The Wood Beyond The World Forum Lust in the Dust...

Ok, so I thought I would post a new thread and as the topic implies... its about sex.   I know our esteembed member Loeki has posted a similar thread in the past but we have lots of new members.   So here are some thoughts...

 

Are your characters sexual and do you show it in their actions, the way they dress, etc?

 

How far do you take sex and sexuality in your own work?  Do you tease or go farther?

 

Do you have sexual banter?   Innoscent of course...

 

Do you find yourself limiting your sexual contact because of your readers age group?

 

Do you have just hetro sexual characters or do you include gay characters?

 

Is there anything else of a sexual nature in your work that I have missed?

 

I will let some of our newer members comment before I chime in...

 

Nick.

 

 

 

 

What an interesting topic, Nick. I will be fascinated by the replies you get. My own books are for adults and so yes, there is sex involved. In the 1st tome, sex is part of the religion. There is actually sex which is expected to be performed before an audience, the natives of the island. It's all part of the fertility of the land. Yes, there's also same sex sex. I wrote things both ways, graphically and subtly, and in the end went with more "subtle." This was hard to do. I did get a comment from one critiquer and she said "nice handling of a graphic sexual situation, it sounded actually very pretty and artistic." Two of the sex scenes had to be a bit more graphic so I went with it. The women sometimes dress in open-faced apparel and the men like to wear loincloths and nothing else. In the 2nd tome, my Victorian protagonist gets pregnant outside of marriage; that had to be described: again, I took a more subtle approach, although I have nothing against graphic descriptions. It just didn't seem necessary in my own work.

Funny you should ask. . .

I originally intended to have some hot and heavy sex scenes in my book when I first starting writing.  That quickly changed, however, when my then ten-year-old got VERY interested in my writing and started reading it.  She is now nearly thirteen, and "the book" has evolved into a four book series.  I am fininshing up book two, and although there is sexual banter and sensuality in the first two books (one of my characters is a very bawdy ghost), no sex.

However. . .

I am seriously considering adding in some sex in the last two books, as I intended in the first place.   

Interesting topic, Mon-soor Nick.  That's French for mister.

Jeanie

Yes its funny how our work changes from what we orginally imagined, especially when our own children take an interest.

 

My daughter Elizabeth first read by rough version of B1 when she was 21 and I was nervous.   She spent three days reading it front to back after bugging me for more than 6 months.   While she is considered a grown adult, she is still daddys little girl and I did not want her to think dad was a perv.   I was very surprised when she came to me and asked why all guys could not be like Nathin, she fell in love with him she said.   Fantasy honey was my reply.   As to the sex scene's, she said they were pretty tame to some stuff she has seen on TV... so I guess dad is not a perv after all.   What really got me is that she talked up the book with her girl friends and still does to this day.  And that too me matters more than the NY Times best selling list...

 

Nick.

Nick,

Yeah, I know just what you mean!  Although I love a good, down and dirty raunchy romance novel with lots of steamy sex (bosom heavers, we call then in my family), I still can't imagine writing something like that because my children might read it and go, "MOM, GROSS!"

Sigh. . .

Oh, me too me too! Sometimes I look suspiciously at my brain (interesting visual there) and wonder if I am subconsciously putting off calling them "done" and sending them out because I am not ready for the "family" specially the kids, to read them. But mine are in their 20s now too, so that fear is lessening. I know my Crete book would shock the hell out of my 81 year old mother, the Presbyterian! (and all her church buddies.)

Nick knows sex is very important in my stuff.  Sexuality ultimately ties in with mind-work very intimately, so that sexual tension becomes a source of a kind of power boost for some minds. Pregnancy and child-bearing have an effect on the mind-powers of female characters -- naturally all this stuff is connected, as our conscious and subconscious/unconsious minds are highly involved in our sexual responses.

 

When it comes to scenes with actual sexual content -- I hope I'm subtly graphic -- I want things to be a bit arousing, but I won't do anything for publication that might be considered porn.  No naming of sexual organs, or precise descriptions of the uses they're put to.

 

OTM got called a bodice ripper by the PW reviewer in the ABNA -- much to my outrage.  I still haven't gotten over it.  I suspect if the sex in it had been truly graphic, with blunt Anglo-Saxon words and all, that label wouldn't have been applied.  One of my sons read the whole first part of the book when he was about 13 or 14 (can't quite remember) and he was a little shocked that his mom was writing about sex -- but not much.  I'm not going to worry about what my kids think -- I know they know how they got here, and I'd rather have them reading books that take sex and sexuality seriously than junk that's just exploitative.  The former would have to include my own work, of course.

Nick bringing up sex? Quelle surprise!

As some of the older members here know, sex is extremely important in my series. But not the physical act. My characters are doing it but it is implied. It is hinted at.

Sex blooms in my series as aspects like sexual tension, sex as a weapon, alternate sexualities. This is extremely important for the main character, Aillil, since he goes through puberty during the series so we have the issues like wet dreams, unexpected erections at the worst times (I know this is not just a problem during puberty), etc. etc.

I have straight, gay, bi and ever tri-sexual (will try anything) characters. Characters leer, drool, make sexist comments. I have a couple of characters that use sex as a method for advancement and/or getting what they want.

I have the advantage, from the start both Elegies and Tangled Threads were targeted to adults. Excluding the sex, the subject matter would be of no interest to most young readers.

As I mentioned in the previous thread, I find all too often that fantasy writers either shy away from sex or go hog wild. We are sexual beings so this should be reflected in the worlds we create.