Understand erotica genre: Erotica is literary or artistic work that deals with sex and physical descriptions. There is a thin line between vulgar, raunchy, sensual and sexual. There is also a thinner line between pornographic and erotica.
Erotica genre is not for everyone: The characters will be adults and young adults now. Readers would be 16+ or 18+ depending internationally on the country’s age limit. The sex will be integral to the plot and/or the development of the romance. There will be no fade to black sex scenes. The sex scenes in the book will be explicit and frequent, as in recent Netflix TV series like Sex Education and Fifty Shades of Grey. We are just starting to get used to talking about sex in an easy to understand language.
Desensitized by violence, guns, bombs, cheating, rape and sex: Many Hollywood movies we see have such high stakes which sometimes isn’t true. It makes us desensitize and make us think this all is “normal”. The difference between fantasy and reality is grave.
Be sympathetic to erotica writers: Despite erotica writers trying very hard to not offend but there are so many words that can be used for penis and vagina. Many erotica writers struggle to put the right words as they do not want to offend their readers and even books from E L James were criticized.
Be open to rude words: Some writers write to please a different audience and leave lots to imagination or use words that some regular readers of erotica may find outdated.
Erotica genre is sometimes going to trigger: When a writer is trying to tell a story they might trigger readers, so be aware of trigger warnings where they exist. Alternatively these stories could resonate with the reader and they would be able to empathize with the writer or characters.
Writer voice shouldn’t be shushed: We live in the diverse world. Just because readers haven’t experienced it doesn’t mean it becomes taboo.
Erotica genre isn’t for glamourising sad stories or to encourage bad fantasies: There are sometimes stories about violence, sexual harassment, sex trafficking, coercion, rape, make up sex, sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse, sexual fantasy, BDSM, fetish, etc. These stories need to be read and be heard rather than being labelled as pornographic or too rude.
Readers should be open to Erotica Genre for all the aspects of sex rather than limited written in the traditional language of romance.
Devika Shallivan Services: https://www.facebook.com/rgrprt/services
Resources
Wikipedia: Erotica Genre
Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin (1996) Books
Bridgerton – Julia Quinn (2000) Books
Nymphomaniac Volume I (2013) Film
Nymphomaniac Volume II (2013) Film
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) – E L James
Sex Education (2019) TV Series
As with all articles in Frost, the opinions expressed are the contributor’s own.