How Intentional Are Your Sex Scenes?

[Zootonius]

I started writing here simply because I like writing sex scenes, and my plots serve that purpose. But the plots serve the broader goal of bringing context to the sex scene; attraction, desire, lust, love, it's about exposing the emotional state of the protagonist at the moment of consummation. That's fun.

I do believe there is too much of a good thing. If the lovers are in a night long session of passionate sex, I spell out the details at the start, but summarize the rest of the evening, otherwise it becomes tedious.

 

[CalBishForNow]

People write scenes that aren't sex scenes?

 

[AchtungNight]

Normally I visualize the characters doing things with each other and take notes on what comes to mind. I don’t push them much, just try to give each participant some measure of satisfaction and attention to their respective motivations. However I also often have to throw in a particular kink that makes sense to the character in question in a way I can’t always understand at first glance. And yet it makes sense in context.

 

[Erozetta]

Not at all. I don't choreograph the sex scene, it just follows a natural flow for the characters as I'm writing.

 

[Britva415]

I'm putting a lot of consideration into whether or not to have oral, what kind of foreplay, who's doing what, what position, what are the other body parts doing, all (okay, most) with an eye on narrative impact, what it reveals about a character, things of that nature

Do you think that makes it more sexy, or less sexy? And do you care one way or the other about how sexy it is?

Maybe there's no difference in the "sexy level." But it seems like there could be.

I suppose that one could get all Fellini about it. One could employ specific evocative imagery, simile and metaphor within the sex scene to foreshadow that scene later where like for example the MC will be riding a train which has to enter a tunnel and he'll come out the other end of it in a coma.

 

[NaughteeDragon]

Important sex scenes are deliberate and I think about how they reflect the characters and what’s going on in their relationship. Choices about positions and types and intensity are based on what’s going on before the scene.
There’s a chapter coming up in DFF where Jane is teasing Bill before she goes to a party and he goes to a work function. The teasing goes a little far and he throws on her bed and fucks her hard and fast. It’s short on description and sensation. It’s about 2 paragraphs.
Later that night they have anal for the first time. That scene is dripping with descriptions and sensations. It’s 2000 words or so. The choices about positions are very deliberate by both characters.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Before I started writing erotica, I hadn't really considered the narrative impact of position and actions as anything more than "this seems sexy, let's do that." Now that I'm actually writing it, though, I'm putting a lot of consideration into whether or not to have oral, what kind of foreplay, who's doing what, what position, what are the other body parts doing, all (okay, most) with an eye on narrative impact, what it reveals about a character, things of that nature.

I'm curious how much thought goes into deciding how the arc of the sex will play out in any given story. How much of it for you is steamy id "this is sexy" vs. big-brain ego "narratively, this is the ideal position and chain of events to showcase the relationship and character dynamic."

Where do you fall on the spectrum? What are the main considerations that go into a sex scene for you?

I wouldn't be surprised if someone's asked more or less this same exactly question, but I couldn't easily find a thread on this specific topic, so... Here it is.

I try to approach sex scenes like writing dialogue (and often combined with dialogue), so much more on the "relationship and character dynamic" side. What do these people want? Are they confident, nervous, domineering? How do they express that in their approach to sex?

 

[Writer61]

As I only write erotica, I always intend to include sex scenes. Somefeature in my original thoughts about the story, others crop up as I write ('oh, X and Y are in the same location, might they fuck?').