Mechanical Writing: The Framework of Tension

So last time we covered emotive writing which is when you use emotions to spice up your more mechanical scenes. This technique lets you get deeper into your character’s head, experience what they are feeling or thinking and makes the scenes much more erotic and spicy.

This time, I am going to be talking about the other half of the equation. Emotive writing is like a spice that you add to a dish to make it better, but even the best spice in the world can’t save a dish that wasn’t cooked properly to begin with!

Can you tell I’m hungry right now? Well, I am. But anyway, writing time!

I tend to think of this sort of writing as ‘’mechanical writing’’. It’s the cogs and gears of your sex scene. Like car engine, if you try to get going without it you’re either gonna be in for a bad time or a VERY bad time depending on when you realise that it’s not, in fact, there.

Hate to be the girl who had to describe to the rest of the gang why the get-away car suddenly isn’t working, after all.

Now, mechanical writing is easier than emotive writing in a sense. Or at least, it comes more naturally. Everyone knows they need to do it, and you literally cannot have a sex scene without it. You may or may not be good at it, but you can do it.

Let me give an example of mechanical writing:

‘’They kissed long and hard, Davis’ hands rubbing against the glistening wetness of Sarah’s mound. His fingers sank into her, and she writhed in pleasure.’’

This one is very basic, but it lets you know what we’re talking about. Mechanical writing is description, at its most base, it’s informing your readers what is happening and how things work. Emotive writing is telling how things feel and mechanical writing is telling how things are.

If we were talking advanced concepts, we could further break mechanical writing down into a bunch of sub-types too, but let’s not go into that for now. That’s a topic for its own post and frankly, isn’t really important 90% of the time unless you are trying to impress critics or fellow writers.

So now you hopefully have a basic idea of what mechanical writing is, but how do we improve it and what are common mistakes that I see? Well, one thing that I often notice is that people are far too direct and too straight with it. They cut right to the chase, as if the fact that the writing is a framework is an excuse not to build tension and drama.

Tension is important! Always remember that! It doesn’t have to be tension in terms of conflict (though, that’s the most common type.) but it has to have something. Writing without tension feels bland and boring. Victories aren’t earned, defeats don’t feel real.

Look at the writing example I gave above again. Do you notice the flaws in it? Technically, it does what its supposed to do but it feels flat. Lifeless. There’s no energy in it at all. You wouldn’t want to read a whole story written like that!

You know why? It lacks tension. There’s no build up. It cuts directly to the chase and doesn’t make you want it or wait for it.

The easiest way to build tension in terms of erotic writing is build-up. Part of you may want to get to the fucking but remember, once that part is done, what’sleft of the work? The actual sex should be the climax. The centrepiece. You need to make your audience want it so that when you deliver it, it feels all the better.

Kind of like sex itself, actually.

A quickie that’s done in a few minutes may be satisfying in its own way, but a proper build up, a good start, a solid drive and a final climax is much, much more enjoyable.

You should incorporate that knowledge into your mechanical writing. Don’t just cut to the good part. Tease it. Build it. Make your reader want it.

This is also usually where you would weave in emotive writing as part of the build up.

Let me do the scene again. This time with more build-up. I’ll keep emotive writing limited, though some may sneak in simply due to habit.

‘’They kissed, the contact was long and lingering. Sarah’s body pulsed with desire. How long had it been since she had felt like this? David’s fingers trailed along her sides, pressing through the thin fabric of her shirt.

‘’She wanted him. She wanted him so much right then.

‘’He leaned in, his kisses deeper, more hungry. Her body quivered and her skin tingled. His hands folded under her shirt, rising up to cup her breasts. She moaned into the kiss, her body pressed into him. Her nipples were hard, her eyes pressed closed in rapture.

‘’His other hand pressed under her skirt, moving with lingering slowness, teasing aside the fabric of her panties. Fuck, fuck, fuck, why was he waiting? She wanted it! She wanted him! She wanted to shout at him, to beg him to touch her.

‘’But he didn't break the kiss.

‘’Sarah’s eyes rolled back as his fingers brushed her slit. Exploring her wetness and pressing aside her labia. Her legs quivered, his motions became rougher and more ****. The walls of her pussy tightened about his digits and she started to really moan and gasp.

‘’Finally, after an eternity, he broke the kiss. A stupid, cocky grin was on his face.

“Ready to strip for me, princess?”’’

So you can see the difference instantly. The second version is far more enticing. It leads you in, using a gradual build up as actions begin to compound on themselves. Kissing>Touching>Fondling>fingering>more. Each stage leads you to the next in a natural evolution that both gives the scene a more natural feeling and makes it hotter because you can feel the increasing want and desire of the characters.

Compare to the first scene which is pretty just straight to the action and actually worse for it.

Now, I do this for a living and I don’t expect people to throw out the same level of mechanical writing that I do, but the beauty of this little trick is that it works on all skill levels.

Think of it like this. People are looking for a sex scene. If you give it right away, why should they stick around? But if you give them nothing, they feel cheated. You need to build up to it, make it memorable, put on a show so that they enjoy the wait.