Angela Caperton's Answer

Angela writes:

Your dialog question certainly set me to thinking!

As a dialog junkie, my first impulse was to answer, "Yes, of course
dialog is important for secondary characters." I love writing dialog
and I absolutely love reading well written exchanges between
characters. I think dialog can be an essential part of all character
development â€" including minor characters. Modern writing depends
heavily on the objective portrayal of scenes through description --
probably a result of the effects of movies and television on our
dramatic sensibilities -- so that we are less likely to spend a lot
of words describing internal experiences than, say, Victorian writers
were. I certainly tend to compose a scene based around dialog,
naturalistic descriptions of actions, facial expressions, and the
setting.

(A digression -- as a reader of graphic novels and comic books, I
think it's telling that "thought balloons" have almost entirely
disappeared from graphic storytelling -- another indicator I think of
a change in our dramatic tastes.)

But, the more I thought about your question, the less sure I am that
dialog is as important in erotica. So much of what makes an erotic
scene effective is the description of internal states which reflect
purely subjective experiences. Most dialog during actual intercourse
is jarring or repetitious and in my opinion, pretty much unnecessary.
Before and after the act, yes, but "Oooh" and "Fuck me harder" wear
thin pretty fast.

So, I think my short answer to your question is that dialog is
important to the dramatic and narrative framework of an erotic story,
but not so much to the sexual core of it. In that sense, oddly,
erotica may be a throwback to a more Victorian manner of writing.

KB: Angela sent along this info (thank you!)
Angela Caperton currently has three erotic works available, has
several erotic short stories out for consideration, and her short
story, "Caveat Emptor" will appear in a future issue of THANEROS
Online Magazine. She is currently working on an erotic paranormal
novel, and a dark erotic fantasy series.

http://blog.angelacaperton.com
http://www.angelacaperton.com

Helen Madden chimes in

Helen writes:

Attitude. More than anything else, it's attitude that makes a character sexy and it's the character's attitude that will seduce the reader (and yes, the reader must always be seduced, or where would the fun be in the writing?). But what kind of attitude? I like bad boys who can get away with anything, but I also like shy little minxes who coyly lead their lovers along. The character's attitude shines through in their dialogue, their actions, their motivations. In
fact, I say it is the character. I'm writing a story right now about a main character who has a lot of attitude - spoiled, frustrated, wants way more than his fifteen minutes of fame but he's never earned - and damn if that little strumpet isn't sexy as hell. Makes me want to put him over my knee and spank his bottom.


KB: Helen is the most energetic writer I know. She's into podcasting. She's a features editor for the Erotica Readers and Writers Association. Her first novel - Demon By Day- is coming out soon from Mojo Castle. She makes animated short movies. She designed my Jay Lygon website. She's active at science fiction cons, has a black belt in... remind me Helen..., and she volunteers for EPIC. Whew! And that's only what she does during the day. I think by night she fights crime.

Ashley Lister

I've tried responding to this question half a dozen times now and then
deleted each response because it wasn't quite right.

I think I find characters in erotic fiction "sexy" purely because of
the way and the circumstances in which they are written. The majority of us
(as characters outside fiction) shroud our sexualness with the mundanity of
civilised repression. The characters in erotic fiction are usually
presented with their souls (and other things) bared for inspection and
examination. This (in my opinion) makes them inherently sexy because
they are showing an aspect of their character that we seldom get to see
except with those whom we have been/are being intimate. By the fact that we
are presented with a character's innermost thoughts and private sexual
aspirations, we (the readers) are also seduced and aroused.

I hope this answer makes sense ;-)

Ashley
www.ashleylister.co.uk

KB: Ashley is another reviewer from Erotica Revealed. Be sure to check out Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene

Lisabet Sarai has me musing

Lisabet writes:

You ask:

What makes a character sexy? Is it enough that another
character desires him/her/hir, or should the reader be
seduced too?

Here are my thoughts. A character can be sexy as an object or as a
subject. The object case involves a character as the focus of some
other character's desire. We see the "sexy" character through the
second character's eyes, and find him/her attractive because (if) we
can identify with the second character.

One measure of an author's skill is his/her ability to make us
desire (or at least feel the appeal of) a character who would
not traditionally be viewed as sexy. An example that comes to
mind is a wonderful story by Robert Buckley in which
the narrator finds himself drawn to a woman who looks like a young
version of a bag lady, a nerdy, shy person whom everyone ridicules.
(I can never recall the titles of stories! But if you ask Bob,
I'm sure he'll know the one I'm talking about.) She works with him,
in the "morgue" of a newspaper, and one day he happens to catch
a glimpse of her bare abdomen as she's reaching for something on
a shelf. He finds himself fascinated by her, seduced by this
fleeting view of naked flesh.

A character is sexy as a subject when he or she feels attractive and
desirable. My novel Incognito opens with the character of
Miranda hanging around in a club, dressed in her roommate's
suggestive clothes, but not feeling in tune with her costume at
all. Everyone ignores or rejects her.

As the book progresses, she becomes more sexually open and also
more accepting of her own desires. As a result she becomes (I
hope!) a sexy character, though she was not at the start of
the novel.

The prototypical Dom character is sexy because he's sure of
himself, sure of his ability to bring his submissives to ecstasy.
Often, characters who know that they are irresistible, are.

Lisabet Sarai


KB: Lisabet also reviews erotica at Erotica Revealed. She's
written several novels (Raw Silk, Ruby's Rules) and has two collections of short stories out (Fire, and Rough Caress).

When I read this in Lisabet's answer: "One measure of an author's skill is his/her ability to make us desire (or at least feel the appeal of) a character who would not traditionally be viewed as sexy." my thoughts went to comments about the film Notes On A Scandal. Someone said, "Thank goodness the British made this movie, because Hollywood would have cast a 23-year old hunk of god flesh as the 15-year old student, and everyone would be saying, "Yeah, he was hot, totally worth the risk," but by casting someone who could look the part of agangly , pimply teen, the audience was wondering, "What the hell is she thinking," which changes the emotional
impact of the story. I like stories that make inexplicable desire interesting. (which makes me think of Lolita...)

Chloe Devlin offers her opinion

Chloe says:

There's a whole boatload of things that makes a character sexy -- from his appearance to his sense of humor to his intelligence to his gentle touch. If these things are described well and shown during the story then I, as the reader, will find him as sexy as the other character. And that simply makes for a better story.

Chloe Devlin
Short and Sassy Erotica
chloedevlin.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/authorchloedevlin

Remittance Girl's answer

Remittance Girl writes:

"No, it's not enough (that another character finds the character sexy) and I think this is the real flaw in a lot of erotica writing. Being told that a character is sexy, hot, whatever,
doesn't convince me, as a reader, that they are. Having another character think they're hot, sexy, whatever...ditto.

As a reader, I need to be seduced. I need to be shown something, inside
the character, that makes them attractive for me, as a reader. For that, I need flaws."


Remittance Girl's website.



KB: RG, as she's known to us on ERWA,
writes some of my favorite erotica. She's always pushing out on the
artistic edge, challenging both herself and the reader. Take a look at
her website. Most of her stories are there.