#I really thik this is the path the writers are going to take

[stargleam-star]

Just watched the newest moonkitti video and wanna throw my hat into the ring to discuss what's gonna happen to Squirrelflight

I think if the Erins don't kill her and let her get her 9 lives, she's going to be the leader in this arc (and the very first leader) to be deposed. The code of being able to depose a leader was added in A Starless Clan after all. There's no way the Erins made it a thing and aren't going to use it. I'd hoped it would be used on a cat like Tigerheartstar. But sadly, I can see he's way too beloved by the authors for him to be touched. And Nightheart in the latest book was thinking that if Squilf becomes Squirrelstar, she might want to start war. So, what if the writing team is planning on making her more aggressive when she starts her leadership? And then the clan gets so pissed about her behavior and way of ruling that they vote her out of leadership. Then either Starclan sends a sign or Bramblestar chooses Nightheart as the next leader of Thunderclan (because they're both very stupid).

[pynkhues]

Do you have any tips about writing sex scenes?

Oh, gosh, haha. This is genuinely something I’ve never been asked before, anon! So I hope my answer / tips are helpful. 

Sex scenes were something I think I was really bad at for a really long time, and that I really had to learn how to write. I think a lot of that came down to actually focusing too much on the sex itself, and not on the fact that - - well, a sex scene is a scene, just like any other. So: 

Treat a sex scene like any other scene

If you’re too focused on getting Tab A into Slot B, you can be neglecting a lot of things that make a scene work, and you can also be neglecting the things that make a scene, in my mind at least, really sexy. 

After all, sex can be hot, sure, but sex can also be awkward and uncomfortable, the noises embarrassing and weird, it can leave marks and stains and mess, to say the very least.

Disastrous!

But...all of these things can work in your favour too, because what makes it hot and real on the page, at least to me, is that it means something.

It’s the culmination of feeling, the need to touch, the implication to be inside someone, or to have them inside when you know you need them, but not how to be with them. It’s an emotional release or it’s a physical one, or it’s an escape or a salvation or an offering or a fulfillment.

Sex can mean so much, just like any other act in any other scene can, so you should approach it as such. 

What does the sex scene you’re writing mean? And what does it add to the story you’re trying to tell? 

Find the emotional, character and narrative throughline that’s going to ground the scene and steer the intimacy (or lack thereof) and let that guide how you write these characters together.

It’s a big part of why it took me three chapters to get to the sex in the pornstar au, right? I wanted the sex scenes to be satisfying, and I knew that I – personally – couldn’t write a satisfying sex scene if I didn’t feel like it meant anything. The build-up to chapter 3 is so much Beth taking charge of a life that is rapidly spinning out of her control, and over and over again choosing this path. The fact that the first time she and Rio try to have sex is a disaster publicly is something I instantly tried to parallel with the fact that it was a success privately, in no small part because it was a culmination of her choices, her consent and her seeking the same from Rio. 

Even stories I’ve written that are shorter and more straight-PWP, the sex always has a build-up and a meaning to it (even if the sex scene is deliberately about the characters trying to not deal with that meaning at all, haha). I feel like that enriches it, and makes it both a more compelling read and honestly? I think it makes it hotter too. So lean into everything that’s rumbling just beneath the surface, and have some fun with it!

Think about where people are

As a writer (and as a reader), space is your friend. Furniture, carpet, sticky heat or frigid air conditioning, empty rooms or crowded bars – all of it is something to play with, so play with it. I offer this advice broadly, haha, but I think it’s something that’s often neglected in fic, particularly PWP which is a shame. We don’t have sex floating in a vaccuum after all, we have it on, against, beside things, and all of that detail can be used in such fun and interesting ways.

God, think about the mirror, the sink, Beth locking the door, Beth hitting the towel dispenser in 2.04. All of that was hot, right? So think about what your characters are doing, yes, but also thik about what they’re doing it on.

Lose yourself in sensory detail

My advice to everyone in writing is always ‘add sensory detail’. It’s probably a pretty subjective thing, but I really do think that it helps in terms of grounding your writing, but also giving you fun things to bounce off! Sure, it’s hot to say he palmed her bare breast for instance, but how did his fingers feel there? Were the pads of his fingers rough, his palms smooth? Did he hold too tight? Too soft? Maybe just right? How hot was his breath at her neck? How wet were his fingers when he slid them out of her? What did his mouth taste like?

Explore it! And have fun doing it!

Annnnd as always, write a lot of it, and then pick your best descriptions and delete the rest.

Think actively about how you represent consent

I think this is important, and it’s something that I try to realise in all of my writing. I haven’t done this perfectly in the past, but it’s one of the things I try to always actively address, if not always when I’m writing a sex scene, definitely when I’m editing one, and if there’s ever room for doubt, ask for somebody else’s opinion, and tag it when you post it.

Enjoy yourself

It sounds probably a bit crass to say it, haha, but the fantasies you have, the things you find hot? If you can find a way to capture that on the page, I think you’ll find it connects with readers more tangibly than stuff that you’re writing because it seems like what people want. As silly as it might sound to say, tapping into what gets you hot and bothered is often a pretty surefire way to get others hot and bothered too. 

Anyway, I hope that’s a help, anon! Does anyone else have any tips for writing sex scenes?