What should a good sex scene do? More than insert Tab A into Slot B, that’s for sure. See what Michaeline over at Eight Ladies Writing has to say about it.

Is there a secret to writing sexy scenes? Image via Wikimedia Commons

Sex scenes can be scary to write. We live in a strange sort of pop culture that delights in sharing details, details, details, and this is fine up until the point when a description is suddenly branded Too Much Information. The reader enjoys an open and frank conversation about whatever, when suddenly the writer turns the corner into something that’s just a little too personal.

The scary part is that we, as writers, never quite know where that turn is. It’s not marked with signposts. One reader might switch off at the first mention of bodily fluid, while a different reader will devour descriptions of the most depraved and degrading acts, only to be turned off by something that most readers accept as just part of the modern written sex scene – heaving bosoms or a quivering member.

So, I suppose, like so much writing, the first rule is write to please yourself…

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