I’m chugging along on my NaNoWriMo novel, but I’m working on some other stuff, too. This week’s Oh Get A Grip! theme is a question-- “But is it erotica?” I have contemplated this question in various forms since I first started writing erotica back in, oh hell, over 10 years ago. I’m afraid I don’t really have any answers, but I do offer up some of my observations:
I’ve noticed an interesting trend in literary fiction, both in novels and short fiction. Stories that are published by highbrow literary publishers often contain some extremely raunchy sex. I can’t be the only reader who finds some of those sex scenes arousing, yet the stories and books aren’t labeled erotica. Why not? Publishers choose labels and market the books accordingly--but what role do the authors play in keeping that erotica label off their stories?
Two writers can write essentially the same story and it will be labeled differently. Two writers can write a similar stories about, say, a woman who enjoys rough sex and seeks out sex partners on a kinky adult website. Both writers can describe the sex in graphic detail, along with how much she enjoys it physically and emotionally. The stories can be identical right down to the concluding scene-- and that one scene will make the difference between whether the story is considered “erotica” or “literary fiction.”
What would the difference be? Do you know?
You can read the answer (according to me) and the rest of my column here: Legitimizing Erotica
P.S. My NaNoWriMo count is up to 7287 in 3 days. I’m not breaking any records, but I’m pleased with my progress so far. If you’re participating in the “thirty days and nights of literary abandon” please add me as your writer buddy! (Even if you’re one of those amazing writers who makes me feel like a slacker because you’ve already hit the 10,000 word mark!)
I had no idea if I was even going to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. It’s crazy, given everything else I have going on. But I love a challenge and I’ve missed noveling and I really wanted something to bring me back to center (center being fiction writing). So I decided I would participate if I could figure out what to write. Writing a book in a month is an exercise in stamina and I knew I needed a story that was fun, fast-paced and able to hold my attention through 30 days and nights of writing. It was late Halloween night--maybe an hour before midnight--when the idea finally clicked. Maybe it was the Halloween influence, but I decided to tackle the idea that I’ve been carrying around for a couple of years.
My NaNoWriMo novel is based on the characters in my erotic vampire story “Cutter” in D.L. King’s anthology The Sweetest Kiss. From the time I wrote it early in 2009, I thought the story had the makings of a novel. I even blogged about turning it:
In all the craziness of this year, I had kind of forgotten that I had contemplated spinning “Cutter” into a novel. I had to develop such a back story for the female human protagonist that I found myself thinking about her long after I submitted the story. I still think she would make a great anti-hero for a series. I need to revisit the idea when my life calms down a little. Or just when I’m not pregnant anymore and get my creative energy back. (From Sweet Vampire Erotica, October 16, 2009)
I read that now and laugh. I was pregnant with Patrick at the time. And here I am, two years later with two babies and I’m finally getting around to working on this novel. Better late than never, yes?
In any case, my NaNoWriMo novel (which I’m calling Cutter for the moment-- new title to come) picks up a couple of years after my story, “Cutter.” I’m thinking I might include the story as a prologue, though I don’t know if the book will match the erotic tone of the original short story.
So far, I’ve written a couple of scenes and I’m rediscovering the characters. Evelyn and Kallinos were very vivid personalities in my mind when I first wrote the story and they’re still there, waiting to be teased out of hiding. I reread “Cutter” for motivation and I’m thinking I might post it, either here or on my NaNoWriMo page. Reviews are also lovely motivators. If I could write a novel that even came close to matching this reviewer’s description of the story it’s based on… well, I’d have a hell of a novel.
And then we reach Kristina Wright’s Cutter, a spectacular tale and easily the best in the book. A Las Vegas dealer meets a vampire and finds a brand new way to get rid of her pain; part fantasy wish fulfillment and part insightful characterization, Wright’s tale speaks eloquently of need, desire, and the beauty of surrender.
God, I wish I wrote that well. Do I? Really? Right now it’s just about getting the words down. I’ll worry about making it beautiful later.
(If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo, please do add me as a writing buddy! Let’s help each other get to November 30!)
Just tired. Not much sleep last night.
I knocked out some words yesterday. 2898 for NaNoWriMo and 2215 for a story I was trying to get submitted by yesterday’s deadline. I finished the story, polished it up and got it sent off before midnight. Not bad. I wish every day could be like that. True word bliss.
I haven’t written that many words in one day in at least a year. I was thinking about the why of it. After writing nearly 3000 words on the novel, I was motivated to write a 2200 word short story and submit it-- something else I haven’t done in awhile. Maybe NaNoWriMo inspires me to write regardless of whether I’m writing the book or something else. In any case, I love it. I love the feeling of putting the words down, watching a scene or story come together. There’s really nothing like it.
So, I have no clue what I’m doing because I didn’t really decide what I was writing until around 10:30 last night so this is very much a seat of the pants novel, but here I go. National Novel Writing Month, Day 1:
I have about three and a half hours to work at Starbucks (starting… now!) and I have about an hour’s worth of other work to do before I can even think about noveling. I’m going to try to draft out a couple of scenes, put some words on paper, start feeling my way along and rediscover my novel roots. I’ve become quite rusty at writing books but I’m hoping this month long process will jump start me. We’ll see.
Once I’m a bit farther along in knowing what the hell I’m doing, I’ll start sharing some of my work. Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully.
Here we go! Who’s with me?
The babies are asleep (as is the husband), Lucas has celebrated his first Halloween, Patrick has gone trick-or-treating for the first time, I’m still up doing some work and uploading Halloween pictures to Facebook, October is being washed away by the rainstorm outside and November is mere minutes away.
It’s been a busy year so far, but it’s about to pick up speed for the next two months. What does November hold? Lucas’s two month birthday, Sheri’s annual Thanksgiving visit, National Novel Writing Month (I’m in… I think), Patrick’s 2 year birthday party (his birthday is December 4, but I think we’ll celebrate while Sheri is still here) and lots of writing and editing and coffee and autumn fun. I’m also in for a lot of medical tests for a blood pressure issue that have been plaguing me since Lucas’s birth. Fun. I’m going for a lot of blood work in the morning-- fasting blood work, which means no Halloween candy for breakfast. Not that I’d eat candy for breakfast. Or let my child eat candy for breakfast. No…
I haven’t participated in NaNoWriMo in six years (I think) and I don’t even know what’s possessing me to think about doing it this year. But… maybe. We’ll see. I’ve started strong a couple of years and quit at mid-month, so I imagine that might happen again this time. There is something exciting about the challenge, though. The thrill of contemplating writing an entire novel in a month. The push to get those word counts up from day to day. It’s fun, in it’s own way. It’s also madness, but I’m already crazy.
I have been tossing around a couple of ideas for the book I will work on and hopefully finish. NaNoWriMo requires a fast-paced plot that can hold my interest for 30 solid days. I think I know what I’m going to write. I’ll sleep on it and see where I end up tomorrow. The plan is to write as much as I can as many days as I can and try to squeak out the 50,000 words. One year, I hit the word count around 3 weeks into the month. I sincerely doubt I’ll be able to do that this year. Because in addition to two babies, I also have other writing and editing to keep me busy.
I’m holiday shopping already, in hopes of finishing early this year. In truth, I’ve been buying gifts since about June, but I have a long way to go. Christmas and Hanukkah will be here before I can blink, so online shopping is going to be my best friend this year. I’m so looking forward to the holidays and I’m hoping I have time to do the baking I want to do. But I know the days ahead are going to be exhausting and hectic and I want to remember to slow down and savor the moments. Which means minimizing stress and letting go of anything that doesn’t make me happy. (Which might be my NaNoWriMo book...)
I’m ready for 2012, ready for Lucas to be sleeping through the night so I can get some more rest (relatively speaking), ready for some new goals, memories and adventures-- including a trip to the UK. I’m ready! But I’m also excited about the next two months and all it holds.
Goodbye, October! Hello, November!
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Babies. Pregnancy. Motherhood. Insanity. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
