In general, Erotica focuses
on sexual fulfillment, the stories revolve around
sex, and if you take the sex out of the story,
you don't have a story. There are varying degrees,
but essentially that's it. The couple or couples
involved can wind up in a committed relationship—or
not. The sexual journey of the main character
is what's most important and at stake.
With Erotic Romance, the story
is primarily a romance, even if it's a short romance
in the form of a novella or short story. The sexual
relationship is vital to the characterization
and plot development, and often the story opens
with a sexual hook. Often, the characters think
they're looking for a solely sexual relationship,
however, by the end of the story, they discover
they're wrong. They might want a hot sexual relationship,
but they also want intimacy on a deeper emotional
level than is necessary or even desired in erotica.
In traditional (non-erotic) romance, the development
of the non-sexual relationship usually leads to
the sexual relationship. Often the characters
acknowledge—if only to themselves—that
they are in love with the other before physical
intimacy occurs. In erotic romance, it's the other
way around: the development of the sexual relationship
and the sexual act itself leads to the romance/falling
in love. However, in an erotic romance, if you
take away the story's sexual components, you'd
still have a full romance occurring over the course
of the story. Internal conflicts (the character's
personal baggage) and the emotional conflict between
the two main characters (what's keeping them apart
emotionally compared to an external force or external
conflict that might also be at play) are essential...however,
perhaps not as essential as they are in a third
sub-genre I like to call sexy romance.
Sexy Romance is also referred
to as "hot romance" or "spicy romance."
Sexy romance usually has fewer sex scenes than
erotic romance and generally revolves around the
romantic relationship and conflicts to a greater
degree than does erotic romance. The stories don't
necessarily open with a sexual hook or goal, and
the characters don't necessarily think they're
primarily after a sexual relationship. Sexy romance
is a lot like traditional romance, but with more
love scenes—and they're hothothot!!
That's not to say some stories and authors don't
straddle the lines between erotica and erotic
romance or erotic romance and sexy romance, because
they do. And, like many aspects of publishing,
the differences can be subtle and open to interpretation.
In other words, it's subjective. One writer or
reader might consider "erotic romance"
to occur only between two people. Once intercourse
occurs, the hero and heroine remain monogamous
throughout the story.
If they don't remain monogamous, then it's not
erotic romance, but erotica. Or is it? Maybe these
particular characters choose not to be monogamous,
however, in their minds the sex act and their
emotional feelings for their primary partner are
separate issues. They might feel completely capable
of remaining faithful to one partner-of-the-heart
while exploring their sexuality with more than
one partner. Or, as an element of his or her character
growth, maybe a character needs to experience
sex with multiple partners before realizing he
or she does want a monogamous relationship. However,
in an erotic romance, you can pretty much count
on a "happy" ending in the form of a
committed relationship, whether that relationship
culminates in a commitment between two people...or
three, or four. In erotica, the characters are
much more likely to leave the story happy to have
learned something about themselves or their sexuality
that they can take to their next relationships
and adventures.
Kate St. James writes erotic romance for Red
Sage Secrets. Her December 2008 release, "Exes
& Ahhs" in Secrets Volume 26: BOUND
BY PASSION, is set in Victoria, BC. Visit
Kate on the web at www.katestjames.com.
Articles may be reprinted in RWA® chapter
newsletters, attributed to the Spotlight.
Non-RWA® newsletters may not reprint articles
without the permission of the authors.
Back to top
|
