![This Novel's Got Legs---And, Well, A Few Other Things.... (By Jean-Christophe Destailleur [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)](https://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Legs-and-heels.jpg)
This Novel’s Got Legs—And, Well, A Few Other Things…. (By Jean-Christophe Destailleur [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons)
Words are words.
Yeah, some of this stuff is unnerving…but that’s what I want them to be.
Unsettling.
I want you all unsettled by what you read.
I want a little squirming going on.
That is what these scenes are about…on a “mechanical” level. They’re about “in-the-dark” behavior from everyday people. About behavior we might only think about…or do in the dark corners of our lives.
Admittedly, it’s one thing to think about some of this stuff, and (for some) an entirely different matter once written.
After all, writing something gives it permanence, right? Like voicing a thought?
Thoughts are hidden, our own. But once we voice them…write them out…its like they take on a whole new meaning. The phrase “Think before you speak,” comes to mind. And how we look at someone differently once they’ve spoken…the unspeakable….
Actions we only do in private are known only to ourselves…unless voiced or written. This is the kind of ground I’m treading.
I don’t read erotica, so I don’t know what’s acceptable, so maybe I’m really off base, here, with my thoughts. And those who do read erotica may think nothing of what I’ve done. I’m sure my efforts are most likely quite tame in today’s erotica world…and that’s okay (though I consider what I’ve written not-so-tame at all to me….). Once I got into the writing of this novel, I liked that the erotica became what I thought of as “a different kind of erotica.” Granted, when I’d first written this novel, back in 1997, erotica most likely wasn’t what it is today…but I’d still like to think my work will hold up to itself (um, yeah, there is a pun here, you just don’t know about it, yet…) in today’s world.
I “just” want to be able to portray what my characters are going through in such a way that it…justifies the story…evokes powerful emotion…that you see a part of yourselves in them. That you squirm a little at what you’re reading…insidiously become one with the story…the scenes…the characters.
Okay, even the sex.
So, to that end, once I get past what it is I’m actually writing…I’m trying to write the scenes as best as possible. Use the best words. Invoke the best, most powerful imagery. To make each scene properly fit the story. The plot. The characters—
I’m trying to make the erotica right.
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Runnin Off at the Mouth.... 
Squirming is good. Love to write it. Love to read it. Can’t wait.
Thanks, Karen! Those past several chapters really kinda wore me out, to tell ya the truth! Really glad to be moving on to the rest of the story. I even wonder if I’ve “gone too far”….
You say you haven’t read erotica, but you are writing it as what I gather is a major part of this manuscript.
Do you think that not reading a selection of that genre gives you an edge in writing it? I ask because I’ve recently roughed out a contemporary romance, but I’ve never actually read one, mainly because I can’t get past the first 1-2 chapters of any of them. Something about the voice or the characters or something else just sets me off. But everywhere you turn, people shout that you can’t write what you don’t read because you don’t know what the rules are for genre X.
What do you think?
Haven’t heard from ya in a while–glad to hear you’re still writing! :-]
No, I haven’t read any, but, I might actually take a peek into Shades of Grey when I finish this iteration and farm it out to my proofreaders, just to see what the “standard” is, out of curiosity…but, than again, may not. Kinda feel très “sexed out,” after spending having spent so much time on those scenes! Same sort of thing when I reworked heavily violent scenes, like in The Uninvited. It wore on me, then, too. But, yes, erotica is a large part of the book, the bulk of it involving a turning point in the protag’s life.
It’s a mixed bag of a question and an answer, about not reading in the genre you’re writing. Anymore, after writing for nearly 50 years, I don’t listen to too many rules people keep trying to foist upon others. You wanna live by rules, have at it. I don’t like being told what to do. My own opinion? If you’re a good enough writer, you’ll write your scenes as they need to be written to get the job done, period. You don’t *need* to read other genres. If you’re a GOOD writer and not in the heavy learning phase…but, at some point you have to learn the trade, the ins and outs. Unless you’re a prodigy or something! But, IMHO, once you’re past the learning phase (yet always keep yourself open to learning), If you get into what you’re writing, really convey, really dig deep. If you write “to the story” you’re working on, be true to that, you should do what you need to do without *having* to read other genres. That said, I don’t believe every writer out there is at that point…but still, I don’t think one “has” to do anything to write, except write…which starts me going down different rabbit holes with exceptions and clarifications, and before I know it, I have another “how to write” book in my head—like the world needs another one of THOSE! :-]
PJs, I’d say write your work. Do your best as you see fit and believe in yourself and your ability…then hand it off to someone you trust and see what they think! Have you hit the mark? Done your job? If so, bravo! if not, do your “due diligence” however you see that to be, and make the necessary course corrections…and if that involves reading a romance novel, take no shame in it. Learn what you need to learn to get that job done. THAT’S the mark of a superior writer. A true writer. It’s all well and good to throw out “no rules” here, or “a thousand rules” there, but what it really comes right down to is that each writer has to do what THEY need to do to get the job done.
I hope I’ve answered your questions, and I wish you all the best! Thanks for stopping by after so long! :-]
Don’t read 50 Shades. People actually involved in the real BDSM scene will tell you it isn’t BDSM.
Interesting…since I know zilch about “said”! :-]
I haven’t “lived the life” myself, but some friends are a little more TMI than others. I don’t have anything against consenting adults doing their thing, but unless I ask “so how, exactly, does one go about a BDSM session?” I’m really not interested in knowing the sordid details of your love life and how it compares to current literature.
“Oh, wow. Look at the time. I have to take my dog in for a root canal. Even though I don’t have a dog.”
Ha! That gave me a great out loud chuckle! :-]
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