8 Basic Elements For A Sexy Story

How To Write A Sexy Story

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Before I go into a run down of how to write a sexy story, and I do mean a whole story all wonderfully steamy, I want to give you an example of what I’m talking about—All without any sex occurring.

Nope, nothing up my sleeve here. Utilizing the right elements, you can get things flowing before anything nasty even happens. It’s actually something I feel is completely ignored in most set ups. And isn’t that what a set up is all about, really? Setting you up for the sex? Unfortunately, that doesn’t usually seem to be the case. How many set ups have you read that feel like you’re reading the most boring, mundane, unemotional, random series of events, and then the characters suddenly have sex? Blah. Believe me, you can do better.

Welcome to the art of mental foreplay.

Let’s give it a shot:

Mitch is a total pervert. Hardcore. Seriously, it’s the second time he’s dared someone to suck his fingers, and if the first time watching Jenna do it wasn’t awkward enough, now he’s looking at my lips while smirking like a total sick fuck.

“You can always pick truth,” Jenna offers, looking at me sympathetically.

I can’t. There’s no way I can pick truth. Every time Mitch has gotten a truth he’s asked if the person was a virgin and there’s no way in hell I’m admitting to that. At least Jake and Dave stepped out to get some soda. The last thing I need is my best friend seeing me sucking Mitch’s fingers like I’m some sort of slut. Bad enough Jenna and Chris are here.

“You chicken, Sullivan?” Mitch asks, his grin only growing as I glare at him. What an asshole.

“You just better have washed your hands,” I mutter, glaring at the offending digits. They look clean enough, nails short with no dirt underneath. Might have some potato chips on them, but that won’t be the end of the world. I just really wish he’d stop looking at me like I’m about to suck his dick.

“Ask Jenna; my fingers are nice and clean.”

I glance over to Jenna, who just shrugs at me. Considering how she’d been grinning the entire time she was sucking on his fingers, I have a feeling she’s too pervy to actually care. This is what I get for hanging with the older crowd. They’re Dave’s friends, and Dave is Jake’s brother, so I really can’t make an ass of myself chickening out.

“And hey, if my fingers are dirty, I’m sure you can clean them off real nice,” Mitch adds casually, his eyes glinting wickedly.

I’ve only just met Mitch tonight and I’m pretty sure I hate him.

I’m running out of time. Jake’s going to be back, and I really don’t want him to see this. I hold my hand out, expecting Mitch to give me his fingers so I can lick the stupid things. But the asshole just shakes his head, raising two up in front of my face.

“Open.”

I glare him down, then look over to Chris who has the stopwatch. “Not a second over three minutes. I’m not falling for that again.”

Chris just holds his hands up with an apologetic grin that doesn’t reach his eyes. Yeah, he’s an ass too.

“I think you’re stalling,” Mitch whispers, ducking his head closer to mine until he’s in my ear. “It’s just fingers, Sullivan. Not like I’m asking you to suck my cock.”

Fire rushing to my face, I grit my teeth. I totally hate him. He’s just saying that because he wants me to think about his dick while I’m doing this. The kid fucks anything on legs, guys and girls, and he’s just trying to freak me out because he knows I’m a virgin. Fuck him.

Letting out a soft breath, I reach forward, opening my mouth to quickly wrap around his stupid fingers so I can get this done already. He stops me with two words.

“Go slow.”

Glaring at his hand, I part my lips, slowly leaning the last inch forward and praying I manage to give the guy the plague in some magical fluke of cosmic retribution.

My mouth is really wet by the time I actually feel the two fingers. He’s halfway in my mouth when he touches my tongue. I can’t help but gasp from the feel of the firm pads of his fingertips, my tongue hollowing as I flinch away. Staring down resolutely at the holes in his jeans, I try not to make a noise as he rubs down my tongue, pushing into my building saliva and drawing forward to my wavering tip.

“Suck,” he orders lowly in my ear, his breath burning hot on my cheek.

I want to punch him. He’s trying to make me think about dick, I can tell just by the way he said it. Glaring straight ahead, I tighten my lips reluctantly, trying not to feel just how hot and damp his fingers are getting while in my mouth. Tentatively I try to suck around his fingers, my tongue hollowing again and inadvertently caressing against the digits. God, I hate him.

“Harder than that… Good. You’re not bad, Sullivan.” Smirking against my ear, he adds mockingly. “You do this a lot?”

He’s an absolute asshole. Like I go around sucking fingers, or dick—Cus he’s totally really saying that. What a total sick perv, and I can’t even tell him off because he has his fingers in my mouth.

My saliva is building too much, flooding the back of my throat, and I have to swallow or something even more embarrassing will happen. I try to do it in a way he won’t notice, moving my mouth as little as possible. But he still grunts, still pushes his fingers deeper when my throat and tongue convulses. I refuse to meet his eyes. I’m not Jenna. I’m not some slutty chick that just smiles and sucks fingers like I really want it to be dick. I just need to wait this out and it’ll be over soon.

Mitch isn’t content to let me just sit with his fingers in my mouth. He starts moving, sliding them in and out between my clinging lips. Brows furrowed, I breathe heavier out my nose, refusing to acknowledge what he’s doing. It’s not the same. They’re just fingers. I have no plans on sucking a dick anytime in the future, and this is not like sucking dick, no matter how much he’s panting in my ear like a dog right now.

“Fuck, you’re really tight.” His other hand suddenly tangles in my hair, pushing my head back roughly. I almost open my mouth to complain, but just manage to stop myself. There can’t be more than a minute left, right? Two, tops. Just got to endure the salty taste of his fingers, the firm, rough feel of his flesh a little longer, and it’ll be done.

He pulls my hair harder, and I can’t help it, I whimper. He sighs in my ear like I’m doing it for him, the creep, and pushes his fingers even deeper, moving down my tongue and reaching into my throat.

“That’s it… Fuck, you’re not even gagging. I think you’re a natural.”

Fucking pervert. It’s uncomfortable, my lips stretching wide over his knuckles, my throat convulsing as I fight not to cough. I struggle harder to pull air in, hating how hot his breath is as he suffocates me inside and out.

“Can you take it deeper?” Fuck, I should bite him. “Open your mouth nice and wide, and take me deeper, cutie.”

His fingers scrape the back of my throat and my mouth opens wide as I gasp and choke, spilling hot fluid down my lips and chin. He grabs the nape of my neck, groaning in my ear. Then, when I’m done coughing, his fingers are going deeper before I can protest, his hand keeping me from moving away.

“Fuck, you can really take it deep. We should talk, Sullivan. For real. I think we could be good fucking friends.”

I’d give anything to be able to tell him to fuck off right now. But he’s rubbing my tongue again, trying to make me choke. Saliva is running down my chin, tickling cold on my throat, and I can’t even wipe it away as he thrust his fingers, making sure to push into my bottom lip each time.

It’s suffocating, and hot, and I can’t help but wonder if this is what it actually feels like to have a dick in your mouth. But a dick is totally bigger, with that slick, swollen head. It would probably fill my entire mouth, probably wouldn’t get so deep. No, this is nothing like that, and he needs to stop grunting in my fucking ear.

“Thirty seconds. Better make them count,” Chris says cheerfully.

I fucking hate Chris. All of Dave’s friends suck. I wish Jake didn’t hang out with his older brother so much. Dave’s a jerk most of the time to me, and apparently his friends are too.

“You’re doing real good. Damn, you’ve got some really red lips, Sullivan. I think I know what my next dare is going to be.” His hand clutching the base of my skull, I can only groan in protest when Mitch’s tongue suddenly licks over my lips. Sick fucking perv.

God, it’s almost over. I know I’m gasping to breathe and everyone can see how red my face is. I close my eyes, hoping to block out Mitch’s cruel grin, trying to ignore his tongue following his fingers as he pushes into my mouth. I can’t help it. I groan again, louder, trying to turn away.

“Mitch, leave the kid alone,” Jenna snaps.

“Make me.” Humming, his tongue moves up the side of my face as he pushes his fingers deep into my throat again. I’m a mess, mortified and can’t breathe around his fingers like I could earlier. He likes it, grunting as he pushed his fingers in small thrusts. I choke around him, hot tears sliping from beneath my lashes.

“Yeah, we should have some fun, Sullivan,” he rasps into my ear. “I think you’ll like it. I can show you how to swallow something down much thicker than just fingers.”

My groan sounds like a gurgle as he pulls me close and takes my slick bottom lip and holds it tight between his teeth. He bites down, hard, and I gasp, coughing the same moment Chris calls the time and Mitch pulls his fingers from my mouth. I immediately shove him away, hunching forward when I can’t stop hacking.

Asshole. He’s an absolute asshole and I totally hate him.

“What do you say, Sullivan? Wanna meet me in the backyard for a few minutes?” He asks with a shit eating grin.

Wiping my chin dry with my wrist, I stumble to my feet. “Go fuck yourself.”

I turn, determined to go home and never visit Jake’s again when his brother has friends over, only to stop short. Jake and Dave are standing in the doorway, both of them staring at me with stunned expressions.

How long have they been there? I hadn’t heard anything, but once Mitch had his fingers down my throat I really couldn’t notice much of anything. I duck my head, hating how flushed I feel with Jake staring at me like that.

“Get out of the way,” I mutter, wincing from how hoarse my voice sounds.

Jake quickly steps back like he’s terrified I’m going to hit him. Good. He should be. I hate Mitch and I hate him for inviting me over here. I push past Dave, who’s still staring at me slack-jawed as his eyes move down my body. Fuck him.

“Wait—He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Jake follows after me. “I’ll have Dave beat the crap out of him, swear. Shit, just wait.”

Stopping short at the outer door, I turn, glaring at him in exasperation. “I’m fine. I just want to go home.”

“Oh… Well let me walk you, at least,” Jake offers hesitantly.

He’s staring at my mouth. My best friend of eight years is just standing there, staring at my mouth, and I know he’s thinking of what it would look like if his dick was in it. I fucking hate Mitch.

“I don’t suck dick.”

Blinking, red rushes to his cheeks. “I-I never said…”

“You’re staring at my mouth the same way that asshole was,” I snap, flinching as my voice cracks. Fuck. Turning, I push outside into the night air. Jake eventually follows, catching up to my fast pace to walk beside me.

“I’m sorry. I just—Shit, you didn’t see what you looked like.” I glare at him from the corner of my eye. He’s so not fucking helping himself here.

“I don’t suck dick.”

He grabs my arm, holding it tight until I stop walking and glare at him properly. “Yeah, but maybe you really should.”

My hands tighten into fists. I’m two seconds from slugging him. “I will fucking kill you if you ever say something like that to me again.”

“You looked hot. Really fucking hot.” The fucker didn’t even have the decency to blush.

“Fuck you.” I go to leave, but he holds onto my arm. He’s taller than me, stronger, and when I try to wrench free, Jake pulls me back hard enough that I stumble and crash against his chest.

“Come on, B. It’s not that big of a deal.”

He’s got to be out of his fucking mind. I’m so stunned, I stop trying to elbow him. “What, are you telling me you’ve… you’ve sucked dick?”

Blushing, he looks away. “Not exactly.”

“Because if you’re talking about Mitch’s fingers, it’s not the same fucking thing, you asshole. I don’t do that—And don’t you dare fucking say I should,” I add warningly.

He’s quiet for a long moment, but he won’t let go of my arm. I never really noticed just how blue his eyes are. Even in the dark, they damn near glow.

“Just try it, B. Just once… Just me.” Staring me right in the eye, he grabs me by the chin, his thumb moving over my bruised bottom lip. “You looked really good.”

“Don’t,” I whisper weakly, trying to step back and get away from the crazy heat that seems to be coming from every spot he’s touching me. “I don’t…” He has my chin caught and I have this heart pounding, almost certain feeling he’s going to kiss me.

His other hand moves to my wrist, pulling it down until it’s trapped hot between our bodies. “Just a little. Just to see if you like it.”

He’s been hanging with his asshole brother too much. “There is no way in fuck—Oh.”

He’s hard. His hips move again, his hand holding my palm steady so he can rub his erection into it. Holy. Fuck.

“You might like it,” he murmurs, pulling me closer, his lips brushing my mouth ever so lightly. “I’ll be nice about it… Let you go at your own pace. I would never hurt you, B.”

I exhale unsteadily, my mouth feeling really wet again, like right before Mitch’s fingers touched my tongue. “Jake… This is fucking weird.”

I should tell him to fuck off. I should hit him, and tell him to fuck off, and never, ever, ever talk to him again. But I can’t stop looking at the way his jeans are tented. And when he lets my palm go so he can pull his zipper down, I don’t step away.

“Get on your knees, B.”

I swallow hard, finally looking up to meet his eyes. “Why?” I manage to croak out.

“You know why.” His hand moves from my chin to the side of my face, raking through my hair. “Seeing you like that got me so hot. It won’t take long. You don’t even have to swallow if you don’t want.”

He’s crazy. Absolutely crazy. But my feet just won’t fucking move. I hear a rustle of fabric and my gaze falls again. Yeah, so that’s what he looks like hard. Bigger than I thought. Really nothing at all like fingers.

“Get on your knees.”

It’ll be fast, right? I mean, he’s really hard, and… and fuck, it might not be that bad. It’s him, and he’s hard over me… And he’s big. Probably wouldn’t get as deep as Mitch’s nasty fingers.

Eyes caught on the way his hand is moving over the underside of his shaft, I don’t notice right away when he pushes down my shoulder. It’s not until he puts more pressure on me, my knees swaying, that I realize what I’m doing. My breath stuck somewhere in my throat, I slowly sink to the ground.

***

And breathe. Whoo, wonder what happens next, hmm?

That was a little over 2600 words of very effective set up utilizing many of the elements I’m going to be going into. I actually liked this little exercise so much, I think I might finish this little story, eventually going back to see just what Mitch and Dave think of B’s newly learned skills. (*I did, btw, and it’s called ‘Dare’ if you want to read the finished m/m erotica piece.)

So how was your time spent in this set up? You met a completely gender ambiguous character (deliberately so for this exercise to allow for the reader to put their own personal ideal in the mix.) You got to get to know him/her through interactions with a few key players, along with a touch of his/her age, morals and sexual experience (lack there of in this case.) By the time Jake is pressuring his friend in the dark, you might actually care about the situation, and maybe, just maybe, even have felt some of those anxious, indecisive, sexually reluctant but curious feelings running through our main character that many of us have felt at some point in our lives. Your mouth might have even gotten wet when B mentioned it.

You’re invested. Not just in the idea of the sex to come—and it will—but in the characters, the setting, the awkward first time interactions full of tension and uncertainty and strong emotions.

Let’s be honest, it’s not the wildest story out there. Actually, it’s rather tame. No pornstars with 12 inch dicks, no huge hulking muscular men, or absolutely divine, large breasted women, no sex club with bondage gear, or wild, insane werewolves that just have to screw on the full moon. Hell, you don’t really have much of a description of Jake, except he has nice blue eyes and is strong. It’s a first time story but, if I can be so bold as to say, it’s not boring. Partially because of the full immersion into the experience. You’re seeing the drama of the characters’ relationships unfolding before your eyes in a relatable way. I wrote this piece as an exercise on building sexual tension in a story, and as you can see, building that tension promises that everything that follows is going to be so much hotter for it, even if it just ends on a blowjob.

So let’s take a look at the elements that went into building this scene, and what goes into writing a sexy story in general.

1) A Sexually Aggressive Character

This is your most important character for creating hot sex, and no, this is not necessarily your main character. But let me say, if you write a first person through the eyes of a character like this, it can get damn crazy good.

The sexually aggressive character. Every great smut story needs at least one. Why? Because without at least one character wanting sex, no one is going to have sex. You can’t have a smut story about a frigid accountant and a virgin that’s so scared of catching an STD they won’t even consider opening their legs. No sex would happen. But if you throw a wild, aggressive, cocky flirt in there that’s just so horny he doesn’t care what those seemingly good objections to a threesome are, suddenly all the possibilities open up for some smut.

So why is the character aggressive? Because exaggerations of emotions can get things really hot, really fast. I’ve read so many romantic plots where the main character has put up with so many aggressive guys before, but this one isn’t, this one cares, and loves, and cries through his penis, and surprise, surprise, the sex is boring because all the character is thinking, and the author is disclosing, is just how sweet it all is. Well, okay, it’s sweet, but sweet isn’t hot. Sweet is sweet.

Enter the sexually aggressive character. He might care—Sometimes he cares too much, but he just can’t stop himself (my favorite kind) and has to have that love interest no matter where they are, who’s watching, that all of humanity could die if they manage to fall for each other—I know, the humanity! It’s hot stuff. And it gets even hotter when you start focusing on those little twists that affect our sexually aggressive character, such as…

2) Conflict And/Or Resistance To Sex

This can come in a multitude of forms from characters, to events, to emotions, so I’ll break it down a bit.

Man vs Man. Your sexually aggressive character has to deal with the boyfriend of his love interest, or the parent, teacher, Master, boss, etc, before they can be together. He doesn’t care; he’ll sneak, trick, beat, lie, spell—whatever it takes to get to the one he wants to screw. This is the Romeo and Juliet scenario (but hopefully without the double suicide at the end.)

Man vs Nature. This isn’t a tentacle set up, but I suppose it could be. This is more your sexually aggressive character is determined to bone his love, but there’s this snowstorm and he has to go out and brave the ice and deadly temperatures to do it. Not the most interesting of plot devices for smut, but I suppose it could be added on top of the fact that outside in the snow are werewolves that are determined to fuck and claim his love interest if he doesn’t get there first.

Man vs Society. This one’s great for gay and incest, paranormal too because they just can’t stand some strange boring human/witch/anything they aren’t, coming in and trying to fuck their own. This could be as small as an office environment where you’re fighting the rules of not allowed to screw the boss.

Man vs Self. Your sexually aggressive character spends half his time trying to hold back and the rest just fucking. Drama, angst, torment, that little voice that keeps begging you to do what is right while your body is screaming to give in and have what you want. This is my all time favorite set up, allowing for your second lead to be just as sexually needy but still keeps the tension.

Some very easy examples:

• He’s going into the military and doesn’t want to break a heart before he goes off, but it’s the last time they might see each other again and he just can’t stop himself from having a taste.
• One is in a committed relationship and they know even thinking such thoughts makes them a horrible person, but they can’t stop the wild attraction between them, and if they just give in maybe it will fade.
• They’re from warring magical tribes, and to submit to the other would be to lose the freedom for their entire population, but hell, he just has to have it.
• Every time this cursed character has an orgasm, his penis grows half an inch, but what’s a guy to do when the person who enchanted him just looks so sexy on their knees?

I mean, damn, you suddenly put huge stakes on something that was just once everyday sex. Conflict and consequences for some sweaty love. Just remember, when you write this type of story, you can’t forget those consequences, and neither can your character, otherwise your reader is going to be really confused as to how boning resolved the problem. That guy with the five foot cock is not going to fix his problem with revenge oriented blowjobs, no matter how much he enjoys it at the time. But that’s fine, because that not only builds tension, but also forces your story along, allowing the characters and plot to get damn interesting—And all because of sex!

3) A Sexually Reluctant Character (that really wants it)

So this is not needed in every story but is a feature in many smut fics and serves a beautiful purpose. This character alone becomes the conflict for your sexually aggressive character. An entire living, breathing, human being to go head to head with every nasty, naughty, sexy thing your horny character wants to do. They hold the consequences for what happens when giving in, be it an emotional reaction or growth due to sex, a changing in their living circumstances or their well being. Every thought this character has when it comes to getting with that sexually aggressive character wars with conflict.

I think non-consensual sex turned into consensual by the time it’s done is hot. Not everyone does, and that’s fine; it’s all fiction. This character is the victim of that particularly plot device. Maybe they’re just reluctant with a particular sexual act, or maybe they’re always fighting with the sexually aggressive character while at the same time fighting their lust. Maybe they’re scared to try out a same sex partner, or shifter, or some really wild, kinky thing. This character creates all the angst and drama, builds tension and suspense, and then allows that sexually aggressive character to come in and do his/her job of making sex happen.

The consequences are easier to resolve with this sort of character at the reins. Why? Because the conflict question (is it worth giving in?) is answered every time this character has sex. You can go back and forth a bit, have your character continue a vicious cycle to repeat the experience to finally comes to terms with their inner struggle to make it seem realistic, or just make it hot, but the answer is all set up for easy resolution.

Your reluctant character is attracted to a total jerk. They have sex. The jerk is still a jerk, but your character

• a) doesn’t mind anymore cus the sex was great,
• b) hates the jerk still, but will still totally bone him
• c) hates themselves and will never talk to the person again
• d) *insert easy resolution here* The consequences can be smaller, and don’t have to require a huge plot but can resolve in a scene.

Now, if that sexually reluctant character is reluctant because they’re in an abusive relationship with a long time lover and is fighting themselves tooth and nail to keep from falling for the sexually aggressive character that just wants to be with them once, to show them sex can be good, you still have the makings of an epic plot. But, from this perspective, it’s also easy to resolve. As long as your sexually aggressive character isn’t pushing this conflict, and your sexually reluctant character is allowed to resolve at the end, you can end a story rather short versus getting too deep into drama.

Using the above example, they have sex, it’s hot, sweaty, and loving, and now the reluctant character is left with some choices.

• 1) stay with the abusive jerk cus they’ll probably beat you if you leave,
• 2) leave the abusive jerk and start living your own life,
• 3) leave the jerk and start pursuing a healthy relationship with the sweet one,
• 4) determine to cheat repeatedly in revenge for the abuse
• 5) don’t change a thing. It was a moment to remember, and the world kept turning. Easy resolutions.

Enter your sexually aggressive character. They loved the sex, they love the reluctant character, they’re not giving up. Your sexually aggressive character will relentlessly drive a plot to bounding heights by their personality alone. They can’t stop sleeping with the person whose boyfriend will beat the fuck out of the reluctant character if caught. The consequences of getting caught, never mind of falling in love are going to happen because the aggressive character keeps pushing. Someone is going to get hurt, maybe killed because your aggressive character just can’t stop. It’s a promise of conflict and it’s a heated story worth reading—but it’s probably not going to be short.

4) Tension

If you think your sex scene is the only time your characters are having sex, you’re failing to create tension. And believe me, tension can be so much hotter than the final orgasm if you give it the right attention. This is the foreplay of the story, and especially when writing for women, it is really important to have it. Our brains don’t all just switch into ‘wet mode.’ It takes a bit to get there, and well, while you’re getting there, you might as well have some fun on the way.

I would love to see this done in the more standard smut fics where you have story for the first ¾ of the fic, and then the smut for the last ¼. I’ve read so many boring as fuck set ups before those characters started screwing, to the point that sometimes it just felt like two different stories. Set up can be sexy. It can be wrought with tension, anticipation, leaving a reader on the edge of their seat until they know exactly just how nasty it’s going to get when those characters finally get a moment alone to screw.

So how do you build the sexual tension throughout the story?

Let your character’s attraction for each other show. Not the lovey, respecting, isn’t he/she so smart crap. No, whip out the holy fuck, what I want to do with those lips, if I could get them to look twice at me I would totally ruin that hottie, moments. Is sex going to happen in this story? Well if your character keeps thinking very detailed dirty thoughts about it, then yeah, it’s going to happen, and it’s going to be hot.

This is a great place for your sexually aggressive character to shine. He’s thinking some nasty stuff while the plot is going on. Hey, he’s even doing a little nasty, either to his love interest or to himself while thinking about his love interest. He can’t help himself no matter the consequences, and in this sense you’re creating his personality as a character as well as creating tension for the story.

Don’t think there’s no place for your other character’s to build tension. Your reluctant character can be just as dirty thinking of all the things they really, really, really shouldn’t want to do with that big, bad aggressive character, but can’t seem to stop thinking about at the most embarrassing times. Or maybe it’s a slutty character (sexually free for the PC) and they just love to think about sex, having it, others having it, seeing it, etc. Characters build tension faster than anything because the reader can relate to the emotions.

Another way to build sexual tension is with a plot device. This is where those quirky little bets where the billionaire will pay the couple $10,000 to have sex in front of him/her come in. You’re introducing the idea of sex into it, knowing the characters are thinking of it the entire time. It’s creates a feeling of anticipation of conflict, and the promise of sex to come.

I personally don’t feel like these devices do the job alone, or at least as well as when you still add in that human element. Together though, after establishing a physical attraction/desire and then a quirky plot device to push those two characters together that otherwise never would have given in to that wild attraction? Hello explosively hot sex.

5) Anticipation

This is the key to tension, and I wanted to give it a few words just for itself. Your reader lives through your character, seeing and feeling what they do. If your character is anticipating something, so is your reader. They can’t help it. Do it well enough, and your reader can’t stop from turning the page just to find out what your character is afraid is on the other side of the door. You might think this is something just for suspense and thrillers. It’s not. Anticipation makes sex hot. All about the mental foreplay.

Now there’s the long game, the tension we were talking about throwing hints here and there that if your characters gave in, damn, it’s going to be hot. You even get anticipation in the form of that plot device where suddenly, holy crap, by the time this plays out they just promised these characters are at least going to be naked in the same room together. Something hot is going to happen. Now just take it the next step.

Your characters are in the room together. They’re naked, hard, dripping sweat. No one has touched yet, but my god, when they do… With anticipation, one movement can be more sexy than covering your character in cum. Why? Because you built it up. Your character is fixated on it, not certain how crazy they’re going to get, how wild it will be, but inside they know it’s going to be their undoing. Just to have a kiss. Or a nibble on the ear. Or penetration. Anticipation can fix the problem of having two rather vanilla characters without very developed personalities or conflicting interactions seem like they’re having really hot sex. If they’re into it, the reader can be too.

6) Characters That Feel

If you want your reader to feel your hot sex scene, your characters need to be in the moment. It’s one thing to say your reader can fill in all those feelings and emotions for themselves with their personal experience, but hey, maybe they haven’t had that experience? Or maybe they did, but it wasn’t great, wasn’t burning passion and unbearable need. Do you really want them filling in the blanks of your scene with those awkward memories?

Make your sex an experience for your characters, not just a series of events. Bring all their senses into it. What they hear, what they smell, the sensation of touch on their skin, taste, sight—then have them react to it. I read so many scenes where characters go through these very amazing, sexy, creative poses and motions that I guess should be burning hot but I’m not feeling it. The characters end up feeling like gymnasts or dolls instead of those having a sexual experience.

Sex isn’t just moving your body. For most women it’s about connecting the sensations running through the body with their very huge, imaginative, sexual brain. Unfortunately, that sexy brain is also easily distracted, which is why a more successful erotic reading experience keeps distractions to a minimum and helps feed that brain sensations on all levels, not just visual action.

It’s also important to have your characters interacting with each other. They’re a sexual experience together, stimulating each other to help build tension and energy. Verbal responses, reactions to physical touch, anticipating sexual acts—It’s these small touches that help spur the reader on when the characters are invested.

7) Writing Intimately

Write in the scene. I’ve seen this a lot with writers of plot heavy erotica that don’t know how to balance the action of characters running around doing things with the action of sex. This is beyond the ‘character A did this, then this, then this, and then character b did this and this, and really liked this.’ This is when the sex scene occurs and is glossed over the same way you describe a room or a jog in the park. You get a few actions, a spark of emotion and touch of sensation, and then you’re moving on to the dinner scene.

It’s a story. It was supposed to be an erotic story, that was how it was sold, but the sex, even if it seems to happen a lot, just isn’t featured. It’s written from so far away, like watching people make out through binoculars (I can only imagine) instead of being in the same room having sex.

Now this isn’t the end of the world for some sex scenes if you just want to move things along, but if you’re looking to write a sexy, hot story, you really need to get more intimate with your characters. Get in the room, feel through their fingertips, get wet already.

This isn’t just about writing imagery, but also the tense of how you’re writing your character’s action. Let’s say you’re writing in the very popular third perspective and in the past tense. Your writing would look something like “Jake ran his fingers down Paul’s neck, nails scraping lightly, then firmer until he groaned.” This is written in a way that suggests it’s still happening in the moment. This is what you want—to feel like your characters are experiencing things first hand. Avoid wording things in a way to make your reader feel detached, for example: “Jake had run his fingers down Paul’s neck, nails scraping lightly, then firmer until he had groaned.” Suddenly the scene’s been pushed into the past again, in a way that disconnects the reader from the intimacy.

Replace “He was moaning,” with, “He moaned,” and avoid those extra ‘hads’ that tend to pop up. “Tears were streaming,” with “tears streamed.”

Another problem is when you come at an action sideways, words getting in the way of the immediacy of the event. “Unable to hold back any longer, he suddenly surged forward, pulling him tight to his body.” Seems fine and all, but try, “He surged forward, pulling him tight to his body, unable to hold back any longer.” Now it’s all about the action of the scene. Something happened abruptly and you don’t need to describe it because the series of events fulfills the need for you.

This is also true for action scenes, by the way. If you find the energy flagging in a scene, check your tenses and see if you haven’t inadvertently written the scene from an observer through time, or just put too many descriptors and ignored your action.

What happens when you feel like your sex scenes are just so immersive compared to the rest of your writing and you’re worried they just don’t fit? Balance. What other scenes require an immersive experience? The drama of your lover’s quarrel? Maybe the villian when he captures your love interest? If it has conflict, an emotional response is always going to give it more punch—and really, don’t you want your readers really feeling those parts of the story?

8) Write A Sexy Story With Flow

This is where the flow and pacing of your writing is going to help create the intensity of your sex scene. Just like sex actually has an ebb and flow of pacing, so too can your writing assist in that flow.

Now this doesn’t require something as intense as writing in rhyme or being hyper aware of every sentence and how one leads into another. This is more about creating an atmosphere. The same way writing short, concise sentences can help make an argument between characters seem terse and intense, so can having flowing, smooth sentences allow you to move through the scene without breaking away for air repeatedly.

It’s sometimes easier to find those parts of the scene where it just doesn’t seem to be working and try and rewrite the sentences until it flows better. Sometimes you want to pause for a moment. Sometimes pausing just kills all the energy and everything that follows suffers because of it. This is the stuff you need to feel out and sculpt until it works.

Find scenes that work for you and see why they did. How did the writing pull you in and keep you there? Writing is just like any other art and it’s something you can always improve upon, finding more effective ways to share what you want to share.

So… what do you think? When writing have you found one really big element always works for you? Where does it fall in the list—Does it even do that? These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, but there could be more. I’m going to be going over some of these topics in more depth in future posts because they’re so essential in the process of how to write a sexy story in an effective way.