How to Write Hot Sex
Remember how as youngsters we’d giggle and blush when hearing the word ‘butt’ or other adult words?
Remember as teens we’d use ‘butt’ and other adult words and feel all grown up?
Remember as adult writers how we turn down the blinds, close the door, and get all embarrassed writing steamy scenes?
One area that causes some writers to blush, or feel weird is when they’re writing those steamy, YES YES OMG! erotic sex scenes. I mean, why? The birds and the bees and how babies are made is pretty clear to us, right? We know the actions involved, right? Then why is it so many get all flustered when it comes time to write these erotic scenes?
This one sentence has stuck with me all these years, and yes, it was a story I was assessing for a publishing house. Got rejected unanimously by all the submissions editors because of the, let’s say, lack of oomph needed in this genre. Can you figure out why?
She slowly placed her hand on his pants and touched his thing.
Um, what? Like, did he have an oversized wallet in his pants and she wanted to push it back into his pocket? Was his belt buckle hanging loose and she was simply readjusting it? Was he holding an alien from outer space she wanted to touch?
That is not steamy writing. In order to keep this post as PG as possible, I won’t go into how to reword it by removing ‘thing’ and writing the actual body part. Use your imagination. But I will direct you to a book that covers it all, with clarity and explanations that will help remove the blush, well, no, it may enhance it, but this book is one of the best ones I’ve come across so far which offers a complete A-Z how-to breakdown for all erotic romance writers.
How to Write Hot Sex Chapters
How to Write Hot Sex: Tips from Multi-Published Erotic Romance Authors
This book is packed with tips, ideas, examples (no, not visual pictures, sorry) to help you write nice and naughty. You will surely come away with a better understanding what is involved in writing sexy, erotic scenes.
The authors are published at various houses, such as: Harlequin, Kensington, Carina Press, among others. One of the writers is multi-published award-winning author, Desiree Holt.
If you want to write HOT, then How to Write Hot Sex: Tips from Multi-Published Erotic Romance Authors
Let me break down the chapters.
*Real Ugly by Cara McKenna: “…how to craft realistic, gritty sex scenes that will raise your prose above “steamy” to “unforgettable.”
*Five Sexy Senses to Rev Up Scenes by Desiree Holt: “…shows you how to use all five senses to bring your romance novel to life.”
*Boys Will Be Boys: Writing Male/Male Romance by Christine D’Abo
*The Law of Attraction by L.K. Below: “…how to make your character’s attraction to each other come alive off the page as the sparks fly.”
*Writing the Fine Line Between Erotica and Porn by Kate Douglas: “…infusing your stories with emotional impact…”
*How to Write Convincing Fetish and Niche Market Sex by Giselle Renarde
*Sexy Sentences by Charlotte Stein: “…how to use varying sentence structure and wording to bring your sexy sentences from drab to fab.”
*Fighting Sex by Isabo Kelly: “…learn a lot about writing a good sex scene by studying the way fight scenes are written…can add levels of intensity and emotion to your stories.”
*So You Think You Can Kink? by Delphine Dryden: “…writing BDSM hot reads…”
*Biology: The Good, The Bad, & the Sex Scene by Jean Johnson: “…learning how our bodies physically and mentally become aroused gives you the tools you need to write hot sex with confidence…”
*Rx for a Sagging Sex Scene by Cari Quinn: “…diagnosing an ailing scene and make it exactly the way you need it…”
I went to the opening of Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey when it premiered. For those that have seen the movie, remember the area the kids that worked for the resort went to dance at night to relax? Those were sensual dance moves without going overboard. The same emotion of sensuality can be written in a book to heat up a dance scene, connecting two key players by showing:
*the placement of hands on hips
*the swaying of body movements close to one another
*the way the man tilts and pulls the woman back up toward his body, bumping her against his chest
*the seductive eye contact
There’s more to a hot scene than just the mention of body parts. One needs to show an action to evoke a visual, an emotion and pull a reader into the characters connection.
Let me give you just a short sample from the first chapter of How to Write Hot Sex: Tips from Multi-Published Erotic Romance Authors
Imagine a chocolate bar.
Pure, sweet milk chocolate. Pretty good, right? Smooth and rich and creamy…delightful. For a minute or two. Then your taste buds’ interest wanes with the even texture, the uniform taste.
Now imagine a chocolate bar you’d bother to tell your friends about. What makes it exceptional? Creaminess is good. But add some dynamism—crunchy toffee or airy nougat, nuts, fruit, or crazy things, like red pepper flakes or coffee beans or lavender. And make it 70% dark chocolate, stone ground for that fascinating, earthy feel. Now that’s a bar you’d tell a friend about. Not, “I had a chocolate bar. Oh you know, just plain chocolate but it was nice. Real easy to enjoy.” Nice and easy are nice and easy, but different is better. Different is worth recommending.
And with all storytelling, that last sentence from the excerpt above by Cara McKenna says it all. Bring your story to life, allow your reader to step into your fictional world filled with visuals they can picture and feel emotional connections and you’ll secure a reader for life. And that reader will certainly recommend your book to her family and friends.
I’m always searching and buying new reference material, and will be showcasing others I’ve purchased, but for now I highly recommend How to Write Hot Sex: Tips from Multi-Published Erotic Romance Authors
Thank you for reading, and until next time, be well.
Lea
“Disclosure: There are affiliate links above, but they are products I highly recommend. I will never put anything on any post that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.”