The Write Stuff
by Ashley Lister

The Beautiful People

"I liked your book. I just didn’t like the fact that all the characters were twenty-somethings with perfect bodies."   —Fat Joyce

The above quote, from a friend of mine called Fat Joyce, illustrated two things:

a) Fat Joyce had not properly read my book.

b) People approach erotica with the preconception that all the characters contained within a story will be physically perfect specimens of youth and desirability.

To some degree this second point contains a grain of truth. The letters pages of most men’s magazines tend to focus on physical perfection. But this is usually a device used to brush past description and move onto other narrative techniques. Within the limited space of a typical men’s magazine letter there isn’t the space to wax lyrical about a physical foible, and explain that a protagonist is sexy because of that detail rather than in spite of it.

And there are plenty of published erotic novels and short stories where all the characters could have slipped from the pseudo-reality of a fashion show catwalk.

But this doesn’t always have to be the case. As a matter of personal taste, I find erotica more stimulating when it’s populated by realistic characters who are physically imperfect and ultimately more believable.

The reason I know Fat Joyce had not properly read my novel, The Black Masque, was because the story she complained about included a central female character who went against the grain of the stereotypical erotica heroine. Instead of having the physical characteristics of catwalk desirability, this character was clinically obese and proud of her fuller feminine figure.

The novel wasn’t written as a statement either for or against the attributes of big women. The character’s shape wasn’t even supposed to be a metaphor where her generous personality matched her generous figure. I had simply wanted to explore the often overlooked eroticism of a larger lady’s physique.

Clearly Fat Joyce had missed this detail.

Not that I’m the only author to explore deviations away from the stereotypical ideals of physical perfection. Olivia Green’s short story, "Plastic Fantastic Lover," (Best Women’s Erotica ’05) includes a male antagonist with a prosthetic leg. Olivia Green (and the story’s heroine) are careful not objectify the character or his disability. And the story works on a distinct level of credibility as a "real" person intrudes on the fantasy scene of two women with one man.

Madelynne Ellis includes a heavily built character (Marianne) in her novel Dark Designs. Mingling with the foregrounded Yaoi-esque characters of Dark Designs, Marianne adds a touch of credible charm that makes the novel far more believable than if she hadn’t been there.

In Saskia Walker’s Double Dare, the hero’s closest male companion (and the romantic lead in the novel’s subplot) is credible because of his facial scars. This device makes him sympathetic, and his attractiveness all the more potent.

All of which I mention to stress the point that physical perfection is not obligatory to make erotic fiction work. In a lot of cases it can severely hamper the final story by making the characters too fantastic, and therefore unbelievable. Readers across all genres identify with characters who have believable features and flaws and this identification is the key to making characters sympathetic, credible and likable.

Not that I’m suggesting everyone should go out and write stories about one-legged chubby-chasers. I’m simply saying that not every heroine’s nose and nipples needs to be a series of perfect retroussé buttons. And not every handsome hero needs ten inches of thick pulsing meat to bring to the table.

We’re all different. And our individual standards of perfection vary across a broad scale. But when we’re writing in a genre as fantastical as erotica it’s important to include every detail that will make the work most credible.

Ashley Lister
March 2007

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"The Write Stuff" © 2007 Ashley Lister. All rights reserved.

About the Author:  Ashley Lister is a UK author responsible for more than two-dozen erotic novels written under a variety of pseudonyms. His most recent work, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene (Virgin Books), a non-fiction book recounting the exploits of UK swingers, is his first title published under his own name.
Ashley’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Forum, Chapter & Verse and The International Journal of Erotica.  Nexus, Chimera and Silver Moon have published his full-length fiction, with shorter stories appearing in anthologies edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Mitzi Szereto.  He is very proud to be a regular contributor to ERWA.
Email: Ashley Lister
Website: www.ashleylister.co.uk

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