Erotica Vs. Pornography

A couple of weeks ago a group of writers were conversing about how to write erotica in poetry and how to build the scene without limiting lines within vulgarity or grotesque. As I've mentioned before I write erotica both in prose and poetry and mostly in English trying to describe a scene without detailing a too explicit or graphic content. In the end narrating a part containing some sexual language results in the same grade of difficulty both in verse or prose. In this entry we'll try to find a proper way to differentiate pornography and erotica and trace a line between those terms and styles -a very fine one- when we write because even though both terms are quite similar they're dissimilar in the same way.

Let's define first erotica, which is something related to erotism and sexual love or what is to describe both themes. In the other hand, pornography is an artistic genre in which is shown with explicit details a sexual intercourse with the sole purpose of arousing to whom is reading or reading the work.

Can you see the difference? Erotica= sexual love / pornography= arousing and explicit details

First of all you must define yourself into which type of writer you want to be or the story you will narrate. If it's pornographic and your goal is to excite the libidinal desires in your reader you just need to put emphasis into the sexual scenes, body parts and the sensations that evoke and provoke s e x and everything that characterize a libidinous relationship and human behavior. But I must warn you that if you're thinking of posting this kind of stories in WP, first you need to classify it as mature and add the pertaining advertisements to detract minors to read it. Wattpad is a community that takes care of the younger readers and teens and if a story is too graphic it would be deleted. There's an app Wattpad provides, After Dark, where you can post stories like these always taking in consideration and following this site code of conduct.

Let's all remember that erotica has been written for centuries and it's practically exposed by authors in almost every culture. Even in the Bible we can read erotic poetry. You just need to check out the Canticle of Canticles written by Kung Solomon.

Now let us move to where we want to: erotica. It is not necessary that your entire story/book should be erotica. You can follow these guidelines if you want to add one or a few hot scenes if your story requires it because it's part of the plot. So here I'll give you some advices to develop these parts without falling into the pornographic side.

1. Choose carefully the words to use in narration. You can make a draft of what you want to say and then you fix it little by little. Utilize euphemisms (not too much because we don't want the cheesy, pinky, unreal feel in it), synonyms or other words to substitute body parts, obscene terms or those that contain some graphic connotation. Never use colloquial or vulgar terms for this. A good option is to utilize similes and metaphors because it always work to employ literary devices to enrich narration.
Examples: vagina= pink parts, delicate parts, between my legs/tights, soft parts... Etc.

2. Implicit, not explicit: to narrate a highs sexual content scene we don't need to give a detail recount of events neither to be so specific. Allow the reader to have a peripheral view, don't take him to the bed with you. Utilize phrases that read pretty and subtle. S E X is something natural and beautiful. Never stop the flow in the narration or in the trail of thoughts to bump in an impromptu s e x scene. Don't emphasize only in that for a whole chapter. Again, use and include as many literary devices you can to make it flow naturally as the way it should.
Example: he penetrated me with violence = He made love to me with so much passion and frenzy...

3. There are things that simply are out of place: I want my readers to enjoy the lecture. I don't want to offend anybody with the content in my story. If you think it might be wrong, it certainly does. So I don't want to show or take the message that there's any pleasure in non consented sexual relationship. R a p e s are to be mentioned as an isolated fact in the story and are never meant to be described as gratifying (unless you write a detective story or cases of r a p e s within the story). Prostitution is to be taken with delicate fingers. You can include in your story but with care. Not everybody here is Paulo Coelho in his Eleven Minutes. Regarding to pornography or child or women treaty or prostitution, if your story is not a social critique, never detail, narrate or expose this theme in an explicit way because you can get into serious trouble.

4. Beauty instead of vulgarity: nudity is something beautiful; human body is a marvelous thing. Don't denigrate it utilizing vulgar terms. Everything has a name, right.
Example: penis (I've read them worst)= masculinity, manhood, member... Etc.

Followed an example of an implicit sex scene:

His rough hands caressed my skin. My entire body shivered of passion and desire. Our lips fused in ardent kisses. I was ecstatic and eagerly retributed his touch with delight and candor. Subdued under the spell of his charms I haven't noticed he had already unbuttoned my blouse and my naked breasts felt the gentle strokes of his fingertips. I could feel his manhood pressing my belly and this was exhilarating. In that moment he lifted me in his arms and placed me on the bed. Then he made love to me in the most sublime taking me to touch the sky one time after another. Our bodies danced to the rhythm of a frenzied melody and the air filled with the scent of passion and lust.

Can we understand what are they doing? I guess so.

As my friend LynnS13 says, "Wattpad thanks the implicit". The explicit is to be developed out of this site.

I've written this in Spanish first, but decided to translate it after a conversation that took place in the LOL-35 thread. Dedicated to ShelleyBurbank .