The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Erotic Romance

by Alison Kent

Book Overview

Erotic romance reigns supreme as a big category of women's fiction - a billion dollar business serviced by a new breed of uninhibited writer. This book is the necessary how-to for first timers and a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592575463
• ISBN13: 9781592575466
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Alpha Books
• Length: 311 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Writing about love & sex

My understanding of the romance genre is so old that I had no idea that the romance genre had even sprouted an erotic subgenre that allowed for explicit sexual content. I still thought of romance books as teases--something that got you all hot and bothered and then shut you out of the "good stuff". While there's still plenty of romance to be found that follows that set of expectations, now you can find erotic romance as well. However, lest you think it's about gratuitous sex, it's part of the definition of the genre that the sex has to further the plot and the character arc. It can't be tacked on. Sex is part of how the characters change, fall in love, explore themselves, and so on. But because it's an erotic romance rather than erotica, it's still about falling in love. Warning: This should be obvious, but I'm going to make it very clear just in case. This book is about writing in a genre that includes explicit sex scenes. That means that this book contains material about writing explicit sex scenes. It isn't meant to be titillating in its own right, but it is frank and blunt and doesn't shy away from necessary detail and discussion. Alison Kent has a knack for writing; that much is obvious (in fact, I think I'm going to have to get my hands on some of her fiction!). She's thorough, informative, blunt, frank, and above all, entertaining; I never felt that she sacrificed one aspect for another. She's utterly comfortable with her subject matter, which makes her the perfect author to write about such a potentially sensitive topic. She discusses all sorts of writing topics, applying them to the erotic romance genre quite handily. She also provides thorough coverage of the unique needs of erotic romances with respect to the role of sex in the plot and writing erotic sex scenes. I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in writing romance, erotic romance, or erotica--although the focus of the book is definitely erotic romance, writers of the other two types of story will find much of value here as well. It would also make a fascinating read for fans of the genre who want to know more about how it works and what their favorite authors do. The tips and hints are highly useful; the range of topics covered is extensive; and the author makes the book fun to read (not to mention extremely informative). I have a newfound respect for the genre now.

Excellent resource

This book is an excellent resource for writers interested in erotic romance. Ms. Kent has authored a seminal work on the subject. I teach romance writing classes and I'm refering this book to my students who write erotic stories. I wish this text had been available when I started writing.

Will prove an invaluable resource

Alison Kent (the pseudonym of an experience author in the genre of erotic romance) draws upon her considerable expertise in "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Writing Erotic Romance" to help aspiring authors master the specialized genre of the erotic romance. All too often writers veer into crude pornography while trying to avoid prudish conventions in storytelling. "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Writing Erotic Romance" will take the novice writer through a series of practical and effective techniques for creating compelling characters, interesting plots, and engaging dialogue laced with sexually provocative eroticism. Enhanced with advice and examples drawn from successful romance writers and editors, "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Writing Erotic Romance" will also prove an invaluable resource that includes lists of available publishers in this select genre. If you want your writing to be hallmarked with chemistry, spice, plot twists, complete characters, and "page turning romance", then add "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Writing Erotic Romance" to your instructional reference bookshelf.

For anyone who wants to add tension

This book goes beyond erotic romance and is, I think, a gem for anyone who wants to write romance of any sort. The exercises are great. Most of the topics worth thinking about even if your stories never gets beyond the bedroom door. It's all about the TENSION. I got a lot out of it, but I wish this book had been around a few years ago when I was a newbie writer.

Absolute BEST reference book on Erotic Romance!!

Well, okay, so it's the only one on Erotic Romance. That changes nothing, however, for this book delivers. I bought it as soon as it released and am a little more than halfway through the book, but I can tell you from what I've read so far that it is a VERY good reference book. It has the most information I've come across for writing romance AND erotic romance. I've read books before on writing erotica and they just didn't help me one iota in learning what I needed to know. If you write erotic romance or just plain romance, this is an invaluable tool to the published and unpublished alike. I am very exited about this book and believe me, I've read enough to know when one is good and not simply repeating what other books say. Buy this one, you won't regret spending the money. Very good info for those needing to know how to combine romance and erotica, as well as how to write those steamy scenes!!