The Erotica Readers & Writers Association Blog: Taking Risks: Friday, September 21, 2012
Taking Risks By Lisabet Sarai
What would it take to get some respect for erotic fiction? To transform erotica from its current scorned status as pornography with a fancy vocabulary into a legitimate branch of literature? Earlier this month, Remittance Girl addressed this issue, suggesting that “critical engagement” might help. In critiquing and reviewing erotica, we need to consider the non-sexual aspects of the erotic fiction we read, focusing on premise, plot, pacing, characterization, thematic depth and language instead of, or at least in addition to, whether the story gets us hot and bothered.
I wholeheartedly agree with her thesis, which she expanded into a fantastic treatise on appropriate objectives and approaches for critiques and reviews. I'd like to offer another, complementary suggestion. To convince readers (and critics) to take our genre seriously, we need to take risks.
What do I mean by that? Am I talking about moving beyond portrayals of vanilla sex to incorporate edgier and more controversial sexual practices? That's one kind of risk, certainly.....MORE....
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