#i.e. theres a lot of position logistics. physical contact. tons of different emotions can be present. moaning and grunting.

[actualbird]

do you have any advice for overcoming awkwardness when writing smut? I don’t get awkward *reading* smut and thinking of writing smut fics, but when I actually sit down and write smut fics I get so awkward and feel embarrassed!! There’s no shame in writing it of course, but I specifically feel shame and im often like “agh it’s so awkward writing this level of intimacy!!”

hi anon!!! and ohhh......im not sure if my answer is gonna be helpful, because it's more of a mindset thing than it is a concrete/tangible writing tip but like

just treat smut like how you would treat any other type of story

because it is! smut is just another kind of story. some people like it, some people dont. same goes for sex. some people like it, some people dont, and while sex is an intimate act, it doesnt always have to be as well. theres friends with benefits, theres sexually active aromantic people, theres people who have sex for the fun of it. essentially, sex is like......every other act. meaning can be attached to it or not, the same way you'd attach meaning or not to the mundane act of like, eating a cake.

i think im getting off topic here kBLKSJFD but like. at least for me, what helped was stopping myself from putting smut on some kind of Special Pedestal with Different Rules. at the end of the day, it's...just another story. so i treat it like how i treat writing any other story.

mindset things aside, here are some other tips off the top of my head that might help

if the problem is intimacy, try writing other scenes that have deep physically intimate connotations. like a bubble bath together, or sharing a first kiss, or giving each other a massage. this can help in getting comfortable with writing intimacy in general, so when you take the intimacy up a notch for smut, it isn't as jarring or like you're jumping into the deep end immediately. ease your way in

if the problem is explicit-ness, i'd suggest not writing E rated fic right away and maybe starting with what would be rated M instead (going by ao3 ratings). if ever you arent familiar with the difference, this post is my FAVORITE post on differentiating M and E smut, please read it, ive screencapped it below for ease of reference.

essentially the difference is in the amount of detail and scene expansion, and with this in mind, M rated situations can be a nice training ground for working up to writing E rated situations. same rationale as my previous tip: if diving in head first is hard, then ease your way into it

another tip i have thats more collaborative is: if by any chance uve got a friend/s who you discuss fanfic ideas with.....talk about your smut ideas with them too. bounce the idea around with another person, i feel this helps make any fic idea (not just smut) much less intimidating while also having the extra bonus of fleshing out the idea even more

last tip: practice!!! you can write snippets or short scenes of smut little by little and, as the saying goes, everything gets easier with practice. not just the act itself, but also the attitude of going into it. with enough practice you'll just end up so used to writing smut that eventually you'll forget to be awkward or embarrassed about it

i realize that i just said a bunch kLJBSJD so i'll end this ask here. i hope some part of it is helpful to you!! and i wish you the best on your smut writing journey :D