Lesson 2: More Than Just Sex??
Plots and Erotic Fiction
Even erotica needs to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You are telling a story to your readers, through narrative, action, introspection, and dialogue.
In the standard plot, your characters meet and initiate the sexual encounter in the beginning of your story. In the middle of your story, your characters are engaged in the act itself. The middle of your story culminates in the climax (literally). The end of the story tells how your characters process their relationship, what happens after sex, basically how the encounter ends.
Now, the length of each section of your plot depends on what medium you are writing for. If you are writing an erotic letter, you only have about 750 words for your entire story. Therefore, you should get down to business within the first few lines of your letter. If you are writing a short story (approximately 2000 words) most editors want you to get to the “hot” stuff by the end of page two.
An example of the beginning of an erotic letter would be as follows:
Beginning:
I watched the cute little co-ed in her short skirt and tank top, climb into the restored '65 Mustang, then followed her off campus. Human nature being what it is, I knew she could not resist the urge to give it good run down the interstate. Sure enough, she hit seventy as soon as she cleared the ramp. I gave it a couple of minutes, not wanting to spoil all of her fun, before I switched on the blue lights. She was nearly in tears as I walked up beside her car.
"Officer, I've never had a ticket. Please, couldn't you just let me off with a warning?"
I looked down into the car, checking out her bare thighs, then peeking down her top at the pert little breasts barely concealed beneath the pale blue fabric. "Well, maybe we could work something out," I suggested, my eyes meeting hers as I licked my lips.
The middle of an erotic letter would be like the following passage:
Middle:She was eager to comply, climbing into the passenger side of my cruiser. I had just radioed in my location, when her hand crept up my thigh. She tugged at my zipper, freeing my throbbing...[edited]... from my stiff uniform. She stroked the oversized tool, her thumb lightly caressing the rim...
Finally, the end of your erotic letter would close the scene, sometimes hinting that there will be a "next time".
End:"Yes, Sir," she assured. She smiled again and peeled off her cotton panties, showing that she understood exactly what I meant. She handed them to me, as she positioned herself in the passenger seat of the cruiser, her thighs spread slightly, and fastened her seat belt. Her skirt was inched up nearly to her waist, so that I could see...I wasn't sure I could wait until tomorrow-- not unless I took a very cold shower.
YOUR TURN
Practice writing an erotic letter of approximately 750 words. Remember that the letters submitted to most "men's" magazines need to be more graphic than the image you created in the previous lessons. You will be "talking dirty", confession style.
Note that I have not included any "dirty" wordsin my samples because these lessons are targeting a general audience. I have set the scene, implied what took place, and "edited" out any words that may have been too graphic for this venue. Use your imagination to fill in the blanks.
