Sex/Sexual Psyche/Erotica

Sex, sexual psyche, and erotica—I think this is obvious—are not one and the same.

Certainly not from a writing point of view.

Sex is what two people do. Sexual Psyche is the meaning and emotion of it. And erotica is writing designed to arouse.

So, I’m risking, if not outright entered, platitude, but I come to this point as I’m working with a talented writer on a manuscript where these three concepts intersect. And what I mean to say is that as a writer it’s important to understand these differences and to be okay with exploring them even when the theme and plot do not revolve around any of the three.

The fact is that we are all sexual beings—even when we are or choose to be asexual—and to ignore this aspect of the character, to assume the reader just knows, is a mistake.

And this is not to say that we need more erotica in the form of sex scenes. Not at all.

It just means that if we, say:

  1. Explore the creative process by creating a story around a character seeking to be an artist,

  2. His/her/their personal development will include a range of types of sexual interactions,

  3. And their sexual psyche (how they interpret and feel about their sexual experiences and sexual life) will influence other aspects of their life, including creativity,

  4. So, we can show this by using erotica (erotic scenes), but also through scenes where the character/writer dives a bit deeper into the experience and its meaning.

For example, how will an unpleasant (think expansively of the meaning of unpleasant) series of encounters affect the artist? A series of pleasant (think expansively of the meaning of pleasant) encounters?

Important point: This is not to say that sex is the driving force or even the main driving force, but if your artist character is engaged in a long-term relationship, if the narrative plays out and their intimate life with their partner is not in the mix, then you’ve ignored an important psychological driver of their creativity, as well as their sense of self and general emotional state.

Sex matters to the sexual psyche which matters to the whole person and can be displayed erotically or through other means.

The same is true no matter the character’s relationship or sexual status.

Certainly don’t overdo it but make sure you create a full character with all of the complexity of a real person.

Characterization, GuidanceJames BuchananSex, sexual, psyche, erotica, character development, writingComment