Naughty Words for Nice Writers: A Romance Novel Thesaurus

by Cara Bristol

Third edition. Expanded and updated with more words and categories.A must-have reference for writing romance.If finding the right words for your romance novel love scene is challenging, Naughty Words for Nice A Romance Novel Thesaurus can make it easier.Naughty Words for Nice Writers contains thousands of usable, functional synonyms in more than 50 word lists to bring spice and sizzle to your romance novel. More than a thesaurus, Naughty Words for Nice Writers is a writing guide filled with practical suggestions on how to craft a love scene and “show” the intimacy between your characters rather than tell it. Whether you intend to “fade to black” or spell it out in explicit detail, Naughty Words for Nice Writers will provide the craft tips and words to write an appropriate love scene.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Erotica, Romance, Research, Crafts

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 23, 2015

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Cara Bristol writes science fiction romance about tough alien and cyborg heroes who fall hard for sassy heroines.

Cara is a homebody who married a wanderer. When she’s not writing or being distracted by squirrels cavorting outside her office window, she enjoys reading and traveling the world with her husband. Topping her bucket list is visiting all seven continents and petting a squirrel.

Visit her website to get a free sci-fi romance.

Reviews

[Sue Lyndon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naughty Words for Nice Writers is an excellent resource for romance writers, particularly those who like to include those yummy extra spicy scenes. It’s organized into categories (body parts, lust, various naughty actions, kissing, etc.) so you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for easily. Writers of spanking fiction will also find a comprehensive listing of words just for them. I’m keeping this book right next to my computer!

[Roxie McClaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have for any spicy writer!

[Lilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource!

[Casually Bookish Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I was not expecting to like this as much as I did. I picked it up years ago on a whim years ago and didn't read it then.

I was sitting around a 3-star read until the end because there was some good editing advice.

I wouldn't recommend this as the most comprehensive writing book, but if you're interested in writing sex, it's a good place to start or revisit for ideas.

[Shari]

A good collection of words that can get overused and new ones to spice up your writing. More of a reference book than something you want to sit down and read in one setting.

[Rosemary Rey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick read because it's words and phrases (with some guidelines on how to use them) for writing fiction. After revising my recent manuscript, I found myself feeling at a loss for words in romantic scenes. And I felt like I was repeating quite a few of them too. So this gives great insight as to how to manipulate the usage. Additionally, there is a great section for BDSM writers. I liked that.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this and will use it regularly!! I'm a librarian and love the written word. So much so that I dabble in the writing process. All my stories are of the Romance genre and I have found it hard not use the same word over and over when writing romantic scenes. This book is so much more than a mere thesaurus and it will be a valuable tool i will return to again and again. I received a digital copy of this through Netgalley and now I have ordered a print edition to put on my writing desk!

[Ally Cabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for romance/erotica writers!

Definitely a must-have for every writer's reference shelf! It's not just for steamy erotica writers. Any scene with intimacy will benefit from this reference book. There's also a great list of words/phrases in general to avoid and why doing so will make your writing that much better.

[Katherine Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review available on my blog, Life As Katherine. https://lifeaskatherine.blogspot.com/

For many writers, one of the biggest struggles is word repeats. Using the same word over and over is not recommended because the reader will pick up on it and it may make the writing come across as boring even when it's not.

Sex scenes can be especially difficult because naming a body part several times produces a need for synonyms, but how many can there be for anatomy?

That's where Naughty Words for Nice Writers comes in. It contains lists of synonyms for every body part imaginable when writing sex for varying degrees of explicitness. It even contains guides to phases of sexual response, positions, sexual activities besides the act itself, and items found in a BDSM dungeon.

This book has everything needed to create variety in sex scenes, no matter how explicit.

I've found this book useful in writing sex scenes, though mine aren't deeply explicit. A fellow writer who noticed a lot of repeats within my scenes recommended it to me.

For anyone who wishes to write sex scenes to any depth of explicitness, this book is handy and helpful.

[Dirk Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I was looking for

I'm editing my second erotic book right now and I'm leaning into writing many more. It doesn't take long before your lexicon begins to run dry on a number of saucy terms, and it's not like there's a lot of solid quality articles on this subject. What I like about this book is that you're given a wide variety of words to use across a broad spectrum of subjects. I could easily see myself dipping back into this book for scene ideas in the editing phase. One bonus that I didn't expect was the section on spanking and BDSM , which is my particular genre. The book is comprehensive for vanilla romance and erotica, so the BDSM section was a nice surprise. But the biggest bonus was at the end when the author gave a list of words to not use. That section is a concise set of rules that every writer, erotic or not, would benefit from following. I plan on reading that section every time I edit my first drafts from now on.

[Lucie Ondrušková · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh, it surprises me to see this book has such a high rating. It's essentially just a list of words (yes, I know what a thesaurus is), but without context, examples, or definitions they seem rather pointless. A lot of them are awkward to the point of cringe. Balloons or Hood ornaments for breasts? Spittin' lizard for a penis? Really? Do people want to read such things in their romances? I certainly don't. It's almost as if the author randomly compiled as many expressions as possible to boast "it contains 2200" words—because while true, in reality, you'll use only few of them. The rest is lava (and by lava I mean garbage).

There are some awful gender stereotypes to top the whole thing off (woman always has to giggle at man's jokes).

At least I laughed a lot while reading it, hence two stars.

[Katenik Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I made a joke to a friend that I was rating this book 0/10 because it doesn't include the word "turgid" in the section about describing Ye Olde Purple Helmeted Warrior of Love. All joking aside, this book has a fantastic list of synonyms and descriptors that aren't too flowery or dated or cringey (it even explicitly says to avoid "moist" because so many people hate it). There's also notes on how a spicy scene can/should be structured, emotional and setting elements to take into consideration, with bonus sections on smacking cheeks, as that is a specialty for the author. That part made me wish there were sections for other kinks, but there's a lot of great material! This is a much more helpful book for me than similar romance resources I've read. Five star! So glad I bought this!

[Eileen Troemel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bristol broaches a topic not covered by most writers - naughty words! While she includes lists and lists (which is helpful for those who write love / sex scenes, she does it with class, humor, and sincerity. She covers the typical words most writers are looking to expand on without sounding corny but she also covers other topics like spanking and BDSM. The lists are easy to read and refer to. They are organized in a logical way. One topic leads naturally into another. This was a quick read but more than that, it is a great reference book for any author writing love scenes to have sitting next to their writing space.

[Elodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview, especially for someone like me who's a non-native and sometimes needs a few suggestions and ideas to avoid using the same phrases over and over. The reason I don’t give 5 stars is the price. The book is barely longer than a novella and consists mostly of verb-lists (and most of them can be simply found on google – yeah we don’t google and buy this book because we’re lazy, but technically these verbs are not new), so every price that’s higher than 2 dollars is surreal in my opinion…

[Steven Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does have some great advice even if you are not a romance writer. I found the book best used when I was stuck. Grabbing the book and either flipping through until I saw something that either got me going again, or look up what I was trying to write.

Some of the metaphors used to describe sex might not work across all cultures. I also found the book handy for changing how I describe sex between my characters. I found that I used the same phrases and words so I needed to change it up a bit.

[Jay Pellegrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A godsend. A spicy godsend! 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Perfect for authors writing steamy scenes - chef's kiss!
The book helped me find the words I was looking for and helped inspire scenes as well!
Surprisingly, this book also helped reassure me as a new author, as if to say "come here, don't be shy - see all these spicy words? Other authors have used them, and now, you can too!"
Thank you Cara for creating this amazing book.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read that will likely be a great reference resource. The A-Z active verbs for sex list is particularly helpful. I appreciate that it includes language for some of the kinkier romantic diversions, but wish it had gone beyond just spanking in the BDSM section. It lists some other ways to dominate but doesn't explore them as thoroughly.

[MegsChaosLibrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐, physical 📖, spicy education 🤓🔥

This book understood the assignment! 🌶️ It’s incredibly helpful for writing spicy scenes without recycling the same phrases or accidentally killing the mood. I found myself both inspired and slightly scandalized (in the best way).

A must have for authors of the spicy romance!

[Miss L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect

What a great find. The spanking section...just what i needed. I benefited from the section on what words not to use as I was a big offender of nearly all the rules she wrote on. It's a good tool to have even if romance is not your genre.

[Graham Bloodworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a self published author, I found this book very useful. One area my Creative Writing course flagged up was that my sex scenes were too detailed, a case of less is more. So it's nice to have a reference work to allude to more basic drives.

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This is a resource for writers. And I recommend it for anyone wanting to spice up their writing. However there’s not enough examples. The author doesn’t give enough suggestions how to use!!
Other than that it’s a great book!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great craft book for romance authors like me who sometimes get stuck with ways to describe steamier scenes. I also love the other insights about craft offered in this book, in regards to things like staying true to your characters etc. 5 stars.

[Molly Penney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of this book was really insightful and I’d absolutely recommend it. I found the last chapter the most helpful. It has nothing to do with romance writing and is just general words to avoid to tighten your writing. Helped me shave a lot off my word count.

[Jo Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, easy collection to use - I broke with my norm and purchased in paperback instead of ebook so I could highlight and add flags.

[Terri Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have used this book with every story I write. It is very helpful.

[Carrow Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book as a reference and recommend it to any new romance writers looking to help utilize a variety of words.

[Evelyn Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I needed

This book gave me a list of words I have been needing and tried to compile myself. Great extra for romance writers.

[Chantelle Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naughty or nice

Definitely a suiting title. A great guide book of lists for words as well some tips. Thank you very useful

[Kathleen Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great help to any romance writer.

[Raffaella Rowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A useful resource!