Erotic Short Stories Tutorial

Erotic Short Stories or Written Porn?

Think about your project. Are you writing erotic short stories or are you writing written porn?  Think of it this way… erotica or erotica short stories are written porn with style and more of a storyline. The cheesy dialogue and absurd scenarios that you see in porn, the people who write them- assuming someone bothers to write it- are not erotica writers. Porn has no need for real stories or interesting characters; it’s just there to give you direct visuals.

Contrary to porn, real erotic short stories will give the reader nothing less than a defining attribute of the characters that they are able to either identify with or take a mental hold of. Characters are interesting to the reader for more than just imaging how they look naked. The same goes for the interactions between characters; they have a reason to be there and act they the way do that goes beyond just being a sexual object. These elements may be presented and made known in a brief moment, but they make a real difference to the reader.

Character and Concept Creation

Obviously, before writing any type of story, the first thing you need to do is to create characters for the story and then concepts. As far as naming characters go, simply think of names you already know or match names to the concepts you will be using. It is a little-known secret but in most short stories, the names of your characters are less important than most want to think. It is better to name the characters quickly and move on, rather than spend too much time dwelling on such a small detail. Obviously, if you are giving your characters both first and last names, then do not use the first and last name of any real people… that can land you in legal trouble. If you have too much trouble, try simply using “he” and “she” without giving proper names to the characters. You will have to build the image and feel for the character more without the name to personalize them to the reader. However, it may work better for some writers.

Chances are that you may have started with the concept before even deciding to write the story itself. Often times the concept or a single scene will come to mind, which then inspires the short story to be written. In any event, be sure to know what the concept of your plot as well as at least a few situations or scenarios that your characters will be going through. If you already know a lot of details or scenes that you want to make their way into the story, it’s never a bad idea to first make a notes document where you can write them all down as bullet points.

Set Up is Important- Give Characters a Reason

Remember, this is not written porn, it is erotica. When writing erotic short stories, the set up or build up to the action is just as important as the steamy scenes are. Depending on the tone or concept your story has, it may not be a good idea to take two or three pages before getting to the action, but at least some detail build up will go a long way. It’s great to get into all of the naughty and hot action, but you must first give the characters a good reason to find themselves in that situation. Don’t skip details or even entire scenes out of fear of losing or boring the reader. In erotic stories, like in real life, passion and even lust take time and desire.

If you are writing a “hate fuck” scene in your story, then you need to build up the understanding and concept in the reader’s mind so that they fully feel the intensity of the scene. If your characters are going to do naughty things on certain furniture or surroundings… you have to place them there first. Sounds obvious, but somehow this is something that far too many erotic writers rush through or even skip entirely.  Doing this will cheat the reader and may even break the “fantasy” and cause them to stop and search for another story to read.

Writing Sex Scenes and Storytelling Sex Scenes

Writing sex scenes is perhaps one of the scariest and most difficult tasks for many writers and authors. Storytelling sex scenes generally comes down to how well you match the tone of the story with the language used.  However, the details and the fear of sounding like a bad porn movie will often intimidate writers into panic. For this, keep in mind that being a writer gave you language and being human gave you experience and point of reference.

Assuming that you have had sex before, you already know what it is like and what is generally involved. If you are struggling to write a sex scene, simply type out a real-life experience. It could become your scene, or it may simply be for getting used to writing about the situations and acts that are involved. This will allow you to type out the scene without having to also create the scene. Once you are used to how to write about these types of scenes, you can move on to typing out fantasies and then entirely new fictional stories.

Remember that you are storytelling sex scenes; meaning that just like any other scene, you are telling a story. Consider the situation before the scene, consider the traits of the characters, and try to see the scene how it would naturally play out if it were in real life. At that point, you simply have to write what you see in your mind. Don’t be surprised if once you get started the scene begins to almost seem to write itself in some ways. Sex is a natural and instinctive act for humans, so your mind will often fill in the blanks for you. The same I true for the reader. If there is one specific act that you are not sure how to word or are not comfortable writing out, give enough detail so that the reader’s mind will fill in the blanks for them.

Erotic Writing Prompts

Before we wrap up, I wanted to provide you with some erotic writing prompts that may help you to get started with your next sex scene. Erotic short stories can range from sensual and romantic, to raunchy and intense. First, decide which type of story you are writing and then consider the following questions:

• Why are the characters drawn to each other?
• What is the sexiest location sex would take place for these characters?
• What clothes would character likely be wearing given all the elements?
• How long should this scene be in context with the rest of the story?
• What should this scene add to the overall story as well as the characters’ arc?
• Who is the dominant character in this scene?
• What would I love to experience if I were one of the characters?

Of course, these are just some of the questions you can start with. Like all scenes in any story, sex scenes are meant to drive a purpose or progression for one or more of the characters involved. The details are a question of biological mechanics, and the wording is up to the writer as well as the tone or intensity of the scene. These elements will work themselves out most times. The drive and purpose is the real question that must be asked.

Keyword Research for Erotic Short Stories

Far too many writers think that when writing erotic stories, there is no need to first do keyword research. I’m afraid that is simply not the case. When choosing the title as well as the first few lines of the story, it is always best to find the proper keywords to use. Just like anything else you may write online, search engine optimization will help your content to be found by more people.  It is still vastly important that you do keyword research before starting to write the story.

Keep in mind that most times, the keyword research you do will also give you ideas for scenes… and perhaps even the entire story. Proper keyword research will show you what types of stories people are looking up and exactly how they are typing in the search for that content. In addition to the right terms being searched, it will tell you which of those terms is easier to rank for in search engines; increasing the likelihood of your story being read.  It doesn’t matter if you are writing on your own blog or on Medium or Vocal Media… keywords always matter. In fact, the erotic stories in the links below are all stories I created after finding the keywords used. Check them out:

It is also worth mentioning that out of my Medium and Vocal Media posts, my erotic short stories are consistently some of the best earning posts each and every month. If you want to learn more about writing fiction and making money on Medium and Vocal, be sure to check out my other posts; I post advice and tips for writers all the time. 

Lastly… It’s Your Story

Remember that regardless of how you go about writing the sex scenes and erotic short stories, that it is your story. There is no right or wrong way to tell a story. If you can enjoy and identify with the storyline and the characters, then there is a great chance that others can too. One of the great things about sex and scenes that contain it, would be that most people enjoy sex and love to read about it in the privacy of their own home. Don’t be afraid to write scenes that are a little wild or push the boundaries a bit. Of course, you want to stay within the law and try to maintain some moral limits, but wild and intense can make for a great sex scene in the right stories.

Write your sex scenes, your way. When you write these scenes from a place that is genuine and real, the reader will pick up on it and respond. Be true to the story and be true to the characters you place in the scene. The amount of detail you use in your scenes is fully up to you. There is no rule that says sex scenes can only contain certain words or elements. People read to get away and escape, so create the world you see in your mind and create the scenes you want to share with the world. The world is waiting… so go for it.