# Sex: A lesson in the art of using the five senses



## Shouden (Apr 24, 2013)

One thing that I was taught early on in my writing, is to try to use all the senses when describing something. And, I have found that sex is actually a great way to practice doing that. Good sex scenes use all the senses. There's always the obvious ones of site and sound, but there's much more too it than that, especially if you're using anthro characters. Most animals have heightened senses of smell and scent, as well, and, while sex actually DOES use those anyway, the detail of them would be greater with anthros. And then you have touch. Another kind of obvious one, but I've read a few sex scenes that leave it out.

There are other great ways to practice using the five senses like a stroll through a park, or eating really good food. Even driving a car can use all five senses, but I think sex can be more fun sometimes. What do you guys think?


----------



## Troj (Apr 24, 2013)

You've made a number of good and interesting points here.

Because we as a species tend to rely so heavily on our sight, I've noticed that amateur writers often forget about the other four senses if they aren't in a scene where they're so intense that they have to take center stage.

Granting consideration to all five senses, as appropriate, can add layers of richness to your writing that you wouldn't have otherwise.

The best way to practice your sensory writing skills, yep, are in scenes that involve sex, fighting, eating, or exploring environments.

I've also noticed that TV shows, movies, and stories often forget that animals have _heightened senses_, and/or senses we don't have. In real life, if your protagonist tried to hide behind a box to escape a guard dog, the dog would smell or hear him, and rip his goddamn face off. Animals are not just four-legged people, and other species don't necessarily rely on their eyes the way we rely on ours.

One of my in-progress novels involves a protagonist who goes through multiple transformations over the course of the story, including one scene where he transforms into various animals in rapid succession. When writing those kinds of scenes, I have to first do research on the type of organism the protagonist has turned into, and I have to sit down and consider what it's actually like to be that organism, based on my research and my imagination. What does it feel like to be big? What does it feel like to be small? What is it like to have five or more colour-receptive cones, versus not having eyes at all? When your sense of smell or touch trumps your sense of sight, how does that change how you interact with the world? How is the experience of flying different for a bat than for a bird? 

Even doing this sort of thing as an exercise can really help you to bone up on your sensory writing skills.


----------



## AlexInsane (Apr 24, 2013)

To my mind, a good sex scene is one where the act is acknowledged as having taken place, sans three paragraphs of description. It requires a level of subtlety that few people possess, and even fewer can convey in words. 

It should be insinuated, not described. It should be hidden, not on display. The most erotic things in life are that which we lust after but never completely grasp.


----------



## Shouden (Apr 25, 2013)

Good points. Another thing that I like to do as a sci-fi anthro writer, is try to incorporate a sixth sense into descriptions. And that sixth sense would be unique to the character, creating a unique voice and description. For example, I have a character, who, through lots of ninja training, can feel the air around her in extreme detail. So, in the case of sex, pheromones and scents wouldn't simply attract her nose, but they might also saturate her fur and skin.


----------



## Nikolinni (Apr 25, 2013)

I know I might get some flak for this, but I think using all of the five senses is a little....um....overrated. 

Don't get me wrong, it's good to use the five senses throughout the story, especially if the characters are exploring something new where there might be different scents, tastes, visuals, feelings, and sounds, but the exercises in grade school and beyond seemed to sell the point that "Yes! Use all five senses! All the time!" Even now when I've looked into sexual scene writing they push using all five sense and...eh? I mean if you count the foreplay and time after sure that's an easy task. But still I think that sometimes there's things that you don't really need to describe or go into detail about unless it's really important. Like if a character goes into a steakhouse. Do you really need to describe that the scent of steak filled the air? Okay, maybe you could, let's say if the character was really hungry, or was just being more perceptive than usual to their environment  But if a character is taking a stroll through say, a park, I don't see the need to try to force the five senses in so you can "bring the reader there". 

Huh, I guess that's what I'm trying to say. Don't force the five senses. Use whatever feels natural to you. Going back to the steakhouse, if the character was a really big fan of steak, hey, why not go into all the different scents of the different types, of the sounds of the steak grilling, or even show how the character usually goes to that spot by having them smell a certain kind of steak cooking that let's them know that they're serving the special today. 

As for what AlexInsane said, I agree that with sex, less is more. You can go into things like what position the person's putting their body and what they're doing, but then you run into the same ol' sex cliches, like how big someone's cock is, some tried-but-true description of the girl's breasts, and perhaps my favorite, exclaiming that you're about to climax (Usually "Oh! <person's name> I'm about to--!!" or some variation thereof). It's that level of subtlety that AI brought up that works.

Anyways, that's just this ol' cooky muse's thoughts. Feel free to do with them what you will.


----------



## Troj (Apr 25, 2013)

Niko, you make an important point, which is that a little goes a long way, and you are in no way obligated to use ALL five senses for EVERY scene. 

I remember the same exercises from grade school, and it just taught people to write overdone purple prose. 

You can also allude to the senses without naming them directly. Particular adjectives and descriptors can provide a sense of, for example, taste _and_ feel, or smell _and_ taste. The whole "It looked like this; it smelled like this; it tasted like this," list-off is for hacks. Don't do that.


----------



## Shouden (Apr 26, 2013)

I agree. You don't always need to go into detail about every sense. Most people really aren't that observant. There is another type of describing that kinda ties into the five senses, that I call "Reactionary" descriptions. This is simply how a character reacts to the stimulations or the environment their in. For the steak, example, instead of saying how mouth watering and juicy the steak is, you could simple say something like, "When her lips sealed around the juicy peace of cooked steak, her eyes involuntarily closed and she let out a moan of pure bliss." This is describing taste in a very different way...almost exaggerating it. Kinda like what Troj was saying and alluding to the senses. That's pretty much how I wrote my last sex scene, which I think turned out really well.

But, you are right. There are actually very few times when all five senses are being used. The examples of sex, eating and exercising have already been given along with new environments.

And really, the five senses descriptions are pretty basic in writing. It still something I needed to practice though....which has given me an idea to write five stories that center around each of the five senses. I think it's been done before a few times, but, sounds like it could be fun.


----------

