CATHERINE COULTER has had 62 books on the New York Times bestseller list, so she knows a thing or two about writing. Here are her 9 SIMPLE WAYS TO BE A BETTER WRITER from her session at Thrillerfest:
1. Nix the adjectives.
2. Avoid other words for “said,” and avoid redundancies.
3. Excise the exclamation marks.
4. Forget the euphemisms.
5. Don’t fall into stereotypes.
6. Use caution in sex scenes.
7. Avoid endless introspection.
8. Skip over-the-top violence and language.
9. “And above all, don’t take yourself too seriously.”
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Shawn L. Bird 
Fantastic tips – except that these days many readers want “more” in their sex scenes!
I would say that depends on the genre. Personally, I don’t like graphic sex scenes. I think I can imagine enough to appreciate the scene without too much information! The reader can supply his/her perfect level of filler. Certainly lots of people read erotica, and there it would be appropriate. Catherine Coulter is a thriller writer, though, so she’s coming from that angle.