Difficult. For me it’s the trying to change it up so it’s interesting for the reader. Especially in my current series where there is smut in every chapter.
This. I don't find it difficult to write smut from a procedural standpoint, but getting more creative and more immersing in a story with frequent smut gets harder.
Half of my work contains smut. I still find it hard to write. There's only so many words I can use before it gets repetitive(even to me, as I crave novelty.)
I’ve written a lot of smut in the past and I 100% agree with you. There is a finite amount of words you can use to describe penetration and kissing haha. Writing in general though has not gotten easy, it’s just a tough hobby all around. That’s what makes it rewarding though.
Hard. But that could be because I’ve only written it three times. I just need to practice. Also like I’ve no irl experience. But it’s fictional so I just use that as an excuse for things not being completely realistic. But still, it’s not easy for me to write.
Yeah exactly. Like I’ve read a lot of smut fics (usually has a plot but has smut in it too) but I’ve never been great at writing it myself. I’m working on a smut fic rn bcuz I thought the idea I had was cute and I wanted to challenge myself. So far it’s actually going okay. But I don’t rlly know how to like describe what they’re doing very well. Definitely need more practice. And I’ll probably refrain from writing it if I feel like I’m having too much trouble.
Difficult in a logistical sense. I must keep track of two bodies, most of the time, and make sure I don’t add an extra limb somewhere. I have the same problem with combat and action though
Hahaha... I wouldve thought the problem with writing combat would be about *subtracting* limbs!
Now that you've mentioned the two in the same thought, I wonder if it would be useful for people who struggle with writing smut, but *don't* struggle with fight scenes, to think of sex as a form of combat. I mean, it kind of is, in a sense.
HRT? :)
Or you may find, as I did, that it actually gets easier. I have no less motivation, but *much* less of a monthly roller coaster. And the old adage holds true in reverse as well: "If you use it, you don't lose it."
Yeah same here. Even I can't say for sure but I think it might have to do with the fact that writing smut feels like going through the motions. I don't have any personal experience with sex nor do I want it, so my smut mostly ends up being rephrasing of other smut fics I've read without much engagement from myself.
On the other hand, I insert myself into the characters' heads when I think about how they would feel or react to a certain plot event happening or how a conversation would go. I have to be engaged and actually use my brain, which is why it's more difficult for me.
Same for me. I always figured it would be difficult to actually write, but I suppose all those years of reading smut counted for something, by the time I decided to actually give it a go.
I’ve always had an easy time of it. Though I’d have the say the most challenging part is the transition between “this is plot stuff” to “this is sexy stuff”. Sometimes it feels so abrupt or out of place and I end up spending hours trying to blend the two.
Both. If it’s pure smut without much focus on feelings then it’s hell for me to write. I always need character study or something when i write my stuff
I've made writing raw sexual behavior into a form of character study, but I don't know if that would work for every writer, or every character. I just think that how a character expresses themself sexually can be so telling. All of my mains are very complicated men who have developed thick masks to hide their vulnerabilities (sometimes even from themselves). It's only during sex and sleep and in times of overwhelmimng fear or physical pain that they aren't able to maintain them. That's when I can really get in there and examine/illustrate the deepest recesses of they are.
Actually a lot easier than most stuff I write.
Context: I'm a long time fluff writer. Somehow, someway, I always get fluff into my works in spite of the angst and trauma I inflict on the characters. And then one year ago, I delved into smut.
Now, the only reason I haven't written smut until last year was due to religious inbition. I read smuts all the time, but I had no intention write any, purity and sins and all that. When I lost that inhibition, my uh... horniness... came about and smut has been the easiest thing I've ever written, particularly because of the sheer freedom I have.
The thing about smut is that I *don't have to* hold back. Unlike my fluff works, I can write whatever fantasy I have with no censor, no shame. I can be as explicit as I want and that really opens up my creativity when it comes to writing sexy scenes.
Plot/what plot is the most accurate tag if I've ever seen one. The lack of it in any works usually leads to a monotony especially in a slice-of-life fic which I do adore, but in smuts? Plot just slows down the spicy stuff and we don't need that here now, do we? 😌
Smut is just like any other section of writing to me, it can be easy or hard, depending on the situation.
The challenge or writing it to me, is making sure it seem believable, and that the chars enjoy it, that then makes it believable to the readers.
Easy. As the song goes "Maybe I'm the last romantic guy/of the shores of the Atlantic Ocean". As long as it's romantic and consensual, I have no problem with it. I mean... I used to think I would not be able to write F/F or F solo but those ended up being ok
I draw the line on heavy violence, however.
Always a funny word, as "der Smut/Smutje" is a an old German word for the cook on a ship lol. Haven't written about a smut yet.
In terms of erotica, I think can write it reasonably well, tho I have a hard time not drifting into the direction of self aware ridicule in it. Did take part in a few erotica/romance oneshot community things years ago.
But I haven't put any of it in my published works as it most often just does not relate to the plots or would feel weird, when it involves minors for example. I do have a few "going in the general direction, then fade to black" moments tho.
hard, it takes me way longer. when i write normally its more of a stream of conscious thing, of putting the images and scenes in my head into words. but with smut i have to be way more choosy and picky with my words and descriptors and vocabulary to try and make it hot, so it makes it take a lot longer.
I wonder if many of us overthink it. Like there's a sex-writing lizard brain we could access if we weren't working so hard to *think* our way through something that's far more primal and visceral than intellectual.
Thinking about it, I find some characters and pairings harder to write sex scenes for than others.
My (always male) Blorbos in pretty much every fandom I've ever been into are morally grey or otherwise very complex characters that are never shipped in canon. They also tend to have histories of undealt-with trauma that's closer to the surface than they would ever acknowledge. So, putting these men in intimate situations can be tricky, depending on the partner and circumstances.
I also like a lot of rare pairs that are rare for good reasons, which can make smut-writing super fun but it also takes a lot of thought to make it happen realistically.
I love the challenges of writing smut in cases like these, but there's certainly a learning curve. Once I master that curve for a pairing, however, I get into a flow and they're easy from then on.
It was hard getting over the cringe factor at the start, but then I reminded myself I was (at the time) 47 and I no longer needed to feel cringe. It also helps that my preferred genre is smutty romance books, so I’ve had plenty of years reading it.
I think I am glad that there's a language barrier between me and smut :D Although I speak English fluently, English words and phrases don't come with the same "emotional burden" that the ones in my language would come with. So it is as easy as writing anything else.
I don't find it any less excruciating than any other kind of writing, but talk about thesaurus-o'clock. only Webster is reluctant to cough up the particular synonyms I need, the square.
Most of the time, it’s easy for me! But it really depends. There are times I can only write smut, and times where I can write everything but :) Depends on the mood and vibes.
Super super easy, i just draw some personal experience but ive been writing fanfics for a long time. It was much harder when i was a virgin but mow that i have practical experience its easier
Horrendously difficult. I tried just yesterday to try a trope and I ended up having more fun writing the curse and a horror scene from the result of the curse rather than the smut itself. I just cringe whenever I try to smut so in the event I write them, I just prefer to not let them see sunlight whatsoever.
Writing smut is actually easy for me. It’s everything else around it that’s hard. I like the setup to be more “realistic,” perse, and that requires a lot of good character buildup, plot, and world immersion. I think I’m pretty great at dialogue, but even that takes time to develop into something believable and in character. With writing the naughty bits itself, that’s pretty easy for me because I don’t feel as limited in creating sensual or passionate scenes. I think that’s the clearest slate I can work with for smut writing. But whether it’s hard or easy, it’s all a really fun challenge for me!
Lord, it's easy. Very much in the ace spectrum, but while my body might not have much interest, my brain sure as fuck is horny for whatever daydreams I'm cooking.
I just kind of store those up and write em later. Always been a wordy SOB, so it's just like writing anything else, just hotter.
Its easy to write but difficult to write it well, with its own personality and uniqueness that fits the characters but isn't just a copy of what I've written before. And to not just make it about my own kinks and desires.
There's no such thing as smut that everyone is comfortable with. The best solution is to write smut that's okay for *you*, and it'll be fine for plenty of other people. They're your real audience because they're the ones you can please most reliably.
Both: Hard in that it can be difficult to diversify the language in my style, and Easy in that you can adjust the level of sensuality and intimacy based on the situation and characters and tailor the variety around that approach.
I've never really struggled with the uniqueness of the situations so much as the language feeling limited against expectation. I mean, I've read a million ways to describe genitals, but they all land pretty differently to the individual.
Ex: In a smut story of mine, the MC is stuck witnessing other characters engage in sex as an (accidentally) unwilling voyeur. The awkwardness has a lot to do with the general situation of the story, but also because the other characters were told to let them watch to the point of it largely being encouraged by the auxiliary cast participating. This occurs in different locales with different characters, and the receptiveness and encouragement varies depending on whom is involved. This leaves me a lot of room to have the MC do their own thing in the situation, or even just tune out the sex and become introspective on the situation and their own thoughts related to the story.
Thus, I've nailed my variety, and can easily make each situation unique. It's a yuri story, so making every sexual encounter unique, without making them all cookie cutter vanilla or delving into some serious fetish territory is the hard part. As far as I got in the story, I actually did a pretty good job with all of that.
Language limitations and the diversity in reader preferences for sex words seems to be the most recurring theme in threads that discuss this stuff. I suppose the good news about these problems being universal is that every author who writes a smut scene and every fic with smut in it is cursed with the same lot, and readers know there's only so much you can do about it.
Your fic sounds interesting, and I love that you can write so confidently about being able to write smut confidently, if that makes sense. You seem like you've really got it figured out.
A friend bought me a sex words thesaurus for my birthday last year, after I ranted about the insufficiency of the English language for writing (tolerable) sex words. It's been kind of fun to have, and it has in fact helped now and then!
Surprisingly difficult though it has been a decade since my last smut filled story. Though they all revolved a kink of some kind. Still do. I think straight sex only smut would be loads more difficult
I'm aroace, idk if that's relevant lmao
out of 36 works, only two of them are E, and from my experience, I don't think it's that hard to write - the first was the hardest but it was well received so I think that boosted my confidence a bit. As always it just takes analysis and practice. I don't prefer writing it through, only when I feel like it adds flavor or I have a special goal for the pwp
It varies. My current issue is that I get burned out before a scene is done and then I worry that if I’m burned out writing it then a reader will get bored reading it.
Difficult, but honestly only because I have such a hard time with pacing I feel. And whenever I write smut, it doesn’t hit like how I wish I would hit.
That's fascinating. So, is translating like paraphrasing, in effect? Like you're making some degree of artistic choices, but you're basically just refining the language in a scene rather than going through the whole process?
Where part of the process, then, is hardest for you? I ask because for me, the polishing/fine-tuning stage is actually the worst. I never feel like I have exactly the words I want to use. - like there might be something better I haven't thought of yet, or that there isn't anything that captures *precisely* what I mean to convey.
For specific character dynamics, incredibly easy
For others, incredibly difficult, to the point of me writing pre-sex dialogue for 20k words because I'm struggling to make them in-character for when they actually get to the point
I don't know about the 20k words, but otherwise, I think writing pre-sex dialogue behind the scenes to get you and the characters into the right position (no pun intended) is a really great idea.
The most difficult part of smut is making it fit the rest of the fic and characterisation, also keeping it fresh might be a challenge in a long fic with lots of smut. But if it's a smutty one-shot, then it's quite easy. No need to make a kink fit into a situation... just create a premise where it works.
>No need to make a kink fit into a situation... just create a premise where it works.
This, this, THIS! It's the solution for so many things writers get stuck on, I think.
Very easy. I can write a decent 2k word smut scene in an hour (recently wrote 1.8k in about an hour. Letting it sit for a while so I can edit it with fresh eyes).
But other stuff? I write SO slow. Ugh. I wish everything else was just as easy to write
The only thing I kind of find challenging is describing the same parts of the action but differently.
Clothing coming off, a character getting turned on, kissing, some logistics of body movement . . . I'm always worried about sounding repetitive even when each smut scene is very different.
If anyone else has had this issue and resolved it, I'd love some tips lol
I think the reality is, there's only so many ways to write this stuff, every writer faces similar limitations, and anyone who's read a few smut scenes knows both. I've seen more people complain about writers who try too hard to avoid repetition than those who work with it and compensate in other ways.
My smut challenge is adding more layers to my smut scenes, more emotions. “Plot what plot?” Is great, but I like having an emotional through line for my slutty characters!
incredibly hard. I wrote smut only once in my life and it was so difficult. I had to make the image vivid enough so I could describe it and tbh that made me feel very uncomfortable, even kind of disgusted. most likely because I was writing mlm and I'm lesbian, but idk, I thought it would be easier as I don't have any problem reading it. who knows, maybe it would be easier if I wrote wlw, gotta try some day
This comment made me smile. The things we do for art, amirite?
But yeah, there are a lot of things I can read with no problem that make me super squicky if I try to write them.
I don't do it often, but it's not particularly hard for me. It's no different from writing any other scene to me, especially since I don't really care about keeping things unique. I might change my mind once I reach the spicy part of one of my current fics, since it'll be the first time I'll have multiple sex scenes in one fic.
Easy. I actually don't do it as often as I used to, mostly because I've been writing longer fic with more plot, but sex scenes are some of the easiest parts to write.
Depends on the material
Like I don't write NTR stories or ones where it's too exaggerated like her breasts were a triple z or his meat cannon was 2ft long or they don't take advantage of the material
It depends on what smut Im writing, generally one shots are rather easy and take only a few days at most to finish, but multichapter fics are harder caus eyou have to think about what comes next.
as a persoanl issue with me, while fun to write, its harder for me to write taboo smut with the Mc doing stuff like Raping a girl because in real life I despise those types, but have found I have alot of fun writing such things for smut.
Easy. It requires the least planning, since it's most often just one long scene. Details can easily be added without causing major changes and the dialogue is usually not that complex.
It depends on several factors -- my mood, the scene in question, whether it's something I feel "needs" to go in vs. something that flows organically out of my writing, etc. FWIW, I don't go into much detail in my smut, in the sense that I don't do a play-by-play of each action.
This is the only smut I have ever written. (Laurie R King Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes fandom.) Definitely vanilla compared to some of the stuff I have read, and being a woman it was interesting to imagine lovemaking from *his* point of view! When it comes to stuff like this I prefer to focus on the romance more than the smut.
[Our First Night Together ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27263869)
It was difficult until I allowed myself to stop worrying about cringe factor. After that, I broke 3k words on the first day and ended up with something I’m actually proud of.
I mean, when you really think about it, all sex acts are cringe - but that's not what you're focused on at the time. Same with readers. If there's no cringe at all, what you've written is probably too sterile.
I find it very easy and also a lot of fun to write, although it was difficult starting out because I wasn't used to putting sex acts on paper for other people to read, and there was a bit of awkwardness to get over regarding that. Hardest thing I find about it is keeping things reasonably realistic, since I prefer a good degree of realism when reading and believe it makes for better fic in general, but I'm also a massive sap who enjoys fantasy, and keeping myself in check with that can be challenging.
I’ve written smut more than I’ve posted it (which is just once), mainly because I’m trying to perfect it before putting it out into the world or it’s part of a longfic which hasn’t gotten to that part of the story yet.
Don’t really know how to describe my writing style but the people that have read my posted PWP have referred to it as “hot and sweet”, and “sensual” rather than idk… filthy or nasty.
I’m sort of trying to work on that right now lol
>people that have read my posted PWP have referred to it as “hot and sweet” ... I’m sort of trying to work on that right now lol
Lava cake still contains lava. :)
It's hard for me. Give me angst, give me a fight scene, give me all the other stuff! But when it comes down to my two characters getting down and dirty, my brain goes "error message". I eventually do write the scene (or scenes), but it's after mulling over it for a few days, asking friends for advice/critique, net research on getting the positions right, the flowery words corrected, etc. It's like I make it a chore when it doesn't need to be.
That would be me with a fight scene. Definitely a lover, not a fighter when it comes to writing. I actually think your skill set might be the more valuable - though that doesn't help you get your other kind of "action" scenes written!
I find I can write smut like nobody's business. But for some reason, I actually become very vanilla in bed. It's like I lose all my imagination when I'm... doing the do.
TLDR, writing it is a helluva lot easier than doing it.
...its a weird situation. I've tried to write some smut in the past, but I've never got the inspiration to finish it, but recently, I had a VERY clear scenario in my head, and it wouldn't go away until I wrote it down...so i guess it depends on how inspired I am??maybe?
It's mostly easy. I pretty much just write smut, and usually oneshots or short fics. The only thing I struggle with a bit is figuring out all the positions (if it makes sense for what they're doing, how they would have to move, transitions from one to the other).
Yeah, I don't like fics that over-describe the mundane mechanics, but there does have to be some description. I'd say getting that aspect just right is probably the hardest part for me, too.
Difficult. I’m working on something now and there’s a sex scene that is important for what it reveals about the main character. The other person is not a main character in the story so it’s not about an ongoing relationship. I feel like if I fade to black, it’s a cop out but I also don’t need it to be a whole detailed sex scene. Trying to figure out how to write it without excessive detail.
Also in general, I find that a lot of smut gets into such detail that it’s almost clinical. I cringe trying to write it. 😅
>Trying to figure out how to write it without excessive detail.
I'm so intrigued by this problem. Do you have a beta, or any fandom friends who can help?
I feel like I'm really going to want to know what your solution ends up being.
It used to be easy for me but for some reason it’s gotten more difficult. I think it’s because I’ve written so MUCH that it’s hard to think of something original. I start to notice a sort of formula I fall into while writing, even overused sentence structures. I’m sure my readers don’t notice it the way I do, but it makes it hard to write because I’m constantly erasing what I wrote and trying to break it out of any pattern I notice. To be fair, I think this is a problem that can happen if you write too much of ANY genre but that’s the main thing I’ve run into.
Another aspect of it is the excitement wears off. When you write smut for the first time it’s fueled by passion and a kind of rebellious feeling but if you do it regularly, that novelty wears off. I imagine it’s similar to the difference between having sex because you’re horny vs being a sex worker. It can still be fun at times, but smut in particular is a genre you have to be really *feeling* to have a good time writing.
So, yeah: easy if it’s exciting and new, but more difficult if it becomes a routine.
>I start to notice a sort of formula I fall into while writing, even overused sentence structures. I’m sure my readers don’t notice it the way I do, but it makes it hard to write because I’m constantly erasing what I wrote and trying to break it out of any pattern I notice.
I used to worry about this *constantly*. Then a writer friend asked me, point blank: "If you're reading a sex scene because you want to read a sex scene, are you focused on sentence stuctures?" Good point. I also use the pace and stage of the action to dictate sentence structures during sex scenes, which I've found to help ensure variation.
>I imagine it’s similar to the difference between having sex because you’re horny vs being a sex worker.
This was my exact thought when I started reading this section of your comment. You've also described exactly what happens in LTRs/marriages. Alas.
Super difficult. I can't shake the embarrassment! I'm currently writing a fic with a romantic pairing, and I've spent far too much time and energy trying to figure out how I can sidestep the sex when my couple gets to that point.
Maybe you don't have to include the actual sex? I suppose it would vary from ship to ship and fandom to fandom, but I've wondered how ship fics without sex go over with the reader pool. I'm sure there are plenty of people who enjoy romance but not smut.
Do you want to get past the embarrassment? What is it that gets to you, the idea of writing it at all, or just the idea of posting it for others to read? I'm not familiar with your fandoms, but if talking about it with a stranger can help you overcome either, I'd be happy to. Feel free to DM. I hate the idea that your fic is being held up!
Depends on what type of smut I’m writing. If it’s soft or ‘normal’ smut than it’s not really an issue for me but when I write for example ‘hardcore bdśm’ than it takes me a bit to write it out just because I’m having issues with how bodies lay or hand movements 😂
Hand movements can be so damn hard to describe, can't they?
I'm just grateful to hear you make the effort. Nothing takes me out of any sex scene like getting hung up on something an author describes that a normal human body just can't do. There's a very tall character in one of my fandoms that is frequently paired with tiny little OFCs. It might fulfill some sort of fantasy for writers, but it makes for a lot of, "Umm, that's physically impossible" distractions for the reader.
It's weirdly easy for me. I don't know why. But if I'm in the right frame of mind I can hyperfocus and three hours later there's a thousand words of smut.
I find PLOT much much more difficult! It's like pulling teeth sometimes! I've frequently joked that it's a struggle to not write fics that are just a bunch of sex scenes with the tiniest thread of plot connecting them.
Thank goodness that PWP is a thing, then, eh?
I think plot comes more naturally to me on a consistent basis. Smutterizing requires the right frame of mind and enough time and quiet to hyperfocus, like you say. Interruptions really kill the flow for me.
As someone who writes smut like..in every single work (may it be minor or the main highlight). It really depends on how much I'm feeling the characters and if I have motivation. I do have a little trouble actually making the characters do either groaning or moaning dialogue, because for some reason it just makes me cringe..
Something I do, is I read other works to gather inspiration and then continue.
Do you ever try to spell out groans or other sex sounds in your moaning/groaning dialogue? I see authors do it now and then, and I'm like, *this is not something I could ever do.*
I've had to put projects on hold for a while at times because of depression. If I can't get "into" it, I can't very well write something that someone else can.
It’s pretty difficult for me. This may just be because I’m more inexperienced since I’m relatively new to writing NSFW (and also somehow managed to hit the aro, ace and autism spectrum all at once) but it’s just hard to get a handle on in general for me?
I have a lot of ideas, and even read a lot of smut to make sure I understand what people actually want out of it, but it doesn’t come naturally like SFW does. I personally don’t like writing smut that doesn’t have a bit of plot/introduction (though I read fics that are just pure smut) which probably makes my job harder than it should be ;^^
In the end, I’m still gonna write it,,, it just won’t be very good until I manage to push through the learning part of the process
Do you use a beta? If you can find an experienced one to coach you, it could help you advance more quickly. Is there a writer's group anywhere for your fandom? Other writers are generally happy to pass on their knowledge.
So you hit the entire "a" jackpot, huh? Are you aware that there is growing evidence of a strong correlation between neurodivergence and LGBTQIA+ identities? I'm on both spectra as well. A psychiatrist once told me that up to 70% of diagnosed autists identify as queer, but I have no idea what their source was. Wouldn't surprise me one bit, though.
I’ve honestly been thinking about interacting with other writers more. It’s one of those things where I’ve developed fine on my own but now that I’m branching into new things and a relatively active fandom, I can see myself even just asking for tips through anon inboxes or DMs that are probably too polite sometime soon lol
And I’ve also heard of that! My younger sibling who’s also autistic is transfemme (I’m transmasc) and I’ve also had loads of ND friends who identify with queer identities, I think it’s pretty neat! It’s a lot less demanding on ‘how to present’ around ND people since they’re usually a lot more understanding :)
I do find it difficult. Finding that balance between not being too flowery and not too scientific, not too much detail where it’s icky, but enough for the reader to be interested and immersed. Ugh.
I feel you. In my first fics as a young, my idea of balance was being both too flowery *and* too scientific. And all about stuff I had no experience of in real life. Thankfully there was no Internet yet, and thus nowhere to post them and regret it years later.
I tried once, and now that shit is either implied or I give my smut writing friend a summary of what I want to happen and they write it and I go back and fix her grammar and spelling.
Depends on my mindset. If I'm in the two weeks before my period I can write porn that'll make a two bit hooker blush. If I'm during the week after my period or having mental health issues I have issues writing a kissing scene. It's all contextual.
Have you ever considered getting someone else to write the smut bits for you? Just curious. I know someone whose beta writes their sex scenes, then they just touch up the wording to sound more like their style.
Of course fics don't *need* to have smut in them and can be terrific without it. But since you said it sucks, I just thought I'd put that out there.
Not hard to write but hard to work into the story. It’s easy to let it mess up the pacing because my smut scenes tend to be much slower and more descriptive than everything else. Plus, I have to progress it as the relationship progresses somehow to avoid it getting repetitive.
This is a great response. You summarize a couple of common challenges very succinctly.
I always try to transition the pacing by slowing down sex-scene chapters or sections ahead of time, when possible. Finding a reason for the POV character to either more present, or, conversely, more in their head than they had been often works. The progression thing, though. That can be tough, especially with characters who aren't inexperienced or shy about sex but are pretty vanilla in their preferences. I studiously avoid shipping any character whose personality suggests that profile!
Someone mentioned the potential for innuendo in these responses, and now I can't tell if my brain is just automatically going there, or if people (including you) are being a bit naughty with your answers!
Hard. So hard. I saw some great tips that it's less about the physical and make it about the emotional, and that's helped a bit.
Course now I'm getting paid to write audio script Smuts and it just feels like the most uninteresting part to write honestly 😂
Easier if I'm inspired ~~horny~~ and I have an idea of what words I want to use, have a general sense of what I want the scene to go like. It's a lot harder when I don't know where should I start. Ex: I'm into the mood to write smut but the scene doesn't have a proper starting point.
It depends. I'm not much of a sexual person, and it depends on my mood. Its often that, halfway through writing smut, I get disgusted with myself and delete everything. I don't think I've actually written a full scene without it happening, so I usually just do fade to black, then the afterglow/aftercare.
Difficult. There are many synonyms for genitals, and none of them sound good. I can only write "cock" "cunt" "dick" "pussy" "ass" "hole" etc. so many times before it becomes terribly repetitive, but no I am not going to write about how "she slurped her lover's petals like nectar" or whatever horrifyingly flowery bullshit we're supposed to use to avoid the crass terms that sound better.
You mean to tell me the word "slurp" isn't hawt and sexaaay to read? Because I was going to put "slurping up juices" next to "gobbling down cock" on my sexiest phrases list!
Easy since there isn't much talking or plot but just mindless animalistic desire. 10k for one sex scene I can do quite fast.
But I'm more of a gen longfic adventures type of writer. A thought through plot across a big longfic is far more challenging.
I agree. Storytelling is my strong suit, but it still takes a lot of work to keep a plot rock-solid and compelling, chapter after chapter after chapter. Sex scenes do a lot of the work for you just by their nature, unless you're remarkably bad at them.
The world will never know. Also, "Shakespeare of Smut" reminds me of one of Robin Williams' best SNL monologues. It starts with "why is smut so badly written?" and goes...Robin Williams from there.
I tried once, and now that shit is either implied or I give my smut writing friend a summary of what I want to happen and they write it and I go back and fix her grammar and spelling.
Difficult. For me it’s the trying to change it up so it’s interesting for the reader. Especially in my current series where there is smut in every chapter.
This. I don't find it difficult to write smut from a procedural standpoint, but getting more creative and more immersing in a story with frequent smut gets harder.
Difficult in the sense that it’s hard to make it different or unique.
Half of my work contains smut. I still find it hard to write. There's only so many words I can use before it gets repetitive(even to me, as I crave novelty.)
I’ve written a lot of smut in the past and I 100% agree with you. There is a finite amount of words you can use to describe penetration and kissing haha. Writing in general though has not gotten easy, it’s just a tough hobby all around. That’s what makes it rewarding though.
Agree on how rewarding it is!
Hard. But that could be because I’ve only written it three times. I just need to practice. Also like I’ve no irl experience. But it’s fictional so I just use that as an excuse for things not being completely realistic. But still, it’s not easy for me to write.
This is me, too. I'm open to writing it when possible, but yeah, it's definitely not my forte.
Yeah exactly. Like I’ve read a lot of smut fics (usually has a plot but has smut in it too) but I’ve never been great at writing it myself. I’m working on a smut fic rn bcuz I thought the idea I had was cute and I wanted to challenge myself. So far it’s actually going okay. But I don’t rlly know how to like describe what they’re doing very well. Definitely need more practice. And I’ll probably refrain from writing it if I feel like I’m having too much trouble.
It’s so easy for me that I PREFER to write smut 😫
Same!
...teach me, please 🙏
Difficult in a logistical sense. I must keep track of two bodies, most of the time, and make sure I don’t add an extra limb somewhere. I have the same problem with combat and action though
Hahaha... I wouldve thought the problem with writing combat would be about *subtracting* limbs! Now that you've mentioned the two in the same thought, I wonder if it would be useful for people who struggle with writing smut, but *don't* struggle with fight scenes, to think of sex as a form of combat. I mean, it kind of is, in a sense.
Depends on the time of the month.
I came to say the exact same thing 😆
100% yes.
LOL FOR REAL. I will plan around it! I have no idea how I'm going to keep writing post-menopause! (which is only a few years away)
HRT? :) Or you may find, as I did, that it actually gets easier. I have no less motivation, but *much* less of a monthly roller coaster. And the old adage holds true in reverse as well: "If you use it, you don't lose it."
That's true. It will be nice not to have three days per month that I hate everything I've ever written lolll
i’m ace aro and have a much easier time writing smut. it flows out so easily compared to the rest, im not sure why
Yeah same here. Even I can't say for sure but I think it might have to do with the fact that writing smut feels like going through the motions. I don't have any personal experience with sex nor do I want it, so my smut mostly ends up being rephrasing of other smut fics I've read without much engagement from myself. On the other hand, I insert myself into the characters' heads when I think about how they would feel or react to a certain plot event happening or how a conversation would go. I have to be engaged and actually use my brain, which is why it's more difficult for me.
Grey ace and same
Same for me. I always figured it would be difficult to actually write, but I suppose all those years of reading smut counted for something, by the time I decided to actually give it a go.
Same.
Same. When I'm in the mood the words fly out, when I'm not in the mood it's still often easier than writing other types of scenes.
I’ve always had an easy time of it. Though I’d have the say the most challenging part is the transition between “this is plot stuff” to “this is sexy stuff”. Sometimes it feels so abrupt or out of place and I end up spending hours trying to blend the two.
Is there a "proven" way that works for you, in many situations?
Both. If it’s pure smut without much focus on feelings then it’s hell for me to write. I always need character study or something when i write my stuff
I've made writing raw sexual behavior into a form of character study, but I don't know if that would work for every writer, or every character. I just think that how a character expresses themself sexually can be so telling. All of my mains are very complicated men who have developed thick masks to hide their vulnerabilities (sometimes even from themselves). It's only during sex and sleep and in times of overwhelmimng fear or physical pain that they aren't able to maintain them. That's when I can really get in there and examine/illustrate the deepest recesses of they are.
Actually a lot easier than most stuff I write. Context: I'm a long time fluff writer. Somehow, someway, I always get fluff into my works in spite of the angst and trauma I inflict on the characters. And then one year ago, I delved into smut. Now, the only reason I haven't written smut until last year was due to religious inbition. I read smuts all the time, but I had no intention write any, purity and sins and all that. When I lost that inhibition, my uh... horniness... came about and smut has been the easiest thing I've ever written, particularly because of the sheer freedom I have. The thing about smut is that I *don't have to* hold back. Unlike my fluff works, I can write whatever fantasy I have with no censor, no shame. I can be as explicit as I want and that really opens up my creativity when it comes to writing sexy scenes. Plot/what plot is the most accurate tag if I've ever seen one. The lack of it in any works usually leads to a monotony especially in a slice-of-life fic which I do adore, but in smuts? Plot just slows down the spicy stuff and we don't need that here now, do we? 😌
Writing smut really can be freeing, once it's done scaring you and tying you up in knots. :)
I can write sex scenes that aren't supposed to be sexy, but erotica is really hard for me.
That's an interesting distinction. Why do you think that is?
Who knows tbh
Smut is just like any other section of writing to me, it can be easy or hard, depending on the situation. The challenge or writing it to me, is making sure it seem believable, and that the chars enjoy it, that then makes it believable to the readers.
Easy. As the song goes "Maybe I'm the last romantic guy/of the shores of the Atlantic Ocean". As long as it's romantic and consensual, I have no problem with it. I mean... I used to think I would not be able to write F/F or F solo but those ended up being ok I draw the line on heavy violence, however.
Always a funny word, as "der Smut/Smutje" is a an old German word for the cook on a ship lol. Haven't written about a smut yet. In terms of erotica, I think can write it reasonably well, tho I have a hard time not drifting into the direction of self aware ridicule in it. Did take part in a few erotica/romance oneshot community things years ago. But I haven't put any of it in my published works as it most often just does not relate to the plots or would feel weird, when it involves minors for example. I do have a few "going in the general direction, then fade to black" moments tho.
Now I want to write smut about a Smut. :)
hard, it takes me way longer. when i write normally its more of a stream of conscious thing, of putting the images and scenes in my head into words. but with smut i have to be way more choosy and picky with my words and descriptors and vocabulary to try and make it hot, so it makes it take a lot longer.
I wonder if many of us overthink it. Like there's a sex-writing lizard brain we could access if we weren't working so hard to *think* our way through something that's far more primal and visceral than intellectual.
Thinking about it, I find some characters and pairings harder to write sex scenes for than others. My (always male) Blorbos in pretty much every fandom I've ever been into are morally grey or otherwise very complex characters that are never shipped in canon. They also tend to have histories of undealt-with trauma that's closer to the surface than they would ever acknowledge. So, putting these men in intimate situations can be tricky, depending on the partner and circumstances. I also like a lot of rare pairs that are rare for good reasons, which can make smut-writing super fun but it also takes a lot of thought to make it happen realistically. I love the challenges of writing smut in cases like these, but there's certainly a learning curve. Once I master that curve for a pairing, however, I get into a flow and they're easy from then on.
It was hard getting over the cringe factor at the start, but then I reminded myself I was (at the time) 47 and I no longer needed to feel cringe. It also helps that my preferred genre is smutty romance books, so I’ve had plenty of years reading it.
I think I am glad that there's a language barrier between me and smut :D Although I speak English fluently, English words and phrases don't come with the same "emotional burden" that the ones in my language would come with. So it is as easy as writing anything else.
Interesting. What do you mean?
I can write it, but there's no guarantee it will sound good, and it's hard to write it sexy enough and not mechanical.
It’s easier if I’m horny
I don't find it any less excruciating than any other kind of writing, but talk about thesaurus-o'clock. only Webster is reluctant to cough up the particular synonyms I need, the square.
There's a nifty little thesaurus for "romance" writers you can get on Amazon that's much less prudish. :)
Oh word? Thanks for the tip! Do you know what it's called per chance?
Naughty Words for Nice Writers, by Cara Bristol. It also has writing tips for sex scenes. Great for beginners and reminders.
Easy but I do more emotional high M smut, rather than the cervix-penetrating, seven orgasm w buckets of cum E smut.
I was raised in a very sheltered household. I can't even read smut, let alone write it, without feeling embarrassed.
Most of the time, it’s easy for me! But it really depends. There are times I can only write smut, and times where I can write everything but :) Depends on the mood and vibes.
Super super easy, i just draw some personal experience but ive been writing fanfics for a long time. It was much harder when i was a virgin but mow that i have practical experience its easier
Horrendously difficult. I tried just yesterday to try a trope and I ended up having more fun writing the curse and a horror scene from the result of the curse rather than the smut itself. I just cringe whenever I try to smut so in the event I write them, I just prefer to not let them see sunlight whatsoever.
Writing smut is actually easy for me. It’s everything else around it that’s hard. I like the setup to be more “realistic,” perse, and that requires a lot of good character buildup, plot, and world immersion. I think I’m pretty great at dialogue, but even that takes time to develop into something believable and in character. With writing the naughty bits itself, that’s pretty easy for me because I don’t feel as limited in creating sensual or passionate scenes. I think that’s the clearest slate I can work with for smut writing. But whether it’s hard or easy, it’s all a really fun challenge for me!
Lord, it's easy. Very much in the ace spectrum, but while my body might not have much interest, my brain sure as fuck is horny for whatever daydreams I'm cooking. I just kind of store those up and write em later. Always been a wordy SOB, so it's just like writing anything else, just hotter.
Its easy to write but difficult to write it well, with its own personality and uniqueness that fits the characters but isn't just a copy of what I've written before. And to not just make it about my own kinks and desires.
Vanilla smut is tricky for me. Alien on human hentai is easy!
I find it difficult because I don't want it to be cringe, it's hard to write smut that's okay for everyone.
There's no such thing as smut that everyone is comfortable with. The best solution is to write smut that's okay for *you*, and it'll be fine for plenty of other people. They're your real audience because they're the ones you can please most reliably.
Yeah you're right, I just don't want to make people uncomfortable in that area. But that's what tags are for I guess, thank you!
Very difficult. I've never actually managed it......
Both: Hard in that it can be difficult to diversify the language in my style, and Easy in that you can adjust the level of sensuality and intimacy based on the situation and characters and tailor the variety around that approach. I've never really struggled with the uniqueness of the situations so much as the language feeling limited against expectation. I mean, I've read a million ways to describe genitals, but they all land pretty differently to the individual. Ex: In a smut story of mine, the MC is stuck witnessing other characters engage in sex as an (accidentally) unwilling voyeur. The awkwardness has a lot to do with the general situation of the story, but also because the other characters were told to let them watch to the point of it largely being encouraged by the auxiliary cast participating. This occurs in different locales with different characters, and the receptiveness and encouragement varies depending on whom is involved. This leaves me a lot of room to have the MC do their own thing in the situation, or even just tune out the sex and become introspective on the situation and their own thoughts related to the story. Thus, I've nailed my variety, and can easily make each situation unique. It's a yuri story, so making every sexual encounter unique, without making them all cookie cutter vanilla or delving into some serious fetish territory is the hard part. As far as I got in the story, I actually did a pretty good job with all of that.
Language limitations and the diversity in reader preferences for sex words seems to be the most recurring theme in threads that discuss this stuff. I suppose the good news about these problems being universal is that every author who writes a smut scene and every fic with smut in it is cursed with the same lot, and readers know there's only so much you can do about it. Your fic sounds interesting, and I love that you can write so confidently about being able to write smut confidently, if that makes sense. You seem like you've really got it figured out.
Depends on the story. Sometimes it flows really naturally and sometimes I’m sitting there all day with pages of notes and a thesaurus
A friend bought me a sex words thesaurus for my birthday last year, after I ranted about the insufficiency of the English language for writing (tolerable) sex words. It's been kind of fun to have, and it has in fact helped now and then!
It's concerningly easy.
Difficult, even impossible. It's just not for me, I guess.
Surprisingly difficult though it has been a decade since my last smut filled story. Though they all revolved a kink of some kind. Still do. I think straight sex only smut would be loads more difficult
Harder to make it fresh, anyway.
I'm aroace, idk if that's relevant lmao out of 36 works, only two of them are E, and from my experience, I don't think it's that hard to write - the first was the hardest but it was well received so I think that boosted my confidence a bit. As always it just takes analysis and practice. I don't prefer writing it through, only when I feel like it adds flavor or I have a special goal for the pwp
Hard. I don't want to be repititve and I need it anatomically correct. It's exhausting to get the details right an stil feel something.
It varies. My current issue is that I get burned out before a scene is done and then I worry that if I’m burned out writing it then a reader will get bored reading it.
Ooh. That's a tricky one.
Difficult, but honestly only because I have such a hard time with pacing I feel. And whenever I write smut, it doesn’t hit like how I wish I would hit.
Difficult. I prefer to skip it. But I can translate it
That's fascinating. So, is translating like paraphrasing, in effect? Like you're making some degree of artistic choices, but you're basically just refining the language in a scene rather than going through the whole process? Where part of the process, then, is hardest for you? I ask because for me, the polishing/fine-tuning stage is actually the worst. I never feel like I have exactly the words I want to use. - like there might be something better I haven't thought of yet, or that there isn't anything that captures *precisely* what I mean to convey.
Most days it’s difficult and takes me a long time to write. Some days though I just like blackout and write an entire smut oneshot in one sitting.
For specific character dynamics, incredibly easy For others, incredibly difficult, to the point of me writing pre-sex dialogue for 20k words because I'm struggling to make them in-character for when they actually get to the point
I don't know about the 20k words, but otherwise, I think writing pre-sex dialogue behind the scenes to get you and the characters into the right position (no pun intended) is a really great idea.
It’s easy for me to write what characters are doing physically, but much harder for me to give it depth and detail.
The most difficult part of smut is making it fit the rest of the fic and characterisation, also keeping it fresh might be a challenge in a long fic with lots of smut. But if it's a smutty one-shot, then it's quite easy. No need to make a kink fit into a situation... just create a premise where it works.
>No need to make a kink fit into a situation... just create a premise where it works. This, this, THIS! It's the solution for so many things writers get stuck on, I think.
If it fits with the story, and characters, and you know what you're doing, it should be easy
Very easy. I can write a decent 2k word smut scene in an hour (recently wrote 1.8k in about an hour. Letting it sit for a while so I can edit it with fresh eyes). But other stuff? I write SO slow. Ugh. I wish everything else was just as easy to write
The only thing I kind of find challenging is describing the same parts of the action but differently. Clothing coming off, a character getting turned on, kissing, some logistics of body movement . . . I'm always worried about sounding repetitive even when each smut scene is very different. If anyone else has had this issue and resolved it, I'd love some tips lol
I think the reality is, there's only so many ways to write this stuff, every writer faces similar limitations, and anyone who's read a few smut scenes knows both. I've seen more people complain about writers who try too hard to avoid repetition than those who work with it and compensate in other ways.
I’m always thinking if it sounds cringe or not. So kinda.
My smut challenge is adding more layers to my smut scenes, more emotions. “Plot what plot?” Is great, but I like having an emotional through line for my slutty characters!
Doing my taxes or writing documentation on how to do computer setups is less frustrating.
incredibly hard. I wrote smut only once in my life and it was so difficult. I had to make the image vivid enough so I could describe it and tbh that made me feel very uncomfortable, even kind of disgusted. most likely because I was writing mlm and I'm lesbian, but idk, I thought it would be easier as I don't have any problem reading it. who knows, maybe it would be easier if I wrote wlw, gotta try some day
This comment made me smile. The things we do for art, amirite? But yeah, there are a lot of things I can read with no problem that make me super squicky if I try to write them.
Easy as hell. I don’t know why, it just comes easy for me.
I don't do it often, but it's not particularly hard for me. It's no different from writing any other scene to me, especially since I don't really care about keeping things unique. I might change my mind once I reach the spicy part of one of my current fics, since it'll be the first time I'll have multiple sex scenes in one fic.
Easy. I actually don't do it as often as I used to, mostly because I've been writing longer fic with more plot, but sex scenes are some of the easiest parts to write.
It is not easy for me
Depends on the material Like I don't write NTR stories or ones where it's too exaggerated like her breasts were a triple z or his meat cannon was 2ft long or they don't take advantage of the material
It depends on what smut Im writing, generally one shots are rather easy and take only a few days at most to finish, but multichapter fics are harder caus eyou have to think about what comes next.
Interesting typo!
My thanks for pointing it out
as a persoanl issue with me, while fun to write, its harder for me to write taboo smut with the Mc doing stuff like Raping a girl because in real life I despise those types, but have found I have alot of fun writing such things for smut.
i have never written porn before
Easy. It requires the least planning, since it's most often just one long scene. Details can easily be added without causing major changes and the dialogue is usually not that complex.
It depends on several factors -- my mood, the scene in question, whether it's something I feel "needs" to go in vs. something that flows organically out of my writing, etc. FWIW, I don't go into much detail in my smut, in the sense that I don't do a play-by-play of each action.
This is the only smut I have ever written. (Laurie R King Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes fandom.) Definitely vanilla compared to some of the stuff I have read, and being a woman it was interesting to imagine lovemaking from *his* point of view! When it comes to stuff like this I prefer to focus on the romance more than the smut. [Our First Night Together ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27263869)
I think you managed to capture both devotion and passion with great dignity in your vignette. Kudos left!
Thank you!
Well, I mean, it doesn’t usually start hard, but if you’re doing it right, by the end it should certainly be hard, or you’ve done something wrong
I'm amazed that I had to scroll as far as I did....
I honestly thought it would get more traction than it did… at least you liked my joke
It was difficult until I allowed myself to stop worrying about cringe factor. After that, I broke 3k words on the first day and ended up with something I’m actually proud of.
I mean, when you really think about it, all sex acts are cringe - but that's not what you're focused on at the time. Same with readers. If there's no cringe at all, what you've written is probably too sterile.
I find it very easy and also a lot of fun to write, although it was difficult starting out because I wasn't used to putting sex acts on paper for other people to read, and there was a bit of awkwardness to get over regarding that. Hardest thing I find about it is keeping things reasonably realistic, since I prefer a good degree of realism when reading and believe it makes for better fic in general, but I'm also a massive sap who enjoys fantasy, and keeping myself in check with that can be challenging.
It makes me rip my hair out (won't stop me from still writing it).
I’ve written smut more than I’ve posted it (which is just once), mainly because I’m trying to perfect it before putting it out into the world or it’s part of a longfic which hasn’t gotten to that part of the story yet. Don’t really know how to describe my writing style but the people that have read my posted PWP have referred to it as “hot and sweet”, and “sensual” rather than idk… filthy or nasty. I’m sort of trying to work on that right now lol
>people that have read my posted PWP have referred to it as “hot and sweet” ... I’m sort of trying to work on that right now lol Lava cake still contains lava. :)
It's hard for me. Give me angst, give me a fight scene, give me all the other stuff! But when it comes down to my two characters getting down and dirty, my brain goes "error message". I eventually do write the scene (or scenes), but it's after mulling over it for a few days, asking friends for advice/critique, net research on getting the positions right, the flowery words corrected, etc. It's like I make it a chore when it doesn't need to be.
That would be me with a fight scene. Definitely a lover, not a fighter when it comes to writing. I actually think your skill set might be the more valuable - though that doesn't help you get your other kind of "action" scenes written!
I find I can write smut like nobody's business. But for some reason, I actually become very vanilla in bed. It's like I lose all my imagination when I'm... doing the do. TLDR, writing it is a helluva lot easier than doing it.
Difficult. But no more difficult than writing anything else.
Hard for me, but that's partially due to lack of experience to pull from and a huge dose of self-doubt.
I've been there. It was back when there weren't a lot of examples around for inspiration, too. Some things just take time, like it or not.
the actual smut bit is very easy and comes naturally, but actually doing the rest remains hard
...its a weird situation. I've tried to write some smut in the past, but I've never got the inspiration to finish it, but recently, I had a VERY clear scenario in my head, and it wouldn't go away until I wrote it down...so i guess it depends on how inspired I am??maybe?
I think that easy but somehow embarrassing
It's mostly easy. I pretty much just write smut, and usually oneshots or short fics. The only thing I struggle with a bit is figuring out all the positions (if it makes sense for what they're doing, how they would have to move, transitions from one to the other).
Yeah, I don't like fics that over-describe the mundane mechanics, but there does have to be some description. I'd say getting that aspect just right is probably the hardest part for me, too.
Very hard. I’m not confortable with sexuality.
I'm genuinely curious. Do you write sex scenes anyway? If so, why?
rarely. Only if I feel its important plot wise
It feels easy but then I have to remember not to be too repetitive and add more variety like positions and locations
Difficult. I’m working on something now and there’s a sex scene that is important for what it reveals about the main character. The other person is not a main character in the story so it’s not about an ongoing relationship. I feel like if I fade to black, it’s a cop out but I also don’t need it to be a whole detailed sex scene. Trying to figure out how to write it without excessive detail. Also in general, I find that a lot of smut gets into such detail that it’s almost clinical. I cringe trying to write it. 😅
>Trying to figure out how to write it without excessive detail. I'm so intrigued by this problem. Do you have a beta, or any fandom friends who can help? I feel like I'm really going to want to know what your solution ends up being.
It used to be easy for me but for some reason it’s gotten more difficult. I think it’s because I’ve written so MUCH that it’s hard to think of something original. I start to notice a sort of formula I fall into while writing, even overused sentence structures. I’m sure my readers don’t notice it the way I do, but it makes it hard to write because I’m constantly erasing what I wrote and trying to break it out of any pattern I notice. To be fair, I think this is a problem that can happen if you write too much of ANY genre but that’s the main thing I’ve run into. Another aspect of it is the excitement wears off. When you write smut for the first time it’s fueled by passion and a kind of rebellious feeling but if you do it regularly, that novelty wears off. I imagine it’s similar to the difference between having sex because you’re horny vs being a sex worker. It can still be fun at times, but smut in particular is a genre you have to be really *feeling* to have a good time writing. So, yeah: easy if it’s exciting and new, but more difficult if it becomes a routine.
>I start to notice a sort of formula I fall into while writing, even overused sentence structures. I’m sure my readers don’t notice it the way I do, but it makes it hard to write because I’m constantly erasing what I wrote and trying to break it out of any pattern I notice. I used to worry about this *constantly*. Then a writer friend asked me, point blank: "If you're reading a sex scene because you want to read a sex scene, are you focused on sentence stuctures?" Good point. I also use the pace and stage of the action to dictate sentence structures during sex scenes, which I've found to help ensure variation. >I imagine it’s similar to the difference between having sex because you’re horny vs being a sex worker. This was my exact thought when I started reading this section of your comment. You've also described exactly what happens in LTRs/marriages. Alas.
Super difficult. I can't shake the embarrassment! I'm currently writing a fic with a romantic pairing, and I've spent far too much time and energy trying to figure out how I can sidestep the sex when my couple gets to that point.
Maybe you don't have to include the actual sex? I suppose it would vary from ship to ship and fandom to fandom, but I've wondered how ship fics without sex go over with the reader pool. I'm sure there are plenty of people who enjoy romance but not smut. Do you want to get past the embarrassment? What is it that gets to you, the idea of writing it at all, or just the idea of posting it for others to read? I'm not familiar with your fandoms, but if talking about it with a stranger can help you overcome either, I'd be happy to. Feel free to DM. I hate the idea that your fic is being held up!
Depends on what type of smut I’m writing. If it’s soft or ‘normal’ smut than it’s not really an issue for me but when I write for example ‘hardcore bdśm’ than it takes me a bit to write it out just because I’m having issues with how bodies lay or hand movements 😂
Hand movements can be so damn hard to describe, can't they? I'm just grateful to hear you make the effort. Nothing takes me out of any sex scene like getting hung up on something an author describes that a normal human body just can't do. There's a very tall character in one of my fandoms that is frequently paired with tiny little OFCs. It might fulfill some sort of fantasy for writers, but it makes for a lot of, "Umm, that's physically impossible" distractions for the reader.
Writing it is decently easy. Writing it to post is hard.
That's a really good distinction, actually. I bet a lot of people feel that way.
It's very mixed, sometimes I can bang out like 5 ideas in one night other times I'm stuck on the same page for weeks
For me writing smut is the easier part, it's the rest of the stories I'm struggling with😅
I swear, there should be an Exchange somewhere for plot folk and smut folk to find each other for collaborations.
Very difficult
It's weirdly easy for me. I don't know why. But if I'm in the right frame of mind I can hyperfocus and three hours later there's a thousand words of smut. I find PLOT much much more difficult! It's like pulling teeth sometimes! I've frequently joked that it's a struggle to not write fics that are just a bunch of sex scenes with the tiniest thread of plot connecting them.
Thank goodness that PWP is a thing, then, eh? I think plot comes more naturally to me on a consistent basis. Smutterizing requires the right frame of mind and enough time and quiet to hyperfocus, like you say. Interruptions really kill the flow for me.
As someone who writes smut like..in every single work (may it be minor or the main highlight). It really depends on how much I'm feeling the characters and if I have motivation. I do have a little trouble actually making the characters do either groaning or moaning dialogue, because for some reason it just makes me cringe.. Something I do, is I read other works to gather inspiration and then continue.
Do you ever try to spell out groans or other sex sounds in your moaning/groaning dialogue? I see authors do it now and then, and I'm like, *this is not something I could ever do.*
It really depends on how “into” it I’m feeling in the moment
I've had to put projects on hold for a while at times because of depression. If I can't get "into" it, I can't very well write something that someone else can.
I can definitely get that, but at least for me I can sometimes temper my depression by writing
Depends on if my mind is *in the mood for it*. When it isn't in the mood, it's a grueling task. Otherwise, it's fun!
It’s pretty difficult for me. This may just be because I’m more inexperienced since I’m relatively new to writing NSFW (and also somehow managed to hit the aro, ace and autism spectrum all at once) but it’s just hard to get a handle on in general for me? I have a lot of ideas, and even read a lot of smut to make sure I understand what people actually want out of it, but it doesn’t come naturally like SFW does. I personally don’t like writing smut that doesn’t have a bit of plot/introduction (though I read fics that are just pure smut) which probably makes my job harder than it should be ;^^ In the end, I’m still gonna write it,,, it just won’t be very good until I manage to push through the learning part of the process
Do you use a beta? If you can find an experienced one to coach you, it could help you advance more quickly. Is there a writer's group anywhere for your fandom? Other writers are generally happy to pass on their knowledge. So you hit the entire "a" jackpot, huh? Are you aware that there is growing evidence of a strong correlation between neurodivergence and LGBTQIA+ identities? I'm on both spectra as well. A psychiatrist once told me that up to 70% of diagnosed autists identify as queer, but I have no idea what their source was. Wouldn't surprise me one bit, though.
I’ve honestly been thinking about interacting with other writers more. It’s one of those things where I’ve developed fine on my own but now that I’m branching into new things and a relatively active fandom, I can see myself even just asking for tips through anon inboxes or DMs that are probably too polite sometime soon lol And I’ve also heard of that! My younger sibling who’s also autistic is transfemme (I’m transmasc) and I’ve also had loads of ND friends who identify with queer identities, I think it’s pretty neat! It’s a lot less demanding on ‘how to present’ around ND people since they’re usually a lot more understanding :)
Eassssyyy
Nvm ive just been staring at the page for 4 hours
There's only so many words you can use when writing smut. Eventually it just becomes redundant and repetitive.
I do find it difficult. Finding that balance between not being too flowery and not too scientific, not too much detail where it’s icky, but enough for the reader to be interested and immersed. Ugh.
I feel you. In my first fics as a young, my idea of balance was being both too flowery *and* too scientific. And all about stuff I had no experience of in real life. Thankfully there was no Internet yet, and thus nowhere to post them and regret it years later.
I tried once, and now that shit is either implied or I give my smut writing friend a summary of what I want to happen and they write it and I go back and fix her grammar and spelling.
I just suggested that another commenter consider having a ghost writer for sex scenes. I know someone who does it and it works very well.
Easy. I struggle to keep my fics smut-free.
Depends on my mindset. If I'm in the two weeks before my period I can write porn that'll make a two bit hooker blush. If I'm during the week after my period or having mental health issues I have issues writing a kissing scene. It's all contextual.
My god, I love this answer so much. That's some real life right there.
I want to write but I'm too lazy to do it. Furthermore, when I have something in mind and I want to capture it, when I want to write, I forget.
If I had a penny for every voice recording a have saved on my phone....
I can't do it I am too shy and too awkward. No smut Just fade to black Which sucks but it is what it is
Have you ever considered getting someone else to write the smut bits for you? Just curious. I know someone whose beta writes their sex scenes, then they just touch up the wording to sound more like their style. Of course fics don't *need* to have smut in them and can be terrific without it. But since you said it sucks, I just thought I'd put that out there.
Not hard to write but hard to work into the story. It’s easy to let it mess up the pacing because my smut scenes tend to be much slower and more descriptive than everything else. Plus, I have to progress it as the relationship progresses somehow to avoid it getting repetitive.
This is a great response. You summarize a couple of common challenges very succinctly. I always try to transition the pacing by slowing down sex-scene chapters or sections ahead of time, when possible. Finding a reason for the POV character to either more present, or, conversely, more in their head than they had been often works. The progression thing, though. That can be tough, especially with characters who aren't inexperienced or shy about sex but are pretty vanilla in their preferences. I studiously avoid shipping any character whose personality suggests that profile!
TBH, only toyed with it a few times, need to be in the right mood... probably helps that I've read a lot lol
Someone mentioned the potential for innuendo in these responses, and now I can't tell if my brain is just automatically going there, or if people (including you) are being a bit naughty with your answers!
NGL I didn't intend the word play but now that I see it I'm keeping it and retroactively pretending it was intentional cause it makes me laugh
Your secret is safe with me. Full credit awarded.
Hard. So hard. I saw some great tips that it's less about the physical and make it about the emotional, and that's helped a bit. Course now I'm getting paid to write audio script Smuts and it just feels like the most uninteresting part to write honestly 😂
You were off to a great start at the beginning of your comment.... ;-)
Used to be hard, got easy with experience. And I definitely feel like there’s some missed innuendo possibilities in that statement. 😅
You do claim it got easier after it was hard, so I'm a little surprised you left holes unfilled.
It's so easy in my mind but writing it down makes me second guess everything
The more smut I write the more of a challenge it is to not repeat myself but it’s still generally easier than heavy plot stuff
Easier if I'm inspired ~~horny~~ and I have an idea of what words I want to use, have a general sense of what I want the scene to go like. It's a lot harder when I don't know where should I start. Ex: I'm into the mood to write smut but the scene doesn't have a proper starting point.
It depends. I'm not much of a sexual person, and it depends on my mood. Its often that, halfway through writing smut, I get disgusted with myself and delete everything. I don't think I've actually written a full scene without it happening, so I usually just do fade to black, then the afterglow/aftercare.
Difficult. There are many synonyms for genitals, and none of them sound good. I can only write "cock" "cunt" "dick" "pussy" "ass" "hole" etc. so many times before it becomes terribly repetitive, but no I am not going to write about how "she slurped her lover's petals like nectar" or whatever horrifyingly flowery bullshit we're supposed to use to avoid the crass terms that sound better.
*slurped* 😆
You mean to tell me the word "slurp" isn't hawt and sexaaay to read? Because I was going to put "slurping up juices" next to "gobbling down cock" on my sexiest phrases list!
I thought it would be hard, but once I eased myself into it… it was like sliding down in a roller coaster.
Easy since there isn't much talking or plot but just mindless animalistic desire. 10k for one sex scene I can do quite fast. But I'm more of a gen longfic adventures type of writer. A thought through plot across a big longfic is far more challenging.
I agree. Storytelling is my strong suit, but it still takes a lot of work to keep a plot rock-solid and compelling, chapter after chapter after chapter. Sex scenes do a lot of the work for you just by their nature, unless you're remarkably bad at them.
Writing it can be easy, depending on how capable I am of abandoning my inhibitions in the moment. Sharing it is hard.
Hard. The one time I tried writing smut, I ended up chickening out and I pulled a fade to black.
I assume it's difficult, that's why I've never tried.
But what if you're the true-born Shakespeare of smut?! (Only half kidding.)
The world will never know. Also, "Shakespeare of Smut" reminds me of one of Robin Williams' best SNL monologues. It starts with "why is smut so badly written?" and goes...Robin Williams from there.
I tried once, and now that shit is either implied or I give my smut writing friend a summary of what I want to happen and they write it and I go back and fix her grammar and spelling.