Writing Erotic Fiction

by Derek Parker

Whether you want to write a short love scene or a complete erotic novel, every writer will find the advice Derek Parker gives indispensable. He covers language, plot, how explicit text should be and gives numerous quotations which demonstrate his points. He covers eroticism in novels and poetry. In addition he addresses the practicalities of finding a publisher, marketing work and the pros and cons of using an agent.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

118 pages, Hardcover

Published February 12, 1996

About the author

Derek Parker (27 May 1932 – 2 January 2025) was a British writer and broadcaster. He was the author of numerous works on literature, ballet, and opera, and with his wife Julia of several books about astrology.

Reviews

[Sylvia Swann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parker’s sweetly erudite presentation of the rights and wrongs in writing erotica is impressive. While some say the 1995 publication is dated, he hits all the marks and doesn’t leave anything out. He points to every classic example of erotica done well. Many of them now added to my reading list. The Story of O is in my soon-to-read pile, but Parker doesn’t like that particular book. I guess I’ll figure soon know why. This book was delightful. I’m so glad I found it.

[Zaki · Rating 3 out of 5]

It should be called "A Short History of Erotic Fiction". I found this book interesting, but it is much more a history of published erotic writing than a "how to" manual. Still, the paragraph on flagellation alone makes it worth reading.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jean Saunders' family donated some writing books to my writing group. We use it as a library, and this was among it.

The edition of this book was published in 1995, and therefore is a little out of date.

We now have the eBook which is a great source for erotica novels - with many ebook publishers available. But, all the same, it was an interesting read, including the history of erotica literature - it provided some classic passages.

I'm not sure if I'm any the wiser in how to write erotica (or if I'd be any good at it). It's something that depends on era. What was being written in 1995 and accepted, could be very different to what is present day.

This book talked of novels being 80,000 words and sex had to occur regularly (every 2000 words - or something like that!). I'm not quite sure I could manage that! I might stick to romance... However, this might be proof that times have changed, and more plot is required in your story.

(By the way, this is not the cover of the book I read. Thanks to the Amazon/Goodreads dispute, my cover has been lost).

[Winston Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't learn anything from it.