Further Thoughts on Sex in Literature

Something a friend said in response to my previous post got me thinking a little more about this topic.  She said that she would love to read scenes that are realistic, "awkwardness and randomly inappropriate humour and all".  I guess the best example I saw of this was in Ben Elton's This Other Eden, in the scene where Max Maximus is engaging in break-up sex with his soon-to-be-ex-wife.  Ben goes into detail, and I always got the impression that it is deliberately awkward and that neither party is all that into it (I'd have to wonder about anyone who would have found it erotic at any rate).  In this instance it works perfectly, because it is what it is: an awkward, half-hearted, obligatory shag between two people going through the motions.  And if that was what I was aiming for, then I probably would do something like this.  Otherwise, yeah, generally best left to the imagination, unless one is writing erotica, in which case the awkward moments and so forth would have to go (as more or less stated previously).

Thoughts on Sex in Literature

I guess since my teens this has been an interest of mine in one way or another and to a greater or lesser degree, or at least on and off.  Indeed, I have had some interesting conversations and heard some interesting and insightful opinions on the subject over the years, and never more so than in the last few months or so.  

And it's no coincidence that such discussion has followed the release of the notorious 50 Shades of Grey and its two sequels by E.L. James.  It's possible that even in my lifetime these books would have run afoul of the censors for their graphic and detailed if sterile descriptions of sex of a decidedly sado-masochistic nature, and in the misandric 1990s it would have gone down like a lead balloon.  (Though at least one of my classmates would have been on 50 Shades like a fat kid on a box of donuts had it been available circa 1996).  I personally have only taken in bits and pieces of it, but of all of the opinions and reviews I've read and heard not one of them has been positive, which kind of prevents me from rushing out to get my hot little hands on a copy.  Take out the BDSM and what we have is an account of an abusive relationship.  Plus, John Flaus made the observation that the woman who wrote it must be a narcissist because the sex scenes are just graphic descriptions with no emotional engagement.  The blurb described 50 Shades as romance/romantic, but if I've understood the romance genre correctly it's more interested in the emotional engagement, the feelings, than in the physical side and especially graphic details; in addition the genre tends to steer well away from sexual relations which may be considered paraphilic or transgressive or perverse, and condemns abusive relationships.  Also, it started life as Twilight fan fiction so what does that tell you?

What is coincidence is that I've recently read I, The Jury, Mickey Spillane's first novel to feature Mike Hammer.  It was indeed a rather racy book, especially for 1947, and between the violence, the nudity and the pretty obvious hints of sex it was pretty much guaranteed to upset the stuffed shirts and prudes. And yet remarkably he didn't go into graphic detail regarding the sex - though he couldn't have either because it would never have got past censorship, which was much tighter in those days - he just dropped very obvious hints and left it to the reader to figure out what was going on.

Personally I like the way Mr. Spillane did it - the obvious hints of what's about to happen, is happening and has happened, though leaving it to the reader's imagination, refraining from spilling every carnal detail even after he was allowed to do so - and I figure some things are best left to the reader's imagination.  For example, while Bryce Courtenay did a great job of writing a beautiful, cosmic love/sex scene between his hero and heroine in one of his books I don't know if I could do the same - how do I convey the idea of the hero and heroine coming together physically, emotionally and spiritually through revealing the physical goings-on without degrading or profaning it?  Alternatively, if the relationship between a given couple is toxic, and if sex between them is creepy and degrading I like to think the reader will get the idea without a graphic description and would prefer not to have their face rubbed in it.  And well, what one person finds erotic another person might not, not to mention that in real life the first time tends to be awkward, or at least has one or two hiccups which doesn't translate so well when trying to convey beautiful intimacy between two people who love each other, or even if (as a writer) you're not interested in that stuff, you just want to make the reader happy in the pants it kind of upsets the mood a little.  At this time I'm not interested in writing to get people hot and bothered.

The Story so far (working title "Memphis")...

I have made a fair degree of headway with my current project and (at least I trust) it's coming together quite nicely.  For the most part the plot's developing along the lines I initially envisioned - the clear-cut dichotomy of good and evil, the Fall in Act One followed by the Redemption in Act Two, plus all the other happenings which help flesh the whole thing out, and even a little subversion of some elements of the noir genre (e.g. the "femme fatale" who in this case isn't) while remaining true to others (the lost souls who populate these pages, particularly the main protagonists).  One deviation from the initial rough sketch is that Dorothy (Hank's wife) has turned out to not be fixated on materialism at all.  Far from it, she's a good Christian woman, indeed is almost a Christ-figure, her death playing a big part in the redemption of the sinners, the salvation of the lost souls (Hank and Lucy).  Otherwise, it's fleshing out as planned.

Words and Music

Music: the most popular facet of the arts, with the possible exception of cinema.  It is also potentially the most commercially viable, the most subjective and at times the most hotly contested.  It is also the most versatile, not only in terms of genre and sub-genre, arrangement, et cetera, but also in terms of context and application, be it as a soundtrack to a movie or television show, advertising jingle (okay, bad example!), or something to listen to during times of labour or recreation, even passion, or indeed while drawing, painting, sculpting or writing.

Naturally, personal tastes vary, ditto the personal significance for each person.  When his schedule allowed, my father liked to sketch, his inspiration fuelled by airs composed by the likes of Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi.  Some writers also swear by classical music, such as Isobelle Carmody and James Ellroy, the latter being a huge fan of Beethoven.  Stephen King, on the other hand, seems to be more eclectic (according to one account I read, he even listened to Eminem!).  Whether it's because classical music tends to be unfettered by words I'm not sure, but if it works, it works.

For me personally, it depends on where I'm at, but it's often as much about getting into the right headspace, the right mindset, feeding the inspiration.  

As much of my fiction has been set in mid-twentieth century America I've sought out music from that era to help immerse myself in that given time.   For example with my first novel Breaking Point I indulged in a fair bit of The Inkspots, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and whatever else people might have listened to in New York in 1943-44, while with my current project, which is set predominantly in the South in 1929-34 I've been getting right into a rich and broad pallet of pop, jazz and folk music (including blues and country) from the 1920s and early '30s including artists as diverse as Duke Ellington, Rudy Vallee, Josephine Baker and The Carter Family.  Again, it's part of immersing myself into the era I'm writing about, even picking out a good song to help flesh out and add colour to and even echo the context of a given scene (or even the entire narrative), getting myself into that headspace (though I doubt I'd do it if I didn't enjoy it).

Having said all that, I have written certain stories or even parts while listening to music which may have been totally anachronistic but helped put me in the right headspace.  For example, when writing the crucial murder scene in Breaking Point I was listening to The End by The Doors - a tad anachronistic I know but it fit because let's face it, it's a rather violent song therefore fitting given that I was writing a decidedly violent scene (though I had All Or Nothing At All by Frank Sinatra playing in that particular scene).  I've also gotten a fair bit of mileage out of Johnny Cash's Murder compilation while writing various crime shorts and even longer projects.  Anachronistic or not, if it feels appropriate and helps with the headspace or at least the inspiration it's completely appropriate.

So, to all of you writers and artists out there, what makes up the soundtrack to your creative pursuits?

Sound advice and bonus purple prose

Monday’s workshop with supernatural romance and urban fantasy author Keri Arthur was rather interesting and informative, and she’s a New York Times bestseller so she knows what she’s talking about. 

“First off, write the best damn book you can, put it in the drawer for at least a month, edit it, then if you want to go mainstream get an agent,” she advises.  And preferably an American agent, especially if you want to get published in the U.S.  Well, I think I’ve ticked the first two boxes, and am in the process of doing the third.  Also, I think I may have improved my chances given the American setting of my first novel Breaking Point and the one I’m currently working on.  We were also advised to check out such websites as The Publisher’s Marketplace, Predators and Editors and hipiers.com.  Keri also recommended having a Facebook page and a webpage or fanpage; hmmmm... now to regularly update...  and to write about writing and other stuff besides current projects, give a picture of oneself as an all-round person (and here I was thinking that was what my general purpose blog was for)...  I'm getting there *touch wood*.

Keri cited three major reasons why books get rejected:

1. Lack of a strong opening, or not opening with a hook;

2. Overloading the beginning with background or back story;

3. Rushing to submit a story before it's ready.  "No first draft is perfect.  Good writing is rewriting but don't edit it to death."

As a challenge we were given two pictures to write about, as an opening hook for a hypothetical tale.  We could have chosen either picture but I chose both.  One featured a woman with frightened eyes and the lower half of her face covered by her hands and turtleneck; the other a rather scary-looking fellow with a six-pack contrasted by a painted or tattooed face and hollow black eyes:

“Bewilderment and confusion etched themselves upon every fibre of her being; bewilderment and confusion born of the simultaneous repulsion and animal lust she felt as she gazed upon him, that rippling torso contrasted sharply and jarringly with that hideously painted face and that penetrating stare.  Maybe it wasn’t repulsion she felt, but fear – fear of him, or fear of her own carnal desire as her eyes fell upon him?”

I realise the prose was rather purple, and maybe it did sound a little hammy when read aloud, and I could tell it was nothing special, but we can't win them all, it was just an exercise and with practice and polish these things do improve.  If I ever do develop it it would have to be a comedy – it’s too over-the-top to present as a straight narrative.  Alternatively I could drop the first sentence and simply open with the second…?

Oh well, I wrote a killer hook for Breaking Point; I’ll have to work on one for the novel I’m currently working on though, but that's a given - it is a work in progress after all…

She also said not to diversify at least until established in the literary world.  My short stories have been a mixed bag so far, though they have included ones in a crime/thriller/noir vein, which is the category my bigger projects so far fit into.

And now I direct you to Keri Arthur's fanpage: http://www.keriarthur.com/

...Because no novel is complete without a title

Good news everyone!  I finally have a title for my novel (the noir novel completed in October).  After years of referring to it by its working title "Noir" it now has a real title: Breaking Point.  It's starting to feel more legit now.

A massive "thank you" to Nikki for suggesting the title, and to Sarah for encouraging me to not go with a cheesy, cliched, pulpy title like Murder in Manhattan or Death of the Black Widow or some such piffle.

Painted Words 2011

Painted Words, the annual class anthology, the fruit of the labours of the Project Management class at Bendigo TAFE - and of course the authors of the various selected works within, and the most recent issue is now available in e-book form on Amazon.com.  Painted Words 2011 contains a variety of great stories from a variety of great writers, including G.N. Braun, and finally yours truly has some work in print too, and may it be only the beginning.

Get your e-copy of Painted Words 2011 here, or if you're in the Bendigo area it's available in paperback from the Bendigo TAFE Library (City Campus).