Do you make use of symbolism? For erotic and/or romantic purposes, or other reasons?

In general, any symbolism in my work is something that starts with the characters themselves and, once I notice it, may get shined up a little to be more effective.

Want to join in the fun? Check out the post with January's prompts!

#EroticMusings

Is creating erotica an erotic act in itself?

I think so.

What part, if any, does your own arousal play in creating or evaluating your work?

Evaluating, probably not much. But creating? It's definitely a factor. If it's not something I'm interested in, I'm going to have a harder time writing it. In some cases, I may not write it at all. I'm the first reader for all of my fiction. Whether I'm interested in something may not guarantee that anyone else is but if I'm not? It's hard to believe that someone else will be either.

#EroticMusings #AmWriting #AmWritingErotica

Are you especially fond of how any of your characters met? Share their meeting!

From Boyfriend's Power-Up Makes Him Huge! (hopefully coming next week):

Nick and I started dating in college and we moved in together once we graduated. I'm brunette. You'd think that he was the one with the computer science degree and I'd have something in communications or whatever but it's kind of the other way around. I've been programming in one way or another since grade school. Graduating with a CompSci degree was more challenging for me because I was always busy contributing to open source projects or coding my own minigames.

Nick, on the other hand, was more of a band geek than a computer geek growing up. It was probably hilarious seeing his scrawny ass play the tuba. If we had met each other growing up, I don't think we would have given each other a second glance. Today, he plays bass and electric guitar.

That's how I found him.

It was while we were still in college and a date took me to a local dive. He might be a little scrawny and scruffy but when you put a guitar in his hand and put him on a stage with a drummer who knows what they're doing ... well, let's just say he had an effect.

My date wasn't into the group so they left without me a few songs in. I didn't take Nick home that night but I did get his number.

#EroticMusings

Porn, romance, erotica, smut, etc. – how do you define and distinguish them?

I'm a descriptivist rather than a prescriptivist. I don't think there's a coherent description I can use for pornography in prose. I've heard some describe it as fiction that hops straight into bed (I'm being a bit less crass here than what I've actually heard). However, if that's the definition, I've literally never read written pornography.

If you were to apply the same standard to video, you'd only be able to consider things porn when they've been trimmed to not show any of the setup. Considering the way that many people view porn is unauthorized clips on video sites, that wouldn't be surprising but it's not how those videos were intended to be watched either.

I think a reasonable definition of romance is the story of how a romantic relationship begins and eventually establishes a form of stability. It can either have explicit sexual content or not while still being romance. For erotica, I think a significant focus on sexually arousing material is probably where I'd go with that. Romance can be erotica and erotica can be romance but they're not always compatible with each other.

I feel like smut broadly means that there is steamy, sensual material in a work. It can encompass work with no actual sexual content in it as long as it's approaching that. It doesn't need to be erotic or romantic in order to be smutty. Though I don't really find that much fun myself.  

Does it matter?

If this was some other genre convention, I'd argue that this was a question of whether or not we're keeping the genre contact with the reader. Unfortunately, I don't think there's enough concensus on these terms to do that. As long as we are accurate when we describe open-door vs. closed-door (for Romance) and similar specifics, I think we're probably doing as best we can.

#EroticMusings

Do any of your characters, like the waxing and waning moon, show different aspects of self that they cycle/transition between? Natural cycles like menstruation, or more fantastical?

Given that I haven't written (or started) any werewolf stories yet and I don't think I could really get away with a more literal natural cycle in a story, not yet?

I realize that's a bit of a cop-out but the reality is that certain realistic natural themes have a 'squick' factor that has allowed payment processors, ebook stores, and even sites like OnlyFans to outright disallow them. Add to that the A.I. screening which can occasionally decide that a story with no Minecraft references is violating Minecraft's trademark and ...  

As much as it tears me up, I've got enough trouble to deal with at the moment.

#EroticMusings

Does any of your erotica take place during festivals or cultural celebrations?

If we're counting summer break or ... Christmas Eve Eve, yes. Technically, When The Spirit Moves Me involves both Halloween and All Saints Day.

Why do/don't you include such events in your work?

In Seduced by the Cougar Next Door, the premise is that the main character meets the lady next door because he's watching his folks' place while they travel Europe. The premise for (and also inspiration for) Unauthorized Toy Testing (free story) also is around the holiday. While I didn't have to write When The Spirit Moves Me around Halloween and All Saints Day, I felt like having that connection to legends about 'when the veil between the land of the living and the land of the dead is thin' was a fun thing to include.

#EroticMusings

#EroticMusings