Danyealle-sama wrote:
Forth, go with the flow.

The best way to write a sex scene, if you don't have much experience with such things is to shut your eyes (make darn sure that your fingers are on the right keys though so you don't just write gibberish) :

okay my 2 cents in:

Not to step on anything that's already been said, but just keep in mind the body itself.

i find that one of the things that makes me put off most about lemons is that people often place the body in some kinda pose that's 1] only possible if they are contortionist, or b] makes NO sense at all b/c its simply not possible unless you writing for naraku. I'm a big visual person so if you write it, I paint the idea in my head. often times this puts me off.

Another thing, if your not really comfortable with writing a lemon, you should stick to lime's and if you cant some how manage to get it above 100 words you shouldn't bother at all. its my opinion that if you feel so truly put off by writing a lemon that you should practice it in oneshot form before adding it to a fic. I've read some awesome fics that ended up leaving me kinda blehish b/c the author was squeamish about writing a lemon and did a poor job of it when they did. b/c of that, it... TO ME, taints the whole fic.

the difference one might ask?

Lemon - involve anything up to and beyond intercourse of some kind, via oral, or any other location.
Lime - only involve the UP to, but do not include anything like oral or more.this is more like heavy petting/grouping in a sensual way.

In Western fanfiction circles, hentai-based works are popularly referred to as "lemon", based on a more popular hentai anime anthology series called Cream Lemon. Fictions referred to as "lime" are ones in which the characters do everything short of having sexual intercourse with each other. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hentai (this does link you to wiki but it does have mature stuff in it, might help with writing)

Danyealle-sama wrote:
though many don't think of it this way, erotica, and writing sex scenes, is it's own art form. Not everyone can do something like it and it's not something that is easy . It takes time, patience and practice to get decent at it like it does for other genres of fiction.

Actually, she's exactly right about this. I know some absolutely stellar authors that don't bother with erotic scenes because they just feel they can't do it. It's not a knock against their literary talents, but it's simply that they aren't able to express themselves in a way they're comfortable with in regards to that type of scene. And then some of us have been polishing our lemon-writing skills for a long, long time >_>.

The main things to really look for- beyond the scene itself -are that you are enjoying writing/imagining the scene and that you're comfortable with what you've produced.

Alright, these are my suggestions and what I go by....

First, make it as hot as possible and avoid using strange terms for things.

Those just elicit laughs. The goal should be to make someone overheat and blush at the same time. here in this section there is a link to an erotic thesaurus. It's quite helpful with terminology.

Second, big issue with many, hand placement.

You need to make sure you know where the hands are so it doesn't sound like someone just sprouted a few extra ones that are wandering here and there of their own accord.

Third, realism.

Though it can be energetic and a fantasy, make it as real as you can and describe how it feels. Nothing is wrong as everyone feels experiences differently.

Forth, go with the flow.

The best way to write a sex scene, if you don't have much experience with such things is to shut your eyes (make darn sure that your fingers are on the right keys though so you don't just write gibberish), envision what you want to write then type it out without looking at the screen. The first few times of writing something erotic, this is a bit easier on you to do it and seems to make it flow more freely. Even if you just do a very basic thing then go back and embellish it more later, it helps to get it out and down on 'paper' then go from there.

Fifth, write what YOU want.

Don't worry about what others might or might not like. Since, like with all fiction, not everyone likes the same kind of things, write what you want to and don't worry what others think. Each being has a different perspective on things and can make even the most overly used things seem new and different.

Sixth and final thing, description, description, description!

The more details you can give and the better you describe something, the higher the heat level goes. In the arena of erotica, people want to see what you are describing, not have to imagine part of it (that's what most sites look for when it comes to publication-they want you to describe it to where it reads like your standing there watching it). That takes practice though. It will, eventually, come like in other areas of writing.

You need to remember, though many don't think of it this way, erotica, and writing sex scenes, is it's own art form. Not everyone can do something like it and it's not something that is easy . It takes time, patience and practice to get decent at it like it does for other genres of fiction.

Freya Ishtar wrote:
Thank you Hairann!

You're welcome .

Thank you Hairann!

Freya Ishtar wrote:


(YIMs? I have no idea what this means )

YIMs= Young impressionable marbles...aka minors.

I've only written a few myself, so I'm no expert, but...

1. Use as flowery a word as possible. Petals, treasure, gem, pearl...you get the idea right? to describe things in more detail rather than the politically correct terms. Truthfully I find the actual words to be off putting.

2. Watch the scenes you've written unfold in your mind, pretty easy to do if you have an over active imagination like me. If that doesn't work, get your honey to help act out the scenes, even if the actual dialog isn't used. It'll help point out the parts that don't flow correctly. I also do this for fighting scenes.

3. Do not try to write it in the first person. Much like fight scenes, lemons can be rather hard to get to flow right and trying to add an extra complication like first person pov, is just asking for trouble.

4. And most importantly, do not expect your first, or even first few, to be perfect. And make sure you ask for CC, we really do learn a lot from honest feedback, it's improved my writing greatly since I first started fan fiction.

Wow, I feel like I should be able to offer so much help on this, but trying to put it into words is escaping me, lol. I would say first, don't use phrasing or terms that you're not comfortable with- if you're feeling awkward in the way something is phrased, it will come through in the writing and though the readers may not pick up on it exactly, they might not enjoy the scene as much as you're hoping. Like an example: personally, I don't like using more to-the-point descriptive words for certain body parts . . . it's not that I find something wrong with it, but for some reason when I write it myself, it feels almost like I'm being unnecessarily vulgar.

Another thing- as you and I have already talked about- is speech. If your characters are going to be talking during the scene, make sure it sounds realistic and it works best if it's something you, yourself would want to hear (obviously it would be applicable to the surrounding scene & the characters -_-). Yes, we all have different tastes, but if you as the writer are enjoying the scene it's going to come through and you can always craft your character's response based on your own.

Repetetiveness- this has stuck in my craw when best sellng novelists do it, it's not a complaint, rant or slam on anyone, just my view on this: when describing a scene or action be careful not to use the same word to describe the same thing multiple times in the same sentence or paragraph, it can make the writing feel stilted. However, if you're using the same word intentionally to make a point or draw attention to something, than have at it.

Last but not least- length (which, yes, is a funny thing to comment on in this particular thread). Seriously, though, if you feel like an aspect of the scene as a whole is just going on too long or is dragging out, go back over it and see what you can maybe fix or change or simply reword slightly to imply a lot of action or passing of time in a shorter amount of writing. If the scene is beginning to feel tedious for you as the writer than it might start to drag for the reader. If you're in the midst of writing and you feel like it's losing steam, stop right where you're at, reread what you have so far. It may help you to get back into the thread of the scene the way you want, or you may decide that this stop-point is actually where you want the scene to start winding to a close and you can thus rework your wording to push the rest of the scene into exactly the image you want it.

I don't know if any of this is helpful, whether or not it is, best of luck with your lemon scenes. *hugs*

(YIMs? I have no idea what this means )

(I hope this is the right place for this)

I'm trying my hand at some lemon scenes in a few one-shots I'm currently working on (not yet posted.) I'm really struggling with them! My first attempt I posted here, and everyone was really nice about it, but I felt it was lacking in steam.

Can anyone offer some advice on what makes a GOOD lemon piece? Any writing techniques or writing skills that you have picked up that you find helpful? Thanks.

Oh feel free to PM me if you'd rather not post on the thread!

Thanks ladies and gents.

than you so much for all the wonderful feedback everyone. I've gone through what everyone has suggested, and although intellectually I already knew a lot of the suggestions might be, hearing them confirmed and having the detailed explanations was most instructive. Tasteful but steamy lemons are an avenue of writing that is a little intimidating to me, but something I REALLY want to try.

I feel like lemons are more difficult to write WELL than the normal content of stories. I feel like a lemon can be pivitol to the telling of a story, if done correctly and tastefully (which isn't to say it can't be super steamy in order to be tasteful) Good lemon dialogue is something I could use a little more advice on, as I find that stories with good lemon dialogue really add to the scenes.

Again thank you all for your help! Its been most insightful, and reassuring! I also invite anyone to give me some heavy CC on the one lemon I HAVE already posted. It was done a little while ago, prior to the assist here, so anything you can add as a suggestion to help (other than spelling and grammar, because I didn't have a beta at the time, and I'm HORRIBLE with spelling and grammar, I know )

Stolen Moment obviously this is a MA rated fic, but there are no other warnings to offer. I don't believe anything in here is offensive (other than maybe the rating itself, because its a lemon.) Its just a relatively "vanilla" lemon - which could be its own category of lemons! lol

Again thanks so much! I may be coming back to this thread as I find more questions or need advice. I hope you all will be available and willing to offer more CC and suggestions/tips as I progress.

I love you guys!

Ok so .... I'm stuck... inavertably looking like a chocolate-dipped pretzel kinda stuck. It seems like my SMUT bunny has once again ranaway with the Dust Bunny under my desk.

I wrote ONE lemon in all the fics I have ever written ... and although you may not know this, said lemon took me almost three years to write - You may find it in Moonlight Traveling - of course at that point I didn't have the same experience I have now and my mind isn't as ... gutter marble ... as it is now.

That point aside, I have been reading every comments posted here and I have tried a few of the "exercise" proposed - closing my eyes and imagine what I want to write with my fingers on the keyboard and typing what came to mind, read/watching lemons, asking my honey for some help, I even went as far as looking at a chippendales' calendar... and although those things did help, I realized I need someone to throw ideas at - hence I need a beta! I already asked for one in the beta area, but, in the mean while that I get said beta, I still need help in the lemon area.

The thing is, I'm not even sure I did well with my first lemon since I never got feedback on it - that's one thing - secondly, most of the time I write with how I feel and - if I might put it this way - even when I'm randy I still don't get the feeling the lemon is hot enough.

I guess the main thing and probleme is that I doubt myself so much I end up rewriting the lemon scene until I dont have ideas left on how to actually write it.

I would appreciated greatly if some of you could comemtn my first lemon - I don't care if it's in PMs or reviews or even on here... I just need feedback to know if I'm on the right track or if I already crashed and burned!

Thank you in advance from a desprate writer with a writers block the size of a football field!

I saw a lot of great suggestions here, but I figured I might add in my own.

For me, I feel like I definitely write better lemons when I am feeling, uh...randy. If there is something you know that puts you in that kind of mood, whether it be visualizing a particular fantasy, watching adult content movies, reading other lemons, or indulging in whatever you are desiring, do it!

And speaking of fantasies, use yours! If there is any particular one that you always wanted to do, but you just KNOW you wont ever get the chance, put it down in your story! No one who reads it will know whether you are truly depraved or whether you are just a wonderful writer with a good imagination, so don't be afraid! No one will judge you.

For those who are inexperienced in this area in RL, I definitely suggest starting by watching or reading other lemons, and thinking about how different scenes make YOU feel. If there is something that strikes you as particularly awesome, try to put into words how you feel about it. It will help you create dialog or write what the characters are FEELING as opposed to just DOING.

Good luck!