How far is too far? - Page 2 - Writers Forum

Voodoo · 07-01-2007, 08:34 AM

I found a vampire book saturated with sex a very good read.

Mairi · 07-01-2007, 07:53 PM

Quote:

make the reader want to put down the book and go hire a pro.

if the elves want to get down, let them.

make the dwarves sweat.

Oh my God, I about choked on my drink when I read that. Love the humor, Voodoo.

All silliness aside, I really think that it depends on the type of fantasy. When a book is marketed with closeup shots of tattooed skin and supermodel heroes panting all over each other on the cover, like some of Laurell K. Hamilton's books, you know that it will contain a lot of erotic content. That's fine--the reader is aware of that when they buy the book. One of the reasons that readers pick that sort of book up is for a good thrill (In response to an earlier comment about literary porn, I think that a well-written erotic scene can be more much effective than just watching a movie. The reader feels more a part of what is going on in a written story, so the experience is more powerful. Movies reduce us to being merely observers.).

But if you pick up a more traditional fantasy, that type of graphic detail could be quite inappropriate. That's not what the reader is looking for. If they want smut, they will pick up a smut book.

In a book that has a dark or gritty feel to it (especially gothic stories), sometimes erotic tension can add a lot of spice to it.

I would check out several books that are similar to what you are writing, and see how those authors handled it, to get a feel for what is considered appropriate for that type of fiction.

I think that you can create a lot of erotic or romantic tension in any story (though it might be out of place in children's book, lol) just by using subtle cues and interactions between the characters. It doesn't have to be physically detailed to get the mood across.

Whatever style you choose, I would keep it consistent throughout the story so that the reader knows what to expect from you, and there aren't any nasty surprises.

I recently read a book in which the author detailed graphic sex scenes between some of the villainous characters. And there was a near-rape scene in the story that I actually felt embarassed to be reading. But when the hero and her true love finally decided to get down to it, it was reduced to one line: "They were one under the stars." Give me a break. I was disappointed that the author detailed scenes between characters that I didn't even like, then cheated the reader out of what could have been a very moving scene between the main characters.

Mairi

Voodoo · 07-01-2007, 07:58 PM

Hey.

Check this out.

Take the raunchiest of the tropics books, give the protagonist a cigar made of elfwood and mushrooms, place a horn on her head, and declare her Sex.

now, make her worshippers wear golden [bricks?] made in a fictional parody of italy, and make her lover a three headed baboon.

Fantasy.

Mairi · 07-01-2007, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by German Voodoo

Take the raunchiest of the tropics books, give the protagonist a cigar made of elfwood and mushrooms, place a horn on her head, and declare her Sex.

now, make her worshippers wear golden [bricks?] made in a fictional parody of italy, and make her lover a three headed baboon.

Fantasy.

You know, that might make a good poem or short story, Voodoo. Mythology and eroticism combined. . .hmm. I'd read that.

Mairi

Voodoo · 07-01-2007, 08:10 PM

I once wrote about a seventy year old vegas whore house madame that wore three ounces of leather.

I don't think I'll try to murder the old legends, though. They've been done, and they're too complex.

eroticism, for me, always turns out stupid.

Not- they fucked, it was good.

Always somethig really pointless.

Mairi · 07-01-2007, 08:26 PM

I think that really good eroticism is hard to do.

How can you give the gory details without making it cheesy? If you can't read it aloud with a straight face, your reader won't be able to read it with a straight face, either. Especially if you resort to the cruder metaphors that you often find in cheap magazines.

Er, not that I've ever read any of those. . .

Did I just put my foot in my mouth or what?

Anyway, I wrote a graphic scene once, just to see if I could do it. I thought it turned out pretty good, but I bet that anyone else who read it would laugh.

You're right, it's hard to do properly. (Is there a proper way???)

And badly done eroticism put into an otherwise good story could really ruin it.

Mairi

Voodoo · 07-01-2007, 08:29 PM

Put on a reading lamp the next time your husband makes a resuest, learn something.

But, doing it when you're horny can have consequences.

Because, you're horny, and you'll write the stupidest shit just to do it.

Keep it uncaring. Make it just a fuck.

Mairi · 07-01-2007, 08:48 PM

LOL

Mairi

Voodoo · 07-01-2007, 08:51 PM

For instance:

Don't write, "Swivelling, she rode him like the trodden bull he is."

Or:

"Like a mayflower, she bloomed for him, allowing such petaled kisses to fall on her skin."

This is good-

"They sweated like alligators, dry but frantic, fucking like jungle monsters in estrus."

Mairi · 07-01-2007, 09:14 PM

Haha! That was brilliant, man.

Thanks for the laugh.

Mairi

Voodoo · 07-01-2007, 09:15 PM

I'm 15 and never been.

Explains that.

Heathoa · 07-01-2007, 09:27 PM

About sex scenes... I picked "Tell me what is going on, but there is no need to go into gross details."

Sometimes it's necessary in order to make your story realistic. If you have it planned and if it's a significant part of the plot, then you should explain what's going on, as long as you don't let it distract your readers from the main point, or make your readers disgusted and skip the pages, thus possibly missing something important.
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Voodoo · 07-01-2007, 09:31 PM

forgot the italics, love.