Writing erotic lesbian fiction.

To start off… I’m no authority on this subject but have collected a number of tips from authors and short writing classes. This is the sum of what I remember or wrote down. I’ve also added practical stuff I learned along the way. Use what you like, by all means! J

I have found these 4 ways to start a pwp/scene/tale useful:

1. Use an existing tale and rework it (Like Sam Ruskin’s Fun With Words homework about rewriting a lyric or newspaper story! *Bards Village*)
2. Use a personal experience, write what you know
3. Write what you fantasize about, what would you(r character) like to do
4. Use a picture as starting point and tell the story behind it, like the one below… what has this babe been up to?  (*DROOOL* Err, sorry, can’t help myself VBG)

• the picture – where are they, what does it look like and how does it effect them Think of smells, sounds, landscape, room, weather, ambiance, symbols, music etc. (use variably)
• the motion – what are they doing  (The “put coin in slot A and pull handle B over” part of the story.)
• the thought – what are they thinking, about themselves, about the other(s), what are they expecting, needing, preferences etc
• the communication – what are they saying, or not saying and why, do they have their own private language, like a lot of lovers develop over time, do they talk or hint at, do they use body language
• the non-visual – what are they feeling and sometimes it pays to tell why they feel what they feel. Also, what unseen/told events might influence them
• momentum – what are they learning at that moment (if they like it or not*G*)
• the reaction(s) – how are they reacting to the momentum, after thoughts and actions, long term and short
• the point – what point does the scene/line serve in the whole story

(Her book, ‘Starting from scratch: A different kind of writer’s manual’ is also fab to have lying around!) http://www.ritamaebrown.com/

My personal rules are:

• Name the parts and remember the time period/era you are “in”!
• write what is real, research if necessary

http://www.rkm.com.au/ANATOMY/female-anatomy.html - -       http://www.geocities.com/perfectlady_guaranted_formulas/

(Unless your character is a fantasy/sci-fi character and has amazing abilities and non-humanoid body parts; even then be careful with inventing stuff)

• Chose what kind of LM scene you want. There are so many styles of erotic fiction it’s good to surf around and compare. (Main genres are BDSM, filk, fluff, PWP, vanilla etc)
• Focus on feeling the passion of your character(s), keep it real (If you can’t feel it, how is the reader going to?)
• Make an extensive character profile; give your character a life and personal voice. Some good sites about character development:

http://www.writepage.com/writing/pictures.htm http://www.writepage.com/toolbook.htm http://www.writepage.com/writing/dialog1.htm

• Practise visualising your characters so fantasising about them becomes second nature during the writing period
• Decide if you want to be explicit or not (Shakespeare wrote brilliant semi-erotic poems and never mentioned the deed once!)
• Remember your co-responsibility; you never know who is going to access your work so practise “safe love scene writing”!!! Sexually Transmittable Diseases and such are not fiction and yes, readers are subconsciously influenced by written stories as much as TV. If you’re characters are situated in the 20^th /21^st century, they will probably use/consider protection so incorporate that awareness in their dialogue.
• HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

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