Erotic Corner - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Readers!

In this blog post I'd like to talk about education and a few things I've realized over the course of my writing career and observed while talking to new writers.

One of the things I've heard over and over again by new writers is "we have to sit down and talk about fleshing out a story. " This was in regards to plotting, which I cover heavily at WriteSEX in a four act structure. That is something I do without thought, once I learned the systematic way to plot out a story longer than 30k.

But I can still see some of you years later having to think through the plot process. This is okay of course, whatever it takes to get the book done (booze, masturbation, sex, or even more booze...) is what you need to do. Yet if you've got years of experience, it would seem to me counter-intuitive to have to sit down and write out a plot that you gave a massive amount of thought to, regardless of the genre or story. This isn't knocking other writer habits mind you, but I would question whether you're plotting out of habit?

Coming with Character Creation, the same thing happens. New writers must think through their character actions, especially if something like BDSM is involved. Maybe I'm just that experienced, but after 12 years I don't bother to spend the time analyzing motive and goal in BDSM. I don't have to. A Dominant male will behave a certain way based on his past, that you loosely created unless the plot relies heavily on it.

In turn, I tend to be a more efficient writer, utilizing my time in the best manner possible. Hell, I love days when I can come in and crank out 5k on a story but due to all that I do, that's not always possible, so scheduling two hours a day when I've something to work on, gets me to a happy place. Looking at the prolific pros, those NYT best selling erotica/erotic romance authors who make real big money gave me some insight into their writing habits. According to a study conducted by Melinda Rucker Haynes:

Marthe Arends, w/a Katie MacAlister/Maxwell, has “herds” of paranormal, YA,
historical and contemporary romances coming out in the next few years. She sets a
minimum daily word count that she has to achieve before she can quit writing and read email,
play online, or chat with friends.
Ruth Glick w/a Rebecca York isn’t exactly sure how many romantic suspense and
paranormal books she’s to deliver in the next few months. She tries to write ten pages a
day and advises that the best way to be very productive is to WRITE.
Jane Porter tries to write four contemporary romances a year and thinks she may
have somewhere between 9-12 books to produce in the next couple of years. She spends
approximately two and a half months writing, takes two weeks off and back to writing
again.
Pat Pritchard has contracted to produce a novella and a single title historical in
2004, in addition to her teaching job. When writing a book, she sets a weekly page goal
and tries to write at the same time everyday, editing in the morning before work and
writes “new” after dinner.
Cathy Yardley has four Blaze and Red Dress books due in the next year. She isn’t a
“write everyday” person and says that at her most prolific she can write up to 50 pages a
day, sometimes more and is figuring out how she can dig in and write everyday.

I am a big Rebecca York fan and I read some of Cathy Yardley's Blaze books.

The key here for me is that my time has value and that education and retention make a HUGE difference in my writing patterns. No you're NOT going to find the great American Erotic Romance in my work. (Thank GODDESS!) But you'll find a hot, compelling read.