Sexual Tension

[SFLP]

One of my favorite things in an erotic romance story is sexual tension. I love a story where, by the time the protagonists are actually going at it, I have been dying for it to happen. I love seduction.

How do you keep building sexual tension in your stories before your characters have sex for the first time?

And, more difficult for me, how do you maintain tension after your characters are having sex?

The first seems easier - every contact and conversation can build sexual tension, plus you can have them interrupted by various things, experience second thoughts, misinterpret an action, etc. I'd still like to hear everyone's thoughts, though.

The second is tougher for me. Sometimes the plot can help (he/she decides that he/she feels guilty, that it isn't good for the other person, that it's moving too fast, etc.). People can have a fight, attempt to get their partner to try something new, be separated by some trauma, etc. But it's trickier for me to do it in a way that doesn't seem contrived.

Anyway, thoughts? Ideas? Any stories that you can think of that are fabulous examples of jesus-god-if-he/she-doesn't-screw-him/her-pretty-soon-i'm-gonna-go-crazy?

Thanks,

SFLP

P.S. I'm finally just about done with my annual work-16-hours-per-day-7-days-a-week-for-6-weeks hell season, and will finally be getting back to some writing. Re: proofing/beta reading I've promised to do - I'll have time again starting about next Friday.

[scarletpeaches]

Desperation.

I find that tension is easy to maintain after the couple have sex for the first time if they're desperate to do it again.

No, they don't have the "Does he/she fancy me?" jitters but they can have worries about having done it right, the other person still wanting them, wondering when they can go again, memories of hot sex distracting them from their daily business...

[SFLP]

Ooh, desperation is good. (I can't believe some of the things I say on this forum.) I can go places with that.

Thanks!

J.

[ELMontague]

Long Post,

The answer's never the same. For me it's knowing that there's always more. Don't give it all up in the first, or second, or third, etc... encounter.

BTW - long time, no post.

[SFLP]

BTW - long time, no post.

Yeah, programming all-nighters and writing erotica just don't mix for me. :)

In some ways it was good though, taking a break from all the various stories I have going on. It's what brought up the question. I've been rereading some of my WIPs. So far as sexual tension goes, in some stories I've nailed it perfectly (erm...so to speak), in others things seem rushed, and I've got one long one that builds and builds like crazy, then once they have sex it just sorta...fizzles. Thinking about dumping everything after the first penetration scene, and rewriting.

Distance is good, if depressing sometimes.

J.

[cooeedownunder]

I believe sexual tension is built by having charachters that are obviously attracted to each other, who just can't go there for a while, and by showing the reader they have a thing for each other - a slight touch of the hand, a knowing look into their eyes, an accidentially brush of their thighs, an ache in their...

[thethinker42]

Desperation.

I find that tension is easy to maintain after the couple have sex for the first time if they're desperate to do it again.

No, they don't have the "Does he/she fancy me?" jitters but they can have worries about having done it right, the other person still wanting them, wondering when they can go again, memories of hot sex distracting them from their daily business...

QFT.

I sometimes find the tension after the first time to be easier to maintain (which is good, since most of my characters end up in bed no later than chapter 3). It's easier to keep the tension going because, hey, once you know how good he is, what's more intense than wondering when - or if - you're going to get him again?

A lot of my characters are also in situations where they want each other, but know they shouldn't be doing it. After they've slept together once, it's even more intense because they know what they're missing. They often end up in a "we shouldn't...we shouldn't...we shouldn't...we...oh fuck it, let's go" situation, which usually results in furniture getting broken and clothes being torn...needless to say, there's gotta be a lot of tension building up first.

The key for me? Keep them near each other, but just out of each other's reach (literally and/or figuratively).

[Synonym]

I've been reading Sandra Hill's books. Usually they get "together" fairly early and go at it like bunnies. Then they back off, get together, fight, get together, have a really big goal conflict and...resolve it. It kind of spoils reading, for me, now that I see the formula and understand what the author is doing to make the story long enough to have a "book".

(I like the way she interjects humor into the story, so I'm trying to pick up some pointers.)

So far I've read three, and I could write the plot arc before I pick up the next one. Not exactly what I would do or want to do, but it works for her. Most of the fights seem "contrived" to me, they aren't something I would be personally throwing a hissy over, but part of that may be because I understand the formula. It works for her, she sells lots of books. Is it something you don't have to worry about so much when you get successful? Do some readers actually like the predictability of knowing how the book will progress and then eventually end?

Desperation is good, we've all been there (I assume) and know how that feels. Life can get in the way, let them almost get to bed or heck, have a wild night then personal or business realities require their time and they spend hours wishing they could get back to the fun and games part. The tension of near but "oh so far" is great too. Don't forget the eventual adjustment that is going to enter into a relationship. You want to do what? I don't think so. Then you have some new tension as one person resists and the other is trying to push. (well, that might be just me. I'm kind of set in my ways.)

Glad your work is winding down. Thanks for the heads up.

[JanDarby]

I don't know if it helps, because it's kind of abstract, and sometimes I think I understand it, and sometimes I don't, and I tend to write lots of short stories, in part b/c then I don't have to deal with drawing out the tension after the first sex act, but here goes:

The sex scene should change the hero and/or heroine in some way, so they have slightly different issues/goals/self-knowledge/etc AFTER the sex than they did before the sex.

Using just the simplest of examples, let's say the hero (to switch up gender roles) thinks he's frigid. But the heroine turns him on, and they actually have sex, so he's been changed, b/c now he knows he's not ALWAYS frigid. He has to make new choices based on this new knowledge. Maybe he decides he wants to test whether he can be aroused at will, if anyone will do it, or if it's just the heroine, so he goes chasing after every woman he meets, which obviously annoys the heroine. Or maybe he freaks, b/c he'd sort of self-defined as frigid, and was planning a life of easy celibacy, where people would admire him for his apparent virtue, thinking it was an effort of will, so he considered himself a fraud, and now he's got to WORK at being celibate, so there's the tension right there.

It's all about change. Every scene in a story, regardless of how long it is, should change the characters in some way, sometimes large, sometimes small. And that includes the sex scenes. In a story where there's more than one sex scene, the first one (and each one thereafter until the HEA) should be the worst thing that could ever happen to the protagonist (in terms of the relationship or his/her goals and motivations).

JD

[Synonym]

These poor characters never get to have any fun :(

[nkkingston]

Have to say, UST and interrupted sex are two of my favourite sexual tension uppers; my ideal erotica goes on for chapters and chapters without any actual sex, until I'm as desperate as the characters! Probably not helpful in this situation though (but good for writing short stories, where it's not so long a wait readers get pissed off)

[Ruth2]

In mine, after the first encounter with P, my MC meets Z who sets out to heal her of her sexual demons. Each encounter addresses something that hasn't been addressed before. Since P is her twin and Z her many great times over grandfather plus the family is into no-holds barred incest, it's got some kinks. But so far it's not stale....

[SFLP]

Great advice, all.

NKKingston, yeah, I love characters almost having sex for a long time - even to the point where they're nekkid together, but something happens to stop it - so that it's really satisfying once they finally get there. If it's not handled right, though, it can get irritating.

Synonym, I know what you mean about that type of plot arc. There are author's whom I really enjoy that I won't read two books in a row by them, because it becomes too predictable.

I wish I could write short stories and novellas. My stories are all 800-2000 words OR very long novels. Not a lot of drawn out tension under 2000 words, and the longer pieces require it, so...

The main piece in question (the one that fizzles) is sort of an erotic suspense story. In the latter half, there's suspense, it's just not erotic suspense, or even romantic suspense...it's more danger-oriented.

I can't literally keep them apart (it's part of the plot) but perhaps I can figure out away to do it figuratively, as Lori suggested.

In the first half, the suspense plotline ramps at about the same pace as the as the sexual plotline; it works pretty well. First penetration at about 22k words; first time with the other guy (it's a menage story) at about 35k words; first menage scene at about 55k. There's a whole lot of story after that, that does indeed have sex scenes, but not with the same intensity as the prior scenes. The next couple are OK, because the MCs are not quite sure where everything is going, and so there's an element of uncertainty and a bit of "newness". But at about 70k, with 50-60k words left to go, the sex part of the story is just sort of...eh. The sex is creative, but at that point, the suspense story is more interesting.

It reads to me like one of those stories that, once I hit that 70k part, I'd be skipping the sex scenes and reading the story, if you know what I mean. I love it up until that point, though.

(Obviously, I need to shorten this puppy, but when I do, the sexual tension problems will remain.)

Thanks, guys, for the advice!

J.

[Synonym]

Jeez, I'll give that some thought. Maybe have one of the threesome get called away for a short time and the other two keep right on having fun. The third finds out and is not happy, tension grows because they feel neglected or scared they're going to be kicked out of the group. Depending on ages, might be some familial frowning over the arrangement that can insert some angst. Of course there's always the thought lingering in the back of someone's mind about how long this will last before jealousy ruins the arrangement. Maybe insert a flirty fourth interest that never quite materializes but throws the balance off.

[SFLP]

Maybe have one of the threesome get called away for a short time and the other two keep right on having fun.

Hmm. Lori had suggested distance, but due to the nautre of the story, the female protagonist is always stuck in the house with one or the other of these guys, so I thought I couldn't use that. One guy can't be called away, because he's protecting her, but the other (the second guy she slept with, and her best friend) could be called away, without affecting the suspense part of the plot. And yeah, that would really stir things up relationship-wise. I just need to figure out a compelling enough reason for him to leave, and her to encourage him to, in a way that it doesn't sound like "...and here the author needed to get rid of this guy for a minute so she sent him off to..." lol

I'll think on that, too. Thanks, Syn. (Great nickname for an erotica forum, don't you think?)

J.

[Synonym]

Completely accidental, but a lot of people keep pointing it out. Serendipity strikes when you least expect it. I never dreamed I'd end up on this forum when I first joined, but I likes it just fine.

[SFLP]

Completely accidental, but a lot of people keep pointing it out. Serendipity strikes when you least expect it. I never dreamed I'd end up on this forum when I first joined, but I likes it just fine.

"Synonym" is a great handle for a writer on a message board. But since you were posting on Erotica, I thought you were making a play on words:

Syn o' Nym.

Nym is a character from Forgotten Realms (D&D stuff), and IIRC, also a character in some work by Shakespeare. You can prolly tell where my head went from there. ;)

ETA: Yeah, yeah - I overthink LOTS of stuff like this.

J.

[Synonym]

I'd been working on my WIP and clicking that stupid synonyms button on Word like my life depended on it. I'd type a word and not like the way it fit so off I'd go to find another to say the same thing. When I decided to sign up here that was the first word that popped into my mind and I couldn't believe it was unused. Forgotton Realms and IIRC??? Don't know about that...You give me too much credit for being cleaver. I was just lucky.

[SFLP]

lol - IIRC = If I recall correctly, as in "If I recall correctly, Nym was also a character in Shakespeare."

And I admire you for not being sucked into D&D stuff (i.e. Forgotten Realms). Love that stuff, to my detriment, though oddly, I don't write that type of story. Apparently, I write erotic stories needing sexual tension help instead. lol.

J.

[Synonym]

lol - IIRC = If I recall correctly, as in "If I recall correctly, Nym was also a character in Shakespeare."
J.


IIRC, hah! I thought that was some other game I didn't know anything about. Sorry.

You never know when you might be helping someone else jog a braincell loose, so don't worry about the tension question. :)

[SFLP]

Well, here's a plea to ELMontague: How about an exersise that exudes sexual tension?

All of my favorite erotic stories are rampant with it, whether they have sex the first time on the first page or halfway through the book.

J.

[Synonym]

Maybe two paragraphs please?

[SFLP]

Maybe two paragraphs please?

LMAO.

I can sometimes write really, really short. But if we're talking build-up of sexual tension, well, that requires a longer word limit.

But then, I've always tried to ignore word limits. Hence the name. One of the worst pieces I ever submitted as an exercise was something I tried to shorten. It was...oh, maybe 1800 words and I shortened it down to 1300 and it sounded idiotic. I didn't name myself SFLP for nothin'.

I can do killer build-up, up to - and for a few scenes after - the first time people have sex. I can make a reader want the characters to have sex. But I'm not sure how to structure an exercise to show how to make the reader want to see the characters have sex after the initial encounter.

Did that make sense? (It's an adult beverage night.)

[Synonym]

Well, hell. Why didn't you say so. I could have had one too and then we'd both know what we're talking about.

Since you're all beveraged up, maybe you ought to write a little practice story in case El answers your wish after we play around outside next week.

[SFLP]

...maybe you ought to write a little practice story...

LMAO. I just might do that. Gotta start somewhere, having not written a word except in forums for two months.

Seriously, for me as a reader, the tension factor is SO important. I buy a lot of ebooks. I try to read reviews and stuff, but sometimes I just snag one on excerpts. It's frustrating for me to find a story that is great sex scene after great sex scene, but no plot and/or no build up. The sex scenes don't work for me then...essentially, at that point it becomes a stroke story, sex for the sake of sex. I've bought a number of these and I realize some people like them, but as it is not what I want to read, it's definitely not what I want to write.

In my perfect writer's world, every time my characters have sex, the reader will be dying for them to do so.

I'll work on it. ;)

J.

[Synonym]

Go for it. If you want to see something real interesting, hang around on Thursday or so. I'm having arthroscopic surgery on my knee Wed. and they promised some great painkillers. I don't know how, but I'll probably be in front of the computer at some point in time. With my knee propped up and just making a lot of sense.

[MargueriteMing]

Isn't it more fun to have the reader wondering "What in the world will they do next?" instead of "When are they gonna finally do it?"

[thethinker42]

Isn't it more fun to have the reader wondering "What in the world will they do next?" instead of "When are they gonna finally do it?"

Depends on the context.

For some relationships, the "when are they going to do it?" tension makes more sense. For others, the "what will they do next?" works better. It depends on what the author is trying to accomplish. If the characters are doing the "will we/won't we" dance, that can be fun as long as it's not overdone. And overdone it often is. I have been known to scream at the screen or book, "JUST KISS/DO HER ALREADY!"

But in general, either form of tension can work quite nicely.

[SFLP]

I have been known to scream at the screen or book, "JUST KISS/DO HER ALREADY!"

It's one of my favorite types of tension, but good God, do I know what you mean. Sometimes, if it were a real book rather than my laptop, I would throw it across the room.

What is worse is once I was working on one of MY stories, and it seemed to be dragging. I was trying to *finally* get the two characters in bed together, and they were babbling on and on. I finally said out loud "Oh, for god's sake, Michael, would you shut up and f*ck her already?" Obviously, a rewrite was in order.

J.

[Synonym]

Don't you just love it when the characters take over? Sometimes you have to get the whip out and threaten them before they start behaving.

[thethinker42]

Don't you just love it when the characters take over? Sometimes you have to get the whip out and threaten them before they start behaving.

That only seems to egg my characters on. :D

[SFLP]

Don't you just love it when the characters take over?

You know, I would, if they were jumping into bed having wild, kinky sex when I didn't expect it. But when they are talking about crap that could best be discussed later when they are supposed to be having sex...yeah, bring out the whip, or the mace or something. lol.

J.

[Synonym]

Just have the gal say "Shut the *&^% up and do it already." Once you get it written down, the lump in the carpet will flatten out. Well, some lump will anyway.