#evilpeaches ao3 random writing tips

[wine4thewin]

Any tips for writing smut/romance? Because yours is delicious!

Thank you ☺️

Well, I’d say it’s a long process of trial and error within finding your voice in writing. I’ve been at it for probably 20-ish years and when I first wrote smut maybe a decade ago…it was soooooo bad 🤣 even to this day I will post something with a scene and feel extremely insecure! I’m like, oh God, was it bad!? 😅

Take all of this with a grain of salt. What I feel strongly about, other people may not feel the same. The writing process is different for everyone.

It also depends on your goal. Just regular p*rny smut or thought-out erotica?

1. Emotional Payoff: I find myself writing giant slow burns more than anything these days. Why? Because I want the cumulation of events to feel impactful to the reader. I don’t even mean “oh, the characters have fallen in love” emotional payoff. Sometimes, they aren’t in love. Sometimes, they are struggling with feelings, with beliefs, with conflicts…and I want the first erotic scene to be impactful to the plot, not just ‘thrown in for the hell of it’. It must add to the story and I want it to be a turning point or realization of sorts for the characters…for better or worse. Can this be done without a slow burn? Yes. But it takes a very precise prose to do it in a short piece.

Essentially, beyond my long-windedness, I am saying the smut should mean something to the story to be emotionally impactful to the reader, even if the act is meaningless to the characters themselves at that time. That is the difference IMO between erotica and flat, emotionless p#rny writing.

More below the cut - 18+ for some scenarios mentioned, but nothing crazy or offensive.

2. Sometimes Less Crude is More Sexy: This depends on your goal. Are you aiming for just how many dirty words you can cram in a paragraph? Seems a bit wild, but sometimes certain words can make a smut scene more impactful. I used to write every single gory detail with blunt, crude words. Did it work? Sure. Was it the sort of writing that made people feel a flutter or emotional response aside from ‘ooo dirty smut’? Maybe not.

Back to emotion. Emotional words can take your smut to the next level. You could say your male character ‘grabbed her thighs and spread them quickly, his huge *insert crude word* hard and ready to stuff her dripping *insert crude word*’.

Or, you could say instead, ‘the calloused tips of his fingers ghosted across her skin, making her shiver with anticipation. The tremble in his touch betrayed his inexperience, even as he moved slowly between her thighs. She could feel that he was eager for her, pressed as he was against her own desire…and she would take all he had to offer and more.

There would be no going back from this.

“Am I what you want?” His voice was an utterance across her lips, gaze dark and questioning. Pupils wide, consuming her.

There was no need to answer aloud. She shifted her hips and took him for herself.’

The above is me setting the stage for the act itself, all while putting in words and sentences that reveal small emotions, details, insecurities, dominance, and desires. Idk, you tell me, I just made that whole scene up on the spot 😂

When you read something that makes you react, remind yourself of the words the writer used that made you feel. Was it because they pulled you into the scene, had you feel with the character you love? Or was it because they said dripping vajayjay twenty times? Different strokes for different folks!

3. Don’t Be Repetitive: Refer to genitalia in different ways, but don’t be obnoxiously flowery like the harlequin novels of old and their “his staff of love quivered in her touch” sorta thing. More like, “his desire was velvet covered steel under her grasp / his firm length” or “she was swollen against his fingertips, ready, glistening with arousal”. You can get away with saying d#ck a few times, but it gets annoying and eye-rolling if it’s every sentence. You can check out this list for ideas!

4. Use Location/Situation to Your Advantage: where are these characters? Semi-public? In private? Are they forbidden being together? Or is their love considered illegal or shameful in your fantasy/sci-fi country? Bring feelings of ‘could we be caught, excitement, the thrill, shame, struggling with own beliefs, reluctance yes, even reluctance’ into the smut to amp up the stakes.

5. Not All Sex is Perfect: hey, we don’t always get it right the first time. I’ve written one character having the time of his life from his POV, only to find out his partner didn’t exactly find him as awe-inspiring 🤣 but, his partner gave him another chance, what a saint jk jk, and the emotional aspect of this previously very selfish character realizing he feels strongly about pleasing someone other than himself for the first time ever was a huge plot point with the smut.

Don’t be afraid of awkward sex, reassuring sex, figuring things out together sex…they can always get it right the next time!

6. If You Write a Kink, Go Deep: size kink, BDSM, A/B/O, etc. if you are going to do it, really commit to it. Don’t mention it vaguely, because if people are looking for that in your smut because you tagged it as such, don’t leave them hanging! I had to study BDSM terms, read blogs of those in the life and their experiences to even come close to writing authentically about it (and I mean stuff beyond generic spanking, such as the risks of edgeplay, knife play, wax play, sensory deprivation, subspace, etc).

Closing thoughts before I ramble you into the abyss from whence you won’t return:

Overall, writing is to have fun! Don’t be hard on yourself, it’s always a learning process. Ask for feedback on your smut, observe what you like about your favorite authors, practice practice practice.

Much of my advice may be considered advanced (or maybe it’s all shit LOL) but I hope some of it helps bring food for thought and helps others on their ever-continuing journey of creative writing!

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[wine4thewin]

Any writing tips for a n00b?

Oh, that’s a loaded question! 😙

I’ve been writing for the better part of roughly 20 years, on and off. Writing takes time and practice and I can say that what I write this year is different from what I wrote the year before or even the year before that. Writing evolves the more you do it and no one wants to hear that LOL

Writing advice is tough, because many writers are different in their methods. Not all methods work for everyone. Fifteen years ago, I would start at page one without a single clue as to the ending…and guess what? In those cases, I never reached the end, even if I had a great starting chapter 😆 I have drawers full of things I wrote when I was young and never finished.

Some people are able to write in perfect order. Some people make an outline with 500 words for each chapter just to get started. My own preference is to envision a beginning, a crucial turning point in the middle, and where I expect the characters to end. Who the characters are and what quirks make them stand out. How will they change? What changes them, for better or worse? I write scenes out of order, scenes I’m absolutely excited about or passionate about. Eventually, the more I write, the more I ‘see’ happening. I started connecting the scenes. I generally create an actual chapter outline once I’m 5,000-10,000 words deep into a story 😅 the outline always moves…it is never set in stone. Ever.

Generic tips with my obnoxious long-winded additions below the cut:

*Don’t get hung up on word count. It’s unnecessary stress. Words should be organic, not forced.

*Don’t write a chapter without a point. Something MUST happen in each chapter. There must be something to push the story forward.

*Write whatever comes to mind. Don’t worry about order, cut and paste exists for a reason! I never write in order.

*Write down ideas as they come to you! Anytime, anywhere. Use your phone notepad app. Revisit them later when you have time.

*Think about what you like about your favorite author’s style. This is helpful for new writers as they find their “voice”.

*This is more advanced, but think about how your characters sound! Don’t have two characters say things the exact same way. Like, maybe there’s a character who loves to say ‘bingo’ when they’re excited or a character who never says much at all. Maybe one character swears often, but another never does. You want people to hear characters and know the difference between them. I’ve read traditionally published books that I tossed because I couldn’t tell a single difference between any of the characters aside from their names. In fact, I don’t read as much as I used to, because I became such a fucking stooge when editing my own original fiction & fanfics. While typos and grammar don’t bother me, it’s hard for me to leave plot editor mode 🤣

*If you want to be aggressive, give yourself deadlines. Make yourself write every day, even if it’s just 200 words.

*If you don’t love something anymore, put it away. Don’t force yourself. Inspiration may come back. It might not. Move on and use new inspiration on a new project! I have so many original stories that are chilling for a rainy day when I want to pick them back up again.

*Most importantly, write what YOU want to read, not what you think others want. I once was penpals with a writer I respected and she confided she would not be writing anymore for the series that caught my attention, because, as she said “it wasn’t mainstream enough to catch traditional publishers & traditional readers eyes”. I found that to be saddening, because I knew she loved the dark fantasy world she created, but felt writing solely for other people would earn her better money which is true, but would she love writing as much? Sometimes, the answer is no.

Good luck in your journey writing! Just sit down and write! You might not get anywhere at first, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Obviously, different things may work for you than for me. Everyone is creative in different ways! 🥰

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