Publishers' Guidelines

To get an idea about what publishers are looking for, or for some excellent advice about writing, send for the submission guidelines, or look for them online.

Black Lace has published the first and some of the best--in my humble opinion--erotica for women in the last 15 years. They have detailed guidelines outlined on their website, even though they have announced they have suspended publishing for 2010. Let's hope it's not permanent:

Black Lace Guidelines

Harlequin Romance--yes, that Harlequin--is publishing erotica through their Spice imprint. Here is an article with some good advice from their website:

Writing Dirty

Here are some links to publishers from Erotica Readers and Writers Association:

Call for Submissions and Writers' Guidelines

Thesaurus

I make up my own mini-thesaurus to help me choose other words for "penis" or "clitoris" when I don't want to use the same words over and over again, and I don't want to use the silly euphemisms you'll find in some romance novels ("male member" or "love button"). I take my cue from the POV character, and use the language they would use (maybe "cock" or "pearl").

For the seduction and foreplay I usually start out leaning towards the sweetly romantic words and phrases, then as it gets more tumultuous, the words might get downright crude. If I have a list ahead of time, I don't have to stop in my tracks in the middle of a sentence to figure out what word to use.

Exercise:
Make up your own mini-thesaurus describing body parts or the sex act.



When I plan a scene, I think about its motif or theme, and I take out the thesaurus and jot down every sensual word I find that might fit. I'll fill up a whole page. Then, when it's time to write, I have my lovely list handy.

Recently I wrote a shower scene, and here's some of my listed words: wet, slick, slippery, slide, dew, vapor, mist, glide, fluid, liquid, moist, froth, lather, creamy, soapy, seethe, simmer. (Notice I didn't write down yucky words like sopping, marshy, or soggy.) I kept the list handy as I wrote, and even though I didn't use everything, it did inspire me.

Exercise:
Come up with a motif or theme for a scene. It can be anything: beach, garden, dance, fire, music, food, weather, etc. Look up the word in your thesaurus, and let one word suggest another. Don't stop to think about how you will use a word--keep flipping through the thesaurus and jot down any words you like. Fill up a whole page or several index cards. Now go ahead and write that scene.

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month

November is National Novel Writing Month, so time to start planning. It's fun, and it's a great way to immerse yourself in your writing. The most important thing I learned from participating the last 4 years, is that there's plenty of time to write if you look for it. I ended up with a complete first draft of a novel last year and the year before. (Still editing, but one is getting close to being finished. Keep posted for details!)

Check out the website:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Protection?

I know some out there think the issue of protection is a distraction. I used to think so, too--until I recently read a story where there was no mention of it, and I wanted to shout out to them, "Hey! Stop! Be careful!" It was more of a distraction for me when the author left it out.

There are lots of ways to incorporate those little foil or cellophane packets into the foreplay, and still keep the scene romantic or hot. And you can always set the story in the 60s or 70s, that wonderful window of opportunity between the availability of the birth control pill, and the onset of deadly serious STDs.

Beginning with Characters

I begin with the characters, because I believe that the characters drive the story--they determine every action, and their actions determine the outcome. You have to know your characters, know what they will do or say in a given situation, and how they will do it or say it.

Readers want to care what happens in a book, which means they want to care about what happens to the characters. Otherwise, it's just bodies going through the motions. Yawn.

How do I come up with characters? I'll make a list of names, then cross them out, one by one, until I find a name I like. I read a lot of psychology books, and books about relationships. Elmore Leonard says he "interviews" his characters before he begins to write.

Exercise:
Look in the library for the kind of book new parents refer to when naming their little darlings. Pick out a name and make out a kind of inventory for them: what would this character look like? What does she have in her purse? What does he eat for lunch? What kind of job, house, pet, family, past does this character have? What does this character want more than anything? What's the worst thing that could happen to this character? Those last two questions could determine your whole story.

Do the same thing for a second character, then imagine the two of them in the same room. An exciting story is when the worst thing for one character is what's most wanted by another character.

On my bookshelf:
Beyond Jennifer and Jason by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran

The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders

45 Master Characters by Victoria Schmidt

Just Your Type by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger

First--What is Erotica?

Let me get this out of the way right away: My stories are not about my life or even what I would wish to happen in real life. Real life can be kind of boring, and, well, messy. But I do like to joke that I keep having to stop writing to do more research.

What's erotica. It's not porn, and it's not necessarily romance. Erotica engages the senses to arouse the reader, where porn merely describes the action, sometimes crudely. In genre romance, the reader expects a beautiful heroine and a hunky hero to meet, fall madly in love, and live happily ever after.

In erotica, the heroine doesn't necessarily have the same partner throughout the story, and she may not have a permanent relationship by the end. She explores her sexuality, often discovering the kinky side of herself. The sex is the story--without the sex, there is no story.

In my own writing, and in most currently published erotica, the sex is consensual, the characters are of legal age, and everyone enjoys themselves. I also make sure everyone uses protection, but that's a whole separate topic.

I am currently working on an erotic novel, and I'm using this blog to keep a record of what I learn along the way. I'm not an expert, but I hope that other writers of erotica will find the results helpful.

Let's get some good writing out there and keep the publishers busy!