Erotic Writing Contest: Song Lyrics

AND YES, THERE ARE £££ PRIZES!

Last night I went with Exposing 40 to see one of my favourite bands, Manic Street Preachers, play a special set at the Camden Roundhouse for the Q Music Awards.

During each song, they flashed up on a video screen an excerpt from the lyrics – in some cases just a couple of words, in others 3-4 lines. I took a photo of the first one, then the second…then the third…and as I did so, I had an idea.

Music and sex have such an intimate, instinctive connection that I don’t really need to shit on about it here. People have been writing songs about sex for centuries, and even when it’s not referenced explicitly, an undercurrent of eroticism runs through much of the music we listen to today.

Asking you all to write some erotica based on a song or a set of lyrics of your choice would be super-easy – and, consequently, not very interesting. Asking you to write erotica inspired by lyrics from a band you may not like; a band you may not even know; a band that sings about pretty much everything but sex? Far more of a challenge.

In the gallery below, you’ll find 12 prompts, all taken from the video screen at last night’s gig. With just a smidgen of imagination, a dash of inspiration, each one of them could easily turn into something sexy, kinky, romantic, twisted, funny, dark…and above all, erotic. That’s the challenge I’m setting today.

So here’s what you need to do:

1. Pick a prompt
2. Write a piece of erotica* inspired by your chosen lyrics, not more than 2,000 words in length
3. Publish it on your blog** by 11pm GMT on Tuesday 7th November, and link back to this post
4. Tweet the heck out of it!

That last bit is important! Not because I’m chasing blog hits – I’ve sworn off checking my stats (for now) – but because the erotica scene feels VERY quiet right now, and it would be cool to change that.

In the past, I’ve linked up with brands like Sh! to offer toy-based writing prizes, but this time I’m going to keep it simple.

FIRST PRIZE: £30 (or the equivalent in Amazon vouchers if you’re based overseas)

SECOND PRIZE: £15

Depending on how this goes, I may run similar contests on a semi-regular basis over the next few months. I won’t be able to offer cash prizes for all of them, but I’m excited enough about this one to put at least a bit of money where my mouth is!

Any questions, just ask 🙂

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*This can be prose or poetry, fiction or memoir – just make sure it reflects the prompt in some way.

**If you don’t have a blog/website, but want to take part, email me (dulce.et.decorum.est [at] gmail.com) and we’ll figure something out.