Sex scenes: WARNING - Adult Content

[Coco82]

How do you go about doing those where it;s good yet still tasteful? Different authors do it differently and wanted some opinions.

[Kate Nepveu]

Start with this weblog post (http://www.saralaughs.com/blog/archives/000497.html) and go forward for another ten or so posts, for analysis of published examples. Just to start.

[Kate St Amour]

Pick up Nora Roberts, Christine Feehan, Suzanne Brockmann, Iris Johansen, and read, read, read. Remember to keep the scene sensitive and passionate. Avoid anatomically correct buzz- words unless you are writing erotica. Finally, adjectives and adverbs are your friends now.

Good luck.

~Kate

[MacAl Stone]

Also, this post (http://p197.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm3.showMessageRange?topicID=257.to pic&start=621&stop=640) from the Uncle Jim thread--scroll down until you get to HapiSofi's discussion on the topic.

[maestrowork]

This is going to sound counterintuitive, but you want to keep the descriptive language as plain, simple, and lucid as possible. Seriously. Sex scenes are emphatically not the place to get fancy with the purple prose. You're writing about sex for an audience of primates. You don't have to dress it up to get them to pay attention to what's going on, and fancied-up language will just get you into trouble.

This is probably one of the most important things about writing sex scenes, which is very hard to write to begin with (puns intended). I've found the simpler, more straightforward approach the better.

[mr mistook]

I liked Maestro's post and quote. I'd like to see a little more straighforward responses here than people shunting the issue off to links and referred texts.

Let's talk about this!

I haven't written any sex scene's yet, but I know I've got some waiting in the wings for me in later chapters of my WIP. I'm as curious as the rest - how to portray sex in a way that is neither cheesy, clinical, nor crass.

Given the contemporary restrictions on POV, this is an especially "salient" issue.

[maestrowork]

My opinion: you have to consider both sides -- who are your target readers and who are you? Obviously if you're writing romance, you'd write your sex scenes differently than, say, erotica or adult contemporary. The question is: how much, how far, and simply how?

Is it romantic, thus more "flowery"? Is it more sinister, thus raw and unrefined? Is it lustful and casual? What's your story about? Your language should reflect all that.

For me, I write mainstream stuff, so I can probably get away with more than other genres. I tend to write the scene as I see it, then pare down the language or unnecessary mechanics or make it more literary or less, depending on the tone of the story -- where it is in the plot, and who the players are. But I tend to write in simple language, even when I'm dressing the scene up with literary flare.

Below is an excerpt (an "almost" sex scene) from my upcoming novel, The Pacific Between. The scene happens in a sleazy bar and the main character is drunk and, actually, depressed. It's not very romantic and the language tends to be straightforward.

(Warning: PG-13 or R rated material follows)


“Aggressive. I like that,” I say.

“Oh, yeah?” she teases. She takes my left hand and guides it slowly down her hip and thigh. I press against her, hard.

“What’s your name?” she whispers.

I press a finger on her lips. “No names.”

She opens her mouth, and I slide the finger in between her lips. She sucks, rolling her tongue around the tip, savaging traces of salty sweat and sweet whiskey. Smoke, gin and perfume, she smells like cheap Paris and that makes me even harder. I kiss her neck, pressing my tongue on her skin. My lips move along the long arc to her shoulder as my hand cups her left breast, my thumb tracing her erect nipple. She raises one leg, bends it slightly, pulls me closer. Through the thin cotton of my trousers, I can feel her warmth and softness where she’s the most vulnerable, inviting. I press closer.

...

She unbuckles my belt with skillful hands. Once the belt’s loosened, she slips one hand inside my pants, only my underwear separating her hand and my crotch. “Nice,” she whispers, and starts rubbing. I sigh. Her body rises and I grind slowly in her grip. She kisses me, but I turn away from her. She kisses my neck instead, licking my Adam’s apple, panting, sweating.

Her breath is intoxicating.

[katdad]

In my new novel, I have a very graphic sex scene in the shower, probably because I was feeling peppy that day. But usually I just write around the subject.

I would recommend writing to the level of your overall novel. If it's adult and graphic, then go for it. Otherwise just quit the chapter before it gets too clinical. For example:

When I got to my bedroom, Terrie was waiting for me.

What you don't want to do is bowdlerize the story. Don't use asterisks or faux sex descriptions. That's too "cute".

[preyer]

this reply could be considered unsanitary to the eyes and detrimental to the kindlier souls, so reader beware. in all honesty, it's probably best everyone skip it altogether.

i vow in the next sex scene i do to tell the size of the guy. i mean, 'nice' could mean anything. if he's the hero, hell yeah he's gonna be hung. what, you think superman couldn't do porn? people get squirley when you give 'em a number. i'm a nipple guy, so i want to know if there's something unusual about that, too. it's probably just me, but i don't go in for those ideal sexual encounters, where every touch and tongue tickle is the perfect thing to do at the perfect time and in the end both people have fantastic sex right off the bat. sure, it's possible, just not overly realistic to me. like having great sex in the back seat of a car. who's ever had that? or doing it on the dresser, knocking over all the junk on top, because you just can't seem to wait to make it to the bed four feet away.

i've always managed to avoid 'salty' and 'sweet' in my descriptions. just play-out, i think. how come no one ever licks a woman's neck and gags because they just tasted perfume? of course, my junk doesn't lend itself well towards idealized situations to begin with because that doesn't suit my nature as a reader or writer. with sex scenes, i try to write what i'd jerk off to, which is simple, to-the-point, and realistic.

the last sex scene i did was between two women. the one before that had her only memory of the experience being pain as she fell victim to a date-rape drug. my characters have sex to advance the story, not usually as any kind of consumation of love. if my characters are usually in love by the time they first have sex, i'm not convinced that detailing that has anything other than a titilating effect. i'm just not into that wild, passionate, perfect sex until dawn type of sex scenes. in particular, if my character is off his or her nut, i think that should be reflected in their style of sex.

furthermore, i believe a guy has sex usually to have sex, while a woman has sex for a variety of reasons. the guy will go as far as the woman let's him/pushes him, while the woman dictates the style of sex they'll be having overall by her mood and situation and surroundings and psychological profile. that's very broad, of course, but just as a generality i think that holds pretty true. if nothing else, a woman might *want* to have some rough stuff every now and then even if she doesn't indicate it.

what it boils down to is that there should be a rawness to the act to interest me. purple prose and over-conceived motions won't affect me, nor will ten pages of hard-core porn. obviously it depends on the genre you're writing for, your comfort level, and basically what your editor will let you get away will. my wife once pointed out a rather disturbing sex scene involving a woman and the devil in one of her romance books that looked from the cover to be a generic bodice-ripper.

i think, too, people write sex scenes just because that's what's expected. isn't it too often the case where the protagonists have strong feelings for one another, then once they have great sex decide they love the other? i reckon that from a storytelling perspective it's the only way to satisfy the reader, but what would happen if these two lovebirds had lousy sex? what if he was just an average size when she was looking for a deep-dickin' from the hero?

there's always a psychological/emotional reason for the sex in a good story. if there's not, it's just a waste of paper. the same could be said for using other ultimate acts such as violence. people just don't screw standing up in a crowded subway for no reason and that reason's just not as simple as 'we wanted to spice up our love life.'

[maestrowork]

Preyer, I feel like your commentary seems to be directed, partially, to my little example. People writes sex scenes differently. I don't give sizes -- that's too clinical. I'm not writing porn, so I don't write "my nine inches of manhood." Besides, everytime when a narrator tells me he has a nine-incher I just cringe. The sex scene I described in my example is far from "ideal" -- but you don't know since it's out of context: the protagonist is so distraught at this point he wanted to f***, anything, and cheap women (with perfume and all) excite the sleezy, primal part of his psyche. There's nothing "romantic" about this scene, but at the same time, I don't want it to be clinical and describe length, girth, the actual penetration... Also, I find stories (mostly erotica) in which every male protagonist is hung like a horse and every female protagonist is built actually ridiculous. For me, personally, spare me that 9" or 38D cup. It's cliche.


There is a difference between erotica/porn and literary sex scene.

Sure, the character could have said "Wow, you're a big boy" instead of "nice." But now that becomes "cheesy," I think. I find nothing wrong with sweet and sweat if the descriptions fit the scene (e.g. in that sceen, "sweet" refers to the whiskey, which is a characterization on the narrator's part).

Sometimes the sex scene is part of a fantasy -- for example, the perfect sex in a romance is fantasy. There's nothing wrong with depicting two people in love having great perfect sex if your story calls for it and if the readers expect it. Obviously, if your story is about two strangers starting to know each other -- two teenagers in the backseat of a car for example -- then your scene should be realistic (then again, is the backseat first sex of Leo and Kate in Titanic real or pure fantasy?)

I would also tell you that there are plenty of women who would have sex just to have sex, and there are men who have sex for a variety of reasons. I caution about stereotypes.


I agree with katdad: write your sex scene consistent with the rest of the story. Your sex scene should serve a purpose to advance the plot or develop the character. Otherwise, it's perfectly okay to say "they went into the bedroom and shut the door" and skip the scene altogether.

Here is where your betas and reviewers come in. If they have problems with your sex scenes, listen to them. Is it too raw? Too tame? To flowery? To unrealist? Too cliche? Too sappy? Too cute? Too nasty? The author sometimes can't tell because 1) she's too close to the story; 2) sex scene is difficult. Also, use both men and women with different backgrounds and sexual experiences as your readers. If all of them like your sex scenes, you've struck gold.

[aka eraser]

Just a note to say I edited the original topic line to reflect the fact that it's veering into adult content territory.

[katdad]

Another point I want to expand on.

My private detective novels are adult oriented. They contain graphic descriptions of crime violence (one novel has a sadistic serial killer). They also have unfettered adult language. So within that context, I felt it okay to include a fairly graphic sex scene.

That being said, I'm not pandering to the "sex-starved" or "lust-killer" reader, either. I'm simply describing a realistic, modern city (Houston) and showing as it is, rough edges throughout. So there's some bad stuff in the books, as you might imagine for a modern hardboiled PI venue.

I certainly don't expect that I'll find copies of my book with pages turned down to mark the "good parts". On the other hand, friends have remarked that my "Chapter 38 shower scene" is a rouser. If I were to post it here, it would be edited for certain.

[maestrowork]

If I were to post it here, it would be edited for certain.

Not if you post it in SYW. We don't censor there. ;)

[detante]

Here is another article worth reading: Site link removed per request of other site's Webmaster

In my opinion, a sex scene should be real enough for the audience to relate to. It should be essential to the story (as UJ says, advance the plot, add character development, and/or support the theme). And it should have some unique element that separates it from the thousands of other sex scenes out there. Simple, right?

Jen

[maestrowork]

Jen, I think that's very important. Is it an integral part of your story and what purpose does it serve? If it stops the story and we just see two people rolling naked in bed... you have to ask, is there a point to that? Why should I care? For example, at the end of my 1-page scene, something happens that defines the character and moves the plot along. The sex scene adds details to the character's transformation.

Another way to look at it: if you cut out the scene, do you lose anything vital to your story? If the answer is a resounding yes, then keep it. Otherwise, you have a choice.

[detante]

Another way to look at it: if you cut out the scene, do you lose anything vital to your story?

Yes, exactly!

Sex and violence (and, to some extent vulgar language) are all powerful tools. We should be careful not to abuse them. They should be used sparingly and to greatest effect, not for simple shock value. If they are not important to the story, many readers will see through the sham and skip the scene.

[Coco82]

My main character develops into something of a womanizer and is just supposed to be one of those legendaty old Hollywood figures who had a lot of wives and affairs. He develops through the story as a mild mannered "nice guy" to something of a manipulative SOB with a heart lol. It's hard to explain. So I'd think the sex scnes where they don't have to be graphic and overly plentiful have to be somewhat realistic.

[Coco82]

Here's an example from the project:

So the two went into a modestly sized and decorated room. It had a few posters of old silent films adorning the walls, a small dresser, which contained her jewelry and clothes, and the first thing Jack noticed, a small bed.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp “I know it isn’t much, but you can only afford so much just starting out,” she said, a bit embarrassed.
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp “It’s alright, it’ll be enough for us.”
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp So they fell onto the bed and began to tear each other’s clothes off, resulting in the flying in the air of socks, shirts, underwear and the like. Once they were undressed fully they fell into each other in rapturous ecstasy. They groped and caressed and engaged in all manner of physicality while they enjoyed the other’s body. They lasted a good while before they stopped and fell into each other’s arms.

[detante]

Coco, how about posting a scene in the Share Your Work forum (http://p197.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm31).

Jen

[bolshywoman]

Has anyone here read Neil Gaiman's short story, "Tastings", from his compilation "Smoke and Mirrors"? The sex is clinically described, and extraordinarily effective without being- and having been intended to be- erotic in the least. I usually hate reading sex scenes, but the story is among my favourites.

Just as an aside, THANK YOU MacAlStone for posting the link to that page from the fabulous UJ thread. I'd been hunting for the word "proprioception" (which Jim posted) for a few months- could remember the definition, but not where I'd read the word. :)

[Medievalist]

All About Romance (AAR) is a web site devoted to romance readers and writers. It's a fairly influential site for the genre, and there's some good advice there for any writer.

AAR has an annual "purple prose parody" contest that's worth taking a gander at in terms of how not to write, and for a giggle.

http://www.likesbooks.com/ppppageindex.html (http://www.likesbooks.com/ppppageindex.html
)

And then there's the annual "bad sex" writing contest sponsored by the <cite>Literary Review</cite>. I can't find a direct link to it, but there's a good summary at Kuro5hin:

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/12/14/55030/217 (http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/12/14/55030/217
)

I find that I'm annoyed by sex scenes from writers with little understanding of human anatomy&mdash;like the novel I read recently where the hero's phallus is described entering a woman's cervix, or another that referred to him "pressing deep inside her womb."

While we're on the topic, I'd like to point out the difference between areola, the dark ring of flesh surrounding a nipple, and aureola, an alternate spelling for aureole, a circle of gold or light around a holy person or a deity, yes, that's right, a halo. Here's the AHD entry for aureole (http://www.bartleby.com/61/36/A0523600.html), and for areola (http://www.bartleby.com/61/52/A0415200.html).

You can keep the two apart by thinking of their etymologies; an areola is an area around the nipple; it has the Latin cognate for area in its name.

An aureola is a golden halo; you'll notice it has the Latin root au-, or "gold" as its root.

Edited to link the URLs since EZ Board hates me.

[maestrowork]

Mediavalist, that's hilarious. I can see it now... "I got so excited when I saw and felt Mary's aureola." Sacrilegious!

[Coco82]

Well, I know James Ellroy'a sex scenes ar pretty graphic too.

[Kate Nepveu]

As those posts I linked to said, if you can replace the scene with "and then they had sex," you either need to revise the scene or cut it out.

Oh, I wasn't "shunting the issue off to links and referred texts," I was attempting to provide useful information.

[Medievalist]

Maestrowork wrote:

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr> Mediavalist, that's hilarious. I can see it now... "I got so excited when I saw and felt Mary's aureola." Sacrilegious!<hr></blockquote>

It's rough living in the twenty first century, and being a medievalist. First, I spend a lot of time reading saint's lives and religious texts, then I pick up a novel to relax, and <em>I've still</em> got people with halos to deal with, only around their breasts now!

Plus, reading medieval literature requires one to cultivate a bawdy sense of humor; this can be very dangerous in this day and age.

[sc211]

23 replies in 20 hours - no one can deny that sex gets our attention. :D

Maestro – nice work! Made me want to head to the nearest dive bar and get depressed myself.

Preyer - "unsanitary to the eyes and detrimental to the kindlier souls" - can I use that for a title?

Also, "if my character is off his nut, i think that should be reflected in their style of sex." My brother lost a nut, and while I don't know if it changed his style, he was still able to have kids. :b

Finally, for those interested, there's an Erotica forum on this site – I've never been there, but it looks like they get a lot of action.

[detante]

I'll second Lisa's AAR (http://www.likesbooks.com) recommendation. It's a great sight for any writer, not just romance novelists. The At The Back Fence (http://www.likesbooks.com/news.html) newsletter archive is a goldmine.

Jen

Edited to add: If I'm not mistaken, one of the AW board regulars is a reviewer for AAR. She'd be a good resource to tap for this subject.

[maestrowork]

Well, if you want to see "how not to write a sex scene," read Tom Wolfe's I Am Charlotte Simmons. It was recently awarded "worst sex scenes."

[bolshywoman]

Kate, thanks so much for posting that link. Sara Donati's blog looks wonderful.

[Stace001]

I liked Maestro's sex scene...just enough detail to picture the scene clearly, maybe give the reader a little tingle in places people don't like to talk about...

I think that's what a sex scene should do. If you're going to have a sex scene in your story, make it descriptive enough that the reader can 'feel' exactly what the characters are feeling without making it cheap and nasty. (altho if your story is more erotica, then knock your socks off...the more cheap and nasty the better)

I have two sex scenes in my romantic comedy, one is more basic animal instint kinda scene, knocking over furniture etc, while the other is more thought out and precise. They were good enough that, secretly, my dad liked them, but talking about them made him blush. Sounds like a good combination to me.;)

[novelator]

Here's a link to possibly the funniest site pertaining to writing sex in romance I've ever encountered. Not that I write romance, but this site is well worth a look.

home.epix.net/~jlferri/sexrom.html (http://home.epix.net/~jlferri/sexrom.html)

I just want to say that writing sex in general is flirting with lines, self-imposed or otherwise. And to use myself for an example, when I wanted to skirt but not cross over the line into pornography, which I believe is trying to masquerade under the term "erotica" at times to give it more respectability, I sought out some porn. In my humble opinion, you have to know where the lines are not to cross them. So, I went to find out. I discovered a very funny author writing hard core porn surprisingly well, and I also studied Anais Nin, et al. Most of the romance stuff is too corny, too tame for me.

Mari

[mr mistook]

Oh, I wasn't "shunting the issue off to links and referred texts," I was attempting to provide useful information.


Point well taken. I didn't mean for my quip to be taken personal

[mr mistook]

Here's all I've got to offer so far - a short kiss scene:

Adrianne groped her hands around Sam’s neck and pulled him in. She pressed her lips to his and he kissed back with a slow, wet, passion – sliding his hands around her ears, tugging at her hair while the bristles of his beard scrubbed her face.

[sc211]

Here's two scenes from some books I've recently read.

The first, from Brian Daley's Starfollowers of Coramonde, shows two soldiers about to head back on the road towards battle the next day.

He took her hand. Rising, she pressed to him. He kissed her, taking the pins from her hair deftly, familiar with them now. She shook out the flowing blue-blackness. Her finger hooked for a moment at the necklace on his breast. When he pulled her towards the stairs she didn't resist; events were shifting again; their respite was almost done.
They took one another hungrily. Neither had expected their exemption to last forever. They made a last denial of any truth but their own; it wasn't altogether futile.

It's the basic fade-out type of scene that works best when there's nothing unique or revealing or plot-changing about the actual sex. It shows you what counts instead - the emotional bond between them.

And here's from David Morrell's Brotherhood of the Rose. It takes place when Mark, a sort of covert hit-man, is worn out and ragged from chasing down Shephard for killing his friend. He hasn't seen his girlfriend, Janet, in a month, and this is when they meet. (I've changed the names so it won't ruin it for anyone who later reads the book.)

They returned to the lodge, went up to Mark's room, and slowly undressed each other. She didn't care about the sex. She wanted to lure him, to save his soul.

But even as they embraced, covering each other with nakedness, Mark shuddered in alarm. He knew it wasn't possible, but it seemed Bob lay beside him, dead eyes reproving him.

Guilt wracked his mind. I shouldn't be here. I have to be hunting Shephard.

But loneliness insisted. Joining with Janet, he suddenly realized not two but three of them thrashed on the bed. Not only he and Janet, but Bob as well.

"Love you!" he exclaimed. "Oh, God!"

And Janet, knowing something terrible had happened, also knew she'd lost him.

That's a powerful scene. It flips pov, but it works because it shows how this one moment of sex reveals to them both just how far things have gone.

[Kate Nepveu]

while the bristles of his beard scrubbed her faceIf you're not looking for the reaction of "OOOOOWWWWW!", you might want to reconsider your phrasing.

[ElizabethJames]

Very interesting reading all this sexiness. Our own approach tends to be a bit on the goofy side. Here's an excerpt:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On most Tuesday evenings, observant diners at the Emisphor Grill will find the couple holding down a brocade booth in the backest, darkest corner of the restaurant, sometimes laughing, occasionally groaning, and frequently leaving before even glancing at their menus. On this particular Tuesday, while Liz weighs the news of ancient inscriptions, and Hook considers a career in sanitation, Sally and Joe gauge their chances of getting caught in a wild game of footsies under the lavender linen table cloth.

‘I didn’t wear no socks tonight.’ Joe’s leering comes naturally. He nudges his nubby toes up under Sally’s short leather skirt, slipping them along the inside of her thigh.

‘And I didn’t wear no panties.’ She grabs his big toe and guides it home.

Putting their passion on pause while their water gets freshened, Sally slides off her Joan and David pumps. When the waiter leaves, Joe lifts her foot to his lap, pressing her painted toes against the pole in his pants.

‘Oh my,’ she barely whispers.

‘Oh yes,’ he almost squeals.

What it is that attracts Sally Susser to Joe Peters would be a mystery to anyone seeing the odd couple standing side by side. And beyond the confines of the Emisphor Grill, such sightings are rare. As the fundraising maven of Duke University, sweet Sally is always turned out with style and grace, and can ill afford to be seen too often on the arm of Preacher Peters. But somehow they manage to stay together, bound by shared obsessions with sex and brand new Jaguars.

It was the automotive angle that spawned their affair two years ago. Joe had walked into the Carolina Jaguar showroom and found Sally sitting in the silver XK8 he intended to buy. Five fucks later, the car was Sally’s, a leased symbol of love from the good preacher.

Parked behind her Forest Hills home that evening, Sally claims her sweet dessert in the back of Joe’s new XJ Sport. She sprawls across the leather seat and places her order.

‘Don’t forget those silly teeth of yours, Joe Peters. Can’t have you biting that sweet pie.’

Joe takes out his dentures and sets them on the seat.
Though Sally will never tell Preacher Joe outright, his toothless gumming of her well-worn clitoris is the single treat that keeps her coming back for more from the raunchy reverend. And though Joe Peters will never tell Sally outright, the chance to savor the smooth flesh between her surgically crafted thighs brings a thrill he can’t resist.

‘Tell me about Lith.’ Joe says when his front-seat feast wraps up.

‘She’s not your type, Reverend.’ Sally wipes between her legs with Joe’s handkerchief.

‘It’th not like that.’

‘What do you want to know about her? I doubt she’s the Calvary Mission kind.’

‘Ith she thaved?’ Joe asked.

‘Is she shaved?’

‘Not thaved. Thaved. Born again.’

‘Put your teeth in so I can understand what you’re saying. Besides, why do you want to know that? I can see you asking about her bank accounts.’

He digs his teeth from under Sally’s butt and slips them in his mouth.

‘There’s something about her, something spiritual that . . .’

‘You met her for five minutes.’

‘But . . .’

‘And in those five minutes you passed out on the floor, Preacher Joe.’

‘That don’t change what I saw.’

‘And what exactly did you saw?’ She takes the edge off her mocking with a smile.

‘She had this glow about her. Like a halo. Radiant was the word I used.’

‘You told her she was radiant? Boy. You never let up.’

‘It wasn’t nothing.’

‘I just can’t imagine Liz glowing.’

‘I tell you what. She was something. I swear she was.’

[alinasandor]

lol Nasty, but funny.

[Weren Cole]

I'm not going to get all into this, but I will give a comment or two. . .

In terms of how I have written sex scenes before, I like to set up a situation and let the readers know where it is going, then sort of "fade out" as the action comes along. . .

We have this particularily trashy erotica novel at my restaurant that we flip through for kicks, here is a quip:

"her (plausibles) were like hot muffins. . ."

now that's funny. . .

On a more serious note, I have recently started a short story that I brain stormed almost a year ago but have not had the gumption to start because, well of it's graphic subject matter. . . it is a story about date rape. . . this is a story where I can't set up the scene then fade out. . . and here is where I am having problems. . . how much to I get into it, I want to go over the usual line, in fact I want to blow it out of the water, but my own timidity is making it very hard to find the right words. . .

Weren
Dan

[sc211]

If you want to check how it's been done well, there's such a scene in Gloria Naylor's The Women of Brewster Place.

[AnneMarble]

If I'm not mistaken, one of the AW board regulars is a reviewer for AAR. She'd be a good resource to tap for this subject.

:o Blush blush

Most of my experience writing sex scenes lately has involved male/male scenes in my fantasy novels. But still, I think some basics apply, whatever the preferences of your character. Like don't use words like "honeypot" and "manroot." :b Avoid unintentional laughter -- but don't be afraid to throw in humor if called for. Also, consider having an understanding friend read the scene to make sure the characters aren't being too skanky or too acrobatic.

And please please avoid doing what one writer did. Do not have your naked hero say something "cockily." I'm sure the poor author thought her editor would cut that out of the sex scene. But the book went out with that line in it. :eek

I did write an article on love scenes for writing-world.com in 2002. I should probably do another one one of these days, to address the changes in the field.
www.writing-world.com/columns/romance/marble02.shtml (http://www.writing-world.com/columns/romance/marble02.shtml)

[detante]

Do not have your naked hero say something "cockily."

:rollin

That is the best advice ever! Thanks, Anne.

-Jen

[ElizabethJames]

We'd avoid cockily more because of the 'ly' part than the '@#%$' part. We've never met an adverb that we liked, though we've used a couple under duress.

[preyer]

why, suuure, you can use it for a title. i kinda liked the 'unsanitary to the eyes' bit myself. :)

i mention that i'm going to mention size exactly because you hardly ever see it. you see all sorts of claptrap about eyes. i've yet to ever look into someone's eyes and derive a damn useful bit of information from them. only because people think it's important, i mention the colour and get it over with, but if you ask me a person's hands are by far more telling of the individual than this ridiculous notion that eyes are the windows to the soul.

depending on how it's done, i don't think it's clinical at all. it can be, of course. i think the key is to not let it get stylistically out of kilter. and if it's a scandalous scene just to add shock value, so what?

[arrowqueen]

Just don't get your whip tangled in the chains.

[ElizabethJames]

Very helpful and well said. Thanks.

[reph]

EJames, I obviously don't shop for shoes in the right places. When I came to this line:

Sally slides off her Joan and David pumps.

I thought you were introducing two new characters.

[ElizabethJames]

Ha!

That's very funny! Of all the triple entendres we've woven into our novel, that's one we didn't even notice!

Thanks!