Cliches and Writing

Have you ever noticed that so many pieces of advice given by writers to writers are just cliches? Then they tell us not to write in cliches. It's just beautiful.

Here are some cliches for thought:
Show, Don't Tell
Write What You Know
Writers Write
Criticize the manuscript, not the author.
You must finish what you start.

And with that lovely start of a list, I think I'd better get back to the actual writing.

Favorite Erotic Words

A friend asked me what my five favorite erotic words were, and I don't have a clue. Is this something writers can rattle off the top of their heads? Should we be able to spout off favorite words?

Wouldn't that mean we're using those words far too often by reason of word density or whatever?

While there are only so many body parts that can be used to write erotica, there are names aplenty for all of them. Just note the 'throbbing member' ridiculed by so many.

Okay, I can't say I've actually written anything and used the term 'throbbing member' but sometimes it just seems like there ought to be a way to use it without giggling horribly at the purple prose.

I think one of mine is pussy. Yes, I know some would argue that belongs in pornography and not erotica. I don't really care. It isn't about shock value for an explicit word. It's just a good way to counteract my erotica pet peeve of referring to the woman's genitalia as her 'sex'. Really? Sex? That's the best you can do? Can you find a less descriptive word out there for it?

I've struggled through several books that used 'sex' as the only word for pussy. It's repetitive, boring, and I cringe every time. It may sound odd, but I'd rather see 'cunt' in print. Next to that, pussy looks pretty good, huh?

And get your minds out of the gutter. I'm talking about the words! Link to find more words here.

Happy Birthday, BC Pill!

Hard to believe it's been 50 years. So many innovations to make our lives both simpler and more complex; this is the beauty of modern life. We might be able to imagine life a hundred or more years ago without a pill or even a lot of reliable barrier methods to prevent pregnancies. No wonder so many families were larger back then.

And yet the Catholic Church still wants women to churn out new converts as fast as their bodies can stand. Well, not the entire Church - just the Pope, beginning with Pope Paul VI, who had a few commissions going about the Church's stance on contraception in the 1960s. Read more here. I love that everyone overwhelmingly voted to change the policy, and the Pope didn't listen.

If women don't listen to this edict, will they listen to other teachings of the Church? I guess that's the Church's problem.

In writing news, I received two rejections this week. Tough, but I resubmitted one and I'm looking to rewrite the other. The editors had some good points.

Zoning Out

I don't think it's too far from the norm to quit writing as much erotica after having a baby. It's just such a struggle to get back into that mindset.

Part of it is the hormones. Since I'm breastfeeding, hormones are released to keep me satisfied. Or so they tell you.

Have you ever tried to write erotica when your hormones say you have no interest in sex? Maybe things will change soon. Until then... I'll find something else to write about. Emotions, for instance, are not nearly so elusive at the moment.

Disappearing

Well, I haven't meant to. I've been working on a few stories. (they're waiting to hear something) I'm just been struggling to get back here.

What do you say to naysayers? I find the worst one to overcome is myself. If I can keep my own momentum to believing I can do something - it's a lot easier to do.

I'm a writer. Listening to the voices in my head should be making stories, not chasing myself around the doubts.

Magnetism has its Drawbacks

Of course, there's a positive and negative side to all things. But sometimes you just don't have chemistry with someone.

So what do you do when s/he can't tell?

I mean, I get it that people aren't always into me. Doesn't matter if I dig 'em, I leave 'em alone. I just get annoyed when people don't do the same for me. Am I too polite?