Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Common Problems in Writing Erotica

Common Problems in Writing Erotica

I have been busy on my Novella the past couple of days....I have four chapters that I really like that will replace some of the front end on Don Ricardo de Castillio. In the first is the elaboration of what happened between Ricardo and Angelina in the Garden that sent Teresa packing to the Convent....In the second it tells what happened between Angelina and her husband that opens the door on a new character Charlos. The third chapter transitions into the old story line and the forth will be inserted later on.

In the process I have been reading erotica from other writers on the site and as I read their works I see the same shortcomings repeatedly. I hesitate to review erotica because I don’t want to discourage the writers. Plus they will think I 'm harping on word choice that for many writers is sacrosanct….here is what I see most. I have borrowed from my piece "Rules of Thumb for Writing Erotica which can be found in the folder, Classwork in Erotica.

What I see most is a repetition of the same words, in a short space. Ideally the vocabulary of the story will use a word one time. This is because the right word creates the perfect image and once that image is passed to the reader it gets pasted to the video screen of imagination and is noted…seeing the same image repeatedly is a waste of the reader's time. The words that are the biggest offenders are pronouns like “she” and “her” and words like “feel“ and “Inside” Reading back over their work a writer needs to develop an ear for these repetitive words and make substitutions to the extent possible. It is not unusual to see “Inside” used four or five times and “She” or “Her” with the same repetition in the space of two sentences.

Another deficiency is the use of modifiers for emphasis. This is where we get into too much butter and syrup on the pancakes. I am reminded of the story of the salesman who made a big sale and rather than move on continued to pitch and in the process oversold the product and excited the ire of the customer. It is important in writings erotica, just as it is in writing anything, to choose a word that says what the writer wants. Using poor word choice and trying to amp up with modifiers can get old fast to a reader. Save the modifiers for special emphasis and keep your writing crisp and full of fresh imagery.