Astaroth
[*screaming into the void intensifies*]
Original poster
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- Invitation Status
- Not accepting invites at this time
- Posting Speed
- Speed of Light
- Slow As Molasses
- Online Availability
- It varies a lot depending on my schedule, unfortunately.
- Writing Levels
- Advanced
- Adaptable
- Preferred Character Gender
- Primarily Prefer Male
- Genres
- Psychological horror
Body horror
Supernatural
Giallo
Splatterpunk
Dark fantasy
Historical
Low fantasy
Magipunk
Weird West
Noir
Thriller
Gothic horror
Southern Gothic
Gaslamp fantasy
Cyberpunk
Space saga
Clockpunk
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Space opera
Paranormal
Modern fantasy
Dieselpunk
Post-Apocalyptic
Crime drama
Medieval fantasy
Sex scenes are hard. (Pun intended.) Many new writers balk at the idea of writing sex scenes.
It's one reason why erotica, romance novels, and adult roleplaying remain among the most maligned genres out there. Getting people invested in reading about sex is no mean feat, because one little thing gone wrong can send them hurtling out of their immersion faster than you can say "boner".
The truth is that lots of people screw up sex scenes. There is a literary "award" dedicated to recognizing the worst sex scenes in published fiction each year, and there is never a shortage of nominees. There are numerous sites dedicated to snarky reviews of erotic fiction. Not even the most seasoned of writers are immune from some of the pitfalls of the erotic novel.
In my opinion, this is largely because no one ever talks about it. I'm not one to let things be swept up under the rug, so let me give you a nice little list of why Bad Smut is really, really bad.
It's one reason why erotica, romance novels, and adult roleplaying remain among the most maligned genres out there. Getting people invested in reading about sex is no mean feat, because one little thing gone wrong can send them hurtling out of their immersion faster than you can say "boner".
The truth is that lots of people screw up sex scenes. There is a literary "award" dedicated to recognizing the worst sex scenes in published fiction each year, and there is never a shortage of nominees. There are numerous sites dedicated to snarky reviews of erotic fiction. Not even the most seasoned of writers are immune from some of the pitfalls of the erotic novel.
In my opinion, this is largely because no one ever talks about it. I'm not one to let things be swept up under the rug, so let me give you a nice little list of why Bad Smut is really, really bad.
ANNOUNCEMENT: An up-to-date, professional version of this article has been posted on the writing website Muse Inspired, which is owned and operated by our very own @Diana. Because of this, I'm removing the previous editions from Iwaku and AMOR. The good news is, it's been tweaked, I've been PAID, and you can still read the whole article for free here!
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