Imagine this. You are sitting at your desk, about to pen a great piece of erotic fiction, when you realize there’s nothing to write about. You have hit that infamous and devilish writer’s block. There is no worse feeling than sitting in front of your computer, staring at a blank Word document, crying out to the cosmos, “Erotic Muses, Why have you forsaken me?” Let me tell you, gentle readers, I have been there. It was no fun and I don’t care to go back, but like all writers, I’m sure I’ll find myself up against that wall again. It’s part of the nature of it. That’s my first tip: DON’T PANIC. It’s like waking up at three in the morning and worrying whether or not you’ll ever go to sleep again. Believe me, as long as you’re focused on NOT going to sleep, you won’t. The same is true for writing. So, the first thing to do is relax. That doesn’t mean you have to accept it and sit like a statue until it passes. Everyone’s different, but I thought I’d share a few prompts that help me chip away at the block and get on with my creative endeavors.
· Looking at Sex Stores on the Internet
This is a huge help for me. It refocuses my energy to a sexual place and takes my mind off the panic of writer’s block. Some sex shops host fetish parties or sexual theme parties and have a gallery of past events. Just looking at these hot images stokes my imagination and can fan the flame enough to start my engine. Imagining the people in the photographs as characters in my stories helps to frame them in a real way, get a fix on how they might talk, and develop plot lines.
Besides looking at people, viewing products of online sex stores is also a great stoker. One time I was trying to write a BDSM story and my mind stalled after the first few paragraphs. Perusing sex store sites that cater to the BDSM scene got me going again. Viewing sex store sites can give me renewed visual stimulation, which leads to the mental and sexual stimulation needed to write erotic fiction. It can be erotically charging to look at pictures of sex toys, be it a vibrator, whip or butt plug, and imagine how your characters might use it on themselves or their lovers.
· Fantasize, Fantasize, and Fantasize some more
If after trying my first tip, you still find yourself at the bottom of a dry erotic well, start fantasizing and let the writing flow from your mental pictures. Think about what it would be like to have the person of your dreams touching you. Put yourself in that moment. How are they looking at you? What do their hands feel like? How would your body react to their touch?
I remember, one particular time when the writer’s block was so bad that my mind, needing to escape the stress of the creative void, wandered to a hot date I had planned for that night. I imagined how she would dress, what she smelled like, how her tongue would feel in my mouth, amongst other places, and without realizing it my writer’s block had dissipated and I was quit hot to trot. I ended up being so excited from the visualization; I almost climaxed just from writing it all out.
The trick to writing erotica is to heighten your arousal as you write so that you can convey this sensuality to your readers. To be blunt, if you are bored and not turned on while writing your story, your audience will fall asleep reading it and no author wants their work to be looked upon as the cure for insomnia.
· Just Back Away From The Computer
Now, if you have tried my first two steps, and you are still pulling your hair out in front of your computer, try walking away for a while. Not forever, but an hour or two, maybe even a day or so if time permits. Believe me it will most likely help to clear your head and when you return you should be able to move ahead with a fresh outlook on the story.
I suggest grabbing a snack, taking a walk, reading another erotic writer’s work, watching a sexy movie, or, if you have the means, masturbating. Now, before you erupt into laughter, masturbation can teach you many things about yourself and what you want sexually which can get the creative vibe going much stronger than if you don’t. Masturbation gets all sorts of juices flowing, creative and other types as well, and it can shed a different and arousing light onto a story, giving your writing a sexier and more intense edge.
I know it can be hard to walk away from a story, but sitting stubbornly in front of your screen until the inspiration hits you wont help in the long run. It might even hurt the writing.
I remember one story I wrote a while back that I refused to let go. I sat there in a battle of wills with my piece determined to finish it, forcing the story to an end. This frustration ended up being conveyed through the writing. The characters lacked depth and their actions were predictable at best and contrived at worst.
So, even though, you may feel guilty walking away from your story for a little while, it will serve your plot and your audience much better if you do. Let’s face it, how sexy can your writing be if you are staring at a blank screen thinking, I have to get this thing written or else!
Writing erotica can be a tough thing to do, but I hope my advice will help some of you guys when the dreaded beast, writer’s block, rears its ugly head. Granted, every person is different and what works for me, may not work for you. The best thing you can do is find your own way to work past your creative erotic blocks, whether it is from my advice or a technique that you discover on your own, and not beat yourself up over them when they happen to you. I hope my advice has been helpful and best of luck to all of the writers out there.
