Erotica – how controversial?

It wasn’t long ago that I thought of erotic writing as something immoral and somewhat disturbing to read. I could not comprehend it… it simply made me uncomfortable and undermined the site I was writing on at the time. Looking back I realise this was very judgmental of me as more recently I’ve come to know writers with real talent in the genre.

I myself had an issue a few years ago with writing a sexual scene for my novel ‘Bang, Bang’. I could not do it. I struggled to find a clean choice of words to offer a more sensual piece, one that would not lead the readers down the wrong path. I did not want to be looked upon as I know I’d looked upon erotic writers in the past.

Now, here’s the BUT!! I decided, as I found this so hard to do that as a personal challenge to myself I would write an erotic story. At the time I kept this quiet and I struggled. I pushed myself into reading work that I would usually run away from and actually I was pleasantly surprised with what I found.

Among the dirty, sleazy and sometimes cheap I found some well established writers who wrote in such a fashion that left me astonished. Suddenly I was reading classy, sensual well written stories in an appropriate context with original dynamics, portraying something I myself could not write! It inspired me and I started to look at things differently. It was a little revelation that changed my entire opinion on erotic writers and this is why I decided to post the subject.

My secret is that I began writing erotica to enhance my own skills as a writer but ended up writing it for my own enjoyment. Needless to say it’s a very controversial place for a lot of people, and one I will happily sit on the fence when I need to, mainly because there are some very bad and not what I would call 'erotic' writers around. These are the writers that create a false perception on what 'erotica' really is and I imagine this perception will never really change unless you are courageous enough to dip your toes in.

My erotic writing remains posted by an anonymous writer who has more fans than my original writing page. I’m still not at a point where I will happily share this with those around me, but it’s definitely allowed me to develop as a writer and for that I am happy to share this much. I haven’t written anything in this genre for over a year but it goes without saying that my work since this experience has entered a new phase.

FMI - Classy Peach is a must read writer on the popular writing site Booksie. She remains one of my favourite writers, not just on Booksie but of all time. I ask you to keep an open mind and read her at http://www.booksie.com/classy_peach