Smut-writing Advice

Rebloggable version, since this seems to be so popular ;)

Anonymous asked you: Do you have any advice for writing smut?

Yes.

1) Be shameless. Get comfortable writing sentences like “He trailed the tip of his tongue down the length of his lover’s cock, making him shiver and twitch as the heat spread to his tip, turning it purple.” The more a sentence makes you blush, the better a sentence it is and the more it belongs in your story. If you’re censoring yourself, if you’re not writing things that are super-hot to you and make you hot as you write, then it’s gonna be a dry, boring smut scene.

2) Be detailed in actions, and more importantly, reactions. Which is hotter? “He swirled his tongue around his lover’s nipple, tracing around the areola in a slow circle before closing his lips around the tip.” or “he slowly licked over his lover’s nipple, making her shudder and gasp, arching her back into the warm heat of his mouth.”

The first example is good detail, but includes no reaction, so your reader is probably just going to get bored. The second sentence has less detail on the action, but more detail on the reaction- and that’s what shows a character is feeling something, how they react.

Shivers, moans, groans, whimpers, clasping fingers, twitches, eyes closing or opening, faces tilting or turning, toes curling- those are the reactions, the hot stuff, the stuff that says “this character is feeling.”

Put that in, and you don’t have to worry about describing every detail of the actions.

3) Don’t use words that you normally wouldn’t use. “Ministrations”, “gyrations”, etc. This words make me want to vomit, they’re so horrible. No one uses them. Describe your smut with normal everyday words. This does not mean use boring words. There are a hundred ways to describe breathing, for example: gasp, hitch, inhale, pant, sigh, hiss, etc.

4) Watch porn, but with a grain of salt. It can give you some references for areas you have no personal experience with, but keep in mind that the people are acting and this is scripted.

5) DETAILS, details, details. Mention many details and EDIT YOUR STORY to KEEP THEM STRAIGHT. First, write the scene. Let it flow the way you want, the way it wants to go, get in the emotion and the character’s reactions. Then go back and make sure that you have kept track of articles of clothing, the positions people are in, who’s eyes are open, closed, where hands are, etc. Nothing ruins a smut scene like someone getting a blow job while their pants are still on in the reader’s mind.

6) Make the PACE SLOW. Writers tend to be embarrassed so they rush through their smut scene. BUT THIS IS THE PART YOU’VE BEEN BUILDING UP TO, THAT YOUR READER IS WAITING FOR. So don’t rush it- let it linger! Most smut scenes feel too long when you write them- and then fly by too quickly when you read them. Three pages of smut is short. And I don’t mean make it longer by dragging it out- I mean make sure that the pacing of your writing is slow. Don’t have everybody stark naked after the first paragraph. Tension and build are what sex is all about; don’t sell it short. How do you know if your smut scene is paced correctly? Same way you tell if the rest of your story is paced correctly. Reread it, reread it, reread it, edit, edit, edit.

If you haven’t reread your scene at least twice, it’s not done. That goes for any scene, not just smut.

7) EMOTION. Show it. Sex is powerful, regardless of who’s having it. It intensifies everything. If the character is miserable, they are very miserable; if they are happy, they are very happy. Show it, describe it on their face, in their actions, in their motions and possibly with words (I like to write smut scenes full of dialogue, but that’s my style, other authors are different). But connect your reader to how at least one character is feeling, depending on the point of view of your story.

8) And lastly, did I mention be shameless? BE SHAMELESS. If you’re not mortified to show it to your grandma, then you’re not doing it right. (Unless you have one heck of a cool grandma).

Okay, that’s all my advice on smut for today. Hope this helps! :)

ThWIP Thursday (sorry!)

2025.04.23 - 2024.05.01

A collection of the WIP fics that have posted in the last week.

Beautiful Roaring Scream [E, 1/6] by @rimeswithpurple / RimesWithPurple

A Change Would Do You Good* [T, 3/?] by Dumb_Bitch_Writes

Distance* [T, 4/?] by CRML

Do you miss us? [T, 10/11] by Magicaleigh

fin de siècle. [T, 6/7] by @ninemagicks / NineMagicks

For That Stolen Heart [T, 15/?] by Loserlovely

Hapless Supernova [M, 9/?] by BBirdy, @theearlgreymage / EarlGreyMage

In Sickness and In Baz [NR, 4/10] by TaylorSims

Picket Fence Is Sharp As Knives [E, 8/?] by @prettygoododds / PrettyGoodOdds

Right Where You Left Me [M, 5/?] by @waywardlesbian / waywardlesbian

Rising at Dawn [T, 5/?] by iamwheretheseasleeps

The Salisbury Boy [E, 8/20] by @alleycat0306 / alleycat0306

They Get Married. [E, 4/12 ] by @colddeadqueer / colddeadqueer

*Multiple chapters posted this week.

Carry on Through the Ages fics.

11 notes View Post

colddeadqueer

2 months ago

Never not thinking about all of them, honestly. Even so many books away from them.

670 notes View Post

colddeadqueer

2 months ago

I hope every trans person is proud of themselves today. Even if you are not in a place where you can be visible to others, you are visible to yourself.

And being able to see yourself for who you are is no small accomplishment.

555 notes View Post

colddeadqueer

2 months ago

Lesbian Agatha Wellbelove seems like such a cop out to me years later. And I say that as someone who wants more sapphic representation in books and who liked lesbian Agatha when the books came out.

Like in book one, she doesn’t not want a boyfriend, she wants a boyfriend who’s into her. And in book two she says she wishes she realized she wanted to kiss girls because that could explain why she’s so confused about everything and why she doesn’t fit in… (and because she perceives that that’s what happened for Simon with Baz) and then all that is just thrown out in Any Way the Wind Blows… just because?

I honestly think it was because larger fandom consensus was that Agatha was a lesbian.

But I don’t know. I just wish that in a book series that is so firmly saying “figuring out your sexuality does not fix your trauma or inner turmoil. your mental state cannot be fixed by a relationship, that’s your own work to do.” about Simon and Baz, that Rowell didn’t decide to undercut that by saying “except for Agatha it does. She’s felt out of place because she is a lesbian. And now she knows! So things will be better”

Tags

fanfic fanfiction ao3 writer ao3 author ao3 fan fiction fan fic writing fan fic author

8 notes View Post

colddeadqueer

3 months ago

I think the reason why Baz is still very pale is bc he’s canonically only 1/8 Egyptian and bc he’s a vampire and lives in England, he doesn’t get very much sun, hence the lack of melanin. When he goes to America in Wayward Son it says that his skin gets darker.

As someone who’s also 1/8 brown… I’m not biracial or a POC. I’m white. I look white. I have dark hair and dark eyes and I tan, but I am pretty pale bc I don’t spend much time outside (and I live in a place with a much higher UV index than England). I was also much more tan when I was little and got paler as I got older, which could explain why Baz’s skin was darker as a child.

But yeah I’m sorry to break it to y’all. I think it’s cool to have AU Baz as a POC but it’s just not canon :/

I know baz is supposed to be like pale cause vampire and stuff (actually idk if that's the reason but whatever( BUT. I used to have a huuuuge hyperfixation over vampires when I was younger and let me tell you. His melanin wouldn't have gotten sucked out. In this essay, I will be ignoring the canon and doing what I like. Infact, I was doodling little baz a while ago and

Hear ye hear ye my child

Idk. I just can't get behind the paleness 🫩🫩🫩🫩🫩🫩🫩🫩

77 notes View Post

colddeadqueer

2 weeks ago

♥️🧡💛💚💙💜

358 notes View Post

colddeadqueer

2 months ago

“Public libraries are such important, lovely places!” Yes but do you GO there. Do you STUDY there. Do you meet friends and get coffee there. Do you borrow the FREE, ZERO SUBSCRIPTION, ZERO TRACKING books, audiobooks, ebooks, and films. Have you checked out their events and schemes. Do you sign up for the low cost courses in ASL or knitting or programming or writing your CV that they probably run. Do you know they probably have myriad of schemes to help low income families. Do you hire their low cost rooms if you need them. Have you joined their social groups. Do you use the FREE COMPUTERS. Do you even know what your library is trying to offer you. Listen, the library shouldn’t just exist for you as a nice idea. That’s why more libraries shut every year

142K notes View Post

colddeadqueer

1 month ago

Anybody else got that Evergiven sized writers block

201K notes View Post