WriSoMiFu day 16: writing about writing about sex
Today's WriSoMiFu update questions were: do you write sex? do you read it? WHY? what makes a sex scene work for you, in fic or in general reading? is there anything in language or in protocol that you consciously avoid writing? are you one of those people whose w.i.p.s are littered with [insert sex here]? as a reader, what identifies a bad sex scene; is it as simple as a fade-to-black an inch below gryffindor pyjama waistband, and/or use of the words "lave" and "nub"? (i mean, right? really!)
This is a timely topic for me, because one of my WriSoMiFu goals is to be bolder with my sex scenes. Not more explicit, exactly--more like, stronger.
I'm happy with the scenes I've written so far, it's not that I feel like they're not hot or that they're in any way cringeworthy. It's more like, I can take it a little farther, in my head I already do, and in my writing I'm holding back. I feel that there can be more emotion there, more rawness, more specificity. A little bit harder language--though by that I don't mean more anatomical language or body-part language--but more force in my imagery, more impactful use of words.
aerye described the question she asks as, "yeah -- but is it hot?"--and I think that's as close as I can get to what *more* is to me. Because "hot" encompasses so much, when you start unpacking it--it's realism and emotional authenticity, it's erotic power, it's identification and empathy and a sense of real intimacy, like you're so close to the characters--like you're six inches away and getting closer, not standing on the other side of the room watching them like they're on TV.
Although I set myself this goal of being bolder, it's actually kind of happening naturally, because in my current story the protagonist/POV character is male, and the way I imagine his sexuality is already different than for female characters. And since it's Spock, and he's Vulcan, that adds even more layers of sensory data and a more "alien" interior process.
It's interesting to me, having already written a story covering the same general time period from Uhura's POV, that as I write something concurrent from Spock's POV my ideas for the sex scenes are very different--in tone, in what the larger emotional point is, in what the sex is like--physically and mentally, what he notices and remembers and picks out as important.
IDK I just find the differences kind of fascinating, because they're arising out of the character and my perception of him, rather than out of any separate goal of mine. We'll see if the execution kills me or not!
******
Today's WriSoMiFu Update:
Tea units: 3 black with goat milk and honey, 1 rooibos
Pastry units: 1/2 red cupcake (flavor unknown, even after eating)
Procrastination methods: Visit with career counselor. She suggested I not use the term "fan fiction" for my writing, as it seems unfairly stigmatizing. I love my career counselor!
Actual writing: Edited and rewrote a section that's been giving me trouble, about 1300 words' worth. I *think* it's remotely possible that it might not suck now. We'll see how I feel when I read it over tomorrow.
This is a timely topic for me, because one of my WriSoMiFu goals is to be bolder with my sex scenes. Not more explicit, exactly--more like, stronger.
I'm happy with the scenes I've written so far, it's not that I feel like they're not hot or that they're in any way cringeworthy. It's more like, I can take it a little farther, in my head I already do, and in my writing I'm holding back. I feel that there can be more emotion there, more rawness, more specificity. A little bit harder language--though by that I don't mean more anatomical language or body-part language--but more force in my imagery, more impactful use of words.
aerye described the question she asks as, "yeah -- but is it hot?"--and I think that's as close as I can get to what *more* is to me. Because "hot" encompasses so much, when you start unpacking it--it's realism and emotional authenticity, it's erotic power, it's identification and empathy and a sense of real intimacy, like you're so close to the characters--like you're six inches away and getting closer, not standing on the other side of the room watching them like they're on TV.
Although I set myself this goal of being bolder, it's actually kind of happening naturally, because in my current story the protagonist/POV character is male, and the way I imagine his sexuality is already different than for female characters. And since it's Spock, and he's Vulcan, that adds even more layers of sensory data and a more "alien" interior process.
It's interesting to me, having already written a story covering the same general time period from Uhura's POV, that as I write something concurrent from Spock's POV my ideas for the sex scenes are very different--in tone, in what the larger emotional point is, in what the sex is like--physically and mentally, what he notices and remembers and picks out as important.
IDK I just find the differences kind of fascinating, because they're arising out of the character and my perception of him, rather than out of any separate goal of mine. We'll see if the execution kills me or not!
******
Today's WriSoMiFu Update:
Tea units: 3 black with goat milk and honey, 1 rooibos
Pastry units: 1/2 red cupcake (flavor unknown, even after eating)
Procrastination methods: Visit with career counselor. She suggested I not use the term "fan fiction" for my writing, as it seems unfairly stigmatizing. I love my career counselor!
Actual writing: Edited and rewrote a section that's been giving me trouble, about 1300 words' worth. I *think* it's remotely possible that it might not suck now. We'll see how I feel when I read it over tomorrow.