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Donna George Storey

All About Pleasure: What You Need to Succeed

by | August 18, 2012 | | 3 Comments

Talent.  Luck. 
Hard work.  If you have all three,
you will definitely be published.  With
only two, you have a good chance of seeing your work in print.  With just one, your chances fall
considerably, although it’s still possible, especially if you’re blessed with
luck. I’ve forgotten exactly where I read this advice when I was a novice
writer, but it’s stayed with me for over a decade (my apologies to the veteran
who wrote this—I hope the sharing of your wisdom will partially make up
for the lack of attribution!)

Interestingly enough hard work is the only one of these elements within an individual writer’s control.  Talent is something you are born with and
much harder to determine in yourself than another, so an aspiring writer must
soldier on without sure knowledge she has It to complete the magic three.  While it could be argued that preparation
paves the way for luck, by its very definition, luck is something we can’t
really order on demand.  But, and perhaps
I’m being romantic, in almost every case you can become a better writer by
writing–a lot, day after day, year after year—whether or not the muse is with
you or money and fame reward you.  Much
like a musician, you will improve if you practice. 

Yet hard work is the
element that is also glossed over in the popular portrait of the Real
Writer, who spends her days by her swimming pool giving interviews to the press
about her lastest critically-acclaimed bestseller.  Naturally, since celebrity is the modern
manifestation of aristocracy, such a being doesn’t sweat or get dirt under her fingernails.

I lay part of the blame for
this misconception on the cinematic montage, the classic way to show major
growth and progress in the movies, which, let’s face it, reach a far greater
audience than books.  The writer,
frustrated, yanks a piece of paper from his typewriter and tosses it in
trash—or in a more modern incarnation frowns at his laptop and deletes a huge
block of text.  In the next ten-second
scene, he repeats the procedure (perhaps downing a blender full of raw eggs for strength).  On the
third pass, he smiles at his work, and in the fourth, he’s typing merrily.  In the next instant, he’s shaking hands with
a prominent editor and being taken off to lunch, concluding with a book signing
with a mob of adoring fans.

Intellectually we know
this is supposed to represent a year’s worth of effort, or more practically ten, but
emotionally, I wonder if we don’t all think that writing a bestselling book takes
all of two minutes.  That’s how it
happens on the screen after all.  And
while we can all agree this is a convenient fiction and shouldn’t be taken
seriously, I believe these fantasies can have an unfortunate influence on our
subconscious.  If the words, money and
fame don’t come easy, then we don’t have It. 
We aren’t Real Writers.

In grappling with my own
relationship to the hard work of writing—beginning with the fact I only had the
courage to devote the necessary focus and effort to writing at the
less-than-precociously-talented age of thirty-five—I’ve come to realize that I
don’t want to waste my time reading something that is not the result of hard
work.  Perhaps the actual writing of the
story took but a day (which has happened for me only once in a hundred stories I’ve written),
but the preparation, the gestation of ideas, the apprenticeship took years of
focus and dedication.

That’s why I so
appreciate stories of the writing life that celebrate the hard work, rare as
they are.  That’s why I’ll freely admit I
spent fourteen fallow years between minoring in creative writing in college and
sending out my first story, took five years to write my first novel and
five-and-counting to write the second. 
It’s not glamorous.  It’s not the
most efficient way to “achieve” fame or money. 
But it is deeply satisfying to see a long-term dream come to fruition.  

I still agree that
talent, luck and hard work do play a role in the mysterious equation that leads
to publication.  Yet for me, true success
requires more—respect for your ideas, your reader’s time, and the process of
storytelling itself.  That’s all you need to be a Real Writer, swimming pool not required.

Donna George Storey has 150 publications to her credit, most
recently a collection of short stories, Mammoth Presents the Best of Donna George Storey. Learn more about her work at http://www.facebook.com/DGSauthor. 

All About Pleasure: Covering Fifty Shades of Grey

by | July 18, 2012 | | 6 Comments

I tried, I really did.  Because I have no intention of reading Fifty Shades of Grey just because it’s all the rage—although I could see myself leafing through an abandoned copy I find at a bed and breakfast in a decade or so–I decided I could not in good conscience make public pronouncements about the book.  Not that this has stopped others from asking me why my work has not gotten me as rich as E.L. James.  To which I always truthfully say that I’m glad the books have brought to light the appetite of millions of readers for erotica, and that I hope all erotica writers will benefit.

Recently, however, I’ve read some excellent posts on Fifty Shades including Remittance Girl’s “Why Fifty Shades of Grey Matters.”  It occurred to me then that the Fifty Shades phenomenon affects us whether we’ve read the book or not.  Obviously this media frenzy has less to do with the story of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey than with the fact that the huge sales provide clear evidence of the existence of female sexual desire in a special place below the belt—by which I mean our wallets.  Not that this should be news.  Nancy Friday’s My Secret Garden was the scandalous best-selling sex book of my youth (I read my sister’s copy from cover to cover once and favorite scenes countless times after that, for sociological reasons, of course), even though Friday had been assured by a male publishing professional that women don’t have sexual fantasies.  Apparently that’s a lesson the industry needs to learn over and over again.

Recently I read an expose that claimed not all of the entries in Friday’s book were fantasies reported by “ordinary” women.  Shockingly Friday commissioned them from professional erotica writers! Of course, just because a piece is well written doesn’t disqualify it from being a genuine female sexual fantasy. Yet there still seems to be the assumption, confirmed rather than challenged by Fifty Shades, that sex and eloquence do not mix.  I really do hope that the book’s success will pave the way for publishers to nurture and promote other erotic novels—perhaps some even written by experienced erotica writers–but I do worry that the emphasize will be on stories that resemble Fifty Shades in every aspect.  This would hardly be a step forward.

But I like to focus on the positive, and there is indeed one area where Fifty Shades seems to have brought about positive change for erotica.  I’m talking about the covers of the series.  The sinuous, silky gray tie, the glittery half-mask, the shiny handcuffs. These images are arty, they’re classy, they’re different from the usual embracing couple with the woman’s ample bust spilling out of her corset, the man’s six-pack bulging, both of their manes rippling in the wind.  It’s not that I have anything against a well-toned male torso or generous mammaries. It’s just that I like the idea there are different ways to present erotica in word and image.  A recent CNN article attempting yet again to account for Fifty Shades’ popularity mentions the appeal of the classy cover.

Perhaps this explanation spoke to me, because I’m in the process of approving a new cover for the ebook version of my novel, Amorous Woman.  I write
for love rather than money, but the fact that the few remaining new copies of the paperback version are selling for $92 on Amazon US and over £1500 on Amazon UK has been compelling news to my publisher. (Used copies are still cheap—perhaps my curious readers have too good of an imagination as to the logistics of a “one-handed read.”)

Here is what the original paperback cover looked like:

The image has nothing to do with the book.  My protagonist is a Caucasian American, and there is no other character resembling this woman in the book,
but I appreciated the general feel of being seduced by Asian culture, which is at the heart of the story.  I came to be fond of this cover for its warm, golden glow, the willowy torso, the oddly modest bra and panty set.  Truth be told, I would have preferred a cover that would allow readers to take the book on their subway commute, but maybe it was only a matter of waiting until Fifty Shades made erotica okay to consume in public.

In the case of my ebook, I had much more input.  This is the result:

The texture of fine Japanese paper, the understated marriage of the sensibilities of east and west, the nod to the classical origins of the story in the courtesan’s summer kimono, all are totally true to the spirit of the story.  In our fine-tuning discussions, my publisher, who is new to erotica, asked me if it was explicitly sensual enough.  Fortunately, I was able to use the Fifty Shades covers as an example of how suggestion can be as seductive as the
classic half-naked couple caught in the throes of ecstasy.  After all, money talks.

It remains to be seen what the long-term effects of E.L. James’ books will be for erotica writers.  For now, I’ll appreciate the international dialogue it has inspired and the window of opportunity to celebrate the potential of erotic writing to surprise us, connect us, and enrich our minds and spirits.  That’s my official stance.  If you want to know what I really think, invite me out for coffee….

Donna George Storey has 150 publications to her credit, most recently a collection of short stories, Mammoth Presents the Best of Donna George Storey. Learn more about her work at http://www.facebook.com/DGSauthor.  If you’re interested in a copy of her novel, Amorous Woman, to read, not scalp, several more copies are available brand new for the bargain price of $12 including shipping here.

All About Pleasure: The Ultimate Writer’s Romance

by | May 18, 2012 | | 8 Comments

by Donna George Storey

I started writing fiction in the spring of 1997, which makes
this more or less my fifteenth anniversary of dealing with the writer’s life
(see Kristina Wright’s spot-on post from last month, “What It Means to Be a Full-Time Writer” for what I used to believe sixteen years ago).  It might sound like a decent chunk of time to
have experienced the perils and triumphs of academic, literary and erotica
publishing, and I do know a little more than when I started, but the realities
of the literary marketplace continue to surprise and mystify me.

Recently a good friend has started seeking representation
for her YA historical novel.  Many people, especially those who want to write but haven’t, are ready to smirk at the pathos of a first-time novelist taking on New York.  In this case, however, I’m excited for her, because I’ve read a draft and absolutely loved it.  My friend lived in the country where the
novel is set, is fluent in the language, and has done significant scholarly
research on the time period.  More than
this, she’s managed to weave her deep knowledge into a suspenseful story that
gives the reader an honest look at this culture through the eyes of a
believable, sympathetic young female protagonist.  I’d be proud to have written this book.  Need any writer say more?

My friend has also done her homework on the the process of
selling her novel.  She’s read how-to books,
checked appropriate agent blogs and polished her cover letter and synopsis to a
shine.  Apparently now agents don’t only
require that your current project be as timelessly classic as The Great Gatsby
while having the appeal to reach an audience at least twice that of the Harry
Potter series, you have to have an impressive set of saleable future projects
ready to push out the door in a year or two. 
Since self-publishing is threatening to make the job of literary agent
obsolete, I have to admire their balls in being so extravagantly choosy.  Or perhaps they figure only a blockbuster
author will be willing to pay the 15% to handle all the sub rights’
negotiations?

Even with an excellent manuscript,
my friend’s search may not be easy.  If
the agents deign to reply at all, some will tell her one or more of the following: that
the book has no payoff; that it’s too fast-paced; that it’s too slow; that it’s
too obvious; that it’s too subtle; that it was well written, but they didn’t fall
in love with the characters; that the characters were likeable, but the writing
too esoteric; that they could only commit to a series; that she should change
the love interest or have the father marry a different character or have the
protagonist be prettier; that there is too much cultural explanation; that
there is too little cultural explanation. 

It sounds like I’m joking. 
I’m not.

Yet I realize, too, that beneath a very thick layer of
cynicism, I still actually believe in the grand romance of publishing.  Let me roughly
outline the basic tenant of this sweet illusion.

The ultimate writer’s romance is the beautifully uplifting
belief in a kind of literary justice.  That
is, if the publishing industry accepts and publishes your book, it is “good”
and if they reject it, it sucks, or is at least not good enough.  What is published by New York is the
cream of the writing that is out there, because agents are selecting the most
worthy work submitted to them.  Beyond
that is the most important criterion by which to judge a book—the number of
sales.  The same logic applies.  The more popular a book is, the “better” it
is.  Although I will agree higher sales
are better for the publisher, agent and, to a lesser degree, the author, what I’m speaking of is the popular
assumption of quality, as in this book is worthy of the precious moments of your life you will spend in reading it.  Therefore—and I probably shouldn’t mention
this book because I haven’t read it, but that deficiency is irrelevant for my present
argument—Fifty Shades of Grey is the “best” and most important erotica book
ever written because of its phenomenal sales figures.

If you’re tempted to point out my confusion between the
popularity of a book and its admittedly subjective “quality,” I believe that is
exactly what happens on an emotional level for many readers and critics,
including myself.  And the reason I’ll
admit this is because of my hopes for my friend’s novel.

Talk about a fantasy. 
In my fevered mind, the first round of agents she’s approached will all
immediately reply asking for the full manuscript with the following
confession. 

Dear Ms. A,


I can’t tell you have thrilled and relieved I am to have the
chance to read an intelligent page-turner. 
To be honest, these vampire-sorcerer-shapeshifter-dream-catcher
spin-off’s are starting to eat my brain. 
It’s okay with me that this is a stand-alone novel, because most of the
world’s memorable literature has not been written as a seven-part series (I
mean really, who’s read all of Remembrance of Things Past?).  It gives me great pleasure to serve
humanity’s higher need for an excellent story that will encourage its readers
to engage in deeper thought about actual historical events and what we can
learn from them, rather than worry only about making tons of sales with any old
crap that can be described with the hot-button tags of the moment.  Thank you for allowing me to be genuinely proud
of what I do.


I’m setting up the auction for your book now.


Best regards,


Hot-Shot New York Agent

Because my friend’s novel is
one of the best things I’ve read in a long time, and that includes an
embarrassing number of disappointing but very popular Oprah Magazine
recommendations, I expect that the publishing industry will see the value of
her work, too, and realize how far they’ve gotten off track since the days of
Maxwell Perkins.  Go ahead and laugh at
my naivete, I deserve the ridicule.  However, many
readers out there, who confidently insist that advertising doesn’t affect them
in the least and that they watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians with
ironic distance, also fall prey to this appealing delusion.  And many publishing professionals will swear
that their experience and instincts maximize the success of the projects they
choose to champion, while they, too, are constantly taken by surprise by what
actually performs well. 

Few of us would admit that we still believe the free market
naturally brings us what is good and right, although in darker moments we might agree it gives us what we deserve. 
But then why do we (okay, I’m sort of using the royal “we”)  get so angry when what we are presented with yet
another disappointing mega-seller?  Maybe
because deep down writers are romantics who still hope that our innate talent
will be seen by the right billionaire publisher who will then elevate us to the
level of the truly beloved Voice of the Culture?  Or at least that a quality book will be
treated with respect and presented to an audience of readers who will feel
their lives are better for having read it?

Call me a foolish romantic, but a little illusion always helps
us on our writing journey.  I still have
my fingers crossed for a HEA ending for my friend and her book–and wish the
same for all writers who have the courage to write what they truly love. 

Donna George Storey is the author of the erotic novel, Amorous Woman.  Her short stories have recently appeared in Best Women’s Erotica 2012, Best Erotic Romance, and The Best of Best Mammoth Erotica.  Learn more  at http://www.facebook.com/DGSauthor.

All About Pleasure: Beyond the “Wet Test”

by | April 18, 2012 | | 8 Comments

The topic of how erotica is reviewed has actually been on my mind for a while, but I was inspired to write about it here at the ERWA blog after reading Lisabet Sarai’s post at her author blog on dealing with negative reviews, “You Are Not Your Book.”  Lisabet makes some excellent points based on her experience as both an author and reviewer, and negative reviews are definitely a challenge for any writer.

However, over the years, I’ve noticed another aspect of the popular approach to reviewing erotica—the primacy of the “wet test,” or using personal arousal to evaluate the quality of a story.  Go to any Amazon page for an erotic anthology, and you’ll see that a good portion of the reviewers makes a point to list their favorite stories.  A few will also finger the stories they don’t like (pun intended).  It’s almost as if someone passed out a template on “how to review erotica anthologies,” with a final exhortation: “Don’t forget to mention at least three stories that got you tingly/hard!”

For a while, I took enthusiastic recommendations to heart as the opinion of the erotica-reading public and would be sure to read the stories that were deemed the standouts for both market research and my own education in good writing.  However, I quickly discovered that I did not always agree with the reviewer, that in fact my favorite stories would be completely different titles.  (Although, in some cases, I did agree and was guided to some perennial favorites!)

So, you might ask, what’s the problem?  People have different tastes in the kind of writing they like and the scenarios and dynamics that arouse them.  One could see this standard pattern as a way for the reviewer to reassure the potential buyer that the book “works” as erotica, which is clearly the main reason one buys a book of sexually explicit stories.  And yet, unless this buyer shares the reviewer’s particular hot buttons, the book might not “work” at all.  Again, there’s nothing really wrong with this kind of review.  I did a check of reviews for Best American Short Stories and found that those reviewers also feel compelled to list their favorite and least favorite stories as a way to validate their critical acumen.  Maybe this is simply an inevitable way to evaluate a selection of stories by different authors.

And yet, part of me wishes that erotica would be viewed through many different lenses, not merely whether it arouses a reader.  This might take a lot more analysis, or it might just involve viewing erotica as an experience which touches the reader emotionally, intellectually, and artistically as well as sexually.  Erotica can inspire us to unzip and relieve our red-hot carnal lust on the spot.  Or it can simmer in our imaginations for a while and invigorate our next lovemaking in a very unexpected way a few days later.  An erotic story can also surprise us, make us sad or even angry, make us see love and sex in a new way, disturb us, show us a new side of our own desire.  Certain stories can be sensual and erotic without having much sex in them at all.  One of my favorite erotic stories–“Seduction” by Anonymous in Mitzi Szereto’s Wicked: Sexy Tales of Legendary Lovers–did not result in my yanking down my pants and diddling myself to a frenzy.  But it did enthrall me with its formal daring, sharp humor, and brilliant insight into the sex appeal of Warren Beatty and the nature of celebrity in general.  “Seduction” was a total turn-on for the social critic in me, and yet, like the narrator, I also found myself being drawn into Beatty’s magic web almost against my will. 

But perhaps another reader might disagree with my opinion.

I’m not pretending that I have any right to instruct other people how to react to a book, but I think we’d all benefit if reviewers considered giving us a little more than just the titles they liked and the heat level of their response.  With the advent of online booksellers, we all get to be critics, and I’m the last person to bemoan the breakdown of the literary industrial complex.  However, it would be helpful to other readers and writers if reviewers gave more context for their opinions.  Tell us why a story turns you on or intrigues you or disturbs you or lingers on after you put the book down.  Treat erotica as a crafted tale as well as a masturbation aid.  This would involve a little more time, but there are some great benefits to the reviewer as well.  I’ve found that when I’ve delved deeper into why I like a story and why it turns me on, I’ve learned a lot about the workings of my imagination–to the benefit of my sex life and the quality of my writing.

Perhaps it is a far-fetched fantasy to think erotica could be considered and reviewed as literature in a sex-negative society, where anything that touches on sexuality is considered cheapened and base.  But, hey, I have an imagination–and in that magical realm we all know anything is possible.

All About Pleasure: The Politics of Arousal

by | March 18, 2012 | | 6 Comments

By Donna George Storey

I thought I’d have to write a really depressing post this month. In recent weeks, the election-year War on Sex has escalated, and things were looking bleak for erotica writers, supporters of women’s autonomy, and anyone who thinks sex outside of a heterosexual union blessed by an established religion, preferably Christianity, can be something other than evil.

Fortunately, the past few weeks have brought some victories for sex-positive forces. Rush Limbaugh is hemorrhaging sponsors after his slut-shaming of Sandra Fluke for speaking out about the medical uses of the birth control pill. Female legislators, such as Ohio state senator Nina Turner, are sponsoring bills to regulate Viagra, declare sperm cells persons, and require unnecessary, government-mandated rectal exams for men. I find this both a witty and brilliant way of bringing the point home to men, many of whom seem to be unaware that restricting women’s sexuality and access to contraception will impact their intimate lives in any way.

The sweetest news of all is that Paypal’s campaign to censor books on topics they found distasteful, by forcing publishers and authors to silence themselves, was successfully overturned by the admirable efforts of authors, readers and progressive activists, ERWA’s own Remittance Girl being a notable figure in the fight. Of course, the cynical part of me suspects the back-down was due less to a new understanding of the importance of free speech than to the huge profits Paypal and the credit card companies would lose, especially given the recent media attention to the BDSM novel Fifty Shades of Grey.  But I’ll accept the HFN ending anyway.

Even if the immediate danger has passed for the moment, the Paypal edict raised an issue in in my mind that is still worth examining for erotica writers. As I understand it, portrayals of rape, incest, and underage sex were not allowed if the work was classified as erotica and thus was assumed to be written with an intent to arouse sexual feelings. However, “pure literature” with those themes were fine—A Thousand Acres and Bastard Out of Carolina (underage incest), The Kite Runner (the anal rape of an 11-year-old boy), or fiction in other genres such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (rape and child abuse) being just a few famous examples.

The distinction between sex scenes meant solely to stir your loins and those that have a higher redeeming purpose is assumed to be clear to all readers of sound moral character. Yet many of us, myself included, found ourselves questioning the criteria used to determine the two categories. It certainly couldn’t have to do with the quality of the prose, because frankly, I find that the work of many erotica writers is more thoughtful, sophisticated and redemptive than much of what passes for literary fiction.

Here’s my theory as to how the distinction is generally made. In “literary” or mainstream fiction, sexual themes, while sometimes written with the same language used in erotica and possibly the fodder for secret sexual fantasy for many readers, are kept safely circumscribed by making sure whoever has sex, whether victim, aggressor or willing participant, is somehow punished. Death, insanity, lifelong sexual dysfunction, social ostracism, divorce, any of these horrible consequences will do, as long as the emotional message is not so different from what it was in the nineteenth century, “Have sex outside of heterosexual marriage and you will die!” As long as the “pure” writer is on message, he is free to cook up all kinds of plot twists that feed on forbidden desires and acts, and in fact might arouse the reader as much as any officially designated erotica. Then he will redeem himself by showing how sex is harmful. It’s a brilliant move by those who want to capitalize on sexual repression. Use our natural human curiosity for the forbidden and our natural sexual impulses to draw us in, but impose highly conservative justice on the characters, so we’re left feeling that sex is dangerous and damaging to our bodies, souls and reputations.

Erotica, on the other, often, although not always, portrays sexuality as enjoyable. Sometimes it eroticizes the power relationships inherent in our society, and thereby transforms and complicates these relationships.  This is clearly a very scary idea to the guardians of social order.

The truth is people read all fiction to be aroused. Erotica is assumed to focus only on sexual arousal. Literary and mainstream fiction are supposed to stay above the waist to arouse love and hate, our sense of justice and morality, and an identification with the fate of the characters. I can’t count how many times I’ve read advice for literary writers to give your poor protagonist as many trials and conflicts as possible, the better to create a sense of pleasurable release when she prevails. Eroticists are accused of manipulating their readers for a low purpose in that perhaps—or even hopefully [gasp]—the story will lead to what has traditionally been referred to as “self-abuse.” However, I personally have felt emotionally abused by some of our most celebrated and/or bestselling authors.

As a mother, I am horrified at how many times child abuse or a child’s death is brought into the plot for emotional impact. It certainly brings tears to my eyes and sick knot to my stomach. And of course, these terrible things do happen in real life. However, when I started looking at this phenomenon as a writer, I began to get suspicious. If you read literary fiction, you might begin to think toddlers drown in pools as often as smokers die of the complications of their addiction in our country. There’s no doubt the victimization of the innocent provides an instant punch to the reader’s gut. Some authors handle it well and explore the consequences with sensitivity. But too many, in my opinion, go straight for our vulnerabilities and fears in a cheap way. And, for the record, I admire works of fiction and nonfiction that deal with these issues responsibly. The brilliant and moving The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by journalist Rebecca Skloot involves horrifying child abuse in private and institutional settings, but within a context that exposes the costs of poverty, racism and a misguided trust in the medical establishment. Henrietta Lacks was harrowing, but one of the most memorable and important books I’ve ever read.

Sure, it might be easier for me to choose reading material if Paypal established a panel of “experts” to review all literary fiction to determine if the trials of its protagonists were edifying to the reader or merely created a sense of fear and danger more in character with the horror and action-adventure genres. But even at the risk of my sensitive soul, I must continue to support free speech no matter what my personal tastes. Some authors may betray our trust, but we can always stop reading or go write a scathing review on our blog!

So, fellow erotica writers, the next time someone tries to shame you for aiming to incite lustful feelings your reader, remember that all good writers try to arouse their readers’ emotions. Some of us are just more honest about what we do.

Donna George Storey is the author of the erotic novel, Amorous Woman.  Her short stories have recently appeared in Best Women’s Erotica 2012, Best Erotic Romance, and The Best of Best Mammoth Erotica.  Learn more  at http://www.facebook.com/DGSauthor.

All About Pleasure: Changing the World

by | February 18, 2012 | | 4 Comments

by Donna George Storey

Last month I proposed the perfect excuse to taste fine chocolate while you’re writing erotica.  This month I thought I’d focus on a different reason why what we do can feel good. Indeed while writing erotica allows us to celebrate the sensual, it offers another equally satisfying, even spiritual, pleasure—knowing that the stories we write make an important difference in our culture.

Now, my dear Fellow Erotica Readers and Writers, perhaps you’re wondering how can I make such a grandiose statement.  No doubt, you’ve heard the same comments I’ve gotten from well-meaning critics, which can be summarized in this question:  “You’re such a good writer, why are you wasting your time writing dirty trash instead of Real Literature?” 

The next time someone says this to me, I have an answer.  I truly believe stories that explore the power of sexuality in our lives—for the good as well as the bad as is more common in polite literary fiction—carry on the great literary tradition of speaking out about the passions and conflicts that we all live with every day but that the authorities would prefer we keep hidden for the sake of social order.

With women’s access to birth control still considered a matter of public debate, we must admit we live in a society where it is still a revolutionary act to acknowledge that ordinary, “decent” people have sex for pleasure.  Just as both sexes benefit from the availability of birth control, both men and women gain from the chance to express their personal truths about their sexual desires.  Even if men have traditionally been allowed more sexual agency than women, they’ve still been subject to significant restrictions that merit full examination and exposure.

By writing erotic stories that express the unique styles and tastes of real people, we are proclaiming that sex doesn’t have to be silenced.  Nor must it be relegated to the realm of the XXX pornography industry where the rules are so very different from the world we live in:  strangers have sex within minutes of meeting in positions that are strictly camera friendly; all women have multiple orgasms with minimal stimulation; and all men have huge penises and prefer to ejaculate outside of their lover’s body.

Now, I don’t mean to revive the old debate of what constitutes porn (usually seen as visual, male-oriented, and subversive) versus erotica (usually characterized as written, female-oriented, and thus less threatening to the social fabric as long as feeling is involved).  Whatever you want to call erotic expression that celebrates the fullness of the human sexual experience, the powers of the mind and imagination as well as the body, is fine by me.

The important thing is that we keep up our courage when so many still try to marginalize our work and value each new story as a chance to tell the truth about what it means to be human.  If you define a good story as one that stays with you, I’ve read more memorably good erotic stories than any other kind. 

So keep writing and keep changing the world—one erotic story at a time!

Donna George Storey is the author of the erotic novel, Amorous Woman.  Her short stories have recently appeared in Best Women’s Erotica 2012, Best Erotic Romance, and The Best of Best Mammoth Erotica.  Learn more  at http://www.facebook.com/DGSauthor.

All About Pleasure: Stimulate Your Senses

by | January 18, 2012 | | 6 Comments

by Donna George Storey

A new year always brings a sense of adventure and possibility, and I’m fortunate to part of a very exciting new adventure here at the ERWA blog.  It’s a real honor to be in the line-up of regular monthly columnists, all of whom I admire greatly as erotica writers and mentors.

As you may know, I write a column every other month for the ERWA website called “Cooking Up a Storey,” which combines a meditation on the writing process with a tasty recipe.  For the blog format, it struck me that a sort of miniature version of “Cooking” would be fun to write.  Coincidentally, I noticed that the #100 entry on this year’s Saveur magazine’s 100 list is mignardises (meeng-yar-deez), the tiny, artful sweets that are served as the last course of a grand meal in French and other fine restaurants.  In “All About Pleasure,” I’ll offer you a monthly tidbit, a literary mignardises if you will, to remind you that writing erotica is sweet and hopefully leave you inspired to create your own.

January is a month when we all need a little extra inspiration, so I decided to start with one of the most powerful foundations of good erotica—the vivid, fresh expression of sensual pleasure.

Writing requires us to pay attention to everything around us, even the most humble and ordinary things.  Without this focus, this desire to transform sensual experience into evocative words, we could not capture the truth of human experience in our own fresh voice.  Better still, paying attention to the amazing world around me invariably brings pleasure and often awe.  I liken this to the scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy wakes up in Technicolor Oz after a dreary life in black-and-white Kansas.  This intensity of awareness is what readers expect from writing, and it’s what will keep them coming back for more.

With fifteen years of fiction writing behind me, I sometimes take the process for granted.  I can dash off a decent, publishable story for a deadline while drawing from my archives of moments of heightened sensual awareness.  But I think even veteran writers can use a reminder of what really matters in a story.  A good writer captures experience from the inside, thus allowing the reader to enter the world of the story fully.  In the best case, our fantasy might begin to seem more real and true than anything he has experienced in his own life.  As in sex, the fresher and more wondrous it is for you, the better it will be for your partner, the reader.  This is particularly true for erotica.

So, with the rekindling of sensitivity and wonder in mind, I’d like to offer a classic exercise in sensual awareness, known in Japanese as monoawase (moan-oh-ah-wah-say).  A thousand years ago, during the age of The Tale of Genji, it was a court pastime to compare thoughtfully different types of incense or pottery or poetry or rice wine.  The purported goal was to discern the blend of ingredients and their place of origin by sensual properties alone, but in the process, the critic had to hone her senses and pay close attention to the components.  It is that part of the experience that is of real value to a writer.

In spite of the exotic name, the exercise is quite simple.  Choose two pleasurable things to compare (“pleasurable” is, well, more pleasurable, but you can go with whatever adjective suits your current writing project).  An obvious choice is two squares of different brands of dark chocolate—since Valentine’s Day is on the horizon—but two brands of Greek yogurt or two types of apple or tangerine or two lovers in one bed will serve just as well.  The two things don’t really need to be similar either, just comparable, which I suppose means anything.  Whatever you choose, your next step is to procure a piece of paper, a writing implement, and a place free of distractions.

Take a deep breath, and let’s begin (I’ll assume we’re dealing with two small pieces of good-quality chocolate—any complaints?)

First undress the chocolate slowly.  Note the sensation of the paper, the crackle as it tears.  Take a good look at the chocolate itself, jot down notes if you like.  Describe the color, the relative glossiness of each.  Do they look different than you thought?

Treat the chocolate like fine wine—perhaps the only consumable we are allowed to imbibe with such ritualistic reverence in Western culture.  Take in the fragrance slowly.  The challenge here is to describe the experience.  You can use the language of wine critics to describe the scents—earthy, hints of vanilla, more obvious with mint or strike out into new territory.  Our sense of smell is most directly connected to memory.  Perhaps the pieces of chocolate evoke particular memories for you?

Some practitioners of monoawase say the item they are appreciating speaks or whispers to them.  What is the chocolate saying to you? How can you transform the “voice” of the chocolate into your own words?

Next taste a small bite of the chocolate, no more than a third of the square.  The first taste is going to be the most intense.  Let it sit in your mouth and pay attention to the process and tactile experience as well as the taste.  What does it feel like on your tongue?  Do the flavors change?  Jot down a few notes, then take another bite.

Once you feel you’ve gotten as much as you can out of the exercise, feel free to stuff the rest in your mouth and get lost in pure indulgence!

Monoawase is perfect for threesomes in bed, especially if you’re in the middle, but can this exercise be translated into an erotic experience with a long-term partner?  Indeed, as in haiku poetry, the limitations of form can inspire a profoundly creative result.  A favorite contrast game for me involves oral sex and a cup of hot tea.  Take a mouthful of tea, let it warm your mouth, and swallow.  Then immediately put your mouth to your lover’s tender parts—for both male and female, the intense warmth is bound to elicit a gasp of surprise and pleasure.  Or focus on the tactile—stroking your lover’s body with a piece of fur or silk or one of those sex toy store mitts that are fur on one side and leather on the other.

Compare and contrast.  Once it was a meaningless exercise on essay exams in high school.  Now it’s a way to hone your writer’s skills, an excuse to eat lots of chocolate, and a reason to have oral sex while you’re drinking your tea. This focused celebration of the senses is the foundation of good sensual writing.

So go write something vividly, enchantingly and deliciously sexy—and change the world!

Donna George Storey is the author of the erotic novel, Amorous Woman.  Her short stories have recently appeared in Best Women’s Erotica 2012, Best Erotic Romance, and The Best of Best Mammoth Erotica.  Learn more  at http://www.facebook.com/DGSauthor.

Hot Chilli Erotica

Hot Chilli Erotica

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