What makes a good sex scene in erotica?
When readers think of a good sex scene in erotica, what qualifies? What about that sex scene makes the reader squirm, hyperventilate, and bite their lip?
There are five boys I always visit when I evaluate my sex scenes:
Jack - Jack wants to know if the sex scene is arousing. For each question he asks me, he penetrates another inch deeper and isn't satisfied until every inch is in me. "Have you shown what emotions the heroine is going through? Have you shown what her body is feeling? Is the description of who's doing what to whom clear? Is the setting sexy?..." This boy has a long list of yummy questions. To share all of them with you will require a later post. But even if I satisfy Jack, it's not enough. I need a ménage with at least the first three men on this roll sheet to know if I've written a good sex scene.
Marquis - Marquis binds my wrists to prevent me writing any further, lays me across his lap, raises my dress, and has only one goal in mind as he tortures me into bliss. He wants to make sure the sex moves the story forward. The more I tell him how my characters grow from the experience, the more he paddles me to that edge of pain and pleasure. When characters grow from the experience, he scolds me, that's their character arc and does nothing for the actual plot. He needs me to tell him what outward change has happened. Has the heroine ruined the family name? Has she prevented a war by seducing the king? Has she saved someone's marriage by helping the husband and wife find the spice in their relationship? Has she missed her appointment with her CIA handler, letting an embassador be assassinated? Marquis wants to know the changes that happen in the outside world because of the sex scene. If I can't give him that, he hands me a knife and forces me to cut it out.
Archie - With all the sizzle Archie goes through between Veronica and Betty, he knows from direct experience the inner journey his body takes. So when his hand is up my skirt, he wants to know how my sex scene will change the characters as people. Now is the time for me to reveal all the ways the characters grow from the experience. Does the heroine realize she's more beautiful than she thought? Does the hero realize he's not gay, after all? Does the heroine discover she's capable of letting go of her morals to seduce a married professor? The more my heroine and hero change as people from the sex scene, the more Archie rewards me with his fingers.
Romeo - I love kissing this boy. His lips are so delicate. He's the one who turns the erotica into an erotic romance, and wants nothing more than to see the love between my characters blossom. He holds me in his arms and begs me to tell him that the scene has brought my characters closer together. If I tell him that the scene has not brought them closer but has torn them apart, Romeo is not disappointed. He comes from a world of poisoned love and understands the bittersweet power of tragedy. "As long as they ultimately have a happily ever after, a momentary sadness of love lost is just as much the power of love as the joy love can bring." But if my sex scene does not change my character's relationship with each other, Romeo kisses my cheek goodbye threatening to drink from his cup of poison.
When I wrote Alice's Sexual Discovery in a Wonderful Land, my erotic version of Alice in Wonderland, I had to let Romeo go. In the original tale, Alice never spends a long enough amount of time to develop a meaningful relationship with the characters she meets. My version of Alice could not be an erotic romance, it could only be erotica. However, when I wrote Amy "Red" Riding's Hood, my erotic version of Red Riding Hood, Romeo and I had some quality time under the sheets. Amy "Red" Riding's Hood was an erotic romance.
The Shadow - There's someone else. A man who touches me when I'm asleep. A man who secretly watches me as I shower. I can't place him, I never get a good look at his face, but I know he's there. If I don't please him, the sex scene is still not good enough. I sense him the most when I read my sex scene and have this nagging feeling that something is not right. The scene may be arousing, it may move the plot forward, it may give the characters an arc, and it may even advance the relationship between the lovers, but there is still something off about the scene. Since I don't know who this Shadow is exactly, I sometimes disappoint him and leave him limp, and I don't know what I did wrong. Do any of you out there know who he might be? What else is required for a good sex scene?
Other than the Shadow, when I succeed at getting Jack, Marquis, Archie, and Romeo to spend, I feel confident I've made a good sex scene.
Bio
Liz Adams, author of the erotic fairy tale Alice's Sexual Discovery in a Wonderful Land, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Her short story Amy “Red” Riding's Hood, an erotic version of Red Riding Hood, is an Amazon bestseller and winner of Goodreads' Book of the Month for October 2012. Liz studied music and creative writing at UCLA and worked as a freelance model before making her writing her career. In her spare time she cuddles with her husband on the couch to watch her favorite shows and often they work together doing research for her books. Feel free to contact Liz through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Liz.
Description of Alice's Sexual Discovery in a Wonderful Land
Having returned from university for the holidays, Alice can't shake the truth: She's still in love with her childhood crush Jack, the buff and handsome gardener. But as inexperienced as she is with the fine art of sexuality, and having never been able to achieve the big O, will she ever be good enough to satisfy Jack? A fall deep down a well takes her to an erotic Wonderland fairy tale where she can do her due diligence at learning how to please a man and how to achieve orgasm. She shares her sexual discoveries with a young man named "Rabbit" who likes to explore, a group of strong villagers, a "Caterpillar" who has more hands than Alice can handle, a Mad Hatter who finds Alice's exquisite weakness, and a whole host of talented characters. All lead to the Queen and her majesty's dark secret. Will Alice's sexual discovery be just the thing to snag her desired man Jack? And will her erotic fairy tale help her discover the key to her own pleasure?
“Ms Adams has truly changed the way we look at fairy tales! I look forward to more erotic tales from this talented author.”
- Tonya Kinzer
- Tonya Kinzer
“Liz Adams is a first class writer, with a heck of an imagination and a libido to match.”
- Amazon's Avid X
- Amazon's Avid X
“Liz is a brilliant storyteller and her words flow effortlessly across the page.”
- Lexie Bay
- Lexie Bay
Links
Alice's Sexual Discovery in a Wonderful Land: http://amzn.to/
Amy “Red” Riding's Hood: http://amzn.to/
