotica, the characters and the story need to be spot on. I don't care what they get up to in bed (or wherever) if the writer hasn't convinced me that these two people belong together, and that's for any gender pairing. Great sex scenes cannot resuscitate a crappy storyline, though I believe some publishers might not agree with me. Most do, however, so just a string of sex scenes need to make sense for the story.

Much of erotica written by gay men is more about the sex and less about the relationship. In a lot of cases there is no relationship especially in shorter pieces. There is definitely a different vibe in what I've read compared to women writing, though it definitely does not describe all. For women readers I think the relationship is important, and you need to make both characters ones the reader would want to know and have sex with.

Back to writing... I'm female but I write M/M. Obviously I have no personal experience of much of what that entails, but I have done research and I ask gay male friends questions. I have them read what I've written and let me know if something wouldn't work or might hurt. But it's really gratifying when they tell me reading my stuff gets them hot, because it means I've done a good job.

I admit that one of the reasons I don't write het is because it is almost too personal. I would feel everyone is expecting that I've done that and might judge me. So, M/M is a somewhat safer exercise for me; no one would ever wonder if I've actually done it

Hopefully something in there was useful.

I agree that the actual 'hotness' of a scene for me has nothing to do with the mechanics of what's going on, but the combination of emotion and character. A simple kiss can be far more effective than all the 'tab a fits slot b' writing in the world, but it has to be emotionally charged and with characters I can identify with, male or female. That means I have to be able to understand the attraction between them in a very intuitive way, not just being told how they feel, but shown it in ways that are far more subtle.

emlynley said:

I admit that one of the reasons I don't write het is because it is almost too personal. I would feel everyone is expecting that I've done that and might judge me.

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This made me grin. I don't mean to quibble, but I've heard this from so many authors, and it's true in some respects (I've gotten responses from some readers on my writing that makes me wonder if they realize it's called FICTION! lol However, does this mean that, if you write from the pov of a murderer, you've actually committed murder? And, in a lot of respects, if the reader thinks you've done your research a little too well, isn't that a sort of good comment? I mean, it must have struck some realistic chords if they think that way.

Just my thought for what it's worth.

What's arousing is by definition an intensely personal opinion, and unless you have common/popular tastes I don't think it actually has much to do with what's saleable.

I write m/m or hermaphrodites in fantasy, science-fiction, or historical settings only. There's plenty of that to read on the internet, but actually published and sold?

Similarly, my major fetishy interest is for impregnation and pregnancy especially in unusual situations - inter-species, incestuous, pregnant men, aliens implanting eggs in humans, ridiculously multiple pregnancies, fantasy or alien species where the mechanics of pregnancy work differently, etc. Again, I challenge you to find even 5 examples of erotica illustrating any of this that is actually being sold rather than shared free over the internet.

ELMontague said:

I was really asking what's hot, as in something you'd like to read and therefore salable.

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I think that if you write something just because you think there is a market for it, it's probably not going to be as good as if you write something you enjoy writing about and find the right market. I think this is especially true in erotica. If BDSM sells but you have no experience in it or interest in actually learning enough about it to make someone who knows about it believe your characters and the sex scenes, it's going to show in the work. People are looking for particular things when they read and they know right away when it's not there inside of you when you're writing, even if you aren't writing something that's personal.

Maybe that wasn't quite what you meant either.