Fiction Writers: What If Sexuality Can Enhance Deeper Storytelling?

#3 in the FWSG Series

Fiction Writers: Can you imagine a world where sexuality is the gateway to deeper storytelling? Welcome to your new reality. Anyone who writes fiction can gain helpful information for their story with The Fiction Writer’s Sexuality Guide: Sex—It’s More Than a Scene. It can be one more tool in your toolbox to develop rich characters and your story.

When I first started this project, I thought that only erotica or romance authors could use a new template and paradigm for writing about sex. The more I talked to other authors, the more I realized from a character developmental perspective my paradigm has merit for any fiction writer. My work here is about taking sexuality apart and learning about it, what it says about the characters, beyond their sex and how to use it in your writing.

How Can Sexuality Help You as Fiction Writers?

What makes a character unique? All the nuisances of personality, style, choices, and perspective of life, to name a few. Most people leave the details of sexuality out, primarily because of their narrow definition of sexuality.

But it is the umbrella that encompasses sex. Most people are so focused on the act of sex, however you put it together in your story, that you may not consider sexuality aspects.

Once you learn all the components of sexuality, you build it right into your character and story as naturally as you create anything else for your work. Then, you will have sexuality start from the first page of your book as a holistic piece.

Sexuality completes and balances your character. It shows vulnerabilities and capabilities not seen in other areas of life.

Check out the cover photo of this blog. It’s a snapshot of a moment.

Does it have a feel? Connection? A story? What is each person thinking? How does this moment have relevance to each of their pasts? Are they familiar with each other or not? New relationship? What was the draw? Which person leads the situation? Which person is being vulnerable, or are they both?

How could you use knowing this for the story you are writing, even if sex or romance isn’t an element of the story directly?

When you begin to take apart moments of sexuality, it will help you deepen your story.

Sexuality is Inherent in Humans

The way we each talk, move and behave has an element of sexuality in it. There is a range of what you can see.

• Someone is in touch with their sexuality and lets it flow freely.
• Someone is in touch with their sexuality and lets it out at specific times.
• Someone is in touch with their sexuality and shuts it down.
• Someone is not in touch with their sexuality and doesn’t recognize it in themselves.

All of this information helps to shape us and our characters. Look at the picture again and consider where each might fall on this continuum. It will help you think about pace and personality and wants and desires.

Even our personal belief systems about sexuality can come into play with how we write and conceptualize the characters and story. This is about the Sex History of the characters and the Writer. If you know that, your writing can become more robust. I’ll also talk more about this idea with the Person of the Author.

Sexuality Provides a Way to Understand Emotions Embodied in Physical Actions

While we use emotion to connect the readers to our story, how can we get up close and personal with it?

The meaning of sex, for example, may never be discussed. From horny with lust to love to anger, to guilt, to boredom, these feelings would translate into different depictions of sex. In the picture, what emotion do you see? Disbelief? Interest? Testing the waters? Unrequited love? Others?

At what moment did we catch this couple in the emotion? Beginning, middle, or end?

When you are clear on the emotion, wrapping it in the physical form will make more sense and flow.

I Created This Guide for You Fiction Writers

What else have I highlighted?

Fiction Writers receive information about:

• Sex-Positivity and its use.
• The holistic nature of sexuality, including physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual (PEMS).
• Brain chemistry on play, sexual activity, and on writing.
• A model to consider how people are attracted to one another based on personality hormones.
• And worksheets and examples to show you what it all looks like.

It’s taken me 48 years to gather all the information and now it is in a concise form for you. Follow along as I detail the journey of the book and its parts.

Don’t miss a blog post. This is the first in the series, and here is FWSG Blog Post #4.