"Writing about sex is too easy and not REAL literature."

How many times have you heard this, or something like it? Or maybe I just notice it when its spoken and, sometimes, not spoken, but implied in tone and texture--because I am a writer, of erotica, both soft and hardcore.

Do they say "Writing about violence is too easy and not REAL literature," or "Writing a mystery about murdering people is too easy and not REAL literature"?

No.

Writing sexy and loving material about gentle loves and hard, physical loving and lovemaking is FUN, but takes energy and focus and SKILL. Try it sometimes yourself.

WRITING PROMPT:

1. Write a scene about two sweet people (of whatever gender and sexual persuasion) who BELONG together in every way you can imagine and admit their love to each other.

2. Now, rewrite it with one of them balking and dragging their feet about admitting true love.

3. Then, rewrite it with both of them clearly want each other, but they're hardcore about pushing each other to the edge. You pick their sexy edge: sex in the open, a little violence, some bondage, menstrual blood, cutting, etc.

Hm, not so easy now. Or do you think these characters, these realistic "real" people are just deviants and not interesting or appropriate for an general, adult audience. Hm....

--Neale Sourna

THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED- Trailer at YouTube.com

4 Techniques to Fire Up Your Fiction by Donald Maass

4 Techniques to Fire Up Your Fiction

October 13, 2009
by Donald Maass

Here are some exercises to apply to your novel-in-progress.

Many fiction manuscripts submitted to my literary agency feel lackluster. Much genre fiction feels tired. Many mainstream and literary novels also strike me as stale. Even when well written, too often manuscripts fail to engage and excite me.

What is missing when a manuscript hugs the wall and refuses to dance? Originality is not the key. It can’t be, otherwise no wounded detective would ever have a chance and every new vampire series would be dead on arrival. Even over-published clichés can sometimes break out and sell big. The same is true of look-alike mainstream and literary fiction.

The issue, then, is not whether a story has a cool new premise. Whether hiking a well-worn trail or blazing uncharted wilderness, when a manuscript succeeds it is invariably fired by inspiration. Passion comes through on the page.

How does that passion get there? Here are some exercises to apply to your novel-in-progress. They are designed to dig up what matters in your story and infuse it in your manuscript in effective—but not obvious—ways.

FIND THE UNCOMMON IN COMMON EXPERIENCE

To get passion into your story, do it through your characters. What angers you can anger them. What lifts them up will inspire us in turn. Even ordinary people can be poets, prophets and saints. That’s true in life, so why not in your fiction?

Here is an exercise designed to discover and utilize what is universal in the experience of your characters, especially when they are regular folk like you and me.

Write down what comes to mind when you read the prompts below.

1. Is your story realistic? Are your characters ordinary people?

2. What in the world of your story makes you angry? What are we not seeing? What is the most important question? What puzzle has no answer? What is dangerous in this world? What causes pain?

3. Where in the world of your story is there unexpected grace? What is beautiful? Who is an unrecognized hero? What needs to be saved?

4. Give your feelings to http://writersdigest.com/article/4-techniques-to-fire-up-your-fiction

Here's a good writing prompt.

Write a character or two with elements from this article. Try romance, horror, adventure.... --Neale Sourna

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/144/story_14434.html

Stop the Energy Vampires
Who gives you energy? Who saps it? How to build vitality and stop others from draining you.
By Judith Orloff, M.D.

Adapted from "Positive Energy," published by Harmony Books.

I learned to honor my energy needs the hard way. As a psychiatrist who specializes in intuition I knew how important it was to listen to my body. Yet still I'd alternate between intense weeks of speaking tours and bouts of utter exhaustion at home. I couldn't turn down "irresistible" opportunities. Here was my dilemma--I trusted my intuition, and was committed to living by it. But I had a blind spot: Although I was quite successful at helping others trust intuition and lead high energy lives, I was ignoring my own energy crises. Finally, my fatigue was so profound I had to change.

I know first hand how important it is for us to cherish our precious energy so we don't compromise our capacity for passion. I now believe that the most profound transformations can take place only on an energetic level. I've met many patients who've spent much time and money on talk therapy hoping that intellectual insights will bring emotional freedom, but they're disappointed. As much as I love the linear mind, my approach, which I call "Energy Psychiatry," goes further to also facilitate a conscious rebuilding of our subtle energies, the most basic life force in each of us.

Do You Get Drained By Other People's Energy?

Our bodies are made of flesh and blood, but they're also composed of energy fields-though sadly I wasn't taught this in medical school. Each day we encounter a wide range of energies, both positive and negative. Positive energy includes compassion, courage, forgiveness, and faith. Negative energy includes fear, anger, hopelessness, and shame. We need to be experts at dealing with energy so we don't get demolished by draining situations or people who're energy vampires.

Like me you may be an intuitive empath, someone who's so sensitive to energy you pick it up from other people but you're also drained by it. This goes way beyond feeling sympathy for a distraught friend-we actually take on their pain either emotionally or physically. To cope, we take refuge in solitude. We empaths are so attuned to others that we can feel what's going on inside of them. This can put us on energy overload and aggravate everything from chronic fatigue to overeating.

Growing up, my girlfriends couldn't wait to MORE