Smut has a reputation for being poorly written, and I think that’s a shame. First off, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of messy fun. And secondly, it’s extremely possible to write immersive, smooth, well-crafted spice.

Here are some tips on how to do so.

Choose Your Audience

This is the most critical step. Broadly, we can think about three different levels of audience for smut, and how you’ll approach each is very different. You can write for yourself, a niche, or for general appeal. Once you know your target audience, you can tailor the rest of the tips from there.

Writing for yourself

This is a very valid option, and plenty of readers will enjoy your own self-indulgent expressions. When writing for yourself, ignore all the advice here except for what resonates with you. Get as weird, cringe, or derivative as you want.

Writing for a niche

The niche you’re aiming for will help determine your content, word choice, and approach. Crucially, different niches will have their own fetishes. Most monster fuckers won’t blink at a fluid kink, nor will a mafia romance aficionado clutch their pearls at a hand necklace. The yum vs yuk line is going to vary by niche.

Writing for general appeal

This is sort of your classic romance sub-plot. Explicit spice is getting more and more acceptable in other genres, but authors may still want to err on the safe side and make their sex scenes as smooth and appealing as possible. This also necessarily results in relatively shorter sex scenes with fewer kinks represented–so I don’t really write for general appeal, personally.

Borrow from action writing

A lot of tips that work for action writing work for spice. Rhythm and flow are especially important for immersing readers. Short, choppy sentences and phrases signal urgency, while longer, smoother passages can give a sensual feel or build tension.

I find that borderline run-on sentences focused on sensory details work well as a lead-up to a climax. The tension of “when will this sentence end?” lines up perfectly to the scene.

Finding and studying particularly well-written action sequences can be great inspiration for writing smut.

Be careful with common “ick” words

Know common “ick” words and (generally) avoid them. This is where knowing your audience helps a lot, since some niches will have opposite opinions on certain terms.

It is impossible to avoid ick words for everyone, but there are some common un-favorites that break immersion like: moist, slit, slick, rod, meat, ooze, etc, especially when combined with each other.

Avoid these over-used euphemisms unless they fit your style/period: member, flower.

Onomatopoeia (plap, glorp, etc) should generally be avoided, unless writing with a more lighthearted, silly tone.

Keep your genital nouns simple

Consider your vulvas and/or penises like characters—they get one noun (fit it to the tone of your style/story) and pronouns. Additional nouns are almost always distracting and come off as silly. You probably wouldn’t use eight different nicknames for the same character in the same scene, for the same reason. Variety comes from sentence structure (see above) and verbs (next tip).

An aside on naming genitals

It’s subjective, but I personally prefer to use cunt and cock as my words of choice. Pussy and dick are also classic and minimally distracting. Vulva, vagina, and penis usually come across as a bit too medical, with the exception of using “vulva” to correctly describe external genitals. Note that “vagina” applies only to the internal canal, and you’ll win friends by using it correctly.

Vary your verbs

When you keep your nouns simple, verbs carry the bulk of the tone and variety. So, the sound, feel, and connotations of your verbs are important.

Verbs that are immediate and sensory help with immersion, think: gasp, grip, explore, brush, thrust, pulse, ache, gush, etc.

These are overused, so be sparing: pound, destroy, claim, shatter, etc. (building up to a single definitive use of these can be powerful).

Harsh words to keep to harsh/kinky scenes: wheeze, choke, gag, slap, split, spit, etc.

Take your time

Good spice resembles good horror—both evoke tension and emotional release. We hate how long a scary movie keeps us at the edge of our seats—but we love it too.

Edge your reader. Let them really sink into the scene. Add an emotional question or dilemma to up the stakes and tension. Focus on sensory details.

And don’t rush the climax. Align the emotional and physical, let it be an epiphany, let your reader spend a long moment there and then take your time on the come-down.

Put it all together to show not tell

Before: “He inserted the key into the lock and turned”

After: “The key was heavy in his hand, ready. The lock was a perfect fit, a whisper of friction promising a delicious turn. He could feel the click of each mechanism through the warm metal, then the rush of air around the edges as the door inched open with a sigh from its hinges.”

See? ☺️

Note how “key” and “lock” still only appear once, and sensory details fill in the rest.

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What would you add? Anything you disagree with? Want to see more like this? Let me know in the comments!