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The Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Awards shortlist went live last week, reinvigorating the timeless debate about what makes good sex in literature.
“Writing about sex can be like a complicated game of Twister,” writes Sarah Duncan at The Guardian. “You sit in front of your laptop, trying to work out where everything's going.”
The sentiment is echoed by author Maeve Haran: “It's every writer's nightmare. You've invested years of blood, sweat and, in my case, HB pencils in the British Library to construct your tale of deep passion and pent-up desire and now – at last – your central characters are edging towards the bedroom. At which point you start to suffer from writer's droop. How are you going to encapsulate the earth-moving wonder, the erotic arousal and tender protectiveness of the longed-for moment?”
It's more than writer's block, she says. It's paralysis.
Well, just as it happens with sex, if you go into it with that attitude, you're not going to be able to transcend reality. That's what sex is all about—written or experienced.
As a connoisseur of sex, an oversharer and an erotica hobbyist, I've learned a thing or two about writing sex over the years. I intend to share with you—but you have to promise that you will not forget something. Sex writing and sex share in another thing: they're a matter of style. You may be a very good sex writer and not agree with some of the things I'm about to tell you. That's fine. It's about what turns you on.
SEX FOR SEX'S SAKE? I DON'T THINK SO
Sex in writing happens for a reason. It needs to make sense to the story. A good sex scene catalyzes something. It has the power to change the outcome and requires some kind of resolution later on.
It's more than just sex—it's a storytelling vehicle. Ask yourself: “what is the purpose?”
CHARACTER-BUILDING
A hot sex scene is like a little movie in three acts: the set-up, the confrontation, the climax and dénouement. Build that tension. Make the electricity between characters palpable. They can't just go from a glance across the club to boinking like crazy in the bathroom—unless there is a reason for this, of course.
See, a great sex scene distills the characters involved into a single moment. Show the reader who they are. Undress them not only physically but entirely.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Let your brain go where the characters are. Spend some time fleshing out the place, but be aware that you're going to scrap most of the detailing. Nothing drags a scene down more than excessive descriptions.
“I despise erotica, both visual and written, that suffers from 'soft furnishings syndrome,'” writes Belle De Jour blogger Brooke Magnanti. “This is a tendency to dwell on what ruffly garment was worn, the precise glossy shade of a woman’s hair, and so on. If you describe anything that is not in fact chocolate as being 'like chocolate' you have soft furnishings syndrome.”
Exactly.
FEEL IT
The most important thing is to feel the heat itself. I know a sex scene is hot if it turns me on to write it. Go into the story. There is no better way to get a sense of the details than letting yourself play out the scene in your head.
In a piece for The Times, author Ewan Morrison suggested one go at it like Henry Miller and write about what one has experienced. But there is a reason Miller loved Anais Nin's erotic works and that is that she fantasized in her erotica. Whereas Miller approached encounters with a firm, almost violent hold on reality, Nin ventured into the unknown. Realism only goes so far—the unknown is where sensuality plays.
IF YOU GO FOR MILK, DON'T RUN OFF WITH THE COOKIES
Of course, there is something for which Miller must be commended, and that is his utter refusal to use ridiculous metaphors and similes when describing sex. Now, I have broken this rule, but as my English 202 teacher used to say in high school, “thou shalt only break rules knowingly.” Sometimes the character from whose point of view you're operating needs it. Fine. Whatever you do, do it intentionally and don't you dare overextend.
We're not looking for a bar or a crazy good time. We're looking for girls. Sounds like a simple proposition, but it's worse than needing drink. I'm an alcoholic: when I need drink, I'll get drink and it won't matter what it is because anything will suit the
