How to Write a Dirty Story: Reading, Writing, and Publishing Erotica [Paperback]

Susie Bright (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 8, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0743226232 | ISBN-13: 978-0743226233 | Edition: Original

For aspiring erotica writers -- and authors in any genre who want to make the "good" parts great

Susie Bright is the first and reigning queen of contemporary erotica. In How to Write a Dirty Story she reveals her tricks of the trade and shows you how to heat up sex scenes in everything from traditional novels and romances to science fiction and humor. Easing the aspiring writer into the creative process, she tells you how to write the steamy plots and sensual characters that publishers and readers are looking for. Bright makes it easy to:

Produce unique ideas * Master erotic language

Climax the story * Sell your work to the right place

Each chapter features practical writing exercises and suggestions for nonwriting activities that will galvanize the imagination and raze any creative or psychological hurdle. When it's time to go public, Bright draws on her own writing and publishing experiences and explains the most effective ways to find an agent, work with an editor, and grow a loyal audience.

As irreverent as it is practical, How to Write a Dirty Story is the only book an erotica author -- novice or seasoned -- needs.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Authors of erotica have it rough, says Susie Bright in How to Write a Dirty Story. Their work is often judged before it is read. They are assumed to be sex gurus. And if memoirists find it tough to share their work with friends and relatives, imagine what it's like for sex writers. A third of Bright's book is devoted to general publishing issues. The rest deals specifically with erotica and should appeal to anyone whose writing includes sex scenes. Bright, who has been dubbed the goddess of American erotica, is refreshingly straightforward about her subject. She likens a great erotic story to a great striptease act. Ideally, an erotic story takes all the time it needs, arouses both the reader and the author, is judicious with clichés and dirty words, and doesn't involve a complicated description of body-part placement or an excess of sex noises. Most important, a sex scene propels the story forward. If the story would work just as well without it, the sex scene shouldn't be there. And the good news? Even "really bad lovers can write great erotica." --Jane Steinberg

Review

Laura Miller Salon Every would-be and burgeoning author should read this.

Lavada Nahon Penthouse I invite anyone who wishes to get published to read How to Write a Dirty Story first! It will greatly increase your chances of seeing your words in print or online.

Linda Jaivin author of Eat Me and Rock 'n' Roll Babes from Outer Space What a fabulous book! Well-written (naturally), provocative (of course), and eminently sensible. It integrates all aspects of the process.

M. J. Rose author of Lip Service and In Fidelity From the exercises that Susie gives writers to the education she gives readers -- this book is a must.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (January 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743226232
• ISBN-13: 978-0743226233
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.4 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Erotica

More About the Author

I'm an author, editor, publisher, performer, sex and culture critic, teacher, seamstress, and pumpkinhead.

I live in Santa Cruz, CA.

My blog is: http://susiebright.com

My weekly show on Audible:
"In Bed With Susie Bright": http://www.audible.com/susiebright

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 67 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Title is Misleading April 3, 2004

By Stephanie Martin

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this on a whim, I wanted a book that would help me with any romantic scenes in my own writing, something that would help me keep them from seeming canned or forced. I figured a novel about writing erotica could help. This is really not what I expected, the title is misleading. It could have been Dirty Stories: Getting past the writer's block and getting published.

A third of the book is devoted to what you do once you've written your erotic novel. That's great if you already have the novel written and you're ready to get it ready to sell. If you're looking for how to write that dirty story, or that romance scene, you're out of luck.

Another third of the book is getting ready to write. You get the history of erotic novels in the United States, how to find the erotica you like, and reading it aloud to get a sense of it's style and power. It also details how do you deal with your family and friends reading something you're written that's sexually explicit, and what you can do about it. This stuff is helpful, but between it and the publishing guide you're really left with very little about how to write itself.

Once into the actual writing bit, Bright's exercises are helpful, but limited. She sets up the exercises and outlines the goals they should accomplish, and where to get ideas, but aside from saying that stringing together a bunch of sex scenes does not automatically make a plot and a good piece of erotica, she's pretty vague. She doesn't touch too much on characterization, and her chapter on mixing sex with other genres is disappointing as best.

The book focuses solely on erotica, and not even really writing it, but getting ready to do it, and then what to do once it's written. Her publishing section can be considered useful, she doesn't sugarcoat anything, including the amount of work writers have to do, and how no one gets rich overnight in the erotica business. However, it doesn't tie into how to write a dirty story, which is the title, and should be the bulk of the book.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable resource for erotic writers at all levels January 28, 2002

By Rachel Kramer Bussel

Format:Paperback

This is a fabulous book for people coming to erotic writing from any skill level or experience level. It is most of all honest, something I've come to expect from Bright's writing, and that is what makes this book so useful. Instead of giving some formulaic "how to write" answer, Bright dives into the many kinds of erotica one an write, and the many reasons one may have for doing so. She also doesn't gloss over her own journey but dishes the dirt on how the publishing industry works and other "dirty little secrets" that are useful to know.

She also has some great exercises to keep you on your toes, such as trying to write in many different erotic genres. It's also strikingly clear just how well-versed in the erotic world Bright is, not just works deemed "erotica" today but their historical predecessors and the whole culture of adult literature.

I really liked that Bright showed how different authors can break convention and still succeed, and she delineates exactly what it is that makes an erotic story pass muster. She also touches on other aspects of the writing life, such as how writing will affect your sex life, reactions to those who are upfront about their writing, and the possible perils of publishing.

Overall, this book deftly combines writing exercises, a literary erotic history, as well as practical insights into specific writing problems or issues that may arise and how to deal with them, all drawing from Bright's experience as a writer and editor. Most of all, it's witty, funny and easy to read, so much so that I didn't feel like I was reading a typical writing book so much as something much lighter. And I finished it with many of my own ideas for future stories and ways of generating new ideas.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all. December 17, 2003

By Stormraven

Format:Paperback

This book just didn't help me much at all. It promises to help a person learn the specifics of writing erotica, but there was very little in it that isn't really just common sense. (Don't string a bunch of sex scenes together and call it erotica. Put a plot in your story.) The general information for novel writing is basic and can be found in any book on novel writing. (Spell check your manuscript. Come up with interesting characters.)

I have not seen any novels by this author, but if an aspiring erotic author has a choice between this book and an actual erotica novel to learn the 'biz', I'd suggest the novel.

No one on my erotica writer's groups has recommended this book for learning such an enticing, beautiful, fun-filled craft. They recommend: "Writing Erotic Fiction: How to Write a Successful Erotic Novel" by Pamela Rochford instead. That is the book I am looking into getting. I certainly hope it is better than "Dirty Story".

Sorry, Suzie, there have got to be better books out there.