POLL: Authors, what do you have the most difficulty Writing?

23 Mar 2011

Seriously, authors, when you're writing a story, or want to write a story, what do you find the hardest thing to put on paper? Feel free to comment.

Click on the sentence to Vote!

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

well... if we're talking purely erotica, sometimes i have trouble with sex scenes... yeah, laugh all you want, but here's the deal, i'm not sure how long to make them last - this would probably fall under the sexual gymastics part - really, the thing is, it's all the stuff going on around the sex that interests me, the physical... well, sometimes the terms sound stillted, or i run out of ways to describe a female's natural lubricant (honey, nectar, juices, etc) her labia, a man's genitalia, that kind of thing... i mean, should the description of a blow job be one sentence, a paragraph, three?

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.

23 Mar 2011

Quote by sprite
but here's the deal, i'm not sure how long to make them last -

Preferably more than three minutes... icon_smile

I would say I have the most difficulty with the sex scene part...trying to keep it fresh after writing a number of stories is a common problem I've heard other authors mention as well...

You know you want it, you know you need it bad...get it now on Amazon.com...
Lush Erotica, an Anthology of Award Winning Sex Stories

23 Mar 2011

My weak point is coming up with an ending and trying to round things up after the deed's done. That always takes me the longest to write.

23 Mar 2011

Quote by sprite
well... if we're talking purely erotica, sometimes i have trouble with sex scenes... ...here's the deal, i'm not sure how long to make them last - this would probably fall under the sexual gymastics part ... i mean, should the description of a blow job be one sentence, a paragraph, three?

According to my editors, a sex scene should last a minimum of one whole chapter -- and that's ONLY the sex scene. Just so you know, my chapters are anywhere between 2500 to 3000 words.

DESCRIPTION is the key to fleshing out the scene. Don't just call it 'juice,' describe the glistening moisture that slides in slender rivulets down the inside of her thigh THEN describe how it feels physically, THEN how the character feels emotionally about the fact that they're dripping from excitement.

1. What it looks like.
2. What it feels like Physically.
3. How they feel about it Emotionally.

The glistening moisture slid in slender rivulets down the inside of her thigh. The coolness of the moisture tickled in contrast to the wamth of her skin. Because her skirt was so short, her excitement was clearly visible to anyone who happened to be looking. Her cheeks filled with embarrassed warmth and she lowered her gaze, not wanting to know who might be staring at her, aware that she was aroused.

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Developing an interesting plot. Coming up with a scenario which hasn't been read a million times before.

How to write in a way which leads your reader to think they know where the story is heading, but end up taking them on a different journey. Creating twists in a story, how to surprise the reader.

Ok, maybe that's just talent required, and nothing you can bottle.

23 Mar 2011

Quote by DirtyMartini
I would say I have the most difficulty with the sex scene part...trying to keep it fresh after writing a number of stories is a common problem I've heard other authors mention as well...

Believe it or not, the key to making a sex scene fresh is to make the scene AROUND IT fresh.
-- A blow job is something that happens in just about every sex scene, but a BJ in zero gravity on a space ship is going to very different from one done underwater during a scuba dive.

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Quote by Lisa
My weak point is coming up with an ending and trying to round things up after the deed's done. That always takes me the longest to write.

Writing an End is the hardest thing for me to come up with -- which is why I figure out where I want my story to end Before I even begin writing, but that's just me.

The best way to end any story is by solving the Character's personal Issue or Problem introduced in the beginning. Is the character shy, or lonely, depressed, lacking in confidence, looking for love in all the wrong places, too arrogant, too smart for their own good, or too stupid to live?

Seriously, the real payoff of any story is the Answer to the main character's issue presented in the beginning, even if their problem is as simple as: "Will she get laid?" Once you've address that issue, you've reached the end of your story.

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Quote by nicola
Developing an interesting plot. Coming up with a scenario which hasn't been read a million times before.

That merely takes a change of Setting.
-- Consider how a basic cunnilingus scene would change if you put it:

In a rowboat on a lake.
On the staircase of a haunted house.
With one's legs tied up in a doctor's chair.
In zero-gravity on a spaceship.
Underwater.
While straddling a fallen tree trunk in the woods.
While sitting in a church pew.
Spread out across a table while covered in sushi.
While sitting at a desk in a classroom full of high school students.
In a busy public bathroom.
On the mats during a karate class.
At a rock concert jam-packed with people.

Quote by nicola
How to write in a way which leads your reader to think they know where the story is heading, but end up taking them on a different journey. Creating twists in a story, how to surprise the reader.

That's easy, write the scene in a cliche'd fashion, and then end it a totally different way.

That Halloween story is a perfect example of the cliche' "Girl Gets Boy." However, the fact that the boy turns out to be her brother changes "Girl Gets Boy" into: "Girl gets WRONG boy."

Some more cliche's: from Sex Tropes

A Man Is Always Eager
Bigger Is Better In Bed
Caught With Your Pants Down

The trick to a twist is to go in an unexpected direction:

A Man Is Always Eager -- It wasn't Sex he was eager for.
Bigger Is Better In Bed -- Unless it's TOO big.
Caught With Your Pants Down -- It Wasn't by accident.

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Quote by Lisa
My weak point is coming up with an ending and trying to round things up after the deed's done.

I usually just hand her cab fare and push her out the door...

What, that don't work???

You know you want it, you know you need it bad...get it now on Amazon.com...
Lush Erotica, an Anthology of Award Winning Sex Stories

23 Mar 2011

The hardest thing I've had to write about is trying to describe what the woman (my wife) is thinking and feeling during the scenes. I'm no expert on females, so I've had to consult with her about it.

It's also difficult to remember some of the details of true stories, so I've had to fill in some of the gaps with embellishments, especially the sequence of some of the smaller events, the time of day, etc.

23 Mar 2011

I'm a very thorough writer, and try to do as much research as possible on any story I write.
I like real to life scenes.
I'd have to say the hardest part for me, is coming up with new female companions to act out all these scenes before writing them.wOiLdgG16ZCnZQuR

23 Mar 2011

The hardest thing for me is to avoid overcomplicating a plot for a short story. I think my mind tends to think of storylines in more of a novel length and complexity, so condensing and editing what is necessary to turn the idea into a "short" story is always the most challenging aspect for me. I have an endless array of unique sex situations and ideas bouncing around in my head all the time, but sometimes I feel like too many ideas can convolute the original premise of the story, because I tend to want to do way too much.

The natural solution would be to create chapters, but I hate breaking things out for the purpose of online posting because it requires having a strong sex scene for each chapter and sometimes that doesn't quite work with the kind of plot progression I want to use. I far prefer stand-alone pieces or a series format where each instalment works on its own. So... it usually just involves me having to do some ruthless editing of what I think is important to the story and what isn't. It's a process that can be frustrating, especially when I see myself getting close to that 10,000 word limit.

Contrary to a lot of the other posts in this thread, creating and writing the sex scenes is my favourite part... Embarassed

23 Mar 2011

Quote by MorganHawke

According to my editors, a sex scene should last a minimum of one whole chapter -- and that's ONLY the sex scene. Just so you know, my chapters are anywhere between 2500 to 3000 words.

DESCRIPTION is the key to fleshing out the scene. Don't just call it 'juice,' describe the glistening moisture that slides in slender rivulets down the inside of her thigh THEN describe how it feels physically, THEN how the character feels emotionally about the fact that they're dripping from excitement.

1. What it looks like.
2. What it feels like Physically.
3. How they feel about it Emotionally.

The glistening moisture slid in slender rivulets down the inside of her thigh. The coolness of the moisture tickled in contrast to the wamth of her skin. Because her skirt was so short, her excitement was clearly visible to anyone who happened to be looking. Her cheeks filled with embarrassed warmth and she lowered her gaze, not wanting to know who might be staring at her, aware that she was aroused.

*sighs* i have this sudden urge to rewrite everything now... hmm... and honestly, i think i get the emotional part down well, and not so bad at the physical part, but wow - you just do it so much better in just a throw away example then i do... ok, i quit -- curse you Morgan Hawke! *giggles* oh, and everyone waiting for a new story from me (that's both of you!) you know who to blame if it takes longer than usual! smile

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.

23 Mar 2011

Quote by Dancing_Doll

Contrary to a lot of the other posts in this thread, creating and writing the sex scenes is my favourite part...

i don't hate it at all! i love that part, i just think i'm not very good at it, is all - obviously, you are - just ask my gf ;)

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.

23 Mar 2011

I seem to have trouble developing the characters.

Success is doing what you love, and doing it so well that someone will pay you for it.
http://www.lushstories.com/fantasyfiction

23 Mar 2011

The hardest is ending the story. I don't want it to come off as generic, nor do I want it to sound convoluted, with nothing resolved. With some of my stories, I can have the beginning and ending already worked out, no problem. The middle then becomes the hardest for me.

www.szadvntures.com

Latest story:

TBD
Bump in the Night-Microfiction
Smoke Break-Interracial

23 Mar 2011

Coming up with something original; something that doesn't seem like it's been done 80 million times already. That's the hardest thing for me.

23 Mar 2011

Quote by Dancing_Doll
The hardest thing for me is to avoid overcomplicating a plot for a short story. I think my mind tends to think of storylines in more of a novel length and complexity, so condensing and editing what is necessary to turn the idea into a "short" story is always the most challenging aspect for me.

I have the same issue. My latest 'straight' stuff has turned into an 8 to 10 chapter story and it might even progress to more chapters. I find it hard to just tell a short story. I've also tried to edit ruthlessly but I'm never happy with that.

23 Mar 2011

Quote by LovingMyWife
The hardest thing I've had to write about is trying to describe what the woman (my wife) is thinking and feeling during the scenes. I'm no expert on females, so I've had to consult with her about it.

Hi Lee,
-- You're trying too hard. Since you write from strictly the Husband's (your) point of view, you Don't need to describe the Wife's FEELINGS, you need to describe her EXPRESSIONS. Her Facial Expressions will give those feelings away.

Here's a Cheater's Guide to describing expressions: The Non-Verbal Thesaurus

Quote by LovingMyWife
It's also difficult to remember some of the details of true stories, so I've had to fill in some of the gaps with embellishments, especially the sequence of some of the smaller events, the time of day, etc.

LOL! Welcome to the world of FICTION, my sweet! That's exactly how us professional authors do it.

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Quote by scooter
I'd have to say the hardest part for me, is coming up with new female companions to act out all these scenes before writing them.aNeLlcyksygBMs0Y

Who said you have to come up with New ones?
-- It's perfectly fine to use the ones you have, just change their physical descriptions and names in the story. Who's gonna know? REALLY?

This is how I get away with using movie characters in my novels. Of course, my characters tend to change and grow into their own distinct characters as the story progresses.

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Quote by Dancing_Doll
The hardest thing for me is to avoid over-complicating a plot for a short story. ... sometimes I feel like too many ideas can convolute the original premise of the story, because I tend to want to do way too much.

Hey Ashleigh,
-- If you want to write a Novel -- WRITE ONE. Lush isn't the only place that takes Erotica. There are publishers too. A quick visit to your local bookstore's erotica section should give you a whole pile of publishers to choose from. Just make sure you find their sites on-line and read their posted Submission Guidelines carefully.

Quote by Dancing_Doll
Contrary to a lot of the other posts in this thread, creating and writing the sex scenes is my favourite part...

LOL! If these writers didn't like writing sex scenes, they wouldn't be posting on Lush.

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Quote by sprite
*sighs* i have this sudden urge to rewrite everything now... hmm... and honestly, i think i get the emotional part down well.

Actually, I agree, you DO do the emotional part very well. Your Actions are good too, it's your Descriptions that fall flat. All you need are Direct Nouns instead of vague nouns and more ADJECTIVES.

Adjectives give your objects and locations emotional flavor and impact. The trick is not to over-do it! Moderation - moderation - moderation.

Avoid Simple Nouns:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use a Specific Noun rather than a simple and vague noun to automatically pop in description.

Instead of: the door, the car, the tree, the house, the sword, the robe, the hat...

Write: the French doors, the Subaru, the oak, the Victorian cottage, the claymore, the yukata, the fedora...

One adjective per Noun:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ADD an Adjective to a specific Noun. The ornate French tapestry, the rusty Subaru, the quaint Victorian cottage, the gleaming claymore, the blood-stained yukata, the battered fedora.

Two adjectives per Sensation:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sight, Sound, Taste, Texture, Scent - are all perceived through the senses. The glaringly red French doors, the seductively throbbing jazz, the creamy bite of yogurt, the nubby white dishcloth, the pungent musk of wet dog.

For more details, read: Tricks for Writing DESCRIPTION

Quote by sprite
...but wow - you just do it so much better in just a throw away example then i do...

Well, duh... I've been published since 1980. After all this time, I'd BETTER be able to write like that.

Quote by sprite
ok, i quit -- curse you Morgan Hawke! *giggles*

Look at it as being a Challenge, sweety.
-- Remember, it took me decades to learn all this stuff. You get to see it and learn it in one lesson. USE that and take advantage of all the hoops you Don't have to jump through to move ahead in your writing.

Quote by sprite
oh, and everyone waiting for a new story from me (that's both of you!) you know who to blame if it takes longer than usual!

Because you're going to take the time to really crank up the heat and do it Right this time, right?

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Quote by FantasyFiction
I seem to have trouble developing the characters.

In what way, specifically?
-- Describing what they Look like?
-- Describing what they Act like?
-- Describing how they feel emotionally about the events going on around them?
-- Describing how the story changes them as people?

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

I have trouble with the ending. I think, because I'm a guy, I just want to sleep after sex most of the time...

23 Mar 2011

I find that if I KNOW my characters and the scenario is interesting then the characters tend to tell me where to go as I write them....

In 'Full On Foursome' I had no real idea of how the two male characters would ultimately connect until one of the wives explained that MM contact was going to be a necessary part of the arrangement... (THAT surprised the boys!!!)

In 'Like Mother, Like Daughter' I had no idea that Phil's demure wife Claire had been a total high-school slut until her friend Lauren showed him the photos of their orgy....

I think if you INHABIT your characters, and they inhabit you, they can really talk to you and tell you what they're about....

Paradoxically, story characters are REAL people..... They need a reason to do what they do. And I like to explain how they think and feel about what they do..... Conflicting emotions are intriguing....

xx S

23 Mar 2011

Quote by LadySharon
The hardest is ending the story. I don't want it to come off as generic, nor do I want it to sound convoluted, with nothing resolved.

This is why I plan my ending before I begin writing. If I don't, I get stuck within two chapters of the end -- sometimes for MONTHS.

However, once you've already gotten that far into your story, the only way to fix the situation is to STOP WRITING and decide on where you want to End. You can't get to Pasadena if you don't even know that it's in California. Once you know how your story is supposed to end, THEN you can plan your route to get there.

As for where to End...?
-- Stories aren’t just about characters Doing stuff, it’s about character’s Dealing with stuff and Figuring out stuff about themselves. The really good stories, the ones that grab us and stay in our memories the longest, all illustrate normal people problems and issues, and the SOLUTIONS they come across.

No matter how fantastic the setting or characters are, stories are still about people being people dealing with people stuff. It isn’t what they Do, it’s How they did it, and what they discovered about themselves on the way.

What you need to decide, is what Issue Character was present at the very beginning of your story that needs to be solved? That's your true End. To make it truly catch the Reader's (and your) imagination, make that issue the Last thing the character wants to address in any way, shape or form.

For more details on writing Endings: How to make THE END.

Quote by LadySharon
With some of my stories, I can have the beginning and ending already worked out, no problem. The middle then becomes the hardest for me.

Ah! I have a whole pile of techniques you can use to make your Middle interesting!

Go To:The Trackless Wasteland known as the MIDDLE

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Quote by LadyX
Coming up with something original; something that doesn't seem like it's been done 80 million times already. That's the hardest thing for me.

Hey Xuani,
-- Give up on Original. It doesn't exist. Not even Shakespeare was Original.
Instead, try for Different and Fresh.

Originality is Overrated
-- When designing a car, why stop to reinvent the wheel if someone else has already done all the research and done it better?

Why struggle trying to find a good plot and good characters when the data on what you already like is right there in front of you? Why work when you don’t have to?

Take a look at your personal DVD movie shelf. I bet there’s a whole bunch of movies dealing with stories that could (in your personal opinion,) use some good Sexing. Stories that Could have been hot but fell just a bit short; stories with tons of potential just waiting to be told properly.

So, DO IT. Yank them off your movie shelf, and write them EROTIC. Figure out the flaws in all those stories, and FIX them. In fact, why not mix two different stories together, or take the characters from one and toss them into the plot of another, just to see what would happen?

Once you change the setting, the characters’ appearances and their personal backgrounds… Voila! ~ Instant Brand New ORIGINAL Story!

How simple can you get?

When it comes to making Original Fiction, it’s NOT how unique the plot is, it’s Your VISION of that plot that makes it fresh and different!

• Alice in Wonderland + CyberPunk = THE MATRIX
• Treasure Island + James Bond = NATIONAL TREASURE
• Robinson Caruso + Space Aliens = ET
• Romeo & Juliet + the Old South = GONE WITH THE WIND

How can a billion movie-goers be wrong?

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

Quote by Loislane
I have the same issue. My latest 'straight' stuff has turned into an 8 to 10 chapter story and it might even progress to more chapters. I find it hard to just tell a short story. I've also tried to edit ruthlessly but I'm never happy with that.

I'm going to give you the same advice I gave Doll.
-- If you really want to write Novel -- WRITE ONE then find a publisher for it. If you honestly feel that your skills aren't ready for publication, Sketch it out as a Draft and and SAVE IT for when you DO have the skills.

Once you get that novel out of your system, you should have no problems returning to writing short again. On the other hand, if you let that sit and FESTER in your subconscious, it could very well infect and inflame everything you write until your creativity flinches away from writing anything at all.

Trust me, I speak from experience.

Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein

23 Mar 2011

*Whispers* "Morgan Hawke is soooooo smart..." xx SF

What's the hardest thing for you to write?

Are you sure?