Sex in YA

Shady Lane said:

LORI DO IT. And yeah, I'm sure you write much better sex scenes than any of us, let's be honest.

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You guys are making this really tempting, seriously...

kaitlin008 said:

Yes. Sure you can slip by without consequences, but eventually, it gets pretty unrealistic for someone to keep having unprotected sex and never get pregnant/get someone pregnant/get an STD.

imo, whatever choice you ultimately make in your writing, it's at least something you should think about and be aware of.

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This.

SillyMom25 said:

I thought she was on her stomach at first too. The problem, I think, is the arm. It looks too thick to be an arm. In fact, it doesn't really look like an armpit at all. But maybe that's just because the picture is cut off in a weird place. The butt, leg, and boob look fine though.

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I agree. Plus photoshoppers seem to constantly airbrush women's armpits. Hello! We HAVE PITS. I mean it'd be nice if my pits were that silky smooth, but truthfully, they're just not. I think cutting in a different place or making the pits more pit-like will help. BUT those are just my suggestions. Otherwise she's smoking hot...or her body is. She may be a butterface...but that doesn't matter for the purposes and intents of IS.

So for the sex....well, I'm a bit of a prude I guess. I'd much rather there be gratuitous sex than violence, but in both instances, I like books to justify a reason for it. I don't like characters graphically screwing just to be graphically screwing....same with violence. My book that went out on sub and didn't sell was based on a sex act, but I think it was very tame because I don't think there's a need to go into details. That's just me though.

As for the condom stuff, I definitely see where it's important, especially for teens. In my book (if it ever sees the light of day), he doesn't use a condom but someone mentions it later. The sex act is between two very conservative Amish teens who probably don't really have a lot of knowledge about birth control and condoms--but it is mentioned later to the girl.

Romance and erotica books are a different animal though. I don't write those, but the purpose of those is sex (somewhat) so it makes more sense to be a little more graphic.

And the mention of American Psycho, that book just grossed me out altogether. I saw the movie and then read some of the book and I almost vomited. To me, it feels like line pushing for the sake of line pushing. But that's just my 2 cents!

Welll just to spam this thread further, ARC GIVEAWAY ON MY BLOG FOLLOW THE LINK IN MY SIG.

Shady Lane said:

Welll just to spam this thread further, ARC GIVEAWAY ON MY BLOG FOLLOW THE LINK IN MY SIG.

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GET OUT!

NEVER

You killed it. Good going...

I can't be responsible for killing. All the people who don't post after me, THEY'RE responsible.

downtherabbithole said:

OMG. haha...in the first version I totally thought she was on her stomach, but had a weirdly shaped ass. I see it now.

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I totally thought that too. glad it wasn't just me.

nayner said:

I totally thought that too. glad it wasn't just me.

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sorry, Shades, me three I though she was belly down, arse up

It's like some kind of sexy optical illusion

Awesome cover though - it's speaking to me...

you know what, guys? IT'S ALL GOOD.

and i got the ARCs today YAAAY and it is easier to tell in book form. but yeah, if people get it screwed up, it is not the end of the world.

The cover's hot either way, so it totally doesn't matter.

And yeah, I did just post in this thread to compliment Shady's cover.

And to say "And then the penis" would make the best title ever. Hint hint, thethinker42

Amadan said:

I have very rarely read an explicit sex scene that actually added anything to the story. If you want to write erotica, write erotica. Otherwise, explicit sex usually reads like fight scenes where the author describes every blow and every footstep and every twist of the limbs, which a few authors can write well and make interesting, but most just make the fight drag on when all we really want to know is who won and how.



I disagree -- if it matters to the story whether or not they used protection, then mention it, otherwise, it's irrelevant. Saying you have to mention condoms to be "accountable" to the readers is like saying you should always mention gun safety when the characters use a gun.

(Now, if you have a story where everyone is screwing like rabbits, nobody ever uses protection, and nobody ever gets pregnant or an STD, your readers might raise their eyebrows and say "WTF?", but I don't think every sex scene needs to be a lesson in safe sex.)

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I completely 100% agree. I would be careful to not get so caught up preaching safe sex that you lose the tone for the story. I also agree that it is one thing if everyone in the story is a sex crazed teen who sleeps with anyone willing but no one ever has an consequences-heartbreak, pregnancy, a bad reputation, STDs, etc.

The story needs to be realistic or else the audience won't be engaged.

Personally, I don't see why a YA author would skip talking about a condom. They're inherently awkward/funny/disturbing things that can actually reveal a lot about the character/backstory/your voice. If a character is smooth with a condom, that tells us he/she has been there many times before. If not, it's a great opportunity for humor or just to draw the reader out. Two of the best scenes in my book involve condoms (although, there isn't actually sex in either).