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Q&A How do I handle teenage sex in books for teenagers?

In general, YA books have become fairly permissive. You can get away with a lot, if it works within the context of your story. The important question you need to ask here is: What purpose is the se...

posted 8y ago by Standback‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T20:06:04Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24659
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:32:03Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24659
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T05:32:03Z (almost 5 years ago)
In general, YA books have become fairly permissive. You can get away with a _lot_, if it works within the context of your story. The important question you need to ask here is: **What purpose is the sex serving in your story?**

If you don't know what it's there for, you'll have trouble writing the scene well. If you know it should have dirty bits in it but you don't know _why_, then readers will probably come out of it without much impression beyond "that was a dirty bit."

So the questions here are: what is your book about; what does the sex signify in the story; what kind of scene and experience are you trying to create for the reader. You can choose just how graphic you want to get, but the important thing is to know exactly what effect you're going for. If you're aiming for "sweet, tender first love," than using hardcore pornography term will not serve you well. If you're aiming for "naked, vulnerable, and utterly down-to-earth," then you won't want passionate, exaggerated euphemisms.

As a general rule, **focus on feelings, not on mechanics.** Feelings, character and relationships are usually what a YA story is _about_. You can reference body parts and intimate touches if you want to, but I think you'll usually find that getting into serious, explicit detail will be more of a distraction than anything else.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2016-09-18T14:00:08Z (about 8 years ago)
Original score: 2