by Loren Niemi – September 8, 2021
When we posted the description for “The Erotic in Stories” some wag commented that it was “talking about pee-pee” which probably says a lot about his proclivities but nothing about what the workshop actually is. If anything, that comment points out the need for a considered understanding about what eroticism is amid the frequent and casual misunderstandings.
We are not talking about porn. We are not talking about cliché. We are not even talking about the ordinary images of bare-chested hunks of Romance novels or the prominent busts of femme fatales of Detective/Crime covers, though they may claim it.
I will suggest that the Erotic is the “spell of the ordinary,” that is to say, it is the particular combination of the emotional and the physical in a particular time and place. The effect of light and shadow, taste, smell, sound which carries or invites emotional connection. It is both what is present in an appeal to the senses and what is withheld, that which is suggested. That suggestion is precisely why, in most instances, it is not porn which is explicit.
The focus of the two sessions of “the Erotic in Stories” with Loren Niemi and Laura Packer, will be on how to find/select/craft the erotic in personal and traditional stories. How to create the right details to invite the audience to make their emotional connection to the story or the characters in the story. We will also take a look at the use of metaphor which can be a powerful tool for casting a “spell”. For the participants, whether you choose to reinvigorate traditional material or flesh out a personal story, this hands-on workshop is just that – you working on your material to enliven the story.
