I want to start with the very basics of writing.  There is a fundamental story arc to every story.  In general, there is an example of the normal life of the protagonist.  There is a rising action to the middle.  Through this part of the story the protagonist is a victim of circumstances.  Reaction is the mode, rather than action.  At the turning point the protagonists figures out what to do, but still lacks the ability to pull it off.  This is typically referred to as the declining action.  I prefer to think of it as having climbed a mountain against the current, and now I’m flowing down the other side.  Somewhere along the downhill side of this mountain, the protagonist figures things out.  There is a final climax where the protagonist overcomes the obstacles and makes things happen.  Takes the lead.  The final part is to tie up all loose ends.

 

Sex scenes are similar in nature as they are in novels and short stories.  In your first draft don’t worry about any of what I’m about to say.  Unless you are a true plotter, you’re going to imagine it, write it, and be done with it.  You’ll fix it in the edit process.

 

For full disclosure I’m a plotter at first and then play it out by the seat of my pants (Pantser).

 

Taking a list from my old English teacher, I focus on the Who, What, Where, When and Why of the sex scene.  Inside the sex scene I it is all about the senses.  I want to know the sounds, the smells, and the feel (the sense of touch).

 

In my novel I tell the story from the Main Character’s point of view.  It is in first person.  I prefer to read sex scenes from the opposite sex.  I find it far more interesting.  In picking a male protagonist I locked myself into a number of difficulties that must be kept in mind.  The challenge is to keep the point of view of the narrator constant.  In my novel’s case, Michael.

 

I’m only going to pick one of the sex scenes to discuss here.  There are a number of things that could and should be improved. 

 

WHY / WHO and WHERE:

     - The scene starts with Mike in the shower, it’s four-thirty in the morning, he has to go to work, and he just had a very erotic dream about his wife and some unseen man.  Mike is aroused, but he has little time.

 

The who and where are the most common ones to answer.  They don’t take much thought.  The plot usually takes you to those two quickly.

 

WHEN:

     - The ‘when’ is less easy, yet the plot and the pacing of the chapters and scenes take care of it.

     - Keep in mind that if you are plotting, you may want to decide ‘when’, not just let ‘when’ happen.

 

The toughest question is the next one.  The answer is not: Because I want to.  It is also not: Because this is erotica.  The participants need to have a reason for getting together.  It has to be part of the build up to the scene.

 

WHY:

     - Mike is getting up early to go to work as he does every day.

     - Mike had an erotic dream and was prepared to take things in his own hands.

     - Helen – his wife – awoke from her frustration and guilt from last night.  She wants to do something for Mike.

 

It is a simple set up, but it has to be because it comes in the first chapter of the book.  This is normal life for them.  They get aggravated with each other, they fight, they make up, and for this couple sex is their outlet from the vagaries of life.  It is where they can find common ground. 

 

The next part is where I tend to fail during the first draft.  I only bring in the sense of sight.  I’m a visual person, so I focus on the visual cues of the scene.  However, when I read a sex scene, I want to feel like I’m inside the scene and all my senses are engaged.

 

Assume you are setting up the scene described above.  In fact, I’d love to see what you did with it.

 

SMELL:

     - As Mike is in the shower, what are some of the smells.

     - As Helen enters the shower, what smells does she bring with her?

     - As they become more and more aroused, what scents come into play?

 

TASTE:

     - This is a tough one.  We’re telling this from the male protagonist.

     - When he kisses her, does she bring unique flavors to his lips and tongue?

 

SOUND:

     - Are they grunting and groaning?  At four-thirty in the morning, perhaps not the best idea.

     - Are they whispering their pleasure?

     - Do they talk dirty to each other, or do they encourage softly and sweetly?

 

FEEL:

     - Bring in the feel of her hair in his hands.

     - The feel of the water cascading down.  The warmth when the shower is on you.  The relative coldness when the warm water is not on your back.

     - The cold of the tile as one or the other leans on it.

 

It doesn’t matter if it is in a shower, in the bedroom, on the floor, on a desk, or the kitchen counter.  If we – as writers – are going to bring in the reader into the world we are creating, it has to be complete.

 

Exactly in the same way you move characters around in a scene, pay attention to their movements during a sex scene. You can’t go from missionary to reverse cowgirl without moving both characters.  We rely on suspension of disbelief.  We cannot challenge that during any of the scenes.  The worst one to challenge suspension of disbelief in has to be the sex scene. It is the payoff to all the reading since the last sex scene.